You certainly feel it when your mind isn’t getting what it needs. You experience brain fog and difficulty concentrating. These are signs that your mind needs a little TLC. And while the brain is a complex organ, there are some basic things you can do in order to:
improve your mental strength,
protect and enhance your mind,
improve your cognitive function and keep it sharp, and
slow cognitive decline.
Nutrition Is The Number "1" Priority
Comfort Keto recipes are loaded with ingredients which are essential to brain health. Interestingly, the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels.
Comfort Keto recipes feature every week seasonal green, leafy vegetables such as kale, collards, and broccoli all of which are rich in brain-healthy nutrients such as vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta carotene.
Fatty fish are abundant sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3's lower levels of brain damaging blood clumps, particularly in people with Alzheimer's disease. When preparing Comfort Keto prepared meals, Chef J9 chooses salmon, ahi tuna, mahi mahi, halibut, mackerel and sardines. As additional sources of omega-3, Chef J9 also uses heavily terrestrial omega-3 sources such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, avocados, and pecans.
Berries are flavonoids, and also help improve memory. Chef J9 chooses regularly strawberries and blueberries for our Comfort Keto recipes.
Nuts are excellent sources of protein and healthy fats, and one type of nut in particular might also improve memory. Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). High walnut consumption improves cognitive test scores, lowers blood pressure and cleans arteries. That's good for both the heart and brain. That's why we regularly use nuts in Comfort Keto recipes.
And the there is the caffeine in your morning cup of coffee or tea which offers more than just a short-term concentration boost, but also provides better mental function and solidifies new memories.
Get Enough Shut-Eye
While you sleep the nerve cells in your brain constantly communicate and reorganize. This process is essential to your overall cognitive health. Sleep showers away cellular grime that builds up while the brain is awake — just the sort of process that makes sleep a biological imperative.
Sleep rinses off the brain and disposes of waste proteins and other gunk.
The brain pushes fluid in between its cells to flush out buildup products, such as protein pieces that form plaques in people with Alzheimer’s disease. In 2013, researchers in lab environment succeeded to measure the fluid flow while the rodents were awake and asleep. They observed that the space between cells increased by at least 60 percent when the animals fell asleep, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to gush in and hose away buildup.
If your sleep is disrupted or doesn’t last long enough, this vital cleansing progression is disrupted, too. Sleep deprivation may make it impossible for sleep to fully wash away the piled up by-products, eventually contributing to neurodegenerative dis-orders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, the researchers speculate.
Stop eating and drinking a few hours before bed time in order to minimize the frequency of waking up in the middle of the night. Also, try to fall asleep at the same time every night. Of course, you won’t always succeed, and when that happens, I use the weekends to play catch-up and log some extra ZZ’s.
Check also our blog posts: Pistachios promote sleep , Improve your sleep health
Stay Hydrated At All Times
Hydration has a direct connection to brain function. For example, extreme dehydration causes short-term memory loss. And prolonged dehydration causes shrinkage of brain cells. Drinking plenty of water and eating foods rich in water will greatly improve your mental performance, so be sure to make it a priority.
Check also our blog post: Drink enough water
Curb Your Caffeine Intake
Caffeine really is a double-edged sword. There are benefits to caffeine when it comes to mental sharpness and protecting against certain degenerative cognitive conditions, but there is also a adenosine receptors saturation issue with it, which is responsible for facilitating sleep. We recommend to stick to two 8-ounce cups of coffee and try to have them in the earlier hours of the day.
Check also our blog post: 12 Reasons to drink coffee
Exercise
Exercising helps you to stay mentally active.
Practice Positive Thinking
Having a positive attitude is one of the best tools for staying sharp and mentally active. Surround yourself with friends and family and/or take part in activities that give you a sense of achievement. Tackling a family hike in the woods is one example.
Positive thinking also happens when you take a moment to disconnect from obsessive news watching. It’s equally important to take a break from scrolling on your phone. Instead, take a few minutes to reflect, which can help improve your mood and mental dexterity.
Check also our blog post: Stressful events age the brain
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