How to support brain health: daily habits and tips
Written byJodi M Johnson
Reviewed byMolly Arnold, MSc Nutritionist
Your brain is the command centre behind every thought, decision and action you take – so keeping it healthy isn't just important, it's essential
Summary
1The importance of brain health
Your brain is your body’s command centre, controlling everything from movement and breathing to your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
2Can you ‘exercise’ your brain?
Regular physical activity can support cognitive health, while looking after your mental wellbeing and managing stress may also help.
3Supporting brain health through diet
A healthy, balanced and varied diet can support brain health, with foods like omega-3-rich oily fish providing important nutrients.
From staying physically active to nourishing your mind with a balanced diet, there’s a lot you can do to support your brain. And with so many factors affecting brain health, where should you start? While some turn to supplements for an extra edge, the science behind them can be a bit mixed. So, what can you do to support your brain health?
The importance of brain health
First off, a bit of background on brains. Your brain is one of the most important organs in your body. It acts as the command centre for every single thing you do every day, from controlling your breathing and body temperature to enabling you to move and telling you to eat or drink. It’s also the source of your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.1
When the brain is healthy, it functions quickly and automatically, sending signals around your body to control everything from movement to emotions.1 But when problems occur and the brain doesn't work as it should, the results can be devastating.1
There are an estimated 11 million people in the UK living with a neurological condition.2 This can include anything from sudden onset conditions like a stroke or a traumatic brain injury to a slow decline in brain function caused by a degenerative condition such as Alzheimer’s disease.2-4 Neurological conditions can vary in their impact. Some conditions, such as headaches or epileptic episodes, come and go, while others are chronic, with ongoing and debilitating effects that can compromise your quality of life.2
How to support your brain health
There are many different ways you can support your brain health, including dietary tips and exercise. Let’s brainstorm what you can do to keep your cognitive health in tip-top shape.
Supporting brain health through exercise
For many years, clinicians have recommended exercise as a way of improving brain health. One study has found that regular physical activity can improve cognitive health.3,4 The NHS recommends that people aged between 19 and 64 should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week.5
Mental wellbeing is also strongly associated with brain health, so taking steps to protect your mental health, such as controlling your stress levels, could have a positive impact.6
Supporting brain health through diet
One of the ways in which you can support your brain health is through your diet. The NHS recommends that everyone follows a healthy and balanced diet to optimise their health.7 This includes getting at least five portions of a variety of different fruits and vegetables each day, avoiding eating too many foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar, and choosing foods from all five of the main food groups to ensure you get a wide range of nutrients. 7
Plant Points are another way to help keep your diet varied and healthy. Plant Points go beyond your ‘five-a-day’ and involve eating 30 different plants a week – including foods like fruits, vegetables, powdered foods, herbs and spices (though this isn’t an NHS recommendation). This approach emphasises the importance of food variety, not just quantity and aims to support your gut health.8
Some foods are particularly good for brain health, such as oily fish. Oily fish (such as salmon, herring or sardines) are high in omega-3 fats, which research suggests could play a role in supporting brain function and reducing the risk of dementia. 6-9 If you don’t like eating oily fish, fish oil supplements could be a good alternative.
Are you getting enough sleep?
Sleep isn’t just downtime for your body – it’s essential maintenance for your brain, too. While you’re asleep, your brain remains active, helping process information, support learning and strengthen memories.10 We move through different stages of sleep throughout the night, each playing an important role in healthy brain function. That’s why a poor night’s sleep can leave you feeling foggy, distracted and less able to concentrate the next day.10
When poor sleep becomes a regular pattern, it can affect your wider health, too. Alongside eating well, staying active and keeping your mind engaged, getting enough good-quality sleep is one of the simplest ways to support a healthy brain.10
Managing stress
Stress is a normal part of life, but when it becomes prolonged or overwhelming, it can take a toll on your brain as well as your wellbeing.11 Research has found that higher levels of stress throughout childhood and adulthood are associated with changes in brain structure, poorer performance on some cognitive tasks and a greater likelihood of diagnosed mental health conditions.11
Stress can affect areas of the brain involved in memory, learning and thinking, which may help explain why long periods of stress can leave us feeling mentally drained, distracted or forgetful.11 Making time to pause, connect with others, move your body, get enough sleep and find healthy ways to cope with everyday pressures can all be part of supporting your overall wellbeing.11 You can’t always remove the stressful things in life – but giving your brain time and space to recover is an important part of keeping it healthy.
What supplements help with brain health?
While a healthy diet, exercise and getting enough sleep can help maintain your brain health, some studies suggest that certain supplements may also have a role to play, although the strength of evidence varies depending on the supplement and the specific aspect of brain health being studied.
Ginkgo leaf supplements: ginkgo leaf, also known as ginkgo biloba, comes from a large tree with fan-shaped leaves native to East Asia. The extract from the leaf is used as a supplement by some people to support brain health, although evidence for its benefits is mixed and further research is needed.12-15 No more than 240mg of ginkgo per day is recommended.13
Cod liver oil supplements: the DHA and EPA in cod liver oil have been linked to a range of health benefits like supporting memory and overall brain function.6 The beneficial effects are obtained with around 250mg a day of DHA.
Teen multivitamin and omega-3 supplements: omega-3 is important at every age, including the teenage years.17 Supporting cognitive function can help with memory, focus and learning.9 Taking multivitamin supplements with omega-3 can help ensure teenagers get all the nutrients they need to continue growing and stay healthy.18 Plus nutrients like iron help support cognitive function19 and vitamin B5 can support mental performance.20
Brain health FAQs
Food and nutrition play a crucial role in the functioning of every part of the human body, including the brain. Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that your body needs in small amounts to work properly and stay healthy. Most people get all the nutrients they need by following a healthy and balanced diet.21 For example, you can get vitamin C from foods like citrus fruits, tomatoes and broccoli.22 If you can’t get enough of the nutrients you need from your food, for example, because you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, avoid particular foods due to allergies or intolerances or have a limited dietary variety, then supplements could be a good option to support your brain health.
There are steps you can take at any age to support your cognitive and brain health.23 Although you can't change factors like age or genetics, lifestyle choices can help maintain cognitive function and may reduce the risk of cognitive decline.23 Staying physically active, eating a balanced diet, managing chronic health conditions, getting enough sleep, keeping your mind engaged through learning and mentally stimulating activities and maintaining social connections are all part of a brain-healthy lifestyle.23
The final say
You don’t only need a healthy body as you get older. It’s just as important to maintain the health and function of your brain at all stages of your life. With the right lifestyle choices, and by ensuring you get enough of the essential nutrients in your diet – you can take steps towards supporting your long-term brain health.
Looking for more? Discover if creatine is good for your brain or what the five wellness need-to-knows are (including brain food).
Disclaimer – This article provides informational advice and is not a substitute for medical care. Working with experts for accuracy, we take great care to ensure the information is up-to-date and relevant. However, you should always consult your GP or healthcare professional before using supplements or alternative products, particularly if you have medical conditions or are under supervision.
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