SHARE NEXT

7 Life Changing Habits That May Actually Change the Brain

Community
7 Life Changing Habits That May Actually Change the Brain

The brain is a very mysterious organ. It regulates and makes a significant impact on all processes in your body. Controlling all processes in your body doesn’t come “cheap.” In fact, your brain can be considered “high maintenance.” If you want your brain to function at an optimal level at all times, you have to ensure certain conditions that support its processes. Throughout this article, you’re going to learn about certain lifestyle habits that can change your brain.

Physical activity

Getting enough exercise isn’t only important for your physical health, but for brain health as well. According to a study published in Neurology and conducted by Joshua Z. Willey and team of scientists of the Columbia University, New York no or low levels of physical activity are associated with worsened executive function, processing speed, semantic memory.

NeuroImage study conducted by scientists at the Boston University Medical Center showed that regardless of gender, young adults who have greater aerobic fitness also have a bigger volume of the entorhinal cortex (responsible for memory). Furthermore, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA study discovered that exercise increased growth factors in the brain thus making it easier for this organ to grow new neuronal connections. Therefore, strive to exercise regularly and remember anything that’s good for your heart is good for your brain as well.

Mental activity

Regular exercise isn’t the only type of business that can alter the brain; mental activity is important as well. In fact, staying mentally active over the course of your lifetime slows down age-related cognitive decline. Doing mind-engaging activities is essential for brain health. For example, Psychological Science study that included 221 adults showed developing and learning new skills is associated with improvements in memory. Experts recommend various brain activities to keep your mind sharp by doing some brain exercise.

Healthy diet

 Everything you eat directly impacts your brain, and it comes as no surprise that having a habit of eating healthy foods is beneficial for your mind. For example, BMC Medicine published a study conducted by Felice N. Jacka and the group of researchers at the Deakin University in Australia. The study which included 250 participants showed that unhealthy diet could reduce the volume of the left hippocampus while healthy food choices increase hippocampal volume.

Here are more effects of nutrition on your brain:

Eating processed carbs leads to spike-and-crash of blood sugar while healthy diet leads to more constant source of energy

Dietary sugar disrupts plasticity (the creation of new pathways between brain cells)

Nature Reviews Neuroscience study conducted by researchers at the UCLA showed that Omega 3 fatty acids improve learning and memory and help to fight against various mental and mood disorders.

Intake of vitamins and minerals

Your body needs the variety of vitamins and minerals to function properly, and your brain is no exception. Here are the most important vitamins and minerals you should take to keep your brain sharp and why:

Vitamin C – production of neurotransmitters, improved mood, improved memory, reduced risk for brain degeneration

Vitamin D – improves memory and problem-solving abilities

Vitamins B – B6, B9 (folic acid), and B12 prevent mental decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease

Vitamin E – protects cell membranes and prevents neurodegenerative diseases

Calcium – calcium signaling influences development of neural stem cells thus strengthening connections between neurons

Iron – essential for development of individual brain cells

Zinc – essential for brain metabolism, in fact, zinc deficiency is associated with impaired concentration, learning, and memory

Copper – modulates critical events within the central nervous system that influence how well we think

Because vitamin and mineral deficiencies are quite common, and we rarely consume recommended daily value of these nutrients, dietary supplements for brain health pose as an effective solution.

Coffee

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition states that moderate consumption of coffee is beneficial for brain functioning. Caffeine is a brain stimulant, and it also blocks receptors for a chemical adenosine which usually prevents the release of excitatory brain chemicals. Now when adenosine isn’t blocking their way, these brain chemicals flow freely thus providing you with energy and improving mental performance thus slowing age-related mental decline.

Meditation

 Sara Lazar and the team of researchers from the Harvard Medical School conducted a study to inspect the link between meditation and brain functioning. Scientists found that meditating about 27 minutes a day increased gray matter density in the hippocampus and structures associated with compassion, self-awareness, and introspection.

Sleep

 Sleep deprivation is related to impaired cognitive abilities, poorer attention, learning, etc. On the other hand, a study published in the journal Science discovered that sleep helps restore the brain by flushing out toxins that build up during the day. Healthy sleep is also essential for storing memories. That’s why it’s important to establish a healthy sleep pattern by going to bed every night at the same time and waking up every morning at the same time as well.

Conclusion

Your lifestyle has a significant impact on your brain and its functioning which is why it’s important to establish healthy habits that promote learning, memory, and cognitive abilities in general. This article showed you seven important practices you should have for brain health, and all you have to do is to incorporate them into your healthy lifestyle.

Video4 Simple Exercises to Amp Up Your Brain

Author Bio

Meighan Sembrano is an enthusiast and a passionate writer. She is expertise in Beauty and skin care articles. Se is a contributor to Consumer Health Digest. Also, have contributed in the health and fitness field. Her work gives an enthusiast twist to the readers. She resonates the readers with her sincere and thoughtful words. You can follow Meighan on Twitter and Facebook.

Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is not intended to provide, and does not constitute, medical, health, legal, financial or other professional advice.

Please see our Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

DMCA.com Protection Status

Justin Taha Loan Mike Sven Olivier Louis Loris Yohann Ousmane Santiago Marvin Philippe Livio Luka Marley Noé Joshua Josue Mahé Pierre-Antoine Rayen Teo Jerôme Maxime Younes Hassan Sekou Jules Rohan Vasco Yanni Jayden Stefan Khalil Michel Louison Yossef Nathaniel Manuel Iliane Malone Kenzy Pharell Matthew Prosper Remy Kévin Lorenzo Nil Sidy Souleyman Jean Remi Larcelet Raphael Jawed Vianney Saïd Karamba Yassin Patrick Noâm Pedro Zakarya Guillaume Naïm Matis Idan Neil Marouane Xavier Mayeul Mateo Sabri Zinedine Theodore Sylvain Swan Yohan Sandro Kilian Julien Jibril Wael Nouha Tao Robin Manil Merwan Stan Karl Rafaël Timéo Jayson Zachary Ugo Théophile Shawn Jean Rémi Kyliann Hector Gustave Preston Valerie Tybalt Timeo Pol Tristan Sidney Tobias Sean Salim Maël Kevin Hédi Matthis Roméo Mateja Lounis Pacôme Vladimir Zadig Zephyr Nolann Steve Lazare Jean-Rény Lukas Mamoudou Paul-Antoine Zakary Quentin Shayan Theophane Youcef Kenny Adam Nahel Yoan Lohan Shaï Jean Reny Jean Reni Kaïs Mattia

© 2009-2015 Power of Positivity. All rights Reserved. All trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.