The brain is the control system for all activities of the body. To keep the brain in a healthy state, it is necessary to identify the risk factors that damage the brain. But you know what? Most of us have daily habits that actually hinder the normal functioning of our brains. Worse, many habits can have serious long-term consequences. These habits are more likely to damage your brain than you think: Imbalanced meals What you eat determines who you are as a person. All cells in your body, including brain cells, are replaced every 5 months. And some cells, like those that make up your skin, regenerate every 30 days. A healthy and balanced meal can provide nutrition and motivation to optimize brain function. What you eat can greatly affect how you feel. Many of us are eating a disaster today, and what you eat every day can either help or harm your brain. What are your eating habits like? Are you skipping breakfast? Do you grab two donuts and go to work in the morning, followed by a large cup of coffee filled with flavored cream and sugar? Do you think you\’re smart about using aspartame instead of sugar because it reduces your sugar intake? When you pick up a glass of diet soda and drink it, do you feel that what you are drinking is just a glass of sweet, sparkling water? Do you let yourself get so hungry that you have to wolf down lunch or dinner? Do you often keep candy in a drawer at your desk or in an easily accessible place in a cupboard at home? Do you eat with a plan or do you only think about eating when you\’re hungry? Do you often eat big meals? Do you eat late night snacks very late? The best diet for a healthy brain includes: Plenty of pure water. The brain is 80% water. Very few calories (calories). Obesity is bad for the brain because it stores toxic substances, and obesity increases the risk of Alzheimer\’s disease exponentially. Lean protein. Such as fish, chicken, lean pork, beef, etc., all contribute to the generation of neurons. Complex, low glycemic index carbohydrates. Include whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Healthy fats. Fish, avocados, and raw nuts can all protect nerve cell membranes and myelin. Eat a diet rich in antioxidants, such as blueberries. I often tell my patients to eat \”rainbow foods\” (i.e. foods of many colors, not \”skittles\”). Lack of Exercise No matter what age you are, being too lazy to exercise is bad for brain development, even if you spend all your time doing the New York Times crossword puzzle. What the brain needs is physical exercise. If you don\’t exercise, your brain will have problems. Exercise increases blood flow in the brain and delivers oxygen, glucose and nutrients to the brain while removing toxic substances. Anything that restricts blood flow can lead to insufficient oxygenation, poor blood sugar delivery, and nutritional deficiencies. Without healthy blood flow to deep areas of the brain, you can have problems with your coordination and ability to process complex thoughts. Exercise also increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a chemical that aids in neurological development. If more cells die than are producedIf the number of cells increases, people will age. Researchers conducted experiments on white rats and showed that exercise can generate new brain cells in the prefrontal cortex (responsible for judgment and thinking) and temporal lobe (responsible for memory). Without stimulation, these cells will die after surviving for 4 weeks. . If you stimulate these new neurons through psychological interaction or social interaction, they will connect with other neurons, thereby enhancing learning ability. That\’s why people who just sweat it out in the gym aren\’t as smart as people who work out in the gym and then head to the library. Exercise can contribute to brain health for people of any age. Without exercise, we gain weight, our intelligence declines, and we certainly don’t live any happier lives. Dancing is a great way to exercise, especially learning new moves, but if you drink while dancing, you can completely ruin the benefits of the exercise. Playing table tennis is another perfect brain exercise, which is good for the development of the cerebellum because when you consider the speed and direction of the ball\’s rotation, the eyes, hands, and feet must be coordinated at the same time. I feel like table tennis is like a form of aerobic chess, and the likelihood of it causing brain damage is minimal. Researchers studied a group of patients before and after playing table tennis. They found that after the patients played table tennis for 10 minutes, the activity of the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum in the brain, which are responsible for thinking, increased. . So I suggest you: play more table tennis, less football, and less boxing! Putting yourself at risk for brain injury No matter your age, brain injuries can have catastrophic effects on life. All of these traumas can damage the brain, affecting your abilities and well-being. Do your daily behaviors increase or decrease your risk of brain damage? Do you like racing cars or editing text messages while driving? Do you head a football? There are results that prove that doing so will cause damage to the front of the temporal lobe, which may affect memory, language function and emotional control. Do you play contact rugby? A Virginia Tech study found that high school football players are hit in the head an average of 30 to 50 times per game, sometimes with the force of a serious car accident. Are you biking, skateboarding, skiing, sledding or snowboarding without wearing an appropriately sized helmet? A properly sized helmet will provide more protection than an inappropriately sized helmet. Cycling is the leading cause of brain injuries in children and teenagers. Do you enjoy racing, off-roading, riding ATVs, jet skiing or driving speedboats? do you drink? Drinking alcohol increases the risk of brain damage because you may fall off something, get in a car accident, or get punched in an angry manner. Have you ever taken any medicine or drug that makes you unsteady on your feet or slows your reactions, thereby increasing your risk of brain damage? Have you ever driven without wearing a seat belt or talking on the phone? Do you play boxing or other extreme sports that increase the risk of brain damage? There are many daily habitsHabits increase the risk of brain damage. Remember, your skull is hard, but your brain is soft. Please respect and protect your brain. Chronic Stress Chronic or severe psychological stress caused by family conflict, financial difficulties, health problems or environmental problems affects all age groups. When stress persists, it can cause damage to the brain. In a series of studies published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinolopy, researchers looked at the effects of long-term exposure to stress hormones, specifically cortisol, on brain function in older adults, young adults and children. In the first study, researchers measured cortisol levels in a group of older adults over a period of three to six years. The results showed that on memory tests, older adults with consistently high cortisol levels performed significantly worse than those with moderate or low levels of cortisol. In addition, older adults who were chronically exposed to high levels of cortisol had an average size of 14% smaller in the hippocampus, the area in the temporal lobe responsible for memory. In tests on young adults, researchers found that short-term, temporary increases in cortisol negatively affected their ability to think and remember, but these impairments were only temporary. Another study of children and adolescents from different socioeconomic classes found that, in general, children from lower socioeconomic classes had higher stress hormone levels than other children. Taken together, these studies suggest that chronic stress can have adverse effects on brain function in people of all ages. High cortisol levels not only shrink the hippocampus but also disrupt several hormones involved in appetite control, leading to obesity. And daily stress can raise blood pressure, disrupt sleep patterns, and reinforce negative thought patterns, all of which can take a toll on brain function. Developing stress-busting techniques, such as daily recreation, medication, prayer, or exercise, can have a positive impact on brain function. Negative thoughts, chronic worries, or angry thoughts are a habit. Negative thinking, worry, or anger is a bad habit that stems from a lack of education in nuanced “thinking.” Most people think ideas come naturally. We are not taught to question or correct the negative words or images that run wild in our minds. Yet these negative thoughts are often at the core of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, relationship problems, and work problems, and can have real, measurable, negative biological effects on brain function. Our brains and bodies react to every thought we have. The quality of the thoughts of people of every age, including children, can be either beneficial or harmful to the mind and body. Positive, happy, hopeful thoughts release chemicals that make you feel good, while negative, worried, or angry thoughts release completely different chemicals that make you feel sad and erode brain function. Depression, often caused by widespread, unchallenged negative thoughts, doubles the risk of Alzheimer\’s disease and can lead to self-destructive symptoms.Taking drugs to cope with bad feelings increases the risk of substance abuse and can push others away, leaving you further isolated and alone. If you don’t sleep well, do you go to bed late and get up early? Do you toss and turn in bed, constantly looking at your watch, wondering when it will be dawn? Are you becoming irritable because you can\’t stop thinking about things? Sleep is essential for healthy brain function. People who sleep less than 6 hours a night have reduced blood flow to the brain, which can make it difficult to think clearly during the day. Shift workers, people suffering from jet lag, teenagers with unbalanced schedules and people suffering from apnea syndrome are all at risk of weakened brain function. Those who were sleep-deprived scored lower on memory tests and math tests, had lower grades in school, and had a significantly increased risk of getting into a car accident. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are more than 100,000 traffic accidents caused by sleepiness and fatigue every year. More than half of the crashes were driven by young people. Sleep deprivation can also lead to depression and attention deficit disorder. Recent research has found that apnea syndromes, such as loud snoring, holding your breath during sleep, and feeling tired during the day, are associated with Alzheimer\’s disease. Sleep rejuvenates the brain. People without sleep will suffer from mental illness. When I was the director of a community mental health center at Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, I saw soldiers who heard voices and became paranoid after being deprived of sleep for three days. Fort Irwin is home to the United States\’ national training center for soldiers preparing to fight in the war. Sometimes training troops have to simulate combat for several days at a time, leaving little time for sleep. Rates of mental illness are always high during those training times. Adults should try to ensure 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night, and children and teenagers need longer sleep time. Develop good sleep habits and avoid consuming too much caffeine or nicotine. In addition, do not use alcohol to help you fall asleep, as the effects of alcohol will gradually wear off, causing you to rebound and wake up in the middle of the night. Instead of exercising before bed, learn some relaxation techniques to calm your mind. Smoking nicotine causes premature aging of the brain. Nicotine, found in cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, nicotine patches, nicotine lozenges and nicotine gum, causes blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow to the body\’s vital organs. Nicotine reduces blood flow to the skin, which can make smokers look older than their actual age. Nicotine also causes reduced blood flow to the brain, depriving the brain of needed nutrients and ultimately leading to an overall decrease in brain activity. If this stuff is so bad, why do people still use it? Because in terms of short-term effects, nicotine, like alcohol and other abused drugs, makes many people feel good. Nicotine stimulates the release of several brain neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, which speed up reaction times and improve concentration. It also stimulates dopamine, which acts on the brain\’s pleasure center, and glutamate, which plays a role in memory and learning. It is important to know that high levels of glutamate can cause cellular processes.Sequential death and Alzheimer\’s disease. It’s no wonder that people smoke nicotine and have such a hard time quitting. But if you want to have a healthy brain, try to stay away from nicotine. Passive smoking can cause damage to the brain, especially the growing brain. Children born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have behavioral and learning problems. And secondhand smoke increases the risk of asthma, various infectious diseases, and cancer. Smoking is a very bad habit for the brain. Too much caffeine Caffeine, found in coffee, tea, dark soda drinks, chocolate and stimulants, reduces blood flow to the brain and many other important body organs. A small amount of caffeine a day is fine, but drinking more than two cups a day is a problem. Caffeine has 4 adverse effects on the brain. First, it dehydrates the brain, and anything that dehydrates the brain can cause us to have problems with our thinking. Second, it interferes with sleep. Caffeine blocks a chemical called adenosine that instructs the human body to sleep. Blocking adenosine can make people sleep less. But as we\’ve seen, sleep is crucial to healthy brain function. No wonder so many people drink a cup of coffee in the morning to start their day. They use this to cope with symptoms of sleep deprivation. Third, caffeine reduces blood flow to the brain and contributes to premature aging. Finally, caffeine is addictive. Many people experience significant withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop using caffeine, such as headaches and fatigue, so it\’s best to consume less caffeine. Aspartame or MSG Many people drink diet soda by the liter, thinking they are just drinking sweet water. I also drank diet soda, but when I read about the negative effects of aspartame, I started to worry about my body. I have had arthritis in my hands and knees since I was 30, but when I stopped taking aspartame, my joints no longer hurt. I have many patients who say they feel better after they stop consuming artificial sweeteners. Headaches disappear, thinking becomes clearer, joint pain is relieved, memory improves, and surprisingly, some people even lose weight. I think this is also determined by our own genetic makeup. Some people seem to have no problem consuming artificial sweeteners, while others experience adverse reactions. However, it is better to consume less. MSG is also a health threat to many people. At the patient\’s request, I performed brain scans after consuming MSG. Brain scans after consuming MSG revealed significant defects in the left temporal lobe, which are commonly associated with violence and anger. I told the patient that he had two options: stay away from MSG or take medication to protect his temporal lobes. To my surprise, he chose to take medication as a precaution. When asked why, he said that if he loses his temper again, his wife will leave him and people will never know what foods contain MSG. If possible, limit your MSG intake. Most people in a toxic environment don’t want to think that they are poisoned or that they are poisoning themselves in their daily lives, but the scary thing is,This kind of thing can happen. Brain damage can occur from painting without proper ventilation, visiting the nail or hair salon too frequently, inhaling fumes when refueling your car, using pesticides, or even redecorating your home. Understanding the sources of brain toxins can help you stay away from them. Inhaling paint-scented vapors or other solvent-based odors, such as hair or nail products, can be toxic to the brain, so be careful when handling them. It has been my observation that interior painters suffer the highest levels of brain damage. I once evaluated a famous film director whose brain scans showed signs of poisoning. Through inquiries, it became clear to us that in many of the environments where he worked, the surrounding air contained high concentrations of toxic gases. Proper ventilation is one of the key measures to help it heal. He told me that the painters were some of the craziest people he had ever seen on the job. He said these were the people who would get into fights on set for trivial or no reason and were the least trustworthy. \”Even the female painters were acting crazy,\” he said. It\’s no wonder they behaved this way if they were exposed to chemicals that impair brain function. A recent survey suggests that hairdressers are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer\’s disease than the general population. When you visit a hair salon or nail salon, you will usually notice an unpleasant odor coming from them. If you want a hair or manicure, it\’s best to go to a store with good ventilation. Excessive TV Watching No matter what age you are, watching too much TV, playing too many video games, or using too much computers is bad for your brain. How did our brain develop or evolve? The brain did not develop and evolve to accommodate the rapidly evolving technologies that are affecting our lives today. A medical report believes that parents who hope to create an advantage for their children through early childhood education videos such as \”Brainy Baby\” and \”Baby Einstein\” are actually hindering their children\’s development. develop. Parents spend tens of millions of dollars on these videos. \”Unfortunately, all the money was wasted.\” One study found that among infants aged 8 to 16 months, those who watched videos for an hour a day knew an average of 6 to 8 fewer words than other infants. 32% of these babies watched the videos, and 17% of them watched the videos for more than an hour a day. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 24 months of age not be allowed to watch any television programs. Another study reported that for every hour a child watches television during the day, the likelihood of ADHD increases by 10%. That is to say, if a child watches 5 hours of TV a day, the probability of developing ADHD is 50%. Other studies have found that children who watch more television during childhood are at the same risk of developing brain problems as adults. Dr. Hanks, who works at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine in Dunedin, New Zealand, and his colleagues studied nearly 1,000 people in 1972-1973.Children were evaluated at birth and observed regularly until the children reached the age of 26 years. They found significant correlations between higher body mass index, lower physical fitness, increased smoking and higher serum cholesterol levels (all of which can affect brain health). All of these are causative factors in brain diseases such as stroke or Alzheimer\’s disease. In another study, adults who watched two to three hours of television a day had a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer\’s disease. Generally speaking, watching TV is a \”brainless\” behavior. Watch as little as possible. Excessive Drinking Contrary to popular belief, red wine is not a healthy food unless consumed in very small amounts. As a doctor who performs brain imaging scans, I know from experience that alcohol directly impairs brain function. Brain imaging scans of people who drank three or more alcoholic drinks a week showed signs of intoxication in their brains. Alcohol reduces total blood flow to the brain and decreases brain activity, which is why alcohol calms anxiety and makes people no longer feel depressed; but in the long term, it can negatively affect a person\’s memory and judgment. Alcohol is a double-edged sword, it depends on how much you consume. High alcohol intake, that is, at least four glasses of red wine or hard liquor with the same alcoholic content a day, increases the risk of dementia; but low alcohol intake, that is, drinking one glass of red wine a week or a month (but not every day), increases the risk of dementia. The risk of disease will be reduced instead. The reduced risk appears to be because alcohol and cholesterol compete with each other, and sometimes alcohol wins out. Small amounts of alcohol compete with healthy cholesterol and actually remove bad cholesterol. When a person drinks a small amount of alcohol, the lipoproteins cannot enter the cell membrane and can only return to the blood stream, thus reducing the levels of LDL and other harmful cholesterol. This reduces the body\’s risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis and stroke, all of which can lead to dementia. Additionally, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that even moderate amounts of alcohol (14 drinks a week) can cause brain shrinkage. Size matters when it comes to the brain, too! My advice is that for people over 25, it\’s okay to drink a little, but not too much. Why wait until you\’re 25 to drink? As mentioned before, the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, does not fully develop until the age of 25. Why start poisoning it before it is fully developed?
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