Are you taking care of your brain? Discover our easy tips to keep your mind sharp and your brain healthy.
2 min
One of the remarkable things about the brain is that it’s possible to take steps to ensure it’s healthy, much like you would your physical health. It’s never too early or late to start taking action towards achieving better brain health, and the great thing is it can also be quite enjoyable too.
There is a growing body of research that shows that you can help reduce the risk of cognitive decline by making lifestyle changes. By keeping your brain engaged and looking after your body you can help slow down the ageing process. Maintaining your wellbeing as you age can also contribute to ageing better³. A healthy brain not only helps to keep you mentally sharp, but it could also help to minimise the risk of dementia.
Learn to embrace good brain habits and farewell some of the worst habits for your brain
Try to move your body daily and embrace incidental exercise such as taking the stairs instead of the lift or parking further away to encourage you to walk more.
Try to maintain a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables. Research has shown that a diet such as the Mediterranean diet may contribute to reducing the risk of cognitive decline.
Aim to ‘exercise’ your brain daily by embracing activities such as learning a new language, sport or skill or swapping watching TV for playing mind games or reading a book.
There is evidence that stress actually damages the brain, so take the necessary steps to reduce your stress levels such as meditating or exercising.
Maintain your social connections by staying in touch with friends or getting involved in the community by volunteering or joining a club or group.
Injuries to the brain can increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. It’s important to stay safe by wearing your seatbelt, using a helmet when you’re riding a bike or playing contact sports and also taking steps to prevent falls.
Sleep helps the brain repair itself and also boosts the immune system so make sure to get a good night’s sleep.
Smoking is said to increase the risk of cognitive decline - another great reason to give up the habit.
Heavy drinking can affect brain health so try to have a few drink-free days a week.
Risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure and diabetes can negatively impact your cognitive health, so make sure to have regular health checks to monitor your heart health.
It’s important to prioritise looking after your brain health as part of your regular routine.
Identify reasons to keep you motivated, such as being able to stay physically and mentally fit to maintain your lifestyle as you age.
Look for ways you can easily incorporate different changes to your routine. Start simply by making small tweaks to your lifestyle such as committing to daily activities such as going for a walk or aiming to eat more fruits and vegetables throughout the day.
To help keep you accountable and to guide you on your journey, consider downloading the Five Lives app to your phone that can help you to stay motivated but also provide various activities to help you with improving your brain health.
Informations médicales
It's never too early or too late to act to protect your brain.
Brain changes associated with dementia start many years before symptoms arise, therefore positive lifestyle changes in your forties and fifties are particularly important. But there is evidence to suggest that brain ageing starts as early as our late twenties to thirties, and that these changes roughly match the pace of physical ageing accelerated by unhealthy lifestyle choices. We also know that some risk factors for dementia start very early in life, such as having less than 12 years of formal education.
1. Belsky, Daniel W., et al. "Quantification of biological aging in young adults." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.30 (2015): E4104-E4110.
2. Livingston G, Huntley J, Sommerlad A, et al. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2020;396(10248):413–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6
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