Do You Have a Healthy Brain?

No matter how smart or educated you are, the health of your mind and brain is a totally different issue. The fact is that your brain can never be filled completely. But it can get tired and needs you to supply it with the right exercises and foods so that it can function to its fullest.

Food for the brain

Do you remember your parents telling you to eat all that fish because it's good for your brain? Well, they were actually right. And there are other foods that you should eat that have the same effect. The brain is the most active organ in the body and demands the most food for it to function right. But for it to function right, the right foods must be consumed. Glucose is important for the brain as it acts as a fuel. Glucose-rich foods are usually the ones that you eat at breakfast, including juices, fruits and even toast. Snacks are also a good source of glucose and should be taken to maintain the amount of glucose that fuels the brain. Of course, you will need to avoid junk food like potato chips, cakes and pastries that will only increase the amount of "bad" fats in your system.

Make sure that you include breakfast in your daily routine. Studies have shown that skipping this meal reduces performance at work or at school. You should also consume foods that are rich in proteins like beans, which are also a good source of fiber. This is good for the cognitive processes of your brain such as you awareness, perception and judgment of things. Food that is rich in antioxidants should also keep your brain in top condition. You can find this in salads and in diets rich in vitamins C and E.

So why is fish important in all of this? The brain is made up mostly of fat and like a car the brain needs to be well-oiled. This "oil" can be found in Omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish. This is why fish is the best brain food. It feeds and lubricates the brain.

Music for the brain

While physical exercise does well for the body, mental exercises like reading and writing are great for the brain. But the brain can sometimes be stubborn and not actually absorb everything that you try to learn. What the brain needs is stimulation. It has been discovered that the brain is partly affected by the music that we listen to. In a study done at the University of Wisconsin, a psychologist found that people who listened to Mozart did better at mathematics and had an improved sense of spatial reasoning. The music of Mozart (or anything similar to it) somehow stimulates the signals that are passed to and from the brain. Of course, this might not work for every single person out there and it may depend on a person's preference for music. But the best way to stimulate the brain is to actually take music lessons. So the next time you are thinking of taking computer lessons over music, think again. Your reasoning abilities are greatly improved if you take music classes. This has something to do with the complexity of music which exercises us mentally and physically because music demands a certain degree of precision of body movements (or finger movements as on piano or other stringed instruments), and control of pitch and rhythm. This keeps the brain busy. A busy brain is one that is exercising itself.

The brain needs as much exercise as it dos rest. So remember to also step away from work and mental activities once in a while so that you can rest your mind and get it prepped for the next task you are about to embark on.