Your brain is the hub of your body: It receives signals from throughout the body, determines what they mean and how to react, observes the world around you, stores all of the knowledge that you’ve learned, and gives you the ability to make decisions. It keeps your memories and your personality. It coordinates your emotions, thoughts, and actions. And that’s a short list.
With so much responsibility resting on your brain, it’s important to keep it healthy and strengthened. Here are five ways to build your cognitive health and maintain a healthy mind.
1. Eat brain-healthy foods
An article by Harvard Health found that adding these types of foods increased brain health while also protecting your heart and blood vessels:
- Green, leafy vegetables are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, folate, lutein, and beta carotene.
- Fatty fish are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Berries contain flavonoids, which help improve memory.
- Walnuts are excellent sources of protein and healthy fats—and they contain omega-3 fatty acids.
2. Challenge your brain
Your brain is a muscle: By challenging it, you continue to help it grow, strengthen, and build. Easy ways to do this include learning something new, tackling puzzles, reading, playing games, discovering new hobbies, or volunteering somewhere new. By taking your brain out of its comfort zone, you’re improving your brain health.
3. Get a good night’s sleep
When you sleep, you allow your brain to rest. Just like everything else, your brain needs this time to recover, rejuvenate, store memories, and more. By getting the correct amount of sleep, you’re allowing your brain to recover from the past day, prepare for the next day, and become healthier.
4. Protect your head
Protecting your head and brain from injury is one of the biggest ways you can keep your brain safe. Wear a helmet when you’re riding a bike, working in an area where things could fall on your head, or other scenarios. Be careful on ladders or places where you might fall. If you do suffer a concussion or other head injury, be sure to visit the doctor and have it treated.
5. Stay active
By staying active and exercising, you can reduce your risk of cognitive decline, including dementia. A study found that cognitive decline is almost twice as common in adults who are inactive compared to adults who are active. Staying active doesn’t mean you need to spend hours in the gym each day: adding small activities into your daily routine can make a big difference! Take the dog for a walk, dance, invite some friends for a run, take an exercise class, or do a martial art—these are all easy ways to stay active.
