Hey everyone, and welcome to TopThink. Today, we will learn about 10 bad habits
that damage your brain. Now, let’s begin.
Our brains are remarkably complex organs, composed of billions of interconnected
neurons that allow us to perceive the world around us, think critically,
experience emotions, and form memories. Yet as sophisticated as the brain is,
it is also vulnerable to gradual damage from unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Many common habits that you mindlessly repeat can slowly impact the structure and function
of your brain over months and years. Maybe you spend way too much time scrolling on your phone,
or maybe you eat too much junk food. You’re probably aware of these things,
but choosing to ignore them anyway. While these kinds of habits may seem innocent,
they can seriously damage your brain over time. Poor habits corrode the brain’s physical makeup,
impair chemical signaling, increase inflammation, introduce toxins, and weaken connections among
neurons. The results can be devastating for you. You’ll have difficulty retaining information,
learning new skills, concentrating for lengthy periods, regulating emotions and
more. You won’t feel as smart. You won’t be as articulate. You essentially lose your full mental
capabilities long before reaching old age. Fortunately, the brain also has a remarkable
capacity to heal and adapt when given the proper care and resources. By
cultivating more nourishing daily habits and avoiding exposures toxic to neural tissues,
you can strengthen your cognitive reserves and safeguard your faculties well into the future.
Staying physically, socially and intellectually active also stimulates beneficial neuroplastic
changes - even in mature brains. If you think it’s too late to make a change, you’re just dead wrong.
Our daily decisions and routines play a pivotal role in either protecting or slowly damaging
delicate neural networks and anatomy. Through increased self-awareness and commitment to better
lifestyle choices, you have the power to defend your brain against decline. No more walking into
a room and forgetting why you went there. No more forgetting where you put your keys or your wallet.
You can feel sharp again. You can feel smart again. But it will take time and commitment.
So without further ado, let’s discover 10 bad habits that damage your brain – and exactly how
to fight against them. 1. Doom Scrolling
As society has become more technologically advanced and interconnected, it’s also become
increasingly normal to spend more and more time in front of your phone. You text your friends,
you check social media, and you watch 10 second videos in the bathroom stall. You probably spend
hours every day staring at your phone, sometimes unaware of how much time it’s taking up.
Excessive screen time overstimulates the brain’s reward pathways for immediate satisfaction,
while diminishing activity in the prefrontal cortex that handles complex thoughts and
impulse control. These little hits of dopamine keep you addicted to your phone,
and train your brain to hate any activity that doesn’t provide instant gratification. As a
result, people develop clinical-level anxiety, depression, and attention related disorders.
You may have been hard-working and disciplined in the past, but if you spend too much time with your
phone, your mental strength will slowly dissolve into nothing. So, set reasonable limits for
yourself on daily scrolling, gaming, streaming and surfing time to support a healthy, engaged brain.
2. Psychosocial Isolation A large body of research suggests that lonely
people’s brains deteriorate faster than average. With less social engagement, your hippocampus
ages faster, and as a result your memory gets worse. Elderly people short on social ties
exhibit warning signs of dementia, including rapid memory loss and problems processing, learning and
recognizing novel information. Furthermore, when you don’t socialize as much, your brain produces
less oxytocin, making you less happy and engaged with the world. So schedule regular socializing,
join group activities and cultivate meaningful bonds with others to stimulate your brain.
3. The Lazy Heart Everyone knows exercise is important to maintain
your figure, lose weight, and stay strong. But did you know it’s a key ingredient for sustaining
a healthy brain? Exercise acts like a magic pill for the brain. It boosts blood and oxygen flow,
triggering the release of key chemicals and growth factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor,
also known as BDNF. Plus, it stimulates the creation of new neurons. But if you fail to
exercise regularly, your brain starts to slow down. Remember, an active heart means a healthy
brain. And a lazy heart means a weak brain. 4. Stress Spirals
While occasional short-term stress provides stimulation for the brain,
chronic and prolonged stress has very damaging neurological effects over time. Stress floods the
brain with hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which impair communication between brain cells and
shrink parts of the brain involved in memory, like the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
Chronic stress also suppresses the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus, which is essential
for learning and building new memories. Luckily, there are lots of healthy ways to relieve stress.
The most important thing is finding something that works for you. So try things like exercise,
meditation, or a relaxing hobby like doodling. The evidence suggests that
simple activities like these have a surprisingly positive effect on the health of your brain,
defending it from long-term damage. 5. Sleep Isn’t For The Weak
Chronic sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality destroy the brain’s ability to function optimally.
While asleep, the brain consolidates memories, clears out toxins, and repairs neuronal damage.
But when we fail to get adequate, restful sleep, these restorative processes cannot occur properly.
As a result, your focus and concentration suffer. You’ll have greater difficulty
retaining information. And over the long-term, your risk of developing Alzheimer’s goes way up.
Research suggests there are a few critical habits to ensure you get good sleep. Keep regular hours,
and get at least eight hours each night. Plus, be sure to avoid activities like doom
scrolling before bed. 6. Mental Laziness
Failing to give your brain adequate mental stimulation is like allowing your muscles to
become weak from inactivity. The brain requires regular challenges and learning in order to
maintain neural networks and cognitive abilities. When the brain goes unused for long periods,
its ability to think and remember will gradually decline. Activities that stimulate the brain
include learning new skills, reading, doing puzzles, playing strategy games,
and engaging in thoughtful conversations. Make it a priority to incorporate mentally
engaging activities into your daily routine to keep your brain flexible and powerful.
7. Hidden Resentments Are you the kind of person who
bottles things up? When someone makes you angry, do you seek them out to discuss it further, and
achieve a resolution? Or do you bury it, hoping you’ll just forget and move on. We often bury our
resentments out of convenience. Someone makes you angry, and it feels like too much work to confront
them about it, or at least tell them the truth. So you stuff it deep down into your subconscious
mind. Whether you realize it or not, these kinds of hidden resentments build up with time,
creating fear, anger, and paranoia about other people. These emotions are toxic to the brain
in high quantities, releasing stress hormones that eat way at your mental capacity over time.
8. Deadly Diet Do you enjoy junk food? Maybe you frequently
go to fast food restaurants or snack on lots of packaged goods. These mass-produced products may
taste good, but they can be deadly for your brain. Just like every other organ and tissue in the
body, the brain depends on key nutrients to function in a healthy way. The most important
nutrients for the brain include omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, antioxidants,
and amino acids. These key ingredients prevent damaging inflammation and enhance communication
between different parts of your brain. But without them, you leave the brain vulnerable
to cognitive decline. Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fatty
fish provides the brain essential compounds needed for it to operate at full capacity.
9. Water is Life Most people don’t know this, but being even mildly
dehydrated causes significant changes in brain function. When the body lacks sufficient water,
brain cells and neurons shrink and biochemical processes involved in cellular communication
slow down. Resulting symptoms including poor concentration, headaches, fatigue, irritability
and reduced short-term memory. Over time, chronic dehydration puts major strains on the brain’s
ability to think clearly. Thus, your intelligence goes way down. Aim to drink at least 8 cups of
water daily, and more if you exercise intensely or live in a hot climate. Keeping the brain
well hydrated sustains energy levels, keeps you focused, and supports signaling between neurons.
There’s nothing more important than water, yet so many people are chronically dehydrated. So,
make it a priority to not be one of those people. 10. Exposure to Heavy Metals
Have you heard about heavy metals? And I’m not talking about the musical genre. Environmental
exposure to lead, mercury, aluminum and arsenic harms neurological health. Lead adheres firmly
to neuron structures while mercury accumulates in neural tissue, causing each metal to directly
damage dendrites, synapses and nerve cells through oxidative stress. Brain areas essential for focus,
impulse control and mood regulation are especially vulnerable to slow and steady heavy metal
exposure. The results can include reduced scoring on IQ tests, depression, aggressive behavior,
headaches and deficits in fine motor control. This can accrue over decades as metals subtly build
up in the nervous system. Minimize exposure by avoiding lead paint dust, filtering tap water, and
buying cosmetics labeled lead- and mercury-free. Thank you for watching TopThink and be
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