A&B #111

📚 Alex & Books #111

October 16, 2022

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📚 Book Summary:

This week's book is The Age-Proof Brain by Marc Milstein.This book is filled with the latest scientific research on brain health and actionable advice on how to keep your brain in tip-top shape. Here are 3 lessons from it:1) Stop Staying Up Late (seriously)We all know we shouldn't be staying up late but yet we still do it. However, recent studies have found exactly why it's a terrible habit to have...One study found evidence that going to bed past midnight can raise the risk of mental health issues such as depression, but going to sleep just an hour earlier can lower the risk of major depression by 23%!Another study found that if looking at your work phone an hour before bed, your brain may associate your phone with work stress and that alone can disturb sleep.Lastly, a study published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that people who looked at their phones in the hour before bed tended to be hungrier and ate extra calories before bedtime. That's because the light emitted from your phone can trick your brain into thinking it's daytime and that it's time to eat. Now that you know you should be going to sleep earlier, here are a few tips to help you get a better night's rest: Avoid sleeping aids (like melatonin). No electronic devices 2 hours before bed. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise during the day. Avoid drinking alcohol (as a nightcap and in general). Stop all caffeine intake (coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks) by 2 PM. If reading a book, do it with a physical book and not a smartphone or tablet. Do something relaxing before bed like listening to soft music, stretching, or meditation.Follow these tips and your brain (and body) will thank you in the morning. 2) Consume More Omega-3sYour brain loves healthy fats–in fact, brain cells are coated in fats from omega-3. Those fats keep the electrical signals that your brain cells use to communicate flowing from brain cell to brain cell. However, the body cannot manufacture omega-3 on its own. Fortunately, there are dozens of foods packed with omega-3. Here are a few: Salmon Sardines Atlantic mackerel Cod Herring Lake trout Flax seeds Chia seeds Avocados Walnuts Brussel sprouts Cold-pressed olive oilIf you aren't a big fan of fish, here's a fact that might make you reconsider: A study found that eating a 3.5-ounce serving of salmon (not fried!) twice a week improved sleep in children and improved scores on IQ tests.Eating oily fish (salmon, albacore tuna, lake trout, etc.) is also good for your heart, which in turn, protects brain health. Lastly, if given the choice between wild fish and farm-raised, go for wild–it will have more omega-3 since wild fish eat more algae and plankton than farm-raised fish.3) Brain Health Cheat Sheet In the book, the author covers 11 key lifestyle factors that have the greatest impact on our health. Here's a short recap of actionable advice you can take to protect your brain: Prioritize sleep to wash your brain. Learn new things to break up the brain trash and make new connections between cells. Be socially engaged and treat hearing loss. Embrace acute stress and use mindfulness to manage chronic stress. Put out the fire of inflammation by managing your diet and stress. Eat food that spoils and minimize packaged food with ingredients that look like they are for an advanced chemistry experiment. Make moderate exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes, a daily habit. Treat diabetes. Minimize contact with toxins by using green cleaning products and giving yourself some green time with nature. Take care of your heart by being on top of your blood pressure and cholesterol. Prioritize and treat any mental health issues.Follow these small habits and you'll be able to fight off dementia, increase your memory, boost your day-to-day productivity, and live and happier and healthier life.

✅ Actionable Advice:1) Follow these tips to sleep better:

Avoid sleeping aids (like melatonin).
No electronic devices 2 hours before bed.
Get at least 30 minutes of exercise during the day.
Avoid drinking alcohol (as a nightcap and in general).
Stop all caffeine intake (coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks) by 2 PM.
If reading a book, do it with a physical book and not a smartphone or tablet.
Do something relaxing before bed like listening to soft music, stretching, or meditation.

2) Consume more omega-3:

Salmon (wild caught > farm-raised)
Sardines
Atlantic mackerel
Cod
Herring
Lake trout
Flax seeds
Chia seeds
Avocados
Walnuts
Brussel sprouts
Cold-pressed olive oil

3) TL;DR:

Prioritize sleep to wash your brain.
Learn new things to break up the brain trash and make new connections between cells.
Be socially engaged and treat hearing loss.
Embrace acute stress and use mindfulness to manage chronic stress.
Put out the fire of inflammation by managing your diet and stress.
Eat food that spoils and minimize packaged food with ingredients that look like they are for an advanced chemistry experiment.
Make moderate exercise, such as walking for 30 minutes, a daily habit.
Treat diabetes.
Minimize contact with toxins by using green cleaning products and giving yourself some green time with nature.
Take care of your heart by being on top of your blood pressure and cholesterol.
Prioritize and treat any mental health issues.