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Cognition and Cognitive Health
Cognition and Cognitive Health
Cognition and Cognitive Health
Maintaining good cognitive health, the brain's ability to think, learn, remember, and make clear decisions, is essential for achieving longevity and preserving mental performance. Although not fully understood, research indicates that daily habits play a large role in your current and future cognitive health.
Sleep is widely recognized as a major factor contributing to cognitive health. Western neuroscientists at the Brain and Mind Institute conducted the world's largest sleep study, and preliminary results indicated that between seven and eight hours of sleep results in better cognitive performance compared to both more and less sleep. Specifically, participants' reasoning and verbal abilities were strongly correlated with the amount of sleep, with deficits beginning when individuals slept over eight hours or below seven hours.
Cognitive functioning was also improved in individuals who played video games for at least five hours a week in a collaborative study between Western University and the Science and Industry Museum for the Manchester Science Festival. Although they found an association between playing videos and cognitive functioning, there was no association between hours of playing video games and mental health; however, they did associate mental health with physical activity. Individuals who met or exceeded the WHO recommendation of partaking in 150 minutes of exercise a week were 12 percent less likely to have symptoms of depression and 9 percent less likely to have symptoms of anxiety.
As evidence continues to grow, the connection between brain health and overall physical well-being is becoming increasingly clear. This area of research has become increasingly interesting to scientists, and our body of knowledge continues to grow.