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Healthy Habits for a Happy Brain
Sep 14, 2020
A Happy Brain is only a Few Healthy Habits Away!
We all tend to forget that the brain is an organ, and, like every other organ, it needs some caring to be at its best. Some health conditions and lifestyle choices can hugely impact the health of your brain; high blood pressure, a poor diet, weight gain, diabetes, unhealthy habits or a lack of physical activity, for example, can have the worst effect on your brain.
But don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Here are our healthy and equally essential tips to give your brain some deserved love…
Beauty sleep is healthy sleep
A bad sleeping schedule will worsen your vascular risk factors (particularly blood pressure and fat gain). You need to give enough time to your brain to clean out and reorganize itself. Get your quality sleep to keep your brain and body healthy.
A balanced and heart-friendly diet
Avoid processed foods, cheese or deli meat as these contain big amounts of sodium, leading to higher blood pressure. And try including into your diet more blueberries, fatty fish and nuts which are actually boosters for your brain.
You should also aim to fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables (like tomatoes, cauliflower, spinach, artichokes…) and a quarter of your plate with whole grains (like brown rice, bulgur, quinoa…). This will help stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Keep it moving
150 minutes of aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) per week is the goal. Aerobic exercises include swimming, running, walking, cycling, hiking or even dancing. And for the couch surfers, don’t worry, it’s never too late to start. Studies have revealed that just one year of regular walks can create real improvement on your brain’s health.
Stronger muscles for a stronger heart
Add to your schedule two strength training sessions (like lifting weights or working out with resistance bands) per week for even better results, heart-wise and brain-wise.
Combining strength training with aerobic activities will help improve your blood pressure but also brain performance (especially memory).
Keep your brain active
Using your cognitive functions in different activities and social settings like volunteer work, group walks, book clubs, community groups or cooking classes can help reduce memory loss and depression.
Have an eye on your blood pressure
Keep track of your blood pressure and check it as regularly as possible. Try to see if it’s fluctuating and if you can see an increase.
Some things to take into consideration when taking your blood pressure:
- You should be in a resting state, so check it after sitting for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Try not to take it early in the morning or after taking medication, as this can influence blood pressure.
- Also, try to always stick to the same time and the same arm.
High blood pressure can upset the health of your brain in many ways; it can cause intracerebral hemorrhage and strokes, and go as far as to trigger the development of forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Your state of mind matters
Your mental health really does affect your physical health. Try practicing mindfulness and meditation to relieve some stress and anxiety and improve your vascular health.
And, of course, if you smoke or drink heavily and regularly you may want to work on easing out of these bad habits as they will negatively affect your brain (and overall) health.
To put it in a nutshell, a healthier brain only takes simple lifestyle changes to happen. It’s not difficult at all to prevent or slow down vascular risk factors and improve your overall health, so why not take that valuable step?
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