How to keep your brain healthy.

The brain is a mysterious thing. Its complex structure is striking and continues to be a subject of study for researchers, as well as scientists continue the study of such devastating diseases as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, which are difficult to treat effectively. However, the scientific community has made stunning breakthroughs in these few years.

For example, it is known that neuroinflammation - or inflammation of the nervous tissue - is something that destroys the human brain and plays a significant role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Applied to other memory-erasing diseases, inflammation of the nervous tissue is like wildfire. Amyloid plaques, which were previously recognized as responsible for the disease, play here only the role of "matches", that is, they provoke the development of the process.

The good news is that there are proven ways that can reduce inflammation in nerve tissue and support brain health.

Our brain has phenomenal capabilities, and you can take full advantage of them - you just need to give it the necessary tools. And to slightly support its performance. It's easy.

These are simple and fast-paced activities.

1. Sleep. It is recommended to sleep at least 8 hours a day. If you can't do this during the night, then a day nap can help. First of all, sleep helps improve memory. This happens not only by strengthening certain neural connections, but also by cutting off unnecessary ones. Therefore, sleep is the time when the brain simplifies the connections that it "needs". The brain is also cleared of toxins, including those associated with Alzheimer's.

2. Stress management. Don't let the stressful situation overwhelm you. Chronic stress not only negatively affects the size and structure of the brain, but also negatively affects heredity. Brief stress is good. It mobilizes the brain, helps to quickly focus on the task, show the best results in competitions, and captivate the audience when speaking in public. But when stress becomes chronic, there is no need to talk about positive effect.

3. Interaction. Stay social. Loneliness is a stressor. Communication affects the brain like sex or drugs or delicious food. Scientists have found that communicating with others like yourself affects the brain's pleasure center.

4. Exercises. Exercise can help eliminate inflammation and plaque from the brain. Exercise also promotes the birth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus. Without exercise, muscles weaken inevitably. The same thing happens with the brain. If it has become more difficult for you to memorize information, if you are not as concentrated as before, if your creative powers are no longer the same, this clearly indicates that brain cells need to be "trained".

Try this memory exercise. Memorize the group of animals in the picture for one minute. Don't read any further yet.

Now, without looking at the picture, write down the names of the animals in alphabetical order. Well, how did it work the first time? If it's not so good, keep exercising.

5. Learn something new. The more synapses you can create, the longer you will lose them. The neurons are connected. When we learn, new connections are created, and when we repeat something, these connections are strengthened.

Thinking is the brain in an active state. The brain emits more electrochemical impulses per day than all mobile phones on Earth.

Every time we change something, our brain also changes. This is commonly referred to as neuroplasticity. It not only helps recover from severe stress, but makes life more efficient.

The brain changes every day, with or without our consent, but we can control the direction of these changes.

6. Diet. Excess weight prevents you from thinking. Excess weight leads to memory problems (do you want to have a brilliant memory?) And it also provokes premature aging of the brain. Obesity stimulates the growth of free radicals and inflammation, which reduces the number of brain cells. In other words: if we are overweight, then it is much more difficult for us to think, study and work. David Perlmutter offers a simple and straightforward solution: change your diet.

A Mediterranean diet high in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, and low protein intake is best for your brain.

7. Useful pleasure. Fun and pleasure are good for the brain. First, it helps relieve stress and reduce its negative effects on the body as a whole. Secondly, activities that require the development of new skills contribute to the creation of new neurons. And this starts the process of brain rejuvenation. If you regularly find time for interesting activities, then you risk less suffering from dementia in retirement.

If you spend all your time only on work and serious things, then you are depriving your brain of important and useful experiences.

8. Healing reading. Scientific fact: lack of hobbies and interests increases the risk of disease. Reading books, for example, not only brings pleasure and distraction, but also allows the body to recover and gain strength. Reading also stimulates areas of the brain that would otherwise go unused.

The more you read, the smarter you are.

9. Foods for sharp mind. Avoid brain-damaging shelves. Go to the healthy ones right away: buy eggs, products with vitamins B and E. While the summer is not over yet, do not neglect the opportunity to eat berries.

Scientists have proven that if you feed an old rat with berries, it will begin to perform tricks no worse than a young one. For example, blueberries and blackberries contain anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that help protect small blood vessels from free radicals and improve cerebral circulation. When the season is over, you can use frozen berries: they are easy to find in the store. It is better to prepare it yourself.

You should aim to eat half a cup of berries two to three times a week.

10. The sweet myth. Sweet foods raise blood sugar levels, which can damage brain cells and trigger memory problems. In this sense, the so-called natural types of sugar, brown sugar or honey, are no better than regular white sugar. So try to limit your sugar intake in any form as much as possible. Otherwise you will become a "memoryless sweet tooth."

What you can do now is very important, because the choices you make now determine how you will feel in the future.