“Most persons neglects the health of their brain since it’s not the kidney or other organs termed delicate, forgetting the fact that the brain controls everything about life and our actions – being the most delicate of all.”
Have you noticed that the way you tend to recall things when you were 14 years isn’t the same now that you’re above your 30s? Yes, this is true as your brain and body change as you grow. The normal brain is undoubtedly the most astonishing part of any human being. It provides ways to express your emotions and thoughts and controls every bit of an activity you carry out, like the way you carry out that activity.
It carries out all these tasks, from the way you make your cakes to answering a difficult question or keeping intact those precious childhood memories and solving a health crossword. But all these powers are at times neglected.
According to Elise Caccappolo, PhD, an associate professor of neuropsychology at Colombia University Medical Centre in New York, “Most persons tend to think about the health of their brain only when they notice some memory loss and cognitive changes in their 60s or 70s”. This is a really bad approach towards your health as even from childhood, you can do various things that protect the brain and keeps it as healthy as possible.
Today in this blog, we’ll have a close look at the best ways you can take care of your brain and also answer some relevant questions. But before that, let’s look at some damaging factors to the brain. So with all being said, let’s get straight into it.
What Factors Poses Damage To the Brain’s Health?
Taking a high amount of sugar
There is a saying, “Too much of everything is bad”. That relates well to consuming sugar. Though sugar isn’t bad for your health, it can be of a disadvantage when taken in high proportion. Consuming a high proportion of sugar prevents the body from absorbing essential nutrients, exposing you to malnutrition and weakness. Aside from the physical illnesses, you’ll also feel very uncomfortable at times as you’ll suffer from brain disorders.
Smoking
Smoking is undoubtedly one of the factors suffered by more than half of the world’s population. Though everyone knows its side effects, they still go on taking some cigarettes as if their life depends on them. This habit has a negative effect as it causes both mental and physical disturbances. Addictive smoking leads to multiple brain shrinkage. Aside from that, it also fosters the occurrence of diseases associated with dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease.
Skipping Breakfast
Breakfast is one meal that opens up the day with essential nutrients. It is the first meal that completely provides the requirements for your body to develop thoroughly. But most people tend to skip their breakfast. After sleeping at night for about 7-9 hours, your whole body and brain need to refuel to carry out daily chores effectively. But when you skip your breakfast, they’ll be no nutrients for the brain. If you act like this daily, you’ll encounter a huge brain degeneration with time.
Other factors include; air pollution, sleep disturbances, covering the head during sleep, and high alcohol intake.
Now that we have a clue about the factors having a damaging effect on the brain’s health let’s look at the best ways you can take care of and improve the health of your brain.
How Can I Keep My Brain Healthy?
Get Quality Sleep
Quality sleep plays an essential role in the overall health of your brain. Some theories postulate that during your “off” hours, your brain clears abnormal proteins and cleans up neurons and synapses responsible for making memories. This is a direct boost to the overall health of your brain.
To get your brain functioning effectively each day, getting at least seven hours of deep sleep per night is important. I mean real deep ones without any breaks when I say deep sleep. This gives your brain the time to stabilize and efficiently store memories. To get an effective sleep session, there are a few things I recommend you do before you hit the pillow;
- Turn off all your electronics and avoid exposing yourself to any screen for at least 30 minutes before sleep.
- Please drop off any worries in your mind by either jotting them down or also making a To-do list for the next day. This will help put your brain at ease while you sleep.
- Do a quick and quiet meditation for at least 8 minutes before bed. This also helps calm your brain as meditation reduces depression, anxiety, and unnecessary fatigue.
Always eat a Mediterranean diet.
For a healthy and refreshed brain, you’ll need to consume a diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and have a low level of saturated fat and whole grains. It must also be filled with essential nutrients like vitamin E and K, beta carotene, folate, and lutein found in leafy vegetables. All these are attributed to the Mediterranean diet, mainly fish, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, avocados, and nuts with no red meat.
This diet was ranked as the number 1 diet according to the U.S News and World Report, as it helps reduce the risk of heart diseases, as well as obesity, stroke and some cancers. Research shows that people who stick to the Mediterranean diet are less likely to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease compared to those that don’t follow the diet.
Exercise
Have a target of around 420 minutes of aerobic exercise every week – with lots of shaking off. That’s 30 minutes of walking, having a dance class, swimming, or even a thorough body workout each day. Daily exercise increases the rate of blood flow to the brain, which helps counter some of the natural reduction in the brain connections that occur as you age. Research shows that exercise helps increase the size of the hippocampus (a part of the brain notable for memory), which shrinks as you age.
Be social
Instead of spending time alone chatting or exposing yourself to a TV screen for long watching a movie, try to spend quality time with your friends. While staying with friends, they’ll be no room for any depressing thoughts to kick in. this helps reduce the risk of memory loss. When you’re depressed, you overwork your brain with different thoughts that, at times, disrupt your learning and thinking capacity.
Conclusion
Different ways exist to take proper care of your brain and optimize its efficiency. To get optimal results, ensure you always get quality sleep, eat a Mediterranean diet, exercise daily, and stay social. You’ll have to take a thorough look at the damaging factors of the brain listed and ensure you stay clear of them. I hope you learnt a lot from this article today? Why not tell us your thoughts?