The human brain is our most essential organ, fundamental for controlling thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger, and every other process that regulates the body.
Therefore, maintaining good brain health should be a top priority for all of us, but especially for individuals who lead busy, demanding lives that require a sharp mind and mental stamina. Conversely, neglecting one’s brain health can lead to negative consequences that affect entire systems in the body and all aspects of a person’s life.
What Are Signs of Poor Brain Health?
As we age, it’s normal for our brains to change in size and structure, and at all other levels. These changes can affect our memory and cognitive abilities. However, mental decline isn’t an inevitable part of the aging process, so it is important to know the difference between natural changes in the brain and poor brain health.
Begin assessing your brain health with honest self-analysis. Do you generally feel not as sharp as you used to? Has it become more difficult to grasp abstract concepts? Or, when engaging in conversations, do you have a hard time understanding what others are saying? These may be signs of poor brain health, along with the following issues:
- Frequent confusion
- Difficulty processing information
- Struggling to express thoughts
- Forgetting important dates or details
- Shorter attention span (compared to your personal normal)
- Inability to concentrate
- Frequent fatigue
- Impaired decision-making skills
- Signs of memory loss
- Feelings of brain fog
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these issues, it’s helpful to understand their underlying cause(s) so you can then make changes to improve your brain health.
What is Brain Fog?
While brain fog has yet to be officially recognized as a medical condition, the term is frequently used to describe cognitive symptoms including feelings of confusion, difficulty focusing, and challenges putting thoughts into words. People who experience brain fog may struggle to think clearly or perform daily tasks, which can negatively impact both their career and personal relationships, leading to social isolation and a decreased quality of life.
What Are the Possible Causes of Poor Brain Health?
There are many potential causes of poor brain health, some related to unavoidable factors such as age-related changes, genetics, or disorders. (Underlying issues, such as depression, thyroid conditions, and sleep disorders can contribute to poor brain health.) However, in many cases, our diet and other lifestyle choices play an equally important role in the functioning of the brain.
The average adult brain accounts for 20 percent of calories consumed by the body. So, if you have poor dietary habits — overeating or under-eating, consuming too much sugar, frequently dining on fast food, abusing alcohol, or smoking — your cognitive performance is bound to suffer. Having a deficiency in certain nutrients can also affect mental clarity and overall capacity.
Other daily habits can contribute to weakened brain health. Are you getting enough physical activity, socialization, and mental stimulus? Do you experience chronic stress and anxiety, or are you able to manage these properly? It may be embarrassing to admit that our lifestyle choices may be to blame for poor brain function, but acknowledging this connection can help us identify where we can make improvements.
How Can Weakened Brain Health Impact Your Life?
As the command center for the human body, the brain must function properly for all systems to operate correctly. Therefore, poor brain health can negatively impact all other aspects of a person’s life: work performance, personal relationships, and inner well-being.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten an anniversary or missed a deadline at work, or maybe you feel less sharp or attentive when engaging in conversations with family members or colleagues. These may seem like minor issues, but such situations can cause misunderstandings — and may even be markers of poor brain health.
What Foods Help Boost Brain Health Naturally?
If you are what you eat, your brain is as healthy as the foods you consume. One way to boost your brain health naturally is by eating high-quality foods that contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that nourish the brain. Incorporate plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains in your meals.
The following foods are shown to benefit the brain:
Leafy greens
Regularly eating fiber-rich vegetables like kale, spinach, collard greens, and broccoli has been shown to slow cognitive decline. These leafy greens are an excellent source of brain-friendly nutrients and a smart addition to every diet.
Fatty fish
Seafood is brain food, particularly when it comes to fatty fish like salmon, cod, canned light tuna, and pollack. These kinds of fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for brain function.
Berries
Certain compounds found in berries, particularly strawberries and blueberries, have been shown to reduce oxidative stress and add years of longevity to the brain.
Caffeine (in moderation)
Drinking moderate amounts of coffee or tea can improve mental function, concentration, alertness, and well-being. Research has also shown caffeine may help solidify new memories.
Nuts
Walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, macadamia, and other nuts are high in protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and antioxidants — all of which play an essential role in good brain health.
What Are Good Brain Health Games?
If you want to improve your memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, try to spend time each day playing games that stimulate your brain. Engaging in brain exercises can help adults improve cognition and enhance their memories, according to recent studies.
Some games that have been scientifically proven to boost brain function include:
Puzzles
Research shows that doing jigsaw puzzles activate both the right and left hemispheres of the brain and can even improve cognition and visual-spatial reasoning.
Crossword puzzles
Difficult cognitive tasks such as solving crossword puzzles are beneficial for brain health. Studies show that doing crossword puzzles engages multiple regions in the brain and even stimulates new connections.
Wordle
This word game engages the linguistic, visual-spatial, and central executive components of the brain’s working memory, the latter of which helps you integrate across all components.
Sudoku
Completing Sudoku puzzles has been shown to activate the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, rational thinking, and working memory function.
Chess
There are many cognitive benefits to playing chess: improved memory and problem-solving skills, pattern recognition, and increased connections within the brain.
Online brain games
Evidence suggests that playing games in general may help improve working memory. Since most people have access to the internet or a smartphone, playing online brain games like Lumosity, Cognifit, Sharpbrains, and BrainHQ may be a convenient and accessible way to exercise the brain.
What Activities Are Best for Brain Health?
Aside from mentally-stimulating games, there are many other activities that can improve cognitive function and overall brain health. In addition to enriching our lives, scientific research has shown the following activities can actually help improve brain function.
Knitting
A handcraft like knitting or crocheting can be a calming activity that provides physical and mental health benefits, with the repetition of complex stitches and patterns helping to improve cognitive function and regulating stress and anxiety.
Building models
Assembling model cars, boats, and planes requires dexterity, logical thinking, problem-solving, and planning, with the hobby being shown to improve fine motor skills as well as overall brain function.
Dancing
Busting a move is a sure way to bust stress; studies show dancing increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin. Dancing also helps in the development of new neural connections, with research from Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience showing the activity has a positive effect on the wiring and gray matter of the aging brain.
Listening to music
It’s possible to boost cognitive function and improve focus by playing music. This activity also decreases stress by increasing the release of serotonin and dopamine while reducing the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.
Reading books
Here’s another reason to get lost in a book: doing so may protect cognitive function in later life, with some research showing that reading reduces the risk of cognitive decline in older adults.
Creating art
Art-making has been shown to affect the brain in many positive ways. Creative expression helps to improve focus, process emotions, foster communication skills, and decrease stress by lowering levels of cortisol in the body.
Can Supplements Aid in Brain Health?
Yes! There is a growing body of scientific evidence that suggests supplementing with certain nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B and E, flavonoids, and beta-alanine can support brain health.
For instance, research suggests that supplementing with beta-alanine is both critical and effective in the continued production of healthy levels of carnosine, a powerful antioxidant and detoxification compound. According to one recent study, “Studies reporting increases in brain carnosine content were associated with reductions in brain inflammation and increases in brain neurotrophin expression during exposure to various stressors.”
Carnosine is produced in the body from the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine, and it is found in foods like beef, poultry, and seafood. However, it is not possible to consume enough of this compound via diet alone. Additionally, carnosine levels naturally decline with age.
To answer the need for a safe, effective beta-alanine supplement that boosts carnosine levels in the body, we released our flagship product, Perfect Synergy®.
What Supplement Actually Improves Brain Function?
Perfect Synergy® by Sustained RX® is designed with brain health as its core benefit. The product hit the market in 2020, but its carnosine-boosting formula is backed by many years of rigorous clinical testing, with multiple studies showing that supplementation improves memory, cognitive health, executive functioning, mental clarity, attention, and task focus.
How does it work? Perfect Synergy®’s patented, sustained-release formulation helps to restore carnosine levels by remaining in the body twice as long to maximize carnosine production.
We pride ourselves on promoting wellness based on the foundation of science, with the efficacy of our products and consumer safety being among our top priorities. Perfect Synergy® is powered by SR CarnoSyn®, which is the only beta-alanine on the market that has successfully obtained FDA New Dietary Ingredient and self-affirmed Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status.
Where Can You Buy Perfect Synergy® for Brain Health?
Perfect Synergy® is available for purchase on our website. After years of clinical studies, we proudly stand behind the quality of our product and offer a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.
If you’re tired of attempting to juggle the demands of your job, family, and social life with a foggy, sluggish mind, it’s time to invest in your brain health with Perfect Synergy®. With this powerful brain supplement, it’s possible to stay focused, motivated and engaged in the activities that matter most to you.
