Scientists are researching what you can do to boost your brain power and support your new brain cells to enable more to survive. What your new brain cells need is the same as what all the cells need, the right internal environment.

Here is what we know so far:

Physical Exercise, cheap, easy, effective:
– physical exercise boosts survival of new brain cells
– exercise increases supply of blood, oxygen, nutrients
– increases brain hormones
– also increases the specific brain-derived factor which encourages growth, communication and survival of neurons
– increases volume of grey matter for processing skills
– boosts memory
– also boosts mood
– improves verbal skills
– exercise with music is even better eg Vivaldi’s Four Seasons improved mood and verbal skills more than exercise without music
– physical exercise improves quality of sleep
– aids immune function
– mental exercise is as important as physical exercise

How much exercise do you need:
20 minutes of walking a day gives positive and measurable results in senior citizens so for the younger set I would expect a whole lot more can be achieved in the same time by younger bodies. Exercise is an essential anti-aging activity and brain booster.

I have also found rebounding, a gentle to super-active form of exercise popular in the past, improves lymphatic clearance of cellular waste products and brings results in a short time. Rebounding helps improve co-ordination, balance, concentration and the ability to learn in young children, adults and the elderly alike. Dyslexics benefitted further by saying the alphabet, reciting tables and other activities while rebounding.

Brain Food: what to eat:
– essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3, found in deep water fish, nuts and seeds. About two-thirds of your brain is composed of specialized fats. The membranes of neurons, the brain cells that communicate with each other, are composed of a thin double-layer of fatty acid molecules. Myelin, the protective sheath that covers communicating neurons is composed of 30% protein and 70% fat. Low essential fats, like omega-3s, are linked to Alzheimer, depression, schizophrenia.

– antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables protect new cells from damage, keep memory sharp and aid new learning, at any age. Can also reduce damage caused by strokes – add walnuts, blueberries, spinach.

How much to eat:
-by reducing calories by 25 to 50% in lab animals they lived longer and healthier, with improved brain function, better memory, better immune response, better coordination, resist brain deterioration associated with old age. Over eating puts a strain on the digestive function and many repercussions as a result.

Stimulants have a place:
– coffee is our most common stimulant, boosts brain arousal and alertness.
– exercise, fun, thrills, sex, success, acclaim, winning, recognition, fulfillment, all produce stimulating chemicals in the brain, including dopamine and serotonin. Too little brain stimulus can result in depression. Too much can result in jitters, anxiety and insomnia.

Brain Games
– mental exercise is as important as physical exercise
– new learning, new language, new hobbies, puzzles, reading, interactive discussions, anything that makes you think.

In the past families and children played monopoly, card games, pattern recognition games, non-verbal communication games, eye-hand coordination games, crossword puzzles of various kinds. These activities all required much communication within the brain. In our times video games have taken over from family and people-interactive games.

And it’s not just the kids that play video games. Studies show that video games can improve eye-hand coordination and dexterity, increase depth perception and pattern recognition, all of which helps surgeons make fewer mistakes in the operating room research has found.

MRI scans show the brain’s reward circuits are activated by playing video games. But it is the men who get the most kick out of video games. Male brains showed all their reward circuitry was better connected when playing video games than in women doing the same activity. And men are far more likely to feel they are addicted to video games.

The downside of kids playing video games is that they get so used to competing, wiping out others on the screen, scoring or winning, that they have lost compassion and sense of kindness to others in the real world as a result.

Music
Music keeps your brain tuned. It can reduce anxiety, aid sleep, lower blood pressure, calm the nerves, and even help premature babies gain weight. Musicians develop certain parts of their brain much more, but even if you only listen to music there are benefits too. Your brain processes the volume, pitch, timbre, melody and rhythm and can stimulate your reward centres. Not all music has equal benefits so you need to be selective.

Meditation
Meditation can increase focus and attention and increase the thickness in a number of brain areas. Brain cells usually fire at different times, however during meditation, the firing becomes synchronized. For those long experienced in meditation, their left front brain also shows spikes of brain activity. This is the area associated with positive emotions. The brain areas for body sensation and maintaining focus have more neuronal connections and an expanded blood delivery system.

Meditating regularly can alter the physical structure of the brain and may even slow brain deterioration related to aging. Meditation can help ease anxiety, reduce pain, drop high blood pressure, help asthma, aid insomnia, aleviate depression.

Your Turn
So now it’s your turn. The research is backing up what you may already know, but knowledge alone is not enough. You must take action for change to happen. Get the benefits. You boost your brain power, and support your new brain cells to integrate by including exercise, good nutrition, games, music, and meditation. Combine these by going for a walk in the bush, enjoying a nourishing picinic lunch, playing games with the shadows and sunlight, listening to bird songs and meditating by a murmuring brook. Have fun and boost your brainpower and support your new brain cells.
Cheers
Anna McRobert