Know your Brain

Tips for a healthy brain

Whether you are young or old - a healthy brain is crucial at any age and in any situation. The good news is, the health of your brain is in your own hands.

It has long been known that we have a great influence on the health of our body. In the past few years it has been recognized that the health of our brain is also crucially dependent on our way of life. Four simple tips will help you achieve your full potential in the long term.

Tip 1 - Sleep: Balm for your head

It seems logical to most that sleep is important. However, it is less well known that sleep plays an extremely important role in the functioning of the brain. Many people still know the phenomenon from their school days: a poem has to be memorized by the next day, but in the evening the poem is caught in many places. The next morning the poem is suddenly mastered perfectly.

People who suffer from chronic sleep deprivation do worse in cognitive tests than people with normal sleep behavior. Sleep also plays a major role in our self-control. Scientists understand this to be a person's ability to control their emotions and attention. Most scientists recommend that you sleep at least six hours a night.

Tip 2 - inflammation: poison for your brain

Even if many media give a different impression, there is still a lack of clarity about the causes of Alzheimer's. It is very often claimed that so-called amyloid plaques are responsible for Alzheimer's. However, it is by no means clear whether these plaques are the cause or consequence of the disease. Recently, inflammatory processes have come into focus. These processes can take various forms, for example simple gum inflammation. Much of this inflammation is very easy for doctors to treat. So it is worthwhile not to put the little ailments on the back burner.

Tip 3 - Foreign languages: Protection against dementia

Of course, it's easier said than done, but the benefits of mastering a foreign language are overwhelming. A research team led by psychologist Ellen Bialystok compared older bilingual people with monolingual people. She came to the astonishing result that bilingual people develop dementia more than 4 years later on average than those who only speak one language.

Tip 4 - brain training: Mentally active, for a lifetime

In a study from 2006, a research group led by psychologist Michael Valenzuela investigated the influence of mental fitness on our brains. He found that people who are mentally active have a 46% lower risk of developing dementia. Being mentally active can mean a lot: playing chess, learning an instrument or a foreign language. But we all know how tedious it can be to incorporate one of these activities into our busy days. The greater the importance attached to scientific brain training.