Like the whole human body, the brain also regresses with ageing.
At birth, each human being has 100 billion neurons. At 25, your brain is at its best. Then, it gradually begins to regress and, as we age, some neurons become defective, in particular those located at the level of memory, attention and awareness of what surrounds us.
This ageing process should not be regarded as a fatality. Thanks to some activities, we can preserve the functioning of the brain longer. This will allow us to have a better life from a physical and mental point of view.
Let’s see how.
1. Feed your brain well. A balanced diet is essential for good mental health. However, the brain needs specific substances to increase the connection of neurons and stimulate their regeneration. Therefore, eat food rich in antioxidants such as fruits and vegetables in general (in particular, artichokes, blueberries and ginger are really useful), fish and olive oil. Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines) contains omega 3 which helps strengthen brain cells, optimizes learning and memory and contributes to the prevention of mental disorders such as depression and dementia. Remember that avocado and walnuts also contain omega 3 and that for a good brain oxygenation you need to eat glucose (bread and pasta) and food rich in iron (meat and fish).
2. Stimulates attention. Like the muscles that must be kept in motion, the brain also must be trained to keep its performance. It is therefore important to keep it active with activities such as crosswords, sudoku, reading, puzzles or even some video games that offer programs to train the brain. The more diversified the exercises, the better. Continuing to broaden one’s knowledge such as learning a new foreign language, playing an instrument, visiting exhibitions, travelling, and having a lively social life, are all activities that contribute to the training of neurons and prevent brain ageing. Also meditation is an excellent activity not only for improving the ability to concentrate but also because it reduces stress, anxiety and negative emotions. Meditating from 10 to 15 minutes a day will allow you to develop new connections between neurons and thus slow down the ageing of the brain.
3. Practice physical activity regularly. Physical activity keeps neurons active because it promotes blood circulation which therefore also reaches the brain. There is no need to become a top-level athlete to slow down the ageing of the brain. A moderate intensity sport is already effective as long as it is regular. The recommended frequency is 30 minutes a day. To keep up the pace it is advisable to find an activity that you like and that is engaging. Group physical activity (such as dance for example) is useful for the perception of bodies into space and for the relationship with others that releases endorphins, the hormones of well-being and pleasure.
What do you think about these three tips? Would you follow them?
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Excellent advice written in perfect English!
Thank you Charles, happy to see you on Wise and Shine!
I have to rejoin the gym, my physical activity has gone way down!
These are very good tips. I’d add taking supplements for the immune system, most of which are also very good for brain function.
I have also recently added taking pre and Probiotics, for my digestive system which was declining and giving me pain. According to research, good gut health is important to both physical and mental health, while poor gut health has been shown to be the root cause for many diseases and brain decline.
You are right Tamara, yesterday one doctor told me that we have three brains. The brain, the gut and the skin. As I have a skin rash, I am wondering what I did to mess up with my skin !
I try my best to do these things. Thanks for the reminder.
Thank you for commenting!
👍🏼
Great advice and I feel like these are attainable goals!
Thank you!
Great advice. The thing I didn’t know about was the glucose in the diet for the brain.
I agree that these three things go a long way to slowing down cognitive decline as we age. However, I think the wisdom of experience is often overlooked when people talk about how we decline when we age.
I agree on that Michelle, thank you for commenting
Yes, that’s true. The wisdom of experience and the desire to help others instead of compete with them are just a few things older people bring to the community. We should appreciate them for it!
I worked out today; I’m teaching myself French and Spanish everyday; and I just made myself a two-day salad at the grocery store salad bar. I’ve got an old ankle injury so I exercise when it wants to cooperate.
That’s excellent Pamela, keep on going!
Ha ha! Thanks! I should’ve stuck with French class decades ago but the pandemic was my motivation to try it again.
French is a beautiful language, you did well to start again!
These are great tip! They are super helpful and easy to follow. I am still doing my homework from last time, I only answered 2 questions out of the three.
Take your time, there is no hurry, we don’t want to get stressed out, right? Thank you for commenting!
It seems easier than it is, I will get there eventually
Very nice 👍👍
Thank you!
I heard a doctor who specializes in longevity talking about what a wonder “drug” exercise is for our brain. Some of the stats he quoted were stunning. Thank you for the great information, Cristiana!
Wow, longevity talking! That’s a fantastic piece of news for someone like me who loves talking!
Great tips and as one reader already said- not really difficult to do. Having said that, I admit that don’t always have these three things locked into into my routine. I often do, but I seem to fall off course easier than I’d like.
I see you point Todd! Thank you for commenting!
Thank you for commenting! I am happy that you found my post interesting.