By Paul04 December 2014
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People are getting much older and everyone wants to stay mentally fit. BrainGymmer gives you 4 important tips to keep your brain fit and healthy! You only have one brain, you want to take good care of it, right?
Tip 1. Eat healthy
Take care of your body, take care of your mind. Healthy nutrition contributes to a well-functioning brain. For example, the brain needs the proper amount of energy. It gets this in the form of carbohydrates, which can be found in bread, pasta en potatoes.
But what is definitely important, which is overlooked quite frequently and therefore not consumed in the right amounts, is oily fish. Oily fish, like salmon and tuna, contain omega-3. This is a fatty acid which is known to help counter cognitive decline. Omega-3 is used by the brain for communication between all the cells inside the brain.
Make sure you consume the right nutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. But watch your weight, the extra weight that makes it hard to climb stairs makes it hard for your brain to solve problems.
Tip 2. Exercise
You read it everywhere, so here again, because it can't be stressed enough. Your entire body, and in particular the brain, benefits from good blood circulation. The proper amount of exercise makes you less likely to forget things and ensures you can concentrate better. Also, the risk of dementia and other cognitive impairments is significantly reduced. Should you think that this all is not relevant for you because you never worked out anyway, no worries! As clinical neuropsychologist Prof. Dr Scherder indicates: research has shown that even people who've become very lazy managed to get back on the same cognitive level once they started exercising. A mild effort is a start, such as hiking for 30 minutes a day, but you will get the most benefit from aerobic exercise.
3. Challenge yourself
To keep your brain healthy and sharp there is a wide range of actions you can take. The most important thing is that you challenge yourself mentally. For example, you can start an exciting hobby, learn to play an instrument or learn a language. New situations like these will create new connections inside the brain. To keep the brain stimulated you can also use brain training. For this, it is useful when you can reach a state of so-called flow. This is when you can concentrate optimally because the task at hand is challenging enough to keep your attention and lies a bit above you capability level. By using the games on BrainGymmer you will constantly push your cognitive abilities in a challenging and fun way. Not only will this make the connections in your brain stronger, but you will create new ones too!
Tip 4. Relax
A night of good night sleep is crucial for your brain. During sleep, memories become fixed and connections in the brain are strengthened. So when you sleep the things you experienced during the day are processed. How much sleep you need is different for each person, only you can decide how much you need, but the average adult sleeps 7 or 8 hours a night.
Research has shown that meditation and yoga help to keep the brain young. It turned out to be that people that have been meditating for a long period of time had more white matter in their brain. White matter is responsible for transferring information.
The most important thing about the rest is that it keeps stress levels low. Stress can negatively affect memory and the learning processes. So challenge yourself mentally and remember that what is good for longevity is also good for your brain.
