Top 10 ways to take care of your brain

It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive

Brain health doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive.

Many of these things are simple but not easy to implement in our current culture.

If you want to take care of your brain, you’re going to have to be ok going against the grain.

1. Sleep 8 hours every night

This is a non-negotiable. The processes that take place while you sleep cannot be replaced by caffeine.

Your brain functions best when you are in sync with the environment (awake when the sun is out and asleep when it’s not).

Research has found sleep can help you:

• Live longer

• Be more productive

• Enhance memory

• Increase creativity

• Lose weight

• Boost mood

• Reduce your risk of disease

• Improve mental health

• Make you more attractive

I’ll created a Sleep Guide with tips for a wind down routine, how to set up your sleep environment, and how things you do during the day impact your quality of sleep at night.

2. Move your body every day

Movement is medicine.

Neuroprotective to be exact.

Exercise increases the number of synapses in the hippocampus (brain center for memory and learning), enhances long-term memory formation, and elevates the rate of gene expression for molecules associated with learning and memory (BDNF and serotonin).

If you’re looking for “anti-aging”, exercise should be your BFF.

3. Eat whole, real foods

Food is where your body gets the amino acids that are the building blocks for neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) like dopamine.

The foods choices you make can either increase or reduce your dementia risk.

A study found that by reducing ultra-processed foods by 10% (about 1 fast food meal per week) could reduce risk of dementia by 19%.

Aim for LESS processed foods, sugar, alcohol, and fast food and MORE whole real foods like nuts, leafy greens, quality protein and fruits rich in antioxidants.

4. Build strong community

Harvard conducted the longest study ever on human happiness and found that community and deep relationships are the key to living longer, happier, and healthier lives.

Invest time in cultivating and nourishing relationships.

Strong social support improves sleep, reduces anxiety and depression, boosts the immune system, and buffers against stress.

Connect in meaningful ways each day with friends and loved ones. Focus on quality over quantity.

5. Manage stress

Stress is one of the biggest risk factors for cognitive decline, but it’s also one of the most modifiable!

Build a routine that helps manage stress frequently so it doesn’t build up and boil over.

Here are some things I incorporate into my day:

• 5 min of breathwork

  • Try box breathing: inhale for 4, hold the inhale for 4, exhale for 4, hold the exhale for 4

• 5 minute brain breaks

• Morning and evening walks

• Journaling

• Call a friend or send a voice note

6. Stay curious/never stop learning

Use it or lose it applies to the brain.

Continual learning helps the brain to thrive.

Dive into a hobby that you’re passionate about. But don’t learn something just because you think you should. The most brain benefit comes from things you genuinely enjoy - when learning doesn’t feel like learning.

There are many different types of learning - social (asking people questions), physical (yoga poses, dance moves), educational (books, podcasts).

Don’t let things get stale or stagnant!

7. Take on challenges

This builds on #6 - you have to continually to push yourself.

There is such a thing as “good stress”.

It requires a certain amount of stress to build muscle and it’s the same concept for keeping the brain in shape.

Challenge level will vary with age and life stage. You’ve got to find the sweet spot of being challenged but not overwhelmed.

8. Figure out your purpose

A longitudinal analysis of over 11,000 adults found that having a sense of purpose in life protects against cognitive decline in older adults.

In Japan when people retire they get a “retirement job,” (ex: school crossing guard, or volunteer at a food bank).

It’s important to wake up each day and have somewhere to be, to remain part of the community, and have purpose.

Spend time honing in on your purpose and arrange your life so you can live it out.

9. Spend time outside

Nature nurtures!

We weren’t made to be inside all day under artificial lights.

In Japan, when someone is ill they prescribe forest bathing (spending time in the forest).

Brain benefits of forest bathing:

• Regulates mood

• Reduces anxiety & depression

• Enhances immunity

• Decreases cortisol/stress

You don’t have to have a forest - getting fresh air, sunlight, or walking barefoot in the grass can do wonders.

10. Enjoy life and have fun

This is probably the most important one!

If you are following such a strict “healthy” regimen that you are miserable it will limit your ability to thrive.

Enjoying the small things and sharing fun experiences with loved ones should not be overlooked - this is such an important part of a brain healthy lifestyle.

Recap

1. Sleep 8 hours every night

2. Move your body every day

3. Eat whole, real foods

4. Build strong community

5. Manage stress

6. Stay curious/never stop learning

7. Live out your purpose

8. Take on challenges

9. Spend time outside

10. Enjoy life and have fun!

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Take good care of that 3 lb ball of fat!

-Julie

PS If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it so more people can find it.

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References

Erickson, K. I., Donofry, S. D., Sewell, K. R., Brown, B. M., & Stillman, C. M. (2022). Cognitive aging and the promise of physical activity. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 18, 417-442.

Li, H., Li, S., Yang, H., Zhang, Y., Zhang, S., Ma, Y., ... & Wang, Y. (2022). Association of ultraprocessed food consumption with risk of dementia: a prospective cohort study. Neurology, 99(10), e1056-e1066.

Kim, G., Shin, S. H., Scicolone, M. A., & Parmelee, P. (2019). Purpose in life protects against cognitive decline among older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(6), 593-601.