Sorting Out Brain, Cognitive and Mental Fitness

Today, I went to sort out different forms of fitness. Sometimes it can become confusing in understanding fitness concepts. Cognitive fitness has different meanings, depending on the orientation of the writer.

Physical Fitness is probably the most familiar and recognized form of fitness.

Cognitive fitness has become very popular during the last 10 years due to the remarkable research on the

Also the importance of cognition in changing feelings, behavior and coping with problems in everyday living has been the basis of many psychological forms of therapy and programs for change people’s lives.

Realizing, I am risking oversimplification, I would like to sort out the meaning of various forms of fitness.

Physical Fitness: a healthy state of body, especially as the result of physical exercising and proper

"Brain Fitness: the general state of good, sharp, brain and mind, especially as the result of mental and physical exercise and proper as defined by Alvaro Fernandez in his post,

"Brain Fitness Program: is a systematic flow of mental activities, often computer-based, developed to exercise different brain regions and functions, and measured by scientific tests". This Definition of a Brain Fitness Program provided by Alvaro in the above-mentioned post.

Cognitive Fitness according to brain researchers: "the general state of good, sharp, brain and mind" resulting from exercises to change the brain’s functioning and structures.

"Cognitive Training: is a variety of brain exercises designed to help work out specific “mental muscles”. The principle underlying cognitive training is to help improve “core” abilities, such as attention, memory, problem-solving, which many people consider as fixed." This Definition of Cognitive Training also provided by Alvaro.

Cognitive Fitness from a mental health perspective: is a general state of satisfaction in one’s psyche, emotions, relationships and life pursuits as the result of using logical and self enhancing thought processes.

Cognitive Fitness from the perspective of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy "is a cognitive-behavioral approach for treatment of stress, depression, hostility, anxiety etc. developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in 1955.

According to this therapy, emotional and behavioral ailments are the result of irrational thoughts, assumptions and beliefs. This therapy identifies those problematic and erroneous ideas and replace them with more rational, reality-based thoughts and perspectives." This information provided by

Cognitive Fitness from the perspective of Neuro Linguistic Programming: the "essence of Neuro-Linguistic Programming is that the functioning of our nervous system is intimately tied up with our language capability. The strategies through which we organize and guide out behavior are made up of neurological and verbal patterns." provided this information on Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Cognitive Fitness from the perspective of coaching: is psychologically and emotionally being capable of living in the present and successfully overcoming obstacles in order to achieve success.

Mental Fitness is a healthy, focused, confident, and strong state of mind, as the result of mental conditioning with cognitive thought processes.

is repetition of cognitive exercises, which are organized into a system, to provide the skills and psychological strength to cope with the stresses in living and go beyond one’s comfort zone to successfully accomplish goals in all areas of a person’s life. The mental fitness exercises are thought patterns used by successful therapy clients. Repetition of these exercises not only guide our behavior, but can also change our brains.

All of these forms of fitness are important for having the life that we desire.

Remember, We Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!