Since inception, humankind craves longevity and sound health. They try to eat healthy food, maintain a healthy body weight, and quit bad habits like consuming alcohol and cigarettes because they want to live longer. You must have heard people advising others about the natural remedies/foods and recommending certain exercises (yoga) to improve their health and fitness in hopes of extending their life spans. People have always been interested in the concepts of immortality. Well, if not mortality, there are certain things, which can actually increase the lifespan according to scientific research. One of these things is a healthy brain. I recently conducted my research on the importance of a healthy mind for a long life with my subscription to one of the Spectrum Packages. The results of this research were astounding and it is scientifically proven that brain health has a good share of a lifespan.
Most of us focus primarily on maintaining our weight and worry about our physical appearance. Brain health is not a priority for many of us. Pertaining to the hectic and draining contemporary lifestyles, not giving attention to the brain health is not wise.
In this post, I am going to suggest some simple practices to improve the brain health.
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Practice Mindfulness While Commuting
According to a research, novices who volunteered to be trained in this mindfulness-based and stress reduction practice showed amazing results in a matter of a few weeks. There was a clear increase in the gray matter in the brain and the brain structures changed. The changes in the brain were in the areas that benefitted memory, learning, and general psychological well-being. Let’s know about this practice.
Mindfulness revolves around paying attention to whatever is going on around and within. You basically have to focus well on your body sensations, emotions, thoughts, sights, and sounds, which you experience in the present moment. This practice doesn’t let your mind wander to your usual habits such as, compulsively and aimlessly checking your phone, thinking about that long to-do list that is always running in your mind, and so on. You can even try it on your own. For a few minutes every day, simply unplug all your devices, which distract you big time, sit in a quiet spot, and focus with complete attention on your breathing. Moreover, your commute time to work or school is a great opportunity to incorporate this mindfulness activity every day.
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Flaunt Your Bilingual Talents
Did you know that speaking another language would actually help to keep you sharp even into old age? In addition to, of course, being cool. It is presently being researched in Cognitive Sciences. Bilingual people have resilient brains mainly because their brain-process is swift and they retrieve information much more efficiently. This swift brain process improves memory and attention and also fortifies neural connections, which allow bilingual or multi-lingual people to smoothly switch between different languages.
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Hit the Sauna (More Often)
Are you surprised with sauna in our list? Don’t be! Middle-aged, healthy men who manage to hop in a sauna at least twice or thrice a week had a lower risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The high temperatures improve the vascular function and allow greater blood flow towards the brain. Stress is the most prevalent toxin for our brain cells and relaxation in sauna greatly reduces stress. But, let us remind you about the mandatory workout portion in this whole practice. Research has reiterated the fact that cardio causes an increase in the brain volume. It greatly helps in ensuring cognitive health while you age.
Motivated much to boost your brain health even more! Here is a suggestion. Consider making your workout sessions a social affair. According to a study, those who are more active socially are far less likely to experience any cognitive decline.
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Add a Handful of Mushrooms in Your Diet
According to a study, Fungi are a great force for sound health. They reduce inflammation and they are full of essential compounds. Inflammation is one of the biggest causes of various cognitive disorders. Fungi can also affect the brain directly. Take the instance of oyster mushrooms. They are full of amino acids that inhibit the accumulations of the material called amyloid plaques (found in Alzheimer patients’ brains).
We would recommend incorporating different varieties of mushroom into your diet. Some instances are cremini, shiitake, and chanterelles. They are saturated with nutrients, which boost brain building. If you are not into mushrooms or allergic to them, try smoked salmon instead.
You have to be consistent and determined with all these practices if you want to see some actual results. After all, it’s about improving brain health. It is not as simple as getting in touch with your Spectrum Internet customer service whenever your connection is down. You need patience, steadiness, and a strong willpower to adopt the mentioned habits.