The human brain usually stops developing after reaching the age of 20. The drastic cognitive decline comes with age, so it’s good to feed our brains with healthy habits early. Unfortunately, several countries with aging populations now witness the skyrocketing rates of dementia brought by a disease like Alzheimer’s.
Have you ever felt like you are not as sharp as you used to be? Have you ever gotten frustrated that you can’t put a name on things that are at the back of your mind, or maybe you’ve gotten slow at mental arithmetic compared before? Perhaps, it’s time to take good care of your brain’s fitness and stop it from going downhill. Thankfully, certain lifestyle habits can influence the rates of cognitive decline.
Eat healthily
Sustaining a healthy diet and refraining from taking up many saturated fats is something that your brain would surely love. Eating too much makes the arteries clogged, so make sure to eat plenty of green vegetables and fruits to feed your body with abundant antioxidants that assist in cleaning the brain of the harmful by-product of biological processes.
By following a healthy diet, you will be able to maintain the soundness of your brain cells and reduce cognitive decline. Refrain from eating fast foods and drinking sugary drinks that may satisfy you but bring harm to your body. According to experts, Mediterranean Diet, which is light with legumes, cereals, olive oil, nuts, and lentils, is the brain’s best friend.
Look after your mental health
Taking good care of mental health is often overlooked by many. However, it is important for the brain’s health. According to studies, depression is associated with a heightened risk of cognitive deterioration. Hence, if you feel the symptoms of anxiety and depression are creeping into your life, you can seek medical help.
Stress is the enemy of the brain, so you need to eliminate the stressful catalysts in your life. Instead, center your attention on life and focus on comforting aspects like reaching out to people you love or taking a break from tiring work and daily routines.
Discover how to single-task
The world is running so fast that people have no other choice but to multitask to get along the quick phase. However, even though multitasking seems to be a badge of honor since you’re accomplishing “a lot” of things in just a short time, you should know that our brains aren’t programmed to multitask and function at maximum degree.
Only about of the world was gifted the ability to multitask. Frankly, there’s really nothing wrong with occasional multitasking. Nonetheless, it limits your brain’s ability to focus and accomplish a task. If you keep juggling between tasks, you’ll eventually end up having mental clutter.
Challenge yourself
Having a routine is good, but the brain loves the challenge of new and unpredictable tasks. Breaking some routines can be a great way to keep your brains active, and there are plenty of things you can do to curb routine monotony.
You can try activities like a jigsaw puzzle and furniture building. Arts also has its way of reactivating the mind’s creativity. Allotting some time for mental activities not only helps your brain short-term, but it also garners long-term benefits.
Wear headgear and a seatbelt
This sounds pretty weird, but having your head protected against harmful objects is undoubtedly something that your brain will thank you for. The risk of dementia and cognitive degeneration increases with a head injury, so you need to see to it that you always protect your head whenever you indulge yourself in extreme sports and activities.
Stretch your muscles
Living like a couch potato would absolutely do you more harm than good. If you are among those who spend their time sitting or lying down all day long, watching television, you can expect bad consequences later in your life.
You have had probably read several articles that tell you to exercise, and it only reveals how important it is for you to stretch your muscles. Physical exercise like running, jumping rope, walking, elliptical, and biking is something that your brain loves as these activities stimulate the brain cells to be active.
Aerobic exercises activate telomerase enzymes, which control the number of times a cell divides. Basically, the cells that lose telomerase die, and exercise assist in increasing the lifespan of the brain, allowing brain cells to live longer. Furthermore, exercising has a lot of benefits not just in the brain but also for the entire body.
The brain relies on nutrients and oxygen to function, so it is not surprising that the better your cardio health is, the healthier your brain will become.
Avoid smoking and recreational drugs
It’s no secret that smoking and alcohol only bring temporary comfort and fun. While you are enjoying the feeling of getting high by these vices, the cells in your brain are suffering. Beer actually kills brain cells, and studies have shown that smoking boosts the risk of cognitive decline.
If you want to quit smoking habits but are racked with addiction, you can consult medical professionals to assist you in winning your battle against smoking. Busying yourself with new hobbies can also help distract you away from these vices.
Read books
Without mind exercise, the brain becomes more responsive and becomes more susceptible to diseases. Similar to meditation, reading books is a good way to exercise the brain and help it relax down to improve focus. However, not all books bring the same calming effect.
If you haven’t established a reading habit, you better start as soon as possible. Regular reading aids in fighting dementia, improving memory skills, and processing new information better. One good book genre to read is non-fiction books since they contain lived experiences that could provide tips in overcoming numerous challenging life situations.
Establish social connections
One of the major risks of developing dementia is social isolation. According to the studies, individuals with less frequent social contact, less social participation, and more sentiments of sadness have an inflated chance of developing dementia.
Computerized brain training, like online games, is good to help your brain become razor-sharp. However, these games can be dangerous if playing them excessively diverts attention away from socializing with family and friends.
Staying socially active will help in sustaining brain health. Thus, you need to pursue social activities that are significant to you. Keep in mind that socializing is the top brain-training activity. In fact, it is as important as sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Building a meaningful relationship is as essential as food is to our bodies.
Seek out people with whom you can have a lively conversation, and the feelings of belongingness will be a luxury for your mental health too. If you have no idea where to start, try joining a club or volunteering.
Learn new skills every six months
You water your brain to grow every time you engage yourself with an unfamiliar activity and practice it. Every single time you learn something new, a new neural pathway in your brain opens up and expands the size of your brain.
Older people should involve themselves more in learning because it helps prevent brain shrinkage and deterioration, which typically comes with age.
