Whether you’re looking to be more alert and productive at work, to avoid your days becoming too dull and boring, or you want to stave off the long-term effects of cognitive decline as you get older, there are plenty of reasons to make an active effort to keep your brain sharp. Just as well, there are plenty of things that you can do for that very same purpose. Here, we’re going to look at seven habits you can do each and every day to stay switched on, and engaged, and always keep your brain active.
Make sure that you get moving
It might seem like it has not as much to do with your mind as it does with your body, but exercise can be vital for your brain health, as well. This is especially true if you’re looking to stay healthy as you get older. Getting your blood pumping helps improve blood flow and oxygen flow to all parts of the body, including the brain. More oxygen to the brain means better and faster neural connections, helping you think faster and more effectively. What’s more, the release of positive neurotransmitters like dopamine and endorphins can help you shake off some mental sluggishness, as well.
Eat some healthy and balanced meals
The food that you eat fuels your brain just as readily as it fuels your body, as you are already likely aware. There are plenty of foods that can make us more mentally sluggish, including hard-to-process carbs, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Nowadays, the Mediterranean-style diet has become a lot more popular for those looking to keep their mind sharp, and it can also improve serotonin levels in the brain, boosting your mood. This diet typically revolves around things like seafood and omega-3-rich fish, leafy green and orange vegetables, berries and other fruits, eggs, whole-grain carbs, nuts, and lean meat where possible. A healthy Mediterranean-style meal every day can do you and your brain a lot of good.
Start an interesting conversation with someone
Whether it’s someone that you work with, your partner, a family member, or even a friend at lunch or over the phone, having a stimulating conversation with someone every single day can do a lot to keep your brain active. Even if it’s something as simple as engaging in the latest gossip, conversation keeps your brain flexible and active, since you have to react to another external source of information constantly. Keeping conversation interesting means being able to bring topics to the table. If you and your conversation partner are having trouble engaging, then always be ready with some news or some thought that you can build off of. Exchanging small talk alone isn’t going to be enough to engage you.
Spend some time puzzling
Of course, you can take the time to actively work out your brain, as well. There are all manner of ways to do this, but one of the easiest is to simply pick up some puzzles now and then. There are all kinds of puzzles, from Rubik’s cubes to crosswords that can help you keep your mind sharp. Sudoku is a favorite of many because of its multifaceted approach to getting the brain engaged. It takes real focus to start finding the solutions within the chaotic jumbles of numbers within those puzzles, and they’re great for engaging your short-term memory and your ability to recognize patterns in order to be able to solve them, as well. Fit a puzzle in the first thing to help activate your brain, or use it for a mental refresh during your work break.
Practice mindfulness and decrease stress
Although stress is, in large part, a perfectly healthy and natural response to challenging stimuli, there’s no doubt that too much of it can be a bad thing, especially for your brain. Persistent and chronic stress can cause your nerve cells to start declining and dying, and one of the areas most often affected by this is the memory center of the brain. As such, it’s a good idea to stay on top of your stress, and using methods such as mindfulness breathing exercises and meditation have proven effective for a lot of people. Of course, the aforementioned exercise and puzzling breaks can help, as well.
Switch off from work
When you get home from work or, if you work from home, when you switch off your work PC, make sure that you are well and truly disconnected from work. Improving your work-life balance is vital, and it can be as simple as making sure that you set hard boundaries between work and your personal life each and every day. Otherwise, if you let work sit with you for the rest of the day, keep checking your emails, and making yourself available, it’s going to drastically decrease your ability to make yourself available for relaxation and personal time with your family, instead. This is going to lead to that stress that we’re trying to prevent.
Get out into the sun
A good way to deal with your stress and to help you take a clean break from work is to get out into the fresh air. Not only can it help you get some distance from the sources of stress still hanging around, but it gets you under the sunlight which helps your body absorb Vitamin D. Vitamin D is vital for keeping the brain’s neurons healthy and stimulating nerve growth. Of course, getting some time in the sunshine is just one way to get your vitamin D. Taking vitamin D supplements is often highly recommended by doctors, especially in seasons and climates where you might not be able to get as much access to sunlight as usual.
These seven habits can be done every single day, most of them taking very little time, whether you can fit them in your mornings, your break at work, or before you go to bed. Make a real effort to preserve your cognitive health and you’re less likely to lose it.
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