Keep your brain healthy
Keep your brain healthy – Tips and exercises to keep you sharp!
The brain – Arguably one of the most important organs for almost every living creature, the brain regulates a myriad of bodily functions and is responsible for decisions which primarily entails the survival of the creature or organism.
For us humans, this can even be more complex; “living” as a species does not only rely on being able to secure sustenance and shelter. The ordeal involves the need for other intricate concepts such as establishing and maintaining relationships, finding purpose in life, and being able to enjoy living in general.
And of course, to achieve all of these endeavors, we are required to perform tasks and activities that rely heavily on the use of our brains.
But just like the other organs in our bodies, the brain wears out as well and needs caring if we are to remain at our best conditions in order to keep performing well at work, and enjoying life as best as we could.
In today’s blog, we’ll give you some tips that will help you keep your brain healthy an in tip-top shape!
Ample amounts of quality sleep
Sleep is the first aid for any tired body and brain and the average human being should at get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day. When we sleep, our brains are ‘reset’ and our bodies also take this chance to regenerate any worn-out muscles and tissues, recover stress and fatigue, and finally, help the heart regulate blood circulation.
When you lack sleep, you are also at risk of heart problems such as hypertension, you’ll have difficulties concentrating, and you are more irritable.
Proper, balanced diet
“You are what you eat”. Proper nutrition is crucial for appropriate brain functions and a balanced, healthy diet & selection of food is always the simple solution for a sound body and mind.
The body primarily gets nutrients through food and lacking any of the recommended dietary vitamins and minerals can already cause noticeable effects in our body’s chemistry. Food such as green, leafy vegetables are rich in Vitamin K, lutein and beta carotene which slows down cognitive decline while foods rich in Omega-3 acids such as Walnuts and fish fats are great for improving memory! Make sure to include these nutrients in your diet whenever possible.
Read something good
Reading is a good brain exercise. It keeps us informed of things and a good avenue to learn something new as well. By reading something and on a regular basis, we are not only giving our brains good exercise, but we are also improving our literacy, vocabulary, sleep and it’s great entertainment!
The stimulation that we get from reading also helps keep the brain engaged, which also keeps mental illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease at bay.
Spend some time meditating
There are only benefits during meditation. By spending at least 10-15 minutes of meditating, our mind calms down which helps us organize information and clutter of thoughts better. Meditation also improves sleep and concentration and, in most cases, people also claim that meditation have helped them greatly manage stress and anxiety.
The quiet, alone times that we also get during meditation also lets us widen our perspectives even better – a useful moment for situations and scenarios that are loaded with external pressure and stressors.
Play games such as jigsaw puzzles
Taking our time playing some games every once in a while also helps keep our brain in fit conditions especially with interactive games like puzzles, board games and even quiz-based games.
By keeping our minds engaged in activities like these, our brain is able to maintain various cognitive and perspective aspects in use and in practice, which also helps prevent visuospatial cognitive aging.
Socialize and engage in new hobbies
Humans are a social species by default. We require interaction between other humans on a regular basis because that’s simply how our species managed to survive and evolve, and by being deprived of social interaction, we are at risk of various mental illnesses such as depression.
We’ve discussed the benefits of socializing and networking with other people before but simply socializing even without the intent of networking and expanding our professional connections are doing wonders to our brain by keeping loneliness away. Finding new hobbies to get involved and busy with also helps us with this endeavor!
