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Home / Health / Mental Health
How to Keep Your Brain Healthy For Life
By:Royane Real
No matter what our current age, we all want to have a healthy body and a healthy mind as we get older. There is not much pleasure in living a long life if our final years are spent in pain and if we lose our ability to think and remember.
As much as we dread suffering physical pain and illness in old age, many of us fear even more the prospect of losing our mental capacities.
We know that some people are able to live into their eighth and ninth decades still mentally sharp and physically spry. What are our chances of staying mentally alert and physically active in old age? Is it all a matter of random luck? Is losing our mental powers as we age inevitable?
The good news is that statistically the odds are on your side. Most people are able to keep their cognitive faculties as they age unless they develop Alzheimer’s disease, or diabetes.
As long as the brain itself remains healthy, older people can maintain their ability to think and remember, although processing may take longer than it used to. Seniors are actually able to outperform much younger people in certain kinds of mental skills.
Many subtle, but cumulative physical changes occur in our brains as we live and grow older. Some of these changes start before we are born, and some become most noticeable as we enter the fifth or sixth decade of life.
If you’ve ever heard that the brain shrinks as we grow older, it’s not just a myth. It’s literally true. Brain cells die steadily throughout life without being replaced, and the brain loses mass as we age.
It appears that neurons themselves actually shrink, and our unused brain circuit pathways are trimmed back in favor of creating “super highways” to accommodate the type of thinking our brain does most. Men’s brains seem to shrink somewhat faster than the brains of women.
The good news for all of us is that although we may lose millions of neurons and synapses each year, this does not necessarily lead to diminishment of our overall thinking capacity unless the loss is concentrated in certain areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus or critical parts of the neocortex.
Scientists have discovered that our ability to think and remember is preserved in spite of brain cell death, as long as the brain is able to create new connections by growing more dendrites and producing neurotransmitters.
One way to keep producing new dendrites and new connections is to keep using your brain--keep on learning new skills and develop new interests throughout your life. If you treasure your brain, do yourself a favor and keep using it!
There are many things you can do to help safeguard your brain function. Because your brain is flesh and blood, the strategies that help keep your body healthy will also benefit your brain.
Make it a priority to eat well, exercise regularly, and get sufficient sleep. Your brain, as well as the rest of your body will benefit. In addition, this strategy will improve your mood and outlook.
Learn more about which fats are good and which fats are bad, and then increase your intake of good fats, and decrease your intake of bad fats. Most North Americans eat far too much of the bad fats--those that are saturated or hydrogenated, and they do not eat enough of the good fats their body needs, particularly the Omega-3’s found in foods such as salmon and flax seed.
Include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet, especially those that are brightly colored such as tomatoes, spinach, and berries. These foods are high in antioxidants, which help protect your brain cells from free radical damage.
Take a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement daily. Be sure to include at least 500 mg of Vitamin C, 400 IU of Vitamin E, 400 mcg. of Folic acid, and a well balanced Vitamin B complex.
Alzheimer’s disease is not the only cause of brain power destruction in elderly persons. There are many other causes that can lead to a diminishment of mental capacity or to outright dementia in later years.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor in developing dementia. Not only does high blood pressure damage brain cells directly, but it also increases the risk of stroke. Have your blood pressure checked regularly, and if it is too high, work with your doctor to bring it down to a safe level.
Diabetics are at particularly high risk for developing dementia. If you are diabetic, it is very important to get your blood sugar levels under control.
If you want to protect your brain for the long term, avoid excess alcohol consumption. Long term consumption of more than two alcoholic drinks a day can directly damage brain cells, as well as deplete the body of nutrients it requires to function optimally.
Other factors suspected of contributing to the risk of dementia include exposure to pesticides, solvents, heavy metal poisoning, as well as brain injury due to trauma. Avoid your exposure to these brain destroyers as much as you possibly can, even if it means changing jobs.
Hundreds of thousands of brain injuries occur every year as a result of automobile accidents. Many of these traumas could be avoided or reduced by slowing down while driving, and by wearing a seat belt.
Chronic stress is very damaging to brain cells. The chemical changes produced in your body when you are under chronic stress damage every system, including your brain. If your life is currently very stressful, find ways to change your life circumstances where possible, and learn to change the way you react to these situations.
To reduce the impact of stress, practice techniques of mind and body relaxation such as daily meditation and prayer. Burn off some of the negative effects of stress on your body by committing to regular exercise.
Develop a circle of trusted friends and be sure to include some fun in your life.
Article Source: http://www.dailynewarticles.com
This article is taken from the new book by Royane Real titled “How You Can Be Smarter – Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better, and Be More Creative” If you want to learn how to use your brain better download it today or get the paperback version at www.lulu.com/real
More Articles from Mental Health Category:
How to Keep Your Brain Healthy For Life
A Fitter, Firmer, Self-esteem
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