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5 Healthy Habits to Support Your Brain
Do you want to feel more focused and less foggy during your work day? Use these tips to add some healthy habits to your workday routine. 1. Eat more fat Many of us do not consume enough healthy fat, and this could be because of the craze where we were made to fear fat. When we are not eating enough fat, we may experience symptoms like dizziness, depression, anxiety, as well as poor memory and cognitive function. Healthy fats are antioxidants and fight inflammation from excess stress, environmental toxins and help balance your hormones. Avocados, coconut oil, butter, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, grass-fed beef and wild fish are healthy fats that can all be safely added to your diet to ensure you are able to think and handle stress optimally. 2. Get active As little as 20 minutes of exercise a day can cause growth of new brain cells in the brain’s memory centre and lead to improvement to memory. Try to getting off before your stop in the morning, or getting up at work every 45 minutes or taking a walk on your lunch. You can set alarms on your phone or computer to remind yourself. Not only will this support your brain but it also aids in digestion and your body's detoxification processes. 3. Eat fermented probiotic-rich foods and consider supplementing probiotics More and more people are talking about how the gut is our second brain. In fact, your good gut bacteria synthesize your B vitamins (your feel good vitamins). Both probiotics and fermented foods show that good bacteria lowers chronic inflammation and provides increased antioxidant protection (which is what our brain needs to function optimally). Studies have shown that those that consume more fermented foods (more of a traditional diet), have lower levels of depression and anxiety (quite significantly even, around 25-30%). Several other studies show that taking probiotic supplements helped improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress in otherwise healthy people. 4. Limit sugar and processed foods People tend to want to eat foods that they find comforting (like chips, and candy and cookies). This is because they release serotonin, which is a natural opioid. These may make you feel good for a second but they actually contribute to anxiety, brain fog and an inability to concentrate. Diets that are high in refined sugars are actually harmful to your brain because they promote inflammation and oxidative stress. 5. Meditate Less than 30 minutes a day of meditating can rebuild the gray matter in your brain. Meditating helps to decreases stress, improve mindfulness and can lower levels of depression and anxiety. You can search on Youtube or app stores for a meditation practice that works for you and work your way up to 30 minutes. So there you have it. Doing these 5 healthy habits every day will support your brain and your productivity at work. Resources: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-super-healthy-probiotic-foods https://draxe.com/increase-size-your-brain/