My Brain Health Dilemma
Over the past nine years, I have totally immersed myself in the study of the brain. I have worked with the difficult behaviors of dementia, as well as worked with the caregivers who are trying to keep their heads above water. Dementia is so distressing for everyone involved. So I started looking at the brain. My years in healthcare taught me that you don’t treat the symptoms – you have to go to the cause. The beginning of this journey was very trying. There were no options available to treat the cause of dementia. In essence, there are no viable medical solutions available even today. But I dug deep to find something to hang my hopes on.
My persistence paid off. The emerging neuroscience findings, demonstrated through research, showed our brain has the ability to change itself. The concept of neuroplasticity caused a paradigm shift. We have the ability to change our brains!
I thought that everyone else would be as excited as I was at this discovery. WRONG! Instead of excitement I was met with comments like “It’s too late for me” or “That is for old people – I’m too young to be concerned”. Even in the corporate world, despite flailing wellness programs, I found difficulty in making the connection between healthy brains and a more productive, engaged workforce. I was filled with questions as to why people were not that interested in the miracle of the brain! Was it that we can’t see our brains and it does so much on a subconscious level that we just don’t recognize the losses we sustain every day? Let’s take a look at the losses sustained though our age progression:
Late 20s – Early 30s
Reasoning, spatial skills and speed of thought begin to decline around these ages. As you age your brain goes through changes that can slow down your thinking. The brain loses volume, the cortex becomes thinner, the myelin sheath surrounding the fibers begin to degrade, and your brain receptors don’t fire as quickly.
Mid 30s
Memory begins to slip as the number of neurons in the brain decreases. It may take longer to learn new things or memorize words or names.
Mid 40s – Late 50s
Reasoning skills slow down (36% over 10 years) as demonstrated through a study reported by the British Medical Journal. During this age, a fading sharpness in memory is experienced, as well as, the ability to say words quickly in a specific category.
60s
The brain has begun to shrink in size and after a lifetime of gaining accumulated knowledge, it becomes less efficient at accessing the knowledge and adding to it.
70s and 80s
The risk of Alzheimer’s disease increases with age with 50% of older people over the age of 85 developing this dreaded disease. There is a possible link to inflammation, a natural part of aging, which can lead to deposits in the hippocampus (responsible for the integration of new memories). These deposits can also interfere with long-term memory.
(Reyes,M. Dec. 12, 2013)
These are normal aging changes that happen to everyone. Pay particular attention to the early age that these changes start! These changes can happen at different ages in adapting to our lifestyle and environment. We can accelerate these declines by living a stressful, unhealthy life. If we have experienced unhealthy environments we accelerate these changes; our brain ages faster than normal. However, the opposite is also true. If we take care of ourselves and the way we conduct our lives, we can delay aging changes. We are building brain resilience that protects us from the effects of aging decline and neurodegenerative disease.
As you can see, wellness is not from the neck down. Everything starts and ultimately stops with the brain. This is universal – it happens to everyone no matter what age you happen to be. Living a brain healthy lifestyle takes dedication and perseverance because we are in the process of changing our brain. This is no small feat but it gives us control over what happens to our brain – not outside forces. There are those who say that dementia just runs in their family, that they are controlled by genetics. There are some people that have a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. But for the majority of us genetics only plays a 30% risk of developing the disease. Our environment and lifestyle account for a 70% risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
So let’s take a look at the brain healthy lifestyle. This particular model originates with Dr. Paul Nussbaum. Other models are similar which builds more credence to this lifestyle.
Physical Activity: Incorporating an aerobic walking program into your life will grow new brain cells in the hippocampus (center of learning and memory).
Mental Stimulation: The brain is very good at pruning neural pathways that are not used. So you have to use the new cells you grew from walking in order to keep them. The brain loves to be challenged. In the workplace, you face novel and complex challenges to keep your brain stimulated. Travel, board games, reading and even electronic brain games can keep you mentally sharp.
Nutrition: The brain is 60% fat – the fattiest organ in the body. But the fat it needs comes in the form of Omega-3 fatty acids. They line the neural pathways, improving communication function, and provide cell integrity – protecting the neurons from free radical damage. The Mediterranean diet fulfills the requirements for brain health – lots of fruits and vegetables, fish, olive oil, and some red wine.
Socialization: The brain needs other people. Conversation, debate, camaraderie all give the brain the love it needs. Isolation breeds depression.
Spirituality: Stress is a major force in our lives. Stress and our brains do not get along. The catastrophic effects of stress can age our brains at a faster rate resulting in decreased brain volume due to cell loss. So you really need to find an appropriate way to calm your brain. Meditation, prayer, tai chi, yoga, Qi Gong, and progressive relaxation techniques are some of the options for centering yourself and getting balance back into your life.
It is never too early or ever too late to start living a brain healthy lifestyle. The benefits of feeling good are evident in being more motivated, engaged and productive in all areas of your life. I want this to be common knowledge – we are responsible for our brains. The capacity of our brains to change pays off big time. Everyone can and should believe that your brain is worth the effort.
Nussbaum,P.D. (2013) Save your brain: 5 things you must do to keep your mind young and sharp. McGraw Hill. New York, New York.
Reyes, M. (Dec. 2, 2013). How the brain changes with age. Retrieved June 3, 2015 from canyonranch.com.