Keep Your Brain Strong and Healthy
Did you know your brain isn’t fully developed until around age 28, but it already starts to decline around age 40?
You only get 10-15 good years of brain health and with modern medicine allowing us to live until 80 or 90, we should really be focusing on how to keep our brain healthy so we can live a fulfilling life.
If you want to organically sharpen your brain and prevent cognitive-related illnesses, get moving. The benefits of exercise on the brain come directly from its ability to reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells.
Many studies have suggested that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory (the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex) have greater volume in people who exercise versus people who don't. But, you’re smart and you probably already knew exercise is a key component to keeping our brain sharp, but what else will help?
Here are 10 tips for brain health (nothing here is earth shattering, but if you prioritize them, your brain health will thank you). In no particular order, here they are:
Sleep 7-9 hours a night.
Move every day.
Eat whole foods. Stay away from processed foods, sugar, alcohol and avoid things with pesticides, hormones, chemicals and things you can't pronounce.
Have a strong community. (HERE is one of our prior emails about the Roseto Effect)
Manage your stress with mindfulness, meditation, and breath work.
Stay curious. Never stop learning. The brain craves learning and novelty.
Have a passion, hobbies, and interests.
Have a sense of purpose, a reason to wake up every day.
Spend time outside every day.
Enjoy life. Have fun. Laugh.