Celebrating Men’s Health Week: 5 Ways to Sharpen the Brain

Although Fathers day is less than a week away, National Men’s Health week should not only be a time to promote healthier dad’s, but to also encourage good health among the brothers, uncles,  cousins, grandfathers, friends and everyone in between who are involved in your life. National Men’s Health Week 2012 started on Monday, June 11, and will continue until Sunday, June 17 which is Father’s Day in the US, Canada, and UK. The purpose of Men’s Health Week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. I found an interesting article on the Men’s Health website about ways for Males to sharpen their brain and I would like to share my new found information with you in honor of this Men’s Health observance week!

The article basically gets right down to the point: your mind controls everything that you do, which means your mind controls the life you lead in many different ways. As men age, a decline in their critical thinking, reaction time, memory and concentration can be noticed when they are completing the everyday tasks embedded into their daily routine. By just altering a few small habitual practices, a person can feel their brain working in a more effective manner.

1. Eat for better brain function! In a recent UCLA study, results showed that rats completed their maze slower due to their high sugar diet. Rather then stocking up on Red Bulls and twinkies while at work, try some of these snacks that jumpstart brain function and prepare you for your post-work exercise session!

• Walnuts
• Coffee
• Spinach
• Flaxseed
• Mussels
• Dark Chocolate
• Greek Yogurt

2. Switch up your news source. Rather than watching the same old morning news on TV, try getting into the habit of reading the newspaper (online or on your cell phone) When you read, you develop concentration, which is crucial for healthy aging.

3. Ward off depression. Mood disorders can be the result of chemical imbalance in the brain; as you grow older, its hard to notice that you’re no longer interested in the things you used to love. Ask a friend or family member if they notice a change in you…if looking for a new hobby, definitely consider a new form of exercise. Staying regularly active is a great way to balance the mind and body.

4. Track signs of memory loss. According to the article, brain systems like the hippocampus—crucial for memory—age faster than other brain parts. Worried? Compare yourself to others your age. If you are forgetting more than once where you parked your car, then defintely bring that up with your doctor. If you have to write down a phone number to remember it, that is nothing to be alarmed about.

5. Move to remember more! A 2011 study found that the striatum, a brain area believed to handle memories, was larger in basketball players than non-athletes. A year of regular aerobic exercise can up the size of an adult’s hippocampus by 2 percent, says research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Although this one week will be over and done with before we even realize, it is very important to promote healtheir livestyles among the Men you care about in your life all year round. For more information about Men’s Health, please visit our Patient Resource page http://chc1.com/Transformational/PatientResource.html

Another interesting link to check out from the Men’s Health Website is http://www.menshealth.com/health/27-ways-power-your-brain