There’s no more important part of your body to keep healthy than your brain. However, while your body might need to run two hours a day to prepare for a marathon, your brain needs much less attention that that. Just a few minutes a day and some healthy habits are all you need to keep your brain fit and healthy.
You can’t live without your brain, so it’s critical to take care of it!
Keep your brain sharp as a tack with these tips:
- Cut the sugar from your diet. High blood sugar levels are hard on nervous tissue and your blood vessels. You have blood vessels in your brain, and your brain is composed of nervous tissue. Too much sugar can have toxic effects.
- Keep your blood pressure healthy. High blood pressure damages the interior of your blood vessels. High blood pressure is part dietary and part hereditary. Talk to your physician about your blood pressure and ensure that it’s in the healthy range.
- Maintain a healthy cholesterol level. Cholesterol can collect on damaged areas in blood vessels and lead to clots. See your physician regularly to keep track of your cholesterol levels.
- Do brain puzzles. Force your brain to do some serious thinking each day. Work on a crossword puzzle, solve a few math problems, play a game of chess, or do a few pages from a book of brain puzzles. These can be a lot of fun and give your brain a great workout.
- Learn something new each day. Add a few words to your vocabulary or learn about the fall of the Roman Empire. Learn how to shoe a horse. There’s still a lot you don’t know, so teach yourself something new. You’ll be a big hit at the next cocktail party.
- Connect with others. It’s good for your brain when you interact with other people. This doesn’t have to take any time. You have things that you regularly do each day, like eat meals and go to the store. Just do them with others and enjoy the companionship.
- Read. Reading is great for your brain. It can also be very entertaining. Read whatever interests you. The act of reading is more important for your brain than what you read. Make a habit of reading for at least a few minutes each day.
- Sleep. Your brain needs plenty of rest. Experiment. Start with seven hours and then give eight or nine a try. Find out what works for you. Give napping a try. Your brain needs sleep to recover and rejuvenate from each day.
- Eat a healthy diet. Your brain is largely fat, so include healthy fats in your diet. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to get the vitamins and minerals that your brain craves for good health.
A healthy brain is important to your overall health and enjoyment of life. It’s natural for your brain to age just like every other part of your body, but you can do your part to slow the process.
Focus on building and maintaining healthy habits. Give your brain something challenging to do each day. You’ll be thankful in the future.