Everyday habits that are actually damaging your brain

According to a 2019 study published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Medicine, our brain health depends on social interaction. The less socially active a person is, the more they lose gray matter, which is the outer layer of the brain that processes information.

Feeling connected to friends and loved ones is therefore essential to keeping our brains in the best possible shape. It changes our brain and creates new pathways between brain cells that help it stay active.

Most days we stick to the same schedule: wake up, do our work, have dinner and spend a few hours checking social media before going to bed. Learning and education helps our brain, creates creativity, expands our knowledge base and overall knowledge.

When we learn something new, our brain cells make new connections. Brain plasticity remains present even as we age, meaning our brains remain open to learning, no matter how old we get.

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New activities can be, for example, doing a crossword puzzle with your morning coffee, learning a new language, playing a musical instrument or even painting with water colors.

Sometimes we hold stress and anxiety deep in our body. At the same time, the feeling of stress directly affects the health of the brain. Chronic stress can kill brain cells and shrink the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning. Exposure to high levels of cortisone (the stress hormone) affects our well-being at every stage of our lives, from infancy to adulthood.

Being less stressed is easier said than done, yet there are ways to manage stress and anxiety. You can try, for example, exercise, breathing techniques, writing down your feelings in a journal or giving yourself permission to rest.

The way we eat affects our brain health. One way to better health is to limit your intake of red meat, sugars and refined grains.

Food rich in omega-3 fatty acids can improve memory and blood flow in the brain. Other foods that properly support brain activity are, for example, olive oil, nuts, leafy vegetables, soybeans, flax seeds and fish.

The average adult needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night to feel rested and ready for the next day, but few of us actually stick to it. The lack and quality of sleep can seriously affect the health of our brain. The more time we spend in disrupted sleep patterns, the more likely our brains are to age prematurely. In the long term, poor quality sleep can also increase the risk of dementia.

Sleep removes beta-amyloid, a harmful protein that appears in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

If you have trouble sleeping, there are certain sleep hygiene techniques and methods that will help you sleep better. For example, scientist Rudolph Tanzi recommends relaxing before you go to sleep.

The recommendation of other experts is to go to bed an hour earlier than usual and limit the time spent in front of the screen to a minimum.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average adult sits for six and a half hours a day. Sitting for long periods of time changes the part of the brain that is responsible for memory. Even slight movement of the body every day increases blood flow and growth hormones in the brain while reducing stress.

Therefore, try to give your body enough exercise, not only your brain, but the whole organism will thank you for it.

The health of our brain is also linked to happiness and a sense of well-being. Engaging in activities just for fun reduces the risk of developing dementia. When you take yourself too seriously, your stress levels skyrocket, which is definitely not good for brain health.

Fun keeps the mind young and fit. Therefore, always find time in your schedule for something that brings you pure and unbridled joy.

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