86 billion. That’s the number of cells your brain has. Without a doubt, the gooey mass between your ears is controlling your body like nothing else.
It only makes sense to spend most of our time taking care of it. But we don’t. In fact, most don’t even think the brain needs care. Experts have determined that our modern lifestyle is chipping away at our neural pathways, making us slower, dumber, and less creative.
There are hundreds of reasons why that’s the case. To fix that, we need to be aware of the bad habits that we’ve picked up. To some these habits can come as a shock — for they never would’ve thought that damage they are doing to themselves through their indulgence.
Let’s see what they are –
The Disastrous Effect of Inactivity
Ever since remote work has become the norm, many people have found themselves not leaving their bedrooms. I know people who eat, drink, sleep and work at the same place all day.
The only exercise they get is getting groceries, which thanks to technology, can also be delivered.
Whether they realize it or not, it has grave consequences. Sitting for too long is directly linked to heart disease, obesity, depression, dementia, and cancer. More than that, it also changes certain neurons in the brain, for the worse.
It’s high time for all of us to understand a simple fact — movement is good. It releases endorphins that make us feel better, keeps our hearts healthy, and make our brains work better.
Excessive sitting during work makes us hold our breath as we type on our computers. You can notice this yourself. This leads to lower oxygen in the body and consequence muddy thinking, fatigue, and poor focus.
The #1 Killer of Concentration
The amount of information we go through on an average day is surprising. The average American consumes about 34 gigabytes of data and information each day — an increase of about 350 percent over nearly three decades — according to a report from the University of California, San Diego.
No wonder — our number one concentration killer is constant sensory input.
This includes emails, social media, talking to people, notifications, meetings, and much more. If we don’t manage our consumption better, it can easily lead to information overload.
Blasting Loud Music
Whether it’s working out, walking, or doing a mundane task like answering emails, all of us crave some nice music. And to immerse ourselves in our favorite melodies, we invariably turn the volume up.
However, you might want to think hard before doing that. With the popular use of noise-canceling earphones, you can easily damage your hearing. When your ears get used to a certain volume, you need to put in more effort to hear the normal sounds of those around you. Thus, you can’t store things in your memory fast enough.
