Welcome to the Brain Health Challenge! I’m Dana Smith, a reporter for the New York Times. I will be your guide.
Having a healthy brain is important for living a healthy life. In the short term, it stays sharp and firing on all cylinders. In the long term, it may reduce the risk of cognitive decline, dementia, and stroke.
Practicing basic healthy behaviors, such as eating nutritious foods and exercising regularly, is the best way to strengthen your brain power and protect the longevity of your neurons. This type of lifestyle can benefit the brain at any age. And although there is no guarantee that dementia or other brain diseases will never occur, several objective trial It has been shown that it can improve cognitive abilities or slow its decline.
Every day this week, you’ll do something that’s good for your brain, and we’ll dig into the science behind why it works. Some of these activities may provide immediate cognitive benefits, but continued engagement over time will yield greater rewards. So along with my neuroscience lesson, I’ll include some tips to help you turn these behaviors into lasting habits.
We recommend completing this challenge with a friend to keep you accountable. Even if you don’t have a friend to challenge you, no problem. We’re also turning the comments section into one large support group.
There are so many interesting ways that everyday actions affect the brain. Take sleep, for example.
many research Getting a good night’s sleep (7 to 8 hours) has been shown to be associated with: better memory and other cognitive ability. This is because sleep, especially REM sleep, is when your brain transfers short-term memories (what you learned or experienced during the day) into long-term storage.
Sleep is also the time when your brain does its daily chores. While resting, the brain glymphatic system It works at a high rate to remove abnormal proteins and other molecular debris, including the protein amyloid, a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The buildup of amyloid is one reason why experts believe people who routinely get less sleep are at higher risk of developing dementia.
What other behaviors play a big role in brain health? In today’s activity, we’ll test your knowledge with a quiz. Share your scores with your accountability partner and we’ll cheer you on in the comments below. I will join you too.
