Category: General Health

Keeping A Healthy Brain While You Age

An active mind is a healthy mind, so keeping your mind sharp is a good portion of aging well and living a better life as you grow older. If you continue to challenge and engage your brain with activities such as continued learning and healthy dieting you can maintain your healthy brain. Some activities like completing daily crossword puzzles or learning a hobby, or maybe exploring a new language will add content and continued exercise of the brain. Expanding your horizons daily and engaging in activities that require you to think on your feet and assess information quickly and accurately will make a world of difference as you grow older. Sometimes it may take a little more effort than it used to require, but continuing to stretch your brain muscles will definitely pay off in good memory and cognitive skills.

If you are interested in maintaining brain health in the later years of life and continuing to keep your mind sharp, then listen up. Brain masses shrink a little as you get into your sixties, with some areas shrinking more than others like the frontal lobe which is the area of the brain that handles mental abilities, and the hippocampus where memories are formed. Thinning of the brain in the area of the cortex, and decreases in white matter are some reasons why brain disorders occur in the elderly. Changes in these areas are what slow down the cognitive processing which handle decision making, problem solving, and attention. All of which have a tendency to fade as you grow older, unlessyou continue to exercise these areas by forming new memories daily and allowing for a good intake of new information. With this said, aging is not a decline of brain activity. In fact the brain grows stronger and sharper as long as you continue to use it. For example; if you were an avid reader in your younger years and you continue to be a voracious reader into your golden years the rate of speed that you read and the amount of information that you are able to process as you read will increase as in practice makes perfect, you are actually getting better with time. Most of our abilities normally get better with time, including wisdom and problem solving skills. Keep in mind that other illnesses and ailments may contribute to any decline in the normal activity in the brain.

Simple things, like more formal education, can contribute to intellectual stimulation of the brain and may ever strengthen the brain cell networks to help in preventing mental function damage. Physical activity has always been know to have positive effects on the brain and brain functioning. Getting into an aerobic regime is the best for continued brain health as oxygen is free flowing and throughout the body and is particularly beneficial to the brains proper functioning. Having a good sense of self and knowing that the things that you do in life make a difference and believing that you are contributing to the common good has shown to reduce cognitive decline in older adults.

So to slow down the effects of the degenerative parts of the brain it would be wise to learn to concentrate and make an honest effort to pay attention. Stay organized and dont rush, so that you are able to focus on the tasks that you are attempting. The all time favorite is repetition. Also, try your best to stay as stress free as possible as tension causes some types of memory lapses. Those senior moments can turn into senior memories if you continue to exercise your brain. So do whatever it takes to preserve your mental agility, and keep happy even as you enter your older years. When you look at the attitudes of older people, you see either depressed people, or extremely happy and satisfied people. Try to leave yourself in the latter category.

How To Prevent Strokes

When blood circulation in the brain fails, the result is a stroke. Also known as a brain attack, brain cells die from decreased blood flow and lack of oxygen. The two main categories of a stroke are those where a blockage of blood flow to the brain and those caused by bleeding in or of the brain. Not usually life threatening, the blockage of a blood vessel in the neck or brain a causes roughly 80 percent of all strokes. Bleeding into the brain or surrounding areas of the brain causes the second kind of strokes or a hemorrhagic stroke. Sudden numbness, confusion, speech slurring, dizziness or loss of balance and headaches without cause are the symptoms that some suffering from a stroke may experience. Prevention is the key to managing your risk and prevents you from having to go through the damaging effects of a stroke. Simple lifestyle changes can greatly reduce your risk for strokes and increase your overall health simultaneously.

Many factors contribute to a persons risk for stroke, age is one of them. Anyone can have a stroke at any age but a persons risk increased double after the age of 55. African Americans unfortunately have a higher risk for strokes than other races. If you have suffered a stroke in the past or have experienced a mini stroke, this increases your chances of having another in the future. Alcohol use and smoking both are contributing factors of persons who have suffered a stroke and being overweight. Persons with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and irregular heat rhythm can cause a person to have a stroke. The ways to reduce your chances of having a stroke are many and very manageable and will produce some beneficial life changes. First and foremost, stop smoking. If you smoke, stop as soon as you can. Smoking is the major cause of numerous illnesses. Drink less alcohol and loss weight if you are overweight.

Try your best to control any other illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure and change your eating habits. You have the power to prevent strokes by incorporating any or all of these very minor lifestyle changes. One of the most effective methods is to eat healthier foods. Almonds, apples, cinnamon, fish and oatmeal all contain ingredients that lower cholesterol and heart diseases as well as the possibility of having a stroke. Dark chocolates, tea, and strawberries are other foods that contain nutrients that benefit the body and help to maintain good immune systems. If you have suffered from a stroke in the past there are things that you have control over to prevent the reoccurrence of strokes. Prevention of a reoccurrence of a stroke and maintaining good health include medications and getting regular exercise to control heartbeat and breathing. Reducing your intake of harmful agents like caffeine, animal fats, and sugars and limiting your intake of processed foods. The most important thing is to rearrange your lifestyle to a healthier way of living, taking care of your body in whole to prevent diseases of all kinds to improve your quality of life for the long term.

No matter if you are above the age of 55 or if you still have decades to go, you definitely need to consider the prevention of strokes. You may have had a horrible diet and awful exercise habits in the past, but changing can help you see positive effects right away. On top of the mental clarity that comes from physical health, you can prevent things like strokes from happening. So tomorrow instead of wasting time in front of the TV or reading the paper, you should get your tennis shoes on and go for a run or a brisk walk. If that doesnt sound like your cup of tea, you can also benefit from stretching, swimming, playing tennis, or any other physical activity that you enjoy.

How To Keep Mentally Alert

Have you recently noticed that your mind tends to wander no matter what you are doing? Do you walk into a room only to forget why you even came in? You are not alone. This sort of absentmindedness plagues a huge percentage of the worlds population. It can be very frustrating, and so you should try to do your best to keep an alert mental state. There are many ways to do this, and if you are not taking advantage of any of them then you should start today. Read on to find out about some of the most common and popular ways to maintain mental alertness.

Exercise is the one that you will hear the most. It is easy to get caught in a rut of going to work and then coming home and relaxing. Instead of sitting in front of the TV all night, why dont you lift some weights or go for a run? Exercise releases just the right chemicals into your brain to make you more alert, not only during the exercise, but for the rest of the day until you go to sleep. This is why so many people like to start off their days with a good run through the neighborhood. The type of exercise you choose will depend on what options are available to you.

Another way to increase mental alertness is to stimulate your mind at least once per day. It is very healthy to always teach yourself new things. Whether you sit down and read a science fiction book with interesting scientific theories, or you read a college textbook and discover new things about biology, there is everything to be gained from learning new things. Not only do you get to keep the great knowledge, but you also will sustain higher levels of alertness due to the effort that it takes to learn all of those things. So go to the library today and find a book that piques your interest.

A good amount of sleep is crucial to being mentally alert. If you are only getting 5 hours of sleep per night and you are complaining about being forgetful, then you should slap yourself in the face right now. The answer is very obvious. All you need to do is regularly sleep more. If you dont give your mind enough time to recuperate, then you can expect to see poorer performance. If your job requires you to get up early, then go to bed earlier. If you have too much to do, then all you need to do is plan your days out better so that you get things done more efficiently and leave more time to sleeping.

Ultimately the best thing to do is to combine these three methods to remain as mentally awake as possible. If you start to utilize all 3 of these, you should start seeing improvements in a matter of days. Hopefully you will stop losing things, stop forgetting important dates, and generally stop being so absentminded. If the problem persists, then you should talk to a doctor or a shrink about any stressors that could be causing you to mentally stray away from other areas in your life. Hopefully it doesnt come to that, but you shouldnt ignore the possibility.

How To Get Moving, Stay Fit, And Stay Motivated

When it comes to staying or getting into good shape, motivation may be hard to come by. As the seasons change so do our motivation to stay in shape. Holiday schedules, cold winter days, and all those convient gadgets that keep us from drudging up the motivation to get in shape or maintain a daily routine of exercise are definite culprits. But we should be totally aware of the effects that inactivity has on the body.

Heart disease, stroke or diabetes is just some of the unhealthy affects of inactivity in the body. The good news is that studies show without discrepancy that these affects can be prevented or reversed; meaning that switching from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one can be extremely beneficial over time. Exercise alone, without change in diet, can greatly reduce the risks for these diseases even in small amounts. Doing what ever you can to increase your motivation to exercise is the first step to overcoming the lack of motivation to actually do it. Any of the arrays of methods to motivate you will be of great importance. Listening to music while running, simply finding out the exercises that you truly enjoy, setting particular times when exercise is the main focus of the day, all help you to stay motivated to stay in motion. Developing a habit or pattern for exercising is the best way to stay motivated; your body will become accustomed to working out heavy at a certain time each and every time. Your mind posses the ability to create positive ideas that leads to positive actions allowing you to live a strong and healthy life. Positive self talk can do wonders for motivation as well as just viewing the results of previous attempts (i.e. thinner waistline, six pack, etc). Self encouragement is the ultimate motivation. Youll have no one to thank but yourself.

Fitness motivation is the essential part of changing your body, so creating a fitness motivation plan maybe the answer for you. For men, setting goals and providing adequate challenges work best. Changing scenery from indoors to outdoors may be the answer. If you just dont feel like exercising or giving up on an established routine, constantly reminding yourself that the pay off is great will help. Psychological benefits like increased confidence, self-esteem, and relief from anxiety, stress and depression and better sexual performance can be all the motivation thats needed. Remaining realistic about your goals will also aid in the fight to stay motivated to exercise. Setting a goal that is extremely difficult to obtain is depleting and counterproductive. Achieving a challenging appropriate goal boosts pride, satisfaction and will create more motivation.
Making the exercise routine fun by adding variety in routines, exercises, or persons that you exercise with is a likely way to stick to any exercise routine.

If you are not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to fitness issues, you should consider hiring a professional trainer to help you out with your routine. This can take a lot of the mystery out of getting fit, as your trainer will custom tailor exercises and routines for your bodily needs, so as to maximize the results that you see. This is a slightly costly thing to do, so you should be sure about your commitment to exercising before you spend money to hire a personal trainer. You can also use the amazing technology of the internet to tap the brains of professionals. There are many different blogs that are updated daily with exercise routines that anyone can do.

So setting attainable goals, adding things to increase enjoyment of the exercise routine, challenges, and the addition of a buddy to assist are all great ways to stay motivated, stay fit, and most importantly stay moving. You will benefit in the short term, and in the long run as well with physical and mental benefits in almost every way.