5 Tips to keep your Brain working well
Being healthy is not just about keeping your body in form, your brain also needs exercise to stay healthy and prevent damage over the years. Some activities and lifestyle changes can help to meet this goal.
Our brain, when it works properly, is able to solve problems, concentrate, be flexible and react quickly. But for keeping our brain healthy and able to perform these functions, it must receive stimuli that encourage the development of each of these skills.
1. Feed your brain
Glucose is a major source of brain power, which is why it is advisable to consume foods that provide sufficient carbohydrates to your body. It is also advisable to eat five times a day (3 main meals and 2 snacks).
On the other hand, omega 3 and 6 are recommended to provide protection and also help to improve our memory.
2. Train yourself
Physical activity is also associated with benefits for our brain. Walking, for example, strengthens the hippocampal area, consolidating memory.
Yoga brings many benefits to the body, specifically the brain, as it helps to improve breathing, oxygenating the brain, and also reduces stress, allowing us to think more clearly.
3. Reading
Reading is an activity that helps us keep our brain healthy, reading for at least one hour a day helps keep our brain active. Novels or books that stimulate our imagination with scenarios described or characters are recommended.
Besides reading, you can try to study or learn another language through reading, exercises or listening to a new language, making our brain work to learn.
4. Other activities
Listen to music: especially classical styles stimulate our brains, as they contain complex, elaborate melodies, serving to keep the brain active by digesting the notes.
Set a goal: Set daily goals and challenges for yourself, so that if at the end of the day you achieve them you activate a reward system in your brain that promotes a general feel good feeling.
Listen: A good exercise before going to bed is to review your day and achievements. This review will help you to maintain order, create tranquility, and also enable you to have a fair perception of yourself.
Meditate: Spend 10 minutes each day meditating. This promotes general wellness because it releases endorphins in our body, which are hormones that make us feel good.
5. Rest
In order for our brains to perform all functions, we need a good rest. It is recommended to sleep between 6-9 hours a day, however every person is different and their sleep needs vary.
To find out how many hours of sleep you require, choose a day when you can wake up when you want and sleep until you wake up naturally, ie not by the alarm or other factor that makes you wake up. Measure the number of hours you slept and these are what your body requires.
At night, avoid exposing yourself to the light of televisions, cell phones or other devices, as these can "scare" sleep away, preventing you from proper rest.
Fun Facts
The brain is certainly a very complex organ, with an approximate weight of 1,380 kilograms. It consumes 20% of the daily energy produced by the body.
90% of the body is composed of water, which facilitates communication between hormones, therefore, being hydrated is critical.
Acute and chronic stress can affect the brain by reducing its size. Stress causes the arteries to compact, limiting nutrients from reaching the brain.