Active Living: How to Maintain Healthy Nerves

Everywhere you look, there’s always something new to appreciate and discover about the world around you. Remember the thrill of burying your feet in the sand? Or those moments when the light breeze softly brushes against your face? Meeting your niece and nephew for the first time and holding them in your arms were also priceless milestones you’d never exchange for anything in the world.

All these things were possible because of the nerves supporting your body. The sights you see and the things you feel are all due to the quick messages your nerves transmit to your brain. And when they work like a well-oiled train system, they’ll always be on time and arrive at the right destination.

Nerves: Your Body’s Command Center

May it be as simple as pouring water in a glass or recalling your friends’ birthdays, your nervous system sends out multiple messages to your brain to do each action.Your nerves that branch out of your brain control all the movements, voluntary and involuntary, that your body makes.

Breathing, digestion, and even how your heart beats are all influenced by how well your nerves perform.

Any damage that may happen to your nervous system then would certainly affect the activities you do daily.

There are two main parts of your nervous system: the central and peripheral nervous systems. The latter pertains to the nerves that branch out of the central nervous system and send information to various organs like your arms and feet. So when your nerves are damaged in the way of peripheral neuropathy, you may experience tingling sensations (tusok-tusok), numbness (pamamanhid), and muscle weakness (pangangalay).

As your Kapitbahay Pharmacy, we also don’t want your nerves harmed this way. So to keep you and your nerves safe, you must know the factors that can compromise your nerves.

Who may be at risk of nerve damage?

Several factors come into play when it comes to your nerve health. But to put it simply, by taking care of your overall health, you also keep your nervous system happy. This means that people accustomed to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as excessive drinking and heavy smoking may not be doing their nerves any favors.

Consuming extreme amounts of alcohol on the regular can increase the likelihood of nerve damage. Meanwhile, high fat and high sugar diets and tobacco addiction may also lead to other neurodegenerative diseases.

But apart from these, age can also play a major factor. Like how your bones and joints get rusty, neuron signals also tend to slow down as you age. And for some, they may even lose feeling in their toes and fingers. Nevertheless, with all these said, following healthier routines can provide the support nerves require to keep them sharp as you go on your days.

Take a look at the tips we’ve listed down below, kapitbahay.

Lifestyle changes for happier nerves

No one’s a fan of stressful situations, and neither is your nervous system. When you’re upset about a missed deadline or suffering through congested traffic, your body pumps out the stress hormone called cortisol. And if these often run through your system, they could interfere with the transmission of neuron signals in your body, affecting your reflexes and memory.

You must learn to minimize these stressful encounters or turn tostretching and exercise to counteract these situations. Workout sessions promote better blood flow allowing your brain to receive more oxygen and happy hormones, like serotonin, that spreads throughout your body like a gleeful high. You can also make yoga a regular activity to keep your cortisol levels low.

Apart from physical exercise, activities that stimulate your mind can also promote the production of serotonin and dopamine. Drinking tea, journal writing, and playing mind sports like chess or other problem-solving games are all pleasant ways to keep your brain and nerves active.

If you’ve had these vices for a while, it may be time to stop them now. Though they may give a temporary high, the long-term effects will not be worth it. Consuming alcohol disrupts your brain’s communication pathways making it harder to control your speech, memory, and other motor abilities. Meanwhile, a study reveals that heavy smokers are at more risk of age-related brain volume loss. Before these effects come into play, it’s best to retire these habits today.

To keep your nerves moving, you must know how to give the best fuel to keep them going. Your nervous systems need a certain mix of vitamins, proteins, and minerals that you can easily get from everyday food items. Get your daily dose of tryptophan, which acts as a neurotransmitter from dark chocolates. Potassium and calcium are also great minerals for your nerves, and you can get these from milk, leafy greens, and bananas.

Vitamins B12, B6, and B1 are called neurotropic vitamins as they all work together to energize nerves and repair nerve fibers. If you’d like to keep your nervous system properly nourished, then it’s best to look for ways to get these more into your diet. To start, you may consider beef, eggs, spinach, poultry, and seafood for a rich supply. But you may also take on the help of B-vitamin supplements.

The simple act of taking care of your health is an easy task for all the countless experiences you get to have because of it. With energized and functioning nerves, making memories with your loved ones and participating in intimate gatherings will be a breeze. — (MyPharma)