STOP That! It’s Harming Your Brain!
Inside your skull is one of your most valuable organs, the brain. Unfortunately, we usually pay too little attention to the daily care of this high performance organ. Almost all of our vital functions depend on it. Without your brain you would not be yourself, yet you have probably developed habits that are not really good for your brain. In this article, we'll reveal seven of these weak spots and give you tips for a healthier lifestyle. So what are these things that are not really good for our brains?
1. Not enough sleep.
Sleep is the only way your brain fully recovers. Even meditation and extended rest during the day can't accomplish what healthy sleep can. During the night, your brain goes through different stages. These sleep stages are like the wash cycles of a washing machine, your brain needs them all in a specific order to stay healthy. Information gathered during the day is sorted and processed, then the brain rests during the deep sleep stages and goes into a state that normal people can't reach during the day. Deep detoxification and renewal takes place in the delta frequency range. Many people lack this deep sleep or it lasts too short. Stress, medications and stimulant toxins are to blame. The hippocampus in particular suffers from lack of sleep. Even after a restless night, this important switching point of your brain no longer functions properly. Among other things, the hippocampus is responsible for how emotional stimuli are processed. If it is overloaded, it sends signals to the fight or flight center of the amygdala. When rested, on the other hand, the hippocampus directs information to the creative part of your brain. Only in this way is the experience of new circumstances and creative peak performance possible. To promote your deep sleep phases, you should avoid excitement one to two hours before going to bed, consume little screen media and focus on feeling good before falling asleep.
2. Too much sugar.
Sugar is an insidious poison. Not only do sweets provide your body with sugar, sugar hides in almost every fast food meal, sweetened coffee in between meals and simple carbohydrates. A diet too rich in sugar alters your metabolism. Sugar is like a turbo food, it is short-chain, easily processed and brings quick energy. This kind of energy can save you in stressful times. It's not for nothing that they say sugar is nerve food. However, the permanent change in metabolism caused by sugar foods can also cause stress to be maintained just to get more sugar. Along the way, important nutrients are simply left out by the body. Urgently needed proteins, vitamins, minerals and fiber then pass through your body unused. Your brain consumes about 20 percent of the total food you eat each day. In addition to a certain amount of sugar, it needs valuable fatty acids, proteins, vitamins B6, B12 and minerals. If, instead of a healthy mixture, it's mainly fed by sugar, the stress areas of your brain begins to work preferentially. If your body lacks nutrients in the long term, a silent so-called "starvation" takes place internally. Stress becomes normal and you can't even remember what calmness and serenity feel like. Get your sugar balance moving again with healthy candy substitutes. Omit sugar if possible and replace candy bars with dark chocolate, sweet berries or dried fruit. These three foods are even considered good brain food.
3. Eating too little, hastily or too much.
In the morning, a quick coffee with milk and sugar and maybe toast with sugary jam. If this sounds familiar to you, you’re putting your brain in a state of emergency first thing in the morning. During the night, your brain and body have used up almost all the available nutrients in the regeneration phases. Morning is the time to supply new vital substances from proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole-grain bread. If you are hasty or eat too big portions during the day, this can also overload your system. When you eat quickly, you usually don't chew well. If you eat under stress, you will have stress hormones in your body, which in turn will make your body process sugar preferentially. If, on the other hand, you take time to eat and enjoy balanced meals, your body is more likely to absorb the nutrients it needs. Eating comfortably ensures that feel-good hormones are released. This keeps your blood sugar levels steady and your brain working reliably in rest and serenity mode.
4. Drinking too little water.
Your brain is made up of over 80 percent water. The water in your cells is constantly exchanged, flushing out waste products and toxins. This is the only way your cells and brain can work optimally. If you drink too little or the wrong kind of water, the water in your cells stops and so does the removal of waste products. Drinking lots of non-carbonated water is the best and cheapest cure-all in the world. Remember, when you drink soda or sparkling water, areas of your metabolism that have more to do with stress than brain power and balance react. So get into the habit of drinking tap or simple filtered water regularly. Or try different waters from the store – not all taste the same. Only when you find water enjoyable will you drink enough.
5. Permanent sensory overstimulation.
Every second, your brain processes around eleven million sensory impressions. That is a masterpiece. Only a minimal portion of this gigantic influx reaches your waking consciousness. Filtering and sorting is one of the main tasks of your brain. It decides which part of the world you perceive. You can accommodate your brain by reducing the amount of stimuli. Turn off the TV unless there is something really profitable and interesting on. Avoid loud and stressful music or constant exposure to headphones. Watch your internet consumption and build times of silence into your life. After times of overstimulation, you should allow yourself conscious compensation time at home or in nature.
6. Smoking and other addictive habits.
Nicotine releases the so-called reward substance dopamine in the brain. It makes you feel like something special has happened. If you habituate your brain to regular dopamine injections through an addictive behavior like smoking, your serotonin balance suffers. Serotonin is the basis of true human happiness. However, the effect of this hormone is less noticeable in noisy everyday life. Many people have therefore developed into real dopamine junkies. If you smoke a cigarette now and then with pleasure, that's not a huge problem, but if you use it to compensate for stress or smoke in large quantities, the healthy functioning of your brain suffers. After just four years of habitual smoking, your brain is so severely reorganized that it is difficult for you to feel joy and satisfaction without a cigarette. The same is true, of course, for other addictive substances.
7. Not enough oxygen while sleeping.
Your brain needs oxygen to regenerate. If you sleep in poorly ventilated rooms or even pull the covers over your head at night, your brain suffers. If you snore or have other breathing problems, you also get too little oxygen. Airing out your bedroom just before bedtime can help you fall asleep faster and more peacefully.
Our conclusion
As you can see, there are a few traps lurking in everyday life for the optimal functioning of your brain. With a little more mindfulness and awareness, you can do your brain some good. By the way, changing your daily habits too quickly is not good for your brain either. Start slowly but steadily with healthier behaviors and consciously say goodbye to old habits.