Our brain is one of the most important organs in your body.
Just like our heart, kidneys and lungs, our brain health is crucial and can have an impact on our brain health. When it comes to keeping our brains healthy, many things can play a crucial role. These things can range from our diet to our sleep patterns. Sometimes the damage to our brain can be due to aging as well such as in the case of age-related brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
I remember when my grandfather used to visit a renowned neurosurgeon in Rawalpindi his doctor used to put a special emphasis on the habits to keep and avoid for better brain health. This is simply because habits play a huge role in determining the health of our brains. In case you are wondering what these habits are, I suggest you read further.
Brain Damaging Habits to Know About
Now let’s talk about some of the brain-damaging habits that might impact our brain health to a greater extent. Some of these habits include:
1- Sleep deprivation
We need proper sleep to let our brain function properly right?
This is because adequate sleep is necessary for all your body functions. Sleep helps your body to feel well rested after a hectic day. So, in case you miss out on your sleep due to any reason, this may impact your brain health to a greater extent. Sleep deprivation not only makes you feel dull the next morning but can also take a toll on your energy levels. Not only is good sleeping enough important but sleep with little disruption does the job well.
2- Skipping breakfast
We have heard many things about not skipping breakfast because it can impact our energy levels. Not only this but not having our breakfast can also affect the way our brain functions. Especially when this becomes a habit, the results are drastic. This happens when our body doesn’t get enough food after 6-8 hours of sleep. This certainly impacts the supply of nutrients to your brain thus impacting your brain health.
3- Covering your head while sleeping
You may find it comforting but this lifestyle habit can cause damage to your brain health. This works by limiting the supply of oxygen to your brain which ultimately results in the concentration of carbon dioxide in your brain. You may further feel suffocated due to keeping your head covered which further makes you feel fatigued. So, make sure to not cover your head while you are going for your beauty sleep.
4- Not having good foods
Your dietary choices also cause an impact on your brain health. Yes, because when you are getting adequate nutrition the supply of nutrients to your brain cells is compromised which results in poor brain function. Similarly, the addition of certain foods to your diet harms your brain health. This includes the consumption of too much sugar which is considered to be harmful to your brain.
If you want to keep your brain healthy, then make sure to add more and more healthy fats to your diet, especially the ones coming from nuts and seeds.
5- Not drinking enough water
Just like the right foods, drinking enough water is also thought to be helpful for your body as well as your brain. Just make sure you keep your water consumption up to the mark to minimize its impact on your brain functions.
6- Working while you are sick
Many of us work while being sick but do you know that this is one of many things harming your brain health? This is because during sickness our brain is not able to process the information the way it used to do hence our working efficiency decreases. So, make sure you make your brain and body feel well rested while you are sick and let it recover.
7- Stress
Whenever it comes to stress, we know it has both psychological and physiological impacts on our health. Not only stress drains our energy but is one of how we tend to damage our brain health. It only makes you feel irritated and restless but can result in depression and anxiety-like conditions. Also, feeling stressed can be linked to eating disorders that result in overeating which is also bad for your brain health.
Bottom Line!
Your brain health is crucial for all the reasons!
However, when it comes to the damage to your brain many things can impact it. Our lifestyle habits and choices are surely among these. Other than these habits, lack of mental stimulation, a sedentary lifestyle and smoking also increase your risk of brain health with age. So, make sure you avoid all of these to keep your brain healthy. Also, make sure to keep an eye on the warning signs of brain health problems to catch the problems at an early stage and begin the treatment.
