If you have heard me speak or read anything I have written on health, you will likely see a common theme. There are no “miracle cures” or “easy fixes” in health and that includes brain health. Prevention or preservation of health is always the path of least resistance, and it is never too late to start.
The most modern research shows that exercise, sleep, a colorful whole food and plant filled diet, a safe and loving community, gratitude practices and being challenged consistently are the most powerful remedies for preserving and improving our brains. It is important to always remember that our bodies and especially our brains are very complex and there is no singular thing that will reverse a lifetime of life lived before prioritizing our brain’s or body’s health. The good news is that the many things we can do will not only help our brains. Each of the habits you can adopt to help memory and cognition will also help your heart, mood, inflammation in other parts of your body, your gut health and much more.
So, where to start?
- Exercise is right at the top of the list of things we can do to help keep our brains healthy. According to a study published on the National Library of Medicine exercise is a “strong gene modulator that induces structural and functional changes in the brain, determining enormous benefit on both cognitive functioning and wellbeing. PE is also a protective factor for neurodegeneration.”
If you have physical limitations or have not exercised fora long time start small with the idea of progression. Walking is a great start. Try to walk fast enough or at an incline to help increase your heart rate and breathing. If you can do it early in the morning and outside you will receive the most benefits but starting with 20 minutes whatever time of day you can, with a focus on feeling challenged, that works too
The increased circulation and oxygen will make its way to your brain. Once your routinefeels less challenging with a 20 min daily walk try for 2 a day and then work your way up to more creative exercises. According to research pickleball is the most powerful brain exercise as it challenges each of your senses creating neuroplasticity.
That’s just a big word to say growing new brain bits. Great news! Neuroplasticity is now known to be able to be achieved at any age. So, you can start today.
- Quality sleep is one of the most important things we do that affects our health both for better or worse. When it comes to our brains, “Research has now shown a correlation between sleep disturbances and numerous neurological diseases.
These include stroke, cognitive aging, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and others.” Ideally, we should try to get in line with our circadian rhythm, that is to sync your waking and sleeping with daylight. Getting early morning light exposure (refer to the early comment on walking) to set your internal clock and try to have consistent bedtimes.
Our bodies have an amazing way of converting sunlight into vitamin D (kind of like plants and photosynthesis) but often in this modern age it struggles to differentiate sunlight from other sources of light, especially from screens.
Sleep researchers suggest sleeping in total darkness and in a cooler temperature. It is wise to limit bright light and screen time before bed. The term that has been coined to help us understand how to improve sleep is “sleep hygiene”. Getting a good sleep hygiene routine down can be life changing and truly improve all risk factors including brain health.
- Anti-inflammatory foods go a long way in our brains too. There are limitless options especially for those of us who have access to fresh tropical produce like we have here in Costa Rica. Most anti-inflammatory foods will be colorful, low glycemic, whole foods (meaning non-starchy and as close to its original form as possible).
Brain health requires a range of healthy fats, antioxidants, anthocyanins, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Fatty fish like line caught salmon, sardines and trout (it turns out the farm raised is less helpful) for omega-3 fatty acids. Seeds and nuts for Vitamin E and omega- 3’s and the rainbow of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices for antioxidants and a wide range of phytonutrients.
Of course it’s critically important to care for our gut, often called oursecond brain, as it is where several of our hormones are produced. Hormones like serotonin, GLP1 and neurocrine hormones, among many others, come from a healthy gut.
The fiber in the rainbow of fruits and vegetables previously mentioned acts as a prebiotic (home sweet home) for the microbiome that is critical for synthesizing or converting certain nutrients into a form our bodies can use (a term called bioavailability).
The family of Vitamin Bs like B1, B6 and B12 are hugely important in keeping our entire nervous system, including the brain operating at its best.
Our bodies have a symbiotic relationship with special gut bacteria that convert these and other vitamins and nutrients into usable forms. So, eat your eggs for the B’s and the veggies for the prebiotics aka fiber to get the full effects. We can also include green tea for (gaba) one of our resiliency hormones and adaptogen herbal teas to help with stress management another critical brain health habit.
Of course, there are many more factors including stress, loneliness, toxic exposures (including alcohol, smoking, mold and heavy metals) that can affect our brains and our overall health and well-being. These 3 categories are a great place to start and to return back to whenever you have found yourself needing a guide to get back to the basics or foundational best practices. Most importantly, I believe, find ways to have fun with these and each will be exponentially more productive for you and your health.
