In our daily lives, we are often faced with many tasks: family, work, and other obligations. When it seems like every day is so full that there is no more room for more tasks, we begin to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. We might even experience a feeling of “brain fog, “which takes the form of difficulty focusing on one task at a time or avoidance altogether. Sometimes more extreme symptoms might be of us feeling so overwhelmed that we cannot think or make any decisions.
How To Improve Brain Function And Memory
1. Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and will help promote better brain function. Many types of exercise can be done daily, including walking, jogging, swimming, biking, and weight training. By keeping your brain stimulated throughout the day through intense exercises such as weight training or even daily walks, you will experience improvement in brain function and increase your mental stamina. The more frequently you exercise, the better.
2. Eat A Healthy, Balanced Diet
Eat a balanced diet consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, and vegetables. This will help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels and provide the body with essential nutrients for proper cognitive function.
3. Eat Foods High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids found in certain foods prevent damage to brain cells and even enhance synapses, which is how neurons communicate with each other. Foods high in omega-3 include tuna, salmon, sardines, and nuts and seeds.
4. Avoid Caffeine
Caffeine consumption is known to affect cognitive functions such as memory and attention. Caffeine is found in products such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, chocolate, and many other products that are usually consumed late at night without knowing how it can affect the body.
5. Use Brain Supplements Like Nootropics
Nootropics can help improve cognitive functions when use is combined with other exercises. Some of the most common nootropics include piracetam, choline, creatine, and Ginko Biloba. There are many more that have been researched more extensively and are available for sale online.
6. Meditate
Meditating will help you relax your mind muscles, and it will also eventually shift your moods towards being calmer or happier. This will improve your productivity and enhance brain function. Meditation has been shown to enhance the development of nerve cell function and strengthen neural connections.
7. Use A Brain Memory Trainer
This is a memory game that you use to exercise your brain functions. It works by keeping your mind constantly active with various puzzles, games, and other activities stimulating brain function. The less you think about the game, the more you will remember it when it’s time for you to use it again in the future, which will help to increase your brain health.
8. Learn A Skill
Learning a new skill can be a great way to improve brain function, from simple, everyday tasks, such as folding laundry, to more complex skills, such as playing the guitar. Learning anything new will cause synapses to form in your brain, and remembering the information after you are finished practicing is the key element of learning that helps to improve cognitive functions.
9. Avoid Stress And Anxiety
Stress and anxiety can be very detrimental if not managed properly. These feelings can cause the brain to shut down and refuse to do its job, which will lead to difficulty concentrating and making decisions. Exercise, relaxation aids, meditation, and breathing techniques are all ways to help manage stress.
10. Focus On Getting More Sleep
To have a fresh, clear mind and be ready to face the day, you need to get enough sleep. Sleep allows for your brain to repair itself and rejuvenate itself for it to function at its best. Your body should be tired by bedtime so that it can get in a solid 7-8 hours of sleep or more, which is recommended for adults.
Things To Avoid That Negatively Impact Brain Function And Memory
1. Limit Alcohol Consumption
One of the worst things you can do for your brain is to consume too much alcohol. It will affect your ability to function appropriately, but the long-term effects of excessive alcohol consumption are extremely detrimental to a healthy and functioning brain.
2. Stop Smoking
Not only does smoking have an adverse impact on lung function, but also it slowly begins killing brain cells that make us who we are as humans. If you are a smoker and want to quit, there are physical withdrawal symptoms that you will experience, including headaches, anxiety, and even depression.
3. Spend Less Time Looking At Screens
Screen time, including social media and TV, can be a huge distraction to brain function and only cause anxiety. Even if you aren’t looking at your screen constantly, using the computer for more than an hour could be harmful to your abilities to focus and multitask.
4. Get Rid Of Toxins In Your Home
Many things in our homes, like pesticides and harmful cleaning products, could be causing damage to our brain’s function and ability to concentrate. This can be minimized by storing products in a separate house area or removing them entirely if possible.
5. Cut Back On Sugary Drinks
If you consume too many sugary drinks, such as soda and energy drinks, you could severely impact your concentration abilities. These beverages contain a high amount of sugar which can lead to poor memory and impair brain function.
Final Thoughts
We all need to improve brain health, especially if we want to live our lives to their fullest potential and have a long, healthy life. The above tips are a great beginning to help you learn how to boost your cognitive function, improve memory, and keep your brain healthy; however, many more factors go into a healthy brain than what has been listed here.