by: Daniel Amen, M.D.

As I travel the country promoting brain health (and I've been traveling a lot recently!) I am often asked for practical suggestions about how we can care for our brains.  The truth is, you are not stuck with the brain you have.  I have seen my own brain function improve dramatically over the past 20 years as I've practiced a basic brain-healthy lifestyle.  Here are 10 simple things you can do to improve your brain function and, subsequently, the quality of your life...

1. Protect your brain from head injuries and toxic exposure. Head injuries, even minor ones can change the course of your life. Your brain is very soft and your skull really hard. Wear your seat belt and think of golf and table tennis rather than football and soccer. Toxic exposure from drug or alcohol abuse, excessive caffeine or nicotine use, environmental toxins ruin brain function, sometimes permanently. As you would not put toxins in your gas tank (duh!) do not put them into your body and brain.
   
   
2. Put good food into your brain each day. You are what you eat. Every cell in your body makes itself new every 5 months. You literally are what you eat. In the book Super Foods there is a list of the 14 best foods, which are all very good for brain function. Try to incorporate them into your diet every week. Here’s the list: blueberries (most berries, but especially blueberries), broccoli, beans (pinto, navy, lima, chickpeas, lentils, sugar snap peas, peas), oranges, oats, pumpkin (squash not pie), wild salmon, spinach, soy, tea (especially green), tomatoes, turkey (or chicken), walnuts, and yogurt.
   
   Put this together: for breakfast, have a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice; for lunch have a spinach salad with tomatoes, sugar snap peas and lean turkey, for a snack have soy beans; for dinner have a piece of grilled salmon with mixed broccoli and pumpkin squash; for desert have a cup of nonfat plain yogurt mixed with a serving of blueberries, ¼ cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and a small handful of walnuts; for beverages, lots of water (the brain is 80% water) and a glass or two of green tea.
   
   
3. Take a 100% RDA multiple vitamin everyday. In the age of fast food diets we generally do not eat in a healthy balanced way. A number of studies have shown that children learn better when they are taking multiple vitamins. Also, ensuring you have enough B vitamins helps the body counteract stress and lower homocysteine levels. High homocysteine levels have been associated with heart disease, strokes and Alzheimer’s disease.
   
   
4. Be selective about what you watch on TV.  New learning causes new connections in the brain, while no learning causes disconnections. In this age of cable and satellite TV, there are wonderful programs that can stimulate thought and learning, and there are many programs that have little redeeming value.  Too many hours spent watching mindless programming can have a negative effect on brain function.  Work to learn something new everyday. Einstein said if you study anything for 15 minutes a day in a year you will be an expert. Time to get back to the books.
   
   
5. Physical exercise at least 3-4 times a week is essential to brain health. Physical exercise enhances blood flow to the brain, protects brain cells against stress, helps to preserve mental abilities, decreases the risks of heart disease, vascular disease and diabetes and improves your mood. You need to make exercise a habit if you want your brain to look and feel young.
   
   
6. Destress the brain. Stress kills cells in the hippocampus of the brain, affecting memory and mood. Take a moment each day to breathe and settle down. I think we all should meditate, do biofeedback, self hypnosis or spend time each day in prayer. I did a study in 2003 on meditation sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Prevention Foundation and Dr. Dharma Singh Kalsa. We found that meditation had measurable, positive, physical effects on the brain helping with stress, focus and spirituality.
   
   
7. Correct the negative thinking patterns that put your brain at risk for anxiety, depression, relationship and job problems. Most people are never taught to correct the Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) that infest their brains. Thoughts are just thoughts, not facts. Thoughts often tell you lies and fill you with hear. If you never question or challenge the negative thoughts that go through your brain you believe them and these erroneous little bugs can ruin your life. You need to develop an internal anteater to keep your brain healthy. Whenever you feel sad, mad, or nervous, write down the automatic thoughts that go through your mind, if they are negative and distorted, talk back to them. You do not have to believe every thought you have.
   
   
8. Make love for the brain. Did you know that sexual frequency has been associated with longevity? According to a 1997 British Medical Journal study from Queens University in Belfast, Ireland researchers tracked 1,000 middle-aged men over 10 years. They found that men who reported the highest frequency of orgasm enjoyed a death rate half that of those who lagged behind. In another study, men who had sex at least three times a week decreased their risk of a heart attack or stroke in half! Other studies have shown that regular sex improved sleep, moods and testosterone levels. Research from the University in Pennsylvania reported that individuals who have sex at least once or twice a week showed 30% higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, which is known to boost the immune system. A study from researchers at the National Cancer Institute suggested that increased sexual frequency lowered the risk of prostate cancer. The same benefits were found for women!
   
   
9. Make sure to get enough sleep each night. Getting less than 7 hours of sleep at night decreases overall blood flow to the brain. Making love at bedtime often helps people get to sleep as it raises oxytocin levels, which in turn raises endorphins and helps you feel calm and peaceful.
   
   
10. Treat brain problems early. A very high percentage of the world’s population will develop a mental illness at some point in their lives. The most common illnesses are anxiety, depression, ADD, and substance abuse problems. These illnesses are bad for the brain and bad for people’s lives and families. They are also highly treatable. Successful people have problems. They just get help. The earlier you get help the better.

As a neuropsychiatrist for over 20 years my clinics have amassed the world's largest database of brain scans related to behavior, more than 43,000. The brain is involved in everything we do and must be considered whenever we look at the motivation or reason behind human behavior. Give these steps a try, you'll notice a difference and so will those around you.

Visit Dr. Amen at http://www.amenclinics.com

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