Dangerous everyday habits that can shrink your brain

Over time, modern lifestyle habits may knowingly or unknowingly harm the brain and cause it to shrink. Be it sitting all the time staying glued to the screen or over-indulging in junk food, certain dangerous and bad habits could be damaging the most important organ of our body. Here is a list of 7 habits that are shrinking our brain.

Sleep deprivation

With the fancy nightlife, more people are prioritising on going out or having parties late at night, making them miss out on good night’s sleep. Delaying the sleep cycle once in a while is okay, but often skipping a full 8-hour sleep will disrupt the brain’s rest making one sleep deprived causing damage to the brain.

Consuming too much caffeine or alcohol

People who consume too much caffeine or alcohol and smoke are doing a disservice to their brain. These habits make your memory worse and cause heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure leading to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Spending too much alone time

Your brain starts responding slowly when you spend too much alone time. Brain is one of the body parts that needs to be actively working, and once the process of it slows down, it adapts to the cycle of life leaving it to shrink which will increase forgetfulness. According to World Health Organisation, it is necessary to socialise a bit more than just usual to keep the brain active.

Blasting the earphones too loud

Ear drums are one of the very sensitive parts of the body. Using earphones to blast full music might permanently damage your hearing and if it is a continuous strain on your ear for more than 30 minutes, it will not just affect hearing loss, but also affect the brain tissues by reducing the memory. The American Health Association mentioned that it is because the brain has to work hard to understand what’s being said around, making the tissues to overperform.

Overeating or eating too much junk food

Brain – apart from memory and mental health is also linked with gut health and it is possible for the brain to function slow or decline if one consumes more of unhealthy food than healthy alternatives. Eating a lot of junk food like chips, burgers, pizza or soft drinks and fries might preserve brain function.

Lack of sunlight

Many of us have stopped doing any physical exercise or activity out in the sun and it is because of the working condition. Either we are in the AC full time or we prefer not to step out in the day due to extreme heat or traffic. Without enough natural light, the brain may slow down causing depression. Research studies over the years by various health organisations also note that sunlight helps keep the brain working well.