Take Care of Your Brain

“Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction soften the vigor of the brain.” Leonardo da Vinci was on the right path when he wrote about what happens to our brain if we don’t use it. Ongoing research is showing that a healthy brain makes us feel better and can keep problems, such as dementia, at bay.

When living with a chronic disease, medications, stress, to say nothing of the disease itself and/or age, can contribute to how effective, or ineffective the brain functions. Since changing the brain changes how we feel, it’s important to take care of those 100 billion cells, most of which are neurons.

Neurons are like a light switch; they can be in a resting state (off) or shooting electrical impulse (on) down a wire. Each of the billions of neurons “spit out” chemicals that trigger other neurons. Different neurons use different types of chemicals. Neurons do not act alone; rather they are connected to many other neurons.

The brain is a complex beast to put it mildly. Maybe the easiest way to understand it is to think of your brain like an orchestra. If everyone shows up, is in tune and playing together, you get beautiful music. However, if someone is late in the cello section, the cymbals player isn’t paying attention, the flutist is eyeing the cute French horn player, not the conductor, and the first violinist has a raging cold, it wont be long before the “sweet music” turns quite sour.

The old theory was that you were born with so many neurons and as you aged, had an injury etc., they died never to be replaced. It was also believed that neural pathways once destroyed could never be repaired. However, recent research shows that the brain has a lifelong ability to reorganize new neural pathways based on new experiences. For example, in response to a brain injury, the brain can form new connections to compensate for lost function and/or to maximize remaining functions in the brain. Parts of the brain are also generating new neurons all the time to help with those connections.

Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center, has come up with a “Healthy Mind Platter” to correspond with the “Choose my plate” strategy. The latter replaced the food pyramid for healthy eating by US Dept. of Agriculture. Siegel suggests seven mental activities to optimize brain and create well being.

Focus Time: When we closely focus on tasks in a goal-oriented way, we take on challenges that make deep connections in the brain.

Play Time: When we allow ourselves to be spontaneous or creative, playfully enjoying novel experiences, we help make new connections in the brain.

Connecting Time: When we connect with other people, ideally in person, and when we take time to appreciate our connection to the natural world around us, we activate and reinforce the brain's relational circuitry.

Physical Time: When we move our bodies, aerobically if medically possible, we strengthen the brain in many ways.

Time In: When we quietly reflect internally, focusing on sensations, images, feelings and thoughts, we help to better integrate the brain.

Down Time: When we are non-focused, without any specific goal, and let our mind wander or simply relax, we help the brain recharge.

Sleep Time: When we give the brain the rest it needs, we consolidate learning and recover from the experiences of the day.

If it’s good for your heart, it’s probably good for your brain. According to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, Many experts believe that controlling cardiovascular risk factors may be the most cost-effective and helpful approach to protecting brain health. Therefore, in addition to Siegel’s seven strategies, which include those heart healthy favorites of stress reduction and exercise, incorporate heart healthy foods.

According to WebMd, research is showing that you can increase your chances of maintaining a healthy brain well into your old age if you add these "smart" foods to your daily eating regimen. Blueberries; wild salmon; nuts and seeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, filberts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed, and unhydrogenated nut butters such as peanut butter, almond butter, and tahini); avocados; whole grains; beans; pomegranate juice; freshly brewed tea and dark chocolate.

Another important strategy is protecting the brain from injury. Wear a helmet when engaging in sports such as skiing, snowboarding, cycling, motorcycle riding etc.; avoid falls; and wear a seat belt in the car.

In the May issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a study found that in 926 people, 70 years of age or older, those who engaged in moderate levels of exercise, like brisk walking, yoga, aerobics, or tennis, along with regular computer use, reduced the odds of developing mild cognitive impairment. Engaging the brain in “mental aerobics” most likely engages neurons that physical exercise doesn’t touch.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Mental decline as you age appears to be largely due to altered connections among brain cells. But research has found that keeping the brain active seems to increase its vitality and may build its reserves of brain cells and connections. You could even generate new brain cells.

Activities such as reading, learning a second language or something new, cross word or other types of puzzles, playing games etc. can all help with mental stimulation. For fun and brain exercise, check out AARP's free game website.

Take a Break: Draw Anime/Manga

Quite a few summers ago, my oldest son wanted to drop out of his art camp because they weren’t teaching him “anatomy,” which was his pronunciation of the Japanese art of animation “anime.” While my son watched various shows on television that sparked his interest, I became hooked on Japanese animation when I watched Hayao Miyazakis’s “Spirited Away,”

Manga, which are the Japanese comics, is often linked with anime, so links for both appear below.

Anime cubed

How to Draw Manga: Head Shape & Facial Features

Japanese Animation to Watch on-line
Spirited Away

Masanobu Hiaoka On the Table

For something completely different, watch Janet Echelman at TED. She found her true voice as an artist when her paints went missing -- which forced her to look to an unorthodox new art material. Now she makes billowing, flowing, building-sized sculpture with a surprisingly geeky edge. A transporting 10 minutes of pure creativity.

The importance of vacation and taking time off

I’m watching a friend slowly dissolve in their continual need to work 14 hour days, seven days a week. Not only are they unpleasant to be around at times, they are plain and simply miserable. The more productive they think they are being, by working every minute of the day and night they possibly could, they are becoming less productive. Mistakes increase and any type of true perspective of the situation is lost.

With this being the official start of the summer season, today’s a good reminder to take breaks, use vacation time, and get away from things for a while.

In Europe, where vacations are practically a religion, workers have on average 20 days of paid leave, compared to Americans who have 12. Interestingly, half of Americans don’t take their full vacation. Don’t let yourself fall into this trap, as people with chronic conditions are already dealing with stress on their bodies. Whether you are living with a specific condition, or are a caregiver, you more than anyone else needs time off.

The health impacts of living such a life are enormous. They can lead to all types of health issues, since the body is being kept in a continual stressful situation. Interestingly, the Framingham Heart Study, found that in 12,000 men who were at risk of heart disease and were followed over nine years, those that took vacations had increased life expectancy.

I can just hear my friend say, “but if I go away, there will just be more for me to do when I get back.” That may or may not be true. Having a break from the daily grind can give you new insight and boost creativity to say nothing of what it does to your body by relieving stress.

Another comment my friend is apt to make is, “I take time off and in a few days I’m so crazy again it’s as if I never went away.” While that may be true, think of it like sleep. It’s essential for your body and well being, but a good night’s sleep doesn’t preclude being tired the next day and needing to sleep the next night.

Many people can’t afford to take a vacation and go somewhere. However, it’s important to take the time off and staycation, vacation at home.

If you are a caregiver, you may feel that vacations are beyond your ability. Consider the following from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) Vacations can help caregivers get back on track. While small breaks and relief from daily routines are important, they fall short of the revitalizing effect of a longer respite. The result of a vacation is not just getting away; it is a ticket for caregivers to change their focus, interact meaningfully with others and improve their own emotional health. To answer all those questions caregivers have, such as “No one takes care of them the way I do,” AFA has some good answers and suggestions.

Don't postpone fun and enjoyment.

Take a Break: Put some magic in your life

When was the last time you talked about an experience saying, “It was pure magic?” If it’s been a while, today’s “take a break” is all about putting some magic in your life.

Magic has many meanings and can be experienced in many different ways. For purposes of today’s “take a break,” magic is some thing, place, event, smell, feeling, sense or activity that transcends the ordinary. It could be watching a video of David Blane, who is just the most amazing magician. It could also be a walk in the forest and coming across a unique spot, where the sun glistens through the trees on a dewy morning, making you believe you have stumbled on a fairy circle. What ever it is, magic takes you out of the ordinary. For a moment in time you are totally absorbed and in awe.

Below are a variety of things to consider to increase the magic in your life

• Xplore Magic: This site offers you thousands movies of free magic tutorial, magic show, documentary, and fun. In this site you can watch various documentaries about magic, enjoy free funny clips, and amaze yourself with outstanding performance of World Champion of Magic.

• Create Tessellation art (M.C. Escher style art)
Tessellation Organization
Escher Web Sketch
Design a tessellation online

• Take a walk in nature-in the woods, by the ocean, lake or stream

• Smell flowers just after they bloom.

• Star gaze

• Watch Close up Card Magic at TED

• Listen and watch Magic Music

• Enjoy the magic of a “flash mob.
Flash mob in the Copenhagen Metro. Copenhagen Phil playing Peer Gynt
Opera Company of Philadelphia “Flash Brindisi” at Reading Terminal Market
I Believe She’s Amazing Flash Mob-Toronto Eaton Centre

The Mayan Prophecy: You don’t need to worry about this

Recently, a person living with a number of chronic diseases asked me if I thought the Mayan Prophecy was true. If you aren’t familiar with it, various groups are saying that the Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and it will be the end of times. It became clear, that this particular “doomsday” prophecy was increasingly of more concern to this person than the seriousness of their health issues. I tried to reassure them that the world wasn’t going to end on Dec. 21, anymore than it did last year when Harold Camping predicted two different dates for a “rapture,” or in 1884 when William Miller also predicted end times. That said, there is a lot more press, and even a movie, about December 21, then there was about Camping.

Today’s post is to help debunk this myth, as a recent Reuters’ poll estimates that 10% of the world’s population believes it. While concerns about the end of the world have obsessed human thinking since day one, those living with chronic disease, who often deal with “worse case scenario, “ can be even more fearful then most.

So how did this myth start? At least one Mayan calendar, which spans about 5,125 years, ends on Dec. 21, 2012. Mayan elders as well as scholars of Mayan history, have been trying to counter the growing popular interpretation that this means the end of times. As one scholar noted, the calendar is a bit like the odometer on your car, which resets each time you’ve gone a certain number of miles. Recently, there have been reports on a Mayan calendar that goes well beyond 2012.

The Penn Museum has mounted a new exhibit Maya 2012 (it runs through 2013, so they aren’t taking the prophecy seriously). They describe the Maya Calendar as follows: The ancient Maya created several interlocking calendar systems. The Sacred Round of 260 days is the longest lasting, since it is still in use in some places today. In former times, it was often combined with another system, a 365-day Vague Year, to create a cycle called the Calendar Round, in which a date would repeat once in every 52 years.

Another system, called the Long Count, was used to record longer spans of time. It tracked the passing days from a single starting point many trillions of years in the past. If we look at a single Maya date written with all three systems, a Sacred Round, a Vague Year, and Long Count, we have a time-reckoning that is not unlike our own days, weeks, months, years, decades, and millennia.

No matter what we hear about the truth versus the myth, many will use it as an excuse to engage in behaviors they might not normally do, even if it’s a joke. As one person noted, “well just in case I’m going to eat a lot of pizza on Dec. 20 because if the end of the world happens the next day no one will care if I’m fat.” This isn’t the time to run your credit card debt up, as the judge isn’t going to accept the Mayan prophecy as a rationale explanation when you have to file bankruptcy. And yeah, if you celebrate the December holidays, you need to pick out those presents as you normally do. Of course, this year, you can do them with a Mayan theme.

More Information
Mayan Prophecy: The World Won’t End, as a Newfound Calendar Goes on and on and on

Rapture Follow Up-What Happens When Things Don’t Work Out as Planned

Maya 2012

Take a Break: Enjoy the Activities of Your Childhood

A few weeks ago, I read an interesting post from Martha Beck about “radical fun.” She writes, fun is a skill. Most of us are terrible at it. We immediately turn to tired stereotypes, clichés like sleeping on the beach, drinking, eating too much, and spending a lot of money. I have nothing against these activities, but they’re pathetic attempts at creating genuine exuberant joyful feelings…. What did you do for fun as a child? Our fun preferences appear very early in our lives and tend to remain extremely stable over time. What was fun for you at age 2 will probably be the most fun you can have at 92.

In reading that last sentence, I found myself transported back to my childhood in Baltimore, MD. The summers were long, very hot and there was little air conditioning. I spent many happy hours reading on my friend’s porch while lying on a “glider.” When it was cool enough, particularly in the spring, summer evenings and fall, we played countless rounds of “tin can jimmy,” which is very similar to “kick the can.” On winter nights, we played a variety of games with our parents, our favorite being “Scrabble.” When it was just the kids, “Monopoly” ruled. We had games that lasted for days.

I think that Beck was right as I still love to play games. Since our home has been a popular place for the kids to come, I’ve found myself wanting to go out and join them for a game of “kick the can.” Lately, there has been some discussion among the adults of playing “laser tag” and “paint ball.”

So today’s activity is to remember the times in your childhood when you were having the most fun and try to incorporate some of these activities into your day. Some ideas to consider:

• Go to your local park, particularly when the kids are in school, and swing.

• If there no one to play board games with, you can do it on-line. Here are just a few examples:
Scrabble
Boggle

• There are lots of arcade games to play on-line.

• Play your favorite music from childhood.

• Re read the book you most loved as a child.

Hypnosis: Does it have a role in treating chronic disease

In April, two studies were published that found that hypnosis significantly reduced symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. "The treatment involves the patient learning to control their symptoms through deep relaxation and individually adapted hypnotic suggestions. The idea is for the patient to then use this technique in their everyday life," says one of the authors Magnus Simren. One of the studies followed up seven years later after initial treatment, found that 85% of those had been helped by hypnosis were still benefiting from the treatment and reduced their use of the medical system by 70%. "Overall, our studies show that hypnotherapy is an effective method of treating IBS, even when provided outside of specialist 'hypnotherapy centres'. The conclusion is that hypnotherapy could reduce both the consumption of healthcare and the cost to society, and that hypnosis therefore belongs in the arsenal of treatments for IBS," says Magnus Simrén. (The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2011; 107 (2): 276 DOI: and Long-term effects of hypnotherapy in patients with refractory irritable bowel syndrome. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2012; 47 (4): 414 DOI: 10.3109/00365521.2012.658858)

So just what is hypnosis? Can you hypnotize someone to make them act like a chicken every time the phone rings?

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Hypnotherapists use exercises that bring about deep relaxation and an altered state of consciousness, also known as a trance. A person in a deeply focused state is unusually responsive to an idea or image, but this does not mean that a hypnotist can control the person's mind and free will. On the contrary, hypnosis can actually teach people how to master their own states of awareness. By doing so they can affect their own bodily functions and psychological responses…. Since 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended hypnotherapy as a treatment for chronic pain. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/hypnotherapy-000353.htm

Note that in 1958, the American Medical Association (AMA) endorsed hypnosis but in 1978, the AMA rescinded almost all the policies it had endorsed from 1891 to 1958 including their position on hypnosis. Currently, they have no opinion on this topic.

Contrary to popular culture, hypnosis is not a form of brain washing and you can’t make a person do something they don’t want to do. So the person acting like a chicken every time the phone rings is a myth. The greatest risk appears to be the creation of a possible false memory.

Research indicates that hypnotherapy might have a useful role in chronic disease as it appears that it may improve immune function, decrease anxiety and fear and increase relaxation. It also may help improve the success of other treatments, such as those for pain management. For years now, many people swear by hypnosis for helping them change behaviors they want to change, such as stopping smoking or losing weight.

There are similarities between mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and hypnosis, and a number of hypnotists are using MBSR techniques. You can read an interesting conversation about these two topics at Mindfulness and Hypnosis: Conversations in Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.

Hypnotherapists are generally licensed medical doctors, nurses, dentists, social workers or family counselors. If you are interested in pursuing such treatment, check for referrals at one of the following sites:
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
The American Association of Professional Hypnotherapiests

One of the big issues is payment, since sessions are generally an hour long and can take place for 10 weeks or more. You will need to check with your insurance company about whether they cover hypnosis.