7 bad habits that can harm your brain health

According to experts, modern lifestyles are affecting the brain's nervous system, making us slower to react, less able to think and reduce awareness. Habits that impair memory damage the brain, leading to less effective work productivity.

Physical inactivity has been linked to the development of chronic health problems, such as: heart disease, obesity, depression, dementia and cancer. Furthermore, people who are too busy to make time for basic movements (such as walking, cycling, stretching, etc.) may experience delayed cognitive processes.
According to a study linking inactivity and mental decline, being sedentary changes the shape of certain neurons in the brain. In contrast, regular physical activity may provide cognitive benefits. Specifically, increasing brain chemicals, which promote better memory and learning.

Nowadays, almost everyone is using smartphones all the time. They text while walking across the street, update emails while commuting to work, read or listen to podcasts while in line. In fact, multitasking not only affects work productivity, but is also a habit that causes memory loss, making the brain work less efficiently.
According to a neuroscientist, our brain does not have specialized nerves to do many things at once. When you think you're multitasking, your brain is actually just switching from task to task at a rapid pace, not doing both at the same time. Moreover, each time you do so, the cognitive process will also be affected.
Multitasking also increases the stress hormone cortisol as well as the hormone adrenaline , which can overstimulate the brain and cause mental confusion or disordered thinking.

According to one review, information overload is one of the most frustrating things of modern life. The volume of emails, updates and social media notifications we receive can be overwhelming for many people, taking them a long time. Continuity of information, if left unmanaged, can be stressful and hinder decision-making.
Some people proudly brag how much they can handle in just one day. But a former psychology professor did research and found that: When you're in a situation where you're trying to focus on a task, a new email pops up in your inbox as a distraction can lower your IQ. you down 10 points.
To maximize your brain every day:
Use tools and adjust app settings to filter information throughout the day Be proactive about media use Prepare your brain to quit through unnecessary information. When you align your day with these principles, you can dramatically increase your brain's efficiency.

Sitting is one of the factors that adversely affect health. A new study shows that the area of ​​the brain associated with memory in sedentary people is thinner.
Thus, sitting is not only a physical health risk, but also a neurological risk. Regarding sedentary behavior and brain structure, even if you are more physically active, the thickness of the medial temporal lobe cannot be reversed due to the harmful effects of prolonged sitting.
You can reduce sitting time by walking and standing for 10 minutes at work each time, or standing when conducting short meetings. This allows you to sit less and move more.

Today, face-to-face meeting has been replaced by digital means. People spend more time online than ever before.
Psychotherapist and mental health expert explains: The concern when parenting in the digital age is spending too much time on screens, including television, phones, tablets, computers, video games.
Live chat is extremely beneficial for your brain. One study found that talking to another person every day for even 10 minutes improved memory and cognition. Social interaction is just as effective as other forms of mental exercise, helping to boost memory and intelligence.
The lack of personal interaction actually limits the brain's opportunity to make better connections. This can also lead to loneliness and depression, mental conditions that contribute to a significant reduction in brain health.
Looking at screens all day can also damage your eyes, ears, neck, shoulders, back, wrists and forearms, and prevent you from getting a good night's sleep. According to experts, too much screen time has a negative effect on intellectual as well as emotional ability.
Set clear limits on electronic device use to prevent developing memory-impairing habits. The goal isn't to completely avoid screen use (as this is impractical in modern life), you just need to be mindful of the time when using a device, to avoid infatuation.

It is human nature to like to increase the volume when listening to music for more fun and immersion. Compact headphones appear more and more, making it easy to damage your hearing.
When there is a lot of noise outside that distracts you, you will be tempted by noise-cancelling headphones, playing your favorite tunes, and closing yourself up to focus better.
But if you regularly play music too loud, you can damage your hearing. Not only that, hearing loss in the elderly is also a cause of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease and loss of brain tissue.
While the brain has to work hard to understand what is being said around, it cannot store what has been heard in memory. So, protecting your hearing by adjusting the volume of your headphones is also a great way to make your brain work better.
You can check if you are listening to music that is too loud by: Remove the headphones, set the volume level as normal or listen and hold the headphones in front of your face. Can you hear the music clearly? If so, try turning it lower and repeat the test. Always try to give your ears the necessary rest during the day.

Not getting enough sleep is a big problem for many busy people. Lack of sleep can have serious consequences in the short and long term, including delayed reaction times, glucose levels, mood, headaches, memory loss, and hormone imbalances. Recent research shows that not getting enough sleep can actually shrink the brain.
Sleep is definitely necessary for your brain. Without healthy sleep, the way the brain processes information, consolidates memories, makes connections, and removes toxins is affected. Lack of sleep will slow down your thought process, impair memory, concentration, judgment and decision-making, and interfere with learning.
Improving your sleep habits is an important way to improve brain health. A good night's sleep of 7-8 hours is necessary to stimulate connections and brain development.
If you are concerned about the health of your brain and your ability to think now or in the future, learn to take care of your brain and stay away from habits that impair memory. With just a few simple lifestyle changes, you can boost your memory, learning ability, mental resilience, and overall brain health.
In addition to maintaining a nutritious diet and a healthy lifestyle, to ensure your own health, you also need to have regular health checkups. The general physical examination will help the doctor detect abnormal signs so that appropriate adjustments can be made.
General health check-up package - Vinmec International General Hospital is performed by a team of qualified doctors, combined with a system of modern equipment and machinery. Accordingly, customers will be examined and do blood tests, liver, kidney, urine, blood measurement, Electrocardiogram, ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan, MRI scan,... to have accurate assessment of health in order to have timely intervention.

Reference source: businessinsider.com