When it comes to our minds, they need to be protected and cared for throughout the years in the same way that our bodies do. While most people don’t think about their minds or how healthy their minds are, perhaps they should.
Everything we do in life affects our minds. The things we eat, the choices we make overall, and even whether you took a jog this afternoon can all have impacts on our minds and how things end up playing out overall. If you are someone who wants a young and healthy brain you need to make sure you are cutting out the bad habits that can make it age more quickly than usual.
Below you will find a list of things that can make our brains age a lot faster than they should. Some of these things are very easy habits to break and others, not so much. Are you doing all you can to ensure your cognitive function remains intact well into old age?
15 Habits That Might Be Causing Your Brain To Age Quickly:
1. Eating unhealthy foods
We are what we eat and when we’re eating nothing but junk, well that says a lot. If you’re not getting the vitamins and minerals your mind needs to function properly each day, you’re neglecting it seriously. We should all be eating brain health-promoting foods like beans, fish, vegetables, and so forth as often as possible.
2. Not exercising your mind
You’ve heard the phrase ‘if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it’ before, right? Well, this goes for your brain as well. If you’re not taking the steps needed to keep your cognitive function where it needs to be there could end up being some decline as time passes. Our brains age with our bodies and thus need tender love and care to remain as they should be.
3. Refusing to learn new things
Learning new things is easily one of the best ways to challenge the brain. If you are stuck in the same ole routine every single day, this could become quite the issue. The more we learn the more that becomes connected in that big blob that keeps us going.
4. Watching TV for hours on end.
For some reason, we spend a lot of our time in front of a TV screen these days and it’s becoming an issue. Rather than leaving our minds doing the same thing over and over again, giving them a challenge would do big things. This all comes back to working with our bodies as a whole.
5. Drinking far too much
Drinking too much has been something we considered bad for a long time for a number of reasons. Overdrinking can affect your mind drastically. You can end up struggling with your memory and in some cases even note that your functioning overall has been altered. Alcohol in excess can and will have damaging effects on the brain.
6. Living near a major highway
While surprising and a bit confusing living near a major highway can have negative impacts on our health. This is because there is more pollution in those areas than in others. The more heavily populated and ‘city-like’ you live, the more dangers you’re facing in this regard. Over time damage can be done to the brain through this.
7. Not drinking enough water overall
Sure, water might not taste as good as soda but it will work wonders for your mind. Water is crucial for delivering nutrients to our brains and removing toxins. We need to make sure we’re taking in as much as we should be each and every day of our lives.
8. Living a sedentary lifestyle overall
For those who do not know a sedentary lifestyle is one that involves very little movement. People who live these kinds of lives usually spend a lot of time sitting and in return don’t always have the best health. The less you work out while living this kind of lifestyle the worse your chances become of declining at a younger age.
9. Smoking
We all know how dangerous smoking is overall but yes, it too can affect your brain. Smoking can and will actually double your chances of coming down with Alzheimer’s disease which no one wants to have to experience. Just because it looks ‘cool’ doesn’t mean you have to partake.
10. Listening to music louder than you should
We should all be working to protect our hearing if we want our brains to be intact as well. One study from a few years back actually showed that those with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia which is a serious brain disease. The less you can hear, the worse your brain’s condition could end up becoming.
11. Letting friendships wilt away
Friends keep our mind’s going, without them, we tend to get quite bored. Sure, you might think your life is a little less stressful when you’re isolated but that’s not always the case. Because socializing is so good for us as a whole it has benefits to offer our brains as well.
12. Forgetting to relax
The more worked up we are the harder it is for our brains to calm down. Everything we feel is a chemical reaction stemming from that very place and keeping our stress levels under control can really benefit our minds as well as our overall well-being. The more stressed you are in general the more strained your brain will become.
13. Not getting enough sleep
Sleep is extremely important for proper cognitive functioning. If you’re only getting a few hours of sleep here and there, you need to do more for your own good. The less sleep we get the more of a strain we place on our bodies and minds, they need to rest.
14. Ignoring your heart’s overall health.
An unhealthy heart also makes for an unhealthy brain. If you want your mind to function properly you need to keep your heart in order and vice versa. These two work together in more ways than you might realize.
15. Not wearing a helmet in situations where one is needed
If you’re skateboarding, cycling, riding a motorcycle, or even skiing you need to make sure you’re wearing a proper helmet. When we fall or go down overall we can cause serious damage to our heads. Brain injuries are no joke and while it might not seem like a big deal in the moment, something so small can change your life drastically.