7 Daily Habits to Sharpen Your Brain

7 Daily Habits to Sharpen Your Brain : When you’re so focused on the body and the physical aspects of your well-being, it’s all too easy to overlook your cognitive health. Stimulating your brain may not be exercised in the traditional sense, but working out this muscle-like organ certainly has physical effects.

As you age, it becomes increasingly crucial that you support your cognitive health by putting your brain to work every single day. If you’re looking for ways to keep sharpening your brain, try doing at least one of the following activities every day.

Take a Walk

A good walk can improve your mood, keeping your mind sharp and refreshed. When stressed out or feeling down, a quick walk can perk you up and help put your mind at ease. When out on a walk, taking in the sounds, colors, sights, and people-watching helps activate the brain and improve its focus. Walking also helps improve memory, especially when choosing to take different routes each day, since walking helps enhance creativity and promote thinking.
Call a Friend

Having and maintaining healthy relationships throughout all stages of life is an essential part of brain health. Having a friend you can call in good and bad helps raise our sense of well-being and reduce the effects of stress and anxiety. Keeping in touch and having a conversation with a friend in-person, on the phone, or through video can do wonders for your mental health, even if just for a few minutes.
Get Creative

Taking time to practice an art, such as music, painting, pottery, drawing, etc., can significantly impact your mental health. By doing a creative activity, you actively exercise your mind and help stimulate the area of the brain where creative thoughts occur. Practicing the arts also raises serotonin levels and improves your overall attitude.
Listen to a Podcast

Listening to podcasts is an excellent way to exercise the mind. When you’ve got a list of mundane chores to accomplish, there’s nothing better than a good podcast to keep your brain stimulated through the process of cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, etc. And there is such a wide variety of podcasts available to entertain any interest.

When listening to a podcast, you practice focus and critical thinking. Unlike listening to music, when listening to a podcast, you need to use more active listening. You can get lost if you lose concentration. Whereas with music, your focus can fade in and out without interrupting your enjoyment.
Meditate

Meditation is a powerful habit for improving your overall feelings of well-being and preserving and improving your brain health. By practicing meditation for just a few minutes every day, you can start gaining control of your mind and where your thoughts travel.

With the stress of everyday life, meditation can slow these feelings down, helping you choose a better way to react when stress occurs. The result of dedicated meditation practice is a calm, collected mind that can choose to respond to life in a more relaxed, peaceful way. Plus, meditation has been scientifically proven to improve brain function and health.
Eat Right

When trying to improve your brain’s health, it’s also essential to focus on eating all the nutrients your body and mind need to thrive. Choosing to eat fresh foods is a great way to eat pure ingredients and get the nutrients your body needs. Try to focus on eating nutrient-dense foods like leafy greens that help the body and mind thrive.
Take Brain-boosting Supplements

If you’re looking for a little help to get your mind moving, try consuming coconut oil for brain benefits. MCT oil, for example, is a supplement that’s derived from coconuts. This oil improves mental clarity and function because of the body’s ability to break it down and use it as a source of energy almost immediately. Studies also show that some nootropic supplements, like fish oil and resveratrol, may help improve cognitive function.

The 3 Factors of Full-body Health

If you want to lead a healthier lifestyle, you need to look at the body holistically. It’s important to focus on training your mind, eating healthy, and working out, not just one of these disciplines. By focusing on these three things, you’ll be on your way to better full-body health.