11 Brain-damaging Everyday Habits

Sounds familiar: are you tired, unable to concentrate and forget things? You can’t comprehend what could be the reason for this, and the strangest thing is that this only happens when you do certain types of things. This happens, for example, when you wake up early in the morning and don’t eat anything until the afternoon, or when you’re too stressed at work. In moments like these, the problem is that you forget to take care of a very essential part of your body, namely your brain.

Everything you do affects your body in some way, and in addition, certain types of activity can prevent normal brain function from happening. It may even damage  the structure of the brain . So imagine that you repeat things like this every day for years and years. Can you guess what will happen? So your own ways can destroy your brain!

But don’t worry too much, you still have time left. By changing your lifestyle, you can ensure the health of both your brain and your body. So in this article, we’ll talk about brain-damaging habits that you might as well repeat every day.

Me and my brain

Your brain is an extremely complex and sensitive organ that is directly or indirectly involved in all body processes. They regulate homeostatic functions such as heart rate, fluid balance, blood pressure, hormonal balance, and body temperature. The brain is responsible for movement, cognition, learning, memory, and human emotions, and thus they are generally responsible for your health.

According to several scientific studies, the way you live your life can damage brain cells in both the short and long term, and this leads to the development of destructive diseases as well as several other problems. On the other hand, engaging in positive activities, such as following a balanced diet and exercising, activates the brain and makes it healthy again. So let’s get to work, and see what these everyday brain-damaging habits are.

11 daily habits that damage the brain

1. Skipping breakfast

Breakfast is the most important of the day’s meals, as it has a significant effect on your performance, your endurance and the emotional state you have. During the first few hours of the day, the brain needs nutrients to continue to “lead” physiological processes after the long fast that night causes them.

If you don’t give your brain energy in the morning, they will have to use up reserves, and the brain will also have to make an extra effort to be able to continue functioning normally. Thus, if you do not eat breakfast, you may cause yourself a general lack of energy, impaired concentration and memory, decreased physical and intellectual functioning, and low mood. So be sure to eat a hearty and healthy enough breakfast.

2. Smoking

Smoking is a really bad habit and it significantly reduces the amount of brain material as well as the amount of oxygen the brain receives. Smoking has been shown to contribute to the emergence of neurologically destructive diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, heterocyclic amines released during tobacco smoking interfere with proper DNA production. This leads to mutations that  cause cancer cells.

3. Large amounts of sugar in the diet

You contribute to the accumulation of harmful substances in your body if your diet consists of a large amount of processed sugar, white flour, fried food and prepared industrial food, and if your diet also does not include the necessary amount of vegetables, fruits and fiber. This in turn increases the likelihood of developing tumors and causes a distortion of the immune system. It also leads to malnutrition and interferes with neurological development.

4. Continuous exposure to environmental contaminants

Your brain constantly needs oxygen, but various toxic substances can interfere with gas exchange, oxygen delivery to cells, and its processing, and this in turn leads to decreased efficiency in the brain.

5. Insufficient amount of sleep

You need 8 hours of sleep per night to get your brain to rest. This is also essential to ensure that metabolic processes can function properly in relation to the energy produced as a result, and that cell regeneration can take place in the right way. If you don’t give yourself the right amount of sleep, you’ll accelerate brain cell death in the short term,  and make yourself tired and moody all day long.

6. Overeating

If you eat foods that your body does not need, you will cause it to accumulate residues in the form of fats. It also results in hardening of the blood vessels in the brain,  which negatively affects brain function.

7. Alcohol

Alcohol can ruin all your organs, and most importantly your nervous system, liver, and heart. It affects the chemical reactions that take place in your brain. Alcohol also kills neurons and reduces the rate at which nerve impulses are transmitted.

8. Aggressive reactions or stress

Stress causes a number of nervous system reactions, some of which reduce mental capacity as well as increase the risk of stroke or heart attack.

9. Covering your head during sleep

When you sleep with your head covered, you increase the amount of carbon dioxide as well as reduce the amount of oxygen, which can have detrimental consequences for your brain.

10. Using the brain forcibly when you are sick

If you do a lot of work or study intensively when you are sick, you are causing harm to your body as the energy of your body is then diverted away from healing. If you force your brain to work during this time, you may reduce your body’s efficiency as well as weaken your immune system even more. This in turn contributes to the emergence of other diseases as well.

11. Lack of mental stimuli and training

To stimulate your brain, there is nothing as good as thinking, intellectually demanding conversations, reading a book, or making grids, and so on. Such activities increase the amount of learning ability as well as improve memory. It also improves the reaction time of the brain to the stimuli they receive.

Finally, a few more pieces of advice

By changing your lifestyle to healthy and avoiding these brain-damaging habits, you will be able to take care of your brain health. So follow these tips:

• Eat the right way and Include in your diet delicious fruits as well as vegetables that stimulate brain activity. It is also recommended to eat fish that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, as these fats promote communication between neurons.
• Drink 3 or 4 cups of tea or a small cup of coffee a day to improve your short- and long-term memory and to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
• Exercise regularly .
• Avoid drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
• Sleep as much as you feel you need.

• Fill your mind with positive thoughts.