Why Young Adults Need To Start Focusing On Brain Health

Over the years, people have started to pay extra attention to mental health issues and make them a priority. In earlier days, people used to term mental health issues as signs of going crazy, but it can occur for many reasons. It is essential to pay attention to young adults as various mental problems start to grow from that age.

Even before we come out of the womb, our brain starts to work and keeps working till the day we die. Most of our brains get developed starting from adolescence and continues till the early 20s. As adults, when we reach the age of 18, we do not have a fully functioning brain yet.

Brain health plays a massive role in our lives as it depicts how we will live and act. With age, we need to keep our brain active and reduce risk factors. If the family has a history of high blood pressure and diabetes, it can impact brain health.

Moreover, these diseases can also lead to Alzheimer's Disease and dementia in the future with age. People can find many dementia care facilities for seniors to treat this disease during old age.

Does Brain Health Make a Difference?

Our daily habit has a significant impact on our mental and physical health as we grow older. Stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer's can deteriorate brain health and the physical health of a person.

According to research, doctors have stated people can improve their brain health by making specific positive changes in their lifestyle. This will ensure disease like dementia stay away.

Try to stay socially active, maintain a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and cut back on cigarettes and alcohol can ensure a healthy mental and physical state in humans. But we also notice cases where people get Alzheimer's despite having a clean lifestyle. But having a proper lifestyle will help people reduce the risk of dementia, along with diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

The Most Frequent Mental Health Problems in Young Adults

Young adults between the ages of 16 to 24 years often face specific mental health issues such as depression, eating disorder, substance misuse, etc. In this article, we will discuss some of them.

1. Depression and Suicidal Behavior

Among young adults, depression and suicide is the main reason of death. In a mental ward, young people often cause self-inflicting harm. Often, we overlook the importance of mental health, and one should pay extra attention, especially in young adults. Medical professionals need to train themselves to deal with young adults who self-harm themselves and how to treat them.

2. Eating Disorder

When we talk about eating disorders, we frequently think about anorexia and bulimia. Over the years, young adults have developed this issue, and it drastically affects their bodies. Anorexia is a disease where one starves them. The individual becomes very thin, leading to other problems such as infertility, chemical changes in the brain, brittle bones, extreme fatigue, and exhaustion. However, in today's time, people often starve themselves to achieve an inaccurate body image.

On the other hand, people with bulimia tend to eat a lot of food at once. And then opts for self-induced vomiting and taking a laxative to reduce weight gain. Consequently, this can cause a gastrointestinal problem, damage to tooth enamel, vocal cord damage, among others. With the present world obsessing over getting the perfect body, young adults often develop this issue, requiring treatment.

3. Substance Misuse

According to research, 40% of young adults have used illicit drugs once in their life. Among all the drugs, cannabis is the most commonly used drug. They have also opted for prescription drugs, steroids, heroin, cocaine, etc.

Furthermore, most young people choose alcohol and cannabis to escape mental issues that can occur due to family or other abuse. They require proper inpatient rehab to treat the addiction, as well as psychological treatment to get rid of substance abuse. Drugs can have a huge negative impact on the developing brains of young adults.

How to Help Young Adults?

It is important for young adults to get treatment for their mental health issues, preventing further damage in the future. People should open up about mental health issues and talk to young people regarding that and help them if required. Moreover, therapy and counseling can help young adults deal with various mental health issues and find a solution to the problem.

Conclusion

Parents or guardians should talk to their children and try to assess whether they have any problem. Besides, it is essential to pay attention to brain health as much as we do for physical health. If not treated in time, it can cause problems in old age. Then they can seek treatment from memory care homes that deal with these problems.