Source: Power of Positivity
While aging is an inevitable part of life, we try, as much as possible, to hide the signs of growing old. When the first strand of white hair appears or when the skin starts getting wrinkly, it’s natural to be concerned about finding solutions to slow down these markers of aging. But have you ever wondered about the habits that could make your brain age faster? Have you thought about the health of your brain now that you feel age creeping in?
This must-have happened to you a couple of times before: you enter a room in your house but you can’t remember why you went there. Or you’re having an animated conversation with a friend about a movie and your mind pauses to recall the name of an actor. Memory lapses are inevitably part of growing older, but you can still do some things to help slow down the aging of your brain.
So let’s find out some things that make your brain age faster. Thankfully, we also have some suggestions on what to do so that you can prevent it from worsening.
5 Things That Make Your Brain Age Faster, According To Science
“If your brain is predicted to be older than your real age, that reflects something negative that may be happening.” – James Cole
1. You’re not doing physical activities
Do you like to veg out on the couch and watch TV rather than do exercises? Do you live a sedentary lifestyle and prefer sitting to doing anything physical? A study in the journal PLOS One revealed that sitting long hours can be bad for your brain as much as it is harmful to your body’s health. Apparently, the composition and functions in your brain greatly benefit from your physical fitness routines.
- Experts learned that people whose main activity in life is sitting tend to have a thinner medial temporal lobe.
- This part of the brain has to do with memory function and cognitive performance.
- For this reason, you’re more at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease as you age if you don’t exercise.
Another study found in the journal Neurology showed a similar correlation to physical fitness and the brain. Women who were more inclined to do cardiovascular exercises regularly reduced their risk of dementia by as much as 88 percent compared to women who spent more time on the couch. Symptoms of dementia in women who had high cardio fitness routines were also delayed by at least 11 years compared to the ladies with a sedentary lifestyle.
- Regions in the brain may also shrink without physical activities.
- Your brain ages faster because the shrinkage can trigger a decrease in the blood flow and connection between the neurons.
- Your brain is more susceptible to inflammation because it’s not getting the proper nutrients.
- Without proper nutrition, you can develop chronic diseases, including depression or addiction.
2. You indulge in eating junk or processed food and have bad vices
Junk Food and Making Your Brain Age
You already know that junk or processed food does not contain positive and nutritious benefits. Doctors have been saying for many years that eating these foods can lead to health problems like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Well, if it’s bad for your body, then it’s also bad for your brain. Experts said in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association that if people followed the MIND diet or the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, then they can reduce the chance of developing brain diseases by 53 percent.
The MIND diet is a combination of the famous Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). It consists of eating mainly 10 types of heart-protecting and brain-boosting foods, such as:
- Green and leafy vegetables
- Other vegetables
- Berries
- Nuts
- Fish
- Beans
- Poultry
- Whole grains
- Wine
- Olive oil
When you’re on the MIND diet you also need to avoid eating red meat, foods with high-fat content, cheese, fried and fast food, as well as sweets and pastries. These foods can trigger inflammation that can increase health risks and speed up the aging of your brain.
Other Vices and the Brain
Meanwhile, bad vices like drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes or pot (marijuana) can also contribute to the faster aging of your brain, according to experts in a large-scale study at Johns Hopkins University. While looking at 62,000 brain scans of subjects from the ages of nine months to 105 years old, the experts determined that brain age acceleration was more evident in people who suffered from alcohol abuse and cannabis use. They also saw markers of brain aging in folks with serious mental health conditions.
Moderate to heavy drinking may also affect the function of the hippocampus by 40 percent, according to Rutgers experts. This part of the brain is responsible for learning and memory.
Additionally, if you’re still smoking, it might be time to consider quitting the vice. Experts from the University of California San Francisco said you’ll double your risk for Alzheimer’s disease if you keep inhaling tobacco.
3. You don’t do mind-challenging activities
Experts on a study published in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions discovered that doing crossword puzzles and other brain games will boost the defense of your brain against dementia by 29 percent. Apparently, these activities help you retain the processing speed in your brain, which naturally declines due to aging.
In your younger years as a student, you spent a lot of time studying to prepare for tests. However, since you no longer do these as you got older, your brain does not get enough mental exercises.
Australian experts in a study on PLOS Medicine cited that challenging your mind using computerized cognitive games found in gadgets or devices may not be as effective as doing real-world activities. So, apart from doing crossword puzzles, you may also try to do the following to challenge your brain:
· Learn to play a musical instrument
The brain gets stimulated when facing something new or complex to learn. You also experience a similar impact if you learn a new skill or a new language.
· Do computations in your head
Try not to use a pen and paper or your phone’s calculator if you need to compute. Instead, try doing the math in your head as you walk to challenge your mind even more.
· Test yourself
Memorize what’s on your grocery list a few hours before you go to the supermarket. Before you head out of your house, see if you can recall the items on the list without looking at it first. It will make for a fun exercise and stimulate your brain well.
