How we can improve our brain
1. Get moving. Not only is exercise good for your overall health, it’s also good for your brain health. Evidence shows heart-pumping exercise is the number one thing you can do to improve your brain health. One way exercise can do this is by turning on some of the genes in your brain that keep it healthy.
2. Get enough sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is important for good brain function. It helps your brain process what you have learned during the day and to remember it later on. Sleep also helps remove waste products from brain cells.
3. Stay connected. Staying socially connected with others has been shown to reduce the risk of developing dementia. As you age, keeping involved and engaged in activities you enjoy is good for you in many ways, not least of all keeping your brain in great shape.
4. Challenge your brain. Try to challenge your brain as often as you can. Learn a new language or skill, like dancing or learning a musical instrument. Take up a new hobby or get stuck into some puzzles. Generating 'mental sweat' helps your brain build new cells and strengthen connections between them.
5. Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet rich in fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and protein from plants and fish is good for the overall health of your body. Research has shown that eating foods with a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and antioxidants supports brain health, which may lead to better mental function. Try including more leafy green veges, fatty fish like salmon and sardines, berries, tea, coffee and walnuts in your diet.
6. Medicines and health conditions. Review the medicines you take with your health professional as some medicines (such as anxiety medication) can affect your thinking. Also, make sure you get help and advice for any health issues you may have. Conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart disease can affect your brain health.
2. Get enough sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is important for good brain function. It helps your brain process what you have learned during the day and to remember it later on. Sleep also helps remove waste products from brain cells.
3. Stay connected. Staying socially connected with others has been shown to reduce the risk of developing dementia. As you age, keeping involved and engaged in activities you enjoy is good for you in many ways, not least of all keeping your brain in great shape.
4. Challenge your brain. Try to challenge your brain as often as you can. Learn a new language or skill, like dancing or learning a musical instrument. Take up a new hobby or get stuck into some puzzles. Generating 'mental sweat' helps your brain build new cells and strengthen connections between them.
5. Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet rich in fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and protein from plants and fish is good for the overall health of your body. Research has shown that eating foods with a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and antioxidants supports brain health, which may lead to better mental function. Try including more leafy green veges, fatty fish like salmon and sardines, berries, tea, coffee and walnuts in your diet.
6. Medicines and health conditions. Review the medicines you take with your health professional as some medicines (such as anxiety medication) can affect your thinking. Also, make sure you get help and advice for any health issues you may have. Conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart disease can affect your brain health.
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Improving brain function
- Learn a new language. Learning a new language requires that you analyze new sounds, which improves not only auditory-processing skills but also memory.
- Play Sudoku. Sudoku is a numbers (not math) game that is both popular and addictively fun to many who play it. It can help increase your logic and reasoning skills as well as your memory. Crosswords puzzles do the same.
- Lose the list. Using mnemonics (triggers to aid memory using visual imagery or sounds, such as rhyming) is a great way to boost your brain while developing a system to remember things. There are several great memory courses available on audio or video recordings, often at local libraries or online.
- Get in the game. Play board games like chess or scrabble. Trivia games can boost memory. Jigsaw puzzles can help visual and spatial skills, and mah-jongg can help executive function (the capacity to control and apply your mental skills)
- Online brain-training games such as the brain gym at BrainFitLife can be quite helpful in keeping your brain fit. Spend about 10 minutes a day doing these fun games, and see if you don’t find your brain beginning to process better and faster.
- Stay curious about life and learning. Read and study or take courses in subjects you enjoy, practice arts or activities that capture your fancy. Be a lifelong learner and you’re more likely to stay young at heart and in your brain.
- Learn to play a musical instrument or a different instrument than you normally play.
- Break your routine. This is especially important for anyone who is tethered to bad, brain-harming habits. You can increase your chances of staying healthier longer if you change your daily habits and routines. Introducing new habits can help rewire your brain so you don’t fall back into the same patterns of activity.
Improving Memory
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Food and the brain
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12 best foods to improve brain health
1. Oily fish
Oily fish are a good sourceTrusted Source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s help build membranes around each cell in the body, including the brain cells. They can, therefore, improve the structure of brain cells called neurons.
A 2017 studyTrusted Source found that people with high levels of omega-3s had increased blood flow in the brain. The researchers also identified a connection between omega-3 levels and better cognition, or thinking abilities.
These results suggest that eating foods rich in omega-3s, such as oily fish, may boost brain function.
Examples of oily fish that contain high levels of omega-3s include:
Oily fish are a good sourceTrusted Source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s help build membranes around each cell in the body, including the brain cells. They can, therefore, improve the structure of brain cells called neurons.
A 2017 studyTrusted Source found that people with high levels of omega-3s had increased blood flow in the brain. The researchers also identified a connection between omega-3 levels and better cognition, or thinking abilities.
These results suggest that eating foods rich in omega-3s, such as oily fish, may boost brain function.
Examples of oily fish that contain high levels of omega-3s include:
- salmon
- mackerel
- tuna
- herring
- sardines
2. Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate contains cocoa, also known as cacao. Cacao contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant.
Antioxidants are especially important for brain health, as the brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, which contributes to age-related cognitive decline and brain diseases.
Cacao flavonoids seem to be good for the brain. According to a 2013 reviewTrusted Source, they may encourage neuron and blood vessel growth in parts of the brain involved in memory and learning. They may also stimulate blood flow in the brain.
Some research also suggests that the flavonoid component of chocolate may reverse memory problems in snails. Scientists have yet to test this in humans.
However, a 2018 study in humans also supports the brain-boosting effects of dark chocolate. The researchers used imaging methods to look at activity in the brain after participants ate chocolate with at least 70 percent cacao.
The researchers concluded that eating this type of dark chocolate may improve brain plasticity, which is crucial for learning, and may also provide other brain-related benefits.
Dark chocolate contains cocoa, also known as cacao. Cacao contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant.
Antioxidants are especially important for brain health, as the brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, which contributes to age-related cognitive decline and brain diseases.
Cacao flavonoids seem to be good for the brain. According to a 2013 reviewTrusted Source, they may encourage neuron and blood vessel growth in parts of the brain involved in memory and learning. They may also stimulate blood flow in the brain.
Some research also suggests that the flavonoid component of chocolate may reverse memory problems in snails. Scientists have yet to test this in humans.
However, a 2018 study in humans also supports the brain-boosting effects of dark chocolate. The researchers used imaging methods to look at activity in the brain after participants ate chocolate with at least 70 percent cacao.
The researchers concluded that eating this type of dark chocolate may improve brain plasticity, which is crucial for learning, and may also provide other brain-related benefits.
3. Berries
Like dark chocolate, many berries contain flavonoid antioxidants. Research suggests that these may make the berries good food for the brain.
Antioxidants help by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. The antioxidants in berries include anthocyanin, caffeic acid, catechin, and quercetin.
A 2014 reviewTrusted Source notes that the antioxidant compounds in berries have many positive effects on the brain, including:
Like dark chocolate, many berries contain flavonoid antioxidants. Research suggests that these may make the berries good food for the brain.
Antioxidants help by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. The antioxidants in berries include anthocyanin, caffeic acid, catechin, and quercetin.
A 2014 reviewTrusted Source notes that the antioxidant compounds in berries have many positive effects on the brain, including:
- improving communication between brain cells
- reducing inflammation throughout the body
- increasing plasticity, which helps brain cells form new connections, boosting learning and memory
- reducing or delaying age-related neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline
- strawberries
- blackberries
- blueberries
- blackcurrants
- mulberries
4. Nuts and seeds
Eating more nuts and seeds may be good for the brain, as these foods contain omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
A 2014 studyTrusted Source found that a higher overall nut intake was linked to better brain function in older age.
Nuts and seeds are also rich sourcesTrusted Source of the antioxidant vitamin E, which protects cells from oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
As a person ages, their brain may be exposed to this form of oxidative stress, and vitamin E may therefore support brain health in older age.
A 2014 reviewTrusted Source found that vitamin E may also contribute to improved cognition and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
The nuts and seeds with the highest amounts of vitamin E include:
Eating more nuts and seeds may be good for the brain, as these foods contain omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
A 2014 studyTrusted Source found that a higher overall nut intake was linked to better brain function in older age.
Nuts and seeds are also rich sourcesTrusted Source of the antioxidant vitamin E, which protects cells from oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
As a person ages, their brain may be exposed to this form of oxidative stress, and vitamin E may therefore support brain health in older age.
A 2014 reviewTrusted Source found that vitamin E may also contribute to improved cognition and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
The nuts and seeds with the highest amounts of vitamin E include:
- sunflower seeds
- almonds
- hazelnuts
5. Whole grains
Eating whole grains is another way to benefit from the effects of vitamin E, with these grains being a good sourceTrusted Source of the vitamin.
Whole-grain foods include:
Eating whole grains is another way to benefit from the effects of vitamin E, with these grains being a good sourceTrusted Source of the vitamin.
Whole-grain foods include:
- brown rice
- barley
- bulgur wheat
- oatmeal
- whole-grain bread
- whole-grain pasta
6. Coffee
Coffee is a well known concentration aid.
The caffeine in coffee blocksTrusted Source a substance in the brain called adenosine, which makes a person feel sleepy.
Beyond boosting alertness, a 2018 studyTrusted Source suggests that caffeine may also increase the brain’s capacity for processing information.
The researchers found that caffeine causes an increase in brain entropy, which refers to complex and variable brain activity. When entropy is high, the brain can process more information.
Coffee is also a source of antioxidants, which may support brain health as a person gets older. One study Trusted Source has linked lifelong coffee consumption with reduced risk of:
Coffee is a well known concentration aid.
The caffeine in coffee blocksTrusted Source a substance in the brain called adenosine, which makes a person feel sleepy.
Beyond boosting alertness, a 2018 studyTrusted Source suggests that caffeine may also increase the brain’s capacity for processing information.
The researchers found that caffeine causes an increase in brain entropy, which refers to complex and variable brain activity. When entropy is high, the brain can process more information.
Coffee is also a source of antioxidants, which may support brain health as a person gets older. One study Trusted Source has linked lifelong coffee consumption with reduced risk of:
- cognitive decline
- stroke
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
7. Avocados
A source of healthful unsaturated fat, avocados may support the brain.
Eating monounsaturated fats may reduceTrusted Source blood pressure, and high blood pressure is linked with cognitive decline.
Thus, by reducing high blood pressure, the unsaturated fats in avocados may lower the risk of cognitive decline.
Other sources of healthful unsaturated fats include:
A source of healthful unsaturated fat, avocados may support the brain.
Eating monounsaturated fats may reduceTrusted Source blood pressure, and high blood pressure is linked with cognitive decline.
Thus, by reducing high blood pressure, the unsaturated fats in avocados may lower the risk of cognitive decline.
Other sources of healthful unsaturated fats include:
- almonds, cashews, and peanuts
- flaxseed and chia seeds
- soybean, sunflower, and canola oils
- walnuts and Brazil nuts
- fish
8. Peanuts
Peanuts are a legume with an excellent nutritional profile. They contain plenty of unsaturated fats and protein to keep a person’s energy levels up throughout the day.Peanuts also provide key vitamins and minerals to keep the brain healthy, including high levels of vitamin E and resveratrol.
Resveratrol is a natural non-flavonoid antioxidant found in peanuts, mulberries, and rhubarb. Evidence from a review article suggests that resveratrol can have protective effects, such as helping to prevent cancers, inflammation, and neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Peanuts are a legume with an excellent nutritional profile. They contain plenty of unsaturated fats and protein to keep a person’s energy levels up throughout the day.Peanuts also provide key vitamins and minerals to keep the brain healthy, including high levels of vitamin E and resveratrol.
Resveratrol is a natural non-flavonoid antioxidant found in peanuts, mulberries, and rhubarb. Evidence from a review article suggests that resveratrol can have protective effects, such as helping to prevent cancers, inflammation, and neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
9. Eggs
Enjoyed by many for breakfast, eggs can be an effective brain food.
They are a good sourceTrusted Source of the following B vitamins:
Enjoyed by many for breakfast, eggs can be an effective brain food.
They are a good sourceTrusted Source of the following B vitamins:
- vitamin B-6
- vitamin B-12
- folic acid
10. Broccoli
As well as being a low-calorie source of dietary fiber, broccoli may be good for the brain.
Broccoli is rich in compounds called glucosinolates. When the body breaks these down, they produce isothiocyanates.
Isothiocyanates may reduceTrusted Source oxidative stress and lower the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.
Broccoli also contains vitamin C and flavonoids, and these antioxidants can further boost a person’s brain health.
Other cruciferous vegetables that contain glucosinolates include:
As well as being a low-calorie source of dietary fiber, broccoli may be good for the brain.
Broccoli is rich in compounds called glucosinolates. When the body breaks these down, they produce isothiocyanates.
Isothiocyanates may reduceTrusted Source oxidative stress and lower the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.
Broccoli also contains vitamin C and flavonoids, and these antioxidants can further boost a person’s brain health.
Other cruciferous vegetables that contain glucosinolates include:
- brussels sprouts
- bok choy
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- turnips
- kale
11. Kale
Leafy greens, including kale, may support brain health.
Like broccoli, kale contains glucosinolates, and leafy greens also contain other key antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. This is why many consider kale to be a superfood.
Leafy greens, including kale, may support brain health.
Like broccoli, kale contains glucosinolates, and leafy greens also contain other key antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. This is why many consider kale to be a superfood.
12. Soy products
Soybean products are rich in a particular group of antioxidants called polyphenols.
Research has linkedTrusted Source polyphenols with a reduced risk of dementia and improved cognitive abilities in regular aging processes.
Soy products contain polyphenols called isoflavones, including daidzein and genistein. These chemicals act as antioxidants, providing a range of health benefits throughout the body.
Soybean products are rich in a particular group of antioxidants called polyphenols.
Research has linkedTrusted Source polyphenols with a reduced risk of dementia and improved cognitive abilities in regular aging processes.
Soy products contain polyphenols called isoflavones, including daidzein and genistein. These chemicals act as antioxidants, providing a range of health benefits throughout the body.
Link for 'Brain Health Diet'
www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/brain-health/specialty-programs/healthy-aging/brain-health-diet/
www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/brain-health/specialty-programs/healthy-aging/brain-health-diet/
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