Brain Fitness

RAI FITNESS 1ANTI-AGING STRATEGIES FOR ACHIEVING

1

SUPER MIND POWER

ROBERT GOLDMAN,

M.D., D.O., PH.D.,

PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SPORTS MEDICINE

WITH

RONALD KLATZ,

M.D., D.O.,

PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ANTI-AGING MEDICINE

ISA BERGE

U.S.

Within these pages you

$24.95

will find all the

how

date, cutting-edge information on

/CANADA $35.95

most up-t

to boost brai

power, improve memory, concentration, and creativil

and keep your mind super-fit

—

as long as you

The most important organ we possess

is

our brain.

liv

is

It

our

remarkable brainpower that sets us apart from other species and

makes us

special.

And

like

can be made stronger with consistent

effort,

can be expanded and strengthened.

too,

of us

is

Anti-Aging Medicine, tips

all

our brainpower,

In fact,

each one

capable of developing Super Mind Power.

As cofounder and director Dr.

of the

American Academy

lives,

of

Robert Goldman has at his finger-

of the latest scientific research

can do not only our

our muscles, which

on what each of us

mental powers throughout

to retain all our

but also to actually strengthen and improve our

mind power as we age. Now he shares that information,

in

layman's terms, with numerous self-tests, charts, and quizzes, so that

we

all

can improve memory, sharpen con-

centration, reduce stress, learn to sleep better, all

—

man

ward

off

—

above

the devastation of Alzheimer's disease. Gold-

discusses the

minerals,

and

many

nutritional

supplements, vitamins,

and medications that have been proved

enhance mental

fitness, providing specific

mens. But he also goes beyond

doses and

to

regi-

this, detailing particular

exercises, activities, and lifestyle techniques designed to

sharpen mental acuity. Each chapter ends with a "Brief Refresher" chart of the strategies discussed, and the book

concludes with an Appendix detailing an overall plan for pursuing Super Mind Power on

As medicine continues

becomes more

vital for

us

all

new millennium.

fronts.

increase longevity, and

to

and vigorous, Brain Fitness bible for the

all

to

is

it

keep the mind healthy

destined to become our

FlYG^tl

BY THE SAME AUTHOR Death

in the

Death

Locker Room: Steroids, Cocaine, and Sports

in the

Locker

Room

II.

Drugs and Sports

The "E" Factor Seven Anti -Aging Secrets

Stopping the Clock

The Science of Anti -Aging Medicine Advances

in

Anti-Aging Medicine

Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics,

Vol. I

Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics,

Vol. II

N

(2fiu~

K

/A

ANTI-AGING FOR ACh SUPER M I

DOUBLEDAY NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY AUCKLAND

PUBLISHED BY DOUBLEDAY

Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group,

a division of

1540 Broadway,

DOUBLEDAY and

New

York

the portrayal of an anchor with division of

a

New

Inc.

York 10036

dolphin are trademarks of Doubleday, a

Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group,

Inc.

Book design by Chris Welch Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Goldman, Robert, 1955-

mind power

Brain fitness: anti-aging strategies for achieving super

with Ronald Klatz and Lisa Berger.

—

/

Robert M. Goldman

1st ed.

cm.

p.

Includes bibliographical references and index. 1.

Cognition 4. I.

—Age Stress

factors.

2.

Memory

management.

Klatz, Ronald,

5.

—Age

Aging.

1955-

II.

.

3.

—

Aging

Sleep

—Age

Prevention.

Berger, Lisa.

BF724.55.A35G64 153.

factors.

6.

III.

Title.

1999

l'2— dc21

98-18785

CIP

ISBN 0-385-48864-5 Copyright

©

1999 by Robert Goldman, M.D., and Lisa Berger All Rights

Printed

in

Reserved

the United States of America

January 1999 First 1

3579

Edition 10

8642

factors.

To

all

the great scientists past, present, and future seeking to unlock

the secrets of the

human

and grandmother Rose,

brain,

my parents Arnold my mind and being.

and to

who shaped

and Alice

^©DC^OWLlPd^l^TT

There were many challenges with induced to present

scientific information

vealing private past laborators, Dr.

this project, especially since

life

experiences.

I

from

would

Ronald Klatz and Lisa Burger,

and professionalism,

book agent Gail

my

Ross.

I

was

a personal angle re-

like to

thank

my

col-

for their astute insight

publisher Doubleday and Judith Kern, and

My

thanks to the following individuals

who

provided information, data, personal interviews, and ancillary support for the project.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, William Shatner, Dan Rutz (CNN), Dr.

Tom

Deters {Muscle and

(Howard

University),

Fitness),

Don

Jack LaLanne, Dr. Venon

Yaeger

(Sports Illustrated), Dr.

John Abdo, Dr. Thomas Allen, Neil Spruce,

Grahm, Anthony Barone, Lyle Hurd,

Dr.

Phil

Howard

Ben Weider,

Broxham, Stedman

Dharma Singh

Khalsa, Dr.

Eric Braverman, Dr. Steven Sinatra, Dr. Steven Novil, Dr. Thierry

Hertoghe, Dr. Kelvin Brockbank, Dr. Michael Taylor, Dr. Aftab

Ahmed, Warren

Preis, Phil Scotti,

Bob Brahm

Perris Calderon, Dr.

Michael Crohn, Joe Shultz, Leslie Cohen, Alan Tamshen, Martin

Glen

Silverberg, Steven Speigle,

Braswell, Ali Berman,

Ben Lew,

Bryon Klein, Paul and Sandy Bernstein, Mauricio Fernandez, June Colbert, Paul Chua, Darryll and Jo Burleigh,

G. K. Goh, Leong

Andy Handayanto,

Ooi,

Brun, Will and Dr. Steve

Norm

Kheong, Yew Lin Goh,

T. T. Duarai,

Ron

Kahn, Alan and Cory Dropkin, Mark

Ali

Pam Kagan, Joe

Dabish, Rob Romano,

and Claire Bernstein, Jerry and Goldie

Vitale,

Klatz, Sparky Bern-

Harry Schwartz, Dr. Nick DeNubulie, Bob Delmontique, Dr.

stein,

Dari

Wah

Chan Boon Young,

Ann

Ungaretti, Royalynn Aldrich,

Graham and Kathryn

Put-

nam, Steve Groshek, Eve Magnet, Paul and Mark Goldman, Susan Greenberg, Dr. Brad Grant, Judy Heifitz, Dr. Harold Hakes, Dr.

Deborah Heath, Alex Tomspon,

Kenny Wong,

Peter Julian,

Dr. Arthur Heath, Louis Habash,

Sumner and Georgia Katz, Joy Knapp,

Mitch Kaufman, Leon Locke, Dr. Ron Lawrence, Jim Lorimer, Jake Alan Mintz, John Adams, Gary Vogel, Jim and Debbi

Steinfeld, Dr.

Manion, Sandi

Renalli, Dr. Art

Grannen, Joe

tonja, Richard Ornstein, Stu

Tom

Nahas, Tony

Dee, Mel Rich, Steve Stern, Eric

Perle, Dr.

Greg Rilmore, Rick Merner, Tim

Rafael San-

Partipilo, Javier Pollock,

Glen Pollock, Brenda Payne, Kim Bardley,

Purvis,

Robins,

Little, Dr.

Tom

Jeff Plitt,

Bob

Rasandich, Arlene

Shiner, Sylvia Lugibihl, Ida

Olivos, Schinna Harris, Vicki Joy, Mildred Bonner, Dr. Jerry Rodos, Eric Roper,

Amy

Sklar,

Dr. Phil Santiago,

and

Tammy

Steve Sokol, Steve Schussler, Larry Strickler,

Anne

Sobel,

Lome

Caplan, David Kravitz, Gary

Strauch, Sharon Ringer, Bettie and Joseph Whitaker,

Stacy Seigle, Richard Yong, Felix Lee,

Aung,

Sudisana

Sukama,

Eve

Tomzak, Jay and Tracy Tuerk,

U

Taliferro,

Titus

Maung Swe, U Hla Tom Merridith, Mike

Tin

and Vicki Marincas, George and

Maria Iusco, Dr. Bob Voy, Carole Weidman, Eric Weider, Joe Weider,

Ken

Wilson,

Burdy,

Mary

Dave Zelon, Nancy Smith, Pamela

Ellen

Maunz,

Lisa

Travis, Isabella

Meacham, and Debra

Battjes.

(g®MTi[MT

INTRODUCTION. DR. BOB'S SUPER MIND Exceptional Super

Mind Power

ONE. WISE UP: RAISE

4

YOUR INTELLIGENCE

Lessons from Seattle and Baltimore The

POWER

Seattle Longitudinal

Study

10

1

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging [BLSA]

What's Your Intelligence Profile?

A

15

Personal Mental Agility Program Assess

How

Assess Your

Capture

You Learn Best

Exercise to

A

Pump Up

Cognitive Cocktail

26 29

Information

Cement Your Sharpened

21

23

Thought Process

New

36

Intelligence

Learning 41

9

39

14

CONTENTS

X

TWO. DETAIL POWER: IMPROVING RECALL AND FIGHTING MEMORY LOSS 45

A Memory Acid Test

46

Good Times

Recognizing Old Friends, Reliving

Memory

Kinds of

49

Your Aging Memory:

What Gets

Better

Brain Foods

55

Try a Shot oj Sugar

55

On the Fat On the Pasta

Memory

57 57

Memory

Minerals

Vitamin Power

Memory

58 59

60 64

Pills

Hormone Therapy

68

69

Estrogen

A Mother Hormone for Men

and Women

Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Protect Yourself with Exercise

Smell Your

Way

to a Better

Memory

Builders

81

Memory

Poisons

82

On

the Horizon:

News

A

to

Stays,

56

Powerful Nutrient

Grease Your

What

55

The Glory of Garlic

Pile

Goes,

52

Bring

A

What

Personal

74 76

Memory

A Well-Tuned Mind

Watch For

86

Memory Program

71

88

79

85

47

2

CONTENTS THREE. SLEEPING BETTER: FINDING

POWER

SLEEP

96

Your Sleeping Brain

98

Why Do We

YOUR PERSONAL

95

Flying into Difficult Sleep Inside

Sleep?

102

Sleep Robbers: Varieties of Insomnia The Air

Robber-. Sleep

Apnea

1

Suddenly Asleep: Narcolepsy in

Sleep Debt?

113

Enough?

115

How Much

Is

As You Grow Older

1

Finding Dreamland Sleep Potions

09 1

09

1 1

Another Sleep -Stealing Hormone

Are You

1

Mental Disorders

Sleeplessness Associated with

Sex Hormones

104

07

Constant Motion: Restless Leg Syndrome

Sliding

XI

1 1

112

18

120

125 125

Foods, Drinks, Herbs Sleeping Pills

1

Sleep Hygiene

27

130

Increasing Your Personal Sleep

Power

131

FOUR. BATTLING THE BRAIN BEASTS: BEATING STRESS

A

Beast with

Two Heads

What

Stress

Does

to the

What

Stress

Does

to

151

and Aging

155

Taming the Beast

158

Coping Techniques Exercise

1

159

59

Diet and Nutrition

Body

142

Your Mind and Brain

Individual Stress Signs Stress

140

1

64

146

137

61

3

CONTENTS

XII

Relaxation and Breathing

Making

How Do

for

You Deal with

72

You

178

Stress?

181

CEREBRAL SECURITY: HEADING OFF ALZHEIMER'S DEMENTIA 185

FIVE.

Family Fears:

Am

Work

Stress

1

Who, When and How

Getting

I

195

Virus Involved?

Way oj Eating

Poison Minerals

Ways The

1

97

198

to Protect Yourself

199

Low Blood

Nun Study

More

Protection: Antioxidants

205

NSAIDs

206

A Lifesaving Hormone? Help from DHEA 2 Less Fat,

A Long It

More

Shot:

or Lose

Slowing

It

207 1

Fish

21

The Nicotine Patch It:

Education

Down

New Compounds

SIX.

Horizon

21

21

Going After Free Radicals

the

212

215

The Calcium Route

On

Sugar, Lowered Stroke Risk

201

Anti -Inflammatories:

Use

195

Electricity Connection?

Solid Protection:

191

194

Stressed-out Brain Cells

An

217

220 222

THE EMOTIONAL BRAIN: SEXUAL STIM

Sex Hormones

186

188

Solving Mysteries About Causes

The American

Hits

188

It?

Diagnosis Difficulties

A

It

231

The Take-Charge Hormone:

Testosterone

233

227

199

1

CONTENTS 236

The Sap of Life-. Estrogen

His and Hers

239

More Hormones

to

Luteinizing

Your Relationships

243

244

Vasopressin

[Dehydroepiandrosterone]

244

245

Pheromones

246

(Phenylethylamine)

Mastering Your Emotions to

242

243

Oxytocin

How

241

243

Prolactin

PEA

Muddy

Hormone Releasing Hormone (LHRH)

Progesterone

DHEA

XIII

246 246

Find Happiness

248

Eating for a Better Sex Life

Cultivating Emotional Smarts

Hormonal Heads-Up

253 253

Acknowledge Strengths Sexual Savvy

252

253

SEVEN. MIND CALM: HOPE FOR THE WORRIED WELL Shades of Blue

258 261

Secrets of Serotonin

An

Essential Lubricant

It's

the

263

265

Herbal Relief

Sweat Out

Sadness

266

Not Always Depression: Attention Getting Control

Always on Edge

273

276

The Hangover Headache

111

lighten Up: Fighting Tension Headaches Hitting Back-. Treatment to

See a

Doctor

Headache Facts

Deficit Disorder

11 ^

Headaches and Migraines

When

257

282

278 28

278

268

CONTENTS

XIV

Don't Ignore That

Head Bang

282

APPENDIX

A:

GLOSSARY

APPENDIX

B:

NUTRITIONAL NOOTROPICS

APPENDIX

C:

SPECIAL BRAIN NUTRIENT

288 302

PROGRAMS

304

APPENDIX D: MEDICAL CENTERS SPECIALIZING IN TREATMENTS FOR COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT AND ANTI-AGING 308 APPENDIX E: SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND SUPPORT 310

APPENDIX

F:

KIDS' BRAIN FITNESS

APPENDIX

G:

THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF

ANTI-AGING MEDICINE INDEX

321

316

313

^ ^©T| T®

The information here knowledge and your

is

TTfrfli

d3i^©[i^

intended to complement your personal

doctor's care.

The

suggestions in this

book

should not replace the advice of your personal physician. You should consult with your doctor before making any changes in the care or

treatment of

book so

if

is

a

medical condition.

general and

may

Much

of the information in this

not apply to your particular circumstances,

you develop any medical problems or symptoms,

doctor

first.

talk to

your

°} Sj

r&>

LK

/s\ Z^

^OT^

U

LKU

Introduction

^©11^

[MOM®

We

all

sleep

want

to be smarter

and more

and better handle the

throws our way.

I

powerful the mind can make

be pushed. The mind can think yourself

is

fat,

alert, to

stresses

and

require less

strains that life

have always been fascinated with us feel

and how

so closely linked to the

how

far the inner self can

body

that

you

really

thin, sick, healthy, poor, rich, a loser, or a

winner.

Having competed

for

many

years on the world level as a strength

and having studied the martial

athlete,

arts since

long experienced the Super Powers of the Mind. records,

I

did not accomplish that goal with

my teens, When set I

I

have

world

body or muscle power

my mind. When performed karate board or brick breaks, it was my mind and inner chi that allowed my hand to pass so easily through those barriers. The more challenged my but with the power of

I

I

body and mind, the more respect

I

gained for

this intricately

tuned

synergy the Greeks spoke of centuries ago. The mind-body link reality,

and

I

wanted

to learn every technique of

how

to

is

a

meld the

INTRODUCTION

2

two, and so increase

my

brainpower, memory, concentration, focus,

imagination, and creativity. That was the impetus for writing this

book, putting together

Mind

manual" for building Super

a "user's

Power.

As

a

young

child,

marveled

I

at

to this country at age twelve not

money

my

grandmother Rose. She came

knowing the language and with no

or family support, but she had the mental

tude to raise and protect eight children.

power and

forti-

was the force of her mind

It

and personality that forged the bond among scores of grandchiland even great-great-grandchildren. At

dren, great-grandchildren,

the end of her

and humor. Her

tion, sip

at ninety-five,

life,

she

possessed wit, concentra-

still

selective hearing could filter out useless gos-

and pick out important conversations twenty-five yards away.

She was

Mind

my

first

I

was

a teenager,

enormous power and across the

Though

literally

room with

One

of

my

a blur.

When

I

centration and

he was

much

was

heavier opponents

was not

a

was training

them

Chinese gung

for the

complete fu

Olympic wrestling team,

I

all

the freestyle

master

move

his

athlete.

in

the 1970s,

I

legiate wrestling

that

Olympic

and every athlete

I

knew

as the ultimate

His drive was so intense, and his concentration

were so developed, that he was

he used these same

con-

knew.

looked up to Olympic gold medal winner Dan Gable

skills

to

mind-body kinesthetic sense were so developed

was competing

mind power

their physical

with such force and concentration that he was almost

wrestling maneuvers I

they could exert

30 pounds soaking wet, could

able, in a matter of hours, to learn

When

larger,

It

that enabled

early teachers 1

the astounding concentra-

slight of build,

propel

who, though he weighed only like lightning,

at

a single stroke.

Mind Power

strength but Super feats.

marveled

I

tion of martial arts masters.

and

Super

a natural

Power.

When

these

who had

exposure to someone

skills for

coach

in

years as he

American

virtually unbeatable.

became the winningest history.

It

And col-

was Dan's super

brainpower that allowed him to mold himself into the ultimate physical machine and to teach those

skills

to others.

INTRODU CTION Since age four,

I

have studied

classes at the Pratt Institute in

my own museum

to establish

Chicago. Art in

is

art.

New

I

3

began with gifted

York, and as an adult, went on

of fine

art,

into the soul of the creator.

many

As

is

that

provides a

it

have learned about

I

art,

the ability of a Leonardo or a

is

Michelangelo to visualize complex three-dimensional images.

I

re-

child forcing myself to create three-dimensional characters

call as a

my

to train

I

and

different types of intelligences

For instance, there

skills.

of

the true mirror into the hearts and minds of people

have realized that there are mental

Museum

the Institute

the past, and what makes art so fascinating

window

children's

imagination and creative

entertainment.

In

hindsight,

skills.

know

I

did this almost daily for

I

that

childhood game

this

me to enhance my powers of visualization and But how do we unlock the creative instincts that

helped

concentra-

tion.

are within

each of us? Here again, Super

Mind Power

is

the tool, and

secrets

its

THE MOVIE STAR MIND Jake Steinfeld,

who

has trained numerous movie

stars,

has

noticed that they think differently: "Very successful movie stars are

very

focused individuals

motivation but

what

I

my

.

.

my

.

goal

been mental

has

technique has always been

call a positive

fitness.

Steven Spielberg

say,

'Okay, buddy,

let's

psyche,

use a positive

I

and would

go twenty- five reps or push-ups or

whatever/ and be encouraging him, saying, 'You're doing

and patting him on the back and making him

would ups,'

and tell

tell

like Bette Midler,

Bette, 'Okay,

and she'd give say,

her,

just ten.'

doing

me

'Hey, chief, 'It's

fifty."

I

a

feel

great,'

good. But

use a negative psyche.

I

for twenty-five push-

look and a couple of choice words

ain't

she'd give

I

down

get

let's

doing them,

up to you, you got

Then

use

psyche or negative psyche. With people

like

with some people,

I

me

a big

this

I'll

do

ten,'

and

I'd

movie coming up, do

zingaroo look, and end up

INTRODU CTION

4

have been used by masters for centuries.

Now you,

own Super Mind Power program. The most important organ we possess

too, can develop

your

mind and

scious

us

is

the brain.

makes each of us very

special.

And,

have

this plastic quality

Beginning with our

make

from other

us

our muscles,

like

which can be made stronger with focused, consistent brains, too,

our con-

the memories, power, and sensations that

all

human. Our remarkable brainpower elevates

species and

It is

effort,

our

and can be molded.

earliest life experiences,

our brains begin to

process and store amazing quantities of data, which allow us to per-

form tasks

while very human, exceed anything that can be

that,

done on the most powerful computer. But how do we tap

enormous data bank nius

is

tion."

of potential?

Thomas Edison

said

it

into this

best:

"Ge-

one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspira-

Our

ability to focus

with determined effort can raise each of

us above the crowd.

EXCEPTIONAL SUPER MIND POWER In the late 1980s,

which today

cine,

organization. As fascinated

I

I

founded the National Academy of Sports Medi-

is

the premier personal fitness trainer certification

have watched the organization grow,

by what

trainers of the stars

mental training and exercises.

I

do

I

have been

for clients in terms of

have taken

these trainers and detailed their lessons in this

my

experiences with

book

so that you, too,

can learn about these special mind programs. Read about what trainer to the stars Jake Steinfeld did to get Harrison Ford, Steven

Spielberg, Priscilla Presley, and Bette Midler ready for career challenges,

him

and techniques employed by Michael Jordan's

for an injury-free

What is

body and mind

mental powers make people

them

find history-making career.

rich, successful, or

their drive, ambition, concentration,

to the pinnacle of their careers.

trainer gave

powerful?

It

and determination that bring Consider basketball phenom

INTRODU CTION What

Michael Jordan. taller,

per

him from other

separates

stronger, younger, or even faster.

Mind Power

him

that enables

5

to fly

players?

Bill

above

crushed

all

chapters,

Gates the smartest nerd

Mind Power

But his Super

competition and

you

will

all

him the

has

best.

Is

necessarily.

so focused that he has

obstacles in his way. In the

how

read about

He

opponents.

his

town? Not

in

made him

has

not

is

No. But he does have the Su-

the unbending will to win and focus, and that makes

techno whiz

He

coming

these people and others have de-

veloped their Super Mind Powers.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was

when

another block of muscle

just

he came onto the movie scene. But with

his

Super Mind Power

—

his

staggering drive and determination

—he

from the greatest bodybuilder of

time into one of the most pow-

erful individuals in the at

movie

all

industry.

I

was able to turn himself

have seen

mind power

his

work. Having served with him on the President's Council on

Physical Fitness and Sports,

names and

faces.

He

I

witnessed his remarkable

could work

room

a

like

memory

for

no other person, not

only greeting every individual by name but also recounting minute details of past

encounters and personal habits. You

about some of his other super mind

Super Mind Power

is

not only how much

remember. For instance,

it

is

will

be reading

skills.

we remember

the extraordinary

we Oprah

but what

empathy

of

Winfrey, and her ability to connect with individuals and with the masses. ple,

It is

the ability to tap into our creative selves

as, for

Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and Meryl Streep do

exam-

when they

transform themselves into characters. This feat takes not only tense dedication but tedious hard

work and arduous

in-

repetition.

Their mind power includes the ability to suspend their egos to adapt to the

mood, manner, and very essence

of fictional characters.

Another example of Super Mind Power

is

the brilliant and fluid

stream of comic genius within Robin Williams,

and

Billy Crystal.

ative talents to

power

They have

trained their minds,

be able to improvise, but

training to

make

Whoopi Goldberg,

this ability

it

memory, and

has taken years of

look simple and

effortless.

cre-

mind Tiger

INTRODU CTION

6

Woods may

way

well be on his

history because of his Super centrate,

The This

is

and hone

—

his ability to focus, con-

with constant practice.

Mind Power

has enthralled us since childhood.

comic book heroes. And

a supervillain

—

a brilliant

for

each superhero, there has

Lex Luthor or Darth Vader

tantalized us with his possible mental powers.

Mind Power

Super

greatest golfer in

the appeal of superheroes, from Superman to Batman to an

array of other

been

Mind Power

his talent

idea of Super

becoming the

to

It

has

has always been the

more than

of the characters,

who

their physical

power, that has captured our imaginations. Today, the popularity of

shows

like Star Trek,

Independence

power

of

Day

movies

attests to

mind over

like E.T.,

and

alien creatures like those in

our fascination with intelligence and the

matter. Similarly, the universal appeal of

black magic, crystals, and ghosts speaks to our interest

pires,

power

of the

mind

to control others or read thoughts.

move mountains,

idea that our minds can

We

vamin

the

love the

so to speak.

Each of us wants to learn our own secret brain-enhancing techniques. For some, this

is

what

drives religious devotion. Intense faith

has enabled people to walk again, regain hearing and vision, and

make chronic pain als

of pain

disappear.

Hindus and monks undergo great

and deprivation, armed only with

The powers

of the

tri-

their mental powers.

mind have given them strength and made

"mira-

happen.

cles"

The

goal of this

book

is

to help

you

learn the Super

Mind Power

techniques of the superstars, the supersuccessful, the superpowerful. It

will give

you

ideas for

ways

to

change your

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by turbocharging

your mind and brain to increase your memory, concentration, focus, determination, discipline, imagination, creativity, and energy, while

decreasing your fatigue, pernutrients can

stress,

a

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sleep.

Learn which su-

power up your mind and which new super

medications are out there to

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techniques can rejuvenate your cerebral

the latest advances in preventing Alzheimer's and other mental diseases.

I

Advances

we

and

know much more

better. In 1799, the

been

than

By 1899,

just a

Now

average

When

is

it

Computer catwenty years,

we do now about how

to live longer

life

span was 25 years

today we age very

century ago, the average

—

as

it

had

differently.

span had reached 48

life

almost 80 years, and scientists are predicting that

United States census was taken

first

was under age

ulation

us.

spans will reach 120 to 150 years by the year 2049.

life

the

around

a half years. In just

average

for centuries before. But

years.

all

7

doubling every eighteen months, and medical knowl-

doubling every three and

is

will

science and medicine are

in

pabilities are

edge

NTRODU CTION

1790, half the pop-

in

sixteen. In 1990, less than one-quarter of the

population was under sixteen.

It is

predicted by the U.S. Census Bu-

reau that by the year 2025, the country will have two sixty-fiveyear-olds for every teenager. sixty-five has risen

The percentage

300 percent

in

the

of Americans over age

last century,-

those aged sixty-

seventy-four up 800 percent, those seventy-five to eighty-

five to

four up

,300 percent,- and the

1

number

of those over eighty-five has

increased by 2,500 percent!

We

are

young?

How

dom? What our

all that's

new

are

we going to

to

do with the growing number

and you need not

and happiness

as

you

age.

lose

The advent

in

who

created the

of Anti-Aging Medicine, the world's

and

scientists

of aging. Since in

its

is

of the

not

in-

your memory, concentration, focus,

am one of American Academy

Along with Dr. Ronald

the original twelve physicians

first

Klatz,

I

medical society of physi-

dedicated to combating the degenerative disease inception in 1993,

more than

it

has grown to over 5,400

forty-four nations.

we can change the way our secrets of Super Mind Power.

that

of years in

ahead.

science of antiaging medicine means that aging

members

our minds

have the mental mind power to participate

are living in an exciting time of history.

evitable,

cians

how do we keep

do we preserve and protect our experiences and wis-

You want

lives?

We

definitely living longer, but

all

It

is

showing the world

bodies and minds age

With the mind-boggling advances

in

if

we

use the

gene therapy, nanotech-

INTRODUCTION

8

nology, genetic engineering, organ regeneration, and drug develop-

ment, per

we

Mind

The

anyone

our most valuable possessions.

robbers," In this

healthier,

to help us take advantage of these

greatest tragedy for

identity,

and

are going to live longer

and there

is

a lot

loss of

is

They

you can do

and we need

added

a Su-

years.

memories, for these are

are the core of our personal

to protect yourself

from "mind

and losing these irreplaceable valuables.

book

there are self-tests, brain booster information charts,

and numerous quizzes to help you gauge where your mind power

is

now and what you might do

is

also information

to

enhance your performance. There

about the new and exciting brain medications

now

under development, which may soon be available so that everyone can boost their brainpower.

The programs and techniques barrier against the greatest

terioration

—which

in Brain Fitness are

team of thieves of

are out to steal

mind. Learn the secrets of Super

all

your protective

time

— age and

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Mind Power!

One

\M0§!

UP

RAISE YOUR INTELLIGENCE

Over

the past decade,

I

have been faced with

a

daunting

task:

taking an idea about a revolutionary medical device for pro-

tecting the brain during trauma from conception to the

marketplace.

The

idea

grew out of discoveries about how cold tem-

peratures can prevent brain

damage when trauma

diac arrest has disrupted a person's

Ronald Klatz, and

I

like stroke or car-

oxygen supply.

My

partner, Dr.

have devoted years to inventing the Brain Cool-

ing Device, which consists of a neck-stabilizing plate and a helmet that

is

fitted

over an accident victim's head and

and the Brain Resuscitation Device, which and oxygen through the carotid umbrella

company

that

filled

with a coolant,

delivers vital nutrients

arteries to the brain.

We

named

the

would develop and promote these innova-

tions Life Resuscitation Technologies, Inc. (LRT).

Our For to

venture required a wide assortment of

starters,

while

refine the

we had built

a

skills

and knowledge.

prototype of the device,

technology so that

it

we needed

could be manufactured for

prospective users, such as hospitals, ambulance companies, and the

BRAIN FITNESS

10

military.

had

I

to learn about the patenting process, steps for gov-

ernment approval, components and manufacturing, corporate tures

and financing options, and

ventures.

had

also

I

to

do

licensing, marketing,

a crash course

on

securities

and

struc-

joint

law and cor-

porate structure, and master an array of sophisticated business de-

velopment

skills.

The prospect

of

more appealing than daunting. was

possible: Regardless of

mind was

quite capable of

I

I

knew from my

becoming

stronger, faster,

also could alter the structure of

efficiently

brain studies

in

I

add

my

was

intellectual fine-tuning

my grades

more knowledge. Not only could but

and

this learning

all

school or

my I.Q.

score,

my

and capturing

to the contents of

brain so that

what

it

my

mind,

worked more

and processed more information.

LESSONS FROM SEATTLE AND BALTIMORE A compelling source pacities

of information about the brain's intellectual ca-

comes from two

past forty years.

The

studies that have

been under way

Seattle Longitudinal Study

for the

and the Baltimore

Longitudinal Study on Aging have been tracking thousands of people throughout their lives, chronicling the changes brought about

by aging

in their physical,

emotional, and mental health. Longitudi-

nal studies are relatively rare because they require a continuous

stream of resources to track people year after year. Most scientific

and medical studies they look

are cross-sectional or case studies,

at different

people

at

the same time.

study on aging might compare a thirty-year-old enty-year-old nal study

woman

its

results

cross-sectional

woman

with

Seattle

a sev-

thirty to age seventy.

from longitudinal studies open

windows onto how our bodies and minds change with

The

that

conclusions, while a longitudi-

would follow one woman from age

As you can imagine, ing

to arrive at

A

meaning

and Baltimore studies have

fascinat-

time.

slightly different partici-

pants and methods. For example, the Baltimore study did not

clude

women

until

1978, and the Seattle study has

in-

worked with

WISE subgroups of volunteers to mental aging patterns.

people

train

Basic to everyone's findings its

structure

order to change their

in

the studies share conclusions about

Still,

our brains and minds age, and what

or alter

11

U P

—what

brain has plasticlike qualities,

is

we can do about

a belief in

and

it.

the brain's ability to

scientists call

plasticity.

its

as the child

grows

how

its

An

mold

infant's

brain creates

new nerve connections and strengthened communication pathways. But the idea that an adult's brain can also do this

For

many

years, the brain

like a

computer, with

nently

in

its

was considered to be hardwired, much

connections and chips molded perma-

place and incapable of alteration.

that the brain

is

relatively new.

is

turns out, however,

It

quite capable of expansion well into adulthood.

Certain physical and mental activities can noticeably alter the brain.

Neurons, the

brain's

nerve

cells,

can grow

larger,

and the

connectors between neurons, called synapses, can become stronger

and multiply. Scientists

have seen

this

La

for Biological Studies in

happen. Researchers Jolla, California,

at

the Salk Institute

put rats

in what's called

an enriched environment, meaning that they were surrounded by lots of stimulation.

toys and in this

games

rodents had ample space to run around, and

to play with. Brain studies of rats that

had spent time

environment revealed that the animals had developed 15 per-

cent more ing.

The

And

brain cells in the regions that control

memory and

the mice acted smarter, too, running mazes faster and

learn-

more

efficiently.

Results

come from

showing that the brain can a

with musicians is

down new

wiring also

study done by Dr. Michael Merzenich at the Univer-

sity of California at

which

lay

San Francisco. Dr. Merzenich has been working

who

suffer

from

a

condition called focal dystonia,

caused by the brain merging nerve connections so that one

neural path controls the muscles of

two

fingers.

A

guitar player, for

may find that continuous practice makes it impossible for move two fingers independently. To help musicians regain

instance,

him

to

control and separate the

merged neurons,

teaching them various muscle exercises.

Dr.

Merzenich has been

— 1

r

r

BRAIN FITNESS

2

100°/c

—— ——

—i

i

i

i

40

20

60

age Adapted from Smart Drugs

In a

more

to touch

a

(1

its

brain,

120

years

in

993)

spinning disk with only this action

—

1—T

100

startling experiment, Dr.

monkey repeated examined

II

1

I

i

many

Merzenich taught

its

times,

a

monkey

three middle fingers.

The

and when Merzenich

later

he discovered that the area of the cortex

re-

sponsible for transmitting responses from those fingers had grown.

The

conducting the Seattle and Baltimore longitudinal

scientists

studies have witnessed

what happens

—they

become stronger and

efficiently,

to people

when

their brains

remember more, can think more quickly

and develop

a better grasp of elusive concepts.

The

studies have

shown

that deliberate, methodical mental training or

exercises can

make

demonstrable difference

a

have proved that the adage "use brain as to any other organ.

it

or lose

it"

in people's lives.

refers as

much

They to the

— WISE

The

13

U P

Seattle Longitudinal

Study

Since 1956, the Seattle study has been watching people aged twenty to ninety,

who

Schaie, at

whose numbers now top has since

become

Launched by K. Warner

5,000.

director of the Gerontology Center

Pennsylvania State University, the study has also trained and

tested smaller groups of people to see

if

mental functions could be

improved. Dr. Schaie and his wife, Sherry Willis, looked

and found that over

ple over sixty-five years old

showed

fourteen years, approximately half

types of thinking. that

their ability to

is,

skills

—

They had

solve problems

map

period of about

deterioration

in

two

— and

spatial

orientation

or piece together objects. Half the

group had maintained their thinking Dr. Schaie

229 peo-

some inductive reasoning power

lost

their ability to read a

a

at

skills.

and Dr. Willis gave the

group about

entire

five

hours

of "mental training." This consisted of exercises in learning spatial

and honing verbal and memory

relationships, solving problems, skills.

Then everybody was

thinking had not declined

more stunning slipped.

A

results

retested.

About

half of the

group whose

showed marked improvement, but the

came from the people whose

abilities

40 percent of them regained what they had

full

the fourteen years, and, even

vived thinking

skills for

training, follow-up tests

more

lost

had over

incredible, they retained their re-

years to come. Even seven years after the

showed

had retained what they

that they

had learned. In

examining the huge pool of people

Schaie has discovered sharpest mentally.

common

elements

Those people who

in

the Seattle study, Dr.

among

aren't

those

who

are the

missing a mental beat

in

their senior years share these qualities:

•

Regularly do a variety of activities, such as reading, traveling,

attending cultural events, joining professional associations and clubs, pursuing further education •

Open

to

and quickly able

to grasp

new

ideas

BRAIN FITNESS

14

and willing

change

•

Flexible

•

Married to

•

Above-average education and income

•

Free of chronic diseases

•

Satisfied with personal or professional

On ties

spouse

a bright

accomplishments

the other hand, Dr. Schaie found that the attitudes or activi-

common

to people

the years included

with

to

who

strict

suffered mental deterioration through

adherence to

a routine

and

dissatisfaction

life.

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study oj Aging [BLSA] Like the Seattle study, the Baltimore study has been monitoring a large

group of people since the mid-1950s. The BLSA, organized

and run by the National

Institute

on Aging, has recruited more than

2,400 people between twenty years old and ninety years old. Every

two years or

so, participants travel to

physical, psychological, tologists

Baltimore for two days of

and mental function

have developed

a

tests.

wealth of data about

The BLSA geron-

how

people age, not

only physically and emotionally but cognitively (their thought processes), too.

Leonard Hayflick,

a cell biologist

and one of the

founders of the National Institute on Aging, summarized the findings

the •

on cognition

BLSA

in his

book How and Why We Age.

Here's

BLSA what

has found about our minds and intellects.

Top mental performance

scores were achieved

by people

in

every age group. •

Some people with high

scores

showed no mental

decline at any

age. •

There was no relationship between and high blood

intellectual

pressure.

•

Vocabulary scores did not change with age.

•

Short-term

memory

declines with age.

performance

— WISE

15

UP

some

Test scores for logic decline after age seventy only for

people.

The

people

ability to learn oral material begins to decline in

over age seventy.

People over age sixty make more mistakes

learning

in verbal

than younger adults.

WHAT'S YOUR INTELLIGENCE PROFILE? While many people ing cannot be

summed up

in a single

Stanford-Binet

the

either

realize that a person's mental abilities

telligence tests

measurements

bias.

—

are

still

or

Scale

application.

all

sorts of reasons,

They may be

Weschler

such is

and

as racial

that they have

useful for predicting aca-

demic success, but they cannot predict whether

good

tests

the most widely used in-

But for me, one of their biggest flaws

little real-life

the

learn-

the United States. Intelligence quotient

in

have been criticized for

gender

number, standard I.Q.

Intelligence

Intelligence Scale for Children

and

a

parent, have a successful career, or can even

person

will

manage

a

be

a

family

budget.

While school systems continue

to use I.Q. tests, social scientists

and neuroscientists have been exploring the kinds of intelligence that play a significant role in the day-to-day

life

of adults.

intelligences or mental talents that are not only innate in all of us to

are

and present

one degree or another, but that can be strengthened or

improved upon.

Many

brain's plasticity enables

also to quicken

The

These

intelligence experts have found that the it

not only to compensate for damage but

and strengthen

we

its

processing.

many intelligences has been most thoroughly developed by Howard Gardner, Ph.D., a professor at the idea that

possess

Graduate School of Education book, Frames

oj Mind. Dr.

at

Harvard University,

in his

seminal

Gardner, by applying knowledge of brain

development, especially discoveries about the

brain's plasticity

and

BRAIN FITNESS

16

neuroanatomy, has identified seven "frames" or types of intelligence.

Each intelligence has

a neurological root, that

the brain that directs

is,

a discrete region of

Each of the intelligences

it.

is

relatively inde-

pendent and can be molded or combined with others according to the

demands

of a person's

The essence

life

or culture.

of an intelligence, says Dr. Gardner,

resolve genuine problems or difficulties

which becomes the

create problems, Dr.

and the

We

the ability to

ability to find or

basis for learning.

Gardner has found that everyone has

profile."

is

a distinctive "intellectual

possess talents and cognitive abilities that predomi-

all

nate or stand out and, even

more important,

are

worthy

of continu-

ing development. Although asserting that scientists will never

up with fies

human

a single list of all

intelligences, Dr.

Gardner

come

identi-

the basic seven: •

Linguistic.

ing, including

This

is

language ability

in

both speaking and writ-

grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, and an ease with

foreign languages. People with this intelligence are natural writers, poets, ars.

public speakers or debaters, lawyers, teachers, or schol-

They have

good

a

verbal

memory

as well as a

good memory

for personal experiences. •

Musical. This

is

the ability to recognize and use pitch, tone,

and rhythm. People with

may

play an instrument, sing, compose, or

be devoted

and tonal •

this intelligence learn

listeners to

music and sharp

all

at

music easily and

three.

Or

they

may

picking out rhythms

patterns.

Logical-Mathematical. This

strings of reasoning, to

to understand

is

the ability to handle long

do complicated mental

and manipulate abstractions.

people to be talented

in

finance or law.

It is

They

calculations,

and

unusual for these

prefer

working with

abstractions and solving problems and might be mathematicians

or physicists. •

Spatial.

ulate shapes

This

and

is

to

the ability to recognize and mentally manip-

move

objects, to create mental images,

accurately perceive the visual world. Such people might be

and to artists

Wl SE U

17

P

or sculptors, architects, scientists or inventors, or great chess players. •

Bodily-Kinesthetic.

This

intelligence

movements and encompasses and

flexes,

physical

complished swimmers, dancers,

may seem

•

to stem

in

body

fine

re-

may be

ac-

actors, or professional athletes,

play a complicated instrument, or

originates in

coordination,

with moving objects. These people

skill

intelligence

rooted

is

work with

Although

tools.

this

from the motor-sensory system,

it

and depends on perception and the nervous system.

These people

Interpersonal.

are smart about other people.

They

read other people well, naturally sensing moods, motiva-

tions,

and temperament. They have great empathy, and may be

nurses, therapists, social workers, doctors, religious or political leaders. •

Personal. This intelligence

is

people are acutely attuned to their

knowledge

deep self-knowledge. These

own emotions and

use this

to understand their behavior. People with this intelli-

gence may be

writers, psychologists, or actors.

(Since writing Frames oj Mind, Gardner has reportedly added an eighth,

which he

knowledge of the this talent

calls naturalistic intelligence,

natural

might be

Another expert tal skills that,

he

a

world to solving problems.

cook or

is

and the application of new

work

life.

His three types of intelligence surface practical achievements.

plies

analytical.

The person with

He may do

and those of

knowledge

in-

a firm believer in intelligence as a practical tal-

ent that affects a person's daily

his abilities

everyday experiences.

components: the internal thought process, ap-

plication to a person's daily environment,

is

men-

psychologist at Yale University, thinks that

a

telligence has three

process

person with

the field of intelligence offers a range of

in

learning. Sternberg

A

farmer.)

says, are clearly applicable to

Robert Sternberg,

the ability to apply

well

others.

to situations,

is

in

a

people with different

strong internal thought

on standard

The second

tests

type,

and assessing

who

creative. This person

is

readily ap-

great at gen-

.

1

.

BRAIN FITNESS

8

TAKE ACTION Pinpoint Your Multiple Intelligence

Take

this quiz to see

which of your

talents

and

abilities pre-

dominate.

When

1

listening to sounds outside

naturally pick out

Can you

2.

map

your window, do you

rhythms or notes?

easily navigate using a

map without

turning the

to orient yourself to north?

Do you love to dance, and are good Do you easily remember verse you

3.

4.

at it?

learned in school or

snatches of a speech you heard?

Do you

5.

automatically feel sympathy and rapport with

someone who's had

Do you

6.

find

a sad experience?

it

easy to imagine distances that span light-

years and galaxies?

Do you like reading philosophy or self-help books that en-

7.

courage introspection? 8.

Would you

9.

Can you immediately hear when

like to

be

a psychotherapist? a singer or

musician hits

a sharp or flat? 10.

when 1

1

When their

grammar

Do you enjoy

steps of a 12.

listening to people talk,

new

Do you

is

do you automatically hear

incorrect?

the complicated process of learning

all

the

software program? like to draw,

even making

realistic

doodlings of

people and objects? 13.

use

have good hand-eye coordination and

like to

it?

14.

you

Do you Do

friends often ask

as insightful

What your

you

for personal advice

and regard

about people's behavior and emotions?

answers suggest:

The

questions you answered with a

WISE UP

1

9

strong "yes" suggest you have a particularly strong intelligence.

These questions point to these Questions

&

1

Questions 2 & Questions

&

3

9.

Musical

12: Spatial 13:

Bodily-Kinesthetic

Questions 4 &

10: Linguistic

Questions 5 &

8:

Interpersonal

Questions 6 &

1

Questions 7 &

14:

erating

new

of person

is

ideas

intelligences:

1:

Logical-Mathematical Personal

and novel approaches to problems. The third type

strong psychologically

—

that

is,

intuitively reads

people

and circumstances.

None

of these types of intelligence

is

more or

less useful,- they're

The

simply different ways of looking at workaday problems. talent in

each of them, and what distinguishes

someone

of average intelligence,

triguing about this type of insight

is

What

I

person from

find

most

that Sternberg believes this

is

ingredient, insight, can be learned

insight.

a gifted

and become an

core

in-

key

integral part of

someone's thinking. These are the three types of insight that can be learned: •

Selective

information.

Encoding

It's

Insight.

Being able to focus on essential

the kind of thinking a lawyer uses to pinpoint key

evidence or a detective uses to identify important clues. To apply this insight to

a

problem-solving, you need to recognize and define

problem, assemble accurate information about

strategy to solve

it,

apply

all

available resources to

it,

it,

develop a

and

finally

track the progress of the solution. •

Selective

Combination

Insight.

Being able to combine facts

into a meaningful, larger perspective.

It's

the kind of thinking a

doctor applies to drawing out a diagnosis from or

how

scientists

develop theories to

test.

many symptoms

To apply

this insight in

BRAIN FITNESS

20

order to

come up with

new

a

you need

perspective,

assumptions, take reasonable risks in suggesting

new

to question

ideas,

and

al-

low yourself to make mistakes. Selective

•

Comparison

perspective, either seeing facts in a

known

known, accepted way.

To apply

ies.

Being able to apply

Insight.

facts in a

It's

this insight for daily

how

new way

inventors

a

unique

or seeing

make

new

discover-

accomplishments, you need to

recognize your consistent strengths and weaknesses, accent your strong

skills,

and have confidence

medical school was hard on

tests

and found memorization

sured that

by

I

had made the

a brutally

ates

graduates

last in

and arranging is

a

a struggle.

I

was only mildly

reas-

call

The answer

was not very good

someone who gradu-

you

call

someone who

to both: "Doctor." at

multiple-choice exams,

I

I

complicated treatment plan or an international corporation.

While weak tion

did not do particularly well

right decision in going to medical school

the class?" I

ability.

am pretty good at organization and coordinating many disparate elements of a large structure, whether

also learned that

it

I

the class, and what do

in

learned that

I

me.

your

honest riddle: "What do you

number one

As

for

in

in

theory and tending to

detail,

I

score high on innova-

and application.

As you read about intelligences and ways to beef them up, you

may think that the lessons here apply mostly to children. But, while many of the discoveries about intelligence are being made by eduand tested on schoolchildren, we adults

cators

are not being over-

looked. Research into the aging mind, especially the effects of disease

and what's considered normal

there

much room

is

in

attrition,

is

revealing that

the grown-up brain for developing

intelli-

gences.

One

busy researcher

is

Marilyn Albert,

a

Harvard professor and

director of gerontology research at Massachusetts General Hospital.

She has examined more than one thousand seniors over age eighty and looked says, "Is

at their

capacity to enhance natural intelligence. She

mental exercise important for the brain? People used to ask

Wl SE U

me

that years ago,

and

one way or another. the data look like

I

I

P

would say we

2

don't have

don't say that anymore.

—use

it

or lose

I

enough data

tell

them

1

to say

that's

what

it."

According to Dr. Albert, there are four key ingredients to staying smart: •

Education

•

Strenuous physical

which improves blood flow

activity,

to the

brain •

Strong lungs, which helps deliver well-oxygenated blood to the brain

•

Feeling a sense of purpose about one's

A

life

PERSONAL MENTAL AGILITY PROGRAM

Raising your intelligence requires possible

two

things:

knowledge of what

and the drive to acquire and practice mental

ing about various kinds of intelligence,

goes into each,

is

a useful starting

skills.

is

Know-

and the kind of thinking that

point for considering your

own

cerebral resources.

As

I

dove into the job of bringing the cerebral resuscitation de-

vice to market, of mental tools.

I

weighed

my

intellectual assets

The job ahead

of

me would

my

and

require

assortment

new

learning,

DOT RICHARDSON'S MENTAL TALENT This talented athlete and orthopedic surgeon excels in mental organization. She told Sports

key to her success softball field, she

she

is

in

is

Illustrated

writer

compartmentalization.

Don

Yager that the

When

she

does not think about the hospital.

is

on the

And when

the hospital, she does not think about baseball. She has

that ability to shut off everything except for the business at

hand.

BRAIN FITNESS

22

scientific

and the

and business

analysis, a great deal of insight into others,

adapt to unpredictable developments.

ability to

human

research team began developing devices for

would employ low-temperature

ing portable technology that ogy,

many

in

the medical

Even some experts were

in

When

community thought

it

was science

entific principle stuck in

and again,

common

sense and a basic

even

is

falling

and then being revived and recover-

ice into frozen waters

fully,

sci-

our minds: Rapid cooling of the brain

profoundly neuroprotective. Case after case of children

ing

biol-

fiction.

emergency and trauma medicine thought we

a bit crazy. But time

through

our

resuscitation us-

they had been clinically dead for thirty minutes

after

or more, fueled the team's drive.

As we were developing our technology, other researchers were

making discoveries

in

medical

the

of

art

suspended-animation

surgery that bolstered our efforts. This type of surgery patients sel in

who have

an aneurysm, which

may

the brain. This bubble

bubble on

a

is

burst at any time,

threatening condition. But an aneurysm

may be

is

a

used with

blood ves-

making

it

buried deep within

the brain and unreachable with conventional techniques.

suspended-animation surgery,

a life-

With

core body temperature

a patient's

is

dramatically lowered by removing blood, circulating ice water in

the veins, and sometimes even packing the

temperature drops to the point brain

wave

activity.

low-pressure surgery.

Once

replaced,

much

as

at

body

which there

in ice.

is

no heartbeat or

This condition gives the doctor

environment

in

the aneurysm

and the patient

is

is

which

to

The body

perform

eradicated, the blood

a bloodless,

delicate is

brain

warmed and

revived. This surgical innovation, as

any technology, has helped convince the medical commu-

nity that brain-cooling devices are a viable approach to saving people in emergencies.

Brain cooling

is

an example of

this area of research as a

mental

how my

skill set.

example. Sharpening your mental

thought processes work

This next section

skills is

is

in

another

not necessarily a step-by-

step process but a total conditioning. Imagine going to a health club

or

gym equipped

with free weights, weight machines, and aerobic

WISE UP

23

A CONSTANT LEARNER Dr.

Ron Lawrence,

a seventy-three-year-old neurologist

and

founder of the American Medical Athletic Association, makes

"What

learning a constant activity.

every so often," he says. "Every lenge. For instance,

never very good painting and

now

do

is

month

something new

learn

or two,

take a chal-

I

have been studying calculus, which

I

at.

I

also

I

have gotten into

I'm studying pastels.

And

me on my

keep

ferent publications that

art I

—

I

I

was

studied

oil

subscribe to

dif-

New

York

toes, like the

Review of Boohs."

machines

like the StairMaster.

Although

as a

beginner you

the machines according to a predetermined circuit, once

experience

—many

you need

to

work

on.

use

you have

of your muscles are already well developed

pick and choose what a

may

Some machines

—you

exercise

couple of muscle groups simultaneously, while a set with free

weights

may

tax a single part of

your body. So

it is

with a personal

mental agility program.

Assess

Figuring out

how you

How

You Learn Best

learn best

—how you understand and

retain

information

—

membering

certain classes in medical school, especially anatomy,

know

learn best

to

that

I

requires

memorize the

some

ing

method

I

reading.

I

a short quiz. ReI

spent months trying

illustrations in Gray's Anatomy,

but

it

was not

until

and seeing the organs, muscles, and blood

my mind started clicking. is

and taking

by watching or doing.

lab classes with a cadaver vessels that

reflection

Conversely,

either forget

what

I

my weakest learn-

read or remember

in-

consequential details. I

have also found that

short-term

memory and

my

long-term

that I'm

memory

good

at

is

stronger than

remembering

faces

my and

BRAIN FITNESS

24

strings of

numbers. Part of the potential marketing of the Brain Cool-

ing Device required numerous presentations to groups that might

provide financing and groups that might use the device, such as the

Department of Defense.

In these presentations,

background and complicated

To

define your learning style,

Ask yourself which

ences.

joyed or found

you

well

organic chemistry, but

as

much

time to

it

as

I

it

successful school experi-

was

you did well

possible to

is

by working very it

did best explaining

relating to individuals.

classes or subjects

subject in

first recall

As you know,

easy.

find difficult

and

figuring,

I

in

and en-

do well

hard. For instance,

a struggle

and

I

in a

did

I

devoted twice

did to other subjects.

Next ask yourself why you did

well:

Because you found the material easy to understand?

Because the teacher explained everything well?

Because the teacher demonstrated concepts? Because the teacher used a

lot of visual or auditory

props to ex-

plain things?

Because you were very motivated to do well and worked extra diligently?

Because you liked doing Because you are good

the.

homework and

required reading?

type of test given

at the particular

in

the

class?

Because the class included

a lot of lab

work?

Because you enjoyed debating the subject with other students?

The

point of these questions

predominates all

of

them

at

in

to find out

your mind. There are four

which

styles,

style of learning

and while you use

one time or another, or sometimes combine

tend to prefer one of them they

is

as

styles,

you

you absorb new information. Here

are. •

Auditory learning. You learn by listening to people

whether

it's

a lecture,

your hearing

is

on

television, or

from the radio.

supersensitive but that

you seem

It's

talk,

not that

to retain what-

ever comes through your ears, seemingly without effort. You can

WISE be sitting

in a

25

U P

meeting doodling while you are listening and

terward remember everything that was

you

learner,

Hands-on

•

may go

tions

you're this kind of

If

new information with

can't take in

background

radio going in the

said.

You

learning.

—too much

af-

the television or

distraction.

by doing. Elaborate explana-

learn

over your head, but once you actually duplicate the

physical motions required in a process or construction of something,

it's

locked into your mind. This duplicating action

quire copying mathematical figuring

someone has done, program

clicking through the steps in a software

use

re-

actually

know how

to

or playing a sport you're trying to learn instead of listening

it,

to an instructor.

stand the

If

you

you

are this kind of learner,

why behind things and keep

like to

under-

trying things. Another term

meaning

that

you want

the process or inner workings of whatever

you

are learning

for this kind of learning

know

to

may

is

"procedural,"

to

about.

Verbal learning.

•

primarily tive

—

If

you

by reading. This kind

that

is,

it

tion. all

facts.

You think

is

your

style,

you

if

you

in sen-

restate,

read.

like to

see

informa-

style.

This learning

is

especially

delivered in color and with another sensual associa-

if it's

such as a distinctive smell, or with an emotional connection.

What

is

acquired

When you

in this

you remember. But your memory,

a

and short

look

at

suits. If

as an adjunct to learning,

are:

you want

Chapter Two.

to favor a particular type of

memory

often big-picture im-

learn well,

learning, has long suits

you tend

is

to detailed renderings of a subject.

your memory, take

memory

type of learning

opposed

pressions as

of

this

information

Demonstrations, firsthand experiences, movies, and pictures

lasting

with

If

in

also called declara-

sometimes sharpened

provide grist for this learning

tion,

many

is

down something you have

explain aloud, or write Visual learning.

is

you take

of learning

involves absorbing

tences and your learning

•

learn this way,

it is

like

your

to sharpen just

In the present context,

useful to understand that

memory. The main categories

BRAIN FITN ESS

26

•

Numbers and

•

Words

•

Proper nouns, such as names and places

•

General information and concepts

Go

data

through the same process with

learning. Recall

what has stayed

what you have forgotten

to jar

ory grabs

first

and keeps

predominant learning

in

in

memory

you did with

that

your mind and use memory cues

order to pinpoint what your

mem-

Once you have identified your and memory ability, you know the kind

longest.

style

of situation to seek out or construct for peak learning.

One

Assume the

piece of advice to enhance your learning:

last

by controlling physio-

right frame of mind. Prime yourself to learn logical distractions. Put

another way, do not

to stress or pressure affect

your body's reaction

let

what your mind

is

doing.

Use deep

breathing (Chapter Four explains this technique) to suppress

hormonal

tracting

—

action. Relax large muscle groups

dis-

— head, neck,

to

improve concentration. Make yourself physi-

cally comfortable in

your surroundings and clothing so that you are

abdomen

back,

not interrupted by annoyances.

keep your mind

Finally,

world

is

flexible

and confident. Very

rocket science. You can master almost anything you put

your mind

to.

Often, insecurities and doubts have no more sub-

stance than your imaginings. Shrug step

up

facts

them

off.

Believe that

are a

and

number

ideas,

something

in

ways people think when confronted with new

of

new

Thought Process

projects,

order to

make

and new people.

a decision or solve a

How

base, so to speak,

and

and fast-charging synapses, tend

instinctive than adults in

making

you analyze

problem depends

on how you process information. Young people, with

pulsive

you can

to the task.

Assess Your

There

little in this

a smaller data-

to

be more im-

decisions. Adults have

WISE more experience

that they can apply to their judgments, but, as with

learning, there are various

and

a

new

27

U P

situation. Dr.

ways they can consider new information

Edward de Bono,

a British

educator

who

has

written extensively on thinking and creativity, says that there are six

ways of thinking: Objectively: focusing mainly on facts,

statistics,

and hard

in-

formation, which form the foundation for any decision or

proposed solution. With

this

kind of thinking, you avoid

making assumptions or judging something too try to let the information Critically:

backs,

looking

speak for

at a situation or

early.

You

itself.

problem

for possible draw-

unwanted consequences, and trouble

This

spots.

kind of thinking could be called "What's the downside?" a negative

way

It's

of evaluating things.

Positively: looking at

all

the benefits, solutions, and

or problem

bilities a situation

may

new

possi-

provide. This kind of

thinking could be called "What's the upside?" With this thinking, everything has a plus side, a silver lining. Creatively: applying novel or unusual remedies to a situation or

problem. This type of thinking ideas.

To prod

this

ation, reversals

is

always generating

new

kind of thinking, de Bono uses exagger-

and opposites, and random words and word

association. Intuitively: reacting

A

mainly according to emotions or

person thinking this

instinct.

way responds

to a situation with his

way you

think about a problem

or her feelings. Self-monitoring: examining the to identify

any biases or flawed assumptions. With

type of thinking, you

first

this

consider how you think before

deciding which of the other thinking styles to apply. I

tend to be a combined objective-plus-creative thinker.

collect facts

and hold

of information. out,

While

off I

making any conclusions

am doing

until

I

I

like to

have

a ton 1

this,

I

also like to mull over faf -

even esoteric ideas about the situation.

Once my company had

BRAIN FITNESS

28

TAKE ACTION Develop Your Thinking

Use

develop thinking

this exercise to

stance described below, write out a

cording to each of the Problem:

You have

Skills

styles.

way

For each circum-

to think about

How

are.

just

had your annual job performance

Decision

money help

in

You have

do you do to make-.

six

months

buy

Your neighbor's dog, which

many

You've talked to your neighbor about

to

a

you

Your teenager wants to earn and save enough

near your bedroom, wakes you up

a light sleeper

are pro-

this?

allowance and

a car.

Tricky situation:

you

eval-

to convince her that

He has asked for a bigger making money. What do you do?

to

ac-

styles.

uation and learned that your boss does not think ductive enough.

it

and has never heard

it,

his

is

kept

nights with

in

its

an area

barking.

but he swears that he's

dog

and so

bark,

refuses

do anything. What do you do?

prototype for the Brain Cooling Device,

ways

to get the

word out about

it.

I

I

had

to

come up with

had enough information

to

know

that medical schools, medical organizations, professional associations,

and medical companies were potential

ing about these people,

head.

Where would

I

I

be? In a highway accident?

a

door to

a

who would

As

I

was think-

imagined myself with the device on

Bosnia? Beside a frozen lake to the people

users.

I

had

fallen into?

be saved by

I

On

a

back

street in

my

thinking

turned

this device,

my

and that opened

whole new group of prospective supporters, endorsers,

and medical researchers.

WISE

New

Capture

With most

Information

of the thinking styles,

about the problem or decision can't think positively

is

hand

in

order to consider

essential to perking

to

go on. So, cap-

and master

this ability to find

It's

infor-

person not only seem smart but actually func-

a

always begin with the basics:

I

comprehension, sharpened

enhanced

no magic to

this,

but

listening.

Then

I

desk.

It

has almost no paper on

journals, newspapers,

able to read large

this,

and

it,

creativity.

muttering to yourself

wade through,

to

I

and

calculations,

add the stimulation of

you already have too much paper

my

lots of reading, selective

quick

vocabulary,

Lots of Reading Before you skip over

at

You

the successful magician, you need to draw from a grab bag of

gadgets.

that

it.

up your intelligence and

tion as an exceedingly bright person. There's like

know something

to

you have something

sharpening your thinking.

mation that makes

you need

without some information and you can't react

with your emotions unless turing information

at

29

UP

take a peek

go through dozens of

and books every week. The secret to being

amounts of material

is

learning

how

to scan

and

mentally compartmentalize the information.

What

I

mean by scanning

is

precisely

what the dictionary says

means: "to look over quickly and systematically."

means that you do not read every word that are reading for information, not for pick. Pick out

meaning

—

in

is

The

it

"quickly" part

printed.

When

you

enjoyment, you need to cherry-

only the "best" words

—those

that carry the

most

the sentence or paragraph. At times, you can skip over

sentences, particularly those that restate information, offer examples, cite sources,

or serve as transitions to another point.

"for instance," "namely,"

"according

are

you can

all

flags for material

And do

skip

if

summary," and

like

"in fact"

you've got the main point.

not read aloud or even say the words in your mind. Instead

of getting

bogged down by

facts or ideas

The

to," "in

Words

individual words, think of chunks of

and read words

"systematically" part

in blocks.

means

that

you always look

in certain

BRAIN FITNESS

30

spots for key sentences or nuggets of information. Generally, a piece of writing

is

organized one of three ways:

and arguments building to with

main

a

facts

Each paragraph of the writing

string or theme.

a central point,

sentence.

Look

If

will limit

of the

To

first

or the

last

even the topic phrase, that

my

When

I

reading to an

want

to

plow through

a lot of

article's

headlines, the

first

main paragraphs, photo captions, and the practice your scanning

go through

skills,

last

is

the

mate-

sentence

paragraph.

a stack of material

(if

don't have a ready pile, use a couple of magazines) and read

each

once. Don't backtrack

article or piece of writing just

fuzzy on a paragraph's main point

—

it

will

circle the

key ideas or topic sentences.

each piece, state aloud or write out

main

points.

length.

Do

this

with three to

Spend no more than

in

no more than

hour on

read the old way. Don't scan but go article,

a

num-

a

finish reading

paragraph the

depending on

this.

you

you're

hand, underline or

When you

aside for a day, then return to the articles

each

in

five articles,

half an

if

probably be stated

ber of times and a number of ways. With a pen

ish

usually built

is

stated in either the

is

for the topic sentence, or

I

you

which

a single

the paragraph has a heading, that highlights the thesis.

heart of the paragraph. rial,

and arguments,- and

connected by

as a string of pearls, a series of ideas or facts

around

pyramid, with facts

an inverted pyramid,

point,- as

main point followed by supporting

a

as a

their

Put the material

read,

and

this

time

word by word. When you

fin-

compare your impression of the main point with

what you gleaned from the

earlier reading.

I

think you will find that

they are pretty close, but that your second reading takes twice

as

long.

To categorize information, you

physically organize each piece of

reading. Create a simple system for organizing

go through

—

discrete piles or

file

folders will

all

that

you have

do the job. You can

ganize information according to subject matter, according to tive

importance for you, or according to

activity,

if

any,

Selective

you

it

how much

to or-

rela-

follow-up

demands.

Comprehension For

a better

understanding of what

read, learn to ask questions. Virtually every piece of writing

WISE

U P

3

1

does two things: conveys information and expresses an author's opinions, feelings, or attitudes. There jective writing.

Even the

is

driest rendition of statistics

by what the author has chosen

tive

Reading comprehension tional

no such thing

is

usually

made

subjec-

to include or not include.

gummed up

not by the informa-

content of a piece, but by the author's individual, sometimes

personal, reasons for writing the piece in the a strong sense of the author's

have

is

as purely ob-

a point of view, share

secret of

What What What

new

first

When you

place.

agenda, whether

to

it is

insights, or educate, you've

promote

grasped the

comprehension. As you read, ask yourself these questions: information ideas

is

the author trying to convey?

is

the author trying to convey?

does the author think of

approve, dis-

this information:

approve, unsure?

What

writing tricks does the author use to put forth the infor-

mation

and demonstrate self-expression:

exaggeration,

generalizations, emotional appeals, data from unreliable or

outdated sources, anecdotes, use of secondhand sources,

convoluted or faulty arguments? the piece balanced or one-sided?

Is

it

favor?

Why

If

skewed, which side does

the author doing this?

is

Enhanced Vocabulary

Building your vocabulary should be a

lifetime habit, as regular as brushing

your teeth.

No

one

is

so smart

or learned that he does not need to constantly add to his personal

dictionary of words.

I

think the mistake

many people make

in en-

hancing their vocabulary, and the reason they do not hang with is

that they collect too

you

are assembling a

This

is

why young

many words they have

little

working vocabulary, the words

children easily learn about ten

and eventually can accumulate

a

use

for.

stick

it,

When

with you.

new words

a

day

vocabulary of 100,000 words.

To construct your growing, working vocabulary,

try these sugges-

tions: • it,

Limit yourself to one

jot

it

new word

down anywhere. On

a day.

When you

encounter

the flap of a used envelope, the edge

BRAIN FITN ESS

32

of a dollar

keep in

the margin of a magazine. You do not have to

bill, in

this piece of paper,

but writing

down

it

will

help cement

it

your mind. •

Collect words related to your immediate world. For instance,

words related to cooking, food, clothing, the weather, the names of everyday objects, adjectives describing people

you

regularly

encounter, verbs or adverbs for actions you do or often see. •

Use

better tion.

if

association to

remember words.

you immediately

Use

it

in a

associate

it

remember

a

word

with an experience or emo-

Make up

conversation.

You'll

rhyme or

a

Eat a distinctive food or inhale a strong smell as

sing about

you

it.

are learning

the word. •

Buy an unabridged thesaurus. Roget's

there are other

good ones out

there. This

is

the best

is

going to be

many of your new words. Most people tend to words

—

heard experts say that

I've

we

all

known

a source for

recycle the same old

have about

hundred-word working vocabulary and we simply keep

them around.

When you

word, look

the thesaurus for an alternative

•

Buy

a

in

but

a

two-

stirring

hear yourself repeatedly using the same

good dictionary

(larger than

you did not know.

pocket

size,-

unabridged

is

the best) not only to look up the exact definition but also for the

pronunciation guide so you can say the word aloud. This also helps seal •

it

in

your memory.

At the end of each week,

looked up and written down. small spiral notebook

and use

If

try to recall the

you cannot remember them, get

it

to log your

Quick Calculations Number phobia Most

people's eyes glaze over

words you have

when they

is

a

a

growing vocabulary. widespread disease.

see numbers, particularly

if

they are being asked to multiply, divide, or do elaborate addition or subtraction.

Hand

calculators,

uring, have increased

my

math

best friends, either, but

people even think

I

aversion. I

I

for simple fig-

confess that numbers are not

have learned not to avoid them. Some

am good

shorthand mental calculations

numbers more manageable.

which people now use

with numbers because of I

have mastered. Here

is

a

couple of

how make I

Wl

•

always try to round numbers to units of ten, especially

I

when

difficult.

But

1

X 20

5

an easy sum. At times,

close enough, and

am

balancing

a

I

(or

may

I

when

cially

to

buy

possible,

dividing.

percentage, which

transform

I

dropped •

1

1/16, in

down

remember

ing to

a

twice) then minus

not get the exact

is

think

I

good enough

but I'm

total,

accuracy.

If

I

have

I

for

me.

convert fractions into the nearest simple

I

my mind

So when

A

see 3/16,

I

steak price that

slipped three-quarters of a point.

numbers

large

figures.

maximum

5,

terms of percentages, espe-

in

find easier to understand.

I

1

tank of gas, for example, getting

a

manageable

into

sizes

As you probably know, there

telephone numbers are seven

hold

0,

1

to a quarter or 25 percent.

it

break

I

X

5

hung up on pinpoint

don't get

within a few dollars of the total

Whenever

1

corporate statement or deciding whether

enough cash on hand

•

15x19

multiplying. Tens are easy to handle. For example,

may look is

33

U P

SE

is

a

try-

reason

Your working memory can

digits.

of seven units

when

—any

more and something

is

erased or forgotten. Putting large numbers, like phone numbers plus area codes or

many measurements them

smaller packages helps keep a

in

repair jobs, into

your active memory. This

To get comfortable with numbers, do

keep

it

a

running

are

calculations in your

total in

pumping

your addition

your head

will

Do

come

as the clerk

adds up the items. As

watch the gallon number and

gas, just

these painless exercises

pretty close to

Better Listening Did you

know

that

read that.)

And

pick up

sorts of information

all

quite simple:

else.

if

It's

and not

To do

this,

you

train yourself to

and

listening with

you must

It's

one ear

first

times,

what shows on the

you

be

ideas.

paying attention.

try to total

enough

a

sharp

The key

read?

register.

(I

listener,

think

you

I

will

to listening well

actually hearing

as

and

are twice as likely to re-

member something you heard than something you

ing said

head

doesn't matter. For instance, at a store checkout counter,

up the dollar amount.

is

is

bunching technique.

when you

home

for

what

is

be-

you think about something

eliminate the distracting noise that

surrounds the delivery. Ignore the

way

the information

is

spoken.

BRAIN FITNESS

34

Don't get sidetracked by any verbal or

body language. As you

Do

open your mind

not be thinking about

how you

to absorb

what

being

is

if

you

Do

said.

are going to respond or framing

whether you agree or disagree with what's being

Interrupt only gle question.

gestures, facial expressions,

Listen only to the content.

are listening,

a question or

tics,

are totally confused

and then only to ask

not string together multiple questions

—

that

said.

a sin-

makes

the speaker say what you want to hear instead of what he wanted to say. Listen for verbal clues to

words or phrases, or changes

unspoken messages, such in

as

repeated

tone of voice.

Don't jump to conclusions or automatically assume that you

what

is

going to be

ing what point(s) as a reliable

son?

What

is

said. Listen to the entire delivery

being made. As you do

source of information. is

How

before decid-

that, evaluate the

knowledgeable

the source of his information?

is

Does he use

emotions to persuade?

Puzzle Art Checkerboard

know

speaker

this perfacts or

WISE Stimulate Creativity

most

of the

and

lush,

I

visit Bali

and find

on

Its

frequently

artistically creative places

its

35

U P

earth.

rarely seen in the West,

which has

stress-filled civilization.

its

to be

one

rich

and

is

people, from farmer to fisherman, have a natural sense

and

of artistry. Unfortunately, such widespread beauty

to

it

culture

lost

While

much

Bali's

of

creativity are

its artistic

innocence

education system rewards

when

innovative creativity, standardized art training, particularly

was studying, drums American-born Indonesian

art

this quality

Allison

artist

I

out of students.

Berman has learned and perfected

techniques and uses them as inspiration for develop-

ing personal creativity. She has created a series of abstract movable pieces that she calls Puzzle Art.

board

own

illustration

art.

ciety.

It

With these

pieces, like the checker-

on the facing page, you change and create your

The checkerboard

pattern

is

a current

image

in

Balinese so-

symbolizes the balance that must be maintained between

good and

evil,

and the dynamic equilibrium between our

spiritual

and animal natures. The four corners represent the four corners of the world, thus symbolizing the totality of existence. In the

checkerboard, one image

is

the negative of the other.

With

your eyes closed, convert the positive into negative, and then back and

forth,

shift

holding each image for thirty seconds. Next, imag-

ine the checkerboards as three-dimensional

cubes, spheres, and

pyramids. Juggle these three objects, shifting from positive to negative

every few seconds. Metamorphose one shape into the other and

improvise by inventing

The

new shapes

nice thing about Puzzle Art

to is

add to the mix.

that there

answer and so no compulsion to achieve. tion exercise,

Raphael, but child."

I

it

When

think of Picasso's famous words:

has taken

me

a

whole

is

"I

no I

right or

do

this

wrong

imagina-

used to draw

lifetime to learn to

draw

like

like a

BRAIN FITNESS

36

Cement Your Sharpened

Intelligence

Experts say that people retain only about

they are exposed

to.

I

suspect that people with high functional intel-

ligences probably hold on to more. This it"

philosophy makes

body

the knowledge

a third of

where the

is

noticeable difference. There

a

of evidence in the scientific

and medical

also

wards

UCLA

as

discuss in

I

off disease.) Declares

is

Chapter

Five,

or lose

it

a

growing

showing that

literature

memory, and

"brain exercise" improves a person's learning ability,

mental quickness, (And,

"use

mental exercise

Arnold Scheibel, director

of the

Brain Research Institute, "Anything that's intellectually chal-

lenging can probably serve as

which means There

kind of stimulus for dendritic growth,

adds to the computational reserves

it

two kinds

are

a

of learning

your brain."

you can stimulate with

Declarative or factual learning

tual exercise.

in

is

intellec-

soaking up details

about people, events, and things, and procedural learning entails the

motor and perceptual

skills

used

in activities like

playing sports or

musical instrument. Declarative learning originates

hippocampus, which player

in a person's

is

also headquarters for

You

memory and

While

why

people

when they have

glimpse

a

at a

myth

PET

key

this in-

strong feelings.

when your

brain

is

firing

on

all

cylinders,

that the nerve connections are well developed in

it is

a

emotional wiring. Scientists suspect that

also learn better

meaning

the brain's

in

tertwining of learning, memory, and emotion explains learn better

a

all

areas.

that people only use 10 percent of their brain (a

scan of a thinking brain dispels that notion;, a per-

son's early learning

does favor certain regions. To cultivate neural

connections and receptors that are underused, look for opportunities to tackle unfamiliar tasks

Here

may

are

some

and ways of thinking.

exercises that can stimulate areas of the brain

you

not normally use. You will find that gradually these activities

become

easier

and your thinking more

are presented with a

before,

you

will

fluid.

As

a result,

when you

problem or situation you have not encountered

have more mental muscle to put behind

it.

Wl

•

Modify

habits.

SE

37

U P

Wear your watch upside down and on

the other

wrist. •

Develop other-handedness. Use your other hand tasks such as brushing

to

do

rote

your teeth or jotting down notes or num-

bers. •

Tap into

alternative sources of learning.

by reading, explore books on

tion mostly is

•

If

where you get most of your news, tap

Expand your reading

universe.

you gather informa-

tape.

If

the television

into on-line news.

Most people

stay with a certain

type of reading material, usually light fiction and popular peri-

up

odicals. Pick

a

copy of

Scientific

American or Forbes to read

about something completely foreign to you. •

Play

word games. Do crossword puzzles

one

to see

egory

who

or

can think of the most names

four-legged animals, edible

(e.g.,

compete with somein a particular cat-

fruits)

within a fixed

time. •

Memorize

a

poem.

Start with

something short and gradually

master longer ones. •

Practice your spatial

skills.

Buy

a Rubik's

Instead of doodling, try sketching

cube and work on

real-life,

it.

three-dimensional

objects. •

Get

a

map

topographical

of an area

you know. As you study the

contours of the land, mentally picture them as they are

in na-

ture. •

Learn about

a

musical instrument you

know

very

little

about,

for example, the recorder, harpsichord, clarinet, or drums. Lis-

ten to music that features this instrument so that identify •

its

Listen to a

you can

easily

sound.

new kind

of music, for example, opera, Gregorian

chants, or blues. •

Don't use

a calculator or

your checkbook. •

Watch

Do

a television

the

computer software program

to balance

math by hand.

movie with the sound

off

and

try to figure

out the personalities of the characters by watching their actions.

BRAIN FITNESS

38

•

In front of a mirror, practice facial expressions, for

example,

sus-

picion or contentment or surprise. •

Reconstruct

a

conversation that took place at least twenty-

down who

four hours earlier. Jot

said what. Test yourself

by

asking whoever else was involved about his or her recollections of the conversation. •

Keep

a

dream diary

(see

Chapter Three

and think

for details)

about the emotions and psychological underpinnings they stir •

up.

Practice reading upside

newspaper, see

how

down.

long

it

Start with a paragraph in a

takes you,

and gradually add

paragraphs as you become more adept. •

As you and

•

are drifting off to sleep, pick a year from

remember

try to

Keep

Use

lists.

as

a small

many

events from

it

as possible.

pocket notebook to record, for

stance, a food log as part of a weight-watching

purchases you •

to

Whenever you have in

•

make

a

your past

manage

a

in-

program or

budget.

hunch about something, write

it

down

order to test and develop your power of intuition.

Expand your verbal patterns by arranging unusual sentences and phrases with magnetic word pieces shops and stationery

(available in gift

stores.)

MORE REPS FOR A MENTAL PLAN Fitness guru

and promoter Jake Steinfeld uses

his daily exercise

routine to organize and prioritize his thinking. "While I'm train-

ing and counting reps, for every repetition the day. So alized

what

plished

it

mentally

in fit

when my workout I

is

I

complete,

set I

another goal for

have already visu-

have to do that day and have already accom-

my mind.

This keeps

and way ahead of the

me

not only physically

day,

fit

but

and ahead of the game."

WISE

Exercise to

Physical exercise it

pumps,

it

to

is

makes

it

39

U P

Pump Up

your brain

Learning

octane to an engine

like

—

it

revs,

hum. Aerobic conditioning, vigorous exercise

that requires lots of oxygen, feeds various parts of the brain, especially the basal ganglia, cerebellum,

oxygen comes more blood, and

new

derstand and retain

heightens your ability to un-

this

information.

demand

that

Activities

and corpus callosum. With more

neural growth. Studies with rats have

William

Greenough has been

T.

do

well as environment, can

vided

rats into four

help

coordination

physical

shown

this dramatically. Dr.

closely watching

to a brain. In

energize

what

exercise, as

one experiment, he

di-

groups and four levels of exercise. The heavily

exercised rats scurried around elaborate constructions of ropes and bridges. illaries

When

their brains

were

later

examined, they had more cap-

around the neurons than the control groups

brains were getting

At the

more blood and

Institute for Brain,

—

that

is,

their

fuel.

Aging and Dementia

at

the University

of California, Irvine, rats were also put through various exercise routines. Dr.

Carl

ate running all

of

Cottman discovered

around wheels

in their

that both the rats doing

cages and those treading virtually

night had richer nutrients in their brains.

growth

They had higher

a little trickier to study, researchers

have seen proof that exercise improves mental function Roberta Rikli

at

in

people.

the Lifespan Wellness Clinic at California State

University in Fullerton put thirty-one

tal

levels

factors, or neurotrophins, circulating.

Although human brains are

eighty-five

moder-

women aged

on an exercise program to see

if

fifty-seven to

they could regain men-

reaction time they had lost with age. Three times a week, the

women

in

one group either did aerobics or walking. After three

years, she

measured their response time and found that the mental

reactions in the second group,

not improve but declined. bics,

produced

a definite

The

which did no liveliest

improvement.

exercise, not only did

group, those

who

did aero-

BRAIN FITNESS

40

Different exercises stimulate different regions and neurological functions, so here

is

an assortment of activities to spread around the

excitement. •

Practice handstands or floating upside

down when you

are in a

pool. •

Take up or practice an

activity that requires coordination, such

as a racket sport, basketball, baseball, or •

Next time take

exercise oil

is

it

broken

(like a

works and

clock radio or a lock)

try to fix

it

or identify the

Consider working toward an advanced version of

part.

changing •

how

apart to see

it

broken this

gadget

a small

ballroom dancing.

—doing and

simple servicing on your

car,

such as

filters.

Learn to juggle, beginning with just three objects, or learn to

tie

complicated nautical knots. •

Learn basic stretching exercises, especially for those muscle

groups that you do not move much,

like the toes,

lower back,

and neck. • "Spin

your brain" and stimulate more neural

activity

by doing

tumbling or cartwheels or spinning your body around on one foot. •

Revive your jump-roping

•

Extend the amount of time you can stay underwater without

skills.

swim underwater

breathing. Diving from the edge of the pool, as far as

going •

you can

until

and

a little farther

Walk backward

for

you need

air.

Do

this regularly,

each time

a little longer.

two blocks

(don't forget to look for traffic

before crossing the street) and gradually lengthen the distance

you can

go.

ONE MAN'S BRAIN FOOD Neurologist Ron Lawrence believes that the brain functions

carbohydrates, up to

on

sugar,

six small

he

meals

in brain

fills

his

a day.

food.

Knowing

menu with complex

WISE Try meditation.

on

Cognitive Cocktail

extended mental

my

fortify

I

ments, which

My

tween the a

number

such as a monthlong business

cells

and strengthens

and

brain's right

"cognitive cocktail" contains acetyl-l-

compound

carnitine (ALC), a natural

exchange between

stress

cognitive muscle with an assortment of supple-

take daily.

I

left

that improves the energy cellular

geriatric

has been tested

in

showing signs of mental de-

cline, and noticeably sharpened their thinking

skills.

For instance,

in

involving almost five hundred patients in

Italy

in

communication be-

ALC

hemispheres.

of studies with older people

an experiment

1

with your eyes closed, mind focused

Sit quietly

A

project,

4

sound or thought, and breathe deeply.

a single

In times of

UP

and neurologic hospital

units,

ALC

was given

for

150 days

alongside a placebo. At the end of the study, the patients receiving

ALC showed tests,

and

improvements persisted even

their

ing the drug. nificant

"significant increases" in scores of mental function

Those

improvement.

as a cognitive

Caffeine

is

ALC

enhancer

my

in

who

patients

is

after

they stopped tak-

received placebos

showed no

currently being tested in clinical

sig-

trials

for Alzheimer's.

cocktail because of

its

stimulating effects

—

it's

the best nonprescription "upper" available. Vitamin B complex helps

me

guard against nutritional deficiencies that

good supply

For instance, a

may slow my

of folic acid helps

blood circulation

DR. BOB'S COGNITIVE COCKTAIL 500

Acetyl-1-carnitine:

Caffeine:

200

mg

mg

Vitamin B complex: 100 Pregnenolone: 50

Green

tea:

1

mg

mg

cup

Glucose powder:

1

tablespoon

thinking. in

BRAIN FITNESS

42

A BRIEF REFRESHER Everyone, regardless of

intelligence.

age or education, can improve his or her

Each of us has natural mental

talents

—

distinctive

types of intelligences, insight, learning styles, and ways of

thinking ciently

—

that

you

we can hone. To sharpen how

think,

you need

and practice mental

tion

quickly and

to constantly acquire

skills.

new

effi-

informa-

Here's how.

Assess your learning strengths. Assess your thinking strengths.

Capture new material. Read, master sion, ter,

enhance your vocabulary, do quick

and stimulate

Do ruts

comprehen-

calculations, listen bet-

creativity.

regular mental exercises. Memorize, get out of mental

by changing

Do

selective

new

daily habits, learn

music, and keep

lists.

regular physical exercises to stimulate the brain. Try

jumping rope, stretching, or meditating accompanied by deep breathing techniques.

the brain, and a healthy dose of B 12 guards against

ment. Another cocktail ingredient steroid

hormone

precursor,- the

is

body

memory

pregnenolone, which uses

it

to

make

other hormones. Scientists have called pregnenolone

because

it

appears to improve a person's

the

washed down with

DHEA

is

a

and

a

"smart drug"

memory and

has no toxic tea,

which

of antioxidants, sweetened with pure glucose powder,

which

side effects. All this is full

impair-

is

body slowly breaks down

a

cup of green

for brain food.

SELECTED SOURCES Bower,

B.

"Enriched mice show adult neuron boost."

Science News, 151,

206, April

5,

1997. Brink, S. "Smart moves:

new

research suggests that folks from 8 to 80 can shape up

WISE

their brains with aerobic exercise." U.S.

May Brody,

43

U P

News and World

118 (19), 76-82,

Report,

15, 1995.

J.

"Good

habits outweigh genes as key to healthy old age."

New

York Times,

February 28, 1996.

Dana

Alliance for Brain Initiatives. Delivering

The Dana

Update 1996.

Dean, W.,

Menlo

et

Smart Drugs

al.

New

Press, II.

York,

Results:

May

The Next Generation. Health Freedom Publications,

Park, California, 1993.

New

Gardner, H. Frames of Mind. Basic Books,

Golden, D. "Building Hayflick,

How

L.

and

Hultsch, D. F, et

al.

a better brain."

Why We Age.

Life,

York, 1985.

63-69, July 1994.

Pi —

1

1

Kotulak, R.

,

"Age differences

in

cognitive performance in later life style."

Inside the Brain: Revolutionary Discoveries of

City,

Langreth, R. "Scientists find brain cells." Wall al.

How

the

48

Mind Works. Andrews

first

Street Journal,

strong evidence mental stimulation produces

April

3,

1997.

"Aging, stress and cognitive function." Annals of the

New

York Academy

and Neri, M. "L-acetylcarnitine treatment of mental decline

Schaie, K., et

al.

20

(4),

in

the

el-

169-76, 1994.

"Perceived intellectual performance change over seven years."

Journal of Gerontology, J.

rela-

Mo., 1996.

derly." Drugs Under Experimental and Clinical Research,

Siegel,

life:

Journal of Gerontology,

717, 79-88, June 30, 1994.

of Sciences,

Salvioli, G.,

York, 1996.

1993.

and McMeel, Kansas

Levy, A., et

New

Ballantine Books,

tionships to self-reported health and activity (1),

A Progress Report on Brain Research,

1996.

49

(3),

108-19,

May

1994.

"Educating for understanding." Phi Delta Kappan, 75

(7),

563-67, March

1994. Trotter, R.

J.

"Three heads are better than one

veloped by Robert Williams,

P.,

J.

and Lord,

mood

(1),

45-52, February 1997.

Young,

S.,

of group exercise

older women." Australian and

and Concar, D. "These

(1848), S2-9,

triarchic theory of intelligence de-

Sternberg." Psychology Today, 20, 56-63, August 1986. S. R. "Effects

and

in

—

November

cells

21, 1992.

New

on cognitive functioning

Zealand Journal of Public Health, 21

were made

for learning."

New

Scientist,

136

Two

IMPROVING RECALL

AND FIGHTING MEMORY LOSS

suspect that

many

readers

may

turn to this chapter

first.

I

hear

more complaints about poor memory than about any other menI

tal

function.

It's

not just older people

who

are worried that mis-

placing their glasses or forgetting a birthday

memory

going. Even baby boomers and a few

is

nered

me

one's

name

you

or their "tip-of-the-tongue"

"A man from

39.

dinner,

At

ily

quick

New York was

and got on the

this exit, there

for construction

move

Gen

that their

X'ers

have cor-

about the meaning of their inability to remember some-

start reading, take this

ily

means

was

test of

memory

your power of

driving his car on the

interstate at exit 23 a

lapses. So, before

way

and got

roadblock and the

recall:

to a famoff at exit

man had

to wait

workers to remove the barricades. Impatient to

on, he took a side road.

Still,

he arrived

late for

the fam-

dinner."

45

.

BRAIN FITNESS

46

Immediately looking

after reading this story, repeat

at the written text

and

down

jot

aloud without

it

Repeat

details.

to yourself in fifteen minutes without looking at the text

down what you remember. Give any of the following

yourself one point

if

it

again

and jot

you note

details.

New York

1

2.

interstate

3.

exit 23

39

4. exit 5.

barricades

6.

construction worker

7.

side road

8. late

for family dinner

Scoring: In

your

first recall,

remembering

normal memory.

details signals a

only one or two fewer than

in

the

five to eight of these

In the second, first recall

remembering

indicates a normal

memory.

A I

look forward to

joyed

my

MEMORY

my

ACID TEST

high school reunions not only because

four years at Far

Rockaway High School

York, but equally important, because they give

how am

aging and

I

of six hours,

done

to

my

I

how my memory

get a snapshot of

recall of faces

my

is

me

in

Queens,

a reality

I

en-

New

check on

holding up. Over the course

younger

self,

see

what time has

and events, and glimpse how

lifestyles

have helped or hurt people's thinking.

Many

people are acutely aware of their minds becoming slower

and more

forgetful with the years.

Beginning around age less

exactness.

against a

In

forty,

It's

not

all in

our brains react

their imagination.

a little

slower and with

standard tests pitting the middle-aged mind

young mind, youth generally

wins. Middle-aged people

POWER

DETAIL

asked to

computer terminal and count how many red dots

a

sit at

were flashed on the screen or to trace flected in a mirror could not Yet, while

47

a

complicated pattern

re-

match the scores of twenty-year-olds.

our reaction times slow with the march of time, other

And a few

skills ac-

to strengthen

and im-

types of mental reaction and retention hold firm. tually improve.

There

is

much you can do

prove your memory.

RECOGNIZING OLD FRIENDS, RELIVING GOOD TIMES People worry

A

faulty

about losing their memory, and for good reason.

a lot

memory can make

how

to

life

frustrating

and unpleasant: Los-

names and important numbers, or not being

ing items, forgetting able to recall

daily

do something can turn everyday

monumental chores. Even worse,

a spotty

activities into

memory can rob you

of

cherished, satisfying experiences. Losing the ability to recall events

and people

in

your past can

rich, textured layer of

alter

your personality, erasing from

it

images and emotions.

While concerns about memory be balanced by the good news.

are understandable, they

Our preoccupation with

need to

deteriorat-

TAKE ACTION Write

Down

It

Simply writing something down forces you to pay attention to a fact or detail.

The

physical process of handwriting activates

an area of the brain you are not using at the time. Scientists this

call

encoding. In writing something down, you create the

equivalent of three copies of an item to remember. initial

thought, the act of writing

write

it.

memory

This stores

is

a

why

keeping

by volumes.

it

You have the

down, and the review

as

a daily journal increases

you

your

BRAIN FITNESS

48

memory has prompted scientists to Memory research has exploded in recent ing

methods ing,

and

for

enhancing

exercises.

Here

it:

are

find

ways

to

years into

improve

many

it.

enticing

pharmaceuticals, foods, vitamins, train-

some recent

findings, with

more

details

later.

•

"Brain networks can always be fine-tuned," says Dr. Charles

Stevens of the Salk Institute.

The

strength and sharpness of

your memory are affected most by factors you can control

—

ed-

ucation and intellectual activity. Researchers have found that

people

and

who

are kept mentally active through constant learning

activities

that stimulate their

memories and knowledge

have strong, sound memories. Regularly using information creates stronger connections

between brain

cells

and permanently

improves neural communication.

CEREBRUM intellect,

Parts of the Brain and Functions

memory,

language, decision-making

Intermediate mass

Cingulate gyrus controls behavior

and emotion

Pineal gland

Thalamus

body grows and matures

monitors and sorts out

the rate at which

messages

Hypothalamus

Hippocampus learning and

memory

controls bodily functions,

emotions, body temperature, hunger, thirst, blood pressure, sexual feelings

Frontal lobe Occipital lobe

motivation and

sense of smell

Pituitary gland hormones for energy production

CEREBELLUM unconscious and automatic functions, such as balance, posture, coordinated movement

Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (1990)

Adapted from

BRAIN STEM breathing, heart rate, levels of consciousness

and sleep

DETAI

•

POWER

49

Women

have the edge, and they usually outscore

kinds of

memory

Memory

•

L

men on

all

tests.

has a secret ingredient, best defined by the English

writer Samuel Johnson. "The true art of tention," he

memory

the art of

is

at-

said.

•

Various B vitamins can have a significant impact on memory.

•

Certain types of mental exercise are excellent protectors against

memory

loss.

"Memory

•

new

class of

have been widely and successfully used

now

available worldwide.

—"smart foods"—enhance

my

last

reunion,

remember bumping

I

Arthur. Since our last

pharmaceuti-

Europe and are

in

learning.

MEMORY

KINDS OF At

to a

cals,

Particular foods

•

which belong

pills,"

names were close

into

my

locker buddy,

alphabetically, our lockers

were always next to each other.

He

gave

numbers.

My

expression must have been one

rattled off a string of

me

hearty greeting, then

a

of total perplexity because he quickly explained. "Don't

ber? That it.

Good

win

a

was your locker combination

thing you had

TV

quiz

me

show with

around!"

I

—

roared with delight:

of your various

needs the most attention. "Working memory"

translates sensory signals

from what you

taste into a single impression.

salty

a

It's

the brain's ability to

them from moment process the

to

see.

how your

brain

hot chafing dish of round, a

connection between

This connection

is

mesh together sensory

working memclues

and hold

moment. While working memory

mind goes through, the thought

short-term memory.

is

memo-

you smell something

if

brown lumps, your brain immediately makes

ory.

could

see, hear, feel, smell, or

For instance,

and tomato-like and then see

what you smell and what you

He

long-term memory!

his

To improve your memory, consider which ries

you remem-

you were always forgetting

or image

it

is

the

creates

is

BRAIN FITNESS

50

Working memory

stores the impression of the

smell and the bubbling,

brown

sight in the short-term

bank, then taps into your long-term sight are familiar.

memory

it

reports that

a piece of

information

If

so,

tomato and

you

to see

this

if

salt

memory odor and

and seeing

are smelling

meatballs.

To remember

memory

to long-term

memory

—

move

to

—you need

it

to focus

from short-term

on

it

for at least

Working memory and memory are like a pencil and scratch pad. Working memdown what you are doing from moment to moment. But

eight seconds,- otherwise

it

will evaporate.

short-term

ory jots

since the scratch

seven items

at a time,

items you noted

depends on

pad (short-term memory) can hold only about

you

earlier.

and forgetting

are constantly writing over

Exactly what ends up in long-term storage

how you have

organized and processed the information.

Repetition of and thinking about a piece of information, paying tention

—what

scientists call rehearsal

—help send

at-

to the long-

it

term storage bank.

Your long-term memory bank has an assortment of deposits.

There ory, is

is

semantic memory, which

which

is

is

individual

facts,-

episodic

experiences and events,- and procedural memory, which

behaviors, habits, and rote activities.

Like a pinball machine ringing with bells and lights, your

ory bounces off a number of corners

chemical and electrical chain reaction.

term memory, scientists believe, other hand, your long-term

is

memory

in

mem-

the brain and triggers a

What

sets off

your short-

On

the

kicks in either because of

new

an electrical impulse.

connections that have grown between brain a

mem-

cells

or as the result of

chemical event involving peptides.

Of

course,

memories

are

formed every day of our

conversations and experiences. While there

seepage of

stuff into

is

our long-term memory,

lives,

no way

we can

through

to stop the

contribute to

the flow through deliberate learning. By setting out to learn something,

you build memories. Educators say

that learning

is

either

declarative (also called factual or associative) or procedural. Declarative

learning absorbs details about people, places, things, and

DETAILPOWER

51

highly associative, meaning that you automatically link

events.

It is

details,

which then stay together

in

your mind. The other type of

learning, procedural, involves the perceptual in

acquiring the knowledge of

knowing how

how

to

do

and motor

things.

skills

used

activities like

It's

to dance.

Researchers have found that the chemistry of the brain changes

during declarative learning, and they

call this

change long-term pobeen

tentiation (LTPj. In laboratory tests, brain cells that have ficially

arti-

stimulated react chemically with each other and appear to

"remember" that stimulation, so that they continue to communicate even

after the stimulus

the connections

is

diminished.

between brain

stronger links at virtually any age youngsters. successful

cation

LTP may

memory

that

is

enhancers.

—

why

this

In is

stimulation strengthens

fact,

not

a

grow

the brain can

phenomenon

just for

practice and repetition are such

They

reinforce a chain of

communi-

strong and accessible as long-term

still

months or years

explain

cells.

The

memory

later.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S AMAZING SHORT-TERM MEMORY While attending ical Fitness in

a

meeting of the President's Council on Phys-

Washington, D.C., Arnold learned

just

before the meeting that he was going to be asked to remarks.

make

a

few

Conferring with his good friend Jim Lorimer, he

sketched out

a list of ten topics

he might

was numbered and they reviewed the ing began.

When

list

Arnold was asked to

mentioned each topic

in

memory.

talk about.

Each item

twice before the meet-

talk ten

minutes

later,

he

the order in which he and Lorimer had

arranged them, and he did this without his

minutes

a scrap of

paper to jog

— BRAIN FITNESS

52

YOUR AGING MEMORY: WHAT GOES, WHAT STAYS, WHAT GETS BETTER At

my high school

reunion,

I

sought out a

"girl"

I

had had

a crush on,

despite rumors at the time that she experimented with drugs. She

was tion,

and well into her white wine.

there,

my

and while she remembered

lection of

We

had

a brief

conversa-

name, she clearly had no recol-

any of our times together.

I

drifted off to another part of

the room, wondering whether the drug use, white wine, or age had

eroded her memory.

Age does chip away

at

our memory. Starting around age twenty,

your brain gradually diminishes percent

less

in size

and leaves you with 10 to 20

gray matter by the time you are eighty. Scientists are

unsure of whether this reduction

is

actual loss or rather shrinkage of

They do know

nerve cells and

glial cells.

tors with age,

which reduces the amount of chemical

between

cells,

and that fewer brain chemicals

are coursing through

possible to

that nerve cells lose recep-

tell

your head.

exactly

how

interaction

— neurotransmitters

Yet, researchers

have found

these alterations affect

it

im-

memory and

general thinking. "To this day, a connection between decreased

mental function and brain

cell loss

has not been proven," declares

Dr. Leonard Hayflick, of the University of California at San Francisco Medical School.

Not

all

the changes of aging bring bad news. Neurobiologists

studying stroke victims and amputees suffering from phantom pain

have discovered that parts of the brain can regenerate.

When

con-

nections between nerve cells (synapses) are broken, the brain can

grow new connections or compensate by strengthening nearby cuits. Scientists call this it

as a great discovery

Life

is all

memory

cir-

marvelous adaptation plasticity and herald

and the cause

for

much

hope.

except for the one present

by you so quick you hardly catch

it

going.

moment

that goes

—Tennessee Williams

POWER

DETAIL

53

TAKE ACTION Test

Most people exaggerate

Your Brain

their

Cells

memory

deficits.

They know

all

the times they have forgotten faces and names, misplaced keys,

or suffered a frustrating tip-of-the-tongue experience, but they don't detail

of

remember the many times they quickly from

how

a long-past event.

well your

once, turn

it

over,

memory

is

Take

recalled a fact or

this test for a

simple gauge

working. Read through this

and write down

as

many

items as

you can

list

re-

member. garlic

oregano

oranges

chocolate chip cookies

flour

raspberries

tomatoes

coconut

water

hamburger

nectarines

eggplant

white wine

mustard

rice

Scoring

Still,

some changes

If

NORMAL

18--39

10 items

40- -59

9 items

60--69

8 items

70+

7 items

in

speed of response

starting

then

it

memory

what goes and what

versal. Here's

•

AGE

around age

is

as

age appear to be near uni-

stays.

a measure,

fifty.

we

then

However,

if

it

diminishes in everyone

accuracy

is

the measure,

doesn't necessarily slip with age, except for long-term

memory.

BRAIN FITNESS

54

•

The type

of

memory

mediate storage of •

•

A

is

the im-

to a sight, sound, or smell

memory.

study of affluent retirees with

found that they performed

a

mean age

(how

well

membered), and verbal

recall

as

However,

of seventy-four

just as well in tests of

tion, paired-associate learning

graduates.

forties

lots of information.

Older people need longer exposure to activate sensory

your

at risk as early as

free

less

new

word genera-

information

young

re-

college under-

lower-income

educated,

is

seniors

scored lower than the college kids. •

working memory

Spatial

aging.

to

ability

remember where

to

demands constant refreshing

things are, which susceptible

—your

Its

rapid disappearance

—

especially

is

a

is

of

sign

Alzheimer's. •

The

— not once-known, common word—

tip-of-the-tongue

member

a

phenomenon

is

among people

being able to especially

re-

common

over sixty-four.

PLUS AND MINUS Assuming generally good mental aging around age of

change

sixty,

and

for

abilities that neuroscientists

perts say people gain

Vocabulary.

Verbal free

recall.

and

Word

showing

signs of

some, there are few signs

until their seventies or eighties.

and learning

Plus:

health, people begin

Here

memory

are the

and gerontology ex-

lose with the years.

generation. Paired-associate learning.

Proofreading. Capacity to generate

new

or

original ideas.

Minus-.

Mental response time. Speed and quality of sentence

completion. Storage of

working memory. tions).

lots of information. List recall. Spatial

Visual-spatial response (e.g., driving reac-

Tip-of-the-tongue memory.

Dream

recall.

DETAI

POWER

L

55

Will and discipline are part of learning and of forging strong

memories, and so

is

a

healthy brain. By that

mean

I

taking in the

necessary nutrients and doing the right exercises so that your functions efficiently. There

ory and learning ing.

One

of the

skills first

is

much you can do

to sharpen the

mind

mem-

that have slowed because they are rusty or ag-

places

you should look

is

the kitchen.

BRAIN FOODS Scientists are just

nutrition tration,

beginning to understand the strong links between

and mental function, and how

and

intellectual performance. Just as a

posed of many ingredients, brain food

namely proteins, carbohydrates, and that can spark your

memory, concen-

diet alters

is

fats.

good stew

is

com-

an assortment of nutrients,

Here

are

some

ingredients

memory.

The Glory oj Garlic Credit the Japanese for discovering that garlic can have a noticeable effect

aged

on memory. Researchers

garlic extract to the diets of

and found that their

ory

it

performance

test.

the University of

Tokyo added

mice specially bred to age quickly

not only extended their lifetimes but improved in

the water maze, a standard learning and

mem-

"These results suggest the possibility that aged garlic ex-

tract prevents physiological in

at

aging and age-related

memory

disorders

humans," claim the Japanese.

Try a Shot of Sugar

A

dose of concentrated sugar

searchers led

by

Dr. Paul

may

Gold

at

help short-term memory, say

the University of Virginia.

students were given glasses of lemonade early in the

re-

Twenty

morning when

BRAIN FITN ESS

56

their

stomachs were empty, then asked to read

forty-five minutes later they facts

in

were tested on

the article they could recall.

and

a short passage,

how many

One morning

of seventy

they drank

lemonade with sugar and on the next day lemonade with saccharin,

On

fake sugar.

the day they had the sugared lemonade, they re-

membered 30 percent more. The was not in

sugar that improved their recall

Gold concluded

table sugar but concentrated glucose. Dr.

the American Journal oj

and memory

in

Clinical Nutrition,

"Glucose enhances learning

healthy aged humans and enhances several other

cognitive functions in subjects with severe cognitive pathologies."

Bring

On

the

Fat

People learn better and remember more in their diets. Fats are

brain needs

them

when they have

present (this

body and

is

to function properly. Fats are

what makes

use of the unsaturated

down

composed

a fat "saturated")

fat in fish oil

of a string

and how much hydrogen determining

Our gray matter makes

brain use them.

breaks these

how

and vegetable

oil.

The body

into essential fatty acids (they're called essential

daily diet) that feed brain cell

The

genated)

in

test

fats, like it

animal

fat,

down and do

how various

fats

unsaturated

The

fat,

butter,

lubricate brain work-

memory and

of lab rats

high saturated

rats that

and those found

fat,

chowed down on

performed the worst. "The

in fried foods.

not add useful nutrients.

influence

Canada put three groups

them.

membranes and

in the

brain doesn't like short-chain, saturated (highly hydro-

These slow

To

the

good

especially

because the body cannot produce them but must have them

ings.

fat

our most concentrated form of energy, and the

of molecules, with the length of the string is

the right

on three

learning, scientists

different diets

—high

— then

tested

and normal

fat

the saturated

fat,

results indicate that a diet

mostly high

rated fatty acids can impair a wide range of learning and functions,"

concluded the researchers.

lard,

in satu-

memory

— D ETAI

On

Pile

Pasta

largely carbohydrates, as

is

they become part of a

POWE R

L

the

57

Pasta

you know, and when we

eat them,

chain reaction that ultimately produces

a

brain chemical that helps you think better. This fast-thinking neu-

rochemical

is

maybe even

when

serotonin, and

it

runs low you feel sluggish,

depressed, and cannot concentrate well. You can help

your brain produce more serotonin by feeding

amino acid found brain

is

it

tryptophan, an

protein foods such as milk and eggs.

in

fed lots of carbs,

sates for the chemical

which contain no tryptophan,

When your it

compen-

imbalance by increasing the tryptophan that

goes into the chemical stew to generate serotonin. By eating pasta,

you

actually generate a higher concentration of tryptophan.

Confused? Dr. Richard Wurtman Cognitive Sciences intuitive that the levels

is

at

MIT

at the

Department of Brain and

explains this paradox:

meal that most effectively

"It

seems counter-

raises brain

the one entirely lacking in tryptophan (that

tryptophan

is,

one con-

taining carbohydrates but no proteins) whereas a protein-rich meal,

which

elevates blood tryptophan, has the opposite effect

on the

brain."

POWERFUL NUTRIENT

A At the reunion,

whose

class

passages.

we would aller."

He was

Do you

my

enjoyed because

French teacher, Mr. Darien, I

had

who

a

sharp verbal

be able to

if

we

listened

rattle off

right. Repetition

memory

taught through oral rote.

to repeat verb conjugations

told us that

still

into

iron-fisted teacher

we had

He

bumped

really

I

and he was an Every day

I

and memorize long

and concentrated, years

the past perfect tense of "to go

enhances verbal memory.

find yourself forgetting directions

you heard only hours

or days ago? This can be annoying and frustrating, and can force to learn things twice.

Today

I

later

use the same technique for

you

remem-

BRAIN FITN ESS

58

bering information that of the instructions in

phone numbers

my

I

my

applied in French

class.

mind, and find that

recited to

me

I

replay the sounds

I

am

remember

able to

years ago by sounding the numbers in

mind. But the mind does not always cooperate, and knowing

about citicoline would certainly have made some learning

a little less

trying.

Scientists in the line, a

fect

United States and

form of choline and part of the vitamin B complex,

on verbal memory. This makes

know

have been testing

Italy

that choline

citico-

for

its ef-

sense, because they already

helps the brain produce the neurochemical

acetylcholine, a key ingredient in routine

memory

activity. In

dou-

placebo-controlled studies involving older volunteers

ble-blind,

with failing memory, from either aging or predementia, citicoline has consistently improved test scores for verbal

memory

as well as

immediate memory and delayed logical memory, the organization of thoughts and a concept of things that occurred is

found

in

egg yolks, organ meats, beans and

the past. Choline

in

peas,

and

lecithin sup-

plements. Lecithin, a nutritional extract, helps deliver choline to the brain. In fact,

because

it is

a better delivery

system than choline supplements

provides a steadier, longer supply of choline than the sup-

it

plements.

GREASE YOUR MEMORY Another naturally occurring substance

memory

is

meaning Think of

phosphatidylserine (PS). This

that it

it's

a naturally

occurring

fat

as grease or lubrication for

thirty-five studies,

of

that's

names and

PS has been found

faces, lost objects,

is

been shown to sharpen

a

phospholipid nutrient,

found

your mind.

at

Memory

fuzziness

more than

memory

Assessment Clinics

in

149 people were

memory impairment, which experienced by many people over fifty. Pa-

treated for what's called age-associated

memory

In

to stimulate people's

Bethesda, Maryland, and Stanford University,

the

membranes.

telephone numbers, and paragraphs

they have read. In a joint study

is

in cell

DETAI

tients, fifty to

LPOWER

seventy-five years old, took 100

three times a day for twelve weeks.

non-PS counterparts

in tests of

tion during reading,

and

be

a

The PS

name and

recall of

Thomas Crook, who

jects. Dr.

accustomed

to

dorsement. Not found

in

plements. While

mg of

PS or

a

memory, concentra-

face

led the study, concluded that

memory

foods,

PS

is

recommended doses may

lost

that's a

ob-

PS "may

loss in later life."

guarded statements,

many

placebo

patients outscored their

telephone numbers and

promising candidate for treating

scientists

59

From

ringing en-

available in dietary sup-

most of the studies

vary,

involving PS used 300 milligrams a day.

MEMORY MINERALS Boron, which

is

found

peas, lentils, nuts,

ory

tests.

ter

found that

and

in

foods like apples, peaches, pears, beans,

leafy vegetables, looks like a

Researchers at the 3

winner

USDA Human Nutrition

in

mem-

Research Cen-

milligrams a day improved people's alertness and

learning ability.

Lack of magnesium can cloud your memory by retarding blood circulation in the brain. Scientists have

magnesium

to

had good luck with giving

memory-impaired older people who seemed

to be

showing signs of early Alzheimer's. You can get magnesium by

eat-

ing whole wheat, almonds, cashews, and leafy green vegetables.

you consume when you

Zinc, a trace metal

eat shellfish, beans

and peas, or dark turkey meat, can also juice up your memory. Doctors in

have known for

the elderly,

a

long time that a zinc deficiency, particularly

has been linked to mental confusion and even

Alzheimer's disease. Zinc's positive effects are also noteworthy.

Women

in studies at

ability to

the University of Texas discovered that their

remember words and

visual patterns

got enough zinc into their system.

lowance

for zinc

is

12-15 milligrams.

improved when they

The recommended

daily

al-

BRAIN FITN ESS

60

MEMORY FOODS These foods and nutrients have been shown to boost memory in

noteworthy ways:

Aged

Improves

garlic.

memory

memory,

spatial

fights

age-related

loss.

Sugar/glucose. Improves short-term memory.

Carbohydrates

which

in pasta. Stimulates

production of serotonin,

fuels learning.

Unsaturated

fat

in

olive

oil,

fish oil.

Strengthens general

learning abilities. Citicoline in egg yolks, organ meats. Enhances verbal

mem-

ory.

Phosphatidylserine (PS)

in

supplements. Stimulates

memory

of names, faces, lost objects, and numbers.

Boron

in apples, pears, beans, peas.

Enhances alertness

for

learning.

Magnesium eral

Zinc

in

whole wheat,

nuts.

Enhances

alertness, gen-

memory.

in shellfish,

short-term

beans and peas, dark turkey meat. Aids

recall,

word and

visual

memory.

VITAMIN POWER Science

is

making amazing discoveries about how vitamins influence

our thought processes. In recent years, vitamin supplements have

been linked to better moods, higher scores on intelligence

more memory, and sharper nutrients to

attention.

expand your memory

are

Some

tests,

of the best vitamins

members

and

of the B complex: Bj

(thiamine), B 2 (riboflavin), B 3 (niacin), B 6 (pyridoxine), and B n

(cyanocobalamin), as well

The harm from not

as choline, carnitine,

getting

and

folic acid.

enough vitamin B has been known

for

decades. Insufficient intake of niacin can foster a disease that looks

— DETAI

mental

like

illness

and

hallucinations. People

B2

6

1

characterized by confusion, depression, and

who do

not take

in

enough

can become

Bj

ir-

and aggressive and exhibit personality changes. Deficiencies

ritable in

is

PO WE R

L

may produce

neurotic depression.

And

not enough B, 2 has

long been connected with dangerous (pernicious) anemia that can lead to a host of neurological problems.

So the converse of vitamin deficiency

RDA

levels

health

—makes

ily,

three are star

Of

the seven

memory

Research Center on Aging

in

Bj,

of the B vitamin fam-

B 6 and B l2 ,

memory

Human

of Agriculture

at

Nutrition

Boston. Seventy men, aged fifty-four

to eighty-one, were tested on their thinking and

then measured for levels of various B vitamins

men

.

study on thinking and

a

Mayer U.S. Department

the Jean

members

boosters

Vitamin B^ was the subject of

that higher, stronger

actually strengthen your mental

of B vitamins can sense.

—

memory

skills

The

systems.

in their

and

with the highest concentrations of B 6 did better on the Back-

ward Digit Span Test and the Activity Memory

Test,

both of which

employ working memory.

Most people, min B 6

A

.

says the U.S. government,

do not get enough

Vita-

National Health and Nutrition Survey of almost twelve

thousand people between the ages of nineteen and seventy-four vealed that 71 percent of

sume the recommended

men and 90

percent of

dietary allowance of B 6

women do

re-

not con-

.

Older people may especially lack B 6 either because they are not ,

getting

enough

in their diet

or from supplements or because their

bodies are not absorbing what they are consuming. Nutrient absorption

suming

is

a

a

problem

as

we grow

older.

If

you

find that

you

are con-

reasonable amount of a vitamin or mineral but

showing up

in

your system (through blood

ask your doctor for vitamin injections.

dosage for B 6

is

between

1.6

and

tests),

it's

not

you may have

The recommended

to

daily

2 milligrams, with supplemental

doses going up to 200 milligrams. Rich sources of B 6 besides sup,

plements, are yeast, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, tuna, and

Another B vitamin This vitamin,

essential for

like the citicoline

memory and

you

liver.

concentration

is

B 12

.

just read about, helps stimulate

BRAIN FITNESS

62

acetylcholine.

A good way

pump up this neurochemical, accordGunma University School of Med-

to

ing to Japanese researchers at the icine,

is

by adding B ]2

producing

it.

You can shellfish,

to diets that lack the choline necessary for

find B 12 in organ foods such as liver

in

such as clams and oysters. Vegetarians have to be especially

sensitive to B 12 intake, since

The recommended

diet.

and kidneys, and

not an ingredient

it is

daily allowance for B

is

]2

in their regular

2

micrograms,

with the supplementary dose up to 1,000 micrograms.

Older people can

meaning

that they

suffer

from what's called atrophic

no longer produce enough stomach acid

process the vitamin B ]2

in their food.

symptoms, including memory

The

loss, lack of

result

can be

to

a host of

coordination, and weak-

You can boost vitamin B 12 intake with

ness in the limbs.

gastritis,

milk, dairy

products, eggs, meat, poultry, and shellfish, or with supplements or

B 12 shots.

Vitamin B ]

land's

may sharpen

thinking, especially in

women. At Eng-

University College Swansea male and female students aged

seventeen to twenty-seven were given huge doses (ten times the daily

recommended amount)

tested every three

months

covered that the thiamin

of nine vitamins or a placebo,

for a year. in

At the end, the researchers

The

results.

researchers, led

women

in

at-

the

by David Benton, were surprised by the

"Unlike most previous studies, an unusual feature to the pres-

ent study

is

that aspects of cognitive functioning

improved only

year of taking a high dose of vitamins," they asserted.

ter a

dis-

the vitamin cocktail quickened the

tention and mental reaction time of the forty-seven study.

and

figured that the

women showed

different results

cause their bodies respond differently to

from the

af-

They

men

be-

diet.

Your morning orange juice may also boost memory. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, ical

is

well

known

that attacks free radicals,

break

down

as

an effective antioxidant,

which

a

chem-

are unstable molecules that

or destroy healthy cells through oxidation.

Its

antioxi-

dant qualities, which fight atherosclerosis, possibly by strengthening the collagen in the arteries,

may

also

have

a direct effect

on

DETAILPOWER

63

MEALTIME BRAIN BOOSTERS These vitamins, and the foods that deliver them, can improve various facets of your thinking:

(whole grains, oatmeal, wheat germ, oysters, and

Vitamin B t

reaction time

liver): attention,

Vitamin B 6 (wheat germ, sunflower seeds, yeast, tuna, and liver):

working memory

Vitamin B 12 (clams, oysters, kidneys, and tion,

Vitamin

concentra-

mental alertness, learning

C

(oranges, strawberries, red peppers, and leafy

memory

green vegetables): general

thinking

liver):

skills.

Clearer arteries

mean more blood and oxygen

to the

brain.

At Southampton General Hospital the diets and thinking abilities of 92 riod

England, doctors surveyed

people over

a

twenty-year pe-

and found that "cognitive function was poorest

C

the lowest vitamin take

1

in

may

status"

saying that there

memory

versity of Trieste

and suggested that "high vitamin

is

even more enthusiastic about ascorbic

"substantial" evidence that

disorders. Drs.

in

in-

may be

acid,

useful in

Angelis and Furlan at the Uni-

memory

food sources for vitamin

like parsley, broccoli,

it

may be

a

disorders.

C are red peppers,-

and brussels

oranges, strawberries, is

De

it

aging mice and suggest

treatment for an assortment of

lowance

C

found ascorbic acid did an extraordinary job com-

bating induced amnesia

Good

those with

protect against cognitive impairment."

Italian scientists are

fighting

in

leafy vegetables

sprouts,- and, of course, fruits like

and papaya. The recommended daily

al-

60 milligrams, the supplementary range between 50 and

10,000 milligrams, and a dose for peak mental performance milligrams per day.

is

1,000

)

BRAIN FITN ESS

64

Neurotransmitter molecules

knob

Synaptic

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Receptor

molecules

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Vesicles

Nerve-Muscle Interface Adapted from

Tide

Brain

and Nervous

AMA Home Medical

Library

(1

System,

991

MEMORY At

my

reunion,

lish class pal

chat,

I

I

had an encounter common

Debbie introduced me

moved

PILLS

on.

Ten minutes

to many.

to her husband,

later,

I

My

and

old Eng-

after a short

had no memory of Debbie's

husband's name.

What

my

strains

introduced to

a

synapses are short-term

a

tasks like being

group of people, then having to use their names

conversation minutes

undoubtedly

memory

ishly testing an array of

memory what Prozac

know this is a common experience, and why pharmaceutical companies are fever-

later.

big reason

in

I

compounds

that they

has done for depression.

hope I

will

do

for the

recently read that

DETAILPOWER more than 150 such

65

"brain drugs" are currently

under development

worldwide.

What many

people do not know, however,

that there are

is

al-

ready drugs available that are designed specifically to improve menfunctioning. First developed

tal

they are

common

class of drugs

mind."

is

fare in

by

a

French scientist

call

the 1970s,

Europe, Asia, and South America. This

called nootropics, literally

Some people

in

new

meaning "toward the

them cognitive enhancers because they can

improve learning and thinking speed, delay mental aging, and sharpen memory. For now,

I

who

the United States because their

in

effects are not always consistent

they work. Those

on what they do to memory.

will focus

Nootropics are controversial

and experts disagree on whether

do work say

believe they

sive results are typical for a juvenile science

drugs.

The

skeptics point out that

memory

is

a

new category

of

most of the studies have been on

animals, not humans, and that the

thinking and

and

that the inconclu-

whole science of improving

founded on poorly understood mechanisms.

Nevertheless, the experts do agree on a couple of points. For one,

nootropics do not produce side effects like those of other "mind drugs," the psychotropic medications used to treat mental illnesses.

They do not

sedate or stimulate, as can other drugs that

work on the

mind. Most experts accept the evidence that they can improve some aspects of learning, but their effects are not uniform, and there

way

to predict

Still, as

whom

they

is

no

will benefit.

often happens with

new medical

treatments, people are

forging ahead regardless of scientific debate. For instance, in Ger-

many

nootropics are widely prescribed by physicians not only for

dementia but also

for slight

memory

disturbances.

The most popu-

of these drugs are ginkgo biloba, piracetam, pyritinol, nimodip-

lar

ine,

and ergot

alkaloids, a medicinal

The mostly widely known

compound

derived from fungus.

cognitive enhancer, piracetam,

is

usu-

ally

taken as a general "brain booster" for various thought processes,

but

it

has also been successful in relieving age-associated

impairment.

One

memory

recent French study produced dramatic results.

66

BRAIN FITNESS

About 135 people, aged

fifty-five

and

older, at

Grenoble University

Hospital were separated into three groups and given either 2.4

grams

day of piracetam, 4.8 grams

a

a day, or a placebo. After six

mem-

weeks, the higher-dose patients generated the best scores on

ory

even though they had the worst scores before the study.

tests,

One

most famous studies of piracetam was done, again

of the

France, with 225 dyslexic schoolchildren. 3.3

grams

study,

a

day or

a

in

children took either

placebo for nine months. At the

of the children

all

The

had below normal reading

the

start of

skills,

although

they were of average intelligence. At the end, the children taking piracetam showed "significant improvements." years in reading accuracy and

1

.7

ory

loss,

1.3

years in comprehension, while the

youngsters taking the placebo advanced only Piracetam

They had gained

may even have some

reading

skills.

clout with the worst kind of

mem-

in their

comes with Alzheimer's. Researchers

the dementia that

Poland have found that high doses (2.4 grams

a day)

seem

in

to stop the

progression of Alzheimer's and that doses of around 800 milligrams a

day improve the memory and attentiveness of epileptic Piracetam

not generally available

is

can either order

macy without

in

the United States, but

through the mail from Europe or buy

it

prescription in Mexico,- this

personal use only.

Nootropil and

It

is

patients.

is

it

you

phar-

in a

perfectly legal, but for

sold under a variety of names, such as

Pirroxil, usually in

400-milligram or 800-milligram

capsules.

Nimodipine has This drug

is

conditions),

brain cells, nals

a

which means

which

when sending brain

much cell it

as

is

produced promising

results in

memory

tests.

calcium channel blocker (usually prescribed for heart

dilutes

between brain

anced

also

cells.

that

its

A

it

stops calcium from leaking into

effectiveness in delivering electrical sigits

impact

become

unbal-

steady drip of calcium reduces

strong individual signals.

It

tends to

people grow older. Disrupted calcium regulation

in

the

thought to be one of the underlying causes of dementia. Too

calcium

kills

brain cells and too

little

halts the

growth of new

connections. Another reason nimodipine appears to work

increases cerebral blood flow.

is

that

DETAI

Scientists

have found that nimodipine

requiring associative

know

memory,

that

kind of learning and

this

LPOWER is

67

especially useful for tasks

linking cause

is,

memory

well

—

it

and

effect.

You

happens when you

repeatedly burn your tongue testing fresh-from-the-oven cookies until

you

modipine

finally learn

tablets

not to taste

when they

were given three times

a

are steaming.

day

for three

When

ni-

months

to

people aged sixty to seventy-five whose learning had noticeably slowed,

it

boosted their associative learning speed by 50 percent.

As some

scientists explore

new drug

aids for

memory, others

are

TAKE ACTION Pharmacies, over-the-counter shelves, health food stores, and mail-order catalogs offer a variety of

pills

that

may expand your

memory. Piracetam (400-800 mg/day): memory, attentiveness, reading comprehension

Nimodipine (30-90 mg/day):

associative learning

and mem-

ory

Clonidine (Doses vary from

.1

mg

memory,

to

your doctor.):

spatial

fects: sedation,

low blood pressure

.3

mg

May

Consult

learning, recall. Side ef-

Pyritynol (300-600 mg/day): vitamin B 6 functioning.

a day.

.

Helps cognitive

lower depression.

Deanol (400-800 mg/day): memory, cognitive functions Deprenyl (10 mg/day): long-term memory, concentration, attention span Acetyl-1-carnitine (1,000-2,000 mg/day): attention, concentration

Ginseng (500-1,000 mg/day

extract): general

memory,

learn-

ing

Ginkgo biloba (40-120 mg/day tration

extract): attention,

concen-

BRAIN FITNESS

68

reexamining known pharmaceuticals for possible benefits to learning and memory. For instance, oral doses of

(MSG), which

monosodium glutamate

spurs the flow of certain neurochemicals, have im-

proved memory

in

people with deficits caused by aging.

Clonidine, a drug prescribed for lowering blood pressure, has also

been found to be useful

ies

in treating

memory

remember where you put

ability to

disorders, particularly the

things (spatial memory). In stud-

with animals, clonidine improved the ability to learn new informa-

tion (like

where food was hidden) and

forgotten.

While nowhere near

sedative side effects tists

are

to recall facts

perfect as a

and the dose has

encouraged enough to put

it

once known but

— —

memory drug gauged

to be carefully

it

has

scien-

into clinical testing.

HORMONE THERAPY Hormones

play an active role in memory.

what happens

With

who

to a person

A prime

example of

bringing few nutrients and oxygen to the brain. As a thinks and

thyroidism,

moves more is

slowly.

not treated

is

has low levels of thyroid hormones.

blood flows more slowly through the

less thyroid,

this

And

in time,

if

arteries,

result, a

person

this condition, called

hyper-

the blood vessels of the brain age

prematurely and atherosclerosis can occur. Furthermore, hyperthyroidism reduces the cells.

Symptoms

number

of dendrite connections

of hyperthyroidism are sluggishness, slowed think-

ing, difficulty in concentrating,

waking up or

between brain

after resting.

Not

and

a

poor memory, especially when

surprisingly, thyroid therapy can re-

verse these signs. Says Dr. Thierry Hertoghe, an internationally

known

expert in hormones, "Thyroid supplements are really great at

magnifying the intelligence of

a patient to

such an extent that

physicians consider thyroid hormones to be the ultimate of intelligence verses failing

.

.

.

many

hormone

the efficacy with which thyroid treatment re-

memories of people

definitely

mones depends on when the therapy

is

sooner thyroid supplements are given, the

low

started. better."

in

thyroid hor-

In general,

the

DETAI

Testosterone

is

in

POWER

69

memory hormone. Men and women who memory (the ability to manipulate precise

another

test better for spatial

movements

L

space) generally have

more testosterone

their

in

"When testosterone therapy is women [women who feel themselves more as

blood. According to Dr. Hertoghe,

taken by transsexual

men and the

try medical treatment to

body

make

of a male], these masculinized

their bodies look

more

women become more

like

pro-

ficient in spatial tasks,

but lose their previous language fluence, a

typical characteristic of

women."

Depending on the

state of

your memory, you may want to think

about taking aggressive action such as hormone replacement therapy.

The

idea of replacing

during

bodies

menopausal

shown

that

normal

women it

hormones

aging

is

as

they are depleted from our

widely

Millions

accepted.

of

take estrogen, and recent investigations have

not only counteracts the effects of menopause but also

can sharpen slowed thinking. Another hormone, dehydroepiandros-

(DHEA), which both men and women churn out

terone

dance

until

star of

thirty,

when

begins to drop

it

hormone replacement programs.

promise

(hGH)

around age

in

is

It,

perking up flagging memories.

off, is

too, has

in

abun-

the latest

demonstrated

Human growth hormone

another candidate for replacement therapy

if

you

are con-

cerned about slipping cogs.

Estrogen

Most

of the research into the effects of

hormones on memory has

concentrated on estrogen, with good cause. Researchers around the

globe are finding that estrogen can markedly sharpen a woman's thinking,

and one leading researcher pinpoints

its

cognitive benefits

on memory. Dr. Barbara Sherwin of McGill University reports there is

"reason to believe that this sex steroid might enhance memory,"

while noting that estrogen does not impact equally. In healthy

young women,

it

all

kinds of

memory

appears to most benefit short -

and long-term verbal memory and especially paired-associate mem-

BRAIN FITNESS

70

which

ory,

is

how

other hand, the

weakened, In

hormone seemed

spatial

one of the

remember new information.

well they

to have

no

effect on, or

On

sometimes

memory.

women on estrogen replacewomen not on ERT were read a

studies, twenty-eight

ment therapy (ERT) and

forty-three

short paragraph and after thirty minutes asked to recall as

about

as

it

the

they could.

The women on

estrogen remembered

much

much

more, leading the researchers to conclude that the hormone not only helped their rial.

memory

While Sherwin admitted

tween the two groups of

She said that

significant.

phone numbers,

Some

is

forty-five

that the difference in performance be-

women was not huge, it was statistically the ERT women probably recalled tele-

instructions,

and directions more

easily.

have found that estrogen's influence on women's

scientists

memory

new mate-

but also their ability to learn

apparent even during normal menstrual cycles.

women

at the

A study of

University of Western Ontario discovered

women

that during the high-estrogen phase of their cycle,

many words

ter on verbal fluency tests (saying as

did bet-

as possible start-

ing with a certain letter within a certain time) than during their

low-estrogen phase.

The

effects

menopausal

was

first

on the thought processes of post-

estrogen

of

women

have been examined ever since the hormone

synthesized.

A

number

with estrogen have shown that in verbal

memory

but

in

of tests of elderly

women

treated

can produce major gains not only

it

other kinds of mental functioning as well.

Dr. Sherwin says that various studies provide "compelling evidence" of the benefits of estrogen replacement for aging minds. Researchers at

Stanford University

who

tested the

fifty-five to ninety-three, half

made

memory

on estrogen and

a difference for

definitely

is

important to note that estrogen comes either

the brain

and that

when

it is

scientists believe

delivered

In studies of estrogen

by

women aged

half not,

found that

remembering names and

it

injection,

of 144

more

in tablet

of the

faces.

It

form or by

hormone

gets to

injection.

and brain

activity, researchers

have found

DETAI

POWER

L

that estrogen has a stronger influence

by the

left

The

hemisphere.

your brain, you might

and manual

directs language, verbal skills,

1

on mental functions governed

side of

left

7

recall,

dexterity. Furthermore, a

healthy circulation of estrogen through the brain stimulates the production of nerve growth factor (NGF), which the brain manufac-

memory.

tures to protect neurons vital for

estrogen

NGF

the brain,

in

If

there

is

not sufficient

memory

production drops, and

cells

weaken.

While the

results of various studies

have not been uniform, prob-

ably because they did not measure the same kinds or levels of estrogen, or use the same

memory

tests,

estrogen

may

well help

you

remember an address or phone number you heard but not help you remember where you put your

glasses.

Estrogen replacement therapy

Women

is

not for everyone, however.

at risk for breast cancer, in particular,

should think twice

about whether they want to add to the hormone that researchers

have implicated tions.

And

as a possible contributor to

not as

much

cancerous

research has been done on

muta-

cell

ERT

in pre-

menopausal women.

However,

a

new generation

harmful side effects

is

of estrogen drugs that sidestep the

about to

hit the marketplace.

Called

(selective estrogen-receptor modulators), these drugs are

Consequently, they are showing remarkable results for

fighting heart disease

and osteoporosis while not

risk of breast or uterine cancer.

ready

in clinical trials,

A hormone

and others

it

into

as the

mother

of

woman's

raloxifene

is al-

are close behind.

and Women

reputed to boost the memories of both

DHEA, known

verts

raising a

One SERM named

A Mother Hormone for Men

is

designed

and bones but not the uterus and

to deliver estrogen to the heart breasts.

SERM

men and women

hormones because the body con-

dozens of other hormones

(its

offspring include estro-

BRAIN FITNESS

72

DHEA

gen, androgen, testosterone, and corticosterone). steroid until

hormone produced by our

around age

were producing

recommended doctors,

An

a neuro-

adrenal glands in a steady stream

the flow begins to slacken. By age

DHEA

our bodies are producing a small fraction of the

sixty-five,

that they

when

thirty,

is

its

it

may

that

is

anti-aging powers, part of

for

DHEA

our twenties. While

in

its

usually

is

magic, say some

hike your memory.

investigation at Bates College in

memory found

various steroids affect

Maine

that

that looked at

DHEA

was

how

a standout.

Researchers fed female rats six different steroids, then put them

memory and

through

learning

tests.

Those on DHEA-S

form that has solubility properties similar to plain larly excelled in tests of

(the sulfate

DHEA)

particu-

working and long-term memory.

In the

discussion of their findings and comparisons with other research, Drs. Cheryl Frye

and Jodi Sturgis concluded, "This confirms that

DHEA-S' memory enhancing species, sex or

memory

effects ... are

Another researcher, Eugene Roberts La

stitute in

Jolla, California,

so well. In his

work with

rats,

Beckman Research

In-

DHEA works DHEA stimulates

why

learned

messenger and the formation of

branches that connect brain

cells.

no magic

the

he discovered that

cell

is

at

may have

production of a key brain

DHEA

not unique to this

task."

bullet for a failing

memory, however. The

re-

memory has so far been limited to animals, which do not have as much of the hormone as humans, so scientists must theorize about how it could affect the husearch into

its

influence on thinking and

man brain. Nevertheless, they have found that

growth

in

animal brains.

DHEA

it

stimulates neurite

also helps balance the body's pro-

duction of potentially hazardous stress hormones, called glucocorticoids.

If

stressful

there

is

an imbalance

among

various glucocorticoids, under

conditions tissues like those

the hippocampus,

Some

may

doctors hesitate to

facial hair in

the

memory

headquarters,

suffer.

recommend

tainty over long-term side effects. In

acne and

in

women, and

DHEA

some

because of uncer-

tests,

it

has produced

researchers have theorized that

POWER

DETAIL

it

may

raise the risk for heart disease

though there

shown

is

no evidence that

and prostate cancer

this

that at extremely high doses

73

in

men,

al-

And a rat study has may cause liver prob-

happens.

DHEA

lems, even cancer.

You can buy DHEA, usually nutrition stores.

There

are

in

25- or 50-milligram capsules, from

no standard doses. Most

clinical studies

have used daily doses of 25 to 100 mg. Getting the right dose is

important with

DHEA,

have your hormone dose

will

so

you should consult

level tested before starting

depend on how much

on

DHEA your body

a physician it.

Your optimum producing nat-

Women

J

10

I

L

I

20

DHEA Adapted from Stopping

J

Levels

the Clock

(

1

I

40

30

I

I

50

age in years by Age in Men and 996)

I

and

is

- Men

-

level

'

60

Women

70

BRAIN FITNESS

74

urally,

need

which you can

less

blood

than men, and some people take

who

particularly those

DHEA,

find out from a

are

men and

acnelike pimples in

available,

the lost

facial hair in

and may be even more

hormones

women

only every other day,

prone to the most annoying side effect of

ple with these complaints, a precursor of

now

Generally,

test. it

women. For peo-

DHEA,

pregnenolone,

is

effective in helping to replace

of youth.

Human Growth Hormone (hGH) As

a

memory

human growth hormone

tonic,

Like other hormones,

it is

is

not uniformly potent.

body development and personal

essential to

chemistry, surging through us until our mid-twenties or so, then

ebbing. By the time less

than

in

we

our youth.

we pump

are sixty or seventy,

Human growth hormone

feeds not only our

muscles, bones, and tissues but also our brains. As lose

many of their receptors

ficiency

A rier

for

hGH can

and mingle with

ters. Scientists

amount

it

Although

certain brain cell receptors

have found that

it

and neurotransmit-

raises the level of (3-endorphin, the feel

energetic and "high," and low-

of dopamine, a neurochemical that agitates us.

easier for us to concentrate

hGH

known

is

for our skin, muscles,

circulate,

to

By

re-

hGH may well

and remember.

to slow the ravages of aging, especially

and organs,

its

impact on

memory

chronicled. Scientists have learned that low levels of

spond

to a de-

slides as the years tick by.

ducing the amount of dopamine that might

be making

age, our brains

nevertheless cross the blood-brain bar-

neurochemical that can make us ers the

we

growth hormone, which leads

and may well explain why memory

large protein,

out 80 percent

is

not as well

hGH

corre-

poor memory, but they are uncertain about what happens to

memory when

hGH

To me, old age

is

is

increased.

A study at the Free

fifteen years older

than

I

University Hos-

am.

— Bernard Baruch

POWER

DETAIL

pital in

Amsterdam found

poorer iconic

memory

that

75

men who had low

memory

which might have

also affected their brain develop-

from

ment.

More promising results have come from

Fujisawa Pharmaceutical

low

levels of

memory. So

hGH

there's

Company

some evidence

actively researching

ficient in

in

He

study using

the

rats at

Japan. Here, researchers found

hGH

that

believes,

hGH

can help your memory.

Swedish endocrinologist, has been

and has conducted

human growth hormone, it.

a

almost definitely produced poor thinking and

Dr. Bengt-Ake Bengtsson, a

the use of

than those

Yet most of the subjects had low

produce

hGH

that

had

hGH.

pituitary did birth,

hGH

(the ability to retain a flash of information),

short-term, long-term, and perceptual-motor

whose

levels of

"We

face of the importance of

a

number

especially in adults

of studies

who

on

are de-

are just beginning to scratch the sur-

growth hormone

in

cognition,

memory

and brain function."

Human growth hormone,

like estrogen,

is

only available through

Human Growth Hormone (hGH)

40

50

age Adapted from Grow Young with

HGH (1 997)

in

60 years

100

BRAIN FITNESS

76

your doctor. Before you decide to pursue any kind of hormone

re-

placement, you need to have blood levels measured so your doctor

can adjust your dosage accordingly. Another route suggested by

hGH

advocates

is

to encourage

with supplements, nutrients, and

amino

your body to produce more

activities that spark its release.

hGH

and ornithine bump up your

acids arginine

hGH

by

The

tickling

the brain's cholinergic nervous system, which uses acetylcholine to pass information along. For this reason, the supplements choline and B5,

which increase

this neurotransmitter,

nine and ornithine. Other nutrients that

hGH cise.

of the best

ways

your

to get

may

argi-

increase your natural

and methionine.

are niacin, tyrosine, glutathione,

One

should be taken with

hGH

pumping

is

through exer-

High-intensity exercise, such as free-weight training, multi-

and aerobic

joint training,

can boost your brain and

hGH

memory

activities like sprinting, squash, or tennis,

circulation. In fact, exercise

for

more than

its

hormone

is

great for your

benefits.

PROTECT YOURSELF WITH EXERCISE Exercise

is

great for

protections against

all

mental functions and one of the best

sorts of

memory

loss.

cal exercise delivers vital fuel to

One

your

reason for this

brain.

is

that physi-

Although your brain

counts for just 2 percent of your body weight,

it

consumes

at least

25 percent of the oxygen you breathe. Oxygen and glucose are lifeblood, teries

and

if

this

supply

become clogged with

not get through. for thinking.

is

diminished, which happens

arteries

activity, particularly

blood pumping feeds the

when

its

ar-

cholesterol, essential nourishment does

The narrowed

Any

ac-

cannot deliver

sufficient fuel

aerobic exercise, that gets the

brain.

Regular exercise has a stronger impact on sharp thinking than

even good general health and sensible eating.

A couple

of years ago,

researchers at Scripps College in California tested 124

women, aged

fifty-five to

ninety-one, half of

men and

whom were couch pota-

POWER

DETAIL

and

toes

half of

whom were vigorous exercisers. The sedentary group week

spent no more than ten minutes a

pending few

The

calories.

memory a

at least 3,

tests that

00

1

one and

calories per day.

involved reading spans (recalling the

(holding two sets of letters

was unique

a

memory and

in their

The

to each).

last

computer monitor) and

surprise finding

good health did not make

tary group's

for at least

potatoes and exercisers took a battery of working-

sentence previously read on

letter

strenuous exercise, ex-

and walked

stairs,

one-quarter hours a week, and burned

The couch

in

active group participated in recreational

gardened, climbed

activities,

77

word

of

letter sets

identifying

which

was that the seden-

a difference in their scores,

but their lack of exercise did. Although their blood pressure levels

were close to those of the exercisers and they

healthy, they

felt

could not match the scores of their active counterparts. searchers concluded,

ways we Even

A

"It

tame

gave

memory

at

activity

who walked

acuity

is

Dr. Robert

Research Laboratory

exist."

a difference.

Marianna University

St.

at

the connec-

who walked

people

daily

and

the farthest scored best, while those

who barely walked showed signs of One of the truest believers in the tal

in

and exercise focused on walking. They

tests to forty-six elderly

found that those

the

Kawasaki have been looking

in

between mental

tion

does seem to

walking can make

activity like

group of Japanese researchers

School of Medicine

re-

appears that exercise affects the brain

just don't understand. But the effect

a relatively

The

dementia. link

between exercise and men-

Dustman, director of the Neuropsychology

at the

Veterans Affairs Medical Center

in Salt

Lake City. He's been studying the effects of exercise on brain waves

and mental performance

for years,

sixty-year-olds can mentally

measures, the older thirty

and forty years

your mind

is

in

match people

it.

atively immediate.

half their age.

good condition scored just

their junior,"

he

says.

groggy from aging and too

something about

ally

men

and has found that aerobically

The mental Dustman

He

little

"On many

as well as

men

also claims that

exercise,

fit

if

you can do

benefits of physical activity are rel-

estimates that a nonexerciser of virtu-

any age may begin to see

results within six

months.

BRAIN FITNESS

78

MY

The I

am

exercise feeling

in intensity •

FAVORITE EXERCISES FOR PEAK THINKING AND MEMORY use to enrich

I

and

my mind

my physical

depends on

how

sluggish

surroundings. These exercises vary

and where they can be done conveniently.

Tai chi breathing. This breathing exercise incorporates your

body, breathing, and mind

in four distinct stages of activity:

inhalation, retention, exhalation,

and pause. Stand with your

heels together and your toes splayed at a 45-degree angle,

knees bent, spine straight. Bring your hands together of

you below the

Empty your

navel,

palms up, right hand cupped

in left.

lungs and slowly inhale. Slowly raise your hands

out to the sides, palms up, and sible as

in front

you

raise

make

as

wide

a circle as pos-

them above your head. At the same

slowly straighten your knees, hands

still

raised

time,

and lungs

full.

pelvis, hold,

and swallow aloud. Keep your neck

as stretched as possible.

Slowly exhale through the nose.

Tuck

in

your

Gradually lower your hands, palms down,

in a straight line

back to the starting position, while bending your knees into a semi-squat.

Empty your

lungs with a final contraction.

Pause to release the abdominal wall, turn palms upward, cup

them, and begin again. Repeat •

Shadowboxing. Stand erect with your apart. Flex in front of

with left

all

your knees

slightly

and

feet shoulder

visualize a

you. Clench your right

fist

back.

the

a

in a

way forward and

Use your whole body. Breathe

Conducting

punching bag

left fist.

and right twenty times. Move your arms all

width

and punch the bag

your might, then punch with your

motion, bringing them

•

this five times.

Alternate

complete

all

the

way

deeply.

humming or counting and help you warm up. Stand-

mental symphony. Start

to increase your concentration

ing with your feet slightly apart, arms out, elbows high and

DETAI

out to the sides, trace two

I

and

POWER

L

Cs

that are back-to-back with your

forearms.

Do

to strain

your arms. Try doing

this

motion

soda cans.

this exercise

you do

weights or

larly,

gradually increase the weights.

still

use physical activity to get

believe

I

nical material

such as

how

simplicity

in I

want

to

and

If

my mind and memory in gear, When am reading tech-

to run a software program, I

while holding

this exercise regu-

efficiency.

I

remember or learning

moderate aerobic exercise.

being careful not

at least ten times,

light

full

79

I

a

complicated process

take regular breaks for

pedal on a stationary bike or take a

walk around the block. This increases the blood flow to

brisk

brain just

when

I

need

it

—when

my

I'm trying to lock information into

my memory.

SMELL YOUR WAY TO A pleasant, of smell

even fun way to jog your

A

BETTER MEMORY

memory

is

through your senses

and sound. Did you know that when you combine learning

with a sensory experience, the information stays with you longer?

According to researchers into

your permanent

smell.

day,

The

at

UCLA, you

memory by coupling

can push information it

with

a

distinctive

researchers separated rats into four groups and spent one

one week, two weeks, or four weeks training them to associate

an electrical shock to their feet with the smell of ammonia, then

JAKE ("BODY BY JAKE") STEINFELD'S

MEMORY "If

I

TRICK

have to study something or memorize something,

into a

rhyme.

I

make

it

fun for myself."

I

put

it

BRAIN FITNESS

80

damaged

the group's

memory

trained for one day, one week, or

box with

electrical

its

When

centers.

the rats that had

two weeks were returned

to the

shocks and odor of ammonia, they showed

no recollection of the surroundings, shocks, or

smell. But the rats

with four weeks of learning and association remembered the shocks

and pungent

While

smell.

this

study used

memory hold

true

rats,

the strong ties between smell and

people,

for

At Bishop's University

too.

He

certain smells help students recall information.

students a

list

of twenty-four

their

memory

that

permeated their learning

much

gave forty-seven

words to remember while the smell of

either jasmine or Lauren perfume to be

in

David G. Smith discovered that

Lenoxville, Canada, psychologist

better

was

in

the

air.

Later tests

showed

when they smelled

the same scent

Other odors

that scientists

session.

memory

have found to enhance learning by providing

cues are am-

monia, chocolate, and peppermint.

At the University of Cincinnati, students watched breathing either different fragrances or pure

a

video while

through oxygen

air

masks. Afterward, they were asked to recall a certain line of dialogue.

While the pure

were tested

in

air

did nothing to their scores,

when they

the presence of the odors of peppermint and

lily

of

the valley, their scores were 25 percent higher. I

constantly practice using

When

I

visit a

place

I

If

I

want

sense of smell as a

have not been to for

on the smells around me riences.

my

a

memory jogger.

long time,

to trigger old images

I

concentrate

and remember expe-

to capture the essence of an experience,

I

seek out

the most memorable smell. For instance, to recapture the feeling of

my

high school years,

sweat, polished

I

wooden

gym

would

visit

floors,

and new vinyl mats. By capturing or

the

to

evoke the smells of

recapturing a certain smell, you activate the elements of your

ory that require

detail.

Paying attention

memory, and being attuned ability to

remember.

to

is

mem-

essential for a strong

your sense of smell

will

sharpen your

DETAILPOWER

81

MEMORY BUILDERS Here

your memory.

are ideas for activities that will strengthen

You need

•

to constantly use

and stimulate your store of knowl-

edge, language, and problem-solving trivia

skills.

Activities that help are

games, card games, crossword puzzles, learning computer

programs, and even children's word games thinking of a famous person whose

me

name begins with

last

("I'm

like Botticelli

Ask

R.

yes or no questions to find out who").

•

To sharpen your short-term memory, the next time you

ter a place

you have never been

new

before, such as a

store,

en-

note

the placement of ten items,- leave, then return fifteen minutes later

and see what you

game with •

recall.

yourself, the

You

more you play

will find that the

this

more you remember.

To remember routine things you have done, such

as

locking

the front door or turning off the coffeepot, remind yourself aloud as

you

are finishing the task. Vocalizing strongly reinforces

mem-

ory. •

We

all

know

What you may

that writing things

not

know

is

reminder to look

a written

Remembering names,

ciations.

When

at,

cements

a

name, give

list,

you can use

it

a

as a

or

just

our memory. So don't

be sure you make one. a

is

game

of asso-

in

the future.

When you hear

connection, which might be an alliteration

"by the bookcase").

ATM

in

for the first time, pick out a fa-

cue

("Donna with the droopy eyes") or

Tom

it

and numbers

faces,

meeting someone

cial feature that

helps us remember.

that the process of writing, not having

worry about losing your grocery •

down

If

a

context (being introduced to

you want

to

number, link the numbers to

remember a birthday,

a

combination an important

date in history, or an anniversary. Visualization also helps in mak-

ing associations. For instance,

parked •

in aisle

One

5A

of the

at

if

you want

to

remember

that

you

the airport, think of five airplanes.

most

frustrating

memory

lapses

is

the tip-of-the-

tongue experience. Scientists have devoted years to discovering

BRAIN FITN ESS

82

why

people temporarily forget

well-known piece of information

a

that seems to linger just a few inches reach.

While they haven't figured out why

they think that gest relaxing ally

beyond

women

are

more

it

their

memory's

happens (although

susceptible than men), they sug-

and forgetting about

it.

Dwelling on the lapse usu-

does not produce what you want to know.

MEMORY POISONS not enough to practice and stimulate your memory, you also have

It's

and the environment.

to guard against assaults from harmful foods

Every day, people consume chemicals and are exposed to things

like

memory. By guarding against the

fol-

saturated fats that can poison

memory

lowing poisons, you can slow or even prevent some

Stress Stress not only hurts your physical health,

your powers of

While short

recall.

damages brain

cells. Scientists

the chemical communication that tentiation (a chemical

and

also erodes

bursts of stress can rev

mental engine, the constant bombardment of tually

it

is

stress

stress disrupts

essential to the long-term po-

electrical action) that triggers learning.

process carbohydrates but that

in

excess can

hormone damage

that helps

brain cells.

Glucocorticoids inhibit the brain's ability to absorb glucose,

cal signals.

it

of

Consequently, brain

damaged or

ther

killed.

work with constant

It

up your

hormones even-

have found that

Stress also stimulates the flow of Cortisol, a

source of energy, and rob

loss.

is

its

ability to

cells

main

moderate other chemi-

become overexcited and

no wonder that people who

stress say

its

are ei-

live

they have trouble learning and

and re-

membering. I

ease the stress that has

become

ting aside a time in the early evening,

nighttime reading, for what quiet room, with the

close

my

tion, or

I

call

phone turned

my life by my workday

a regular part of

between

set-

and

constructive visualization. In a off

and the lighting dimmed,

I

eyes and imagine an upcoming meeting, task, conversa-

phone

call.

I

visualize the setting

and the people involved

DETAI

and see myself going through

POWER

L

it.

I

83

shape the ideas and sentences

going to communicate and practice

my

me

ments. This mental rehearsal helps

actions and

I

am

body move-

not only to anticipate and

control an event but also to moderate any stress associated with

By reducing the unpredictability of stress factor.

As

my own

reactions,

a stress buster, constructive visualization

it.

lower the

I

similar to

is

meditation and aerobic exercise. Painkillers Scientists have found that nonsteroidal anti-inflam-

matory drugs (what they fen) can chip

NSAIDs

away

at

NSAIDs and what you know

as ibupro-

your memory. While about 40 percent of

all

are prescribed for people over sixty-five years of age,

mostly for

arthritis,

they have also become the drug of choice for

sports enthusiasts beset In a

call

by the aches and pains

of physical activity.

survey of elderly rural residents by the University of Iowa Col-

lege of Medicine, people taking high doses of

NSAIDs (more

than

1,800 milligrams a day) were found to be at high risk for long-term

memory

While other

decline.

inflammatories

may

studies have suggested that anti-

protect the brain from dementia,

that very large doses of these drugs are harmful.

sume

much medication

that

for

Few

it

is

possible

of us can con-

any length of time and not

suffer

kidney damage. Nevertheless, the University of Iowa study contains a

warning that we

all

should heed: Excessive medications can do un-

seen damage.

Alcohol Regular, high consumption of alcohol

memory and

thinking.

When you

drink too much, the ethanol

broken down into various products, particularly ters,

which

cium

is

in turn

scientific

Some cohol

forget.

in

the brain. Cal-

communicate, and so your mind

However, there

is

no unequivocal

evidence that moderate alcohol consumption ruins

recall.

researchers have studied the effects of "medium" doses of

—0.05 milligrams per kilogram

and verbal or

down and

memory

that even

recall

of

body weight

and found that the immediate

actually improved.

is

fatty acid ethyl es-

reduce calcium concentrations

essential for brain cells to

begins to slow

definitely impairs

Some

—on

result

studies have

al-

learning

was minimal,

shown, however,

moderate alcohol can hurt information processing

tasks.

BRAIN FITNESS

84

Tap Water Tap water can be another memory

when

it

comes from antiquated, poorly maintained systems

contain numerous toxins. toxic chemicals, lead,

native

poison, especially

steamed

is

It

not unusual for tap water to contain

is

and even

distilled

fecal bacteria.

water,

which

A much also

is

the water

is

better alter-

called purified,

demineralized, deionized, or reverse osmosis water. tillation,

that

Through

dis-

largely purified of dissolved solids, chlorine,

TAKE ACTION Memory Saturated

fats.

Poisons

to

Avoid

Reduces the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the

brain.

Creates a cascade of chemicals that

Stress.

Alcohol. Breaks

down chemicals

communication between

cells.

in

kill

brain cells.

the brain that are vital for

Here

I

refer to alcohol as a

toxin that disrupts brain chemistry.

Tap water. Odds contains

tap

are high that the liquid

chlorine,

coming from your

aluminum,

fluorine,

and

lead,

bacteria.

Caffeine. In

brain and tle

more than moderate amounts can overexcite the

make concentration and

caffeine

work

is

good

a

A

lit-

brain stimulus,- moderate amounts

to the detriment of

Emotional turmoil.

learning difficult.

When

memory.

the brain's emotional centers are

highly activated, concentration and learning are

difficult.

Medication. Medications that sedate or calm can also slow

memory and

learning.

Drugs known

to impair

memory

in-

clude tricyclic antidepressants, lithium, antihypertensives, antibiotics,

and

analgesics.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In very high doses, drugs

like ibuprofen,

which

tion,

have been linked to

diate

word

recall.

are used to reduce inflamma-

memory

loss, particularly

imme-

DETAI

LPOWER

85

and toxic material. Minerals have also been removed from the water.

Other types of

"natural" water, such as bottled spring water or

min-

not as pure as distilled water.

eral water, are

ON THE HORIZON: A WELL-TUNED MIND About

ways

forty years ago, an Italian biologist searching for

cancer and experimenting with

how

cells

grow

to treat

or die, discovered a

protein that played a pivotal role in the development of certain

glands and muscles. Later, a Swiss neurobiologist discovered that this protein also

The

seemed

essential for

neurons to survive and thrive.

biologist Rita Levi-Montalcini called the protein nerve

and ever

factor, bilities.

have been captivated by

since, scientists

The discovery and subsequent

won

investigations

growth

its

possi-

her and a

colleague a Nobel Prize in medicine.

Nerve growth

factor

(NGF)

is

produced

in

the central nervous

system and operates by stimulating the growth of axons and dendrites,

the branches between cells and the brain's communications

network.

also helps

It

involved

ily tial

in

that

NGF

Sweden

tested

brains of aging rats

which

is

receiving tive

to a well-tuned engine.

NGF

nerve cells grew

in

Johns Hopkins University

system. Researchers injected

and then watched them perform

and

improvements

same areas of the brain that

scientists at

standard learning and

a

testing, the in

as essen-

whether the nutrient could stimulate

memory

aged or aging

is

circulated in the

by Alzheimer's,

are ruined

NGF

learning and memory. All this makes

in

to a healthy brain as oil

Knowing and

produce the neurotransmitters that are heav-

memory

test.

mentally slow

their learning

NGF

in a

a

dam-

into the

water maze,

After three weeks of rats

showed

distinc-

and memory. Furthermore,

the area of the brain where the

NGF

had been

introduced.

There

is

also evidence that estrogen

may

stimulate

the part of the brain, the cholinergic system, that

spokes of our

memory

apparatus. This

is

good news

NGF action is

in

the hub and

for

women on

BRAIN FITNESS

86

hormone replacement therapy who and learning

abilities.

Nerve growth trition store or

fective

factor

is

not something you can buy

pharmacy. At present,

drug because

its

to deliver

NGF

it is

it

at

the local nu-

cannot be made into an

ef-

molecules are too big to pass through the

blood-brain barrier, the protective

way

concerned about memory

are

filter

around the

by coupling the

either through direct injection or

molecules to others that can

slip

The only

brain.

through, what are

known

as

now, nerve growth factor and other members

carrier molecules. For

of the neurotrophin family are being clinically tested as treatments

amyotrophic

for Alzheimer's, eases. But

it's

lateral sclerosis,

and various nerve

dis-

on the horizon.

definitely

NEWS TO WATCH FOR •

A

California company, Cortex Pharmaceuticals,

(NIH)

rating with the National Institutes of Health

memory drug

called

Ampalex

is

to develop a

company

or ampakine. In

collabo-

tests,

the

drug was given orally to twenty-four healthy young volunteers a double-blind,

results for

placebo-controlled study and showed remarkable

improving learning and memory. The drug works by

increasing activity in the hippocampus,

term

memory

center,

which

is

the brain's long-

and the cerebral cortex. The

NIH

has re-

cently begun enrolling patients for an early-stage clinical

Ampalex

in

as a

treatment for mild dementia and for people

trial

in

of

the

early stages of Alzheimer's. •

Citicoline

learning and

is

memory

ing tested for

FDA

ninety-five people

ing 1,000-2,000 line

nutritional

a

in

supplement shown to improve

people over age

is

currently be-

fifty

and eighty-five

tak-

per day for two or three months, the citico-

therapy improved delayed-recall

inefficient

and

approval. In a controlled study involving

between the ages of

mg

fifty,

memory

in

people with

memories. People taking the higher dose showed not

LPOWER

DETAI

only improved delayed-recall

but also improved imme-

memory.

diate

Dana Consortium on Memory Loss and

Researchers for the

•

memory

87

Aging

are coordinating with colleagues at

School

versity

Medicine

of

to

begin

Johns Hopkins Unitesting

Cognex,

an

Alzheimer's drug, on people with normal memories.

A

•

nootropic agent called huperzine A, which comes from a

moss native

to China, has

particularly in

orders,

shown promise

in fighting

memory

dis-

Alzheimer's patients. Chinese scientists

have found that the moss extract works on the chemical imbalance that

associated with Alzheimer's and has produced positive

is

working-memory

results in reversing

A

•

deficits.

special antioxidant called a nitrone has

HOW

OLD

IS

been found to

re-

YOUR MEMORY?

Read the names below, then cover them. Barbara Cline

Henry

Russell

Diane Foster Bill

Daniels

Karen Tate Jeff Allen

Now

fill

in

the blanks:

Daniels

Cline Foster

Allen

Tate Russell Scoring-.

age

Under age

fifty,

one

is

fifty,

average.

two correct answers

is

average.

Over

BRAIN FITNESS

88

damage

verse age-related brain

chemical did as well on

a

Centaur Pharmaceuticals

in

old rodents given the

in animals,-

maze

young

as

California are

animals. Scientists at

now

testing an antiox-

idant-type drug on people.

PERSONAL MEMORY PROGRAM

A what

Here's

I

do regularly

formation or to sharpen

to stimulate

my mind

my memory

of particular in-

for better learning.

Constructive visualization. Mental rehearsal of an event,

•

conversation, or activity before

it

unknown and

eliminate stress of the

When am

Vigorous exercise.

ber the information, ercise.

I

I

The

relax.

makes learning and remembering much •

happens

actually

in

order to

lack of tension

easier.

reading and trying to remem-

frequently take a break and do vigorous ex-

Depending on the surroundings,

may do handstand

I

push-ups, regular push-ups, or jumping jacks, or take a brisk walk

around the block

Memory

•

a

pills.

couple of times.

My

personal favorites are aged garlic and

vi-

tamin C.

TONY

LITTLE:

VISUALIZATION

FOR A STRONG

MEMORY Tony

Infomercial entrepreneur and "America's Personal Trainer," Little

He

has perfected the art of visualization to boost his memory.

explains

how he

show. I'm the only

uses

it

in his

TV

work:

live

can go out and make a twenty-eight-minute I

visualize exactly

who

what's going to be there

my

I

am

—

mind, so by the time

they

call

me One-Take

"I

visualize each

infomercial, and the only person

selling to,

all I

how

that detail.

do

Tony."

it,

it's

I

live situation

I'm

going to

who

work. sell

go over and over

exactly right. That's

it

it,

in

why

DETAI

The weakest

Concentration.

•

tendency to be thinking of

something

POWER

L

my memory

link in

dozen things while

a

need to remember.

I

89

am

I

lots of

face-to-face

and

hands and body

member

my

listening to

speaking to me.

is

eye contact, positioning myself so that we're

am

I

is

constantly trying to correct

this by applying full-bore attention to whoever

This entails

chain

not scanning the periphery, and keeping to eliminate distractions.

still

exactly but

my

let

my

don't strain to re-

I

focused attention and eventual ab-

sorption do the job. •

Memory

mnemonic

create a personal

member time, •

I

someone

to send

pocket, or

if

I

want

my

turn

When

triggers.

I

want

device. For instance,

check,

a

remember

to

When

Articulation.

am

I

for the first time,

at least •

twice

Taming

in

I

I

am

I

want

to re-

to a different

someone

an appointed

my

will

memorize com-

read the material aloud or

trying to retain.

repeat his or her

at

arm.

trying to learn or I

if

I

move my pen

watch face to the inside of

repeat aloud the facts

it

I

to call

plicated or technical information,

one

remember something,

to

When

meeting some-

name aloud and

try to use

the next minute.

anger.

have found that anger, those times when

I

emotions take over

my mind

my

and body, can be the biggest im-

pediment to learning and memory. At these times, rational thinking disappears. frustration will •

So,

coming

whenever

on,

I

feel

I

an inkling of anger or

immediately dampen

it,

knowing

that

it

block learning or remembering. Diet and drink. In addition to following a low-fat, high-carb,

no-fried-foods,

and no-red-meat

amounts of

and

fruit

fruit drinks,

of shredded wheat, oats, distilled water,

I

I

consume enormous

and carbohydrates

and bran.

and when

diet,

My

in

drink of choice

do drink alcohol,

it

is

the form is

bottled

only small

amounts of red or white wine. •

Breathing exercises.

through the

nostrils

helps center

my

and

Deep

breathing,

which means breathing

pulling air from the lower diaphragm,

thinking and concentration. As you will learn in

Chapter Four, deep breathing avoids the hormonal reaction that

BRAIN FITNESS

90

A BRIEF REFRESHER There

is

much we can do

to slow

memory

memory that get memory boosters you

loss

and to accentu-

ate those facets of our

better over the years.

There

can tap

are lots of

into. Here's a

summary.

Memory found

fat

foods: aged garlic, concentrated sugar, unsaturated

in olive oil

and

fish oil,

and pasta

Minerals and nutrients: choline, boron, magnesium, zinc,

and phosphatidylserine (PS) Vitamins: B„ B 6 B 12 ,

,

C

Nootropics: piracetam, nimodipine, monosodium glutamate, clonidine

Hormones:

estrogen,

DHEA, hGH,

Smells: chocolate, peppermint,

testosterone

ammonia

Exercise: Regular exercise, especially aerobic activity, delivers

more oxygen

to the brain

and so sharpens memory.

Routines: Certain activities sharpen

recall.

These include

writing things down, focusing for longer than eight seconds on

items to be remembered, vocalizing, using associations, and regularly practicing

what you want

to

remember.

causes panic and the fight-or-flight feeling so that

more

clearly

and learn more

you can think

readily.

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al.

"The impact of long-term vitamin supplementation on cognitive

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Cohen, G. D. The

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Crook,

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M. "The estrogen

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"Role of glucose

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How

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domized ment." Jaret,

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Why We Age.

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York, 1994. a

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of general practice patients with age-associated

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6

in rats fed

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regulating the brain and cognition." American Journal

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memory

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tober 1991. Khalsa, D. S. Brain Longevity. Klatz, R.,

Warner Books,

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Andrews

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B.

"Build a better brain." Psychology Today,

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"Long-term functional recovery from age-induced spa-

memory impairments by

nerve growth factor gene transfer to the rat basal

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forebrain." Proceedings oj

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Matsuoka, N.,

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"Changes

in brain

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parison with cholingeric markers." Neuroscience, 66

Moriguchi,

"Aged

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memory

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617-26, June 1995.

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mouse."

com-

rats:

and improves

spatial

Pharmacology

Bulletin,

Biological

19(2), 305-7, 1996.

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Muller,

"Glutamatergic treatment strategies for age-related

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Raloff,

"Novel antioxidants

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may slow

brain's aging." Science News, 151,

January 25,

1997. Riggs, K. M., et

al.

"Relations of vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6, folate and

homocys-

teine to cognitive performance in the normative aging study." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63,

C,

Saag, K.

et

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306-14, 1996.

"Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cognitive decline in

the elderly." Journal of Rheumatology, 22, 2142-47, 1995.

Salaman, M. K. "Mind your brain." H., et

Sasaki, a

al.

20-24, June 1996.

Total Health, 18 (3),

"Vitamin Bl2 improves cognitive disturbance

in

choline-deficient diet." Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior,

rodents fed

635-39,

43,

1992.

Satoh,

"Walking exercise and improved neuropsychological functioning

T., et al.

in elderly patients

with cardiac disease." Journal

of Internal Medicine,

238, 423-28,

1995. Schatzl, H. "Neurotrophic factors: ready to go?" Trends

in

18 (11),

Neuroscience,

463-64, November 1995. Shepherd, G. M. Neurobiology. Oxford University Sherwin,

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Academy

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Spiers, ogy,

Stein,

"Estrogenic effects on

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of Sciences,

A., et

53

et

Stoppe, G., et

743, 213-30,

al.

al.

May

E.

New

Press,

York, 1994.

women." Annals

in

New

York

14, 1994.

memory

in aging." Archives of Neurol-

Oxford University

Press,

New

York, 1995.

"Reasons for prescribing cognition enhancers

"Memory drug

of the

1996.

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ternational Journal of Clinical

Tanouye,

November

"Citicoline improves verbal

441-48,

(5),

D. G.,

al.

memory

Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 33

appears to aid rodent

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Wall

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primary care."

In-

486-90, 1995.

Street Journal,

July 20,

1994. Tracy,

J.

I.,

and

Bates,

M.

E.

"Models of functional organization

as a

method

for de-

tecting cognitive deficits: data from a sample of social drinkers." Journal of Alcohol Studies,

55

Werbach, M. Third Line

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R. Nutritional Influences on Mental

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Sourcebook of Clinical Research.

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Young,

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N. "Some effects of dietary components (amino acids, carbohydrate,

folic acid)

on brain serotonin synthesis,

Physiological Pharmacology, 69,

Zhi, Q. X., et

al.

"Huperzine

A

mood and

behavior." Canadian Journal oj

893-903, 1991. ameliorates the spatial working

memory

ments induced by AF64A." NeuroReport, 6(16), 2221-24, November

13,

impair-

1995.

Three

BITTY! FINDING YOUR PERSONAL SLEEP POWER

am

my

and only begrudgingly hand over hours of

a reluctant sleeper

nighttime to unconsciousness.

I hours of the evening, when noises is

thoughtful time for me,

a serene,

energy. blast

It is

also

when my

and want to

into the night.

although

I

As

talk.

At most,

awaken

I

alert

I

are

working

like

muted and

when

in

This

lights low.

feel full of

I

the quiet

imaginative

business associates in Asia are going a result,

my workday

typically stretches

get four to six hours of sleep a night,

and energetic,

I

full

and

probably do not sleep

enough. But years of conditioning, and driving to squeeze productive hours from the day as possible, have enabled

many

as

me

to get

by. I

and

my

have never wanted to sleep longer, but I

have developed

sleep.

I

will share

but to devise your

we

sleep

a personal routine for

with you what

own

sleep

I

program

call it is

I

do want

affects

better,

improving the quality of

my

Sleep Power program,

useful to understand

and what happens to our minds and bodies

know how dreaming

to sleep

as

we

why

sleep; to

our thought process,- to be able to rec-

95

BRAIN FITN ESS

96

TAKE ACTION These little-known tention to •

who

People day.

my

me

truths about sleep motivate

sleep less at night feel

According to

more

who

sleep less than six hours a

night feel stressed, while just 14 percent of adults

seven to eight hours a night

As you age you sleep but because you

trends-.

stressed during the

survey in American Demographic magazine,

a

about 43 percent of adults

•

to pay at-

sleeping habits and correct troublesome

sleep

feel stressed.

not because you need

less sleep,

a less efficient sleeper

and have

less,

become

who

trouble sleeping without interruption. •

"Power naps" can compensate

for shorter sleep time

duce sharper concentration and •

Physical fitness

is

essential

if

alertness.

you want

to stay

unusually long period of time. "The only sleep cal

is

awake

way

for an

to fight off

through energetic physical activity during the

criti-

period of the early hours of the morning," says Peretz

Lavie,

head of the sleep laboratory

tute of

Technology

at

in sleep that

Technion-Israel

Insti-

in Haifa, Israel.

ognize and combat sleep disturbances and

changes

and pro-

come with

age,-

disorders,- to adjust to the

and to follow good

"sleep hy-

giene."

FLYING INTO DIFFICULT SLEEP My ability to harness the lessons of Sleep

Power

time

about every other month,

I

fly overseas.

I

travel to the Far East

is

challenged every

and, as everyone knows, flying and sleeping are about as compatible as driving

reset

my

and dancing.

I

do

a

number

of things to fight jet lag, to

sleeping times, and to minimize

Even before

I

leave Chicago,

I

my

body's confusion.

begin to combat

jet lag.

I

try to

SLEEPING BETTER

my

schedule

travel times so that

early evening I

and can go

I

97

will arrive at

my

destination in the

how much

right to bed, regardless of

have had while traveling. The day before traveling,

tem with cult.

a

I

a lot of

pick

sweat

my

suit

"flying

at

as

I

I

I

and wine

with deep sleep), and drink

my

tled or I

a a I

window

awakened by

also assemble

sleep.

explain later

(I'll

lots of

seat

—

slip

reservations, full

of sleep-

flight,

how

I

avoid alco-

alcohol interferes

this

air.

Also

when

makes me

I

make my

less likely to

feel

reser-

be

jos-

other passengers going by.

carry-on luggage with sleep in mind, packing floss,

mouthwash, an eye mask,

neck-support pillow, and earplugs. Before sleeping during

my

usual nighttime rituals,

good but psychologically

gets

me

a flight,

which not only makes me

ready for snoozing.

WEAPONS AGAINST

JET LAG

Adjust eating times to coincide with destination mealtimes.

Avoid heavy meals that

Wear

tie

up your digestive system.

clothes that are both comfortable and warm.

Avoid drinking alcohol and drink

Honor your

a

bottled water, which counteracts

toothbrush and toothpaste, dental

go through

on

heavy protein, which revs

During the

flight attendants or

my

shoes and

meal trays are

lots of

the dehydrating effects of dry cabin a

my I

up brain chemicals and delays

book

diffi-

carry-on luggage includes

me warm. When make my

inducing carbohydrates rather than

I

My

take off

request vegetarian meals so that

vations,

digestive sys-

put on just before landing.

board the plane,

hol, including beer

adjust

wardrobe" for comfort and circulation, usually

thick pair of socks to keep I

my

me

one time, which can make sleeping

and cotton underwear.

dress clothes that

As soon

food

and does not overburden

and

eat lightly

I

several small meals rather than three squares. This helps to different eating times

sleep

sleep time rituals.

lots of water.

BRAIN FITNESS

98

YOUR SLEEPING BRAIN

INSIDE

Given the prominence sleep plays to learn that

And

most medical schools

the National

ported

our

lives,

you may be surprised

no education on the

offer

subject.

Commission on Sleep Disorders Research

1993 that

in

in

the entire United States

in

re-

found only ten

it

postdoctoral students and six postdoctoral fellows doing basic sleep research.

we know

Still, is

a fair

amount about the mechanics wave

that vary according to brain

four stages plus rapid eye

we dream most waves become tal

of sleep. Sleep

not a constant condition but a series of mental states and stages

muscles

As we nod although

movement (REM) and pulse

regular. Breathing

making

it

are

still

in light sleep

"spindles,"

About ninety minutes

eye movement sleep and so completely loses lyzed.

The only

its

rate

asleep and brain

slow and our skele-

start

in stage

easily.

two,

Stage three

and our brain waves slow down but

show

activity.

fall

and can awaken

sleep,

and

we

—the time when

waves become slower

and stage four are deep regular spikes

sleep

impossible for us to hold our heads up.

off (literally!), brain

we

and dreaming. Sleep has

Stage one begins as

vividly.

relax,

activity

which

after closing

wave

are bursts of brain

our eyes,

we

enter rapid

dreaming. During this time, the body

muscle tone that

reason the eyes

move

is

we become

virtually para-

that those muscles are not

controlled through the spinal column but from the brain stem.

Another hallmark of

REM

sleep, say researchers

who

have stud-

ied people wired with electrodes sleeping in their labs, arousal.

Men

creases.

As the night goes on, you

and

with most of your

night.

While

teen hours of sleep in

a

rise

and

REM

state

is

fall

newborn spends about

REM,

adults

in-

through sleep stages

sleep taking place at the

tail

half of his daily six-

spend only about an hour and

a

state.

Even

adult sleeps less than eight hours, the length of the

REM

half out of eight hours every night in this

when an

sexual

have erections and women's vaginal blood flow

REM sleep,

end of the

is

about the same.

deep dream

)

SLEEPING BETTER

99

hours of sleep

REM

Stage

M\||N

1

Stage 2

/•

Adapted from

Trie

Sleep

-

Stage 3

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AfW

Stage 4

8ro/n one/ Nervous System,

AMA Home Medical

are

'

is

Library

(1

991

vital for

our body's chemistry. As

slumber, our brains

busy regulating hormones and neurochemical production. The

hormone perhaps most

affected

by sleep

is

duced by the pineal gland deep inside the that the pineal is

we

melatonin, which

brain.

why

melatonin production

nighttime and the seasons. Melatonin

our circadian rhythms.

The dark

is

When

As the night ends and the sun begins to

produces

less

five to ten

The amount ity of sleep.

mind

melatonin and times

is

it

influenced by

night and the short days of winter

culating through our bloodstream, our bodies

pumps out

in

the chemical that regulates

stimulate the pineal to produce melatonin.

ually

you keep

pro-

wired to the eyes and so reacts to light and dark,

is

easy to understand

sleep.

If

is

melatonin

know

it

is

is

cir-

time to

rise,

the pineal grad-

we awaken. At

night, the brain

more melatonin than during the

day.

of melatonin circulating in the brain affects the qual-

With more melatonin comes longer and deeper

Unfortunately, as

we age our

brains gradually

make

less

sleep.

melatonin,

which partly explains the insomnia that besets older people. Ac-

BRAIN FITNESS

100

2 P.M.

7 A.M.

3 A.M.

8 P.M.

The 24-Hour Cycle of Melatonin Production Adapted from Stopping

cording to

a

the Clock

study in

much melatonin

996)

elderly insomniacs produce just half as

Israel,

younger people. Research with young people

as

well as the elderly

Young

(l

shows

that melatonin

is

powerful sleep

a

adults at the Massachusetts Institute of

milligram,

fell

who

aid.

Technology Clinical

Research Center were given either melatonin or afternoon nap. Those

as

a

placebo before an

took the melatonin, some

as little as 0.1

asleep within six minutes, while the placebo people

needed twenty-five minutes to drop

off.

Another hormone intertwined with sleeping

hormone (hGH), which

made by

is

human growth

is

the pituitary gland and pulses

into the bloodstream in the early stages of sleep. Released in far

greater quantities

when we

are

young,

hGH

growth factor that promotes bone growth. important, for

body

fat,

it

build

helps the

muscle,

tendons, and ligaments.

is

converted into

hGH

In adults,

body synthesize

protein, break

and synthesize collagen

Many

is

experts believe that

powerful weapon against physical aging because

it

for

no

a

less

down

cartilage,

hGH may

be

a

can produce no-

— SLEEPING BETTER

O

1

1

Onset of age-related diseases coincides with decline

30 age

in

melatonin production

40 in

60

Melatonin Levels Through Adapted from Stopping

ticeable effects

With the

the Clock

(

1

is,

on muscle mass,

skin thickness,

and skin

years, our bodies gradually generate less

sleep triggers

its

sleep, the reverse

production.

Young subjects

4P.M.

8P.M.

Midnight

4A.M.

Adapted from Hormonal Rhythmicity

is

The more

24-Hour Plasma

Noon

Life

996)

While melatonin brings on that

70

years

and

elasticity.

less

true with

sleep

you

hGH.

hGH get, the

Cortisol

Old subjects

8A.M.

in

4A.M

Noon

Aging

(1

995)

8A.M.

Noon

BRAIN FITNESS

102

more hours your body has chemical.

possible that

It is

and brain chemistry

REM

in

hGH body

natural

is

pumping

is

essential for putting the

if

you put

also postponed,

and especially

sleep,

off sleeping for a day, the re-

and you miss out on

and

drift into sleep stages three

at its

a

shot of this

amount

highest levels, the

four,

and

hGH

class,

ergy

when

is

produced by the adrenal glands and

the

body demands

action.

body

you

for wakefulness

is

biol-

a source of en-

Somewhere around

the middle

upward

to prepare

of your sleep, the Cortisol level gradually turns

the

is

of the steroid Cortisol in

your system diminishes. Cortisol, you might remember from

ogy

body

builder.

you

Just as

hGH

motion toward normal

sleep. Nevertheless,

lease of

to generate this invigorating, anti-aging

and reaches

its

peak on awakening, when

are ready to go.

WHY DO WE SLEEP? Despite after a

how

good

awful

we

without sleep and

feel

night's sleep,

One

thing

core

body temperature plummets

is

certain:

ably, the person's

Not

sleeping

how

or

Without

sleep, a person's

to dangerous levels,

cold you got around

all-nighter studying for an exam?)

week

is fatal.

feel

sleep.

and inexplic-

weight drops, even when more calories are con-

sumed. (Remember

for a

how buoyant we

no one knows exactly why we need

more

3

A.M.

A person who

will eventually die.

is

when

deprived of sleep

As Dr. Peretz

the world's leading sleep researchers, points out,

pulling an

Lavie,

we can

live

one of longer

without food than we can without sleep. The exact cause of death

from sleep deprivation

is

unclear, although autopsies of rats that

started to die after thirteen days without sleep revealed small

orrhages

in

the brain.

The theory

that sleep allows our brains to rest seems to

sense, but only in part. In truth, the brain

For one thing, tions.

hem-

it

is

not inactive

constantly monitors and regulates basic

During deep dream

sleep,

in

make

slumber.

body

func-

brain waves on an electroen-

SLEEPING BETTER cephalogram look the same

as

when

person

a

consumption and cerebral blood flow are brain

is

alert

is

awake, and energy

Your

virtually identical.

why

and scanning your surroundings, which explains

people can sleep through

one speaks

103

a jangle of noises

name. Your brain

their

name and ready

to jerk

awake

if

and voices

some-

until

attuned to the sound of your

is

you

are called.

So much

for the

"restful brain" idea.

Sleep does help us conserve energy, however, and

our physical health. While

and so help the body

active rats

we

sleep,

our

is

essential to

immune systems

much more

susceptible to viruses

bacterial infections from routine, usually harmless sources. killer

T

cells,

they are least active

which in

fight infection in the body,

A

found that in de-

people with normal sleep habits.

in

we spend

life

and

recent

insomniacs, only moderately active

pressed people, and most active

That third of our

more

fight off disease. In animal experiments,

deprived of sleep were

study of

are

in

bed may

be

also

critical for

mental development, especially memory, learning, and a host of other complicated thought processes, such as making decisions and solving complex problems.

Some

researchers believe that the early

stages of sleep are essential to our physical well-being, while

sleep

is

essential to our

mental well-being.

When

REM

students at the

Sleep Disorders Center at Laval University, Canada, enrolled in an intensive course to learn a second language, this additional brain exercise resulted in their logging In a sity in

more

REM

sleep.

noteworthy experiment, Dr. Carlyle Smith

at

Trent Univer-

Ontario, Canada, gave four groups of students rules to a com-

plicated logic

game and

a list of

words to memorize, and that

evening allowed each group different amounts of sleep. The next

morning, everyone remembered the words, but the groups that got little

or no sleep

remembered 30 percent

less of logic

game

rules

than the well-rested groups. Dr. Smith believes that sleep, especially

REM

sleep,

is

essential for the absorption of

new information

into

long-term memory. Researchers at the University of Paris-Sud agree. In a learning study involving rats

in

Orsay, France,

and mice, the animals spent

— BRAIN FITN ESS

104

markedly more time

in

paradoxical sleep (what researchers

had learned new

sleep in animals) after they

by

tasks. In

call

REM

another study

Dr. Smith, animals not allowed to sleep immediately after learn-

ing their

way through

a

complicated maze did not retain their learn-

ing as well as animals that were allowed to sleep.

REM

may be especially good for perceptual learning knowing how to act when given a visual cue. Students at the Weizmann Institute in Israel were given a simple task to learn aided by a visual

sleep

cue and then allowed to sleep. During the night, some of the

students were

The

REM sleep while others dreamed on. those students who got a full night of REM sleep

awakened during

next morning,

performed their recently learned reaction much

faster.

Problem-solving appears to be another kind of learning that

proved by dream

sleep. Dr. Louis

Cottschalk

students while they were awake, sleeping, and in

REM

im-

the University of

at

California, Irvine, has studied the brain metabolism of three

found that intense dreaming during

is

REM

dozen

sleep.

He

generated significant ac-

tivity in the area of the brain that processes

reasoning and solves

problems.

Looking neer

at all the evidence,

in sleep research, best

"REM

I

think Dr. Stephen LaBerge, a pio-

summarized what

REM

sleep helps us adapt to our environment

sleep does for us.

by improving our

mood, memory and other cognitive functions through tain

neurochemicals that are depleted

tal activity,"

he

in

restoring cer-

the course of waking men-

says.

SLEEP ROBBERS: VARIETIES OF INSOMNIA Bad sleep

is

an almost universal affliction. While the frequent trips

around half the globe upset

my

sleep, millions of other

people lose

sleep nightly because of chronic disorders such as insomnia or sleep

apnea,

such as

work schedules a

new baby

in

(particularly shift work),

the

home

and personal

factors

or heavy alcohol consumption.

a

SLEEPING BETTER

A

105

government study of the problem has found that 40 million

Americans

suffer

from sleep disorders and another 20 to 30 million

have occasional sleep problems. Experts third

of the

Women

know

population suffers from

entire

more sleeping

generally have

more men

I

say that about one-

frequent

difficulties

insomnia.

than men, but

experience sleep apnea, a serious breathing problem that

repeatedly jerks them awake. Furthermore, people

who

vorced, widowed, separated, or single experience insomnia ten than married people.

Economic

status

makes

are

di-

more

of-

a difference, too,

with people on the lower rungs of the economic ladder reporting

more insomnia than the Insomnia

is

affluent.

one of those

aspect of a person's

silent miseries that

Many

life.

can undermine every

people's slow or fuzzy thinking, quick

temper, bad mood, poor reflexes, and even physical clumsiness can

be traced to their sleeping habits. Nothing saps mental vigor quicker than repeated insomnia, which

is

why even

the federal government

has been concerned enough to create a national commission to

study the problem. port,

Wake Up

stantial

America:

number

two-volume, almost four-hundred-page

Its

A National Sleep Alert

( 1

re-

994), concludes, "A sub-

of Americans, perhaps the majority, are functionally

handicapped by sleep deprivation on any given day." Insomnia comes that in

may

in

many

shapes. There

"transient"

is

insomnia

involve difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, waking

the early morning hours before the normal time, or tossing and

turning

all

night and waking up tired. This type of insomnia

only a short while and

usually the result of jet lag, an illness,

For most people,

ication, or stress.

when you cannot

is

lasts for

me

med-

included, on those nights

get to sleep or are awake in the middle of the night

rehashing an argument or working out a problem, stress

is

the cul-

prit.

Your sleeping environment can also disrupt your slumber strange

bed or pillow

foam pillow on without

it),

all

(I

know

a

famous author

who

—

takes a special

her book tours because she has difficulty sleeping

unusual noises (you

may be used

to sleeping with

one

BRAIN FITNESS

106

THE TUBE CAN'T HELP If

you

find

resort to

you cannot the late-late

spectrum brigh t

them

lights

sleep in the middle of the night,

do not

movie on TV. Televisions emit

:

and so tend

full-

to stimulate people, not put

to sleep.

sound but kept awake by

a

new

noise), or bright lights

city repaired the streetlight outside

to get used to

When

my

window,

it

took

(when the

me

a

week

it).

your sleeplessness

lasts

more than three weeks,

it

becomes

chronic and suggests a serious medical, psychological, or behavioral cause. Medical causes could be a nighttime breathing obstruction

called apnea or a

movement

Psychological roots

may be

disorder called restless leg syndrome.

a psychiatric

problem such

as a

mood or

anxiety disorder, or recurring stress such as that caused by bereave-

ment.

On

the behavioral front, there are

many

possible wellsprings

of chronic insomnia: substance abuse, particularly with alcohol or

smoking,- or a severely disrupted circadian regular

work or personal

rhythm

insomnia has other,

symptoms:

•

At night, you do not

•

You wake up more than

more than •

ir-

habits.

In addition to persisting for weeks, chronic telltale

resulting from

fall

asleep within thirty minutes. five

times a night and are awake for

thirty minutes.

You wake up

at least

two hours

earlier

than you normally do,

cannot get back to sleep, and have slept

less

than

six

and one-

half hours. •

Your stage a night.

four,

slow wave, sleep

lasts less

than fifteen minutes

SLEEPING BETTER

107

PRESCRIPTION AND OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS THAT CAN CAUSE INSOMNIA Blood pressure medication: clonidine, beta-blockers, reserpine

Hormones:

oral contraceptives, thyroid medications,

cortisone, progesterone

Bronchodilators

Decongestants Nicotine Caffeine

Diet

pills

Levodopa Quinidine Anacin, Excedrin, Empirin

Cold and cough medications

The Air Robber:

Sometimes insomnia of

some other

can signal

is

is

ailment.

Sleep

Apnea

not just a sleeping problem but a

One

of the

more

symptom

serious medical problems

it

sleep apnea, an involuntary halt in breathing during

sleep that can last a few seconds or as long as a minute or two. This

sudden cutoff

in air jerks a

person awake as he or she struggles to

breathe and can happen dozens of times a night. Sleep researchers

have watched patients ripped from slumber even hundreds of times a

night by their inability to breathe. Needless to say,

the patient

is

come morning,

exhausted from having had only fragments of solid

sleep.

Sleep apnea ple in the tion.

is

surprisingly

common. Upwards

United States alone have been diagnosed with the condi-

Most

are

men.

Many

that they are always tired

people

and that

who have

find they are constantly

sleep apnea

their spouse

heavily and toss and turn in their sleep.

may

of 4.6 million peo-

know only

complains they snore

Some people with apnea

waking up during the night without

BRAIN FITNESS

108

knowing why and believe they

A friend of mine was

from simple insomnia.

diagnosed with apnea on

after takeoff

he

next to him,

who happened

fell

are suffering

asleep but

a shuttle flight. Right

was soon awakened by the passenger

to be a doctor. After explaining that his

excessively loud snoring was bothering people, the doctor gave a business card and suggested he

make an appointment

him

to

be tested

often in overweight, middle-aged

men who

for a sleep disorder.

Apnea crops up most

complain of constant daytime sleepiness and accompanying psychological ailments, such as depression, centration.

The main

causes

of

irritability,

apnea

configuration of a person's breathing passage.

lie

in

With

and poor conshape

the

or

obstructive sleep

apnea, the airway closes because of a large bundle of tissue, the uvula,

hanging

set so far

back

in

the back of the throat, or a tongue that

as to

block the passage, or

fat

is

naturally

deposits in the air pas-

sage.

The

treatments for apnea range from simple and obvious changes

in lifestyle to

complex

surgery.

Given that so many of the men

agnosed with apnea are obese, losing weight

Heavy

treatment.

is

often the

first line

di-

of

drinkers are advised to cut back in order to im-

prove the general quality of their sleep. Sleeping with the head slightly raised to prevent the

tongue from collapsing into the airway

may also help. But these changes alone are usually not enough. One common treatment is to sleep wearing a device like an oxygen mask called pressure.

a

C-PAP, which provides continuous positive airway

Even though

it

may

irritate nasal

to get used to sleeping with

Surgery

is

it,

passages,

and

it

takes time

the mask has a high success

rate.

another option, and can entail removing tissue to enlarge

the airway passage or

some type

of nasal or throat reconstruction.

Laser surgery to remove tissue on both sides of the uvula, and even the entire uvula

itself, is

done to stop snoring and may

apnea. Medication for apnea

when

there

is

is

of limited value

and

also cure the is

used only

a complication, like a thyroid condition or depression.

SLEEPING BETTER

109

Constant Motion: Restless Leg Syndrome Restless leg

syndrome,

as the

name

implies,

influences sleep than a sleeping disorder in feeling that bugs are crawling

around your

lying

in

the

make

staying asleep nearly impossible.

The

impossible can get

more

itself.

legs, or

make

still

is

way

a

condition that

Twitchy

legs,

the

muscle aches that

of falling asleep or

elderly suffer restless leg

syndrome, or periodic limb movement disorder, more than most,

and

usually associated with another physical ailment that ruins

it's

people's sleep. lably while

With

you

this condition, legs jerk or

are asleep,

sometimes causing

sometimes not. Nevertheless, sleep the sufferer awakens tired and

is

is

cramp uncontrol-

brief wakefulness, or

constantly interrupted, and

sleepy during the day. Both these

conditions have been linked to anemia, vitamin deficiencies, poor circulation,

and kidney

underlying cause relatively mild

When

is

disease, although current thinking

hereditary.

is

that the

However, the problems may well be

and sporadic and may not require medical treatment.

treatment

is

necessary, mild tranquilizers that contain an an-

ticonvulsant have proved effective.

Sleeplessness Associated with

Insomnia can also signal nal

to

insomnia

a serious

—awakening —

go back to sleep

falling asleep or

is

in

Mental Disorders

mental disorder. Persistent termi-

the early morning without being able

a classic indication of depression. Difficulty

not being able to stay asleep are also associated with

depression.

Other types of insomnia accompany mood

disorders, particularly

manic-depression. For instance, not sleeping for days, accompanied

by

bursts of high energy

and

psychotic episode. People

frantic activity,

who

are

can trigger a manic or

manic sleep

erratically,

and often

during the day but not at night.

Keep

in

mind

that with mental disorders sleep difficulties are only

BRAIN FITNESS

110

TAKE ACTION Keep a Sleep Log

A

do-it-yourself

lems

is

way

by keeping

to track the source of

a sleep log.

notebook with

In a spiral

the night before: the time it

took you to

fall

a

to the bathroom,

for

each day, take notes from

to bed,

number

how

of times

long you think

you woke up

dur-

you can remember), and the reasons

change

worry about the next

page

you went

asleep, the

ing the night (as well as

go

your sleeping prob-

a

(to

sweat-soaked sleeping garment,

Give the

day's meeting).

night's sleep a

and exhausting and "A"

quality grade, with "F" being agitated

being deep and refreshing. Also note mealtimes, snacks, and anything you consumed before bedtime. Include not only food

and drinks but a note

if

also

any medication, even

you exercised before bedtime,

a

simple aspirin.

too.

If

someone, ask him or her about your sleep

you

Make

sleep with

—whether

you

snored, talked or walked in your sleep, or anything else unusual. In this

way you can determine which

ity to sleep

variables affect your abil-

and the log can be used to describe your

habits to a doctor,

if

specific

necessary.

one of many other symptoms. Insomnia alone does not necessarily

mean you need

psychiatric attention.

Sliding Sex

The

decline in sex

sleep.

Hormones

hormones over the years

During middle age,

as

women's estrogen drops and men's

testosterone levels slide, a solid night's sleep scientists think

The

they

know

also fiddles with our

is

harder to

find.

Some

precisely why.

halt in estrogen production that

comes with menopause

af-

SLEEPING BETTER

fects

every part of a woman's

life,

flashes can be so severe that

showers

1

women

find themselves taking cool

the middle of the night and repeatedly changing sweat-

in

begin to fluctuate,

About 40 percent

many

When women

of

which may be

women

experts believe

the

symptoms

a

woman

menopause when hormone

enters perimenopause, the time before

that

1

including her sleep. Nighttime hot

soaked bedding. Such sleeping problems can begin when

levels

1

as early as the late thirties.

over age forty experience an insomnia

caused by hormones

is

in transition.

menopause become unbearable, many

of

opt for estrogen replacement therapy (ERT).

ERT

deflects

the physical signs of aging and the possible onset of heart disease

and osteoporosis, while another of

its

benefits

smoothing out the

is

ragged, disrupted sleep of the pre- and postmenopausal years. But the sleep bonus provided by

ERT

may,

come from another

in truth,

hormone, progesterone, which doctors combine with estrogen menopausal

women

at risk for

Researchers at the

Max

for

endometrial complications.

Planck Institute

Munich, Germany,

in

have found that progesterone has pronounced effects on different

A

kinds of sleep.

dose of progesterone shortens the amount of sleep

time before the onset of

REM

sleep, increases

pre-REM

sleep,

and

lengthens the time of deep sleep. Put another way, they found that

progesterone can work

Men do

they near their

many

like a

mild sedative.

not escape the hormonal swings that

suffer

fiftieth year,

from

a

come with

age.

testosterone levels begin to slide.

As

While

decreased libido and some degree of impotence,

sleep problems are not

common. Only

a small fraction of

men

will

experience erratic sleep and disruptive night sweats.

DHEA,

a sex

some people

hormone we produce

in

a

we

age,

sleep better. Available over-the-counter,

been shown to significantly increase

Given

less of as

high dose, 500 mg,

Munich stayed

in

REM

may

DHEA

has

sleep in healthy men.

test patients at the

Max

Planck Institute

deep slumber much longer than patients

did not get a nightly dose of the hormone.

help

who

BRAIN FITNESS

112

Another Sleep-Stealing Hormone

Human growth hormone may men and women.

Scientists

be contributing to poor sleep

in

both

have discovered that people with ab-

hGH production — either too little or too much — experience disturbed REM sleep, which doctors have been able to correct by normal

adjusting

hormone

Our hormones

levels.

clearly

on other parts of our remember,

tamper with our

lives,

how

from

sleep, but their influence

our skin ages to

much more pronounced. Signing up

is

hormone replacement therapy

for sleep alone

for

makes

how

we

well

some type

little

of

sense.

SUDDENLY ASLEEP: NARCOLEPSY A much It's

as

prevalant sleeping disorder than insomnia

less

common

in

Although only 50,000 people

have been diagnosed with narcolepsy, according to

fer

report, experts believe that

from

This

it.

distinctive

narcolepsy.

the general population, say sleep experts, as mul-

tiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease.

ment

is

is

a U.S.

govern-

250,000 to 300,000 Americans

suf-

an incurable, disabling sleep disease with four

symptoms: great daytime

sleepiness,-

episodes of muscle

weakness or paralysis followed by strong emotion,- hallucinations right at the beginning of sleep,-

cause

is

unknown, and

it

symptoms by the time they it's

officially

most

telltale

diagnosed. Researchers say that fifteen

and the time when

symptom

is

someone begins showing

it is

sudden sleep

Perhaps

its

person will be driving,

in

finally identified.

—

a

signs

the middle of a conversation, or even eating, and suddenly asleep. This

emotion,

sudden

may

sleep,

last just a

Its

men and women equally. It can and most people who have it show are twenty. But then it may be many

years usually pass between the time of narcolepsy

paralysis after falling asleep.

afflicts

show up during childhood,

years before

and

which often occurs during times

moment

or for minutes.

fall

of high

SLEEPING BETTER Diagnosing narcolepsy

is

1

complicated and can be expensive,

1

3

re-

exam

quiring extensive physical exams, neurological tests, and an

used to diagnose most sleep disorders called the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT).

The MSLT, which

of nights in a sleep lab, tells doctors fall

asleep and measures the onset

REM

sleep.

is

conducted over

how

long

number

a

takes a person to

it

and length of sleep stages and

Children with narcolepsy are often misdiagnosed as

suf-

fering from depression, mental illness, or hypothyroidism. Treat-

ment

is

usually a combination of stimulant medication such as

dextroamphetamines and

a

program of frequent daytime naps.

ARE YOU

IN

SLEEP DEBT? do with biology or

Sometimes our sleep problems have nothing

to

personal chemistry, and are purely voluntary.

Many

us

—

at

one time or another choose

our decision

through the I

go without

intercontinental flight, is

to deprive ourselves.

a night's sleep,

And

I

of

while

toiling

but at times, like after a long,

have accumulated

a serious "sleep debt."

the term sleep scientists use to describe what happens after a

string of nights with less-than-normal sleep time.

Over

a

sleep debt of just a few hours can have a noticeable effect

you

—most

may be unavoidable as work forces us into night, we may end up with a heavy sleep debt.

try not to

This

of us

feel cold,

weak, and

Sleeping four hours

irritable.

Your thinking begins to

week, a

and make

suffer, too.

than usual for just one night can slow your

less

thought processes by almost half and make

it

especially difficult to

concentrate on a single task, such as reading a newspaper story.

The high in

our work

interest lives.

we pay on

our sleep debt

Given our twenty-four-hour

is

particularly obvious

society, lots of

work through the night answering phones, delivering

people

pizza, servic-

ing airplanes, talking to foreign customers, patrolling the streets,

maintaining computer services, or simply working

late. Shift

worker

blues beset millions of us. Typically, nocturnal hours reduce productivity

and may stop us

cold.

More than

half the people

who work

.

BRAIN FITN ESS

114

through the night, according to surveys, say they job

at least

once

a week. Working

night can also wreak havoc on

at

Night workers report three

people's personal lives.

more psychological problems, and the Wake

common

that marital problems are a

you ever doubted the

If

vania Turnpike and the

fallout

to five times

Up, America study found

from nighttime jobs.

potentially disastrous consequences of

when bad

lack of sleep, consider

asleep on the

fall

New

On

accidents occur.

the Pennsyl-

York Thruway, studies estimate, about

half the fatal crashes are caused

by sleepy

The

drivers.

ripple effect

of accidents from sleepiness can touch literally millions of people.

The Exxon

Valdez ran

aground just

after midnight,

with the probable

cause, according to the federal government, being the third mate's sleepiness.

The

meltdown

into

nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island almost went

4 A.M. after a sleepy plant worker failed to notice

at

was

that a coolant valve at

1

:23 A.M.

When

NASA work-

the space shuttle Challenger blew up,

had been getting

ers

and the Chernobyl reactor blew up

stuck,

than

less

back-to-back twelve-hour

six hours' sleep a

shifts for

night and working

between two and

five days,-

one

expert described them as "severely sleep deprived." I

suspect that a large segment of the population

debt.

Whenever

take an early

I

morning

flight

is

running a sleep

and am

aloft

around

10 A.M., which should be an alert hour for most people, at least half of the coach cabin

How

can you

is

dozing.

tell if

you're running a sleep debt?

Sleep Foundation says that statements,

sleep

of the following

and

are therefore

a debt.

Falling asleep

takes

2. It

you agree with any

you may not be getting enough

accumulating

1

if

The National

is

hard for me.

me more

than thirty minutes to

have too much on

3.

I

4.

When wake

5.

I

6.

Even when

I

sleep

7.

Sometimes

I

am

I

my mind

during the night,

because

can't relax

all

I

go

to I

fall

asleep.

to sleep.

can't

go back to

sleep.

have too many worries. night,

I

still

afraid to close

feel tired in

my

the morning.

eyes and go to sleep.

SLEEPING BETTER am dreaming

8.

I

feel that

9.

I

wake up too

10.

I

am

1.

I

feel irritable

12.

I

nod

1

I

5

night long.

the morning.

in

when

when

off

1

early.

and sore

stiff

all

1

I

can't sleep.

sitting in a dark

room,

like a

movie

theater,

or during a business presentation. 1

3.

I

sleep for inordinate

The important

thing to realize about sleep debt

not bank extra hours

mean you can

not

And

the only

way

amounts of time on the weekend.

in

is

that

the sack. Getting lots of sleep one

sleep that

much

less

to erase an accumulated debt

week does

week and

the next is

you can-

feel fine.

with serious pillow

time.

HOW MUCH

IS

ENOUGH?

Humans

are

fulness,

and the accompanying changes

grooved to

a

twenty-four-hour cycle of sleep and wake-

hormone production, and other

body temperature,

in

physiological processes. By

pressing or lengthening the time between light and dark, as

when we

fly

across time zones,

disarray. Flight

we throw our

com-

we do

internal clocks into

crews and travelers have found that

it

takes

two

to

three days after crossing multiple time zones to synchronize the personal wake/sleep cycle with the daylight

and darkness of the new

environment.

Not

getting

math

ing, tion,

enough

figuring,

and the

my body for

my

make

decisions.

I

can

I

am

tell

when

speech slows and sounds clumsy.

temperature goes on a roller-coaster

the point where

learning, reason-

understanding of complicated verbal informa-

ability to

had enough when

memory,

sleep undermines

flushed or dropping so

I

have not

In addition,

ride, either rising to

much

that I'm looking

another layer of clothing.

According to

a

Gallup poll of America's sleep habits, poor sleep

hurts about half the entire population's ability to perform routine

BRAIN FITN ESS

116

tasks at least

around

at

once

first

week. You probably

know

by looking

clues

an accumulating sleep debt are hard to miss:

a

bad

One

of

the loss of sense of humor, followed closely by

is

crankiness, poor concentration, sluggishness,

how much

Just

this just

your coworkers and family members. The signs of

night's sleep or

the

a

sleep

and

forgetful ness.

enough? Put another way, how much do

is

our brains and bodies need for peak performance? While each of us has a unique physiology and needs, researchers have put groups of

people

in special situations

designed to reveal basic human sleep

re-

quirements. Typically, study volunteers are sequestered for weeks in

windowless, soundproof rooms sealed off from natural and man-

made environments

so that only their individual circadian rhythms,

rather than sounds, sunlight, external temperature, or normal daily routines, determine

how much

they sleep.

are free from the usual cues that

to awaken,

whether

it's

tell

When

them when

brains and bodies to sleep

and when

the sound of the eleven o'clock news on the

television or the smell of

morning

coffee, pure biology sets the

sleeping clock.

The Wake people sealed

who away

Up, America report noted that

usually sleep seven in timeless

rooms

sleep time rose to 8.6 hours. is

when

a

group of young

and one-half hours

for

two weeks,

The notion

closer to our optimal shut-eye time

is

a night

were

their average nightly

that nine hours, not seven,

reinforced by other studies.

Before Edison invented the lightbulb in 1879, average nightly sleep

time was between nine and eleven hours. In the Polar

Psychology Project, researchers

Canada during the summer when the sun never

at

the upper tip of

sets relinquished all

timekeeping devices, including the clock function on their computers,

and were allowed

ation,

and

sleep.

the researchers

to set their

own

schedules for work, recre-

As described by Dr. Stanley Coren first

in Sleep Thieves,

kept to their usual sleeping time of seven to

seven and a half hours a night. But very quickly their slumber time lengthened, and by the end of the experiment, they slept more than ten hours in every twenty-four-hour period.

Another source of clues about how much sleep we need comes

SLEEPING BETTER

117

TAKE ACTION You can conduct

much

experiment to learn

a personal sleeping

sleep your brain

and body need.

First,

you need

how

to erase

any sleep debt you may be laboring under. Given the pace and

demands

in

most people's

a sleep debt, so

Add enough

bed

to

will consist of thirty

easier to tack

erased your debt

earlier). is

you

on

A

at the

minutes to one hour,

beginning of your night

you have

sign that

waking up when you want

alarm. (See the section

The

it.

sleep time to your nightly pattern to pay off your

which may be

tions that

odds are high that you do have

devote the next two weeks to eliminating

debt (for many, this

by going

lives,

on sleep debt

successfully

to without an

to eliminate other indica-

are in debt.)

actual experiment requires

two weekends when you

have the freedom to sleep and no morning commitments. Prepare your cues.

bedroom by eliminating any

Unplug

away watches, keep

clocks, put

or natural time

artificial

pets out. Arrange

the blinds or curtains so that they block out as possible,-

tape

them closed around the edges,

Soundproof the room

as

radiators that kick

on

fle

much at

as possible

programmed

days

—go

to

bed

you when

tell

to

at

it).

necessary.

if

times, ask family

—two

if

mem-

the noise

filters

two

Satur-

Fridays,

your routine time and allow your body to

wake and you

arise (habit

may push you awake

at

roll

over and

Four nights of natural sleep should give you a

fairly ac-

the usual time, but

do

light as

—shut windows, muf-

bers not to shower while you're sleeping

through. For at least four evenings

much

if

curate baseline figure for

feel like

sleeping more,

how much

sleep your

body can

use.

from the animal kingdom. The animals most closely related to us physiologically, large primates, sleep

much more

than

we

do.

Mon-

keys and large apes take ten hours a day, while gorillas need twelve hours.

BRAIN FITNESS

118

One way

needed sleep time

to estimate

is

by noting how long

doses of restorative sleep affect your thinking. Studies

who

University sleep labs, where people

two hours

they chose, produced remarkable

The

became much trate,

and

Stanford

normally sleep seven to

eight hours a night were allowed an extra results.

at

sleep

subjects'

whenever

mental

skills

sharper, particularly their alertness, ability to concen-

number

agility in juggling a

of

demanding

tasks simulta-

neously.

The answer

how much sleep people need differs from Only you know whether after six hours a night

to exactly

person to person.

you

perky and ready to go or whether you are dragging

feel

eight hours in the sack.

own

us has our

"What

The

quality of sleep

is

after

subjective, so each of

personal definition of insomnia and answer for

enough?"

is

Statistically, the

odds are that your

close to eight, although

you may

ideal

well

number

fall

of sleep hours

is

somewhere within

a

broader range. For normal, healthy adults, needed sleep time

where from three hours

(yes, this