ReBootYourLifeToday

Free Ways to Defeat Your Fuzzy, Forgetful Brain

 Are you taking any supplements to keep your brain sharp?  That’s good, but  new research has an even easier, cheaper and more effective way to keep our brains in top form:  exercise. 

 Harvard Psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD has written a book called, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.  In his book Dr. Ratey says  “There are new ways to defend ourselves against neurologic decline.  For example, exercise increases levels of a substance called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which has been called Miracle-Gro for the brain because it helps nerve cells transmit information better.  In fact, low levels of BDNF are associated with memory loss and depression.  So increasing BDNF through exercise, functions as a means of natural memory support and an antidepressant in a more permanent way than drugs, or even the surge of endorphins, which exercise also causes. ” (Endorphins are the brain’s feel-good chemical which keeps us in an even and upbeat emotional state.)

 “Every day I have patients who come to ask me for supplements to prevent or treat memory loss, depression or “brain fog”.  There are good supplements, but there is one prescription that is more proven, consistently helpful and accessible than any pill, prescription or over the counter supplement.  It’s called exercise.”  This according to Myles Spar, MD, Medical Director of the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine.  http://www.akashacenter.com/

 Not only does exercise increase BDNF, it also impacts the density of brain gray matter.  Gray matter makes up the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that allows us to process information.  Research shows that the more dense the gray matter in the brain, the higher functioning the brain is.  So keeping the brain’s gray matter in abundance is essential to keeping your marbles all the days of your life.

 Bottom line: Exercise is like a great, free insurance policy to prevent brain decline.  Of course you’ve heard of all the other terrific health benefits of exercise on your overall health and ability to keep yourself in shape to enjoy all the days of your life.

In order to get maximum results aerobic exercise is best for brain functioning.  Aerobic exercise is called aerobic because your body calls for more oxygen and your heart rate goes up.  So any exercise that accomplishes these two things is aerobic.  You don’t have to go running on the street or get on a treadmill.  You don’t have to do anything that is bone jarring either, in fact the less impact on our joints, the better.  Here’s the Mayo Clinic’s heart rate calculator:  

Subtract your age from 220. This is a rough calculation of your maximum heart rate.  Determine the lower end of your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.7.Determine the upper end of your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.85.

Check out the Mayo Clinic site for tons of good information: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-intensity/SM00113/NSECTIONGROUP=2

 Ok, are you all excited to start a new exercise program?  I know we have a lot of excuses:  No time.  Too much trouble.   Hate the smell of the gym.  I’ve heard all of those.  Well, I’m a lousy athlete, would much rather sit and read a book than exercise.  But I also don’t want to lose my brain function and I want to be healthy, so I came up with a program that works for me.  Maybe all or parts of what I’ve done will work for you: 

 I live in a 2 story house so to get some aerobic exercise I walk the stairs 10 times 3 times a week.  That really gets my heart rate going!

 I walk 10,000 steps with 1 pound weights on my ankles 5 days a week .  (I got the weights and pedometer at the sporting goods store - pedometer $15.00, weights $10 ea.)  Walking 10,000 steps translates into 5 miles a day.  It sounds like a lot and it is, but that counts every step I take from the time I get up till I go to bed. Just ordinary walking on flat ground is excellent exercise, but it does not get my heart rate up high enough to qualify as aerobic exercise, so I walk up hills in the neighborhood for 30 minutes a day as part of my 10,000 steps.

 I will admit that walking takes some effort.  Here are a few tricks. 

•  I park as far away from where I’m going as possible and walk the rest of the way.
•  When I’m in a store I get what I came for and then I walk the perimeter of the store, if I have time, I walk it twice. 
•  In the morning I go out and walk in the neighborhood for 15 minutes to give myself a good start. 
•  Since I talk on the phone a lot for my business, I walk in the house or in my back yard while talking.

Once you get the drill down it’s easy – no gym fees, no special clothes (except good walking shoes), no need for any organized groups.  And the results give a lot of bang for your time: I’ve lost 20 pounds, given my brain a good work out, strengthened my heart and toned my lower body.

 Even if it were a lot of trouble I’d do it anyway because the alternatives are so unattractive.

There’s Switches on My Genes???

I thought I got my flat feet from my father and my hypertension from my mother and that was that. Now the plot thickens.  Enter the Epigenome.  In 2003 the human genome was finally decoded and we had a blueprint of the genes (DNA) to make a human being. Now the scientists have found there’s another piece to the blueprint and that piece can move.   The scientists have discovered that our genes have “switches.”  These switches actually turn genes on or leave them off.  It’s this newly discovered part of our genome that is called the Eipgenome.

“So what”, you say.  There’s a lot of “so what” here.  Apparently these switches can mean the difference between getting cancer or a ton of other diseases, or staying healthy.  In other words, we all carry bad/rouge genes for disease or unusual physical or emotional conditions.  If the switch on a bad gene is flipped, we get the disease.  If the switch stays in the off position, we stay healthy.

Now the question is: What makes a switch flip? To me this is the most interesting part.  Apparently our experiences growing up and how we handle the stress and challenges of our lives as adults is the answer.

In the PBS NOVA program entitled Ghosts in Our Genes (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3411/02.html)it showed that scientists worked on mice to see if a difference in mothering skills had an effect on the baby rat’s development and their future lives.  The baby mice that were attended to gently and carefully by their mothers grew up to be better able to cope with stress, more sociable and most importantly, healthier throughout their life time.

Another angle was shown in studies of identical twins who, of course, are born with identical genomes.  But studies of older twins show their identical genome changes dramatically over time.  A study was done with 66 year old identical twins.  When their genome was studied it was found their DNA no longer looked at all like that of identical twins.  One twin had in fact developed a rare form of cancer while the other had remained healthy.  The sick twin had experienced a difficult life with several marriages and many financial problems.  The other twin had a far more stable life with a solid marriage and several grown children.

Now we have scientific proof that how we live our lives has a great impact on our genes. Who knew?   Now we can clearly see that our experiences, like traumas as a child, or many hard knocks through life, can set us up for DNA changes that can flip some bad switches.

Interesting stuff.

Senior Moments – Ha – Fergetaboutit!

In seminal studies by scientists at the University of Illinois and the University of Virginia, it was found that a lot of what was believed about the aging brain is bunk!

Newsweek Magazine reported in their June 28, 2010 issue that many recent studies have shown that:

· “Much of what we know about the aging brain is influenced as much by the authors’ preconceptions and attitudes as by systematic evaluation of solid data.”

· Timothy Salthouse, PhD of the University of Virginia concluded 2 things in his latest research:

· “First, much of the data we have is based on psych lab experiments. In real life people rely on mental abilities that stand up very well to age and people discover work-arounds for the mental skills that do fade.”

· “Second, is that some mental abilities actually improve with age. One of those is something we call wisdom. Another is our ability to increase vocabulary.”

Insights like these are producing a dramatic rethinking of what happens to the mind and brain as we age. Some of the bad news findings are being questioned as scientists discover that the differences between today’s 20 year old brains and 80 year old brains reflect something other than simple age, and instead has to do with how people live their lives.

Americans spend $13 million a year on brain-fitness software, games and the like. These include memory games, cross word puzzles, and reaction time improvements techniques. These products do increase performance on the issue they train. But there is no evidence that the games improve brain function overall.

What does support mental acuity as we age is the same thing that is good for your heart, lungs, immune system and muscles:

Aerobic exercise such as brisk walking. At the University of Illinois Art Kramer, PhD found that 3 brisk 40 minute walks a week over six months improves memory and reasoning. It also spurs the birth of new brain neurons and increases the white matter which connects neurons in the areas responsible for high functioning brain activities. Of course, walking is free which gives us another reason to get off the couch.

It looks like we can forget about excusing our lack of brain acuity by saying we’re having a “senior moment” or some other cutesy way of saying, “I’m losing my marbles” and start taking a hard look at how we live our lives.

The studies seem to show there are three things that take a big toll on our brain’s ability to stay sharp. They are:

· Lack of exercise - Our bodies were meant to move. We need to engage in many activities that move our bodies. Joining a gym works for many people. But if gyms are not for you, there’s lots of everyday sorts of activities from walking to gardening, to playing tennis, swimming, dancing or anything else that keeps us off the sofa and on our feet.

· Alcohol – A glass or two of wine is OK, but if you drink more than that on a daily basis the alcohol tends to saturate the brain and do serious damage to the brain’s ability to remember important facts, focus, think logically, or problem solve. Alcohol is a depressant so it’s short term effects may be uplifting, but the long term effects promote depression and produce brain chemistry changes which are devastating to the brain’s ability to function.

· Lack of Purpose – People who have a strong reason to get out of bed every day keep their brain in top condition. That’s why a professor of micro biology who is 90 years old can stay on top of his rapidly changing field and give insightful, interesting lectures to his students. Feeling stuck in a going nowhere life leads to brain decline.

The bottom line seems to be: It’s not about getting older. It’s about how well we’ve learned to live a purposeful healthy, life giving life.