7 Things You Can Do To Boost Your Cognitive Health Today

Cognitive health is vital, because it defines how well we can live our lives and interact with the world. Happily, there are plenty of ways you can boost your cognitive health. Just keep reading to find out what they are.

Cognitive Health Defined

When your brain and body are healthy and work together the way they should, that’s cognitive health. Cognitive health includes things such as:

Memory
Learning
Concentration
Thinking
Good mood
Focus

Many people think that cognitive health issues only impact the elderly, but this is not the case. Indeed, as you can see from the factors above, being cognitively healthy is important at every stage of life. The good news is that there are some things you can do to boost your cognitive health today. Read on to find out what they are.

Protect your noggin

Your head, or noggin as we sometimes lovingly call it, is pretty vital when it comes to cognitive health. This is because it’s where your skull is located, which is home to your brain. Your brain is the center of all cognitive function, and it’s also a squishy pink lump that is very delicate and vulnerable to damage. Of course, your skull is designed to provide some protection, but it’s still important to take care of your head and the brain that it contains.

One way to do this is to avoid contact sports where head injuries are a risk. That means things like Football, wrestling, boxing and motocross are a no-no. Of course, if you do take part in these sports or any other, like simply riding your push bike, you must make sure that you wear a properly fitted helmet. Indeed, the right helmet can make the difference between coming away unscathed and either not coming away from an accident at all or it resulting in brain damage.

Remember, too, that all helmets you buy/wear should be new or only ever owned by you so you know they have not been involved in an accident already where their structural integrity has been compromised.

Nourish your body properly

Paying attention to what we eat can have a big impact on cognitive health. This is because physical health is tightly linked with cognitive well being, so if you keep your body healthy you’re more likely to keep your mind healthy too.

With that in mind, eating a diet that allows you to stay at a health weight and avoid diabetes and cardiovascular issues is best. This usually means plenty of whole foods, and as little processed and fried fatty food as possible.

Control your stress levels

Staying relaxed is also good for your cognitive health. This is because the main stress chemicals zipping around your body can cause negative changes in the brain that impact memory and learning. Cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine are particularly well known for this effect.

To that end, there are some things you can do to stay calm and manage your stress. The first is exercise which has already been mentioned. While the second is to meditate which can help you deal better with stressful situations when they arise. Some people even like to take things such as CBD flower to help boost their mood, and keep them calm.

Get enough sleep

Yes, even something as simple as getting enough sleep at night can impact your cognitive health both in the short and long term. In the short term a few nights of poor sleep can lead to issues like poor focus and memory, a decline in mood, and increased fatigue. But over the long term poor quality sleep can lead to cognitive decline, a higher risk of dementia and poor performance in the workplace.

With that in mind, prioritizing sleep is crucial for your cognitive health. But how do you do that? Well you probably already know about sleep hygiene and that you should take some time each night without screens to ensure your mind and body get the chance to wind down.

However, there are other things you can do as well such as deal with sleep issues like apnea, and snoring which could be impacting the quality of your sleep or the sleep of your partner. Additionally, making sure your bedroom is comfortable and you have a mattress that suits your sleep style can revolutionize your quality of sleep because it means your body will be supported properly in the night, and you will wake up less.

Stimulate your mind

Another way to boost your cognitive health is to make sure that your brain gets plenty of stimulation. That means ditching the reruns of your favorite box set and doing something novel instead. Indeed, new experiences are a great way to stimulate your brain and have a blast at the same time.

A super quick and easy way to stimulate your mind is to do a puzzle or play a game. You can play a real-life game with friends like chess, or you can go online and play something like this spider solitaire for free. Spider solitaire is known for being a particularly challenging form of the game because the aim is to stack the cards in full suites which makes it even harder than the normal version and perfect to give your brain a workout.

Last of all, when it comes to stimulating your mind, learning something new is also a great option. It matters less what you choose to learn, as it’s the learning process itself that is stimulating for the brain and helpful for cognitive function. Of course, it makes sense to pick something that you are interested in as you will be much more motivated and committed to seeing the learning through.

Move your body

Too many people think of their minds and physical bodies as completely separate entities. Of course, this is not the case, as they exist in tandem and work holistically. What that means is that moving your body can have a positive effect on the mind and ,in particular cognitive function.

Indeed, there are several ways in which moving your body can help boost your cognitive function. The first is that. exercising is great for helping you get clean oxygenated blood to the brain. Secondly exercise can be good as a part of a plan to maintain a healthy weight, manage cardiovascular issues, and diabetes.

Lastly, when we move our body’s we engage our brains. In fact, lots of types of exercise such as dance include what is known as cross body movement. This is when you use both sides of your body so both sides of your brain (which each control the opposite side of your body) are engaged.

Be part of a community.

Finally, lots of people forget that social stimulation is also required for good cognitive health. Indeed, isolation and loneliness can severely impact a person’s cognitive ability over time. That is why it’s so important that you make sure you stay part of real, personal social groups. Yes, online is good too, but it’s much easier to become distant or separated from an online group, rather than one in real life.

The good news is there are a myriad of different options you can explore when it comes to being part of a community. You could consider joining a group where people share the same interest as you, such as woodworking class, Mahjong group, or sports team.

You could also consider volunteering in your community, doing things of benefit and helping people less fortunate than yourself. Befriending groups for those with disabilities and mental health issues can be a great option here, as both you and the people in the groups will benefit from the increased social interactions.