6 Important steps to keep the brain healthy

Are you a forgetful person? Maybe you do not often do activities that are actually useful for keeping your brain healthy. The more you get older, the more often the forgetfulness appears.

Research conducted by neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School suggests that the structure and function of the brain related to memory can change with age. In addition, it also depends on how many brain cells a person has used. In fact, we only use 10% of the total brain cells we have. Use of brain cells is associated with cognitive function, thinking, reasoning, and human IQ.

There are various things you can do to keep your brain healthy

Increasing brain cells can actually be done by always doing the following things regularly:

1. Doing physical activity

Scientific evidence that examines a healthy brain is doing exercise, especially aerobics and fitness. Many studies have shown that aerobics can reduce the risk level of dementia in adults.

A study shows that people who do aerobic exercise an average of 30 minutes per day and do it regularly at least five times a week, can improve reasoning ability and increase brain mass. In addition, experiments doing aerobics on people who have cognitive impairments, prove that there is a gradual increase in cognitive development.

Maintaining a healthy brain through exercise, among others, because exercise can help smooth blood circulation, reduce stress, stimulate hormones that can improve mood and make sleep better. Other sports like dance sport , sports that train flexibility and muscle strength, are proven to be better for the brain to stay healthy than simple sports such as walking or jogging . Should be done 3 to 5 times per week with 30 minutes each per session.

2. Eat a healthy diet

Remember that you eat for your whole body, including brain health. Therefore, eat according to your needs, reduce sugar, sugar, and high saturated fat. Increase the consumption of fiber from vegetables, fruit and complex carbohydrates such as wheat. Eat foods that contain folic acid, B6, and B12 which can prevent memory decline. Vegetables that are dark green usually contain lots of vitamins B6 and B12.

3. Get involved in social activities

The results of research conducted on people with dementia show that doing social activities, building connections, and communicating with other people can reduce their dementia levels. Interactions with family, friends, or other relatives have been shown to slow memory decline in adulthood. In addition, socializing with the surrounding environment can prevent us from stress and depression, increase comfort, and increase intellectual capacity.

4. Doing brain exercise

Activities like playing musical instruments, playing chess, or doing crossword puzzles are simple things that can make your brain 'exercise'. By doing so, you can improve your reasoning skills and memory, increase the number of brain cells, and can lower your risk of dementia. Apart from playing, you can also read novels, learn a foreign language, or learn new things. It requires the brain to remember over and over again, thereby keeping the brain "exercising" and making it healthy.

5. Ensure adequate rest and sleep

The recommended sleep duration for a day is 6 hours per day - for adults. By sleeping at least 6 hours per day, it can restore your body's condition, improve your mood and immune system, and can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's.

6. Avoid the risks that interfere with a healthy brain

Avoid various things that can interfere with your brain health, such as hypertension, being overweight, having high cholesterol and depression. Hypertension, obesity , and high cholesterol can interfere with brain health because it can cause blockages in blood vessels which can also occur in blood vessels in the brain. In addition, smoking can also increase two times the risk of developing Alzheimer's compared to people who do not smoke at all.

In addition, a study conducted for two years on 1,260 elderly people stated that by having a good diet, exercise and regular brain exercise, not only did it reduce the risk of developing heart disease in that group, but also decreased the risk of decreased cognitive function, thus making the brain remains healthy.