7 Brain-Damaging Habits to Avoid

In this article, we won't talk about habits known to harm the brain, like smoking and drinking alcohol. Rather, we'll cover habits that seem normal - which is why you do them daily - but are very harmful to your brain.

Daily Habits That Cause a Lot of Damage to Your Brain

1. Intellectual inactivity

One of the most underestimated things, despite the damage it causes to the brain, is not using it. The brain is a muscle that wastes away if you don't use your muscles. The brain's job is to think. Creative ideas, new skills, different languages, interesting conversations, reading, new experiences, or solving puzzles and crosswords all help stimulate your brain and improve the neuroplasticity that indicates its ability to adapt.  

How to get rid of this habit?

Research proves that brain exercises have a positive effect on our cognitive abilities. So start now and think of exercises to train your brain, such as reading a new book on a topic you're unfamiliar with or learning a new language. It'll come in handy to do something you want but hesitate to do every time.

2. Addiction to smartphones, computers, and all types of digital screens

All modern technology, including computers, smartphones, and tablets, is designed to make you addicted to them. Apps you enjoy, like Facebook and other social media, cause great damage to your brain.   

It's enough to think of the times you stared at your screen until your eyes stung and decide to take a break. The problem here is that sometimes we don't even recognize these telltale signs, and we keep scrolling because Instagram and Twitter are really tempting or because we feel like we have to reply to an email before we call it a night.

Studies show a relationship between time spent on digital screens and depression. This finding isn't surprising as most of the content we follow on the Internet is negative and deals great harm to our health and well-being.

On the one hand, we stimulate our brains excessively and negatively. On the other hand, we damage our eyes. And last but not least, most media and negative news hurt our emotions and negatively affect our thinking. If you're still not convinced of the gravity of these dangers, how about peeking into some studies showing that spending so much screen time weakens the brain's structure and harms its functions.

How to get rid of this habit?

You don't have to give up social media or technology completely. Just set healthy boundaries and keep yourself from getting addicted to them. Most smartphones come with the feature of knowing how much time you spend on the phone.

According to TechJury, the average American spends 5.4 hours daily on their phone. Imagine what you can do or learn in five hours a day. The next few days, ask yourself how to cut down on your screen time and invest that time in meaningful activities instead.

3. Physical inactivity

Although sitting idly seems normal, it can seriously affect the brain, physical and mental health. We often forget that the natural pose of the human body is to stand, not to sit, and we ignore the grave effects of an inactive lifestyle, such as heart disease, obesity, depression, and dementia.

To top it off, a study found that an inactive lifestyle also negatively affects our brains. For example, it negatively affects memory. Although breaking this lifestyle requires only getting up for a while from the couch, millions of people still suffer from an inactive lifestyle.

Although most of us suffer from neck pain, lower back pain, or shoulder spasms, we often fail to avoid the bad effects this lifestyle has on our health because sitting is a subconscious habit.

How to get rid of this habit?

Getting rid of an inactive lifestyle involves weaving daily activity into your life. You don't have to engage in violent or strenuous sports like long-distance running or a marathon. You only need to get up for a few minutes, walk short distances, and stand upright.

According to studies, even high levels of physical activity and exercise can't counteract the negative effects of long periods of sitting. This piece of information may be baffling, but at the same time it means that you can significantly improve your brain health through some daily lifestyle changes.

You can easily set your alarm to remind you to stand up every 30 to 50 minutes. For example, you can replace large cups of water or coffee with small ones, so you have to get up to refill.

In addition to these small changes, do a physical activity you like, and add it to your weekly schedule, like yoga or dancing.

4. A diet full of sugar and junk food

According to Fernando Gomes Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, what you eat affects your brain. Research also proves that a sugar-rich diet impairs brain functions, specifically memory and learning.

Oftentimes, the desire to eat sugar is a natural result of feeling stressed. Once we feel anxious or stressed, we need more energy, and sugar boosts energy in the blood. This is the secret of our desire to eat fast food, as it offers minimal nutrients, and large amounts of sugar and salt. This way, we feel full quickly, but soon we feel hungry again.

The problem is not only that sugar and fast food lead to obesity but also that it slows down brain development. Although our brains comprise only 2% of our body weight, they consume 20% of our energy resources, so your food greatly impacts your thinking and decisions.

How to get rid of this habit?

It's not enough to cut down on sugary drinks and foods. You must replace them with foods and drinks that positively affect your brain health. Berries, whole grains, nuts, and vegetables are healthy foods. So try to make your meals complete, including nutritious vegetables and high-quality protein.

If you want sweets with coffee, pick a piece of dark chocolate that's sugar free. It may not taste as good, but it satisfies your craving for sweets, while being good for your brain.

Don't skimp on healthy fats and omega-rich foods like nuts and seeds. According to a University of California study, supplementing with omega-3s can help reduce the damage caused by eating too much sugar. Drink enough water. If you're dehydrated, your body won't be able to perform at its best, and you'll find it difficult to stay focused or remember important things, even if you eat healthy foods.

5. Addiction to social media and neglecting real-life relationships

According to a Harvard University study, good relationships make us happy and healthy. As human beings, we instinctively crave real-life social interactions. However, the problem is that we try to replace real-life relationships with relationships on social media.

Even if others' interaction with us through these means gives us an immediate adrenaline boost, it doesn't offer a true sense of connection. It's like being surrounded by hundreds of people you don't feel connected to. Loneliness doesn't mean being alone. It's possible to feel lonely in many low-quality relationships.

Research proves that lacking high-quality social relationships can lead to mental and physical health issues. Therefore, relationships with others can enhance or deteriorate the health of our brains depending on the quality of these relationships, and virtual reality relationships certainly cannot replace real ones.

How to get rid of this habit?

The quality of your relationships and social interactions greatly affect the health of your brain and the quality of your life. Daily, we often prioritize work over relationships with our loved ones. Still, human relationships are more useful in the long run than sitting before a computer screen for long periods.

A study by the University of Michigan found that a ten-minute face-to-face conversation can boost memory and cognition.

Oscar Ybarra, lead author of the study, says that social relationships are just as good for the brain as mental exercise.

6. Insufficient Sleep

Not getting a good night's sleep leads to low concentration and negatively affects our mood. Despite the significance of sleeping in our lives, we count it as "necessary evil." In our world of productivity, most of us try to work overtime at the expense of sleep.

However, the consequences of sleep deprivation are dramatic, can amount to dementia, and lead to killing your brain cells, memory decline at an early age, or even Alzheimer’s disease. These effects can impair intellectual performance, cause memory decline, and reduce learning ability. Research shows that sleep deprivation can cause your brain to shrink.

How to get rid of this habit?

The number of hours and the quality of your sleep tremendously impact your brain health and memory power. Most people need 7 to 8 hours of sleep to recover after a long work day and bring out the best in them. However, you should also monitor sleep quality, not just the number of hours. One great way to get more quality sleep is to get regular hours and go to bed simultaneously every day.

7. Listening to loud noises

Another underrated habit is listening to loud noises, especially through earphones. 30 minutes of loud music or any other type of noise can damage your hearing system for life.

It doesn't stop there, but studies have shown that hearing loss is associated with brain issues and decreased cognitive abilities. Living in a big city will expose you to noise no matter how hard you try to avoid it. In this case, it's even more important to protect your hearing.

How to get rid of this habit?

It's very tempting to plug in your earphones to forget about the world, and that's okay, provided you make sure to adjust the volume, so music or other things won't harm your hearing device in the long run.

When using earphones for long periods, adjust the volume, especially since we're used to loud sounds to the point where we no longer make a big fuss. And herein lies the danger. We damage our hearing without knowing it.

So take off your earphones at least once every hour to check the volume. This helps you know the real sound level and avoid it if it’s loud because our ears are designed to adapt to loud noise.

Another thing you can do to check the volume is take out the earphones and spread them out at arm's length. If you can still hear the sound, it's a sign that the volume should be turned down.

To conclude

Instead of exposing your brain to harmful stimuli and engaging in activities that are damaging to brain health, treat each day as an opportunity to make your brain recover and restore its energy and functionality.

While the habits we've mentioned can have serious long-term effects, the good news is that all of them can be avoided.