In honor of World Brain Day, let’s talk about evidence-based healthy brain habits! The World Health Organization defines brain health as “the state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory, emotional, and motor domains, enabling individuals to achieve their full potential throughout life, regardless of the presence or absence of disorders.” What I love about this topic is that it’s important for every single person, not just those with neurological disorders or injuries to the brain. Professor Wolfgang Grisold, President of the World Federation of Neurology, says, “Brain health isn’t a moment in time—it’s a lifelong commitment. World Brain Day 2025 is our call to action to protect neurological well-being from the earliest stages of development, through childhood, adulthood and into older age. It’s a commitment to care, equity, and access for all.” We can all maximize the health of our brains throughout our lifetime by knowing, prioritizing, and implementing these lifestyle habits.
When I am working with a client with cognitive communication difficulties, I emphasize that improving cognition is actually a piece of a larger puzzle. When working towards optimizing cognitive functioning, there are many outside factors that affect cognition outside of the brain injury or neurological diagnosis itself. These are factors such as sleep, nutrition, and social connection. For example, I may be working with a client on improving short- term memory, but if that client is only getting 4 hours of sleep per night, that lack of sleep has a significant negative impact on their ability to recall information, so we also need to develop solutions to improve sleep to really maximize their cognitive functioning to the fullest.
A handout on healthy brain habits that I like to use with clients comes from the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN). I often ask clients to rate each area on a scale from 1 to 10, then I guide them in developing goals to improve the areas that they rated at a lower number. For example, I may have a client that rates their physical activity/exercise at an 8 but their stress at a 3, so we will focus on ways to better manage or decrease stress. This is also an excellent opportunity for me to collaborate with clients’ external providers such as their primary care doctor, neurologist, behavioral health therapist, or physical therapist for appropriate recommendations that we can incorporate into their goals.
Healthy Brain Habits:
- Nutrition- healthy diet consisting of whole grains, fruits & vegetables, healthy fats, and fish; minimize refined sugars and processed foods
- Social Connection- frequent contact with family and friends; having a good support system
- Intellectual Activity- participating in hobbies or activities such as volunteering, reading, or playing the violin; learning new skills
- Stress- reducing stress through techniques such as deep breathing, yoga, or meditation; asking for help when needed; practicing gratitude and identifying values; seeing a therapist
- Sleep- aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night; sleep is especially critical for consolidation of memories
- Physical Activity/Exercise- aim for 20-30 minutes several days per week with activities such as walking, biking, or lifting weights; exercise also improves mood
I challenge each person to read the list again, choose an area that you are struggling with, and develop one tangible goal to improve that area. Brain health is a marathon, not a sprint!
Sources:
Thinking Speech 
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