As we mostly well know by now, physical exercise in any different shapes and sizes is great for the body – aiding our circulatory, respiratory and other bodily systems in keeping us healthy and fit. However, one of our most important organs often goes unmentioned in relation to exercise and keeping this particular organ healthy – the brain!

This being our most complex organ, weighing on average 1.4kg, it is made up of hundreds of billions of neurons, divided up into four lobes that have various functions. The brain creates our every thought and action and develops all our memories, therefore keeping this organ in good working order is vital!

With the rise of awful conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, which block and eventually kill nerve cells in the brain leading to memory loss, confusion and problems with spacial awareness, keeping the brain in a healthy functioning state can help prevent and reduce the onset of these horrible conditions. Here are some tips to keep the brain healthy.

Physical activity
Getting active, especially aerobically, helps the brain in many ways. Firstly, exercise improves the heart’s ability to powerfully pump oxygenated blood to the brain, allowing the brain to function at an optimal level. This initiates what is called brain plasticity – or the growth of new neural connections – in vital areas such as the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain we use for learning and memory. This helps in your ability to focus and deal with stressful situations. Performing exercises that involve coordination or planning, such as dancing, is good as this uses the brain in other ways in order to follow a routine or certain move within a game.

Learning, puzzles and stimulation
Working out for your brain isn’t done solely with exercise – performing mental tasks and challenging oneself to learn new things can help develop the brain’s connexions, increasing the brain’s mental output. Breaking mental habits and learning a language or completing regular mental puzzles such as Sudoku or crosswords helps build these new pathways within the brain to execute these new tasks. This can take time – don’t be afraid of failure in these new tasks. Adults often become creatures of habit due to our natural instinct to seek comfort in behaviours we know well. Stop cognitive decline and never stop learning!

Diet and hydration
Optimal thinking is done when we are hydrated! The brain is up to 73% water, therefore when we aren’t hydrated, complex electrical signals are inefficient and take longer to register in our complex minds. Keeping a healthy diet is vital for a healthy brain. Vitamin D is a key nutrient used by the brain for regulating our mood. This sunny vitamin helps develop the chemical serotonin, which is our happy hormone! B vitamins are also shown to help boost brainpower, as well as reducing cognitive decline as we age. Likewise, a diet full of good fats such as oily fish and omega 3 helps stimulate brain cell function and even regrowth.

Ease chronic stress
Acute stress, such as during sports or before a big deadline, can be good. as this keeps our hormones on their toes. Small injections of cortisol allow us to focus for longer and function fully with more energy. However, long-term stress and increased cortisol can have negative effects on the brain, eventually altering brain structure and function. This reduces the production of neurons in the brain especially around the important hippocampus region, which is our cognitive haven for learning and memory!

Physical knocks to the head region also have negative effects on the brain – concussion due to head injury can disrupt normal brain function for hours or even weeks! Post concussion syndrome can lead to focus and emotional problems among other chronic problems. So make sure you look after your heads! If concerned contact your doctor.