Im a neurologist 7 everyday habits that are quietly damaging your brain

People obsess over looking younger — but what about staying sharp?For many, the brain isn’t a priority until something goes wrong.But by then, you may have missed the chance to get ahead of the problem.“Basically every single thing that we’re doing now is shaping our brain health down the road,” Dr.

Randy D’Amico, director of the Brain and Spine Metastasis Program of Neurosurgery at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital, told The Post. After all, genetics play a role — but they aren’t the whole story.Unlike your DNA, many of the factors that shape your cognitive health are within your control.“The habits you build now are an investment in who you’re going to be in the future,” D’Amico said. These are the seven everyday habits that are quietly damaging your brain and what you can do about them.

Your brain doesn’t love being a couch potato.In fact, physical inactivity can take a toll on your vascular health — the condition of your blood vessels — which can have an impact upstairs, too.“It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a big athlete, but you just have to move,” D’Amico said.The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week for adults to maintain good health.“That’s the number you want to try to get to,” D’Amico said.

“Your brain expects your body to move.”Skimping on shut-eye isn’t just a recipe for a groggy morning. “If you treat sleep like it’s not important, you’re doing your brain a disservice,” D’Amico said.Regularly getting too little or poor-quality sleep can hurt attention, memory and mood.It can also take a toll on metabolic and vascular health.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least seven hours of sleep a night, although the ideal amount varies from person to person.“Everyone is a little bit different; you have to get the amount of sleep that works for you,” D’Am...