The brain is responsible for vital life functions, so keeping it healthy and functioning at optimal level is a must. Below you have 10 habits which are negatively affecting the brain and you need to stop doing them right away.
1. Boredom
Neuroplasticity is brain`s ability to think differently, keep memories, and make new connections. Lack of intellectual stimulation leads to a decline in brain`s effectiveness, just like with any other organ.
2. No Breakfast
Given that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, going through the day without it causes the metabolism to slow down and the brain to shut down some of its functions.
According to a Japanese study, people who tend to skip breakfast on a regular basis are at 36% higher risk of suffering a brain hemorrhage. On the other hands, brain`s function is significantly improved if properly nourished every morning.
“Without glucose our brain simply doesn’t operate as well. People have difficulty understanding new information, [they have a] problem with visual and spatial understanding, and they don’t remember things as well,” a professor of pediatrics at Duke University.
3. Cell Phones
Electromagnetic fields emit radiation, which is extremely harmful for humans. If nothing more, sleeping next to a cell phone is distracting!
According to a study done by Swedish researchers, radiation from a cell phone causes confusion, headaches, and is also associated with cancers, including brain tumors. To minimize the risk, limit cell phone use and keep it away from you as often as possible.
4. Working Through Illness
When going through an illness, the body and the immune system are working hard to fight off the infection. Working through illness prolongs its length and increases the susceptibility to subsequent issues, affecting the brain function, too.
5. Over-eating
Over-eating causes excess weight, and often obesity as well. We often eat foods which are poor in nutrients, which causes us to over-eat and feel hungry all the time. Nutrient-poor foods diminish brain performance and may led to brain-related conditions like dementia and low brain volume.
6. Reticence
Oral communication is different than written one at various levels, including that they use different part of the brain. Given that people are social animals and are supposed to communicate, the fact that lack of oral communication and social interaction can cause anxiety and depression doesn’t come as surprise.
7. Lack of Sleep
Getting regular and quality sleep is of utmost importance for the overall health, including brain health. While sleeping, the brain performs two important activities: storing memories and eliminating toxins. Sleep deprivation leads to plaque accumulation, changes in the memory, and increased risk of neurodegenerative disease.
8. Smoking
According to a 2004 study,
“The study found that cigarette smoking alone caused damage to neuronal viability and cell membranes in the midbrain and on cell membranes of the cerebellar vermis. These brain regions are involved in fine and gross motor functions and balance and coordination.”
Luckily, the body is resilient and significant part of the damage caused by smoking can be reversed over a certain period of time.
9. Sugar
High sugar intake is detrimental for every cell, tissue, and organ in the body, including the central nervous system. It has been scientifically shown that there is a strong link between excess sugar intake and Alzheimer`s disease.
10. Air Pollution
Wearing an oxygen mask seems to be the only way to avoid air pollution. The brain we breathe is full of detrimental chemicals which affect all aspects of human condition.
It has been found that air pollution causes cognitive impairment and brain shrinkage, among other things. Everything that we breathe and absorb through the skin, eventually reaches the blood stream and affects every single organ, including the brain.
According to researchers, air pollution is linked to development and worsening of Alzheimer`s disease, Parkinson`s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Read on and check out an amazing excerpt of an article written by neurologist Russell L. Blaylock, MD:
“My major concern is that there is evidence that they are spraying tons of nanosized aluminum compounds. It has been demonstrated in the scientific and medical literature that nanosized particles are infinitely more reactive and induce intense inflammation in a number of tissues. Of special concern is the effect of these nanoparticles on the brain and spinal cord, as a growing list of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) are strongly related to exposure to environmental aluminum.
“Studies have shown that these particles pass along the olfactory neural tracts, which connect directly to the area of the brain that is not only most affected by Alzheimer’s disease, but also the earliest affected in the course of the disease. It also has the highest level of brain aluminum in Alzheimer’s cases.
“The intranasal route of exposure makes spraying of massive amounts of nanoaluminum into the skies especially hazardous, as it will be inhaled by people of all ages, including babies and small children for many hours. We know that older people have the greatest reaction to this airborne aluminum. Because of the nanosizing of the aluminum particles being used, home-filtering systems will not remove the aluminum, thus prolonging exposure, even indoors.”
Sources:
https://dailyhealthpost.com/brain-damaging-habits/