5 Natural Ways to Boost Your Brain Function

Like any other bodily function, there is a way to boost your cognitive abilities by altering your lifestyle. However, we’re not just talking about boosting your brain function by completing challenging intellectual tasks or acquiring new skills. We are talking about ways to improve your overall brain infrastructure through proper exercise, healthy habits and adequate nutrition. With this in mind and without further ado, here are five natural ways to boost your brain function.

1.      Regular exercise

 

The first thing you need to understand is the fact that there’s a direct correlation between physical activity and your mental capacities. This relationship starts long before we’re even born and it was proven, several times over, that when a mother exercises in pregnancy (even if it’s a regular walk), their child later experiences faster mental growth and development. Needless to say, this remains true throughout our lives, seeing as how regular exercise helps the production of nerve-protecting compounds. Apart from this, it increases blood flow to our brains and improves the development of neurons in general. Overall, it helps protect and develop our brain, as well as keep it running.

2.      Adopting healthy habits

The next thing you need to understand is the fact that exercising takes a lot of active effort, which causes people to start avoiding it over the course of time. Instead, you need to plan for physical activity that will become as sustainable in the future. Luckily, even regular light exercises like walking or practicing swing with a golf tutor are linked to slowing down the aging process of your brain. For instance, getting a dog that you’re supposed to walk every evening is much easier to maintain in the long run than committing to your gym membership or going for a neighborhood jog early in the morning. You can also try to gamify this entire experience by embracing a sport as a hobby. In fact, you would be surprised just how rewarding and exhausting it can be.

3.      Proper nutrition

Another thing you need to keep in mind is the fact that what you eat affects every single aspect of your life. That being said, there are some nutrients that are particularly beneficial to your brain. We’re talking about amino acids, proteins and Omega-3 fats. Therefore, foods that contain them are your closest allies in this struggle and you should actively work towards including as much of them into your regular diet. Here, we’re talking about coconut oil, dark chocolate, avocados, blueberries and celery. As you can see, this kind of eating regimen can be coordinated even with the strictest of vegan diets.

4.      A good night’s sleep

Without giving your brain enough time to recuperate, you can’t hope for it to improve. After all, we grow, boost our immune system and build muscle while sleeping. Unfortunately, a lot of people are still unsure about all that constitutes quality rest. First of all, humans are innately programmed to sleep between 10 PM and 6 AM, coincidentally, this is when they get rested the most. In fact, there’s a Chinese proverb claiming that a single hour of sleep before the midnight does you more good than two hours of sleep after midnight. Adopting this kind of sleeping schedule can do wonders for your brain function.

5.      Dropping your bad habits

One last thing you need to understand is the fact that some bad habits you’re currently practicing might be even worse than you’ve been told. For instance, while heavy alcohol consumption may be bad for your memory, even enjoying a drink or two, every now and then, may give some bad consequences on your mental capacities in the long-run. Same goes for tobacco consumption, seeing as how the later actively sabotages your respiratory system, which is in charge or supplying your brain with oxygen. By dropping these two bad habits alone, you will do your body and your brain a huge favor.

 

If there’s one thing that holds true for the above-listed five tips it is that each of them requires an insane amount of willpower. Dropping alcohol, starting to exercise regularly, improving your eating habits and going to bed at 10 PM aren’t exactly something that a lot of people find easy. Still, no one can dispute that all of them are beneficial for your health. Moreover, due to the fact that they improve your brain function, all of these ‘sacrifices’ are more than worth it.