Spring Clean Your Brain!

Experts help you clear out the cobwebs and hike memory and mind power.

Who has been counting ceiling cracks at 3 a.m.? Overdoing the Netflix and chips? Maybe some of us, but not Daniel Levitin. His survival mode in stressful times: learning to play the ukulele. Lisa Mosconi jumps on her new trampoline and drinks a daily green smoothie. Both of these neuroscientists know how critical it is to take a top-down approach to your well-being—focusing on not only mental health but also the physical health of your brain.

“They’re intertwined; it’s all one,” says former National Institute of Mental Health director Tom Insel, M.D., who co-founded Humanest, an online community for mental support.

As we move into what we hope are post-pandemic better days, here’s how to shake off the mind-and-body doldrums and start fresh this spring.