When kids have trouble paying attention in school, when they’re too emotional, or reactionary, or downright aggressive, what can we do to help them turn it around? Perhaps too often, these behaviors are addressed with medication for ADHD or bipolar disorder. But according to Bessel van der Kolk, MD, the problem (and the solution) may […]
When Exercise May Not Be Good for the Brain
Have I managed to convince you that exercise is an optimal way to encourage neuroplasticity (brain growth) and maintain a healthy brain? Good. However, now I have a caveat: exercise can sometimes be bad for the brain. Just ask the people who end up with one of the estimated 300,000 sports-related injuries per year.* For […]
Increasing Your Brain Size with . . . Walnuts?
What foods could strengthen your memory, improve your problem-solving ability, and make you an even better multi-tasker? In short, can any foods help to improve your brain power? Are there foods that would increase the size of your brain? Studies suggest that omega-3s help brain function, specifically visual memory and executive function, including problem-solving, multi-tasking […]
How to change the brain: There are some things that we know, but… persuading people isn’t so easy
I’ve been talking a lot about exercise recently. We know that it’s good for the brain, and yet the studies showing this can be pretty dry. And when it comes to persuading patients to actually do what’s good for them, lectures aren’t too effective either. With that in mind, we wanted to try something new, […]
Stress, Depression, and Telomeres: A Brain Health Update
One way to measure how much age has fatigued an individual is to measure the length of their telomeres. Since telomeres naturally shorten with time many researchers use telomere length to determine cell age, and give a picture of overall brain health What are telomeres? They act as protective caps on the end of chromosomes […]