Keeping your brain healthy throughout the holidays
Hello there friends! If you subscribe to my newsletter, you may have already read my 7 tips for keeping your brain healthy throughout the holidays. Judging by the number of emails I received from you, this topic really hit home! (If you are not a newsletter subscriber, that can be easily remedied by signing up here.)
Even with the best intentions to have a stress-free, enjoyable holiday season, I know how hard it can be to maintain a brain-healthy lifestyle. Shopping for gifts, preparing special meals, welcoming guests, and a full social calendar can squeeze out the time I would otherwise dedicate to staying healthy.
This year, I’ve resolved to get ahead of the season with some goals for keeping my brain healthy while still fully reveling in the holiday spirit. A healthy holiday lifestyle, for me, includes committing to 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, taking time to exercise for at least 150 minutes each week, and meditate for a few minutes each day. It’s also about avoiding most of the brain-unhealthy foods that surround me and limiting my alcohol intake. I say most because I recognize that rigid rules around holiday eating can conflict with the expectations of family and friends. Believe me, I don’t want to hurt my mom’s feelings if I choose not to eat her famous artichoke dip. My strategy: Explain that I’m taking care of my brain as best I can. And that means eating more brain-healthy fats (like avocado) and less of the brain-unhealthy ones (like mayonnaise).
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’ll know that these aren’t arbitrary goals, but rather habits that are supported by science. Earlier this year, a study about how lifestyle factors can reduce Alzheimer’s risk was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study showed that participants who follow 4 out of 5 lifestyle habits (detailed below) were 60% less likely to get Alzheimer’s. Even more significantly (because no study has shown this before), those at high risk of Alzheimer’s because they carried a genetic mutation were 30% less likely to end up with Alzheimer’s.
Now, this study didn’t look at all the lifestyle factors associated with brain longevity, such as meditation, resistance training, adequate sleep (both REM and deep sleep), and maintaining a healthy weight. Instead, it created a composite lifestyle score based on the presence or absence of five common habits, all of which have been independently studied for their association with increasing Alzheimer’s or slowing down the aging of the brain.
Here are my tips for making the study’s recommendations doable this holiday season:
1. Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet.
I am thrilled that brain-healthy food was the first lifestyle factor listed. The truth is, during the holidays, I have a tough time keeping my diet packed with the foods we know nourish and protect the brain (like whole grains, beans, fish, and leafy greens) while avoiding the ones thought to cause harm (like fried food, pastries, and sweets). Here are a few strategies I rely on:
- Eat before going to a party. This may sound counterintuitive. After all, we should be avoiding excess calories around the holidays, and adding an extra meal doesn’t help. But it actually does help to eat a small meal (especially one packed with fiber) before you’re hungry and confronted with a tempting buffet of holiday treats. I make a plate of something very simple from things I have on hand in my fridge, such as brown rice, a spoonful of chickpeas, a handful of greens, all drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Then, when I get to the party, I skip the hors d’oeuvres and focus on connecting with friends. If there is something I really want to try, I take a small portion, treating it like a tasting rather than a meal.
- Bring a brain-healthy dish. When eating at friends’ homes, I would never want my host to feel like I am judging their choice of foods, even if I’m not served anything I’d call brain-healthy. So I always offer to bring a dish that is as beautiful as it is good for the brain, and that I know everyone will love. Favorites include my Essential Homemade Hummus with Colorful Crudité. Or, Za’ atar Spiced Pecans. A plate of Cacao Tahini Date Balls will always get devoured, and also make a nice hostess gift.
- Indulge a little. Listen, I get it. Food is more than just food. It represents nostalgia, celebration, and at this time of year, it might feel too tough to skip foods that aren’t brain-healthy. So, if you love desserts, there’s room to enjoy some of the special treats being served. The MIND diet allows up to 5 servings of pastries and sweets each week, useful guidelines for the holidays. My advice? Be strategic about what desserts you plan to eat. Personally, I don’t care much for sugar cookies and cupcakes, so I hold off for my favorite biscotti or a small wedge of flourless chocolate cake.
- Try out intermittent fasting. If you have been following the news, you may have read about intermittent fasting (also called time-restricted eating) as a strategy for losing weight or avoiding weight gain. What this means is you enjoy your meals during a shorter interval each day (say, from 11 am to 7 pm). On the days that I’m fasting, I’ll skip breakfast (but I can still have black coffee, tea, and water) and eat an early dinner. To start, try this just a few days each week to see if it agrees with you. Not only can it help you get more high quality sleep (because you’re not eating close to bedtime) intermittent fasting can help curb excessive eating during the holidays.
2. Keep Your Alcohol Intake Light to Moderate.
The truth is, limiting alcohol intake is crucial for brain health year round, not just during the holidays. But, it’s this festive time of year, packed with parties and holiday feasts that can tip towards overindulgence. Here are my tried-and-true strategies for keeping drinking to a reasonable level:
- Don’t drink alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. Because alcohol is sedating, some people fall asleep easily after drinking. But a few hours later, alcohol will wreak havoc on a normal sleep cycle — robbing you of REM sleep and triggering frequent wakeful intervals. Ideally, enjoy your holiday drink or two early in the evening so the alcohol is mostly out of your bloodstream by the time you go to bed.
- Start and end each evening out with sparkling water and lime. It’s festive, refreshing, and hydrating. And, it will help you keep your alcohol intake in the light range.
- Greet your guests with a non-alcoholic beverage, or offer to bring a pitcher to a party. Sometimes hosts focus more on the alcoholic offerings at a party, less on the alcohol-free, since the cultural assumption is parties equal alcohol. Help them out by supplying a booze-free batch of drinks to share.
- Drink only while eating, and only when surrounded by others. In 4 out of the 5 Blue Zones and most Mediterranean cultures, drinking happens as part of a meal shared with others during social time.
- You don’t have to drink at all. Many studies have looked at the brain health benefits of drinking, especially red wine. The truth is that this theory holds water only when drinking small doses, e.g. 1 drink per day for women, 2 drinks per day for men. The data does not suggest that you need to drink alcohol to fend off Alzheimer’s. If you are a non-drinker, embrace the evolving culture that celebrates sobriety (sometimes called “sober curious”) and resolve to make no excuses for declining when offered an alcoholic drink.
3. Get at least 150 Minutes of Aerobic Exercise Each Week.
If you are short on time, get your 150 minutes in high energy bursts of exercise. High intensity interval training, or HIIT, has been studied for its ability to bring blood flow to the hippocampus (your brain’s memory center). You can access HIIT workouts at a spin class, by walking at intervals up a steep hill, or by varying your walking speed on flat terrain. Getting outside for a brisk walk, no matter the weather, is also a good way to get your 150 minutes during busy holiday weeks.
4. Do Not Smoke.
It may seem like fewer people are using tobacco products these days, but smoking is still a huge public health issue. And, we are seeing more of our young people vape with tobacco products than ever before. In a new study, smokers were found to be more likely to get dementia with symptoms starting as early as in their 40’s. If you suspect that any of your teenagers are vaping, please share these results with them this holiday season.
5. Engage in Cognitively-Stimulating Activities.
Rather than spend time on screens, do something that makes your brain more resilient to aging, like playing games, reading books, dancing, or enjoying music. My family always embraces a good dose of competition, so I am going to see who can track the least amount of screen time on their phones. Instead, I hope to get us all cognitively engaged with ping pong tournaments, telling stories, poring over travel books to plan our next trip, and recruiting help in the kitchen to try new recipes.
6. Make sleep a priority.
Finally, though the JAMA study didn’t include sleep, I would add this as a key strategy for getting through the holidays. Not only will you enjoy yourself more if you are well rested, getting a good night’s sleep can help sharpen your memory now and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s later. While we sleep, our brains go into clean-up mode —sorting sensory input, filing short term memories, and getting rid of inflammatory substances. One of these substances, amyloid protein, is a key player in the development of Alzheimer’s.
- Give yourself a “sleep opportunity” of 8 hours each night. Sleep expert Matthew Walker coined this term for the number of hours you need in bed in order to get enough sleep. Everyone’s different, but a dedicated 8 hours in bed, for most of us, will ensure adequate time for actual sleeping. I find it helpful to set an alarm on my phone to tell me when it’s time to get ready for bed.
- Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Regularity of your sleep cycle is emerging as an important factor for how circadian rhythms impact brain health.
- Keep electronics devices out of the bedroom. Although it may be tempting to tap away at your iPad or phone to knock off a few emails before bed, resist. Your body needs to get the consistent message that beds are for sleeping, not working.
- Don’t exercise close to bedtime. Those 150 minutes of exercise I want you to get each week? Just make sure you’re all done exercising two to three hours before you go to sleep.
7. Last but not least, enjoy yourself!
The holidays might feel like they’re all about gifting and travel and stress, but they are also an opportunity to connect and reflect on the year you’ve had. I’m looking forward to sharing some new recipes with you in the coming weeks, and until then, I wish you a nourishing and peaceful holiday.
Annie Fenn, M.D.
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