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Do you ever think about what you can do to keep your brain healthy?

I listened to an interesting radio program last week about how to keep our brains healthy and I’d like to share what they said with our listeners.

What was the name of the program?

It is one of my favorite programs. It’s called “On Point”. The host of the program is Meghna Chakrabarti. Last week Meghna interviewed a neuroscientist named Jacob Harth. 

What’s a neuroscientist?  

A neuroscientist is a scientist who studies the nervous system  -  the brain, spinal cord and all the nerves in our bodies.

This program was specifically about how to keep our brain healthy. Our brain is located inside the hard bones of the skull.

How much does our brain weigh?

An average brain weighs 2 ½ to 3 ½ pounds.

The neuroscientist, Dr. Harth, used the acronym SWEET to help us remember how to keep our brains healthy.

What’s an acronym? 

An acronym is a word formed by the first letters of other words.  

If “SWEET” is an acronym, every letter s-w-e-e-t is the first letter of something we can do to keep our brain healthy, right?

Right!

Ok! “S “ What does the “S” represent?

Sleep – our brains need enough sleep because during sleep the brain cleans itself and sets the memories of the day.

How much sleep should we get?

Dr. Harth didn’t say a specific number of hours, but he said that we should get as much sleep as we can.

OK  - S is for sleep. What does the  “W” stand for?

Water! Plenty of water! 

How much water is plenty? 

That depends upon a lot of things – how much you exercise, the weather, if you are sick. 

The first “E” is for Eat healthy foods. Eat natural whole foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and healthy fats. 

The second “E” is “Exercise”. Physical exercise that makes us breathe hard and brings oxygen to all of our cells. Anything that is good for our heart is also good for our brain.  

“E” also stands for mental exercise.

Hmmm! Trying something new or learning something new is good mental exercise, right? 

Like learning a new language for example?

That’s a perfect example!

We mentioned physical exercise and mental exercise. There is one more kind of exercise that our brain needs.

What’s that?

Social exercise! Our brain needs interaction with other people. 

Now we have S-W-E-E

We’re missing the “T”

The ‘t” stands for time – It takes time and practice to make changes on our lives.

Yes, just like it takes time and practice to learn a new  language.

You know, when you think about it, when we are SWEET to our brain we are sweet to our whole body. 

So, dear listener, be SWEET to your brain. 

Take a walk with a friend, sip on your water bottle and listen to a podcast while you are walking. Grab an apple for a snack. The exercise and fresh air will make you sleep like a log. 

Your brain will thank you!  

Tacomaliteracy.org