The little things we do every day, that we just take as an inherent part of our daily lives, actually impact us more than we’d like to believe. Not all of these have ill effects, though. Exposure to natural light, for example, regulates the hormones responsible for a restful sleep. Plastic dishes that we use frequently release BPA, which has been found to be correlated with cancer. While a cup of coffee a day is good for you, too much can increase the level of cortisol (stress hormone) in your body. Make-up has certain chemicals that act as oestrogen blockers, and don’t let the hormone function at its optimum. Point is, pretty much everything we do affects us in some way or another, and some of these are pretty surprising! Like these four things which rewire your brain.
White Lies
Most of us believe that little white lies are not a problem. In fact, some might even say that they are actually beneficial. Of course, if telling your friend that you can’t make it to their birthday party because you are stuck at work when you actually want to just stay in, can avert a fight, then what could possibly be so awful about white lies? According to recent research, quite a bit. A study conducted at University College London revealed that white lies desensitise us to negative emotions, and can increase the likelihood of us telling bigger lies in the future. Well, like mum said, once a liar always a liar!
Sudoku, Crosswords, and other puzzles
Stimulating your brain with puzzles is not only an entertaining challenge, but it also improves the brain functioning! It seems like the sooner you start the habit of doing puzzles, the better it is for your brain. Puzzles encourage complex thinking, and make our imagination stronger. They also protect the brain from degenerative diseases like dementia. It kind of seems commonsensical, doesn’t it? The healthiest elderly folks are the ones who emphasise on staying active, both physically and mentally.
Controlled breathing
We know that deep breathing lowers stress and helps us calm down. We kind of sense that it also helps us focus better. But, recent research shows that controlled breathing can actually increase brain size, especially when combined with meditation. The functions that deep breathing specifically improves are focus, attention, and how we process sensory input.
Air pollution
It’s not just bad for our lungs. It is also bad for our brains. From strokes to arresting the development of the brain, breathing in pollutants like mercury and lead, can cause a lot of problems for our nervous system. The ill effects are more pronounced in young kids whose brains are still developing, and this starts in the womb if the mother is exposed to toxic chemicals.
