(Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy)
The brain is almost unquestionably the most important organ in the entire body. Without the brain, you would not be alive or conscious. The brain is the source of the entire sentient world. While the heart, muscles, and stomach are really important for survival, it wouldn’t matter without the brain. Because of this, it is important to keep your brain healthy. Without a healthy brain, you can cause yourself a world of hurt — more than anything you’ve dealt with before. I’m going to be listing the 10 ways to best keep your brain healthy.
The brain is the single most important organ in the body, the next being the heart and stomach for simple survival.
In order to maintain any modicum of health, you’ve got to take care of the brain. Other organs have an indirect impact on the brain, as does the brain on other functions. While the brain can’t function for long without organs like the heart, the functions of other organs can be replicated easier. Afterall, there is no meaningful reason to not take care of the body, as long as you have the means to do it reasonably. Read below to find out more on the brain and how to keep it healthy.
Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy
1. Think More
When I’m telling you to think more, I’m simply saying that you should have mental stimulation. Remaining cognitively active through social activities is advised. Activities like attending a book club or taking a cooking class may help slow down or stave off the development of memory loss and associated depression with aging. Playing a game of Tetris, solving a puzzle or Rubik’s cube, learning something, and challenging yourself, etcetera, can come in great handy for neuroprotection. It can help with various forms of brain atrophy, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Strong social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy. Challenge and activate your mind. Build a piece of furniture. Complete a jigsaw puzzle. Do something artistic. Play games, such as bridge, that make you think strategically. Challenging your mind may have short and long-term benefits for your brain.
Through research with mice and humans, scientists have found that brainy activities stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells, developing neurological “plasticity” and building up a functional reserve that provides a hedge against future cell loss. Any mentally stimulating activity should help to build up your brain. Read, take courses, try “mental gymnastics,” such as word puzzles or math problems Experiment with things that require manual dexterity as well as mental effort, such as drawing, painting, and other crafts. Formal education in any stage of life will help reduce your risk of cognitive decline and dementia. For example, take a class at a local college, community center or online.
Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy
2. Get Enough Sleep
A key way to keep your brain working is shut it off for 7-9 hours a night. Sleep is the most important thing you can do to reset the brain, allow it to heal, and to restore mental health. Poor or inadequate sleep is associated with worsening health and vascular risk factors, including high blood pressure and weight gain. Your brain needs those “off” hours to help clean up neurons and synapses and make memories. When you don’t get quality sleep, your brain health and your physical health are significantly impacted.
Sleep plays an important role in your brain health. There are some theories that sleep helps clear abnormal proteins in your brain and consolidates memories, which boosts your overall memory and brain health.
It is important that you try to get seven to eight consecutive hours of sleep per night, not fragmented sleep of two- or three-hour increments. Consecutive sleep gives your brain the time to consolidate and store your memories effectively. Sleep apnea is harmful to your brain’s health and may be the reason why you may struggle to get consecutive hours of sleep. Talk with your health care provider if you or a family member suspects you have sleep apnea.
Your brain is similar to a muscle — you need to use it or you lose it. There are many things that you can do to keep your brain in shape, such as doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku, reading, playing cards or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Consider it cross-training your brain. So incorporate different activities to increase the effectiveness.
I don’t recommend any of the paid brain-training programs available today. These programs often make promises that they can’t keep or focus on memorization skills that aren’t useful in everyday life. Your brain can get just as good of a workout through reading or challenging yourself with puzzles. Finally, don’t watch too much television, as that is a passive activity and does little to stimulate your brain. Not getting enough sleep due to conditions like insomnia or sleep apnea may result in problems with memory and thinking.
3. Avoid Stress/Social Interaction
Staying socially engaged may support brain health. Pursue social activities that are meaningful to you. Find ways to be part of your local community — if you love animals, consider volunteering at a local shelter. If you enjoy singing, join a local choir or help at an after-school program. Or, just share activities with friends and family. Some studies link a history of depression with increased risk of cognitive decline, so seek medical treatment if you have symptoms of depression, anxiety or other mental health concerns. Also, try to manage stress.
Social interaction helps ward off depression and stress, both of which can contribute to memory loss. Look for opportunities to connect with loved ones, friends and others, especially if you live alone. There is research that links solitary confinement to brain atrophy, so remaining socially active may have the opposite effect and strengthen the health of your brain.
People who are anxious, depressed, sleep-deprived, or exhausted tend to score poorly on cognitive function tests. Poor scores don’t necessarily predict an increased risk of cognitive decline in old age, but good mental health and restful sleep are certainly important goals. Also, moderate to severe head injuries, even without diagnosed concussions, increase the risk of cognitive impairment. Brain injury can raise your risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Wear a seat belt, use a helmet when playing contact sports or riding a bike, and take steps to prevent falls.
4. Start Fasting (Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy)
Fasting improves cognition, stalls age-related cognitive decline, usually slows neurodegeneration, reduces brain damage and enhances functional recovery after stroke, and mitigates the pathological and clinical features of epilepsy and multiple sclerosis in animal models. Further research in animals suggests that intermittent fasting can suppress inflammation in the brain, which has links to neurological conditions. Other animal studies have found that intermittent fasting can reduce the risk of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.
Eat a healthy and balanced diet that is lower in fat and higher in vegetables and fruit to help reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Although research on diet and cognitive function is limited, certain diets, including Mediterranean and Mediterranean-DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), may contribute to risk reduction.
Although intermittent fasting is gaining popularity among those dieting for weight loss, some evidence suggests that abstaining from food for certain periods of time could also have profound effects on brain health. Fasting has long been reported to help with mental acuity. Fasting is also known to help clean up old brain cells through a process called autophagy, preventing cancer in the process. Not only this, fasting can cause a significant increase in synapse and brain cell production in a process called neurogenesis.
5. Have a Good Diet
Your diet plays a large role in your brain health. I recommend to consider following a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes plant-based foods, whole grains, fish and healthy fats, such as olive oil. It incorporates much less red meat and salt than a typical American diet. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, low in saturated fat, full of the nutrients found in leafy green vegetables, along with whole grains can help keep your brain healthy throughout your life. For many people, this means following the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fish, fruits and vegetables, nuts, olive oil, and avocados, while limiting red meat.
Diabetes is an important risk factor for dementia. You can help prevent diabetes by eating right, exercising regularly, and staying lean. But if your blood sugar stays high, you’ll need medication to achieve good control.
In addition to eating brain-boosting foods like blueberries, nuts, and fatty fish, cut back on frozen meals, take out, deli meat, and cheese, which are some of the highest sources of sodium in the American diet that can drive up blood pressure. Aim to make half your plate non-starchy vegetables and a quarter of your plate whole grains. The increase in fiber and decrease in “empty” carbohydrates will help you maintain a healthy weight and keep your blood sugar stable. The keto diet is a nice diet to follow, too.
High levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol are associated with an increased the risk of dementia. Diet, exercise, weight control, and avoiding tobacco will go a long way toward improving your cholesterol levels. But if you need more help, ask your doctor about medication.
Good nutrition can help your mind as well as your body. For example, people that eat a Mediterranean style diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, unsaturated oils (olive oil) and plant sources of proteins are less likely to develop cognitive impairment and dementia. Studies show people who closely follow a Mediterranean diet are less likely to have Alzheimer’s disease than people who don’t follow the diet. Further research is needed to determine which parts of the diet have the biggest impact on your brain function. However, we do know that omega fatty acids found in extra-virgin olive oil and other healthy fats are vital for your cells to function correctly, appears to decrease your risk of coronary artery disease, and increases mental focus and slow cognitive decline in older adults.
Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy
6. Exercise and Lift Weights
The first thing I tell myself is to keep exercising. Exercise has many known benefits, and it appears that regular physical activity benefits the brain. Multiple research studies show that people who are physically active are less likely to experience a decline in their mental function and have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. I believe these benefits are a result of increased blood flow to your brain during exercise. It also tends to counter some of the natural reduction in brain connections that occur during aging, in effect reversing some of the problems. Aim to exercise several times per week for 30–60 minutes. You can walk, swim, play tennis or any other moderate aerobic activity that increases your heart rate.
Aim for 150 minutes or more of aerobic exercise each week. If you’ve not been moving regularly, don’t worry.
Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise that elevates your heart rate and increases blood flow to the brain and body. Several studies have found an association between physical activity and reduced risk of cognitive decline. Sedentary older adults who participated in a new habit of walking regularly for one year showed significant improvements in memory performance that also related to growth of memory areas in the brain.
Some observational studies suggest that low-dose aspirin may reduce the risk of dementia, especially vascular dementia. Ask your doctor if you are a candidate.
Research shows that using your muscles also helps your mind. Animals who exercise regularly increase the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought. Exercise also spurs the development of new nerve cells and increases the connections between brain cells (synapses). This results in brains that are more efficient, plastic, and adaptive, which translates into better performance in aging animals. Exercise also lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, helps blood sugar balance and reduces mental stress, all of which can help your brain as well as your heart.
7. Be Mindful (Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy)
Anxiety and stress take a toll on your mental health, but they can also impact your physical and brain health, too. Regular meditation or a mindfulness practice may help reduce the risk of worsening vascular health. Meditation and mindfulness induce a heightened state of awareness and focused attention. Various studies demonstrate the practice can help relieve stress — as well as manage anxiety, reduce inflammation, and improve memory and attention, to boot.
Meditation and mindfulness practices are healthy for the brain.
Meditation and mindfulness practices help the brain against aging and helps reduce the ego. On top of that, mindfulness can serve as an antidepressant and anxiolytic. Meditation can also increase the volumetric size of your brain in several key areas, including the hippocampus. It’s already been mentioned that it helps with attention, focus and concentration. Since it aids with anxiety, it can certainly help with social anxiety. Since it helps with performance, it can help grade performance in school and help with addiction.
8. Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes
Evidence shows that smoking increases risk of cognitive decline. Quitting smoking can reduce that risk to levels comparable to those who have not smoked. Smoking can exacerbate decline by causing stroke and heart problems. While nicotine is a stimulant, you eventually just end up chasing the dragon and becoming highly addicted.
Avoid tobacco in all its forms.
Excessive drinking is a major risk factor for dementia. If you choose to drink, limit yourself to two drinks a day, otherwise, you can end up with a condition called “wet brain.” The negative effects of smoking and drinking are well-documented. I shouldn’t have to elaborate about either of these. It’s simply about keeping your brain as healthy as possible. There’s not much you can do to improve your brain, at least not permanently. That’s why many of the supplements below won’t do much if you have a fully functioning brain, but it depends.
9. Take Smart Supplements
There are plenty of great and healthy options on the market for smart supplements. Any supplement that is great for the body is great for the brain. There are ones like lion’s mane mushroom that allow for more nerve endings to grow, especially in the brain. These supplements, along with other nootropic drugs that can help out with numerous brain functions. Vitamins like vitamin D are especially healthy for the health of the brain. Just know that your neurology affects your psychology, and your psychology affects your neurology.
There are supplements that are healthy for the brain, and there are supplements that improve brain performance. Just because they’re useful for performance, does not mean that they will be healthy.
- Fish Oils
- Resveratrol
- Caffeine
- Phosphatidylserine
- Acetyl-L-Carnitine
- Ginkgo Biloba
- Creatine
10. Get Checkups (Top 10 Ways to Best Keep Your Brain Healthy)
Check your blood pressure regularly, or at least every six months. Watch for signs of a creeping increase. High blood pressure in midlife increases the risk of cognitive decline in old age. Use lifestyle modification to keep your pressure as low as possible. Stay lean, exercise regularly, limit your alcohol to two drinks a day, reduce stress, and eat right. Go to the doctors and get a checkup, especially if you suspect anything being wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being sure that everything is right, unless you can’t afford it.
Evidence shows that risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke — obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes — negatively impact your cognitive health. Take care of your heart, and your brain just might follow.
Conclusion
Research connecting poor physical health with deteriorating brain health is increasing. This study finds that vascular risk factors can damage your brain’s health, which could slow thinking skills and even lead to changes that resemble Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A healthy lifestyle can help you prevent risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. If you already have one or more of these risk factors, you may be able to make lifestyle changes that can reverse the conditions and help improve your brain health.
