Wednesday, July 24th: "Brains age rapidly from their 40s"... How to keep your brain age young?

Nutrients, exercise, trying new things, etc.

How to live with a healthy brain

 

Nutrient intake to prevent brain aging

 

Having a regular meal that includes the five essential nutrients is an essential factor for brain health.

Consuming lutein and beta-cryptoxanthin, which are abundantly found in fruits and green vegetables, omega-3s that reduce the risk of diseases like Alzheimer's, and vitamins B and D that enhance nerve cell function is effective.

 

Engaging in activities that train both the left and right brain simultaneously

 

The brain needs to be used thoroughly in every corner to enhance its functions and activate the entire brain. Training that involves using both the left and right hemispheres simultaneously is necessary. The left brain is mainly responsible for linguistic abilities such as speaking, reading, writing, and calculations. To stimulate the left brain, study Chinese characters daily or memorize a few sentences in foreign languages like Japanese, English, or Chinese. Repeating phone numbers aloud or other verbal memorization exercises activate the left brain. To stimulate the right brain, which handles spatial abilities and emotions, creative and artistic activities such as drawing, coloring, origami, or crafting are beneficial. Memorizing and singing lyrics of your favorite songs regularly trains both hemispheres. Memorizing lyrics involves the left brain, while pitch and melody are managed by the right brain.

 

🔶️Doing new and unfamiliar work

 

To improve brain function, you need to consistently challenge yourself with new and difficult tasks. Learning a foreign language is good, and trying unfamiliar exercises is also beneficial. Even when stretching, try unfamiliar movements. Challenging yourself with unfamiliar activities stimulates the brain, prompting it to actively engage both hemispheres in completing tasks. At that moment, changes occur in the synapses, activating the brain.

 

🔶️ Improving cognitive skills through reading and writing

 

You must continue to experience reading, writing, and speaking. Remember that even as you age, you need to engage in lifelong cognitive activities. Reading literary works and translating them into writing is also very helpful. Using newspapers is also fine. Professor Jeong Ji-hyang of the Neurology Department at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital recommends selecting a news article, reading it three times carefully, then recalling what you just read and rewriting it according to the 5W1H principles. Doing this kind of 'newspaper journaling' more than three times a week can greatly aid cognitive stimulation.

 

Exercise regardless of intensity

 

Regular moderate to high-intensity exercise also helps increase the volume of the brain's gray and white matter. According to a study by Dr. Rajful Atarivala, a radiology specialist at the Prenuvo Imaging Center in Vancouver, Canada, an analysis of brain MRI scans from 11,125 individuals (average age 53, 52% male) conducted at various Prenuvo centers across Canada revealed that moderate exercise, such as walking 4,000 steps a day, has a significantly positive impact on brain health. This suggests that physical activity related to exercise increases brain volume and further indicates that exercise has neuroprotective effects.

 

Source: Comedy.com