Optimize Your Brain Health PART 2: Daily Habits To Boost Your Brain Function

This is the second part of the Brain Health Topic. The first part focused on brain nourishing foods. In this post I discuss other areas of life and everyday habits that play a big role in brain health.

This information is shared only to ignite your interest in brain health and is not meant to to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Learn To Breathe, Be Still And Stress Less  

So many of us do not breathe properly. Your brain needs oxygen and when that’s limited, your brain suffers and cells start dying. When you do brief breathing practices throughout the day you feel much more centered and calm, and that if anything is an excellent stress reducer!  When we feel stressed and nervous our inhalations tend to be longer than exhalations. This creates tension, and makes us vulnerable to anxiety and depression. The focus should be shifted to lengthening our exhalation, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (our rest and digest -system). This will help to eliminate toxins and carbon dioxide from the lungs and fill them up with fresh air when you inhale. 

Meditation is one of the best practices to learn to breath, live in the present moment, and to connect to your truth. Like Rudy Tanzi, PhD, said at an interview for Goop: “You have choice only when you have awareness of your instincts, fears, and desires.” I personally prefer doing meditation in the morning by myself, eyes closed, sitting or lying comfortably on the floor, and focusing on my breath. If thoughts and emotions come up, I just let them come and go and just be an observer. If meditation apps help you, great, but personally I find them distractive. I need stillness to eliminate all internal dialogue. Also, I don’t want any radiation to my sacred space. Being in nature just with yourself can be a very meditative experience too. 

Snowflakes On Ice - Photo Credit: Joakim Kronqvist @bumblebeetushie

Ditch Smoking And Excess Alcohol 

If you are a smoker or alcohol drinker, I highly recommend quitting. Both are toxic for the brain. Yes, we are social beings and love to gather for dinner with a class of good wine - I totally get that. In careful moderation (this does not mean every single day) consuming alcohol is ok, but please go for organic wines that wouldn’t contain all kinds horrible chemicals. Red and white wine both have antioxidants, vitamins and minerals - yet, red wine is shown to have more health benefits. Many alcoholic products are vegan but during the processing animal derived foods can be used to help filter out impurities and improve the clarity, flavor, and aroma. I try my very best to find out whether the drink is vegan but I’m not neurotic about it.

Sleep And Recover 

Lack of sleep is a serious threat to brain health. During sleep, the brain cleanses itself up, and harmful toxins, waste products, and damaging free radicals are flushed out of the brain. There is no magic number of hours that would work for everyone but to go through different sleep cycles and all the five stages of sleep, adults are recommended to have at least seven hours of sleep per night. I have met many people who brag about how little sleep they need, but based on the intellectual level of our conversations, I have never been convinced. All these ”super humans” (I wish I met one someday) have been addicted to coke zero, black coffee or other stimulants to survive through a day. They all look tired, and are aging rapidly: dark circles under eyes, dull skin, graying hair, stiff body, and the list goes on and on. Sleep problems are very common. To improve your sleep quality, create a sleep friendly environment, turn off all electronic devices at least an hour prior to bedtime, and go to bed at the same time every night.

Use Your Phone Smartly

Give your brain a break from excessive EMF exposure by turning your phone off before you go to bed - or at least turn it to an airplane mode. Avoid keeping it next to your brain longer periods of time. If you are interested in investigating more about this topic, please look for Dr. Joseph Mercola’s work. He has discussed how EMFs could affect our health in several podcast shows. I turn off electronic devices ideally an hour but at least 30 minutes before going to bed and have never trouble with sleeping. I never turn my smart phone on until after my morning practice. May sound a bit cockoo in this phone obsessed world, but I often keep my phone in a different room while working and reading because that helps me to have focus and get into to flow. And when it comes to social relationships, constant phone checking, when you are with someone, is absolutely rude. I never go for a second date with a person who is constantly checking their phone. I have learnt through experience that these people already have a deep relationship - and that is with their phone. I have zero interest in competing with that addiction.

Learn And Create 

Always keep challenging your brain by learning new things whether that’s by reading a book about a new topic, learning to play an instrument, or challenging your memory and coordination with a new yoga sequence. If you struggle with creativity, start by writing morning pages. If you feel stuck with your life play with your imagination: create your own vision board by clipping images depicting your dream for the future. Add a little bit of glitter, feathers and pearls on top, and you will feel super excited and motivated to go for your dreams!

Move Your Body

Exercise helps to sweat off toxins from your body and at the same time increases blood circulation. I remember someone telling yoga inversions keep you youthful looking. There are several physical benefits with inversions. Certainly being upside down in inversions makes you physically stronger but also more blood is circulated back to your head bringing oxygen and glucose. You don’t need to do a full headstand straight away to get the benefits. Simple shoulder stand or legs up against the wall works! Or maybe try Aerial Yoga. Psychologically inversions can break mental barriers, such as fear. Practicing more challenging inversions will keep you humble and teach patience in this fast-paced world. 

Have Authentic Relationships And Vibrant Social Life 

Healthy relationships are probably the number one thing for health. Loneliness is a killer, and it can have several negative physical and neurological effects, such as heightened risk of suicide and psychiatric disorders, impaired immunity, and cognitive decline. A toxic relationship with a narcissistic personality can literally make you sick and go crazy. Choose your company wisely because good, authentic friends are Angels on Earth. You can find new friends anywhere: social events, fitness clubs, coffee shops, galleries, meet-up groups, dating apps, Whole Foods Market, or just on the street! That’s how I made friends when I lived abroad. Because of the current social distancing rules, we are all going through a challenging period and meeting new people is trickier but not impossible. There are several online groups that organize regular video calls if meeting in-person isn’t possible. You don’t need to be and feel alone. We are all One.