Youthful Brain Now!

Sleep, it's so important for a lot of things but studies have shown it is vital for your memory and brain health. A study in 2013 discusses sleeps role in memory. It is during sleep that you regenerate your body as well as your brain both physically and emotionally. During sleep you get rid of all the waste products and neurotoxins that build up, eliminating Beta Amyloid plaques that are implicated in  Alzheimer's Disease. There is a system that distributes nutrients and neurotransmitters while you sleep that is not active while you are awake. That is why sleep is so important! There is REM sleep and Non-REM sleep, Both phases are important for your brain and your memory. Non-REM sleep is where we spend most of our time. Non-REM sleep is also known as Slow Wave Sleep (SWS).  Current research is showing that you gather all your memories while you are in SWS. This is also when you get your physical regeneration and  make most of your brain chemicals. It's when you are...

April Showers, Right? What About Vitamin D and Depression? It's raining again and I'm still loving it. Wells are filling, reservoirs are filling, and the flowers are going to be stunning. This year California is getting record rainfall. According to California's water resources index, 90 inches so far in the Sierra Nevadas. Rainfall is great but that means it has to rain and that means people don't get out in the sun and get their vitamin D. Vitamin D is also called Cholecalciferol.You get Vitamin D from the sun. Your skin converts the ultra violet rays to Vitamin D. I know I haven't been outside with this rain. The sun only peeks through the clouds once in a while. The best time to expose yourself to sunlight is at 12 noon for half an hour as much skin as possible to the sun, ideally naked. A lot of people have trouble with that conversion. If you always wear sunscreen, have darker skin or never go in the sun, are pregnant or obese you may be deficient. Vit...

Make Lemonade, Or You're At Risk For Dementia. After a suggestion from a friend I began researching the effects of stress on cognitive decline. I'm not sure this is the answer she was looking for.  There are a number of studies supporting the fact that stress does contribute to developing Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. Even stressful events that happened years earlier can trigger long lasting effects in the brain. Events like death of a loved one, divorce, chronic illness of a loved one, caring for someone with mental illness. Having multiple stressful life events compounds the problem. There is a dysregulation of the brain-pituitary-adrenal axis that continues to over produce chemicals that make it harder to think and establish poor coping mechanisms.  When people are in stressful situations their fight or flight systems go to work. So if you are in a meeting or in class where you are supposed to concentrate and learn you won't be able to. Who ...