To understand what a healthy brain looks like—what good mental health looks like—let’s first talk about what an unhealthy brain looks like. Signs that your brain isn’t as healthy as it should be include anxiety, worry, depression, unhappiness, emotional outbursts or lack of emotional regulation, sleep problems, obsessions, addictions, unhealthy relationship with food (eating too much or too little), being more quiet and withdrawn than you usually are, substance abuse, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, extreme mood changes, confused thinking, problems concentrating, difficulties understanding or relating to others, repetitive or ritualistic habits, obsessive compulsive tendencies, and consistently low energy. Statistically, most humans in modern societies struggle at least one of these things. Am I saying the whole world is mentally ill? Nope. But what I am saying is that humans in modern society have modern health issues, and many of these health issues affect the brain. Mental health is brain health.
Signs of a healthy and happy brain include good memory and recall, attention, clear communication, logical reasoning, and sound judgment. Other signs include healthy communication between neurons and other brain cells, and regulated emotions (the emotions are appropriate for the situation). A curious and vigilant (but not hypervigilant) brain that adapts well to new situations is a good indicator of a healthy brain. Clear and focused thinking, effective problem solving, quick reflexes and coordination, good physical balance, and adaptability to change round out the description of the brain we all want—AND that we can all achieve! A healthy brain is the cornerstone of our existence as it orchestrates the symphony of thoughts, words, emotions, and choices that define our daily lives and our destinies.
Memory and Recall: Did you know that a sharp memory and quick recall are like having a very well-organized file system in your brain? Deep, restorative REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is important for consolidating memories from short term into long term. Without proper amounts and proper quality of sleep, you will not have a good memory. If you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, I suggest this product: Sleepmaxx Stress is the biggest enemy to having good recall. When stress hormones like cortisol are high in the body, the hippocampus shrinks. The hippocampus is a part of the brain where long-term memories are stored in a way that resists forgetting. Sometimes we may not even know we are in a stressed state. We have infections, food allergies, or reactions to pharmaceutical medications that we don’t even realize are creating “brain fog.” For stress-related brain issues, I use these products: Stress MAXX and Stress Gummies
Balanced Neurotransmitters: Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers, carrying signals from one nerve cell across a space to the next nerve, muscle, or gland cell. Your neurotransmitters control heartrate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle movements, thoughts, memory, learning, feelings, sleep, healing, aging, the stress response, hormone regulation, digestion, hunger, thirst, and the five senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, touching, and tasting. They transmit one of three possible actions in their messages depending on the specific neurotransmitter: excitatory, inhibitory, and modulatory. Imbalance in brain neurotransmitters has been associated with health disorders. Alzheimer’s disease is linked to a lack of acetylcholine and glutamate in specific regions of the brain. Schizophrenia has been linked to excessive amounts of dopamine. Parkinson’s disease is linked to too little dopamine in the brain’s motor areas. Epilepsy and Huntington’s disease are linked to lowered GABA levels. Anxiety has been linked to low levels of serotonin. Manic depression, anxiety, and impaired sleep cycle have been linked to norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters. A healthy brain has balanced neurotransmitters.
Curious Brain vs. Hypervigilant Brain: A healthy brain is neuroplastic, that means that it can adapt to new situations without shutting down or becoming overwhelmed. We say that a curious brain is a healthy brain. Trying new foods, going to new places, doing things a different way—even driving to work on a different route all help keep the brain flexible and neuroplastic. Being alert and aware is different from being hypervigilant. When you are always “on call,” when the brain is always anticipating what could happen—that’s a sign of a very unhealthy brain. If you can’t sleep because your brain is constantly running through the lists of things you must accomplish, your brain needs help. On the other hand, adapting to new experiences, and not needing everything to be constant is a sign of a happy and healthy brain. To improve brain health, I use these products: Healthy Mind and Mushroom Multiplex
A healthy brain has good memory, and attention, thinks and communicates clearly, has emotions appropriate to the situation, is curious and aware, but not hypervigilant, has quick reflexes, good balance, and neuroplasticity. We know the goal, so let’s get after it!