Top 8 Warning Signs your Brain is in Trouble

From Daniel Amen, MD:

8.   Chronic insomnia/sleep apnea:  Research suggests that people who get less than 7 hours of sleep at night have lower overall blood flow to the brain and poorer cognitive functioning.

7.  Erectile or sexual dysfunction: When blood flow is good to the sexual organs, it is also good to the brain.

6.  Low energy: When people feel physically tired it is often due to low brain function.

5.  Overweight or  obesity: Being overweight increases your risk for Alzheimer’s disease, depression, heart disease, cancer and diabetes.  New research studies have shown that as a person’s weight goes up, the actual physical size of his or her brain goes down!

4.  Depression: Depression by itself is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, cancer, and obesity.

3.  Short attention span/distractibility:  Having a short attention span or being easily distracted is often a sign of brain dysfunction and can wreck havoc in your life!

2.  Poor judgement/impulsivity: The quality of the decisions you make is a direct reflection of the health of your brain: and it is the quality of your decisions that determines your success in life.

1.  Poor memory: One of the most important questions in diagnosing early dementia is whether or not your memory has deteriorated in the past 10 years.  If your memory is worse than it was 10 years ago, you need to be concerned.

Good news!  There are several things you can do to help your brain:  Doing neurofeedback, eating a better diet, adding supplements to your diet, and physical exercise can help your brain be it’s best!

 

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Biofeedback now a ‘Level 1 – Best Support’ Intervention for Attention and Hyperactivity Behaviors

Good news for Neurofeedback!  The American Academy of Pediatrics “Evidence-based Child and Ado­les­cent Psycho-social Inter­ven­tions”  has just announced it will ele­vate biofeed­back to “Level 1 — Best Sup­port” as an inter­ven­tion for Atten­tion & Hyper­ac­tiv­ity Behav­iors in the next edi­tion.  Read article here.

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Learning a Second Language is Beneficial for the Brain

Learning a second language is good for the brain!  It increases neuro-connections in the brain and, in older people, may help stave off dementia.  Click here to learn more about the advantages of learning a second (or third) language.

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This week, March 11 – 16, is Brain Awareness Week!

Brain blueCelebrate the only organ to name itself, by eating a brain-healthy diet rich in antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids!  Try blueberries and some seared salmon and veggie medley (recipe below): Then treat your brain to a neuro-workout with some Neurofeedback!

What You Need

2 Tbsp.  oil, divided
6  salmon fillets (1-1/2 lb.)
2 cups   shredded red cabbage
1 can   (15 oz.) black beans, drained
1 pkg.   (9 oz.) baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup  KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 tsp.  ground red pepper (cayenne)

Make It

HEAT 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish; cook 4 min. on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork and is golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm.

HEAT remaining oil in skillet. Add cabbage; cook and stir 1 min. Add beans; cook 2 min. or until heated through. Stir in spinach; cook 2 min. or just until wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in dressing and pepper.

SPOON cabbage mixture onto serving plates; top with fish.

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The Female Brain Revealed

Want to know more about the Female Brain? Tune in to The Dr Oz Show Friday, 3/8 @ 4:00 PM EST where he will be hosting Daniel Amen, MD in a live Tweet Chat: http://www.amenclinics.com/know-my-brain#sthash.DMc25Gf5.dpbs

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Fight Depression by Changing Your Diet!

Episode from The Doctors today talks about how to combat depression by changing what you eat!  Check it out!  Combine proper diet with Neurotherapy for a great one-two punch!

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Foods good for your brain.

Great episode today on The Doctors talking about brain healthy foods and foods that improve mood.

Brain Healthy Foods

 

 

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Meditate Like a Buddhist Monk – Increase your Gamma Waves

It has long been known that Tibetan Buddhist monks have greatly enhanced mental abilities in the areas as focus, memory, learning and consciousness as compared to the average Westerner. In a ground breaking study reported by Marc Kaufman in the Washington Post, it was revealed that Tibetan monks that had been meditating for a time spanning 15 to 40 years had brains that were significantly physically different than the average person.  One of the biggest differences the researchers found was in the amount of gamma brainwaves that the monks produced, which was significantly higher than that of a control group.  Read more about this study.

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Recent Canadian study shows brain fMRI is changed by Neurofeedback

Researchers at the Western University and the Lawson Health Research Institute have discovered that functional changes within a key brain network occur directly after a 30-minute session of noninvasive, neural-based training, also known as Neurofeedback.

Experts have long believed that dysfunction of this cognitive-control network is implicated in a range of brain disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Read more about this study.

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Girls with ADHD should seek treatment early in their school years

In a recent study, UC Berkeley found that girls diagnosed with ADHD as children had more self esteem issues, academic difficulties, and more issues with relationships as young adults than non-ADHD girls, sometimes leading to self-destructive thoughts.  Read the full article here.  Consider Neurofeedback for a non-med treatment for ADHD.

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