Your brain is the most highly developed, genetically advanced, full of potential tissue that the natural world has ever created. Your brain is capable of logical thinking, abstract thinking, and creativity. It keeps your physiology regulated, it warns you of dangers and causes your body to respond appropriately. Your brain is also the least understood of all the parts of your body. However, it is also one of the biggest and most exciting areas of research today. Unfortunately, many people’s brains are being abused and mistreated and not living up to their full potential, and deteriorating faster then they should.

There is huge number of neurological problems that are becoming common that were either not present, rare, or very unusual 50-100 years ago. Conditions such as Autism, ADD/ADHD, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s, just to name a few. Autism is exploding at the alarming rate of 1 out of every 88 children, and 1 out of every 54 boys is at risk of developing Autism according to the CDC (Center for Diseases Control). The amount of elderly people with Alzheimer’s and dementia is staggering and only getting worse. The truth is we need to start now to make sure we keep our brains as healthy as possible, in order to do that we need to make healthy lifestyle choices.

A healthy brain comes from a healthy body, which then helps your body to become more efficient and work easier, which helps to optimize your human potential. Before we can talk about educating your brain, it is important to understand about how the brain works. Our brain is the motherboard for our central nervous system. The nervous system has two jobs. The first job is to receive information from the outside world (sensory information). The second job is to respond to that sensory information and help the body adapt to its environment. For example, if you touch a hot pot on the stove, your body senses the hot pot and pulls your hand away so you do not burn yourself further.

To understand the brain a little further, there are five different brainwave patterns, essentially frequencies of communication that allow the different neurons of you brain to interconnect with each other. Those different brainwaves are affected by different stimulus and it is important to keep them in balance to unlock the full potential of our bodies. For example, beta waves are the information or thinking waves, which are activated by solving puzzles or reading. Alpha waves are the relaxation waves, which help the body relax and also affect perceptions of happiness. There are also gamma, theta, and delta waves in our brain.  

Yes the brain is complex, but educating your brain is not as complicated as the science behind how your brain works. Think about it like driving a car, you don’t have to know how to replace the engine to be able to drive yourself to the store. You should however be able to recognize when things are not working correctly, and what you can do as maintenance to keep it working, both your brain and your car.

The first step to educate your brain is to make sure to stop inflammation. If your brain is inflamed, the biochemistry of your neurotransmitters will never work correctly. There will be a dampening of the signals in your brain so it will not be able to communicate easily. How do you know you have inflammation in your brain?  Here are a few simple clues. First is brain fog; are you forgetful, have trouble with recall, do you get headaches, or feel spacey? Those are definite signs that you have an inflamed brain. Inflammation in your brain comes from two places. First is direct trauma to your head. The second is inflammation from the digestive tract. Your gut and your brain are very interconnected and when the gut is inflamed, those inflammatory particles will make their way up to your brain and cause your brain to be inflamed also. Gut inflammation is caused by eating too many processed foods, refined sugars, and trans fats. Food sensitivities or allergies also contribute to inflammation. An inflamed gut will lead to unfriendly organisms like bacteria, yeasts, or parasites causing a dysbiosis in the gut and creating more inflammation.

The second step to educating your brain comes from proper movement. The nervous system develops when we are children through the use of the cross crawl system. The cross crawl system is how we move when we crawl, walk or run. The right arm goes forward and the left leg goes forward at the same time, and then the pattern reverses. Every time we fire those nerve pathways we are recharging our brains. Therefore when you are out and about performing your activities of daily living, walk with the intent to recharge your brain. Avoid, as best you can, holding things in your hand (ie. cell phones). Let your arms swing naturally by your sides (don’t put your hands in your pockets) and walk purposefully. It does not have to be fast, but don’t shuffle, keep your head up and allow your body to move in rhythm. The simple act of walking is the best way to recharge your brain, remove toxin from your body, and increase the oxygen to your brain and body tissues.

Once you have the basics down you can work to increase the other brain waves and brain functions. Alpha waves are created through meditation. A simple practice of doing nothing for 10 to 15 minutes a day substantially changes your brain function. Theta waves are generated while in a state of childlike play. As we get older it becomes socially unacceptable to build a fort behind the couch and play Cowboys and Indians with our neighbors. However, you can do it with your neighbor’s kids or grandkids. A childlike state involves creativity, imagination, and usually a lot of laughing. Consider the last time you had a deep visceral laugh that made your sides ache and tears come to your eyes, (I’m sure you just smiled thinking about it). Laughter is the best medicine because it does change brainwaves and brain chemistry. So laugh more and your brain will be healthier.

Our brains and bodies work together through a series of life long adaptations. That’s why it is hard to teach old dogs new tricks. We get stuck in ruts of doing things we always do, because that’s the way we have always done them. If you want to help your brain to be healthy and educate it to work at its optimal potential; stop eating crappy food, move your body, take time for yourself, and have a few laughs, and your brain will be as sharp as ever.