How I’m using 5 brain healthy tips from Move For Minds™ every day
Did you miss Move For Minds? Don’t worry — I took notes! On June 4, thousands of people came together in eight cities across the U.S. for this event to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s prevention and funding for research. I co-chaired the Orange County, California Move For Minds with founder Maria Shriver and fundraised on its behalf. Besides being a fun, active and mind-blowing event, I learned dozens of new ideas about how to keep our brains sharp as we age. Read on for my top 5 brain healthy tips from the experts at Move For Minds 2017.
Maria Shriver at Move For Minds™ Irvine
Maria Shriver was on hand to open Move For Minds™ Orange County. Maria’s thoughts and words are always inspiring, energizing, and a positive force in the world of Alzheimer’s awareness. She founded the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement for women to unite around finding a cure for this disease. In Maria’s words (in this month’s Oprah Magazine):
Alzheimer’s is viewed as scary, depressing and hopeless, whereas I’m trying to shine a light on the reasons to be hopeful and excited. We’re on the brink of learning how to age well — physically, mentally, and spiritually.
What happens at Move For Minds™?
First we tackle the hour-long workout! We show up at Equinox Sports Club — one of Move For Minds’ sponsors — ready to sweat. The athletic trainers take us through a specially designed brain-body workout based on cutting edge research on Alzheimer’s prevention.
Next: Shopping! The marketplace is open for browsing and buying everything from the latest books on brain health to the best Beats headphones to my new favorite chocolate bar, engineered by Dr. Daniel Amen to be good for your brain.
But my favorite part of Move For Minds™ Orange County was not the exercise or the chocolate. Considering how much I love to work out and love to eat chocolate, that says a lot! No, my favorite part was the panel discussion of brain health superstars. The Move For Minds™ team promised an incredible panel of brain health experts, with fabulous moderating by Leeza Gibbons, and they delivered.
Brain Healthy Tip #1: S.T.O.P. Method of Meditation
Mallika Chopra: Yes, Mallika is Deepak’s daughter, but she is also the founder and CEO of Intent.com and author of Living with Intent: My
Somewhat Messy Journey to Purpose, Peace and Joy. Mallika recognizes that everyone is moving through life at a frantic pace. She demystifies meditation to make it accessible to us all. In Mallika’s words:
STOP. You can do this anytime and anyplace. It’s a great thing to do if you are feeling reactive to a situation. I recommend you close your eyes, but you don’t have to. “S” is for stop. “T” is for take three breaths: in and out, in and out, in and out. “O” is for observe. Take a moment and observe what’s happening in your body. “P” is for proceed. Just open your eyes and proceed. Simple.
How I am using this tip: Now I have a sticky note on my computer that says S.T.O.P. I take mini-breaks while working for this brief meditation. It especially helps if I feel overwhelmed with my to do list. Thanks Mallika!
Brain healthy tip #2: The Ultimate Brain Healthy Workout is Holistic
What do I mean by a holistic workout? The latest science shows that physical exercise is an important contributor to preventing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. But it’s not just one aspect of exercise, like cardio or interval training, that’s important. What’s important is doing a little bit of everything: cardio, strength training, balance and restorative work.
The Move For Minds™ workout was set up as a circuit with 6 stations: 1. Warm up and light cardio. 2. Quick explosive movements to keep the brain agile. 3. Balance and strength by lifting a large wobbly prop. 4. Core work with the eyes closed to improve balance. 5. More cardio, this time with intervals on the rowing machine. 6. Meditation — a brief standing guided meditation to calm the brain and nervous system. It was challenging; our hearts were pumping and we were sweating. And, most importantly, we were training our brains and our bodies at the same time.
How I am using this tip: I try to include intervals in all of my cardio workouts. When I do core work such as planks and balancing on one foot, I challenge myself to close my eyes. And I strive to carve out 3-5 minutes after each workout to meditate, even if it means I am just sitting in my car, eyes closed and mind quieted, before I head out to the next thing.
Brain Healthy Tip #3: Sitting is the New Smoking
Katy Bowman describes herself as a biomechanist and a teacher of movement. You’ve probably heard that “sitting is the new smoking,” right? Well, Katy wants us all to get out of our chairs and move in small, meaningful ways throughout the day. Katy shows exactly how she does that on her website, Nutritious Movement, in her “a day in a movement-rich life” post. In fact you can take a tour of her house and see how she has engineered her life so that she is constantly moving and almost never sitting. (Hint: there are very few places to sit in her house!)
Although we are all “hyperfocused on cardio and strength training and flexibility,” Katy says, “we need to expand those definitions and get more non-exercise movement.” For example, Katy advises laying out your kitchen so that you have to reach and squat to get things out of the cupboards. Set up your office so you change your position frequently. Incorporate movement into meetings; instead of having coffee with friends, catch up while taking a walk. In Katy’s words:
Your cells are just as affected by the movements you do and do not feed them as they are by the foods you do and do not feed them.
How I am using this tip: Since much of my work involves writing, I spend more time than is healthy at a desk. I reconfigured my office to have different work stations that force me to change my body mechanics every 15 minutes. Also in my office: a foam roller for doing restorative MELT exercises, MELT balls for correcting alignment while working at my standing desk, and an exercise ball for doing backbends to correct a hunched forward posture.
Brain Healthy Tip #4: Let’s say Care Partner instead of Caregiver
I have been working my way through podcasts of Lori La Bey’s popular radio show Alzheimer’s Speaks, so it was a huge thrill to meet Lori and listen to her wisdom on the panel. Supporting Alzheimer’s caregivers is a big focus of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement. Lori would like us to change the way we think about taking care of victims of dementia. In Lori’s words:
I really encourage people to switch to the term “care partner” or “care companion” instead of caregiver. Caregiver means you are giving everything away and not getting anything back. But being a care partner says: We still have a relationship, you’re still here…that’s critical.
How I am using this tip: I am trying to replace the word “caregiver” with “care partner” whenever possible. I’m also working my way through all the incredible information stockpiled on Lori’s website, Alzheimer’s Speaks, and on her radio show. Stay tuned: Lori has asked me to be a guest on her show later this summer!
Brain Healthy Tip #5: Intermittent Fasting Cleans Up Amyloid Protein
Have you heard of “intermittent fasting,” the practice of going 12-16 hours between meals? Fasting has long been an integral part of religious practices, the premise behind the ketogenic diet, and now is being studied for Alzheimer’s prevention. When I heard Dr. Daniel Amen would be on the Move For Minds@ Orange County, I couldn’t wait to ask his opinion of intermittent fasting.
Dr. Daniel Amen is a double board certified psychiatrist, clinical neuroscientist, brain imaging specialist, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of the Amen Clinics. Amen has been imaging the brain for over 25 years and compiled a database of over 125,000 brain scans. Here’s what he says about intermittent fasting for brain health:
I’m a huge fan {of the ketogenic diet} especially if you believe that beta-amyloid plaques are the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The longer you can go between meals, the more “autophagy” happens, which is your body’s way of cleaning up those plaques. There are people who recommend going 12 hours, or even up to 16 hours, between meals.
Dr. Amen and his wife Tana’s latest book, The Brain Warrior’s Way Cookbook, has recipes and inspiration for living a brain healthy lifestyle.
How I am using this tip: Having dabbled in intermittent fasting over the last few years, I am now even more committed to fasting 12 hours most days of the week. It’s not hard for a breakfast-skipper like me, but I have had to wean off putting cream and sugar in my coffee. Black coffee in the morning will not initiate a spike in glucose or insulin and therefore does not break a fast. During the 4 hours I set aside to write in the early morning, sipping my black coffee and before breaking my overnight fast, are the times I have the most mental clarity and focus.
Which brings me to a phrase that I love, with a wink and a nod to Michael Pollan (who famously wrote: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.), written by fellow Move For Minds attendee Roland Denzel:
Drink coffee. Not too much. Mostly black.
Together with his wife Galina, Roland co-authored a book about making small changes for optimal health: Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well: 52 ways to feel better in a week.
If you missed Move For Minds™ this year, be sure to make it in 2018 in one of the 8 participating cities (NY, Boston, Washington, DC, Miami, Dallas, LA, San Francisco, and Irvine.) All sites sold out and had a waiting list except for Irvine.
I want to thank everyone who donated to my fundraising page to raise money for the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement! If you meant to donate but never got around to it, there’s still time! You can make a donation here.
One last thought from Maria Shriver:
What we now know is the way we live our lives can impact our brains. It’s not just one thing. It’s not turmeric. It’s not just vitamin B12 or vitamin D. It’s everything — it’s what we eat, how we rest our brains, it’s how we concentrate, the supplements we take, the people we surround ourselves with. It’s everything.
Maria, I could not agree more.
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