The brain is a vital organ that often gets ignored but with the coming age, one realises that many of the diseases take birth from the brain. It is out lack of understanding and ignorance towards brain health that one ends up with neurological problems like dementia, Alzheimer, stroke, epilepsy and cancer later in life. The brain is the commanding organ of the system and your diet and lifestyle plays a vital role in mental health.
But what we fail to realise is that some of our everyday habits are very dangerous for our brain and need to be stopped immediately. Here are those 5 habits neurologist will warn you against.
1. Skipping breakfast
Many have the habit to skip the breakfast or have very little for their first meal of the day. But this careless habit of yours can lower your blood sugar levels and affect your brain which leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing damage to the brain. A brain uses more energy than any other part of the body thus, no enough nourishment can lead to the brain becoming less responsive to stimuli.
2. Smoking
Well, smoking is always related to damage, but it is not just your lungs that are getting affected but also your brain. Damaging cell membranes and neural viability in the areas of the brain that manage balance, coordination, and both fine and gross motor skill is definitely not a healthy brain. Smoking thins the cortex that is responsible for memory, language perception and causes multiple brain shrinkage which leads to Alzheimer disease.
3. Overeating
Overeating is an old habit that almost everyone commits. Although, overeating is not the prime criminal but overeating the wrong food is. We often binge on junk that is high on sugar which brings the brain to chronic inflammation as too much sugar interrupts the absorption of proteins and nutrients. The food we eat lack nutrition and the body needs vitamins and minerals which is important for brain development.
4. Sleep deprivation
It has become very cool to skip our sleep and multitask our way to success but lack of sleep often makes you feel sluggish and forgetful. No proper rest to the body, as well as the brain, robs the neurons of the ability to function properly. Sleep allows our brain to rest and skipping it means accelerating the death of brain cells. Thus, to make your brain function properly and healthy make sure to take 6-9 hours of sleep, according to your physical need.
5. Stress
Stress is not just bad for your work but also to your overall body, especially your brain. Chronic stress leads to the hormone cortisol to build up in the brain and cause lasting damage. Stress leads to anger and overreacting to situation causes hardening of the brain arteries which leads to decrease in the mental power. Stress kills the brain cells which causes the brain to shrink. So, sit back and find ways to relax.