Healthy Brain, Healthy Life - 7 Ways to Boost Brain Function

The human brain has amazed and baffled people for hundreds of years. It's the most complicated and miraculous organ in the universe. It controls everything you see, say, feel, and do. With such a powerful tool at your disposal, doesn't it make sense for you to understand how it works and how to make it work optimally?

Making sense of the brain's mind-boggling complexity isn't easy. What we do know is that it's the organ that makes us human, giving us the capacity for art, language, moral judgments, and rational thought. It's also responsible for each individual's personality, memories, movements, and how we sense and see the world.

All this comes from a jellylike mass of fat and protein weighing about 3 pounds. It is, nevertheless, one of the body's biggest organs, consisting of some 100 billion nerve cells that not only put together thoughts and highly coordinated physical actions but regulate our unconscious body processes, such circulation and breathing.

Unfortunately, most of us are never taught just how important the brain is, so we go through life thinking about everything else and give little to no attention to this critically important mass we carry around in our head. We care more about faces, boobs, butts and bellies than we do about our brain.

So why should you care about your brain? Well, your ability to control your life is directly tied to the health of your brain. Optimize the brain and you dramatically increase your abilities.

For you to realize your dreams in any area of your life, your brain must work right. When your brain works right, you work right. When your brain is troubled, you have trouble in your life.

Here are 7 things you can begin today to take better care of your brain and improve your life.

1. Eat a Healthy Diet. You literally are what you eat. Eating a healthy, balanced diet provides the nutrients and fuel to drive optimal brain function. Include lots of pure water; lean meats; complex, low glycemic carbohydrates; healthy fats such olive oil and coconut oil; and lots of dietary antioxidants, such as blueberries.

2. Exercise. Your brain needs physical exercise. Without it, the brain struggles. Exercise boosts blood flow to the brain, which helps supply oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients and helps eliminate toxic substances. The best exercises combine aerobic elements with some form of coordination movement.

3. Get a Grip on Stress. Any form of stress, whether it comes from family conflict, financial hardships, health problems, or environmental challenges, can lead to severe health issues. When stress becomes unremitting, it hurts the brain. Having techniques to counteract stress, such daily relaxation, meditation, prayer, or exercise, can have a very positive effect on how your mind works. Staying focused on positive, happy, hopeful thoughts release chemicals that make you feel good. Laughter has been shown to counteract stress and builds resilience.

4. Get More Sleep. Sleep is essential to healthy brain function. It is involved in rejuvenating your brain. Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep at night, less than 6 hours can result in decreased blood flow to the brain.

5. Don't Smoke. Nicotine prematurely ages the brain. It causes blood vessels to constrict, lessening blood flow to vital organs. Decreased blood flow deprives the brain of the nutrients it needs, and eventually leads to overall lowered activity.

6. Avoid Negative Thinking, Chronic Worry or Anger. Our brain and body respond to every thought we have. These thoughts are either helping us or they are hurting us. Negative, worried or angry thoughts release their own set of chemicals that make us feel bad and erode the functioning of your brain.

7. Engage in New Learning. Learning does change the structure of your brain quite significantly. Right now, as you read this page, your brain cells are making an average of one million new connections per second. This is called brain plasticity. Any time you read, think, listen or experience something, you are enhancing the neuro-connections in your brain. As you grow older, it's important to increase your neuroactivity, because doing so increases your intelligence and your brain's ability to find new answers.

How to Heal Burns Properly at Home

Burns can happen when people get too careless or when they are involved in accidents. Everyone can suffer from it and this is why everyone should learn how to heal burns. Burns are serious injuries that can lead to permanent scars and even death. The pain that comes with them is also no laughing matter since they are one of the most painful injuries one can have. They are also quite sensitive and are very annoying to deal with. A slight pressure on the affected skin can already cause it to give out pain. Fortunately, burns can be easily remedied at home for as long as they are handled with care.

The first thing to do with fresh burns is to cool it with running water. Let the affected area cool down for at least 15 minutes and then wipe the area with a clean cloth. Never apply ice directly to the burn since frostbites may occur. After wiping it dry, apply burn creams such as Burn-B Gone on the damaged skin. These creams are specially formulated with different ingredients that can heal burns quickly. They will also give relief to the burn pain once the cream has already penetrated the skin. The moment the cream is applied, cover the area with a bandage or with a gauze pad to protect it from infections. When blisters occur, do not try to pop them. Instead, let them be since they will heal over time.

Drinking lots of water can also keep the burn moisturized and it is also one of the best burn relief treatments. Vitamin supplements are also helpful during the recuperating period. If the pain still continues to throb, take aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the pain. Remember to clean the area once in a while. Also change the bandage or gauze pad regularly since they can get dirty and can cause infections.

Remember that these things would only work for mild burns such as first-degree burns. Some second-degree burns can also be treated at home for as long as the burn has only affected a small area. When the pain becomes unbearable, the person affected should contact the doctor immediately. The same is true when too much flesh is already exposed or when a large portion of the skin got burned. Doctors can give better burn relief treatments for these kinds of severe burns. Treating them at home will do no good and the burn may just get worse.

The Best Treatment for Sunburns for You

Sunburn happens, and when it does, you need to know the best treatment for sunburns that will relieve your pain. Sometimes, sunscreen is not enough to protect your skin from the harmful sun rays. Because of this, knowing the various treatments for sunburn that you can choose from is very important. Here are some examples of the best treatments for your sunburn that would make you feel better about your damaged skin.

For those who have sunburns in large areas of their bodies, then taking a lukewarm bath or shower is the way to go. Directly applying skin ointments to large areas of your skin may help, but cooling down with a bath or shower is the best course of action first. Adding extra ingredients like lemon juice or baking soda to your bath would help you soothe your sunburns too.

If you have sunburns with a handful of blisters, then the best treatment for sunburns for you is topical creams or gels. Burn-B Gone, a skin gel recommended by many skin experts, is one of the best products that you can apply to your skin. It would increase your healing rate and the pain and swelling would dissipate quickly, too. Do not ever pop those blisters because it would do more harm than necessary to your skin condition.

If you are a person who thinks that natural is the best treatment for sunburns, then you should try using Aloe Vera for your burned skin. The thick and juicy leaves of this plant would not only relieve the pain from your sunburns, but it would also keep your skin moisturized. Plant Aloe Vera into your own garden, so that you can have an immediate pain reliever at your hands.

However, if your sunburn took a turn for the worse, then you should definitely get the help of medical experts. If the affected skin starts to break and bleed, then it is important to get your sunburns checked out immediately. Infections and scarring may result if such sunburns remain unattended.

Finally, you should keep in mind that prevention is better than cure. Therefore, you should never forget to put on some protection for your skin before heading out into the sun. If you continue to fail to protect your skin properly, then there is a big chance that more serious skin conditions would develop in the long run. Lastly, the best treatment for sunburns may vary according to the degree of the damage, so you should be more observant of your condition all the time.