Your Brain Health and Bad Habits

Your daily habits have an impact on your entire body, including your brain. Unfortunately, some of those bad habits you’ve adopted over time could be affecting your brain health. Here’s a look at some common brain-draining bad habits and how you can swap them out for good habits.

Bad Habit #1 – Inactivity Drains Your Brain

You already know that physical inactivity is linked to chronic health problems, obesity, and depression. But failing to get enough movement can also result in unhealthy changes to the brain. Make daily activity a new habit. It’ll increase brain chemicals that promote learning and memory.

Bad Habit #2 – Turning to Junk Food

In people who eat lots of junk food, like potato chips, burgers, soft drinks, and fries, the part of the brain that’s been linked to mental health, memory, and learning is smaller. Change the junk food habit for grabbing healthy meals and snacks. Green leafy veggies, whole grains, berries, and nuts are linked to reducing mental decline and preserving brain function. Feeling a craving for chips? Grab a handful of your favorite nuts instead.

Bad Habit #3 – Too Much Screen Time

Too much screen time often means that you’re missing out on important face-to-face connections. If you’re spending most of your day looking at a screen, you need to make some changes. Work to reduce your screen time and build a new habit of finding time for face-to-face interactions, which are beneficial for your brain and can improve cognition and memory.

Bad Habit #4 – Not Getting Enough Sleep

Maybe you’re staying up late watching movies or you’re not scheduling enough solid sleep time. No matter the reason you’re not getting enough sleep, if it’s become a habit, it can actually shrink your brain over time. Make regular sleep times a new habit and make sure you get seven to eight hours of rest each night to help stimulate brain growth.

When you make these changes, you’ll be sure to notice the difference! Once you’ve mastered these, be sure to check out five ways you can improve your brain function.