Building a Younger Brain: Habits Proven to Improve Cognitive Longevity

Building a better brain is a lot like building a better body. It requires a focused program and lifestyle changes. Developing a younger brain is less about your chronological age than your biological age. While your chronological age is how many years you’ve been alive, biological age is about the age of your cells. While you can’t change your chronological age, studies show you can absolutely reduce your biological age. So, if you really want to reverse aging, you can’t neglect brain health. 

Brains don’t just go bad. For decades, mental decline was seen as inevitable. Many believed brains stopped developing around age 25. Turns out this isn’t completely true. Because while our brains do indeed develop the most while we are growing up, our cognitive abilities can continue to develop for the rest of our lives. 

Healthy aging and longevity are dependent on brain health. There are things you can do today that will give you a more youthful brain while lengthening your lifespan but more importantly will increase your joy and satisfaction. Here are five helpful hacks for a younger brain.

1. Look at Your Levels

If you want to reverse aging and develop a youthful brain, take a look at your levels. When you’re building your body, you might focus on proteins and fats. Did you know your brain doesn’t use either of those for energy? No, your brain needs glucose. In fact, when this blood sugar is too low it affects your cognitive abilities. That means learning, thinking, and memory can be impeded by low blood sugar. The production of your brain’s chemical messengers, the neurotransmitters, is also slowed. This interrupts neurons’ communication – meaning your body will be slow to respond to signals from your brain. 

Out of all your body’s organs, the brain needs the most sugar. It takes half of the available energy provided by your blood sugar. “The brain is dependent on sugar as its main fuel,” Vera Novak, MD, PhD, explained to Harvard Medical School. “It cannot be without it.”

That doesn’t mean sugar is the perfect brain food. In fact, loading up on sugar is bad for brain health. One study demonstrated how sugar prematurely ages cells. Another study linked excessive consumption of glucose with memory loss. Type 2 diabetes also accelerates the brain’s aging while high levels of blood sugar can cause the brain to atrophy or even shrink. High blood glucose levels are also linked to small-vessel disease. When this restriction of blood flow occurs in the brain, it can cause cognitive decline. 

Obviously making sure your blood sugar levels are neither too high nor too low is vital for both healthy aging and brain health. However, there’s another vital level that’s also very important if you want a younger brain. Chronic stress can affect your cortisol levels. This hormone is released as part of the body’s stress response. While essential during fight or flight situations, consistently elevated cortisol levels have not only been linked to anxiety and depression but cognitive decline. In other words, getting overly worried about future problems will derail the development of a youthful brain in the present. 

If you want a younger brain, you need to know your cortisol and blood sugar levels. Instead of driving to a clinic and waiting to be seen, you can get your levels tested at home. That’s because Kyla delivers a test right to your front door. Along with looking at your blood sugar and cortisol levels, for just $99 Kyla will look at 14 different biomarkers.

Start by taking a simple online quiz. This will help you select the best test for your needs. Both Kyla’s primary care or hormone panels will test to see if your blood sugar and cortisol levels are optimal. You’ll also learn about heart health and inflammation markers that will tell you about potential cancer risk. 

Soon after ordering, you receive a test kit and easy-to-follow instructions for sample collection. After returning the sample to our labs, you’ll get the results in a few days. Not only will you learn if your blood sugar and cortisol levels are too high (or too low), you’ll also find out your risk profile along with anticipated lifespan. 

Downloading the app also gives you access to the Kyla Anti-Aging program. In this program, you will learn more about building a more youthful brain thanks to AI analytics and advanced testing. You’ll also discover how your lifestyle affects your brain health by tracking vital health indicators. You can even conveniently monitor your data on the Kyla app. This lets you visualize your progress through graphs for better insights. 

By utilizing the Kyla app’s health assessment, you’ll be able to create a tailored plan that will support your cognitive functions and help you develop a youngerl brain. Reducing blood sugar and cortisol levels can mean switching to an anti-inflammatory diet. There are also eating plans designed for better cognitive function. 

2. Eat More Brain Food

If you wanted to build a better body, you probably wouldn’t eat junk food and do random exercises whenever you felt like it. Building a better body requires discipline. It needs a program. A better brain is the same way. To get a younger brain, you need to develop healthy habits. One of the most important things is how you eat. 

Believe it or not, there really are diets loaded with “brain food.” Plant-based programs like the Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension (DASH) and Mediterranean diets can really help you create a youthful brain. They emphasize green, leafy veggies and lean proteins. Research suggests this approach to eating reduces oxidative stress. This occurs when molecules known as free radicals accumulate in the body. Lacking electrons, these free radicals will take them from healthy cells which damages these cells. Your body naturally produces free radicals as it converts the food you eat into fuel. Production of these free radicals is increased during times of stress and when you are exposed to sunlight or smoke. Of all the places in your body that can be damaged by free radicals, the brain is especially vulnerable. 

Eating foods high in antioxidants (a crucial element of the Mediterranean and DASH diets,) will reduce the number of free radicals. The diets also reduce inflammation. A normal, temporary response to infection or injury, when inflammation becomes chronic it can lead to numerous conditions including cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Plant-based diets combat inflammation which has also been linked to dementia. A more recent innovation combines these two well-known diets and added extra elements that not only reverse aging but contribute to better brain health. It’s called the MIND diet. 

During a study involving nearly 1,000 participants, researchers combined the best elements of the Mediterranean and DASH diet into the MIND diet. Not only did it slow cognitive decline among participants by nearly five years compared to those not on the diet, it also improved longevity. Designed initially to improve cognition in older adults, it’s ideal for anyone seeking a younger brain. The researchers incorporated foods known to be neuroprotective.

The diet has all the familiar elements of the other two. Those on the diet consume plenty of nuts, beans, legumes, whole grains, and olive oil along with lean protein sources like fish and poultry. However, it emphasizes foods that prior studies have shown to protect the brain and improve cognitive abilities. While the other two emphasize fruit, the MIND diet focuses on berries like blueberries and strawberries which have proven benefits for brain health. It also emphasizes dark chocolate, apples, red wine and tea which are known flavonoids. These potent antioxidants are critical for cognitive health. Another element is focusing on fatty fish which many consider a good “brain food.” Fish is also high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids which do more than just protect your brain cells. They may also help you develop a more youthful brain because their consumption has been linked to improved cognition.

It’s not just about what you eat. When it comes to building a better brain, what you drink matters as well. Although a couple of glasses of red wine may be beneficial, exceeding two alcoholic drinks per day can affect long-term problem solving and memory capabilities. If you’re cutting out processed sugar in your meals, make sure you eliminate it in your beverages as well. Sugary sodas and juices have the same detrimental effect as sugary food. 

The best drink of all is also the simplest. Water. In studies of middle-aged adults, those who were dehydrated had a harder time concentrating and were more likely to offer incorrect answers on tests. If you are feeling tired in the afternoons, depressed, or unable to focus it may be a sign you are dehydrated. Because the average person loses 80 ounces of water daily, it’s important to consume that much to avoid dehydration. Although other beverages can help, water should be an essential component of your brain health program. 

3.  Supplement Your Diet 

There’s no magic pill. You can’t swallow a few brain supplements while continuing to be inactive or while living off a diet filled with highly-processed foods. Still, there are some essential vitamins and nutrients that you can take. They may not be memory supplements exactly but they are critical components for constructing a younger brain. 

Although essential, vitamins are not produced by our bodies. They have to come from food or supplements. Ideally, you’ll receive your daily requirement from what you eat. However, there are some that are considered memory supplements because they are so vital for brain health. B vitamins definitely fall into that category. Although mega dosing is often a bad idea, these vitamins are water soluble. That means your body will eliminate any it doesn’t use. 

Studies suggest that all eight B vitamins: thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), vitamin B6, folate (B9) and vitamin B12 are beneficial. However, most brain-related research has focused on B12 and B9 (better known as folate). Their effect on brain health include improving the organ’s vital functions like repair and synthesis of DNA/RNA, energy production, non-genomic methylation, and the body’s production of red blood cells. Because folate and B-12 affect the nerve cell’s myelination, making sure you aren’t deficient means you do more than just protect your brain from deterioration. You also accelerate your nerve impulses. 

Taking the vitamins B-9 and 12 has been shown to improve problem solving and memory retention. RNA, DNA, and red blood cells are also vital for the development of your brain (and parts of your brain never stop developing, no matter your age.) Because the other B vitamins may play a role in this, taking a B-complex supplement can be extremely beneficial. In fact, recent research suggests that you can improve brain health by taking this supplement regardless of whether or not your diet is nutritious and well rounded. 

If you’re wondering if your vitamin levels are correct, Kyla offers a simple solution. Their at-home test looks at whether you are deficient in the two most studied B vitamins for brain health: B9 and B12. The test also looks at one of the most commonly deficient vitamins in the U.S., the D vitamin. 

For anyone who doesn’t like eating (or preparing) fatty fish, omega-3 supplements along with four grams of fish oil are a fine alternative for those who want to get its brain health benefits. Other brain supplements include Vitamin E and ginkgo biloba which some studies suggest may help you build a younger brain. 

4.  Build Your Brain By Building Your Body

Although you’re more likely to feel the effects of overeating and inactivity in the belly, it turns out that brain health is often determined by our food and fitness habits. People who exercise regularly are actively building a youthful brain. That’s because any workout routine that includes aerobic activity increases the number of tiny blood vessels which are responsible for delivering oxygen-rich blood to the parts of the brain responsible for thought. 

Another boost for your brain is that a regular workout routine inspires the development of new nerve cells. These increase connections between brain cells which builds a younger brain. That’s because the brain makes it more adaptive to changing circumstances.

Beyond the effect that diet and exercise directly have on the brain, following a program of healthy eating and regular physical activity reduces your risk for a number of chronic conditions. Hypertension, diabetes, and obesity have all been linked to cognitive decline. 

5.  Play Some Games And Reduce Your Stress

Studies have shown that mentally taxing activities like playing video games or completing Sudoku and crossword puzzles improves your ability to finish projects with multiple steps. It will also improve processing speed no matter your age. Learning a new language or a musical instrument can also help you build a better brain. 

Stress has a deteriorative affect on cognitive abilities. That’s because stress rewires the brain. Like a trauma victim reliving a bad experience over and over, constant stress alters cognitive function. In the short term, it can affect your ability to retain information and make choices. In the long term, it has been linked to dementia. In fact, older people reporting higher stress levels in their lifetime are more likely to get Alzheimer’s.The solution to stress includes breathing exercises, mindfulness, and participating in engaging group activities. You can also reduce stress by puzzle solving or learning.

A youthful brain is intricately linked to longevity. While there are many steps you can take on your own, Kyla offers programs focused on improving your cognitive abilities. Dementia and other conditions affecting the brain shorten lifespans. In the future, as these conditions are eliminated, it’s possible that more than one year of life could be added for every year someone is alive. This Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) is when modern medical miracles and cutting edge tech work in concerns to extend lifespans. If every year they extend longevity by more than one year, then LEV is possible. Learn more about building a younger brain and your anticipated lifespan by downloading the Kyla app today.

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