Brain health: What may be promoting poor mental health

The Brain! The engine of life and thoughts! We all know that life would never exist without the brain. Even with the heart that pumps and distributes life's fuel (the blood), the brain is still needed to regulate voluntary and involuntary processes and actions, which includes memory and learning, movement, blood pressure and body temperature and overall health.

The brain has cells, the neurons. These brain cells needs adequate care, because their progressive destruction will result to certain mental health diseases which are bad for health. One may be involved in habits and activities which promotes the destruction of these brain cells. That's what we are going to check out today. Avoiding these negative habits and taking more positive habits will help promote good brain health.

• Skipping breakfast and taking breakfast late, especially if you're one who have to go to school, or work early in the morning is a negative habit for the brain's health. You need mental and physical energy to concentrate in school and learn, as well as carry out activities at your work place. That energy should come from the breakfast you ate. When you skip breakfast or eat late, your body have to use up stored energy and your brain have to be strained because it's trying to help the body utilize stored energy as well as help you concentrate, learn or perform work activities. Continuous straining of the brain could develop mental health challenges, which can affect learning and memory.

• Dehydration affects the brain. One should ensure he/she takes water regularly. When one is dehydrated, the body may borrow water from the brain, causing one to feel headache and some discomfort. It could also cause the brain to shrink a bit.

• Overeating also affects the brain. When one overeats, especially junks that are not necessary, it encourages the hardening of the arteries that supplies blood to the brain, and this can affect the blood supply to the brain and result in gradual death of the brain cells. It can promote ageing if the brain cells.

• Excess consumption of sugar is bad for the brain as well. I did a post on how bad sugar consumption can be some weeks ago. It's on this label of the blog.
It affects memory and learning. It prevents the brain from producing a chemical substance that promotes good memory and learning. It also encourages the accumulation of toxic substances in the body that can act as precursors for other disease conditions.
Consuming vegetables, fruits and fiber is much better and promote mental health.

• Sleep deprivation also encourages poor mental health. Having a good sleep is necessary; six to eight hours of sleep.
While sleeping, one should avoid covering the head, where you have your brain. The brain needs good air, because it needs oxygen to function effectively. Covering one's head, can encourage the production of carbon dioxide and starve the brain of oxygen.

• Alcohol consumption and smoking are bad for the brain. Alcohol destroys neurons (brain cells). It affects the rate at which neurons transmit information among themselves.
Smoking affects the brain cells. It deprives the brain of oxygen and it promotes the introduction of toxic substances in the brain.

• Continuous and frequent exposure of oneself to a contaminated and polluted environment also affects the brain. That's why it's necessarily that one keeps a healthy environment. Polluted air, inhaling bad air can affect one's brain. Note that some of the poisonous substances in bad air can cross the blood brain barrier, and get to the brain. And when they don't, they do affect other organs of the body and since blood is circulating around the body, the brain would be affected.

• Stress, especially excessive mental stress is bad for the brain. Also, stressing one's brain when one is sick or ill, is bad for the brain. One should avoid trying to study or perform activities requiring much mental energy when sick. It's an additional stress on a brain which is probably trying to help the body recover good health.

• I mentioned meditation and exercise a lot when I wrote on happiness. They are good for mental health. Meditating, positive thinking, reading books, helps encourage good mental health.

• Loneliness can also affect mental health. That feeling can trigger stress and inflammatory processes in the brain, thus it's necessary that one builds a good social life, and stay away from loneliness.

• Excessive and loud noise isn't good for mental health. One should protect his/her ears from too much noise. Let's remember that the ears are involved in balance.

• Lack of sunlight affects mental health. Good cognitive skills are developed with help of sunlight, though not damaging levels of sunlight. Sunlight helps one get vitamin D, a very important vitamin that helps mental health.

• One's mood and mental state affects mental health. By this, I refer to one's mindset. A negative mindset would promote poor mental health, while a positive and happy state affects mental health positively.

Let us stay Healthy and Positive!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia