These days, practically every pill, product, and procedure has been invented to maintain and enhance your body’s health. But are you forgetting perhaps the single most important organ of all – the brain? Keep your brain alive and happy if you want the rest of your body to remain in good shape as well. To keep your brain alive and happy, treat it the way you ideally would the rest of your body; that is, eat right, get enough sleep, and get sufficient exercise.

Food for the Brain

Unless you’re allergic, you can never go wrong with fish. Fish is the ultimate food for proper brain development. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and DHA (or docosahexaenoic acid), which is believed to keep dementia at bay.

Not only do you build healthy brain cells when you consume omega-3s, but you also ensure that their foundation is strong and that they have a better chance of withstanding the test of time.

Hit the Sack

According to Sean Drummond, of the University of California at San Diego, if you have been awake for 21 hours straight, your abilities are akin to those of a person who is legally drunk.

Depriving your brain of sleep can muddle memory capacity and cognitive function. Attention span becomes shorter and reaction time is delayed. So if you are looking for another excellent way to keep your brain alive and happy, get some shuteye.

Get Physical

When we think of brain exercises, we think puzzles, mazes, riddles, and the like. But if you want to add some actual physicality to your brain’s workout regimen and get those synapses ‘sweating,’ try neurobics.

Neurobics is a system of mental exercises wherein you do something your brain does not expect, thereby forcing it to work harder. Deprive it of sight, for example. Wear a blindfold around the house for about an hour and rely on your other senses to move about. If you are right-handed, try writing or brushing your teeth with your left hand, or vice versa. By doing something your brain is unaccustomed to, you stimulate it and help build up its neurological structures by triggering more pathways that would have otherwise remained dormant during routine activity.

Get Physical Some More

Exercise your body as well. Physical activity promotes neurogenesis, or the growth of new brain cells. Plus, it gets your heart pumping, forcing more oxygen to the brain, thus giving your mental abilities a much-needed lift.

Your looks may have dodged the ravages of time, but it will all be for naught if your brain betrays your age. Follow these simple ways to keep your brain alive and happy so you’ll be able to think and feel as young as you look.