YOUR HURTING YOUR BRAIN AND DON'T EVEN KNOW IT

We all know that taking drugs, banging your head against a brick wall, or sniffing glue may be harmful to your brain and might even be deadly in some cases. But did you know that getting too much sleep, not having any friends and not reading food labels is also harmful to your brain? Read the top 10 ways you’re not protecting yourself the way you should.


From negative thinking to letting your brain gelatinize, these harmful personal habits have got to go.

1.Not getting enough sleep: Besides making you feel sluggish and unfocused the next morning, a consistent lack of sleep affects the body and brain by "disrupting hormones that regulate appetite," according to the Washington Post. This evidence supports scientists’ theory that chronic sleep deprivation also contributes to obesity. Besides the appetite connection, too little sleep also affects memory loss and your brain’s ability to process information, as your mind requires down time to preserve memory and retain information.

2.Getting in a rut: Just like any muscle or any organ in the body, your brain needs to be flexed and exercised in order to stay in top shape. If you haven’t challenged yourself in any way by trying a new sport, meeting new people or stepping outside your box even a little, your brain won’t be as sharp or quick as you age.

3.Smoking: Smoking is an unhealthy habit that stresses out your entire body, including your brain. WebMD even maintains that "smoking cigarettes affects [the] brain like heroin," because of its stimulated production of opioids, which "known to play a role in soothing pain, increasing positive emotions, and creating a sense of reward," like heroin.

4.Lack of practice: Keep your brain sharp and in practice by doing crossword puzzles or playing brain teasers and strategy games. Time even suggests that this activity can reduce your chances of developing dementia.

5.Too much sleep: Just as too little sleep is harmful, too much sleep can also cause health problems. Oversleeping too much can shorten your life span.

6.Botox: Botox is actually a very deadly poison, but has been approved for cosmetic use because it isn’t likely that it can enter the bloodstream and affect nerve cells or the brain. Newsweek reports, however, that "contrary to what turned up in preclinical testing, botulinum toxin [Botox] can travel along neurons from the injection site into the brain, at least in lab animals." This discrepancy poses a threat to humans who receive Botox injections, and at least 28 people have died since 1989.

7.Stress: Even if you think procrastinating leads to an adrenaline rush of panic, scientists believe that stress clouds the brain, especially among males.

8.Urban life: Boston.com’s Jonah Lehrer reported in January 2009 that urban life actually "impairs our basic mental processes," affecting memory and focus. One of the factors attributed to this finding is the lack of nature in city environments. Apparently, the more trees and natural surroundings we see, the better our brains function.

9.Watching TV: TV is a common scapegoat for laziness, obesity, ADD and the inability to focus, but this report details a study that may prove watching TV under the age of 2 is harmful to brain development. The 2004 study "suggested that TV might overstimulate and permanently ‘rewire’ the developing brain," according to an Associated Press story published on MSNBC.com.

10.Head-banging: The myth that head-banging kills brain cells might not be completely true, but the rocker move is still hazardous to your health and "can put you at risk for brian injury, whiplash, and even stroke," according to Discover Magazine Social and Mental Factors Work on your attitude to amp up your brain health.