A Healthy Lifestyle for a Healthy Brain

Your brain health thrives when you choose healthy lifestyle habits. What does a healthy lifestyle look like? Anything that is beneficial to the brain and body. Your healthy lifestyle habits should continually challenge you, essentially a workout for your brain. A healthy lifestyle includes traveling, having hobbies, spending time outdoors, and staying physically active.

Table of Contents
#1 - Travel
#2 - Healthy Hobbies
#3 - Outdoors
#4 - Movies
#5 - Pets
#6 - Gardening
#7 - Math
#8 - Biking

#1 - Travel

Your brain health thrives when your routine is changed. When you travel , you change your environment, therefore, stimulating your brain. An additional brain health benefit includes increased activity. Increased activity can reduce stress levels and increase happiness.

#2 - Healthy Hobbies

Hobbies are essential for brain health. In order to find time for a hobby, you must plan and organize a time to fit into your busy schedule. Concentration skills will also be improved when focusing on your hobby of choice. Try learning a new hobby. Learning from others will affect your serotonin, influencing your mood, behavior, and brain health.

#3 - Outdoors

Spending time outdoors has positive effects on brain health. Studies suggest that spending as little as five minutes outdoors can improve your mood while reducing the stress hormone, cortisol. Walking in nature may lower stress levels and improve well-being and brain health.

#4 - Movies

Going to the movies is not only entertaining, but has its brain health benefits. You will give your brain a cognitive boost when going to the movies with a friend. Research suggests that social events helps to keep you mentally sharp and engaged in life. When you watch a comedy, you’ll be getting the benefits of laughter. People who tend to laugh on a regular basis tend to have lower blood pressure than those who laugh occasionally.

#5 - Pets

Science suggests that owning a pet can help to improve mood and increase exercise. Owning a pet can reduce stress, and can have a relaxing effect. Caring for a pet may even produce the same “feel good” chemicals that our bodies make when we experience things like falling in love or having a baby. Pets are also a great motivator for humans to get moving. Taking a pet for a walk will help to keep the brain and body healthy.

#6 - Gardening

Gardening has countless brain health benefits. With fresh fruits and vegetables at the ready, it’s a given that diet will improve. If a piece of fruit replaces just one unhealthy snack, such as potato chips then that is a step in the right direction. Does life ever get hectic? An added benefit to gardening is the fact that mindfulness can be practiced. Mindfulness is being aware of what is happening both inside and outside ourselves. When the act of mindfulness is practiced, our brains will feel more of a connection to our surroundings.

#7 - Math

Practicing simple math everyday can have many benefits for the brain. Math improves visualization, organizational and problem-solving skills, and memory. This form of brain training can lead to better recollection, faster reaction, and a sharper mind. Continuing to do mathematics throughout adulthood is one way to continually challenge the brain. Practicing math skills can lead to better recollection and faster reaction. With the regular practice of math, comes benefits of the brain.

#8 - Biking

Riding a bike is a low-impact exercise that helps to burn calories, improves cardiovascular fitness, builds strength, and is also great for brain health. Research suggests that biking can improve memory, learning, creativity, and mood. Biking may increase the hippocampus, one of the parts of the brain associated with memory and learning. Cycling may also increase the levels of serotonin dopamine production in the brain, which causes the feeling of happiness.