The human brain has unparalleled capacity to process and analyze information. It is the control center for all your productivity and actions. People often take for granted the benefits and quality of life enabled by a healthy brain. Improving your brain’s health now, and as you age, can be as simple as adjusting some habits that may hurt your brain.

The brain is the most important part of the body and the overall functionality of our system depends totally on it so if something goes wrong with our brain, the chance that something will go wrong with some other part of our body will be increased by a 99 percent.

Unhealthy habits:

1. Stressing the brain when you are sick: Forcing your brain to do work when it should be resting is posing danger on your brain. We often push ourselves to the limits, when we are in a hurry to finish up one report or the other when we have to stay up studying. The effects may not be seen at that point in time but eventually, it will begin to tell on our entire being.

2. Not having Breakfast: Skipping breakfast has been said to cause diseases like stroke and high blood pressure. Some of us are guilty of skipping the most important meal of the day because we are in a hurry to get somewhere. Others just simply skip it for no apparent reason, well this is the voice of reason telling you not to do that anymore. Do not skip breakfast.

3. Chewing Gum: It is widely known that chewing gum helps to reduce stress but this does not go without costing you something. Excessively chewing gum is a habit that leads to short term memory. A study was carried out and it was observed that the people who had more difficulty remembering a list of words were the ones chewing gum.

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4. Excessive intake of sugar and salt: High salt consumption is a contributing factor for high blood pressure. High blood pressure leads to an increased risk of stroke and causes repeated small traumas to your brain resulting in minor cognitive deficits.

Sugar- As sweet as it can be, it’s terrible for your brain. Sugar negatively influences brain structure and function, compromising both the formation of long-term memory and learning.

You need to tone it down on the sugar intake if you want your brain to function at its fullest capacity. 

5. Too little water: Now you might want to cut down on those sweets and increase your water intake for all the good reasons. This may sound funny but not taking enough water leads to dehydration and when you are dehydrated, your brain tissues begin to shrink. It sounds bad enough already. This reduces the functionality of your brain cells and can also cause slower responses.

Smoking: As we age the cerebral cortex thins. This area of the brain is where important thought processes such as memory, language and perception occur.  Nicotine speeds the thinning of your cerebral cortex and can contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. While quitting smoking does lead to some recovery of the cortex, it is slow and may be incomplete. In conclusion, smoking and vaping are terrible for your brain.