4. Working through illness
If you’re sick, rest and eat properly. There is almost nothing that can’t wait a day.
When you are ill—even with a simple cold—your body’s immune system is already working at full capacity to fight the infection.
You will not only prolong your illness but increase vulnerability to subsequent maladies, with cumulative effects that can impair brain function.
5. Over-eating
Over-eating leads to excess weight, often to obesity. And we’re not talking about splurging on kale.
Often when someone eats more than is necessary, the food that’s taken in is lacking in nutrition; the body remains hungry because it’s not getting what it needs in the form of nutrition and so we eat more.
Nutrient-poor foods do not optimize brain performance. In addition, chronic obesity has been directly associated with low brain volume and dementia.
6. Reticence
Oral communication uses a different part of the brain than written. If you don’t often talk to other people, you don’t exercise this part of the brain.
Additionally, we are social animals and are meant to talk to one another; lack of social interaction can cause depression and anxiety—also products of the brain.
