What is the Hello Brain challenge?

Do one thing every day to help your brain to stay healthy. We call that one thing a ‘Brain Buff’.

The challenge has been created by our brain health expert Professor Sabina Brennan. There are five ‘buff’ categories that have benefits for your brain health:

1. Physical: Physical exercise helps to grow connections in the brain.
2. Social: Just ten minutes of social interaction can increase your brain’s performance.
3. Mental: Increased complex mental activity late in life has been linked to lower dementia risk.
4. Attitude: Stress can impact negatively on brain health. Laughter relieves stress.
5. Lifestyle: Obesity is linked with an increased risk of developing dementia.

There are three ways that you can take the Hello Brain challenge:

• If you have a smartphone you can download the app
• If you have a PC or laptop you can use the web version online
• You can download and print off a paper version.

With the smartphone and web version, you can monitor your progress with the brainbow visualisation and with the paper version you can keep a visual diary.

Health benefits

The buffs are grounded in science that suggests that brain health benefits when you:

1. Keep physically active
2. Stay socially engaged
3. Challenge your brain
4. Manage stress and think positively
5. Adapt your lifestyle, for example, maintain a healthy weight

Some sample ‘brain buffs’ include:

• Going for a walk at lunchtime.
• Calling a friend or a relative for a chat.
• Memorising the stops on your bus/train journey and trying to recall them on the way home.
• Smiling at least five times today, even or especially if you don’t feel like it.
• Having a sugar-free day.

Remember, learning is like a powerful brain-changing drug.

Sabina Brennan is a Research Assistant Professor in Psychology at Trinity College Dublin.

www.hellobrain.eu was funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme