How to get good brain health at any age

Every day it seems there’s a new gimmick to keep your brain in tip-top shape, and it’s usually focused on older adults. But the real truth is that achieving good brain health is for everyone, at every age, and is dependent on your own life experiences and circumstances.

Ideally, people shouldn’t start thinking about brain health as senior citizens — the damage we do is cumulative, so we should be protecting and supporting our brains from childhood onward. Still, improving and optimizing your brain health for the present and for your future is possible at any time.

Understanding and improving brain health

First, it’s important to understand the definition of brain health, as determined by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The AAN defines brain health as the “continuing state of attaining and maintaining the optimal neurologic function that best supports our physical, mental and social wellbeing through every stage of life.” Brain health depends upon all these facets to function optimally. Holistic brain health allows us to think clearly, regulate emotions, move with ease, engage socially and show up as our best selves.

The second thing is to always consider your physical body and your brain as one and the same. The brain is another organ living in the ecosystem of our body. Anything we expose our bodies to, we also expose our brains to. The good news is that it’s never too late to support your brain health, and the steps are tried-and-true and evidence-based. Be wary of gimmicks, trends or expensive gadgets or apps. Here are seven straightforward ways to be in your best health.

Sleep

Sleep is the foundation to good brain health. It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a biological requirement.

You need seven hours a night at a minimum to avoid major long-term risks. Most adults need eight to 10 hours of sleep, and women seem to tend to need a little more than men. Sleep helps your brain clean the metabolic junk out and minimize the likelihood of experiencing stroke, dementia, heart disease and cancer.

This is your number-one priority, because nearly everyone — patients and fellow doctors alike — is sleep deprived.

Practicing good sleep hygiene will help ensure you get high-quality rest. Consider:

• screens off for a period of time before bed
• phones stored in another room (yes, really)
• a cool, dark environment 
• consistent sleep schedules or routines

Without good sleep hygiene and habits, everything becomes harder: Our brains can’t concentrate, make memories or regulate hormones. You might become inattentive, for example, and make a mistake while driving. You might drink too much coffee to make up for low-quality sleep and feel jittery. Your hormones may be less regulated. The list goes on and on. You’ll reap the most benefits by giving yourself the gift of great sleep.

Good nutrition

Our brains need nourishment, just like the rest of our body, so diet plays an important role in our brain health. The best habits for the whole body are the best habits for the brain.

That means that you should be focusing on eating foods that come from around the perimeter of the grocery store: Fresh fruits, vegetables and micronutrients. Avoid processed, packaged foods in the aisles. And don’t forget all-important hydration: water, water, water.

And, although this is an unpopular opinion, it’s the truth: Alcohol has zero neurological benefit. You could never drink enough wine to get benefits from resveratrol, the component in red wine that purports to give you anti-inflammatory, antioxidant benefits. The healthiest amount of any alcohol is none — alcohol is toxic to brain cells. Avoiding the toxins in illegal drugs is also paramount.

Environmental toxins also play a role in our brain health. Excessive social media consumption or excessive media consumption can be toxic as well. 

Physical exercise

Exercise remains one of the most powerful practices we have to stay healthy.

Study after study proves that keeping your body moving is a great way to stay healthy, both in mind and body. That means getting your heart pumping (and increasing blood circulation to your brain!) with aerobic movement and building or maintaining muscle with strength training. Aim for two or so hours per week.

Besides improving blood flow to the brain, exercise also helps keep your blood pressure and cholesterol down. If done regularly, you’re also likely to experience improved moods. And you’ll also help keep your weight where it should be.

Protect against injury

Your brain has what’s called “brain reserve,” and that reserve is what our brain has left to function after challenges or injuries. The damage we do to our brains is cumulative. Every concussion, stroke, uncontrolled medical condition or unhealthy habit drains this reserve, making it harder to draw on when you need it.

Protecting it means wearing helmets, avoiding high-risk activities, controlling chronic diseases and minimizing exposure to anything that harms the brain. No amount of crossword puzzling can overcome excessive exposure to toxins or injury.

We want to keep our brain reserve as full as possible, because once it’s gone, we can’t rebuild it.

Community engagement

Another underappreciated factor in brain health is connection with our communities. Our brains are designed to function best when we have a village of family, friends, neighbors or colleagues. Studies show that when you hang out with friends, neuro-inflammatory markers in the brain drop, reducing stress and improving mental health.

In fact, many people experience a noticeable cognitive dip shortly after retirement — not because the brain suddenly “ages,” but because social, cognitive and daily structure all change at once and isolation often follows. This isn’t good for human beings. Being curious about the world, reading, doing puzzles and finding other activities that fill your cup are keys to keeping your brain active and healthy.

Get the best bang for your buck by taking your dog for a walk with a neighbor or friend: Exercise and community-building, all in one.

Wear genes well

A lot of people think that memory loss or cognitive decline is a normal part of aging. It’s not. As it turns out, the risk of dementia is only genetic about 10 percent of the time. Most dementias are driven by lifestyle and health factors. And even with a possible genetic predisposition, your risk is not your destiny. Epigenetics, which is the influence of the environment and behavior on how and when our genes may choose to express themselves, means that what we eat, how much quality sleep we get, if we exercise, and how we manage stress, among other things, can help delay or prevent cognitive decline.

This news is, hopefully, empowering. We can’t change our genes, but we can change what we do every day to promote good health and hopefully delay or prevent certain genes from being tempted to express themselves.

Monitor your hormones

For many women, brain fog may set in as a symptom as we begin to experience perimenopause or menopause. Declining or fluctuating levels of estrogen play a role in how we think and the quality of our sleep.

Hormone replacement therapy may help some, but the research on actual cognitive benefits remains mixed. Leading a healthy lifestyle will help manage those symptoms.

Prescription for a healthy brain

Despite how complex our brains are, the path to good brain health is generally straightforward.

• Cultivate good sleep habits and follow them carefully.
• Eat whole, fresh foods and avoid toxins of all types.
• Move your body every week.
• Stay connected to your loved ones and community.
• Protect your head from injury.
• Stay on top of your health conditions and treat them proactively, seriously and carefully.