NASA says it will have Americans living on Mars by the 2030s.
Wow.
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A typical round trip is between three and six months and crews will be expected to stay on Mars for up to two years before returning to Earth, according to The Next Web. Those astronauts will have to live in reduced gravity for about three years — which is known to be bad for the brain — so scientists are busy trying to come up with ways to lessen the impact on astronauts’ health and, in particular, their brains.
Even if you’re not planning on taking a trip to Mars, you should be concerned about brain health.
Maintaining healthy levels of body fat and greater muscle mass has an effect on your brain health and may slow your rate of cognitive aging. In fact, people with higher amounts of abdominal fat had worse fluid intelligence with age, while those with greater muscle mass were more protected against mental decline, especially women.
Research has linked midlife obesity with an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, changes in short-term memory and executive functioning and dementia. But there are ways to protect and support your brain as you age, including exercising regularly to increase muscle mass and eating a ketogenic diet to maintain a healthy body weight.
Know what else is good for your brain? Sports.
Researchers found that those participating in sports had a greater ability to “tune out” background noise, which improves mental fitness and flexibility. Some of the same advantages can be gleaned by those who learn another language or play an instrument.
The level of high school sports participation is at an all-time high, and studies show that athletes who regularly play sports are less likely to use drugs and less likely to smoke cigarettes. Female athletes are 80% less likely to become pregnant during high school than their peers who don’t participate in sports. Students playing sports perform better in the classroom with higher grade point averages, better attendance and a greater chance of going to college.
However, one of the risks of playing full contact sports is a head injury, which experts estimate occurs 300,000 times annually during participation in high school and intercollegiate sports. The best way to avoid a head injury is to wear a helmet with any full-contact sport, and always wear a seat belt when in a vehicle.
More than 5 million people in the U.S. suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, the most severe of several different types of dementia. Improving your brain health is not only about preventing dementia, but also about improving your memory, learning and other cognitive abilities.
Your brain function is impacted by the food you eat each day, so it’s important to include those high in antioxidants for protection and medium chain triglycerides for fuel. However, feeding your brain the right food isn’t just about preventing a disease in the future. Giving your brain the fuel it needs may also improve your current cognitive function and creativity, making you more productive at work and at home.
Nine nutrients that are vital for brain health and cognition include:
- Marine-based omega-3 fats
- DHA and EPA
- Choline
- P phosphatidylserine
- Acetyl-L-carnitine
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B12
- MCT oil
- Probiotics