Building Brain Healthy Habits: Program Recap

Published March 26, 2026

When we think about health, we often focus on our physical health, but fostering a healthy brain can have tremendous effects on our overall health.

Thank you to Sally Zaifman-Kagan from the Alzheimer’s Association’s Greater New Jersey Chapter for a comprehensive overall on how and why we should maintain a healthy brain. Our body and mind are connected in many ways; neglecting one can have an impact on the other. Health brain habits can help prolong or slow the onset of many brain conditions, including dementia. By making small changes that focus on our cognitive health, we can create a more healthy self, boosting our mood and confidence.

Why Brain Health?

Our brain controls so much of our body and lives, yet it is often neglected when we think of health. Memory, thinking, sensory and movement, and social-emotional behaviors are all different functions of the brain and we can help preserve and improve those functions through a variety of health-related choices.

Did you know that brain changes can start 20 years or more before symptoms of dementia are experienced? By practicing brain-healthy habits, we can help lower our risks, especially if we have a family history of certain conditions like dementia.

Additionally, our brain and heart are very closely connected. About 20-25% of the blood that our heart pumps each beat travels to our brain, providing oxygen and other nutrients our brain needs to thrive. By combining physical health with brain health, we can keep our bodies in top shape.

Improving Brain Health

Health Conditions

There are a variety of health conditions that can have a direct impact on our brain, especially those that can affect our heart and blood vessels. High blood pressure, for example, can damage our blood vessels over time, including those that supply blood to the brain. This can cause the brain to receive less oxygen and nutrients, which can hasten certain brain conditions. Try to maintain a blood pressure that is less than 130/80 mmHG.

Diabetes has many symptoms that can affect our brain health. Diabetes can raise our risk of heart disease and stroke which can impair our cognitive functions. It can also cause inflammation and damage the blood vessels which can restrict the movement of oxygen and nutrients our brains need to function properly.

Obesity can put a strain on our heart and circulatory system, which in turn puts strain on our brain when blood flow is restricted. Maintaining a healthy weight can go a long way toward promoting brain heath.

Smoking affects so much of our overall health and the brain is no exception. Smoking can shrink the part of our brain responsible for memory and thinking while also worsening other heart-related conditions as well as increasing our blood pressure.

Brain Healthy Habits

Exercise

One of the most important habits that we can engage in to promote a healthier brain is exercise. Exercise improves brain function by increasing blood and oxygen flow as well as improves the connections between brain cells, helping preserve our thinking capabilities. Try to aim for well-rounded physical activities including:

• Aerobic exercises – 30 minutes, 4 times a week
• Strength training – 15-20 minutes, 2 times a week
• Stretching and balancing – 10-15 minutes, 2 times a week

If exercising is difficult or overwhelming, you can try focusing on a new activity that looks fund, ask a friend to join in, link your exercising to something fun, or find fun ways to track your progress.

Eating Right

Improved nutrition is directly connected to better brain health; just like we need to feed our body, we also need to feed our mind (both literally and figuratively). Diets that include vegetables (especially leafy green ones), berries, whole grains, poultry (white and skinless), fish (not fried), beans/legumes, nuts, and extra virgin olive oil can have positive impacts on brain health; try to limit red, processed meats, butter/margarine, cheese, fried foods, and sweets.

Changing your diet is hard and can be a shock to your system, so try making small changes over time. Try adding healthy afternoon snacks to your schedule (berries, nuts, etc.), adding vegetables to your favorite pasta or rice dishes, or have some fruit along with your dessert; little steps can have a big impact later.

Watch for vitamins and supplements that claim to boost your brain health; many of these have not been tested and overall, the scientific evidence does not show that vitamins and supplements reduce the risk of dementia.

Sleep Well

Sleep is a critical component of a healthy lifestyle, including for your brain. Ensuring that you get enough consistent, deep and restful sleep can have a positive impact on your overall help; it can even help “wash away” the buildup of proteins in your brain that are associated with a variety of brain-related conditions, including Alzheimer’s Disease.

Adults should aim for 7-9 hours of deep, quality sleep each night. To help with that, try these tips:

Cognitive Conditioning

Cognitive engagement can help boost our brain health and build resilience in the face of some brain-related conditions like dementia. It encourages blood flow to the brain and even helps build new connections between brain cells, creating new neural pathways. You can challenge your brain through continued schooling, playing strategy games, doing puzzles, learning a new language or exploring a new hobby. The more “exercise” we can give our brain, the better!

Tips for Success

Change can be hard, regardless of the reasons and desires behind it. New routines or activities can feel daunting and trying to change too much too quickly can be overwhelming. Some tips to help in your making positive changes to your life include:

• Making small changes over time and setting flexible goals
• Include other people (its more fun with friends!)
• Use rewards that work for you
• Speak positively when talking about the changes you are trying to make
• Track your habits to help identify things that are holding you back

An great tool to help with implementing change is an “Action Plan”. Action plans can help us visual the steps we are going to take and provide a nice roadmap as we track our progress. Action plans are made up of 4 distinct parts:

1. Set a goal – Start by writing down 1 change that you want to make. You can repeat this step for each change as you feel more comfortable.
2. Define your actions – What are the specific steps you are going to take? When we engage in a specific habit, there is actually a Habit Loop that forms; knowing the parts of the loop and being able to identify them can help you define your actions. Those parts are: “What is your cue?”, “What is your action?”, and How will you reward yourself?”.
3. Overcome obstacles – Consider the speedbumps you might encounters and proactively identify ways to overcome them. This can help build your confidence as you are transitioning to a new habit.
4. Set a timeline – Map out your new change, including when will you start, how often you will do the new action, when you will check your progress, and how you plan to track your progress.

More Information

For more information on the importance of brain health and how you can make positive changes in your life, please visit the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/help-support/brain_health.

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