6 seemingly harmless habits that cause premature brain aging

Like your body, your brain ages with age. As you get older, it becomes harder to remember information. It can also take longer to learn new things.

We can control to keep the brain healthy - Photo: Nick Notas

The good news is that we can take control to keep our brains healthy and avoid premature aging, starting with our daily habits.

According to scientists , sometimes there are things that seem "harmless" but have negative effects on brain health. These include:

Lack of social interaction

Social interaction, both in person and online, has a significant impact on the brain. Every time we meet a new person, we create new connections in the brain between brain cells. Additionally, a strong social network has been shown to improve mood, which is linked to brain health.

You make your brain repeat the same things over and over again.

In addition to keeping your brain active by maintaining existing skills, you also need to take your brain out of its comfort zone.

If you think you are too young and don’t need to learn anything new, it can actually be detrimental to your brain health and lead to premature brain aging. Just like meeting a new person, learning something new creates connections between brain cells and helps slow down the aging process.

You ignore chronic stress

Stress is a part of everyday life, and our bodies can usually recover quickly from a particular stressful event or situation. The real problems begin when this stress becomes chronic, and you don't deal with it.

“We’re very good at maintaining our stress response throughout the day, at a level that we may not even realize,” says Elissa Epel, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. “Even when nothing stressful is going on, we can still carry around unconscious stress.”

She says it’s important to recognize this tension and release it throughout the day, such as by paying attention to thoughts and slowing down your breathing. By engaging in deep restful states, both during the day and during sleep, we give our neurons a chance to recover and slow down the aging of our brains.

You order too much takeout.

When you're busy, it's natural to reach for something quick to eat. But in the long run, that may not be good for your brain.

Fast food is often high in saturated fat and added sugar. Studies have shown that a diet rich in these foods over many years can lead to a higher risk of dementia.

Try to focus on a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as green leafy vegetables, fish, olive oil, and nuts. Omega-3s have been shown to improve memory, learning ability, and increase blood flow to the brain.

Poor sleep quality

Even if you try to get the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep each night, if your sleep quality is poor, you may still feel tired the next day.

Researchers emphasize that both quantity and quality of sleep are important for brain health. Over time, poor sleep can increase the risk of premature brain aging and developing dementia.

To improve sleep quality, you should set a regular bedtime, minimize alcohol consumption, reduce fluid intake before bed, avoid sedatives and sleeping pills, and only use your bed for sleeping instead of surfing the phone or watching TV.

You are not physically active

Physical activity is important to keep your brain young. In addition to exercise, you should incorporate physical activity into your lifestyle. Whether it’s gardening or hiking, there are things we can incorporate into our daily lives, rather than just spending an hour in the gym once a week.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/6-thoi-quen-tuong-vo-hai-nhung-khien-nao-lao-hoa-som-20250101114451332.htm