Rewire your Brain - John B. Arden Flashcards
Cultivate your memory
Ways to improve your memory
- improve your attention skills
- Leanr how to use different types of memory
- Use associations such as mnemonic devices
your memory must be exercised to be enhanced
The DLPFC is responsible for maintaining working memory
Working memory - what your brain is working on at the moment
Emotional response means incr neurotransmitters - mainly norepinephrine and dopamine - which heightens attention and anxiety - your brain tells itself this is what you need to remember for later - the DLPFC paves the way for the hippocampus to convert to long term memory - *stock tip in the book*
Declarative memory - recalling something about past -events, information, images, or content
Semantic memory - language based information
If you remember getting a paper cut - episodic memory
if you remember the facts of how you got the paper cut - declarative memory
If you remember the words you used when telling someone about the paper cut, that’s semantic memory
If episodic memory involves strong emotions, they are referred to as emotional memory
habitual styleas of moving, such as riding a bicycle or writing your name are called procedural memory
Each new memory results in neuroplastic change
These memories are the result of forming and strengthening synaptic connections
Mnemonics
- Pegs - peg a word to another to make it easier to remember
- Loci - plural of locus (latin for “place” or “Location”)
- Story Links - teach yourself a story
- Link - link images to words/phrases
How to improve your memory
- Consume a balanced diet
- acetylcholine - critically important for memory
- range of amino acids for neurotransmitters - Get enough sleep
- poor sleep = poor attention = poor memory - Exercise your memory
- Exercise to minimise stress, incr metabolism, incr blood flow and nutrients to the brain, sleep well at night - Take supplements
- stick to basics - Vit C, E, Calc, magn, Omega 3, Multiw / B’s - Stimulate your mind
- Read non-fiction books
- Take classes
- Travel
- Engage in stimulating conversation and debate - Develop your attention span
- develop attention by paying attention for longer and longer durations
- don’t multitask - Stay organised
- Associate, pair and connect
- Use Mnemonic devices
- *Loci*
Fueling your brain
Study - measuring cognitive skills in school children
- they were given a glucose drink, cereal, or no breakfast
- Attention and memory were tested at intervals 30, 90, 150 and 210 minutes
- those who drank glucose drink or had no breakfast showed poorer attention and memory
Skipping breakfast
- decr problem solving ability
- decr short term memory
- decr attention and episodic memory
Eating breakfast
- incr problem solving ability
- incr arithmatic skills
- incr vigilant attention
Sugar factors
When blood sugar gets too low, your hypothalamus signals your pituitary gland and your thyroid to alert your liver to process more sugar from body fat
If your blood sugar drops below normal levels - your brain sends out a distress signal which triggers realise of the hormone epinephrine to signal your liver to make more glucose. as a result you may feel dizzy, lightheaded, weak, shaky or have heart palpitations
Sugars are refined carbohydrates that can increase free radical inflammatory stress on the brain. A free radical is a molecule with a rogue electron that can rupture a cell membrane
High sugar consumption is associated with depression
MIT study found a 25% difference between IQ scores of children with high versus low consumption of refined carbohydrates
Swansea University Research - dips in blood sugar are correlated with poor memory, poor attention and aggressive behaviour
The amino acid cornucopia
Choline (found in egg yolks) is the precursor to acetylcholine
- inadequate acetylcholine causes the brain to damage the membrane to optain enough choline to make acetylcholine
- inadequate acetylcholine has been associated with alzheimers and memory problems
Eating a high protein meal at night may make it difficult to sleep
If you want a good short term memory and mental sharpness, consume a breakfast high in protein and consume amino acids that activate acetylcholine and norepinephrine and dopamine
L-Tryptophan (Serotonin) - improves sleep, calmness, mood
- found in turkey, milk, whole what, almonds
L-Glutamine (GABA) - decreases tension and irritability
- found in - eggs, grape juice, avo,
Tyrosine (dopamine) - increases feelings of pleasure
- found in fish, oats, wheat, dairy products, Chicken
L-Phenylalanine (norepinephrine and dopamine) - increase energy, feelings of pleaure and memory
- found in peanuts, chicken, yoghurt, milk
Choline (Acetylcholine) - Memory
found in Eggs
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamin B1(Thiamine) turns glucose into fuel for your brain
- low B1 makes you tired and inattentive
- Vit B1 is vulnerable ro depletion by alcohol consumption
- Alcohol reduces levels of serotonin and dopamine
- Vit B3 (Niacin) participates in process of incr red blood cells which carry oxygen to the brain - in moderate doses it decr cholesterol and in high doses it dilates blood vessels and decr BP
- A severe deficit in Niacin (B3) causes a condition called pellagra, which leads to dementia, diarrhoea and dermatitis.
*Factoid* - the term redneck originated in niacin deficient white field workers. Due to the deficient thet had developed a red “necklace” on the skin of their necks
Good sources of niacin - Chicken, Turket, Chinook salmon, whole wheat bread, peanuts, lentils
Conditions caused by niacin deficieny - headaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression, psychosis, pellagra
Vit B5 (Panthothenic acid) is critical for your adrenal glands (which secrete epinephrine) to convert fat and glucose to energy
A deficiency can cause feelings of malaise and numbness in feet
B5 is required to make stress hormones and acetylcholine
Vit B6 (Pyridoxine) acts as a partner for more than a hundred different enzymes
- plays a role in the synthesis of serotonin, epinephrine and norepinephrine and GABA.
- B6 content in vegetables is depleted by 57-77% by freezing them
Vit B9 (folic acid) important for pregnant women
deficiency during pregnancy can result in birth defects such as spina bifida, neural tube defect.
Critical for division and replacement of red blood cells, protein metabolism and utilisation of glucose
Vit B12 - involved in metabolism of every cell in your body. It affects cell synthesis and regulation as well as fatty acid synthesis and energy production
- if you are a vegen, you should use Vit B12 supplements because most sources of B12 are animal based foods. - clams, mussels, crab, salmon, eggs, milk
Healthy Habits: Exercise and sleep
Sleeping pills make it difficult to concentrate the subsequent day
Waking up early in the morning is a hallmark symptom of alcohol consumption in the evening
Screen time in the evening - the brain picks up the light signals from the screen through the retina, tricking the brain into functioning as if it was daytime rather than nighttime, suppressing the production of sleep hormone melatonin
Exercise and the brain
