Trying to boost your brain health with sudoku, sugar or even sex? Let’s take a look at the evidence

There are plenty of things people claim are good for your brain. But what does the evidence say? Photo: ABC/Unsplash Do you do cryptic crosswords in an attempt to boost your brain health? Or have you heard that omega-3, a sugar boost, or even getting busy in the bedroom is good for your grey matter? Let’s take a look at some of the things we often hear are good for our brain, review the evidence, and bust a few myths along the way. Sudoku and crosswords Doing puzzles helps your brain … be better at puzzles. But that’s about it. It’s hard not to feel a little smug when we do a sudoku or a crossword puzzle. After all, we’ve heard how good it is for our brains – just like exercise builds muscle, brain games make our brains stronger, right? Wrong . Neuroplasticity is the term that describes how the pathways and connections in the brain change through experience. When we practise something, the brain adapts, and we tend to become better at that skill. When you do a sudoku puzzle every day and find you get faster … unfortunately this doesn’t mean you are getting any smarter. Your brain is simply getting more efficient at doing sudoku — it doesn’t mean you’ll get better at finding your keys or writing essays . If there’s a particular skill you want to improve, you’re probably better off practising that skill. Verdict: Not really (the high quality evidence suggests it isn’t) Stress The effects of stress on the brain can come down to how you perceive the stress. Stress is bad for you right? Well, not necessarily. The devil is in the dose, and how you perceive the stress. A small burst of stress, such as the rush you get […]

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