Cerebral Blood Flow: How Can We Stimulate It?

Cerebral blood flow refers to the amount of blood that reaches the brain at any given time. It may surprise you, but the brain needs almost 20% of the blood supply provided by each heartbeat. This liquid also contains glucose, an essential element for energy.

Do you know what would happen if, at some point, the brain could not be supplied with an adequate amount of blood? We tell you.

A phenomenon called ischemia would occur, meaning that a small portion of the brain tissue would begin to die, the number of brain connections would decrease, memory would no longer function properly, it would increase the risk of developing a stroke and more.

On the other hand, if we manage to accelerate our cerebral blood flow, we can protect ourselves against several serious diseases. The brain becomes healthier, and cognitive functions, memory, and concentration improve.

Want to know how you can get all this wonderful benefits? In the following we will present you five ways to stimulate cerebral blood flow.

5 tips to stimulate cerebral blood flow

1. Do aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular activity, thus stimulating cerebral blood flow. Moreover, these exercises help oxygenate the body, which improves the health of brain cells and connections between tissues.

Are you curious to know what are the best aerobic exercises to stimulate your cerebral blood flow? You can opt for any of the following simple activities:

• Walk for half an hour.
• Run every day for 15 minutes.
• Dancing.
• Ride your bike for 15 minutes.
• Perform aerobic exercise at home.

2. Opt for a proper diet

There are many foods that can help you improve your brain health. As mentioned earlier, the brain consumes about 20% of the blood provided by a heartbeat, this organ needing a large amount of energy to function properly.

The energy needed by the brain must be obtained from glucose, carbohydrates and proteins. If you want to speed up your cerebral blood flow, here are some foods that should not be missing from your daily diet:

• Whole grains, such as quinoa, brown rice, oats, barley, rye, etc.
• Essential fatty acids, present in foods such as salmon, avocado, olive oil, oilseeds and pumpkin seeds.
• Blueberries, strawberries and citrus.
• Tomatoes, kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, etc.
• Eggs.
• Sage-based infusions.

3. Avoid tobacco use, overweight and stress

Tobacco use, overweight and stress are the three main enemies of brain health. Tobacco, for example, as soon as it enters the bloodstream in the form of nicotine, stimulates the adrenal glands so that they release adrenaline into the blood.

Adrenaline is a hormone whose level increases in the body even when we are stressed, stimulating the nervous system and producing symptoms such as tachycardia or hypertension.

Moreover, adrenaline reduces the insulin production of the pancreas, which causes an increase in blood sugar that overexcites the brain.

In terms of overweight, this health problem increases the risk of developing strokes. Excess fat accumulation strengthens the veins and arteries, resulting in a significant slowdown in blood flow.

Tobacco use, overweight and stress increase the risk of developing more health problems that could easily be avoided if we were willing to improve our diet and change our daily habits. It’s worth the effort!

4. Perform mental exercises every day

How “fit” is your brain? To stimulate cerebral blood flow, it is essential to train your cognitive functions regularly.

Memorization, curiosity, pursuit of interests, motivation – all these activities establish new connections between neurons and, little by little, contribute to the production of new tissues and structures resistant to the passage of time and to various diseases that can affect us.

So, don’t hesitate to learn something new every day. Read, sign up for a course, take advantage of the many resources that the internet provides you. If you improve your memory and concentration, you will also significantly improve your brain health.

5. Take advantage of the power of positive emotions

Daily stress, anxiety and a bleak or fatalistic outlook on life are factors that can alter the neurochemical structure of the brain, cause cortisol secretion and stimulate adrenaline production.

All this causes the cerebral blood flow to fluctuate and, if the problem is not remedied in a short time, the consequences can be significant.

Positive emotions are more effective than any vitamin or analgesic. They give us the kind of energy we need in our daily lives so that we can fulfill our dreams and improve our quality of life and health. To do this, focus on the following:

• Develop your sense of humor. Talk about the things that bring you joy.
• Practice relaxation and yoga techniques. These practices will help you become more connected to yourself, live the moment and appreciate more the really important things.
• Pay attention to your relationships with others. Enjoy your family and friends and don’t spend all day at home.