When people are thinking about their health, they often think about their ability to run or jump, or maybe they think about their ability to engage in sports or hiking or bike riding. However, your brain is also essential to your overall health. Many people don’t think of their brains when they think of their healthcare routines.
Brain function guides all of the behaviors and functions that people automatically think of when they think of their health. Without a healthy brain, you will not be able to enjoy any of the other healthy functions that you think of when you are building your daily health routines.
If you are ready to learn some daily habits that will improve your brain function, read on!
Daily Habits to Improve Brain Function
It is best to work on your brain health on a daily basis. This is because your brain requires daily challenges and training to retain skills and improvements that have been made by brain health activities.
Think of supporting your brain health like working on a specific muscle group in another part of your body. You can’t just work out that one body part one time and think it will be fit for your whole life! Brain function requires daily support.
1. Handle Stress
Stress is very hard on your brain function. The amygdala in your brain allows you to process emotions and stressful experiences. This is where your fight-or-flight mechanism lives. When you tap into this part of your brain too often, your brain can become programmed to run on the instinct of fight or flight.
Accessing the amygdala all the time can lead to a build-up of cortisol in your brain. This cortisol causes the breakdown of brain tissue as well as a spike in blood sugar which can lead to that foggy brain feeling that we have all felt when we are tired or stressed.
Daily stress can be handled by meditating, exercising, or playing games that you find to be enjoyable. You might read a book or sit outside in the garden. Anything that allows you to tap into a quiet mental state and let your brain rest will allow your brain the time that it needs each day to heal.
2. Do Puzzles
Puzzles are a great brain activity and they are actually used frequently in Alzheimer’s treatment because they are so effective at creating new brain pathways. Puzzles also support your hand-eye coordination and your problem-solving skills. You can even do online puzzles from any device for a convenient mind-boosting option.
Working on a puzzle for a half-hour a day can help support healthy brain function and many people actually report that puzzles make them feel more relaxed. Being able to work through problems as well as identifying shapes and colors are all proven ways to support healthy brain function.
3. Work Out
This might seem like it loops back to the common idea that people have about physical health being all that is required to make sure that you are healthy. The trick to working out to support brain function is picking the right kinds of workouts.
Yoga, or games and other activities that require connecting hand-eye coordination with movement are far more likely to support brain health than just going running or just going out for a walk. This is where hiking shines as well because hiking connects your mental awareness with your surroundings as you move.
No matter what kind of workout you choose, you will want to be sure that it is one that you feel engaged with mentally. Having your brain be active while you move your body will make new pathways that connect healthy brain function with healthy movement and coordination.
4. Manage Your Cholesterol
New research shows that cholesterol levels are linked with brain deterioration. The old adage that all cholesterol is bad has been proven to be incorrect and doctors now suggest that you get healthy fats and cholesterol in your diet to support your brain as you age.
This means that you want to avoid high levels of LDL, which are “bad” cholesterols and increase your HDLs, or “good” cholesterols. These healthy cholesterols are linked with improved blood pressure as well as increased energy and an overall feeling of well-being.
Managing your cholesterol will stave off lots of health conditions while also supporting your brain function.
5. Build Social Networks
Studies show that people who are engaged in social activities feel much better emotionally, but this kind of interaction can also protect brain function. New studies show that being socially connected is part of our brain’s natural wiring and that neglecting or blocking this need for social interaction can cause parts of your brain to die off or lose function.
This is thought to be one of the reasons that elderly people often experience a significant decline in mental function when they are moved into care homes or if they lose their spouses. The lack of social interaction leads to mental acuity damage that is hard to reverse.
To protect your brain’s healthy function as well as to support your own need for human interaction and social time, make sure to keep a circle of friends around you.
Caring For Your Brain Health Can Actually be Fun!
You might have been dreading the idea of having to support your brain health. Maybe you thought that it would be difficult or take a lot of extra time. Thankfully, most of the activities that support healthy brain function are enjoyable or social activities that can be done to make each day more fun and engaging for you and your loved ones!
Changing your diet to make sure that you eat more healthy fats and making sure that you do workouts that challenge your brain can also help make your brain healthier. Do a puzzle with your friends, go on a hike, or do some meditation and you will be amazed at how much easier it is to focus and retain information.
There is no time like the present to start supporting your brain’s health! Taking care of your brain just requires doing more of the things that you love each day!