Keep your brain healthy and sharp

We’ve all had one of those days where we cant remember or recall something familiar during a conversation. So today we are going to look at ways we can keep our brain healthy and sharp as we age.

Stay Physically Active.

One of the most important things you can do to keep the brain healthy is by keeping active. Exercises help stimulate the brains plasticity of new connections firing between cells. It also increases the oxygen we receive in our brains because of the increased heart rate. Staying active also helps reduce the odds of getting a heart attack, stroke and/or become diabetic.

Eat Healthy

Your brain and body need food to function properly. Foods that are rich in antioxidants help protect the brain from oxidative stress and brain diseases. If you don’t have the proper source intake of antioxidant foods, it can cause your brain cells to become affected by free radicals.

A free radical is a molecule with one missing electron. Free radicals are a normal by-product of the body’s metabolism of oxygen. And, normally, these free radicals serve important functions, such as helping the immune system fight off disease. However, too many free radicals can start to cause problems in a cell. Read more at Memory Loss Online

A study done by Clin Geriatr Med. found “Increasing evidence [which] demonstrates that [the] accumulation of oxidation of DNA, proteins, and lipids by free radicals are responsible for the functional decline in aged brains

Reduce Your Stress

Stress can have a ton of negative impacts on your brain; as well as destroy your happiness and mental well being. Stress can cause changes in the brains structure of grey mature and white matter. Negative impacts to the white matter of the hippocampus can cause emotional disorders to develop.

Studies have shown taking yoga or regularly attending a massage therapist can greatly help reduce and eliminate stress.

Keep mentally active and learning

By continuing to develop your brain you are keeping it active. Researchers suggest we continue to educate our brain to keep our memory portion strong. Doing mental activates and brain games help stimulate the brain cells. You can try brain challenges at Lumosity.com