Unlocking Brain Health: 16 Essential Habits You Should Know

To prevent the brain from potential 'hunger,' it's essential to supplement with certain types of fats to enhance optimal brain function. The brain consists of about 60% fat, and omega-3 fatty acids are highly beneficial for the brain. Foods rich in these fatty acids include salmon, tuna, soybeans, walnuts, and more.

Additionally, sources of healthy fats can be found in mackerel, sardines, and tuna. To ensure an adequate supply of necessary fats, it's recommended to consume fish 2 to 3 times a week. On the other hand, it's advisable to avoid saturated fats and high-calorie foods, as they can be detrimental to the brain.

If you lead a fast-paced lifestyle, it can negatively impact your health over time, causing stress and other detrimental effects. Therefore, adopt a slow-paced lifestyle, minimize unnecessary thoughts, and allow your brain to relax. According to a study from the University of California, practicing meditation and yoga reduces stress levels, mitigating memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

Always 'demand' that your brain is constantly learning, exploring, and thinking about new things. This habit cultivates sharpness and perceptiveness in cognition. As the brain is always active, mental strength is also enhanced. Learning and absorbing new knowledge can involve reading books, watching TV, engaging in conversations, and more. Through these activities, learn to increase imagination, broaden thinking, and break limits.

To keep the brain healthy, nerve cells need to be supplied with sufficient nutrients. Therefore, always pay attention to a healthy diet for the brain. To help the body prevent diseases related to free radicals, absorbing antioxidants is essential.

These substances are abundant in fruits and green vegetables. This is also why Dr. Nussbaum always recommends that human meals should be as colorful as possible. While all fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc., have particularly positive effects on cognition and brain health.

A full night's sleep is not about how long, but meeting the needs of the brain and body. The duration of sleep also depends on daily life and activities. Some need 9 hours, while others feel refreshed with only 6 hours. However, abusing sleep, whether less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours, is harmful.

Sleep plays a crucial role in the entire body. During sleep, the brain produces new cells, the whole body rests to regenerate energy for the new day, repairing damaged cells, and improving the functioning of internal organs. This contributes to excellent brain development.

The habit of traveling not only satisfies personal preferences but also has extremely positive effects in reducing the risk of cognitive decline. According to neuropsychology expert Dr. Nussbaum, exposure to new environments helps the brain become healthier.

Meeting new friends always brings unexpected joys to humans. Through communication, the mind tends to expand, absorb new information, and especially get acquainted with various educational levels. This leads to better brain development.

Some people live at a very active pace for up to 18 hours a day to meet the demands of work. This is the reason why the brain becomes overactive. According to Dr. Nussbaum, excessive stress will cause the brain and physical health to decline, especially affecting memory. Therefore, if working hours are prolonged, knowing how to take short breaks is essential to relax the mind.

The greatest happiness in life is being with the ones you love. Being with someone you love helps the brain to relax, reduce stress, preserve many moments of happiness,… Consequently, the mental life of the brain is maintained in a relaxed, comfortable state.

According to Dr. Nussbaum, if individuals actively build emotional relationships, the risk of cognitive decline will be reduced.
Therefore, every day, try to allocate some time to walk every day, participate in activities such as dancing, clubs,… to enhance flexibility and help the brain function well.

Many people have the habit of drinking coffee or tea in the morning to stay alert for a long working day. The truth is that beverages containing caffeine stimulate the brain and help you process things faster. Science has long known the effects of caffeine; it acts like a drug that helps enhance brain performance. 'Caffeine helps you focus, enhances memory performance, and the ability to recall memories,'

If the body is regularly active, the mind stays activated too. That's why staying active
keeps both your physical and mental well-being in good shape. When the body moves, it stimulates the brain, making us more flexible and relaxed.

If you were born in the 80s or early 90s, you probably can't forget the countless notebooks filled with various notes, phone numbers, beauty tips, song lyrics, and more. Each person had their own little tricks to memorize things quickly.

So, what have you done with your notebook? It was indeed a brain exercise. However, in today's world, those notebooks are gone. We have smartphones, synchronized contacts, and work schedules that have replaced the activities of note-taking and old-fashioned memorization.

In a 2011 article titled 'The Google Effect on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips,' college students demonstrated significantly lower memory for information that could be easily found on Google. Winter suggests that the 'Google it when you don't know' effect may reduce our overall memory capacity. Therefore, sometimes people should exercise their brains more by memorizing instead of relying on Google searches.

In a study published in the British Medical Journal, scientists examined the impact of alcohol consumption on the brain. They tracked and evaluated the cognitive abilities of over 500 adults for more than 30 years. Those who consumed 15 to 20 alcohol units per week were three times more likely to experience damage and shrinkage in the high-level visual cortex than non-drinkers. One alcohol unit is calculated as (volume of alcohol in ml x alcohol concentration %)/1000.

In reality, the visual cortex is the brain region related to memory and spatial navigation abilities. Impaired functioning in these two areas can make you 'blind to the way.' In general, drinking alcohol in moderation doesn't 'kill your brain cells,' but excessive alcohol consumption and regular intake can damage the part of your brain responsible for remembering everything, from where you left your keys to the name of a movie or even the way home.

Games, often deemed addictive, actually serve as an excellent method for brain training. Gamers tend to develop ''short-term memory'' - the ability to remember and store information. In-game problem-solving enhances quick thinking, strategic planning, and better outcome orientation. However, it's crucial to play for no more than 30 minutes daily!

When we listen to delightful sounds or complete musical compositions, our emotions undergo a positive transformation. Playing a musical instrument not only enhances the development of musical sensitivity and language skills but also boosts cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills. This is highly beneficial for the brain. That's why in recent years, mothers often enroll their children in talent music classes.

This is something not up for much debate because not only does learning a new language enhance our brains, but learning any new knowledge (even tips, news, etc.) also makes our brains smarter. And rest assured that when you learn any new language, you only add more knowledge, and that's entirely good for you.