The average adult human brain weighs about three pounds, while the average brain of a person with Alzheimer’s disease weighs about half a pound less. So, for brains, size matters! A big, fat, fluffy brain is healthy, says exercise neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki. She even goes so far as to say that developing one is the pathway to a happy life. Unfortunately, many of us don’t pay much attention to our brain. All of us take it for granted at times, and some of us disregard it completely. Yet the human brain is the most complex structure known to humanity. Neuroscience still doesn’t understand all it does for us, but we do know there is no life without it, so it deserves our care and concern.
Just think about all the computations your brain must achieve to perform the simple act of meeting someone new, studying his or her face, and remembering them the next time you see them. Even those of us in the holistic health field tend to focus more on our muscles than we do our brains, yet our brain tells our muscles what to do! Thus, learning ways to keep your brain in tip-top shape is vitally important. Of course, the EESystem has been shown to improve brain functions like mood, memory, and focus, but we don’t live in an energy chamber. We spend many more hours living our lives apart from the EESystem, thus how we spend those hours matters just as much if not more.
Physical Activity
Since the pioneering research of Dr. Marian Diamond in the 1960s, we know that the brain can change shape in response to what we do. Even for people aged 65 and older, research shows that exercise activity has a direct protective effect on the brain that staves off dementia – a 30% risk reduction, in fact! And the more active you are over your lifetime, the bigger, fatter, and fluffier your brain will be. Every time you move your body, you release a whole cocktail of neurochemicals in your brain. Some of them like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and noradrenaline make you feel good. But other chemicals released during physical activity are growth factors stimulating new cell growth in certain areas of the brain that are attacked first in Alzheimer’s. While exercise won’t “cure” Alzheimer’s or other dementias if you have them, it will give you more cells and therefore more time before the effects of the disease manifest.
How much exercise is enough? We don’t have a definitive minimum, but research suggests that for low-fitness people 45 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (most research has been done with aerobic movement) two to three times a week will improve memory, mood, attention, and focus. For people that are already exercising and thus are more fit, determining the minimum is more challenging. What we do know is that every drop of sweat matters. That is, there doesn’t appear to be a ceiling where more exercise ceases to result in better brain health. At least if there is, scientists haven’t found it yet. (Of course, you can overdo anything, and exercise is no exception. Too much exercise can cause harm to other areas of the body, but most of us will never need to worry about that.)
Nutrition
In general, the nutritional guidelines that lead to holistic good health also support your big, fat, fluffy brain. What are those? Organic and non-GMO fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. If you eat meat, focus on wild-caught fatty fish or organic, grass-fed, free-range beef, poultry, or pork. Of all the popular “diets,” The Mediterranean Diet has the most research showing a positive effect on brain health. Avoid trans fats, processed sugar, and other processed junk foods.
So many nutrients support brain health in different ways, but science has identified a few specific nutrients as brain-boosting all-stars. Omega-3 fatty acids may stave off cognitive decline and dementia. In animal models, curcumin has been shown to prevent dementia and help heal traumatic brain injuries. Flavonoids, especially when combined with exercise, boosts cognitive ability. Find them in cocoa, green tea, the herb ginkgo biloba, citrus fruits, and dark chocolate. B vitamins (nuts, leafy greens, whole grains, meats – B12 is from animal sources or supplements exclusively), vitamin D (fatty fish, fortified products, whole grains, supplements, and the sun), and vitamin E (asparagus, avocado, seeds, olives) have all displayed the ability to preserve and even improve cognitive function.
Social Connections
Even across different personality types (e.g., introverts versus extroverts), real social connections are good for your brain (introverts just need fewer of them). And by “real” connections we mean person-to-person, not via social media. Powerful research has shown that the more people you interact with, the longer your life. And all connections matter, even the barista at your coffeeshop. It doesn’t have to be relationships that you’ve nurtured for years. Talking to someone on the subway, while waiting in the doctor’s office, riding on an airplane, shopping in the grocery store … every interaction counts. In 1938 Harvard University launched the longest known research study on happiness and health, and it’s still going! Outcomes so far have underscored the importance of genuine, high-quality social connections. The Harvard researchers say that the quantity of connections matters, but even more powerful is the quality of the relationships. For example, even if you only have one or two people in your life you can count on when times are tough, those relationships boost the length and the quality of your physical and mental health. On the flipside, loneliness causes stress that, over time, damages the health of your body and brain. So, the takeaway here is the importance of making time to invest in relationships.
Other factors also make a positive impact on brain health, such as mitigating stress through meditation or other mindfulness practices and being a lifelong learner. We don’t have any guarantees on our health journey yet incorporating these guidelines along with energy chamber visits lays a strong foundation for brain vitality.
Reference Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-tRub-0pQ
