29/08/2023
5 tips to help keep your brain young 🧠
A few generations ago, people never expected to live to be 50 years old. Fortunately, today most of us have a chance to live 20-40 years longer. However, as the years go by, it becomes more and more difficult for the brain to do its job.
Sedentary lifestyles and bad habits damage the whole body, including the brain. As we age, the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases.
To prevent premature ageing of this vital organ and to keep your mind clear, you should follow a few useful tips.
1️⃣ Change your eating habits
Eating a healthy diet is not only good for your figure and overall health, it's also good for your brain. Start by making simple changes to your eating habits. For example, replace your late night cup of coffee with green tea. It contains less caffeine and lots of antioxidants that will help protect brain cells from damage. Reduce your intake of smoked foods.
Eating healthy doesn't mean just eating salad and grits all day long. Scientists have found that a Mediterranean diet, characterised by a high proportion of vegetables, fruit, olive oil, fish and seafood, helps to reduce brain cell loss and preserve mental performance.
2️⃣ Exercise for at least 20 minutes every day
Motor activity is essential for maintaining brain health. Aerobics increases blood circulation, improves memory and stimulates the growth of new brain cells. This is how new neural connections are made.
Sports can have the same effect on the brain as a low dose of antidepressants. Physical activity helps you cope with stress. Do aerobics or any other sport for at least 1.5 hours a week, that is 20 minutes a day. This should be done for your health.
3️⃣ Leave your comfort zone more often
Your brain will stay young longer if you keep it busy with different tasks. Contrary to popular belief, the brain is not programmed, but can change. If you want to, you can, for example, get rid of old habits and replace them with new ones. This property of the brain is called neuroplasticity.
Learning a foreign language or playing a musical instrument will help to maintain brain plasticity, as it promotes the formation of new neural connections. It is also good to socialise with people from other professions. This will also broaden your horizons.
4️⃣ Get plenty of sleep
When we sleep, our glymphatic system cleanses the brain of neurotoxins, including beta-amyloid and tau protein, which trigger Alzheimer's disease, and alpha-synuclein, the accumulation of which leads to Parkinson's disease.
The process of cleansing the brain takes time. That is why a person needs to sleep 7-9 hours a night.
5️⃣ Maintain an active social life
Human beings are social creatures. But as we age, our social circle narrows and we start talking less to other people. And maintaining relationships with family and friends is vital for cognitive health. Those who talk to others less often have a 70 per cent decline in mental ability compared to sociable people.
What's interesting is that lonely people are more alert and more likely to expect threats from strangers. This happens because their brains, unaccustomed to socialising, perceive interaction with strangers as something unknown and dangerous. This is a kind of defence reaction.
👨👩👦Throughout your life, you should spend more time with your favourite people, pursue hobbies and learn new things. Then, even in your old age, your brain will thank you with a good memory and a clear mind.
