May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Conditions That Change Your Brain 

Mental Health is a HUGE topic, and yet most don’t realize how many different conditions can impact your Brain Health.

• Alcohol — Over time, drinking too much can damage your brain. Research shows that alcohol can shrink
  certain parts of your brain, too.
• Migraines — Research shows that chronic migraines might cause you to lose some gray and white matter.
• Concussions — With an impact to the head, the brain slides and bumps into the inside of the skull. This bruises the brain and tears nerve tissue. Concussions shake up the balance of chemicals in the brain, harming nerve cell function and triggering inflammation.
• Meditation — One study found that meditating for two months increased gray matter in parts of the brain that control emotions and learning. It can reduce inflammation in the brain and protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
• Exercise — Exercise pumps blood to the brain, and that delivers oxygen and nutrients. It stimulates the release of proteins keeping brain cells healthy and help grow new ones.

The list goes on: PTSD, Depression, Strokes, Aneurysms, MS, ADHD, BiPolar Disorders and more. But knowing the impact helps us be more motivated to be proactive in taking care of our brain!