Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The brain is one of the body's organs that must be kept healthy. Because, the brain is the “center” for controlling the body, including thoughts, memory, focus, movement, breathing, and even human heartbeat.

As time goes by and age increases, quite a few people feel that their brain function begins to decline. Usually, this assumption arises if someone experiences a decline in memory capacity to the point that they feel “stupid”.

Quoting from CNBC Make It, professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Charan Ranganath, revealed that there are four human habits that can trigger brain damage, resulting in a decrease in brain function.

Anything? The following is a list of four human habits that can trigger brain memory damage, quoted on Tuesday (12/3/2024):

Multitasking Too Often

According to Ranganath, humans rely on the prefrontal cortex in the brain to pay attention to their surroundings. However, prefrontal function and humans' ability to focus often decline over time.

Ranganath said, multitasking or doing many things at the same time can make the situation worse. This is because the habit of multitasking can damage memory and overload the function of the prefrontal cortex and “drain” resources that usually help humans form strong memories.

“The way to improve memory is to put your phone into focus mode and block off time in your schedule for certain tasks,” says Ranganath.

“Take time out to meditate, daydream, take a walk outside, or do any activity to refresh your mind. However, again, don't do everything at once,” he continued.

Having Poor Sleep Quality

As people age, the amount and quality of human sleep decreases. This can be a factor in decreased brain function.

When humans sleep, the brain continues to work hard, one of which is removing metabolic waste that accumulates throughout the day. Ranganath said that lack of sleep can have a bad impact on the prefrontal cortex.

“Therefore, try to avoid excessive cellphone use, consuming heavy meals, caffeine and alcohol right before bedtime,” said Ranganath.

“If you have a severe snoring problem, consider sleep apnea treatment. If you don't get enough sleep at night, taking a nap may also help,” he adds.

Too confident

Being too confident about being able to remember something well can actually reduce brain function. Because, forcing yourself to remember something you think you know, even though you have actually forgotten it, can “torture” your brain.

For example, you are confident that you remember someone's name. However, you become very confused and frustrated because you don't remember the person's name.

“Therefore, give yourself the opportunity to make mistakes. Instead of memorizing, it's better to remember,” said Ranganath.

“For example, a few minutes after you learn something, try testing yourself. Then do it again an hour later. The more you stop at this effort, the better,” he continues.

Monotonous Activities

One form of memory in the brain is episodic. Episodic memory is when humans remember events by combining information about what happened, when the event happened, and where the event happened.

Cues that are uniquely associated with a particular place and time, such as a song you've never heard or the smell of food your parents used to cook can evoke vivid episodic memories. However, this only works if you have experiences associated with relatively different contexts, not with monotonous experiences.

“Perhaps you have few memories because you are busy working. So, consider introducing new variations to your routine,” suggests Ranganath.

“Go for a walk instead of just “hanging out” in the dining room. Then, spend time with lots of people, go to various places, and try new experiences to provide opportunities to build lasting memories,” he continued.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(dce)