The Importance of the Mental Fitness in Aviation Program:

AffirmedYou LLC’s approach addresses the need to introduce preventative mental fitness and resilience practices within the aviation community. Building lifelong habits during flight training fosters operational safety and individual wellness.

AffirmedYou LLC’s Mental Fitness in Aviation program is essential for promoting the safety and performance of all aviation personnel. By incorporating mental fitness practices into daily routines, the program ensures that students, pilots, mechanics, and crew are mentally prepared to perform their responsibilities safely. Central to this approach is the use of the Neuro Journey app, which facilitates mental priming exercises that help reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance cognitive function.

Through structured mental pre-flight routines, pilots, flight students, crew, ground, and maintenance personnel are mentally engaged before any physical inspections and operations, and they continue to re-prime their minds during long flights and ground and maintenance operations. This practice reduces the risk of human error, ensuring that flight, ground, and maintenance operations are carried out with greater mental clarity and attention.

The program is facilitated by a certified Neuroscience Coach, who provides personnel with valuable coaching, guidance, and support as they develop their resilience, adaptability, and mental performance. This coaching builds a strong foundation of mental fitness, allowing flight and ground personnel to effectively integrate these practices into their aviation training, operations, and lives. The organization also has the option for selected personnel to undergo neuroscience coaching certification with AffirmedYou, to lead the implementation of the program with its teams.

Daily mental fitness routines also encourage accountability and discipline, which are vital for maintaining both physical and mental readiness. This holistic approach to mental health in aviation creates a safer, more efficient operating environment, crucial in an industry where the stakes are high.

AffirmedYou LLC’s Mental Fitness in Aviation Program Overview:

• App Installation: All iPads are preloaded with the Neuro Journey: Mental Fitness App (NJ) for daily mental priming, with secondary app features encouraged for extended use. Students and staff may choose between Neuro Journey or the Inner Journey: Mental Clarity App (IJ) for their personal phones.

Training & Certification:

• As part of their training plan, students complete a self-guided Neuroscience training certification, focusing on mental fitness, resilience, and mental performance.

Mental Priming and Operating Requirements:

• All students, mechanics, and crew must complete a two-minute mental priming sequence in the NJ app before beginning operations each day and after lunch before returning to work.

• Pilots and flight students are required to perform a Mental Pre-flight routine in NJ via the mental priming sequence before the physical pre-flight inspection and a breathing exercise in NJ before taxiing the aircraft. If time permits, pilots and flight students should conduct the entire mental priming sequence.

• During long flights, a 90-minute timer is set via the app to remind pilots and flight students to re-prime their minds. Breathing exercises should be conducted at a minimum to reduce stress and boost cognitive function.

• For cross-country flights, solo pilots must use autopilot (if available) during straight and level flight in cruise after the fuel check is completed to conduct the mental priming exercises safely. In crewed flights, one pilot must remain vigilant while the other completes the mental priming. Again, this can only be conducted in straight and level flight during the cruise portion of the flight after the cruise checklist and fuel check are complete.

Daily Morning Mental Fitness Routine:

• Pilots, flight students, ground, and maintenance personnel must practice a daily morning mental fitness routine upon waking or arriving at the flight line. They are trained to be accountable and to self-regulate their commitment to this routine, both individually and within the group.