Yesterday I gave a talk at the Lake Chapala Society about "4 Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy." As a former psychologist, I have a passion for sharing what neuroscientists are discovering about the brain.
The four areas you need to pay attention to for your brain are mental challenges, cardio exercise, healthy diet, and happiness. I call this the "Think-Heart-Eat-Happy" brain program.
The most important thing to do for your brain, at any age, is to get regular physical exercise that raises your heart rate to around 60-70% of maximum. This will elevate levels of BDNF: Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor, a protein that is crucial for the growth of neurons and their communication networks. It's called "Miracle Gro" for the brain, it's that important.
Studies show that excercising as little as 3 times a week for an hour over a six month time frame will increase brain volume. You'll learn better and faster. So get out there and get your BDNF levels up!
But you can't ignore the 3 other areas of brain health: a healthy Mediterranean diet, mental challenges, and being happy. Lower your levels of stress and anxiety. Increase your levels of happiness.
Harvard Business Publishing has a series of blogs on their site with good information about all sorts of things. Here's a recent post on 7 Ways to be Happier at Work by Jeff Stibel, Harvard Business Publishing Conversation Starter blog.
- Smile
- Stop worrying
- Take a break
- Do things differently
- Stop managing and start leading
- Delegate
- Have fun
I'm all for that. Gotta go play tennis right now, catch ya later!
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