Health

Your brain health depends on you!

Feb 06, 2016

We all want to do the best we can to look after our physical health and it is equally important to know what we can do especially for our brain health. It doesn’t matter what age we are now, we are all going to be a little older in the future, so it is good idea to be proactive and start now.

Many of us have a very good reason for wanting to do something about our brain health. Some of us have had parents, relatives or friends with Alzheimer’s disease and we are naturally concerned about our own future health. It is important to know that there are many positive things we can do to possibly avoid or prevent this from happening to us.

There is no need to go down the negative path. Do not listen to the statistics of how many people are predicted to be affected by the year 2050. That won’t be you – so stop listening to it or reading it. I want you to know that if you start making a few changes in your daily life from today onwards, and use this article as your first example, that you will be improving your brain health for your future.

Did you know that your brain has the ability to change and improve itself? It is called Neuroplasticity and recent research has discovered that there is regeneration of new brain cells throughout your entire lifetime. So do not think because you are getting older that your brain is slowly deteriorating – this is far from true – and a very poor excuse. You just aren’t using your brain to its full potential.

You need to start using your brain more. Have a look at your daily life. You have many routines some of which are necessary and essential and we carry these out automatically. But there are other routines or habits where we don’t use our brain at all.

One major example is watching television. Have you ever noticed that when you sit down and turn the television on, it’s like your brain switches off, because you don’t have to think? The television programs have got you entertained from the minute you sit down. The same goes for the computer. If you don’t know an answer to a question, you just google it. You may have previously known the answer but now you don’t have to think, just type in a few words and in an instant – there’s the answer.

And it is double trouble for your brain because you are sitting in your chair for hours mesmerised by all the activity happening on the screen in front of you, and you are not getting any exercise at all. Lack of exercise is another reason for poor brain health.

Your brain is so powerful and amazing yet it is not being used anywhere near its potential. Did you know that each single brain cell has from 1,000 to 10,000 connections with other brain cells, making up to 10 trillion brain cell connections possible?

So here are a few simple ideas that you can introduce into your daily life to start using your brain more often, which will also make life more interesting. Your brain really loves challenges. And finds easy things very boring, so you have to start doing things differently or do things you have not tried before.

Try brushing your teeth with your other hand
Try using your non-dominant hand to write
If you drive to work, try going a different route, it may take a little longer but allow extra time for it.
If you go to the same shopping centre, why not go to a different shopping centre where you haven’t been to before.
When you go for a walk, try going a different way and you will discover new things to look at on the way.

These are just a start. You may notice that making some of these changes are challenging for you but just realise, by doing these little things daily, you are going to make a big difference for your brain. It is really getting those brain cells connecting, and your brain will absolutely love it!