Share on PinterestTo improve brain health, doctors recommend a multipronged approach that covers areas such as sleep, diet, and exercise. Design by MNT; Photography by SEAN GLADWELL/Getty Images & andreswd/Getty Images
- The American Academy of Neurology recently released a 12-question brain health checklist.
- The list encourages individuals to ask their doctors more questions to improve their brain health and take proactive steps to ensure they can prevent cognitive decline.
- Among these 12 factors are diet, exercise, sleep, genetics, and mental health.
The American Academy of Neurology recently outlined several factors to improve brain health in an article published inNeurology, the American Academy of Neurology’s medical journal. These factors included sleep, diet, exercise, and social interactions.
Addressing various aspects of neurological health at various stages of life, the article touched on 12 specific questions people should ask their neurologist or primary care physicians to help people take steps toward improving their health in the new year.
These 12 factors, collated under the acronym “SAFEST BRAINS,” included:
- Sleep
- Affect, mood, and mental health
- Food, diet, and supplements
- Exercise
- Supportive social interactions
- Trauma avoidance
- Blood pressure
- Risks (metabolic and genetic factors)
- Affordability and adherence
- Infection
- Negative exposures
- Structural and social determinants of health (SSDoH)
The article encourages people to have conversations with healthcare professionals for advice, improved medical care, and to seek further resources.
What should I ask my doctor for a healthier brain?
Here are the 12 questions the article listed:
- Sleep: Are you able to get sufficient sleep to feel rested?
- Affect, mood, and mental health: Do you have concerns about your mood, anxiety, or stress?
- Food, diet, and supplements: Do you have concerns about getting enough or healthy food, or do you have any questions about supplements or vitamins?
- Exercise: Do you find ways to fit physical exercise into your life?
- Supportive social interactions: Do you have regular contact with close friends or family and enough support from people?
- Trauma avoidance: Do you wear seatbelts and helmets, and use car seats for children?
- Blood pressure: Have you had problems with high blood pressure at home or at doctor visits, or do you have any concerns about blood pressure treatment or getting a blood pressure cuff at home?
- Risks, genetic and metabolic factors: Do you have trouble controlling blood sugar or cholesterol? Is there a neurological disease that runs in your family?
- Affordability and adherence: Do you have any trouble with the cost of your medicines?
- Infection: Are you up to date on vaccines, and do you have enough information about those vaccines?
- Negative exposures: Do you smoke, drink more than one to two drinks per day, or use nonprescription drugs? Do you drink well water or live in an area with known air or water pollution?
- Social and structural determinants of health: Do you have concerns about keeping housing, having transportation, having access to care and medical insurance, or being physically or emotionally safe from harm?
Jasmin Dao, MD, PhD, pediatric and adult neurologist at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and MemorialCare Long Beach, California, who was not involved in the article, singled out a few factors that people should pay extra attention to.
Dao told Medical News Today that sleep, exercise, negative exposure (specifically limiting your alcohol intake or quitting smoking), and diet were particularly important.
Meanwhile, Vernon Williams, MD, sports neurologist and founding director of the Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, who was also not involved in the research, preferred focusing on sleep, exercise, mental health, and nutrition/diet.
“These areas represent what I call ‘low hanging fruit’. There can be dramatic benefit from paying attention to these things, often at low or no cost,” Williams told MNT.
3 daily habits for better brain health
Regarding sleep, exercise, and mental health, Dao and Williams both underscored the importance of consistency.
“With each, consistency is key. Committing to consistently protecting sleep, exercise, and mental health time is great for the brain,” Williams said.
Dao grouped her advice under three main principles: “Exercise regularly, [ensure you get] healthy sleep on a regular basis, [and pay attention to your] mental health.”
“Regular physical activity can boost your memory, mood, and cognitive skills. Exercise also can improve sleep quality and reduce stress, feelings of sadness, and anxiety,” she said.
“Get a good night’s sleep every night. Healthy sleep improves cognitive skills, such as attention, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Good sleep hygiene can also improve mental health and psychological well-being. Anxiety and depression can [also] significantly impact brain health. It is important to protect your head space to reduce the risk of dementia, help memory processing, and improve cognitive functioning,” she added.
“Sleep: Try to control bedtime and begin to wind down 30-60 minutes before hand. Avoid late night weekends and early morning weekdays. Be consistent and protect your sleep time. Quality is as important as duration.
Exercise: Shoot for 150 – 180 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise. Try to include resistance activity (body weight or actual weights) at least twice a week. Lean muscle mass is also important for brain health — not just cardio.
Mental Health: Meditation, or purposeful breathing exercises for 8-10 minutes 1-2 times per day can do wonders for stress, anxiety, and mood. Exercise can also significantly improve mood. Again, consistency is more critical. 10 minutes 5 times a week is better than an hour on the weekend.”
— Vernon Williams, MD
Setting goals for preventing cognitive decline
Dao focused on an easy-to-adopt resolution that involved limiting artificial light: reducing screen time on smartphones, computers, tablets, and playing video games.
“Excessive screen time among young adults can increase the risk of dementia, stroke or Parkinson’s disease. It can also lead to early neurodegeneration. Lights from screen displays can also impact sleep, disrupting melatonin release and the body’s circadian rhythm. Ditching the screen can also allow more time for activities that improve your brain health, such as regular exercise, socializing with your friends, spending time outside, and improved sleep quality,” she said.
Williams underscored that now is always the best time to start when it comes to health matters.
“It’s never too late to work on your brain. The brain will respond to good habits and efforts to improve. If you want to protect and improve your quality of life, include the brain in your resolutions and goals,” he said.
