Look After Your Greatest Treasure: Brain Power

Brain power needs to be taken care of to prevent it from deteriorating. With the additional problem being that it is the true “operation center” of your thoughts, and that in turn, your thoughts influence your body. So, to look after your brain is to look after your physical and mental health.

Even though the brain is the most fundamental organ, in reality the world of science knows very little about it. However, enough information has now been gathered regarding which actions are necessary to help preserve this organ, and with it your mental health. Without further a do, here are six activities you can do to look after your body’s greatest treasure.

To look after your mental health, look after your hearing

It has been proven that hearing is very closely related to mental ability. A study was carried out in the UK proving that hearing loss triggers a decrease of grey matter in the brain. This translates as a drop in cognitive ability.

So, looking after your hearing is also means you’re protecting your mental ability. Only 15 seconds next to grating music played at full volume is enough to cause damage to your hearing. Using a hairdryer for 15 minutes a day can also affect the small cells responsible for capturing sound.

Trust your own abilities

It’s happened to all of us, we enter a room and our mind is blank. The reason we’re here has been wiped from our minds; we suddenly forget about a very important task, or the word we’re looking remains on the tip of our tongue This can happen at any age and for various reasons. However, many mistakenly take these as a warning that their mental health is deteriorating.

This is how people begin to adopt “crutches” or “support” for this supposed deficiency. They carry a little notebook with them where they write everything down in fear of forgetting it and they don’t put themselves in situations which test their cognitive ability. Instead of helping, this can be detrimental to your health. The best thing to do is to always push yourself, trust the abilities you have, and if needed, do exercises to help improve your memory.

Watch what you eat and look out for your weight

Sugar and fat are your mental health’s enemies. Firstly because they make your level of cholesterol rise, and thus the blood flow towards your brain. Secondly, because they change the amount of insulin you produce and cause dangerous deposits to form in your brain. Obesity in itself also slows down all the bodily functions.

It’s not about becoming obsessed with the so-called “health foods“. It’s good to have a taste of it from time to time, but the idea is that you keep to a low-sugar, low-fat diet. A study in the United States proved that the mental ability of those with a Mediterranean diet was equal to that of someone seven year younger.

Socialize: it’s key to preserving your brain power

Those who have an active social life have a 70% lower chance of suffering from cognitive deterioration. This is due to the fact that as human beings we’re sociable by nature and we need others to motivate us, to challenge us. They force us to see things from a different point of view and to overcome the difficulties of relationships.

So, if you want to maintain and look after your mental ability, there’s nothing better than starting a conversation will someone or going to a party whenever possible, and don’t ever go into isolation. As well as being a way to look after your brain, it’s also a source of satisfaction.

Make exercise a daily habit to increase brain power

We could fill a whole book with the health benefits of exercise. The list is infinite. We’re not saying that you should become a high performance athlete, working out from morning to night. What’s important is that you have an exercise routine and that you keep at it day after day.

Physical exercise improves your mood, lets your body breathe and is one of the main providers of sustenance for your brain. It also improves your cognitive ability, for example children who walk to school every day often get better results, and the elderly who go for their daily walk age better. Start with an easy routine and then try and push yourself a little more each time.