By: Rashi Chaudhary
Brain Health: Top 7 Tips to Keep Your Brain Healthy & Why It Is Important
Our brain is the most important organ of the body. It handles our thoughts, memories, emotions, reactions, speech, basically every function in the entire human system is controlled by this one amazing part.
Our brain changes throughout our lifetime as we grow up. Therefore, it is essential to maintain and take good care of our health in order to interact and understand our surroundings.
You may not realize but the truth is that our lifestyle plays a key role in maintaining our brain health. Certain lifestyle choices can damage your brain health thus your power of memory, feelings of sensation, ability to concentrate, and much more.
There is no magic pill through which you can boost brain health overnight. However, there are some measures that you can adopt in a daily routine to keep your brain sharp and increase your brain power as you grow.
Here are they:
1. Stress Management
Stress can take a serious toll on your brain health and interfere with your mood and anxiety. It can have a negative impact on your physical and mental well-being that can further affect your relationships too. As per an article on verywellmind, chronic stress can also hurt your memory by decreasing the ability to recall information.
On that account, you should know stress management. Share your problems to seek solutions and ease the burden of stress that you’re carrying. Leave your worries behind and accept the emotions to burn away tension and keep your brain fit.
2. Have Positive Thinking
Train your brain to think positively because a negative mindset can affect your creativity and productivity. It will make you more stressed, worried, and depressed. On the contrary, a positive mindset always stays motivated enough to take on risk, meet expectations, and do hard work. That’s how you can help your brain evolve.
It is important to introduce your mind to positive thinking. Surround yourself with positive people who support, encourage, and lift you up instead of those who drag you down.
3. Keep Moving
Exercising has hundreds of benefits to keep us in shape and we all know it very well. The interesting part is – it is beneficial for our brain health as well. Working out regularly boosts memory, learning power, and strengthens the mind as well as the body. It helps our mind to have focus and clarity when we need it most.
People tend to think better and feel so much more refreshed following any type of physical activity. It could be a fun zumba session, playing basketball, a swimming class or anything else you love doing. Make sure you take out a minimum of 60 min from your daily schedule to burn the extra kilos and help your brain stay in shape alongside your body.
4. Improve Your Diet
A nutritious diet is beneficial for overall health including that of the brain. Brain-healthy foods are linked to increasing memory, alertness, focus and concentration that helps the brain operate at its highest capabilities.
Here are some brain-boosting foods that you should add in your daily diet:
- Nuts
- Blueberries
- Dark chocolate
- Orange
- Pumpkin seeds
- Turmeric
- Broccoli
You can eat these vegetables and fruits either cooked, raw or in the form of fresh juices to get the maximum benefits. Use turmeric to enhance the flavor and nuts as toppings for a healthy and flavourful boost. Your diet is so important to keeping your brain healthy for long periods of time.
5. Enjoy Quality Sleep
Your physical and mental health is severely impacted if you are not enjoying a good night’s sleep. Deep, peaceful sleep is essential for the proper functioning of the entire human system. Sleep is important for everything, especially as it relates to ability to learn and recall information.
If you are not sleeping for recommended hours of 7-9 then you are most likely not giving your brain the rest it needs and will likely have low energy for prolonged periods of time. On that note, quality of sleep is just as important as quantity. Choose a bedroom that is dark and quiet. Avoid caffeine and put your cell phone and electrical devices away an hour before going to bed. Rest is vital for your body so make sure you are taking it seriously.
6. Choose Social Connections Over Social Media
Of course, being on social networking sites can be fun, the problem arises if you spend hours scrolling endlessly and end up stressing and worrying due to what you see or read. So, limit your time on social media, instead focus on building genuine social connections with the people around you.
Spending time with social groups is a great idea to learn a lot of new things, share your opinions, and enjoy good times with good people. Friends make everything better. Talk to a friend when you feel low. You’ll definitely feel better and stress-free obviously! Obviously, ensure that this is done in a safe and responsible manner given the current climate.
7. Practice Brain Training
It’s never too late to learn or try out new things and activities. It will help you to enhance and improve your brain power and overall health.
Activities like memorizing a song, learning how to play an instrument, taking on problem-solving or math skills all require attention and focus that further aids in building your brain. Take part in these tasks that require mental effort and challenge you to think in different ways. It is one of the keys to a healthy ageing mind.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I would advise you to always recognize and validate your emotions. It’s absolutely normal to feel different emotions given the current circumstances. Use it as an advantage and look to gain knowledge from it. Remember, depression can hamper your brain health significantly therefore follow these tips shared above, incorporate them into your everyday life and challenge your brain to do more everyday.
Enjoy a healthy lifestyle and seek medical help, if necessary.