7 Discoveries Showing How the Brain and Body are Linked
The
brain is a part of our body, so of course, it's connected and
influenced by our body, you may think. And while this basic assumption
is definitely at the heart of the findings we will discuss here, the
ways in which our brains are interconnected with the other organs and
systems of our body can be quite unexpected, with things like hydration
level and specific foods having a profound influence on our mind. But it
isn't only our gut or cardiovascular system that can influence how well
our brains work: our experiences and habits are just as important to
our mental health and cognitive performance. These 7
neuroscientific discoveries illustrate how our brain, our body, and our
experiences are all meaningfully interconnected and have a strong effect
on our health and well-being.
1. Your Brain’s Health and Functioning is Dependent on Your Gut Health
The
idea of the gut-brain connection has been around for a while, but the
more scientists learn about the specific ways our guts influence our
brains, the more we get to understand the holistic importance of a
healthy diet. More specifically, we now know that a poor diet is a
contributor to mental illness, particularly anxiety and depression, but it may also alter our cognitive abilities.
For example, a diet high in sugar was shown to impair our cognitive abilities in the short term, causing brain fog. The long-term effects of sugar
are no less alarming, as there is evidence linking depression and a
high-sugar diet. On a more positive note, a healthy diet was shown to
have a beneficial effect on depression.
2. Mental Tasks and New Experiences can Boost one’s Brain Health
One
of the most significant neuroscience discoveries of the past decade is
the idea that our brain is malleable and new experiences, training, and
learning can improve its functioning. In neuroscience, this notion is
known under the term 'neuroplasticity', and, as you might expect, the
human brain is most pliable in childhood, but it continues being shaped
by our experiences throughout our lives.
This is why reading, playing and listening to music, painting
and many other types of mental training are all so beneficial for our
cognitive health and help us maintain a sharp mind for longer. More
interestingly, recent scientific research focusing on the ways we can
use neuroplasticity to our advantage also showed that we can improve our
memory by simply engaging in new enjoyable activities and trying new things.
3. Both Too Much and Not Enough Sleep Can Affect Your Cognition
Sleep
is one of the favorite topics in neuroscience, with numerous studies
suggesting that both too much and not enough sleep can impair our
memory, creativity and cognitive tasks, such as concentration and
problem-solving. The largest-ever sleep study
was conducted in 2017, with over 10.000 participants tested, and it
concluded that the previous hypothesis was true and sleep does affect
our decision-making and concentration even in the short term.
However,
the same study concluded that memory performance is NOT affected by
sleep, although admittedly they did not look at the long-term effects of
sleep. Still, it’s best to get an average 7-8 hours of sleep every day to stay in top shape.
4. Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: the Effects of Exercise on Our Brain
Your
brain needs exercise, we discussed that in the second point but turns
out that regular old exercise, too, can boost your cognitive health and
help retain a sharp mind in your senior years. One study even suggested that exercise helps delay dementia by 15 years!
Apart from being an excellent preventative measure of Alzheimer’s and dementia, however, exercise can help us boost our cognitive performance and thinking skills,
too. As for the kind of exercise in question, experts suggest that a
mixture of cardio, flexibility training, strength and resistance
training will give you the greatest cognitive boost, but as long as you
exercise regularly, any training you enjoy will benefit your brain as
well.
5. Chronic Stress Can Shrink Your Brain
You
probably heard that a little stress is useful for our brain from time
to time, and it may be true, but most of us don’t get just a little
stressed, don’t we? And that’s exactly the problem. When we are stressed
out day after day, our prefrontal cortex, the steering wheel of our
brain, gets affected, making us less alert and worse at performing cognitive tasks, all because of cortisol, the infamous stress hormone.
Another
brain area affected by stress is the hippocampus, which helps us learn
and remember things. Ultimately, chronic stress can even cause mood swings, irritability, mental illness (e.g. anxiety, depression, addiction) and was even found to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. In extreme cases, constant stress was even shown to be able to shrink the brain volume, particularly the cortex.
6. Mindfulness May Help Keep Your Brain Younger for Longer
Mindfulness training is the hot topic both in psychology and neuroscience nowadays, but it’s not a new invention, as both yoga
and meditation rely heavily on the idea of self-awareness and
mindfulness. There’s a massive amount of research showing that
mindfulness can make you more resistant to pain, help you deal with mental illness and even prevent cortical degeneration caused by dementia and aging.
So
if there’s one thing you should start doing, that’s some sort of
mindfulness practice, be it yoga, meditation, or mindful breathing.
7. Your Water Intake Affects your Brain
A dehydrated brain is a sluggish brain, one that can make it difficult for you to focus, maintain attention, and engage in problem-solving tasks. A 2018 study
found that losing as little as 2% of body weight for adults can
instantly affect all these mental faculties. Keep in mind that losing
that much water is not uncommon, especially in the summer weather.
Also,
kids and seniors are at a higher risk of suffering from dehydration.
The conclusion is simple: always keep a full water bottle on hand,
especially if you’re spending time in the sun, but don’t overindulge
either. Why? This is because drinking too much water is as dangerous as dehydration, as it can dilute your blood and, in severe cases, can make your brain swell, which can be lethal.
How much water should you drink, then? Doctors generally recommend drinking around half a gallon (2 liters) of water a day for an average adult, which is about 8 glasses of water, but this may differ depending on your weight and diet.