You have to Quit these Brain Damaging Habits

 Eleven Brain damaging habits that you have to Quit

when an infographic with a who logo did the rounds in 2020 regarding seven of the biggest brain damaging habits

it was quickly debunked by fact checker sites unfortunately though the info still appears in google searches on the topic

but is there some truth to this list are there actually habits damaging our brains we're here to do the research and bring you the truth

Number One

number one not exposing yourself to expanding thought when it comes to the brain if you don't use it you lose it

your brain is designed to think analyze and assess but like any muscle it needs to be flexed in a harvard health article stimulating thoughts challenging tasks

and new skills all help the brain to generate new cells developing neurological plasticity and building up a functional reserve that proves as a hedge against future cell loss

Number Two

number two you're not talking enough digital tech has taken away the need for face to face conversation

but science is finding out that social interactions and in particular conversation are important for brain health short concise text interactions replacing emojis for facial expressions are dulling our brain's efficiency to carry on intellectual conversations

elise cacopolo professor of neuropsychology at columbia university explains that when you're socializing the blood circulates to different parts of your brain as you're listening and formulating responses harvard health again weighs in on this one

mentioning the strong link between good social ties and a lower risk of dementia and more on this in a minute

Number Three

number three breathe in brain food the brain needs pure unadulterated fresh air if you're not getting good quality air because of pollution stuffy indoor settings or you're just not breathing deeply enough

then you're starving your brain of what it needs to thrive remember humans have survived weeks without food days without water but only minutes without oxygen sit up straight while working learn some deep breathing exercises

and strengthen your diaphragm and get as much clean air into your lungs as possible and elixirs can you grow your brain you sure can so stick around to find out how

Number Four

number four isolation now on to how dementia and loneliness are linked loneliness is not linked to how many friends you have

it's about the quality of the human interactions and how they satisfy your sense of belonging an ongoing feeling of loneliness can cause stress and depression that triggers inflammatory responses in the brain

a rush university medical center study of 100 people over 80 years old connected a lack of social interactions with severe cognitive deterioration

Number Five

number five too much salt sugar has been wildly vilified but salt is also having its moment of judgment for brain health

we can all accept that excess salt leads to high blood pressure but if you think further than that your chance of having a stroke is significantly increased if you have high blood pressure

and strokes are very damaging to the brain and can lead to speech cognitive and physical incapacity so those extra shakes of salt are a habit you should quit for a healthy brain

Number Six

number six loss of hearing losing your hearing doesn't directly affect a brain function but if you can't hear something then you could miss vital information

don't believe us john hopkins university found that people who are hearing impaired have a 30 to 40 percent higher risk of falling victim to cognitive deterioration

Number Seven

number seven quit smoking you don't have to look further than a cigarette pack for a warning on the health risks of smoking but you might not know that smoking can affect your brain negatively as well smoking damages your vascular system

that brings blood to your brain which increases the risk of a stroke tobacco contains a compound that causes the white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells and cause neurological damage cigarettes lead to thinking and memory problems through hastening

the thinning of the brain cortex the university of california in san francisco released research in 2010 that found smoking nearly doubled a person's chance of developing alzheimer's

Number Eight

number eight cut the fat you are what you eat and if you aren't putting in brain food you won't get the best results study after study we found in our research listed off their results that all concluded that high fat low nutrition diets lead to lower cognitive functioning

here are some of the highlights the journal of neurology study in 2012 of 6 000 people around 50 years old were studied over the course of 10 years those who were overweight had a 22 higher deterioration of their cognitive functions

the low carb diet was examined by tufts university researchers back in 2008. this is generally associated with a high fat and protein intake two groups of women were studied

one group on low carb the other on a balanced diet recommended by the american diabetic association interestingly the low carb diet participants performed worse on memory based tasks

Number Nine

number nine stop worrying you got 86 billion brain cells but worry ain't one health writer linda malone explains prolonged periods of everyday stress increases cortisol levels in the brain which causes our brain cells to lose synapses

and make it more difficult to create and retrieve memories adding habits like meditation and relaxation to your life instead of defaulting to worry will help you to increase your intelligence and memory

Number Ten

number ten not enough sunshine good old sunshine is linked directly to our brain not getting a daily dose of vitamin d can mean your brain isn't firing at all cylinders

we get vitamin d from sunshine pure unadulterated sunshine directly onto your skin a prolonged lack of sunshine can cause permanent damage and is linked to cognitive decline older people northern hemisphere dwellers and people with more melanin who don't get a lot of time in the sun can boost their brain health with a daily vitamin d supplement

Number Eleven

number eleven drinking too much i think we all know that alcohol can lead to memory loss in fact a 2004 study in the alcohol and alcoholism journal found that

after a big night out test subjects showed delayed recognition in memory even when blood alcohol levels were back to zero however it's a bit of a tricky line to walk because a study in the lancet published by dr nelson in 2002 connected a moderate amount of alcohol use to reducing the risk of dementia

although moderate is an unspecified amount for the every man to follow