Brainfit for Life: a User's Guide to Life-long Brain Health and Fitness

Copyright (c) 2008 BrainFit For Lifememory and mood regulation. Whatever the
As the Brain Fitness industry continues to gainmechanism, giving your body a workout will produce
momentum, and people explore all the incrediblesubstantial benefits in terms of brain health.
brain-training tools being developed, we hope thatRemember, a body in motion tends to stay in
enthusiasts don't take their eye off the importancemotion, and your brain and body will be together
of the physical health of the brain and all the systemsyour whole life.
it communicates with. The brain is unique in that itMental activity is an obvious, and critical, ingredient
houses our cognitive and emotional capacities in thefor optimizing and maintaining brain function. Studies
form of the mind. It is a 'cognitive' organ thathave established relationships between the degree of
hungers for stimulation from new experiences andlife-time mental activity and late-life cognitive function.
challenges. Many brain fitness programs strive toIt's clear that those who engage in intellectually
satisfy this need. Yet the brain is also a physicalchallenging endeavors on a regular basis reap the
organ that plays by many of the same rules as thebenefits of a clear mind. There is, however a need
heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. To stay healthy andfor each individual to balance sufficient variety with a
perform optimally it requires quality nutrition, physicalproper degree of challenge. Without variety and
activity and optimal sleep. The brain, especially, relieschallenge, tasks become too mundane and too easy,
on a healthy vascular system to efficiently delivereventually growing stale and losing their capacity to
oxygen and key nutrients and remove waste. Inadequately stimulate the brain. We must also realize
fact, the brain uses approximately 20% of thethat mental activity goes beyond 'cognitive' tasks.
oxygen we breathe to satisfy its high-energyMental activities also include practices like meditative
demands. Given that the brain only weighs about 2%focus, relaxation and stress reduction techniques, as
of the body, we can consider it an energy hog andwell as social interaction. These active and dynamic
we must cater to its needs very carefully.processes challenge the mind as well. Mixing cognitive
Nutrients play key roles in brain function. Several havechallenges with emotional regulation provides a more
shown efficacy in clinical trials treating cases of moodcomplete mental workout that will help you to use it
disorders, cognitive decline and of course benefitingto improve it.
the physical health of the brain. Nutrients are bothAn often neglected component contributing to brain
the raw materials employed in creating new neuralhealth is optimal sleep. On average, we sleep
connections and important components in regulatingapproximately 1.5 hours per night less than we did
the activity of genes involved in these processes.100 years ago. Modern technology makes it easier to
Specific nutrients involved in mitochondrial efficiency,get less sleep and our busy lives encourage us to do
the energy factories of brain and body cells, areit. Sleep is far more than a time of rest, and is too
particularly important for many aspects of brainoften misclassified as a period of lost productivity. It
function. Other nutrients are involved in the inneris an active metabolic period for our brains. Sleep is a
workings of neuronal membranes, responsible fortime when we consolidate memories of the previous
ensuring that electrochemical signals, which make upday, a time when we re-synchronize the circadian
our thoughts, transmit efficiently and reliably. Finally,rhythm of at least dozens, if not hundreds, of
antioxidants, important throughout the body, arehormones controlling our metabolism. Sleep loss is
especially important in the brain due to its high energyassociated with a high percentage of mood disorders
production rates and concurrent high capacity forand certainly reduces our cognitive efficiencies. We
free radical leakage. Keeping this in mind, it is readilymust give ourselves permission to sleep by realizing
apparent that nutrition provides the building blocks forthat it is counterproductive to steal from it.
our brain's structure and function, and thereforeWe encourage a equal attention on the cognitive,
cannot be ignored.emotional and physical health of the brain and all of
Exercise is a clearly established component forthe lifestyle factors that come into play to maintain
promoting brain health as well. No longer can we thinkthem. Today's aging population is becoming
that the brain is completely separate from the brawn.increasingly focused on the maintenance of cognitive
Human studies have shown the value of exercise inhealth and the value of 'brain training' programs. But
controlling stress and maintaining positive moodwe must realize that such training is not unlike that of
states; in improving cognitive function, includingan athlete, who must focus on their diet, sleep needs
performance on memory and executive tasks; and inand psychological preparation in addition to their
improving the brain's two-way communicationphysical skill development. We must explore specific
streams with the rest of the body. Some of theseaspects of nutrition, exercise, mental activity and
benefits are likely due to the positive effects ofsleep and discuss how they regulate emotional,
exercise on neurovascular health, which parallelphysical and intellectual functions of the brain. After
cardiovascular health. Other benefits seem due toall, they are not separable.
increased grey matter in 'front office' functions of"To keep the body in good health is a
the cortex; and neuronal birth, or neurogenesis, in theduty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our
hippocampus, a brain region that controls aspects ofmind strong and clear." - Buddha, circa 500 B.C.