How to care for your brain

Eh, I love my brains! Every day I take care of them as the most important. In this article, my experience in maintaining brain health is intertwined with the latest scientific research. Under the cut is a story about how to make the brain work efficiently and keep a clear mind (tomorrow and in 30 years), be ready to make decisions, concentrate on tasks and at the same time not grow old.







Brains are a unique substance and a powerful operational center for controlling the processes of our body. Often we pay attention only to the work of the cognitive function of the brain (processes associated with mental activity: memory, perception, processing and analysis of information, decision-making).



In doing so, we expect a lot from the brain and want it to cope with cognitive tasks without much effort on our part. But that won't work. If our cognitive abilities decline, more often than not, the reasons lie on the surface - insufficient attention to the areas of life that lie in our zone of control. For example, sleep, nutrition, physical activity.

Why am I writing about this?

July 22 is World Brain Day. On this day, I want to remind you that the brain needs our care, and tell how this can be done.

For me, sleep has always been something very pleasant. Even for the sake of student revelry, I could only occasionally sacrifice it. In my family, great attention was paid to food intake, a variety of dishes, and cuisines of different countries. My parents enrolled me in various sports sections (from sailing to gymnastics). As a result, I take sports, mindful eating, and regular sleep for granted.



When the topic of healthy lifestyle began to gain popularity, I became interested in how exactly these areas affect the brain and quality of life. I began to seriously delve into these topics from a scientific point of view, in order to reinforce the habits that had developed since childhood with objective data and to answer the question: "Can I do something else?"

Live example

My grandfather suffered a heart attack at the age of 45 (grandfather smoked cigarettes, drank strong drinks, was full). The attending physician wrote out experimental recommendations for the regimen: daily physical activity (exercise, running), balanced fractional meals 5 times a day, stable sleep with a clear regimen, contrast showers in the morning and in the evening. 45 years have passed since then. The result is this: at 90 years old, the grandfather remains active and maintains a clear mind.

How to maintain brain health

Speaking about the activities available to everyone and everyone to maintain the health of the brain and the body as a whole, I distinguish three main and one additional areas of attention:

1. Regular sleep.
2. A balanced, varied diet.
3. Regular physical activity.
4. Mindfulness, meditation, relaxation.

Disclaimer: I see the brain and body as a whole, without separating one from the other. I do not share the approach of eating or exercising separately for the brain and separately for the body. The body is a single system that works harmoniously and interconnected. I believe it is impossible to maintain brain health apart from the body and vice versa.

Well, let's go, now I'll tell you more about each area.

Sleep

Hundreds of scientific articles have been written about how important sleep is for humans and for the brain, thousands of studies have been carried out, but the topic has not yet been exhausted. Many people tend to sacrifice sleep on a regular basis in the hope of compensating for it later, but it is impossible to get enough sleep in the future. These same people do not associate deterioration in concentration and well-being with actual lack of sleep.

Why is sleep good?

The brain never sleeps, unlike us. In a dream, he works on fixing and analyzing the events that happened during the day and preparing for a new day. Even in a dream, the brain works on many processes that are necessary for its long-term health:

• Growth hormone production. This hormone has an anabolic effect, which stimulates the formation and renewal of cells, muscles and tissues, helps to reduce the deposition of subcutaneous fat and its burning, is involved in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism by balancing the levels of glucose and insulin.
• Transferring memory from temporary storage to permanent storage. The learning and memorization process takes place at this very moment.
• Cleansing brain tissue with cerebrospinal fluid , flushing out neurotoxins and protein debris.
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The constant practice of sleep deprivation takes away (or greatly reduces) the ability of the brain to work on all of the above processes on a daily basis.



Lack of sleep affects attention and concentration, the ability to think logically and calculate, irritation, fatigue, confusion, disorientation appear, the ability to digest food is reduced by a third .



Sleep deprivation also affects blood glucose and hormone levels, and motor activity can be intermittent (ranging from tremors in the arms to inability to walk on a treadmill).



These same symptoms characterize Alzheimer's disease (the most common form of dementia), in which the cognitive ability of the brain is impaired, mainly in the elderly.

Imagine sleep deprivation causes dementia symptoms in healthy people!

It is scary to imagine what happens to the brain and body in the long term in the event of systemic sleep deprivation.





Visualizing the symptoms of lack of sleep

How much sleep do you need?

According to current research and guidelines, an adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep. And in this article you can see the recommendations for sleep times for different ages.

Sleep hygiene and recommendations

It is useful for the brain to live in a mode. When he tunes in to a certain time of sleep and wakefulness, within the established circadian rhythm ( cyclical fluctuations in the intensity of various biological processes associated with the change of day and night ), he prepares for sleep, sleeps, wakes up and distributes energy much more efficiently during the day. The quality of life and cognitive abilities of the brain largely depend on this.



Many years of experience in observing the regime and sleep hygiene allows me to share with you the following recommendations:

• More light during the day. The more light we get during daylight hours, the better the quality of sleep. The amount of daylight affects the efficiency of melatonin production in the evening (a hormone that regulates circadian rhythm).
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For me, regular sleep gives me a lot of useful information about myself. For example, I know exactly when during the day I concentrate best, when is the best time to train, and when to give my head a rest. This allows me to plan the day more clearly and be more efficient. If I suddenly had to break the regime, I immediately understand that it is better to abandon / postpone some plans.

What else to read about sleep?



How to set up healthy sleep: a detailed guide.

Why do we sleep and how to sleep properly?

Why do we wake up in the middle of the night at the same time?

Book by Matthew Walker "Why We Sleep".

Sean Stevenson's book Healthy Sleep. 21 Steps Towards Wellness . "

Nutrition

The brain has a monstrous appetite. About 20% of the energy consumed by the whole body is used by the brain. In order to get all the energy it needs to work, the brain needs all the nutrients and vitamins. His health directly depends on how and what we eat.



The study of different approaches to nutrition, my own experience and experiments led me to the following beliefs:

• A balanced diet is the key to mental clarity. The balance of all the elements (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) is necessary for the normal distribution and use of energy by the brain and body.
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When it comes to how food or eating behavior affects the ability to concentrate, then there are several considerations:

• Hunger / overeating are effective remedies for defocusing the brain. When we are hungry, the brain begins to concentrate on finding food. When we overeat, blood actively rushes to the digestive organs, shifting the focus of attention to the digestion of food. Therefore, after a hearty lunch, you really want to relax, and not actively concentrate on work. Moderate hunger and satiety can preserve the brain's ability to concentrate, it is important to be able to feel these states and not to push them to extremes.
• Coffee is a good concentration stimulant. I prefer to drink pure coffee without milk in moderation if the goal is to concentrate. Cow's milk or cream takes some of the attention to lactose digestion, and large amounts of coffee increase anxiety and anxiety.

Consciously working on your eating habits is a good investment in body and mind health. Developing sensitivity and awareness in relation to your nutritional needs and preferences helps you find a balance in this direction. The body and brain often tell themselves what exactly they lack for a better job, the main thing is to learn to read it and distinguish real hunger from an impulsive desire to eat something in order to seize stress, lack of sleep or procrastination.

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Lisa Mosconi «Brain Food: How to Eat Smart and Sharpen Your Mind».

Michael Pollan «In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto» + .

All my conscious life I have been doing sports, for me it is a habit that is difficult to give up. It takes me about 100 minutes a day for physical activity: an obligatory 30-60 minute walk in the morning with an active step and exercise therapy 2 times a day for articulating the spine + strength training for 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week.



As soon as I stop exercising regularly, I notice changes in the ability of the brain to concentrate, as well as in general well-being - laziness, fatigue, rapid fatigue appear, the body begins to whine, and the brain asks to satisfy this whining with something “tasty”.

The connection of regular activity to the brain

Regular physical activity improves cognitive processes and affects the improvement of long-term memory, learning ability, logic, ability to solve problems and quickly navigate unfamiliar situations, and can also serve as prevention of neurodegenerative brain disorders .



The basis for these conclusions is the results of brain studies:

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• Physical activity directly affects the molecular mechanisms of the brain: it stimulates the formation of neurons, increases their resistance to damage and stress. This, in turn, may prevent age-related brain shrinkage. A strong link between physical activity and the health of the central nervous system, including the brain, is indicated by the results of clinical studies , which showed that six months of regular aerobic exercise led to an increase in brain volume in older people compared with the control group.

Having regular activity in life has a positive effect on the brain for two global reasons - activity can help slow brain aging and improve mental health and memory.

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A study of the cognitive effects of physical activity in adolescents shows a significant increase in brain activity after a 20-minute walk (lower right) versus a 20-minute sitting position (upper right)



You don't have to buy a gym membership to bring more movement into own life. You can simply work on your habits to increase your extra-workout activity and movement throughout the day: prefer stairs to lifts, walk, stay in one place for more than 30 minutes, warm up to let blood fill your tissues, muscles and brain. The main thing in this matter is to form a habit of physical activity.

What else to read about physical activity?



Brain Rules: Exercise.

Burn Yourself! By John Wraith and Eric Hagerman.

Book by John Medina "The Rules of the Brain".

Daniel J. Levitin's Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.

Mindfulness

Earlier in the text, I wrote about a conscious approach to physical activity / nutrition and in general I mentioned this as an important conceptual component of any process. Mindfulness is becoming an important area of ​​development for a person, and there are many ways to develop it. The most popular method is meditation. The proven effects of meditation include:

• Reducing anxiety and near-depressive states.
• Decrease in the main indicators of chronic stress (including high blood pressure).
• Increased thickness of the cortex in areas of the brain associated with attention, memory, and emotion management.

The rest of the effects of meditation can be studied here .

Mindfulness ≠ meditation

There are other ways to develop mindfulness in life besides meditation. For myself, I single out one way that applies to many areas - focused execution of daily tasks:

• Mindful eating inspired by the "raisin meditation" technique. When you have the time and desire, you can pay special attention to the taste, temperature, shape and texture of food;
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• Conscious relaxation. Alas, in our time the concept of "doing nothing" is not strongly encouraged - at work you have to work, outside work to develop. This is a very crude dichotomy imposed by the capitalist society, which leads to the fact that a person is disaccustomed to rest. Sometimes you need to let your brain not focus on something in particular and freely hover in your thoughts, combining this with bodily relaxation. Incidentally, Defocused Brain Mode stimulates creative thinking and decision making .

It is important to understand that the goal of mindfulness is not to constantly focus on the positive and reduce stress, but to focus on the moment, understand your physical needs and accept emotional problems.

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Andy Puddicombe «The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day».

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To keep your brain and body healthy, you need to remember to sleep regularly, eat a balanced diet, and exercise regularly. And additionally train and relax the brain, improving cognitive ability through increased awareness.



I would like to say a few words about the balance. When bringing any habits into life, it is important to maintain sanity, abandon categoricalness and develop the main areas of attention evenly relative to each other. An organism is a collection of different systems that work interconnected and interdependent on each other.



I will add that we can really control all these things. They require adequate time, and we can always find time for them without becoming fanatics or sacrificing other areas of our life that are important to us.

What else to read about the brain?



Book by Michael Gazzaniga Who is in charge? Free will from the point of view of neurobiology. "

Think Slow, Decide Fast by Daniel Kahneman.

Dave Asprey's book "Brain Biohacking".

Irina Yakutenko's book “Will and Self-Control. How genes and the brain prevent us from fighting temptations.

Shane O'Mara's In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration.

If you have questions or desire to discuss this and other topics - write in the comments or find me here .