VGS We spend a lot of time thinking about our physical health, toning our muscles, our abs, building our stamina. What about our brain's health? What do we mean by that? Who is at risk of poor brain health and how can we keep our brain healthy?

Dr Tarun Dua is here to talk to us about it, welcome Tarun. Talk to us about brain health. What do we mean by that?

TD  So everything we do, every thought we ever had is produced by the brain. So that means brain health is very important for us.

It enables us to function well cognitively, emotionally, socially, so that we can have meaningful lives and function well productively in society. Brain health starts early in life, and it enables a child to achieve full developmental potential, to have educational opportunities and to have economic opportunities. Our brain can be challenged by one or the other risk factors. Be it lack of nutrition, be it environmental pollutants. And that means we can have a brain disorder.

If you look at the neurologist disorders, such as epilepsy, dementia, migraine, stroke,  meningitis, based on global burden of disease, they are the leading cause of disability and second leading cause of death. So therefore, if we have to function well, we need to have good life. We need to promote our brain health, we need to prevent neurological conditions.

VGS  So Tarun, talk to us about who is at risk of poor brain health?

TD  We are all at risk. And some are more at risk than others and I'll explain it. So for example, if we are exposed to some of the risk factors and these start early in life. In fact when the child is still in the womb. The health of mothers, including the mental health of mother's, lack of good died that can impact how the child's brain will develop. And after the child is born, depending on the environment, for example, poverty, physical environment, financial Security, all can impact the brain health, then there are other risk factors in our environment.

So for example, air pollution, other pollutants like pesticides, they can all impact our brain health. Infectious diseases, An example that comes to my mind is COVID-19. We, many of us had a brain health conditions looking at post COVID condition that impacts our brain and there are a range of injuries by sports or accidents that can impact our brain health. And not to forget if you have one of the non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, that also impacts your brain health.>

VGS  So that's a long list of things that impact our brain health. Tell us how can we keep our brain healthy?

TD  I'll tell you three things you should do. One is have a healthy lifestyle. And that means at least 30 minutes of exercise, eat healthy, balanced diet with lots of fruits, and vegetables, low in sugar and salt. No smoking, limit your alcohol and good sleep hygiene. That's extremely important. The second point, I would like to make here is be socially connected and engage in meaningful activities, connect with your family, friends, peers, learn a new activity, for example, a new language, puzzles. These are extremely important. If you are a child or you are an adult, or you are an older adult.

And third, if you have a physical health condition, go to a doctor, get it diagnosed because you can prevent lots of brain health conditions if you are taking treatment early. A small tip to remember, is what is good for your heart is also good for your brain.

VGS  So those were some great tips on keeping our brain healthy. I'm going to focus on good sleep. What would you like to do to keep your brain healthy? Talk to us about it. Until next time then stay safe, stay healthy and stick with science.