Written By: Jennifer Redding, R.Ac
The brain is like any other organ in the body; it depends on the well-being of the whole body to work well and it needs to be specifically nourished and soothed to function optimally.
Acupuncture has been shown to improve brain function, recall and attention. Scientific tests using MRI scans have shown positive results for vascular dementia and other degenerative problems when cerebral circulation was greatly improved with the acupuncture treatments. In clinical practice, we see people perform better in interviews and exams, react appropriately and calmly to stressful situations and vastly improve memory and mood.
Tips To help Increase Your Brain Powers:
Diet helps enormously. Increase fish and vegetables and coloured fruits such as blueberries and apricots. Regular balanced meals of good quality food are essential.
Herbs, nutrients and supplements: Play an important role in boosting brain power. Gingko biloba, fish oils, B group vitamins, zinc and selenium are all significant.
Physical activities. Running, learning to dance or a different sport daily for at least 15 minutes makes a remarkable difference.
Sleep. Enough and good quality. Avoid using sedatives or sleeping pills. These suppress brain activity. If you have trouble sleeping or suffer from anxiety or worries look at treating this with acupuncture, counselling and lifestyle shifts.
“Use it or lose it” applies to the brain and daily challenges such as learning a language, crosswords, reading, blogging or other intellectual activity to help maintain a strong and flexible mind.
If you dare, mom’s and dad’s try an ‘electronic fast’ with your teens.
What is an electronic fast?
Typically, parents remove all interactive screen devices: smartphones, iPads, laptops/desktops, video games, tablets, etc. If it has a screen, remove it. Make sure you remove iPods or other music players that have screens, since removing these are frequently overlooked. A little television is ok as long as it’s non-animated, non-violent, and not watched on laptop or other mobile device
Why do the fast, you ask?
An electronic fast can:
- Reset circadian rhythms. Removing unnaturally bright screens allows the body clock to reconnect with natural light-dark cycles. Many bodily and cellular functions are dependent on having coherent rhythms, and out-of-sync rhythms are associated with a myriad of health problems.
- Allow for deep rest. Healthy sleep patterns and deep sleep in particular are dependent on normalized circadian cycles and adequate melatonin (sleep-signal) secretion, which is suppressed by both screens and manmade EMFs. Deep sleep is essential for critical thinking, focus, memory and mood, and not getting enough of it makes a child “wired and tired.”
- Rebalance brain chemistry. Multiple studies have shown that screen exposure, especially in video games, releases dopamineand activates addiction pathways. Furthermore, since melatonin converts to serotonin, its depletion could theoretically affect serotonin levels. Serotonin is necessary for calmness, a sense of well-being, and bonding.
- Improve blood flow to the frontal lobe. Critical thinking, creative activities and sports improve frontal lobe blood flow, while screen activities tend to localize blood flow to the more primitive areas of the brain. This is bad enough for adults, but for children these shifts can be devastating over time and may impact development permanently.
- Reduce stress hormones. Screen activities are associated with the stress response. This means fight-or-flight hormones are released in the short term, and cortisol is increased over time. Both of these hormonal trends are linked to cognitive, mood and behavioral issues as well as poor physical health.
- Reduce overstimulation. The brain is not meant to be bombarded with unnatural visual stimulation (overly bright and intense colors, rapidly shifting scenes, excessive movement, plus the brightness of the screen itself) nor is it meant to process unnatural EMFs.
- Normalize the biofield. The biofield is the body’s natural electromagnetic field and is reflective of many levels, from brainwaves and heart rhythms, to nerve impulses and cellular membrane channels, to DNA vibrations and the aforementioned heart-brain connection. This is a relatively new and exciting area and what we learn about the biofield will undoubtedly prove useful in terms of protecting against EMFs. In the meantime, the best way to protect the body’s biofield is to minimize exposure to electronics, especially those with screens. (Screens compound exposure because our eyes connect directly to the brain.)
