Brain damaging habit 5 of 10: Working your brain during illness

Despite being ill, we are still required to carry on with the pressures of life. This however may not be too good for our brains. The body being one complex system is interconnected. Disease in one part of the body affects all other systems.
Fluid intelligence is composed of short-term memory, abstract thinking, creativity, and problem solving. Crystallized intelligence on the other hand is composed of all learning accumulated over the life span in education, work, and cultural experiences. Fluid intelligence is often affected by aging, disease, or injury, while crystallized intelligence tends to increase through the 60s and 70s, and may not begin to decline until the 80s. Working the brain whilst sick hastens the aging-related decline in memory and thinking skills associated with fluid intelligence.

Give your brain a break when you’re sick. Overworking it during an illness will only decrease its effectiveness sooner than it should happen.

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