Certain activities can be good, and some bad for our grey matter, so see which you should carry on doing or ditch.

Sitting still: drain

“When we sit for long periods (more than three hours), our inactivity leads to reduced blood flow to the brain and less oxygenation and nutrient supply,” says Dr. Jenny Brockis, author of “Future Brain: The 12 Keys to Create Your High-Performance Brain.”

“This leads to reduced brain activity in the part of the brain we use for heavy-duty thinking, planning, organizing and decision-making.”

Action: Take brain breaks by getting up to stretch and move around every 30 minutes.

Staying curious: booster

Learning new skills leads to better neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to form new connections between existing neurons, explains Dr. Brockis.

“It used to be thought we only had a short period of relative plasticity in early childhood.”

“But although our brain’s plasticity does decline with age, we don’t lose it.”

Action: Why not take up a musical instrument or an evening class?

Fast food: drain

“The quickest way to stuff up our brains is to stuff our bodies with fast food,” says Brockis.

“Too much sugar, trans fat and salt leads to greater inflammation and brain shrinkage.”

Action: Eat fresh and unprocessed foods as much as you can.

Good sleep: booster

“Studies have shown being deprived of sleep for 24 hours decreases memory and concentration,” says Dr. Michael Wasserman of the American Geriatric Society.

“But regular, restful sleep improves memory.”

Scientists think that while asleep, we shift recent experiences over to more efficient storage regions in the brain where they become long-term memories. It’s how we learn and remember facts and skills.

Action: Try and get to bed before midnight and aim for 7-8 hours’ kip.

有些活动可以使我们的大脑更加敏

锐，而有些则会使大脑变得更加迟钝。下面让我们来看看哪些生活习惯该保持，哪些该丢弃吧！

坐着不动：让大脑迟钝

《未来大脑：十二大方法打造高效大

脑》的作者杰尼•布罗基斯博士称：“坐着不动超过三小时，就会导致流向大脑的血液减少，从而使所需的氧气和营养供应匮乏。”

“这会导致高压下思考、谋划、组织和决策的大脑区域的活动量下降。”

建议：每半小时起身伸展身体，四处走动，让大脑得以休息调整。

保持好奇心：让大脑敏锐

布罗基斯博士对此做出了解释，学习新技能可增强神经可塑性—指大脑在现有神经元之间形成新连接的一种能力。

“人们过去认为我们只在幼儿早期的一小段时间里才有相对可塑性。”

“然而，尽管随着年龄的增长，我们的可塑性有所下降，但它没有完全消失。”

建议：为什么不去学习一种乐器或去夜校上课呢？

快餐：让大脑迟钝

布罗斯基说，“用快餐填满肚子是让我们大脑堵塞的最快方法。”

“快餐里包含太多的糖分、反式脂肪和盐，这会导致大脑炎症和大脑萎缩。”

建议：尽可能多吃新鲜和未经加工的食品。

高质睡眠：让大脑敏锐

美国老年协会的迈克尔•沃瑟曼博士

说，“研究表明24个小时不睡觉会降低人的记忆力和集中力，但有规律的安稳睡眠能提高记忆力。”科学家认为在睡眠中，我们会将最近的经历转移到大脑有效存储区，从而变为长期记忆。我们正是通过此种方式学习和记忆知识与技能。

建议：半夜12点前上床睡觉，保证每天7-8个小时睡眠时间。(Chinadaily.com.cn)

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【可塑性】kěsùxìng plasticity the quality of being able to be made into different shapes

    【老年病学的】lǎoniánbìng xué de geriatric of or relating to geriatrics, old age, or aged persons