Staying Sharp’s Five Pillars of Brain Health
Relax
Better Sleep + Less Stress= Better Brain
Discover
Maintain and improve your brain health by discovering and incorporating new brain-based learning tools into your regular routine.By learning a foreign language, engaging in regular physical activity, picking up a hobby, and/or even reducing the amount of stressors around you, you are exercising your brain by challenging it to learn and adapt to new things.
Connect
Being “connected” in today’s society can often feel like an obligation to overexpose our daily happenings. But did you know that studies suggest that having a strong social circle, reconnecting with a friend, composing handwritten notes and more can boost your mood and even protect your brain? Developing new bonds and cultivating current relationships can help to stimulate the nervous system, calm you, and even decrease stress levels.
Nourish
Walnuts. Blueberries. Avocado. Fish. Alcohol. Sugar. Though there is no one magic brain food, there are foods that can help (or hurt!) your brain health. Foods containing fish oil or omega-3, for example, have consistently shown possible brain benefits, while supplements and brain health vitamins have mixed evidence. The science is constantly changing.
Move
People tend to focus on brain workouts as the best way to improve brain health. In reality, physical exercise is far more impactful. The Global Council on Brain Health, an independent collaborative of scientists, health professionals, scholars and policy experts from around the world, produced a report in April, 2016 that provides recommendations on how to use physical exercise to impact brain health: 1. 150 minutes of weekly, moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two or more days a week of moderate-intensity, muscle-strengthening activities.
2. Lead a physically active lifestyle throughout the day.
3. Identify meaningful and enjoyable ways to increase and maintain physical activity.
Staying Sharp
1 Increase Movement
2 Healthy Diet
3 Curious
4 Optimism
✓ Brain Health Information✓ Staying Sharp Challenge Series✓ Daily Puzzle✓ Fun Games✓ Explore and create your own plan
