5 Signs of Good Brain Health
By
OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
Hey Optimist Minds!
Our brain is considered the most complex part of the human body. It controls so many operations that keep us alive and let us experience life. In fact, the brain is the source of all the qualities that define our humanity.
Because of its vital importance, the brain lies protected in the hard skull and is submerged in a protective fluid to minimise jerks. Many factors contribute to the good health of the brain, including nutrition, early life development, environmental factors, and genetic influence.
When all these factors complement each other well, it leads to good brain health. In this video, we’re going to cover five signs of good brain health. You can use this information to self-assess whether your brain is in good shape. However, only use this video for educational purposes and not as a replacement for expert medical advice.
Having said that, let’s begin.
Number One
You’re able to remember things well.
Is it easy for you to memorise specific details about a situation and recall them at a later time? Are you still able to bring to mind things that happened in early childhood?
A good memory is a clear sign that your neural connections are working well making it possible to excel in cognitive tasks. Memory can be sensory, short-term, or long-term based on the level of processing.
With good brain health, information gets smoothly stored from sensory to short-term to long-term memory. It doesn’t take excessive rehearsal or rote to memorise things.
Number Two
You’re good at languages.
Many research studies have established a correlation between brain health and language learning. Learning a new language requires the use of extensive neural networks. This can lead to significant improvement in global cognition.
Studies have shown language learning to cause increased functional connectivity in parts of the brain like the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), right superior frontal gyrus (rSFG) and left superior parietal lobule (lSPL).
Being bilingual is also known to increase empathy, a skill requiring the proper functioning of the prefrontal cortex.
Number Three
You have good social connections.
Experts have found that socialising can play a preventative role in diseases like stroke and dementia. Thus, an indicator of good brain health in old age is the ability to have meaningful interactions with others.
As we mentioned before, empathy requires well-functioning grey matter. Mirror neurons, which are present in this part of the brain, help us feel what the person in front of us is feeling. If we’re able to connect and interact with people on a deeper level, it’s a sign of good brain health.
Number Four
Your sleep is regular.
Sleep and brain health are interconnected. Good sleep leads to good brain health and vice versa. If you’re in the habit of falling asleep and waking up and the same times day after day, your brain seems to be working exceptionally well.
Regular sleep allows the brain to rejuvenate and get adequate rest even if you don’t sleep for eight hours at a stretch. The quality of sleep is also better, leading to better learning efficiency and cognitive performance.
Number Five
Your brain is plastic.
When it comes to the brain, the word plastic implies flexibility. Plasticity represents your brain’s ability to change structure and function. The more plastic your brain, the better able you are to adjust to new situations.
Plasticity helps you unlearn previously established neural connections. This makes it easier to break habits, overcome addictions, and adapt to life’s changes.
So, do you think you show any of these five signs? Is your brain at its optimal health? Let us know in the comments if you found this video helpful.
A link for further reading and the studies & references used in the making of this video are mentioned in the description below.
Thanks for visiting optimist minds, take care. Until next time.
References
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00423/full
- https://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol03/12/17.pdf
- https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asag/gen/2011/00000035/00000002/art00010
- https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020007
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399904000637
- https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15405
- https://cp.neurology.org/content/8/3/257.short
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1363459309360796
- https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/49/S1/S50/634668?login=true
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