Keeping your brain in top form is very important as you get older. Stimulating your brain throughout the course of your life will help you preserve your memory, reasoning, and more, allowing you to be sharp as smoothly as possible.
As we grow, our body changes, attacking our healthy brain cells and helping the development of cognitive conditions and diseases. This is a process can’t be stopped, but can be managed if you take care of your body and your mental health. Check out 5 ways to keep your brain smarter and sharper.
Physical exercise
According to studies, 20 minutes of brisk walking will radically influence your brain health, decreasing the chance of developing dementia and other cognitive conditions. Workouts boost your endorphins and produce proteins that help your brain develop branches and communicate more effectively.
Mental activity
You can stimulate your brain by doing all sorts of things, including socializing, playing games, and traveling. Playing games like Wordle allows us to use the brain for dynamic activities, rather than something passive. Your brain is working harder when you focus on something that forces your mind to be operating continuously, such as a board game or a book. You’re using your brain every time you do something, but you can actively stimulate it by using memory methods that force you to focus and use mental images to associate things.
Related: New Study Says Having Sex Can Help Prevent Heart Attacks
You can also use the help of your smartphone, downloading brain games that promote multi-tasking and problem solving.
Stress management
Meditation, yoga, tai chi, and other stress relieving activities such as socializing and sleep, can really help your brain stay calm and focused, preserving its youth. Stress does a lot of damage to your brain health, including shrinking your memory centers. Screaming as a part of meditation can help you alleviate tension and mental blocks.
Healthy eating
Don’t abuse or reduce alcohol or tobacco
Along with many other harmful health consequences, smoking tobacco causes chemical changes, oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. Excessive alcohol use can have similar effects. Surprisingly, however, very few studies have examined the combined impact of smoking and alcohol on the brain.
Related: Cannabis Can Help You With Stress
Alcohol in moderation has been associated with a healthier brain, but when abused it’s correlated to dementia and other brain impairments. According to Harvard Health, tobacco should be avoided at all costs, because it has a strong correlation with mental issues.