the human brain It is the command center of the nervous system. and enables thoughts, memory, movement and emotions through a complex function that is still being studied.
Maintain a healthy brain throughout life is the main goal in the pursuit of health and longevity. As the population ages, neurological disorders and challenges for the preservation of brain health.
For this reason, in this article we bring you the best habits to take care of brain health.
Do strength training
Throughout our lives we create new neural connections and, the greater the number of neural connections, the more protected we will be against neurodegenerative disorders.
One of the sports that generates the most new neural connections is strength training. This is because it is an activity with a high stress index and, therefore, the brain is responsible for generating new connections in order to survive and protect us from these stressors.
In addition, a systematic review of 33 different clinical trials in which nearly 2,000 participants were included, indicates that doing strength training is also helpful in preventing depression and reduce some of its most characteristic symptoms.
Play an instrument
Many people are surprised when they discover that those who touch some musical instrument are exaggerated protected against dementia and different cognitive disorders.
Music is a functionally very integral activity for the brain because so many things are encoded. Playing an instrument is something that makes the whole brain work and it is continually generating new neural connections.
Dance
Dancing is something that can involve the two previous sections, both physical exercise and music. Dancing is also very neuroprotective against dementia because it involves physical exercise, having to contract and lengthen many muscles during the dance and having to pay attention to the music, its tone, its rhythm, etc.
In addition, dancing helps release hormones such as serotonin or dopamine, which help us feel better, improve mood and take care of our cognitive functions.
On the other hand, dancing makes it possible to break with the mood of the moment, generating another playful context that helps to break with stress. As if that were not enough, there are studies that show that dancing is an excellent exercise to maintain cognitive abilities in aging. For these reasons, dancing, even indoors, can help us not only maintain a good cardio, but also a clearer mind and a better mood.
Avoid ultra-processed
Not only do you have to have good habits, but also try to eliminate bad habits. In addition to creating new neural connections, we must also prevent them from being lost at all costs. due to substances that are toxic to our body.
Ultra-processed foods carry a large amount of these substances as refined and oxidized oils, sugar in high concentrations, etc. All of this can cause damage to the brain that advances the processes of dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders.
read and learn new things
Certain activities such as sudoku, reading, etc., have been greatly overrated, but not to say that this does not have benefits for the brain. As we learn new things (history, biology, math, etc.) we are generating new connections.
Furthermore, avoiding complicated readings generates what is called cognitive laziness; this decreases neuroplasticityso the brain becomes less efficient and cognitive performance is lost.
good sleep schedule
Sleep hygiene is something that we don’t usually give much importance to and, really, it is one of the most important factors of our circadian rhythm. Poor sleep not only increases stress hormones such as cortisol (which are chronic hormones that generate toxicity in our neurons), but also decreases the ability of our brain to carry out certain healthy habits and increases others that are harmful.
For example, sleeping poorly increases hedonism for food, which is why more ultra-processed foods are consumed, which, as we have previously commented, They are toxic to our brain.
Secondly, Decreases our ability to exercise, learning to play instruments, etc. Therefore, having a good rest is a priority if we want to have good mental health in the future.
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