Be the Best Brain You Can Be

Sometimes we think of the neurology as either an accident or a blessing that, either way, we can’t control. Controlling how your brain functions is much like going to the gym and giving a heaping helping of WORK to the muscles.Want to know a secret? The brain needs work too…

So work it baby!

Some studies have even shown that Alzheimer’s disease can be warded off by the moving of furniture and changing your watch to 24 hr mode. Crossword puzzles are another great thing to do… basically anything that you can do to make the brain work a little harder or in a new way, than it has done, will provide a lasting benefit.

The brain is not a muscle… The brain is an intense electrical map. It is networked together in the most efficient and powerful ways to make the processing power of your brain better than any computer. The brain will process constant stimuli from your body in the background and still be able to carry on a normal conversation without much difficulty.

You know when things are not right. Speech patterns and memory deficits are primary indicators.

If you can do a few simple things your brain will be in Olympic shape in no time.

Rest

• Getting enough rest is essential! The brain will function at a sub-par level unless you get about 7 hours of sleep per night. You need to average 7-8 to be at your best. Dr. Perlmutter, in his book, “The Better Brain,” suggests that not getting adequate sleep overtime is actually killing brain cells. The recap goes like this…
• Sleep is a time when your body winds down and rejuvenates. It is also a time when the brain does systems check. The brain goes through and checks hormone levels, neurotransmitters, and cleans out waste products. BUT one of the most interesting things that your brain does when you are sleeping…IT LEARNS… when you are awake you are storing things in your short term memory, but when you sleep the brain takes advantage of the down time and processes all that information and stores the necessary things! So… sleep the right amount… perform at your peak… and LEARN.

Exercise

• Puts yourself through the paces every once in a while. Getting the right amount of exercise does a ton of good things for your body. When you get a hard work out in your brain will function better simply because you have just flushed the proverbial toilet on your body. Taken your insides and given them a thorough washing. Chemically your body needs some activity every day, and this means more than getting the kiddos going and off to school. Make yourself become the master of your body. Doing this will give your brain a break. As we exercise regularly we turn down the background noise and allow the brain to relax, and save some of that processing power working in a daily environment.

So how do you get that brain of yours into tip-top shape?

Rest it…
Work it…
And eat right.

I will save the last one for another day… but a plug for our health talk coming up is IF your body is full of crappy foods and crumby lifestyle choices… your brain will be so busy working in the background that your mental sharpness may suffer.

Here is the link to the questionnaire about DETOX and if you need one.

Leave a comment and tell how you like to boost your mental prowess!

REFERENCES:
The Better Brain Book by Dr. David Perlmutter, M.D., FACN, and Carol Colman
The Brain of Dr. Bench 🙂