Own your health: Protect your health actively

Health often only becomes a topic of discussion when symptoms arise. However, physical changes and illnesses often develop unnoticed over years; this is especially true for many neurological diseases such as dementia or strokes.

Modern preventive medicine shows that our lifestyle significantly influences how healthily our brain ages. The brain is not a static organ; it remains adaptable throughout life. This ability of the brain to form new connections between nerve cells and strengthen existing networks is called neuroplasticity. This is precisely where neuroprevention comes in: promoting neuroplasticity.

“Own your health” is not a call to live perfectly, but an encouragement to influence one's own health through conscious decisions – step by step.

Why prevention begins in everyday life

Scientific studies show that four factors are particularly closely linked to brain health in the long term:

• physical activity
• Sleep quality and recovery
• mental and social activity
• Nutrition

These areas don't operate in isolation, but rather influence each other. Regular exercise, for example, improves sleep. Good sleep supports concentration and memory. Mental activity, in turn, strengthens neural networks and boosts cognitive reserve.

Individual health prevention is not about short-term optimization, but about long-term, realistic improvements in lifestyle.

1. Exercise: One of the strongest protective factors for the brain

Physical activity is among the best-researched protective factors for brain health.

Regular exercise improves blood flow to the brain, supports the energy metabolism of nerve cells and stimulates the production of the body's own messenger substances such as BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)¹ These support the growth, adaptability, and regeneration of neuronal connections.

Studies show that physical activity can reduce the risk of strokes, vascular diseases, and cognitive decline.

No extreme training programs are necessary.

Specific tips for everyday life:

• 20-30 minutes of brisk walking daily
• Regular movement breaks during the workday
• two to three strength training sessions per week
• Stairs instead of elevator
• moderate endurance activity such as cycling or swimming

Even moderate activity has measurable health benefits. Regularity is key.

2. Sleep: Regeneration for the brain and nervous system

Sleep is not a passive resting phase. Rather, during sleep the brain processes information, stabilizes memories, and regulates important metabolic processes.

Neuroscientific research also shows that waste products are removed from the brain during sleep. Chronically poor sleep is therefore associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Nevertheless, sleep is often neglected in everyday life, even though simple measures can have a significant impact:

• consistent sleep times
• Reducing screen time before bedtime
• No caffeine in the late afternoon
• sufficient daylight and exercise during the day
• a quiet and dark sleeping environment

It is not perfection, but consistency that improves sleep quality in the long term.

3. Mental activity: The brain needs new stimuli

Our brains change through use. Neural networks are strengthened when they are regularly activated.

Mental activity, learning, and social interaction contribute to building up what is known as cognitive reserve. This reserve helps the brain to better compensate for age-related changes or stresses.

New and challenging activities are particularly effective.

Examples include:

• learn a new language
• start an instrument or a new hobby
• Read and reflect instead of passively consuming
• Actively cultivate social contacts

What matters is not so much the complexity as the regularity of mental activation.

4. Nutrition: Supplying the brain with food

Our brain consumes around 20% of our daily energy. At the same time, it is particularly sensitive to inflammatory processes, vascular changes, and metabolic disorders.

Therefore, diet not only affects body weight, but also concentration, memory, energy levels and, in the long term, the risk of neurological diseases.

In particular, chronically elevated blood sugar levels, highly processed foods and pro-inflammatory diets are associated with an increased risk of vascular disease and cognitive decline.

Conversely, studies show that a Mediterranean-style diet can have positive effects on the brain and cardiovascular system.

What this means in everyday life:

• More vegetables, legumes, and fiber-rich foods
• healthy fats, e.g. from nuts, olive oil or fish
• Sufficient protein to maintain muscle mass
• Reduce highly processed foods
• Pay attention to regular meals and stable blood sugar levels

This isn't about strict prohibitions or perfection. What matters is the long-term approach, not the individual meal.

Even the Romans knew: A healthy mind in a healthy body

Modern neuroscience increasingly views brain health holistically. Metabolism, the cardiovascular system, sleep, stress regulation, and social factors directly influence the function of our brain.

Neuroprevention therefore does not mean treating individual symptoms of brain health in isolation, but rather integrating general health-promoting measures into everyday life early on through repeated small actions.

Own your health: Take care of your health for tomorrow today.

BDNF is a naturally occurring protein that plays an important role in the health and performance of the brain.

1. BDNF is a naturally occurring protein that plays an important role in the health and performance of the brain. ↩︎