Keep your brain healthy during self-isolation

To help you keep your brain healthy during the next four weeks of self-isolation we have six easy tips and tricks that you can do while at home! We’ll be providing activities, crafts, videos, photos and much more to help you keep your brain active. Each week will be a new theme so you can continue to learn about different ways to keep your brain healthy and keep the boredom at bay!

Additionally, the Neurological Foundation will be participating too. We’ll share with you some of the ways our teams are keeping their brains healthy and some fun activities we’re participating in. We’ll be sharing this content on Facebook so make sure you follow us on there to get all the updates!

Six ways to keep your brain healthy

Don’t forget to work out your brain!

While it’s important to keep physically fit, it’s also extremely important to flex your brain as well! Keeping the brain active seems to increase its vitality and may build its reserve capacity to make new brain cells and connections. Try doing a crossword, word search, sudoku puzzle, crafts or read a book!

Did you know that knitting, crocheting and quilting can help delay memory loss? Download a fun and science-friendly crocheting guide on how to crochet your own neuron or brain! Fun for the whole family. 

Keep active and exercise

It’s hard enough to keep active during a normal schedule so trying to find things to do while in self-isolation and within a safe distance of 2 meters to keep active is a bit of a challenge. Physical exercise has a protective effect on the brain and its mental processes and may even help prevent dementia. Regular exercise, that increases your heart rate and oxygen intake, promotes cardiovascular health, boosts levels of brain-protective chemicals and helps reduce stress. While confined to your self-isolation “bubble” you can still go for a walk, walk up and down stairs, do some gardening, use online workouts or stretches to keep healthy and remain active. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise five days per week.

Read more about how you can stay active and help your brain CLICK HERE. 

Stay socially connected

Staying social is not easy during self-isolation but there are ways that you can stay connected to your friends, family and social groups even from home. Maintaining friendships and social networks can help keep our brains healthy as we age. Plan a phone call with a friend, schedule a Facetime or Skype call with your family, or even a group conference call with a social group! If you’re looking for non-electronic ways to stay connected, write a letter to a friend or connect with a neighbour within a safe distance of 2 meters.

Eat healthy!

With all this free time at home now we can do away with the quick and easy take out method for meals and try some new recipes at home. Our brains need a well-balanced, low cholesterol diet full of foods that are good sources of vitamin and minerals. A general rule is good nutrition for the body is good nutrition for the brain.

Make sure you get adequate sleep

The ideal hours of sleep are anywhere between 7 and 9 hours. Sleep recharges the brain and allows the body to rest and heal, although our brain never stops even when sleeping. Sleep is our brain’s way to consolidate memories and remove toxins. If we get inadequate sleep it can affect how our brain cells function and potentially raises the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and depression.

Read more about the many benefits of a good nights sleep, CLICK HERE.

Manage your stress

During this uncertain time we find ourselves in it’s important to manage your stress, not just for your overall health but for your brain as well! Stress can impair memory, reduce our immunity and lead to anxiety and depression. We can’t eliminate stress from our lives entirely, but we can manage it by engaging in all of these tip and tricks we are sharing with you. Simple things like 20 minutes of relaxing meditation or yoga, listening to music, or reading a book can help calm your mind and help you recenter for the day.

To kick things off, this week we're going to be giving you some fantastic ways to keep your brain fit. Did you know that knitting, crocheting and quilting can help delay brain function decline? With this in mind, we’ve found the perfect crocheting guides for you.

Learn about neurons and the brain while you crochet your very own!

DOWNLOAD THE 'HOW TO GUIDE' HERE