Trouble Concentrating? Get Off That Couch and Move

Having a clear and focused mind is important to live life to the fullest. Your brain requires adequate amounts of blood flow to carry oxygen and nutrients to properly feed it. If your brain doesn’t get the things it requires to function properly there is no question you will have cognitive issues resulting in brain fog.

Increase Blood Flow

So, how do you get enough blood flowing up to your brain?

Exercise, of course. Cardiovascular exercise to be precise. Cardio gets your heartbeat up which promotes blood flow throughout your body, and that includes your brain.

Any type of exercise you enjoy that raises your heart rate is good. It can be a brisk walk in the park, an aerobics class at the local gym, or a hike in the mountains. No matter what types of things you enjoy there will be an exercise for you. If you can’t or don’t like to get out, there are things you can do in your home. For example, the Wii system has many types of fun games like tennis or bowling that don’t feel like exercise but it will help you get the blood circulating.

Toxic Buildup in Our Bodies

Our bodies get toxins through the air we breathe, the chemicals we use and the foods and water we consume. Toxic buildup contributes to brain fog, forgetfulness and other memory issues.

How can exercise help you rid your body of toxins that will reduce brain fog?

Here are several ways exercise helps remove toxins from our bodies:

Sweating – when you exercise you want to put in enough effort to break a sweat. Sweating releases impurities in the body through sweat glands which help to rid your body of toxins.

Deep breathing - exercising helps you breathe deeper. When you inhale deeply you release built up toxins through your lungs.

Promotes bowel movements – exercise helps move waste through your system taking toxins with them. The more exercise you do the more bowel movements your likely to have which results in more toxic waste being released from your body.

Exercise Your Brain

Your brain is one large muscle and like any other muscle in your body you must exercise it to keep it strong and healthy.

Stay sharp by playing games. Games that stimulate your brain, make you think and stretch your brain functions will help improve your memory and help reduce brain fog. Do crossword puzzles. Create mini math session by counting backwards in different increments. For example, start at 250 and count backwards by 10s – 250, 240, 230 and so on. Increasing the difficulty each time you correctly complete a series.

There are apps to help you increase brain function, like Lumosity, which are built on the idea of mini games and brain teasers to help keep your brain strong and alert.

If you need more inspiration for brain games check out your local library, book store or the internet.

As you can see, exercise is very important in battling mental decline and brain fog so get out there and do something!

P.S.  It's also very good for battling weight gain!