Your brain is the most important hardware part of your body. Researchers have found that your blood flow in blood vessels determines a lot about your brain health. The research from the University of Edinburgh also revealed that many factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, and smoking affect your blood flow and hurt your brain.
With time these factors are said to make your brain deteriorate. They expose you to the risk of suffering Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. The part of the brain responsible for complex thinking deteriorates and dementia develops slowly.
The university researched by comparing the brain scans of similar age, sex, and size. They found that diabetes, smoking, and high blood pressure can affect your brain.
They contribute a lot to the loss of both white and grey matter of the brain. It is only high cholesterol that was not associated with brain deterioration.
Vascular Risks Factors Risks your Brain health.
The research was able to find out how much brain is lost when you get exposed to these vascular risk factors. You can lose up to three percent of your gray matter when you compare yourself to people without these risk factors.
Grey matter is a crucial part of the brain tissue which is the home of many neurons. Neurons are responsible for communication from your brain to your body. When they are affected this communication is not effective.
These research scans also showed that people with these risk factors were more prone to white matter damage than individuals without the risks.
The white matter tissue is found deep in the brain. With age, it naturally declines. It is also associated with reduced executive functioning and processing the thought slowly.
The research also found that some parts of the brain can get affected than others. The main tissue that was more likely to be affected were the ones responsible for complex thinking.
No matter the age vascular risks are likely to affect our brain health. This means young people need to be aware of brain health and avoiding unhealthy habits.
Lifestyle that can boost your brain health
Moving more
At least have two and a half hours of aerobic exercise every week. You should not worry if you have not been moving. A study found that even older adults had significant improvements in their brain performance after practicing aerobic movements.
Strength training
Building your muscles coupled with aerobic activities at least twice a week has proven to improve one’s health and brain tissue.
Healthy diet
Include brain-boosting foods in your diet. They include nuts, blueberries, deli meat, fatty fish, cut back, take out, cheese, and many more. Approach these meals very carefully. They are rich in sodium that can drive up blood pressure. Mix them with more non-starchy vegetables. Also, increase the intake of fiber and decrease carbohydrates to control blood sugars and weight.
Have a mindful life
Your mental health can be affected by stress and anxiety that can also hurt your brain health. You need to practice meditation and avoid depression to keep your brain healthy.
Have adequate sleep
Vascular risk factors and your health can be affected by the amount of sleep you are getting. Also, weight gain and high blood pressure can be associated with inadequate sleep. Your brain needs enough amount of sleep to service synapses and neurons and build up new memories.
Be mentally active
Your brain is similar to muscles. If you don’t want to lose it, make use of it. Play games, read, and train your brain to learn new things every day.
Have a social life
Stress and depression contribute to memory loss. When you get yourself into social interactions, it helps reduce depression. Always be socially active to keep your brain healthy.
Monitor your blood pressure
Watch your blood pressure every six months to see any signs of increase or decrease. Blood pressure is essential for your health.
In conclusion, it very clear that many of these vascular factors can be prevented. It is also important to educate young people on the importance of health to ensure their brains are healthy.
