7 Ways to Maintain a Healthy Brain

Healthy Brain

The brain is a monstrous, beautiful mess. Its billions of nerve cells-called neurons-lie in a tangled web that displays cognitive powers far exceeding any of the silicon machines we have built to mimic it. ~ William F. Allman

At the moment, there is no one recognized definition of brain health. Most existing definitions have only a general description of normal brain function or emphasize one or two dimensions of brain health. The US Centers for Health and  Disease Control and Prevention defined brain health as the ability to perform all the mental processes of cognition, including the ability to learn and judge, use language, and remember. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) presidential advisory defined optimal brain health as “average performance levels among all people at that age who are free of known brain or other organ system diseases in terms of decline from function levels, or as adequacy to perform all activities that the individual wishes to undertake.”

There are 7 ways to keep your brain healthy :

1. Mental activities

• Learn a new language
• Use a different route to do your daily tasks
• Listen to or learn to  play a musical instrument
• Learn a new skill like using a new software program and teach someone the new skill
• Use all your senses like eating a meal in a restaurant for the first time. taste your food, smell it, feel the crockery cutlery and furniture.  observe the environment and listen to the voices of people.
• Word power: You are good at English but you can stimulate your brain by playing word games and at the same time enrich your vocabulary
• Play card games like gin rummy, poker, solitaire, and bridge
• Reading
• Go online
• Challenge and exercise your brain with jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, and other brain teasers

Participation in mental exercises won’t be effective if you're not overall healthy. Some of the factors linked to decreased brain function are diabetes, hypertension, obesity, head trauma, sleep apnea, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and alcoholism.

2. Exercise

Exercise has a direct brain connection when you consider what it actually does. What we tend to overlook are the feedback loops that connect the brain to every cell in the body. Therefore when you throw a ball, run on a treadmill, or jog along the shore, billions of cells are "seeing" the outside world. The chemicals transmitted from the brain are acting the way sense organs do, making contact with the outside world and offering stimulation from that world. This is why the jump from being sedentary to doing a minimal amount of exercise - such as walking, light gardening, and climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator - is so healthy. Your cells want to be part of the world. -DEEPAK CHOPRA

Some of the things you can do:

• Brisk walking
• Jogging
• Swimming
• Gardening
• Dancing
• Resistance training such as push-up

Do it  daily   to  reap  the benefits

3. Get Connected

• Meet up with friends
• Join a class
• Participate in community projects
• Stay close to family, friends, and relatives 

4. Healthy Diet

• Fish 
• Fresh vegetables
• Nuts and seeds
• Fruits and berries
• Dark chocolate
• Whole grains
• Coffee

The most important thing is to avoid processed food.

5. Manage Stress

• Sleep well
• Relax
• Exercise
• A balanced life
• Tai Chi 
• Meditation 
• Yoga

6. Be Safe

• Fasten your seatbelt when driving
• Wear a crash helmet while cycling
• Put on safety gears while at work in construction sites
• Avoid smoking and using illegal drugs

7.  hydration

According to DENT Nurologival Institue, 75% of the brain is made up of water. therefore, drinking water throughout the day is vital for your optimum brain health. What can hydration do to your brain?

• Boosts your memory function
• Better concentrationa and mental alertness
• Avoid mood swings and improve the brain's efficiency 

Image source: http://sageintegrativewellness.com/the-holistic-approach-to-brain-health-5-tips-for-better-cognition/

The Longevity Formula

The Longevity Formula

Do you want to live long and enjoy life at the same time? According to an article in a Chinese newspaper, 1-2-3-4-5 is the longevity formula:

1. One vital thing to take care of: Health: diet and exercise 

2. Two things to do: relax and forgive

3. Three things to forget: Age, grievances, worries 

4. Four things to have: A house of your own, career, partner, and friends 

5. Five things to be happy with: What you have, a happy family, able to indulge in personal interests, helping others and travelling

Image source:https://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Formula-Secret-Revealed-ebook/dp/B08C7M39ZJ

Do You S.E.E. Every Day?

S.E.E.

 Yes, you can see things every day. but do you Sleep, Eat and Exercise every day? I bet you eat every day and perhaps you sleep 4, though insufficient, to eight hours a night but do you exercise at all every day?

Do you want to be healthy physically mentally and spiritually? You need to eat, sleep and exercise daily. But what is the smart way to do these three important things beneficially every day?

Sleep

Can you sleep soundly at night? Do you get around eight hours of sleep at night? Do you have a sleep routine? You need these healthy sleep habits:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day
• Establish a sleep-inducing routine like reading 
• Is your bedroom cool, quiet, and comfortable?
• It helps when you exercise regularly and enjoy a healthy diet.
• Keep the bedroom dark when you are sleeping.

Sleep Well - 10 Good Habits

Eat

The simple rule is to avoid or consumed less processed items in attractive packages such as biscuits, cookies, chips, ham, sausages, and the like. Processed foods are full of artificial ingredients, loaded with too much sugar, sodium, and fat, and also associated with higher risks of getting cancer.

Eat more  fresh goods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs fat-free or low-fat milk, poultry, seeds nuts, and whole grains

10 Healthy Eating Habits

12 Tips to Take Care of Your Digestive System

Excercise

It is not enough to exercise physically but you need to stimulate your brainpower and get peace of mind as well. 

I walk every morning for 30 minutes. I do Tai Chi and I meditate for 15 minutes daily. I stretch my body and I do a push-up.

I read books magazines and newspapers daily and I like to play sudoku.

Every day my thoughts are about things that I have and enjoyed. I focus on the moment and do not dwell too much on the past or ruminate about the future. I journal every evening about things that I am grateful for before going to bed.

In this way, I get peace of mind. I am cheerful and happy.

20 Delightful Ways to Boost Your Well-Being

Start SEEing today to transform your life

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_(TV_series)

人生之乐

人生之乐

 要做工

 有工做

 能够做

要有吃

有得吃

吃得下

要有钱

有来源

能用钱

要能睡

有得睡

睡得甜

要能动

可以动

有走动

要感恩

有感恩

能感恩

要交流

能交流

有交流

要亲情

有亲情

能亲情

要快乐

有快乐

能快乐

Image source: https://www.positivityblog.com/yes-happy-life/

How many languages are you proficient in?

How many languages are you proficient in?

There is a saying: Luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation. First of all, school is the place where you start building a strong foundation. With a good grounding, you prepare yourself for the next step by studying for the subject that you are interested in. 

While you are doing that the crucial thing is to polish your language skills. It is not enough to be good at one language, especially in Malaysia. Look at the politicians, they speak fluently in English, Mandarin, and Bahasa Malaysia. If you want to be competitive you have to master three languages. When you are prepared you are ready to grab any opportunity that comes your way. You will have no regret.

Image source:https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-is-the-record-for-the-most-languages-spoken-by-one-person/

How I spend my retirement and Stay Healthy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Happy & Healthy Retirement

“Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick

I stopped my part-time work and call it a day in March during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was 72 and I decided not to continue working and avoid being infected with the coronavirus.

I still spend time productively even though I have retired.

I usually get up at around 6.00 am. while I am still in bed awaken I perform several stretching exercises such as knee hug, child's pose,  knee raise, and kegel. The first thing I do when I get up is to have a cup of warm water. After that, I tapped the lymphatic points of my body, swing my arms up and down 100 times, and walk on the spot for 100 steps.  The next set of stretching and breathing exercises is done at the car porch. This is to warm up my body before I perform tai chi. The taichi movements take about  15 minutes to perform. I feel calm and fresh upon completion. I wash up and brush my teeth. Next, I go for a walk and jog for 2km for about 30 minutes around the Kemunting field in front of the Indian temple.  I feel good breathing in the fresh air and basking in the morning sun

 Upon reaching home I prepare my own breakfast, I have mee hoon soup with broccoli and minced pork meat and one tomato or Maaggi curry mee mixed with broccoli, one tomato, and minced pork. Sometimes I have poa in the morning. My morning beverage is black coffee without milk or sugar. I love to eat breakfast at one of the hawker centers or coffee shops, However, during this critical period, I eat at home.

 At around 8 am I am ready to start work in front of my PC. I check emails and look for surveys to participate. If there are more surveys to answer it can take up to one or two hours. Answering surveys is a productive way to spend my time and make some pocket money at home. The next task is to review and check my previously written articles using Grammarly It is a fantastic tool to check spelling, grammar, and punctuation. After checking I upload the articles to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Scoopit

I have a good nap for about an hour in the afternoon from one to two o'clock.  Teatime is around 3 o'clock  I have a pao (a Chinese steamed bun). or wholewheat bread spread with peanut butter. I check emails for more surveys and upload more articles in the late afternoon.

At around 4pmm I do another set of stretching exercises and also push-up to strengthen my body. 

Dinner time is around 6pm. I help in the washing-up after eating

 In the evening this is the only time I watch TV. It is from 8-9 pm watching TV8 news. It is also a time to relax and ready to end a day peacefully. I have a cup of  Oat drink after the news. Reading a chapter or two is my routine before going to bed. I read until my eyes are tied and so it is easy for me to fall asleep.

I try not to go out and I connect with friends and relatives by WhatsApp and  Facetime. The only time to go out is to purchase household items and fresh goods.

I am happy with my life:

It is a healthy lifestyle and a simple life.

I am active daily to keep my body and  brain healthy and fit

I eat nutritiously with more vegetables and fruits and less meat

I sleep well and under no stress

I occupy my time fully and productively by blogging, reading, and answering surveys

I contribute to the world by sharing my articles about life, happiness, and money that are beneficial to everyone on the Net 

I have a pet dog Peanut the Poodle to share my life

If you enjoy reading my articles on my Facebook page please like, share, and join my group.

Ringworm and Treatment

Ringworm

Ten years ago in 2009, I was infected with ringworm. I wrote an article about the effective treatment of fungal infections (https://allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2009/05/ringworm-calamine-and-clotrimazole.html). Initially, I used calamine and found the cream infective because it was not the right medication. I then switched to clotrimazole and treated the diseased area of my sole successfully.

Recently I was infected with ringworm again. Immediately, I applied clotrimazole. This time the result was not as good as expected after a few weeks. In desperation, I consulted my family doctor and he prescribed Travocort Cream for me. This medicine contains two active substances, isoconazole nitrate and diflucortolone valerate.

According to information provided this medicine is used to treat fungal infections of the skin where inflammation (redness, swelling, soreness) is also a problem.

Upon my first application, the itch stopped right away. After a few days, it was completely healed.  

Ringworm initially starts out as red or pink skin patches (or spots) that may be either flat or slightly raised. In this initial stage, the sores may be moist, but more often they're dry, scaly, and itchy. If you scratch the rash you may break the skin, which could lead to a bacterial infection.

Have you ever infected with ringworm? How did you deal with it?