#15: The Five Pillars of a Healthy Brain.

Why and how you must take care of your brain. Today!

Author

Kris Ograbek
January 05, 2023

Hi,

I'm happy you want to invest in your brain. That's a smart choice. As always, I've got 4 Brain Nutrients for you:

  • One Article: Five Pillars of a Healthy Brain

  • Two Quotes.

  • One Neuroscience Fact: Caffeine for Alertness.

Enjoy!

One Article: Five Pillars of a Healthy Brain

I've been reading Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta, and it's scared the shit out of me. If someone close to you has dementia, you know how painful it is to the family. Reading Keep Sharp was eye-opening, and I must spread it.

Data is brutal. Half of the 85-year-olds have Alzheimer's disease. Our life expectancy raises, and many of us will live to the 80s.

It means you will likely have Alzheimer's disease. The odds have never been higher, especially in The Western world.

It gets even scarier when you realize there's no cure. But I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to help.

Prevention is the most effective remedy for cognitive decline and dementia-like diseases. Your lifestyle matters. Following advice from this article will slow down or even stop cognitive decline. It's up to you!

Sadly, the lifestyle of an average citizen destroys the brain's health and speeds up neurodegeneration.

Let me give you the five areas of your life you must take care of. Today!

1. Exercise

Regular exercise is the most essential activity for your brain's health. Yes, the brain's health. Exercising has many benefits, but let's focus on your brain.

What happens when you're inactive?

  • your blood sugar is unstable. Sugar works as fuel for your muscles. But if you never move, the sugar stays in your bloodstream. Glucose and insulin levels jump.

  • it negatively affects leptin, the hormone that makes you stop eating. The less you move, the more you eat.

  • your blood pressure increases.

  • your cholesterol increases.

They all speed up the development of dementia.

Takeaways:

  • Add exercising to your daily routine. Start with 10 minutes every day. Aim for 30-60 minutes every day.

  • Vary between aerobic (cardio) exercise with strength training.

2. Sleep

Sleep is vital for your brain. It controls brain regeneration and neural activity. If you're not sleeping 7+ hours every night, you're sleep deprived.

The drawbacks of sleep deprivation:

  • increased risk for heart attack or stroke.

  • increased likelihood of diabetes. Alzheimer's disease is sometimes called Diabetes Stage 3.

  • worse memory. During sleep, we transfer information to long-term memory.

  • you're operating on a "dirty brain". Throughout the day, your brain accumulates toxins coming from metabolism. Cleaning occurs during sleep. Without decent sleep, your information processing slows down, i.e., you are less smart.

  • problems with concentration. To be alert and focused, we need a neurotransmitter called epinephrine. Without a good night's sleep, we produce less of it.

  • increased stress.

  • issues with metabolism.

Tips on improving sleep

  1. Stay on schedule. Go to bed and wake up roughly at the same time each day.

  2. Keep your room dark when you sleep.

  3. Avoid blue light before bed. No phones or other devices in your bedroom.

  4. Get your diet right. Few rules:- no caffeine at least 8 hours before sleep,- no big meals before going to bed,- avoid drinking alcohol.

3. Nutrition

Your brain consumes a lot of energy. It burns 20% of what you eat. So your diet impacts your thinking. What you eat is crucial for brain health.

Sadly, an average diet is full of calorie-dense and nutrition-scarce products. It should be the opposite.

Your brain is mainly fat. So, a low-fat diet hurts your brain. However, we eat the wrong fats.

A healthy Omega-6 to Omega-3 consumption ratio should be 1:1. But most people consume 50:1 or even 100:1!! It means we eat too much red meat and too little fish, nuts, or avocados.

What to eat?

Choose healthy foods rich in three components:

1. Omega-3 fatty acids. They are crucial for neuron maintenance. Examples:

  • fish (especially cold water) - salmon, cod, sardines, mackerel,

  • nuts and seeds - walnuts, chia seeds,

  • olive oil,

  • eggs

2. Antioxidants. They slow down brain aging and have anti-inflammatory properties. Examples:

  • dark chocolate,

  • berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries),

  • leafy greens (kale, spinach),

  • beans.

3. Fiber. It slows down the absorption of carbs. Examples:

  • beans,

  • broccoli,

  • avocados,

  • whole grains.

    What not to eat?

    Your brain loves foods that contain a lot of salt, sugar, or saturated fat because they are calorie-dense. Having a calorie-dense meal was crucial for the survival of hunter-gatherers. Food was scarce, so the brain released a lot of dopamine after eating such foods.

    But we live in abundance. What was crucial for survival has become the main reason for overeating. Our evolution stays behind the current rate of obesity.

    Avoid products rich in salt, sugar, or saturated fats. Where do you find them?

    • soda,

    • chips,

    • snacks,

    • fast-foods,

    • processed food.

    4. New Learning and Discovery

    When you stop learning, your brain activity is low. Unused areas of your brain slowly die. For most people, cognitive decline accelerates after retirement. Lack of stimulating activities is terrible for your brain's health.

    How to SAVE your brain through learning? Remember the SAVE acronym.

    • Slightly Challenging. Get out of your comfort zone. Find tasks slightly above your current abilities. Solve problems. Spend time finding the solution.

    • Absorbing. If you're not engaged or interested, you won't like it. Learn things you genuinely enjoy.

    • Varied. Find various interests. There are 8 types of intelligence Ensure you stimulate many different areas of your brain. Learn a language, sing, draw, dance, play chess, or hike. Discover new passions.

    • Enlarge Your Knowledge. Learn things you know nothing about. Become an amateur over and over again.

    5. Social Connections

    Our species evolved in tribes. Social connections were a matter of survival. Living in isolation equaled death.

    But today, most people earn enough to provide for themselves. Sadly, it's led to the highest social isolation ever. The Covid pandemic only worsened the situation.

    More importantly, social platforms are not a good substitute for real-life experiences. There's a lot of communication, but the connection is missing.

    As it turns out, relationships impact your brain health. Lack of social connections attributes with:

    • high level of stress,

    • worsened sleep quality,

    • higher levels of inflammation.

    You need at least one deep relationship in your life. Whether it's a spouse, a friend, or a parent. You need someone to talk to about your fears, goals, excitements, and emotions.

    Summary

    Take care of the Five Pillars of a Healthy Brain:· Sleep· Exercise· Nutrition· Relationships· New LearningThey will immediately improve the quality of your life. And your future self will thank you!

    Two Quotes

    • "The most important skill for getting rich is becoming a perpetual learner. You have to know how to learn anything you want to learn." Naval Ravikant, The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant

    • "When you depend on others, you give yourself an excuse for failure." Gary C. Halbert, The Boron Letters

    One Neuroscience Fact: Caffeine for alertness.

    Caffeine increases adrenaline and epinephrine. (BTW, they are chemically identical). They increase your wakefulness. Since focus is crucial for learning, it's good to consume caffeine before your deep focus sessions.

    Thanks for reading. See you next week.

    Keep your brain in mind.

    Kris

    This newsletter will always be FREE. However, you support me by buying books from the links you found here. Also, you can buy me orange juice.