Brain Performance Part 4 — The impact of physical needs
In this last article in the series on brain performance, we will explore the impact that our physical needs have on our brain’s performance.
From article 1, you may recall that the rider, is one of the most energy-hungry parts of our brain and he tires easily.
The Rider has a limited, common resource. For example using effort on its capability of self-control will limit the resources we have left for solving problems.
So if we want to maintain the capacity of the Rider to execute on his functions and therefore his higher-level competencies; it is critical that we implement enabling behaviours to meet our physical needs.
Without our physical needs in place, our rider cannot function optimally and our elephant launches the threat response (defaulting behaviour to self-preservation, reactivity and heightened anger).
Enabling Behaviours
Enabling behaviours are often simple practices that increase our capacity to use our foundational capabilities and therefore our higher-level competencies.
Sleep and rest
Sleep is the number one factor to influence optimal brain performance. Sleep helps to improve all of our rider’s capabilities and ability to execute on the higher-level competencies. When you need to be at our best, make your sleep priority no.1.
We documented the brain and body’s need for sleep in these two articles here:
- Sleep Part 1: The why and what of sleep
- Sleep Part 2: Simple sleep tips
Movement
A lack of movement = a lack of cognitive skills.
John Ratey is working hard to promote a healthier lifestyle via movement. In his book, Go Wild, that he co-authored with Richard Manning; John uses some hard hitting evidence.
For example, John mentions that J. Eric Ahlskog and his colleagues found that exercise not only helped improve cognitive impairments, it helped prevent them.
Even though the studies were focused on dementia and Alzheimer’s; improvements were found in a wide range of impairments, from memory loss to mental acuity. The researchers considered that cognitive impairment was a cause of being too sedentary.
Why is this? When you move, you increase the circulation of blood to the brain, which delivers more oxygen, nutrients and neurotransmitters (called the vascular effect). But interestingly this is not the biggest benefit. Another, more major benefit is improved neuroplasticity and neurogenesis.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change (to rewire itself). It helps us to learn, develop, to recover from injuries and it is critical for behaviour change.
Neurogenesis is the birth of new brain cells (neurons). Essentially, this is brain growth. Related to growth, exercise has also been found to prevent a loss of grey matter.
More specifically, exercise has been found to increase the size of the brain’s hippocampus (memory processing) which means that exercise increases memory.
Exercise has also been found to improve the connections and functioning of the whole brain.
A lack of exercise has been found to decrease the brain’s functioning and therefore the rider’s capabilities and higher-level competencies are also inhibited.
John has discovered that this holds true for young as well as old brains.
Much of the benefit from exercise is thought to be linked to the fact that exercise places demands on the brain which causes it to release brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1).
BDNF helps brain cells to survive and encourages the growth of new cells. It is vital to brain functions such as learning, memory and higher thinking. IGF-1 supports growth.
It is considered that the quickest way to boost BDNF is through vigorous exercise. Below you will find an example programme you can use. Martin Gibala’s research has shown that as little as three sessions of 20 seconds at maximal or near maximal effort effectively and efficiently boosts health and fitness
An example exercise programme to boost BDNF and fitness:
Run outdoors our use Indoor bike/Running machine/X-Trainer/Rower
1. 3 minutes — Warm up for 3 minutes — walk and light jog
2. 30 seconds — Run at 50% of max speed up a steep hill (or use elevation or machine resistance)
3. 60 seconds — Walk
4. 30 seconds — Run at 75% of max speed up a steep hill
5. 60 seconds — Walk
6. 30 seconds — Run at Max speed up a steep hill
7. 90 seconds — Walk
8. Repeat 6 and 7 three to eight times
9. 3 minutes — Cool down — walk
Complex movements
In addition to intensity, BDNF and brain development is also helped with more complex movement. Daniel Wolpert has famously talked about the size of the brain and the ability to move. He considers we have a brain, first and foremost for adaptable and complex movement).
Natural movement is great for this as it challenges every muscle, bone and joint to work together. You can start simple, and then build more and more complex combinations. Movnat and Idoportal provide examples of how you can exercise like this.
The Workout The World Forgot | By MovNat
Regular movement
At work many people spend most of their day sitting or standing. As little as 20–30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise like walking will have a positive impact on your health and brain performance. Moving every hour is optimal. You could try one of the following to gain more movement:
- Walk to work and back.
- Setting a calendar reminder to take a 5–10 minute walk, every 1–1.5 hours.
- Agreeing a routine with a colleague or taking meetings as walk and talks.
- Take a longer route to get a drink or go to the toilet.
- Take the stairs to the top floor then back down to the floor you need.
Fuel
What we eat and drink literally makes us. Our body makes approx 2000000 red blood cells every second and the material it makes them from comes from what you eat, drink and breathe.
So what can we do to fuel our brain?
BDNF: To keep things simple, it is worth noting that sugar consumption decreases BDNF production and the following things increase it: omega-3 fats, vitamin B12 and folate.
These essential nutrients are easy to consume (in a bioavailable way) through fresh vegetables (Kale, Spinach, Broccolli, Asparagus, Avocados, etc); free-range (organic / biodynamic) eggs; cold water fish (Mackerel, Salmon, Herring), walnuts, cottage cheese, organic beef liver.
Purple foods and Anthocyanins: A kind of antioxidant, anthocyanins help protect the brain, increase cognitive functioning, glucose disposal to brain cells and memory. Anthocyanins come from purple foods like Blueberries (yes the juice is purple ;)), purple cabbage, purple potatoes and purple kale. In this study, Blueberries, specifically, were stated to improve brain functioning and memory.
Beetroots have been known to help increase the bloodflow to the brain due to their high nitrate content. They also contain folate which helps the production of BDNF.
Plums are thought to decrease inflammation in the brain and protect it.
Feed your gut
-Eat Probiotics: Especially Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Sources include: Kefir, probiotic yoghurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, sourdough products, kimchi, lassi.
-Eat Prebiotics: Asparagus, potato salad, leeks, onions, garlic, artichokes, endive leaves, sushi rice.
Variety from fresh, organic & natural
When it comes to nutrition, variety is important as is getting most of food from fresh, organic whole foods. We need a good balance of protein, carbohydrates and natural fats.
There are also some obvious foods to avoid/limit: trans-fats, sugar (especially soda), high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oils, refined flour, grains, baked goods, processed foods, packaged/tinned foods, foods that have long ingredients list or words you cannot pronounce.
Most importantly keep things simple and maintain a good relationship with food. Dieting never works. Start with a 80 / 20 rule. 80% of the time you eat whats best for you, so the other 20% of the time your body is resilient enough to handle what you have. Over time, as you get a good balance with enough sleep, rest, movement and fuel, your cravings for the bad stuff will naturally decrease as your body is no longer stressed and gets what it needs.
Aim to eat a balanced meal or snack every three to four hours during the day as this will help to maintain an optimal blood sugar level supply to the brain (the brain’s main fuel).
By keeping some key items close to hand you can always recharge the brain:
- Handful of nuts (e.g. almonds/walnuts/macadamias) and a piece of fruit (e.g. apple or banana)
- Avocado and some berries
- Hard boiled egg (one for the open plan offices ;))
- Vegetable Crudities (e.g. cucumber, carrot, celery, fennel) and a yogurt or nuts
- Yoghurt or Kefir and some berries
- Green Vegetable Smoothie
Summary
Our brain is very energy hungry, especially our rider who helps us to execute the capabilities and competencies that we need throughout the day. By design, our brain cannot work at high speeds continuously.
Sleep, rest, movement and the right fuel, help to optimise our brain’s performance. Without them, our brain cannot function, and our elephant launches the threat response (defaulting behaviour to self-preservation, reactivity and heightened anger).
By simply prioritising 7–8 hours of good quality sleep (aided by good sleep hygiene before bed), we provide ourselves with the best possible start.
By getting as little as 30 minutes of moderate walking, split up throughout the day you can provide the brain with a better supply of oxygen, nutrients and neurotransmitters, in addition to helping the brain to change and grow (via BDNF release).
By eating foods that contain nutrients such as folate, B12, omega-3 and anthocyanins (obtained from purple foods) you are able to help the rider to increase its execution of its capabilities in addition to helping the brain to change and grow (via BDNF release). By eating a balanced meal/snack every 3–4 hours, you will also ensure the brain receives the supply of blood sugar that it requires.
The other articles in this series:
