Fitness Exercises For Healthy Brain Blood Flow

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Blood circulation to the brain can lead to many mental issues, from mild to serious. But there are many ways to increase blood flow.

The brain comprises only 2% of total body weight, yet receives 15 to 20% of its total blood supply.

There’s a lot going on up there, so the brain requires a disproportionate amount of energy and nutrients.

For blood flow to increase to various brain areas, upstream vessels dilate to avoid reductions in downstream microvascular pressure. When this process is disrupted, the amount of blood circulation to the brain can decrease. Figuring out how to increase blood circulation to the brain can be as simple as making small dietary changes to include cognition-supporting foods.      

Why Sufficient Blood Flow to the Brain is Critical

A steady flow of blood delivers life-giving oxygen plus glucose, vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and other nutrients that the brain needs to survive and thrive.

Cerebral blood circulation also carries away things the brain doesn’t need, such as carbon dioxide, toxins, and metabolic waste products.

The brain’s blood supply keeps it hydrated which is critical since the brain is over 70% water

Signs of Poor Brain Blood Flow

Here are other signs of impaired cerebral blood flow:

  • Drink more green tea
  • Limit salt intake
  • Take a good multivitamin/mineral, vitamin D, magnesium and an omega-3 EPA/DHA supplement daily
  • Support your memory with Ginkgo Biloba extract
  • Enjoy an ounce of dark chocolate every day (for the cocoa flavanols)
  • Eat more beets, green leafy vegetables, berries, pumpkin seeds, and cayenne pepper
  • Increase your intake of foods high in magnesium, such as avocados, nuts, and seeds
  • Eat more foods loaded with potassium, such as spinach and sweet potatoes
  • Limit alcohol, fruit juices, and sodas (including diet sodas)
  • Sleep 7 to 8 hours a night, and if you have sleep apnea, get it assessed and treated
  • Try hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), a simple, non-invasive, painless treatment with minimal side effects that use the power of oxygen to enhance the healing process. Before-and-after SPECT scans of people who have undergone HBOT reveal remarkable improvement in blood flow.
  • Needing to wear socks to bed
  • Cramping in feet and hands
  • Unhealthy nails — fungus or white nail beds (they should be pink)
  • Cold nose, feet, or hands
  • Poor focus and concentration
  • Relying on caffeine or exercise to kick your brain into gear
  • Hydrate better! Drinking at least 5 glasses of water a day could decrease your risk of hypertension.

Activities to Increase Brain Blood Flow

Neuro feedback

Neuro feedback is a mind-body technique that teaches you to control autonomic body functions (like heart rate) by consciously altering brainwave patterns.

You can use it to train yourself to stop the stress response that directs blood flow away from the brain Neuro feedback. 

Music

Music does a lot of great things for the brain; it can make you smarter, happier, and more creative.

And one of the ways music delivers these benefits is by increasing blood flow to the brain.

Researchers can measure cerebral blood flow with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Chew Gum

Not only does gum chewing increase blood flow to the brain, it alters brainwave patterns to put you in a more relaxed state.

Interestingly, the more flavorful the gum, the better it works to enhance cerebral blood flow and brain function.

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