There is no doubt that it takes time to hone your cognitive capabilities. The level of your mental awareness can fluctuate per day. Many external factors including stress or illness influence us. Since our bodies and minds are connected, it’s equally as important to be conscious of the way we take care of our bodies.
Think of it this way: Whatever benefits your heart and overall well-being is typically beneficial for the brain - it goes both ways without saying. With that, you can totally reap tons of rewards from daily healthy practices.
Here are 5 effective ways to keep your mental A-game on.
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1. Less isolation, More Community
Community is very crucial to our mental health, for it’s in our nature to be social. BlackDoctor.Org highly recommends getting in touch with family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.
Building a solid foundation and connecting with others can reduce the unbearing weight of depression, anxiety, as well as other mental health problems, particularly as you get older.
Social isolation has been said to be an ongoing dilemma that may result in the decline of your mental state. When we are physically unable to surround ourselves with the people we love, it’s imperative that we still come up with ways to connect socially, even if it means joining a Facebook group for common interests or hopping on a phone call to catch up with an old friend.
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Just like opposites attract, the same applies to our types of relationships. When you consciously decide to diversify your friendships, you challenge yourself to think with a more creative stream of consciousness.
You may be fortunate enough to have someone in your circle with eidetic memory, or with spatial reasoning that’s incomparable. By coming together, you can get more acclimated to solving issues, interacting with games, or simply appreciating taking in each other’s presence.
RELATED: 5 Daily Tasks You Can Do To Improve Brain Function
2. Be Proactive by Staying Active
Exercise continues to be one of the greatest pastimes you can do for your mind, body, and spirit. Not only does it strengthen the heart, but it’s also fantastic for the brain. “The American Heart Association recommends getting no more than 75 minutes of vigorous activity or 150 minutes of moderate fitness per week. Sign up to be a part of a team sport or find yourself a walking buddy to get the best of both worlds with camaraderie and exercise.
Working out can support our brain health in a variety of ways. It helps your arteries maintain flexibility, which ultimately encourages blood flow to the brain. It then transfers more oxygen along with glucose (aka, energy) so your brain can function well.
Exercise reinforces new brain cells to expand as well. Getting more movement will also help keep your cholesterol, blood sugar, and weight in check, protecting your overall well-being.
3. Transform Your Brain Health with Every Bite
The expression you are what you eat has a lot more truth to it than we like to admit. The American Heart Association suggests that a healthy diet for optimal brain and heart health includes a good amount of produce, lean animal or vegetable protein, low-fat dairy, nuts, legumes, and whole grains.
The Mediterranean food palette is a great reference as it includes most of these options that are rich in the necessary omega-3s, B vitamins, and antioxidants, which are notorious for supporting brain health. Incorporating these kinds of foods into your daily consumption can boost your brain health, which could potentially lead to an improvement in cognitive function, memory, and attentiveness. A few of these foods include:
- Dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach
- Fatty fish like salmon (2 servings/week)
- Antioxidant-rich berries
- Tea and coffee
- Walnuts (roughly 1 ounce/day)
Besides that, try to limit any unnecessary salt intake, saturated fat, and sugar in your plates. If you choose to drink alcohol, bear in mind to proceed with care and in moderation. The standard recommendation would be solely one drink a day for women, and no more than two for men. If you already aren’t much of a drinker, don’t start now.
4. Catch Enough Z’s
While getting quality rest feels sufficient, it also poses an opportune time to be productive. This is because when you go to sleep, your brain is still working and processing everything you learned throughout that day. Catching quality Z’s can help you retain information, stay vigilant, and resolve problems.
Try to go for seven to nine hours of sleep a night. While it may be challenging, it’s best to be consistent. That means hitting the hay and waking up at the exact time every day—even on weekends, vacations, and holidays.
5. Never Stop Learning
From peekaboo to Memory, we grow up playing games to help babies and young children learn. Adults require mental stimulation, too. Learning new things helps work for your brain, and this can take several forms.
Certain examples include mind puzzles (i.e. crosswords and Sudoku), taking on a new musical instrument, or discovering a foreign language. The journey matters more than the destination, so go after whatever piques your interest—and if it involves social interaction, even better!
