How to keep your mind healthy and active?

10 Ways to keep your mind healthy and active

It is always a good time to give heed to the prospect of keeping your mind healthy and active. Even whether you are a senior citizen or a young boy entering high school, keeping your mind healthy and active will give their own benefits. It will not only keep your mind sharp to do the daily tasks efficiently but will also enhance the cognitive system.

Studies show that people with strong minds live a richer and fulfilling life. Keeping your mind sharp will also help you to become successful in your endeavors.

The following list will incorporate plenty of mental, physical, and nutritional ways to keep the mind healthy and sharper. Surely, it will do some wonders in your life if you start practicing it regularly.

Crossword puzzle

Brain training is the idea which puts the brain to work through puzzles in order to improve memory and cognitive function.

The researchers have found that there is a positive relationship between a crossword puzzle and better brain health. For instance:

• A recent research was carried on old aged people, and it was discovered that those (Dementia diagnosed people) who regularly solve word search puzzle games experienced a decline in memory loss. Of all the people on whom the study was conducted it was found that more than half of the people diagnosed with dementia delayed their memory loss by two and a half years.
• A review which was published recently said that the crossword puzzle is the best and effective way to preserve memory and cognitive function. In fact, there were better results for these approaches than that of the medical therapy.
• A trial funded by National Institutes of Health found that training benefits of older people last for more than a decade. The researchers recommended that the older adults should try to solve these crossword puzzle games since it helps them in improving their cognitive system.

Related Post: How do Crosswords Benefit Your Mind?

Sudoku: The game

It is a game of numbers which contains the grid, into it we need to fill the numbers from 1 to 9 without using any number twice in the same grid. The sudoku champion, Thomas said that the game is very friendly and does not require any trivia to solve the game.

• People get intimidated when they see the game at the start. However, they find it interesting and easy once they understand the rules and regulations of it.
• The sudoku requires you to concentrate on the 9 elements of the grid, and then move to the next grid until you make it to the last grid before completing the game.
• The game ‘Sudoku’ contributes its part to reduce the rate of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and protect the brain from early decline.
• Any time you try to work your brain in different areas and stretch it to solve the game it will help you sharpen your mind.
• While it offers stimulation and exercise of the brain, it also gives the feeling of relaxation to the people who have figured out the puzzle.
• You can find the sudoku in newspapers, magazines and even online. An option of buying a book of sudoku is also on the cards.

Challenging the brain

Learning and experiencing new things is a great way to challenge the brain. Going beyond the mundane life will give a new challenge as well as adds a new dimension to your life.

• Learn: Being curious will help you to discover new things. If you happen to see a new word, then look it up. A flower that you have seen it for the first time? Find what it is.
• Chess: Learn how to play chess if you haven’t already. Using new tricks and making way out of complex situations in chess is always a great way to sharpen your mind.
• Travel: If you have always wanted to travel the world, then go on, it helps you to explore different cultures and places indirectly helping your brain to get active.
• School: Education is and will be a smarter tool to learn new things and also helps your brain in becoming acutely sharp.
• Music: Learn how to read the music and new instruments or hire some tutor with whom you can learn it.
• Switch hands: Daily tasks like eating, writing if done by less dominant hand will directly stimulate the brain.

Physical exercise is a must

Working all day or working on alternate days, both of these will definitely add benefits to the body and mind as well. Exercise increases blood flow and oxygenate the brain, so doing some exercise will help.

• Swim– Jump in a lake or a pool to exercise your muscles and thus help you brain to relax.
• Walking the dog– Having a short trip with your dog will enhance your mood and will keep you healthy.
• Tennis– The mental and physical stimulation of the game will keep your brain in top form.
• Yoga– Practicing yoga will enable your mind and body to be in a serene ambiance. Making it a mind sharpening tool.

Mental exercise

The mind can work just like muscles can, to keep your mind mentally strong, give it the tasks which will increase the level of thinking power.

• Apply your brain– Avoiding calculator to do a simple arithmetic problem or thinking through intricate situations can help you in building your mind. Thus, resulting a stronger and an active mind.
• News– Keeping tabs on the current scenario will stimulate your mind.The area of interest in the news can be politics, travel, sports, world news gossip etc.

Eat clean and healthy food

What enters your body and how it reacts is undeniably connected with each other. To take extra care of your food will apparently give your body and mind a boost in many different ways.

• Breakfast– The most important meal of the day now is also considered the best meal for your brain too.
• Cooked food– Raw food enrages many people who are following a strict regime. However, the beneficial things which have been unfolded in past give us the reason to try it. It has been discovered that the ancient man developed at a faster rate when he learned the joy of eating raw food.
• Fish– It is considered a very important part of the menu for the people who live at the bank of the sea or water bodies. Fish is brain food and you should eat it few times a week for a healthy mind. Salmon is a good contributor to brain food.
• Avocado– It has all the necessary mono-saturated fats needed for a healthy brain. Eating avocado can rush the blood flow and rushed blood flow co-equals a healthy brain.
• Fruits and veggies– Every mother always insist her children to eat vegetables and fruits, it’s because she knows the importance of eating fruits and veggies.

Supplements are paramount for brain

Not necessarily supplements come in pills it can be in other forms as well. Learn how the supplements help promote your body and mind.

• Omega3 – It is an amino acid which helps to stave from Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and depression. It works as the best supplement.
• Green tea– Antioxidants are really very helpful for the mind to make it a healthy one. Sipping some green tea each and every day will definitely help you feel confident.
• Water– Drinking a lot of water will keep your body and brain detoxified and oxygenated.
• Vitamin E– Vitamin E is a strong anti-oxidant which is a beneficial factor.

Food to limit and food to eliminate

• Fast food– Fast foods contain saturated fats and are dangerous for your body and mind. So, you should try limiting them. Limiting it extensively will keep your mind sorted, thus making you mentally fit.
• Highly processed food– The preserved food, artificial ingredients, and high-fat content food are not at all a good option for the body as well as the mind.
• Hydrogenated vegetable oil– The oil found in processed food has a direct link to higher cholesterol which in turn reduces the blood flow to the brain.
• Alcohol– Restricting the drinks daily to 2 will not harm as it would when consumed severely. Imbibing a lot of alcohol can lead to memory loss.
• Environmental pollution-Toxic elements hamper the body and especially the mind.
  So, it would be a shrewd decision to move out if you live in a polluted area.
• Heavy metals-They disrupt the protective blood-brain barrier and cannot be ousted easily when entered. The two main heavy metals are mercury and lead that are found in fish and job site respectively.

Related Post: Food for Your Brain and Pocket 

Safety

Protecting the brain from serious damages can promote the functioning of the fit mind. Brain injury can debilitate the brain’s functions. Follow these easy steps to keep your head safe.

• Sports helmet– Wearing sports helmet can reduce the risk factor when you do physical activities such as bicycling, skiing or rollerblading. Although, it cannot be guaranteed that the safety will be for sure if, in case, you meet an accident.
• Smoking– Smoking robs the oxygen from the body, and oxygen is an essential element for a healthier brain. Also, Alzheimer’s is twice as likely to occur to the smoker than to a non-smoking person.
• Heat stroke– Avoid heat stroke for an acute working brain. When out on a sunny day try to wear a hat and keep yourself hydrated by drinking lots of water. Remain in the shade as much as possible.
• Drugs– Drugs can deteriorate the brain’s health drastically, so abstaining from the drugs can help a lot to minimize the risk of brain damage.

Reduce stress

A stress-less life not only keeps your body healthy but also improves your mental abilities. Learn new ways to tame your stress from the below-mentioned points.

• Emotions– Try to control your emotions and pretend as if feelings such as anger, sadness, or loneliness were not a part of your life. However, pushing the feelings away like this may not keep it from coming back out at you, but it can be a great practice to have in your life.
• Meditation– Nothing can beat meditation when it comes to improving focus and stress. It can impact your brain for a good life.
• Fun– Have fun in life. Take a little time to go on the vacation which you have never been to. A little off time from work, family and responsibilities can rejuvenate your non-happening life. When it seems impossible then, do learn to find joy in all you do.
• Yes! -Think positively and you will find that your approach towards your life is one of the best ways to reduce stress. You will get an appreciative feeling towards what you have accomplished and also getting empowered.
• Sleep -Getting enough sleep and sleeping well contributes to your daily life. It can be a very positive step to diminish the stress. If you are insomniac or do not get enough sleep then learn some tips naturally without any external aid.
• Get a pet– Pet owners show lesser signs of stress and they live a joyful life as compared to the people who do not have a pet. Having a pet can also reduce the loneliness. If you don’t have it already and thinking of getting one, then visit an animal rescue organization and get a needy animal a home, helping yourself too.

Having a social life

Social life plays an important part in everyone’s life. Be it reducing isolation, stress or learning new experiences, emotional connections and social life contributes its part which in turn stimulates the brain. Making a lot of friends is easy but to be connected with them is the task which many give up. A lot of easy and great ideas are mentioned to strengthen your bonding with your friends, family, and relatives.

• Letters– Resurrect the old conveying way to communicate with your loved ones.
  Words read from the written letters have the touch of the person who has written it, unlike digital communications which lack it. Rediscover the feeling of writing and reading letters and get social.
• Clubs– Joining clubs can widen the friend circle if you have fewer friends in the town. There are several clubs ranging from football, environmental, technology, travel to writing clubs. Meet up some new faces and interact with them to become more social.
• Volunteer– Volunteering can be a great way to help people, interact with them, and be social.
• Cards– Have your friends at your home for playing cards. Playing cards are fun to play. Set up some weekly or monthly dates to play cards.
• Dinner group– Start a regular routine to have six or eight people join the dinner. Ask each one to bring a new dish and host it in alternate homes.
• Online– Join an online discussion group which discusses new topics every day, making it interesting and easy to partake in.
• Books– Have a combined reading with a social aspect of discussing your book to give benefits to your brain.

These are some of the most effective ways to keep your mind healthy and active. What are your opinions? Let us know in the comments section!