FitSugar

Get at Least 7 Hours of Sleep For Optimal Brain Function

Heather Dale — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:16:07 PDT

Burning the candle at both ends can not only lead to high blood pressure and increase your chance of dying from heart disease, but it also can take a big toll on your brain health.

We all know that not getting enough sleep can wreak havoc on your body, but according to a new study conducted by Jane Ferrie, a senior research fellow in the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London Medical School, sleeping less than six or getting more than eight hours of sleep is associated with a decline in brain function.

The study looked at 5,431 female and male office workers from London, age 35 to 55 in 1985 and twice more over the next two decades, who were assessed over a long period of time. It was found that women who got seven hours of sleep had high cognitive measure scores, while more than eight hours showed lower scores. According to Dr. Alberto Ramos, co-director of the Health Sleep Medicine Program and an assistant professor of clinical neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, "Getting enough sleep helps many brain functions. It is restorative; it lets you concentrate better and process new information better and faster." Although he is perplexed why too much sleep may be unhealthy, speculating that this may be a sign of other health issues. I will vouch for that also, since I feel amazing after nine hours of sleep! Seven and I still feel groggy; what about you?

Here are some signs you need more sleep and some tips for curing insomnia if you find it difficult to fall asleep and then stay asleep!

5 Reasons You Should Eat More Berries

FitSugar — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:25:53 PDT

If someone told me that the only food I'd be able to eat for the rest of my life were berries, I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I absolutely love all kinds of berries including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries - they are a simple, sweet, healthy treat that can be added to a variety of dishes. Just buy them, or pick them, and rinse them up and enjoy. Berries not only taste good, but they are also chock-full of nutritious goodness and deliver a plethora of health benefits. Here are five reasons why you may want to up your berry intake.

They are good for your brain: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston found that the polyphenols in berries help the part of the brain that takes care of regular maintenance and "housekeeping." Blueberries and strawberries were said to contain the most polyphenols.

They may help you lose weight: Berries are loaded with the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin. This antioxidant is said to be able to alter the activity of genes found in human fat cells, making it more difficult to put on weight if you are regularly consuming anthocyanins.
They are good for your eyes: Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries, contain lutein in the pigment of their skin, which is important for healthy eyes.
They are anticarcinogens: Christine Sardo, who manages clinical trials on berry consumption and cancer prevention for Ohio State University's College of Medicine, found that rats that ate a diet consisting of 10 percent black raspberries showed reductions in oral, esophageal, and colon cancers of about 50 percent compared to rats that did not eat berries. Sardo concluded that berries contain potent anticancer compounds including calcium, folic acid, fiber, and various phytochemicals. Specifically, black raspberries slow the growth rate of premalignant cancerous cells through a process called apitosis, therefore stimulating those cells to die.
They help slow down the aging process: The powerful antioxidants in berries prevent free radical damage in your body. And less free radical damage means slowing down the aging process and helping you live longer!

Foggy Brain Quick Fixes

Heather Dale — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:40:13 PDT

Do you ever get the feeling that your brain has a thick layer of fog surrounding it? You feel extra tired and unable to focus? I refer to this sensation as "foggy brain" because it feels like something is interfering with my mental clarity.

Possible main culprits for that fogged over feeling include lack of sleep, eating fried foods, drinking too much caffeine and soda, stress, and a possible food intolerance or allergy. The good news? There are some quick fixes to make your brain feel better so you can get back to work . . . and play!

Alter Your Diet - March is National Nutrition Month so try to be extra mindful of what you're putting into your body. Steer clear of processed and sugar-filled foods and eat lots of brightly colored fruits and veggies. Eating nutrient-rich food is important because as soon we eat, our bodies need to break down the food so that these nutrients can be absorbed by our blood and used to refuel our body (and brain!) to function optimally. If you consume sweets, your blood sugar level will spike and the drop, causing fatigue and moodiness. When it comes to carbs, it's best to stick with whole grains since your body slowly utilizes them as a source of energy, while keeping your blood sugar levels stable.

Find out what else you can do to make your brain feel better.

Savvy Tip: Head Out to the Greens to De-Stress

Emily Co — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:45:32 PST

I'm a city girl so I love the lights and bustle of an urban neighborhood, but it seems that the city life might be detrimental to your brain. A recent study from the World Health Organization says that living in the city causes more stress and mentally exhausts your brain. This comes about because of the constant activity around you that requires your attention, from the loud conversations to the overwhelming sights. The study showed that you don't have to be living in the countryside to get the benefits - viewing bits and pieces of green would do the trick.

If you need to de-stress from work, consider going to a nearby park and taking in the green sights!

7 Superfoods to Increase Your Brain Power

Michele Bell — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:00:38 PDT

When we're little, we're encouraged to eat leafy greens and fish fillets to help our brains grow into little powerhouses. While that's all good, there are plenty of other foods to provide our thinking organs the power they need to keep ticking. So before you reach for the pill bottle full of supplements or overdose on spinach, try filling up on some of these tasty bites that can fire up some brain power naturally.

Brazil nuts: What does monosaturated fat plus magnesium equal? Apparently a healthy dose of brain food. Dr. Oz says the combination available in Brazil nuts helps the body and brain communicate better.
Avocados: They don't just taste delicious, they are divine for the brain. Dr. Ann Kulze says, "It's a monounsaturated fat, which contributes to healthy blood flow . . . And healthy blood flow means a healthy brain."
Blueberries: We already know that blueberries are a fabulous source of antioxidants, which is great for aging skin. It's also an incredible boost to the aging of the brain, as they can help prevent Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Want to see the rest of the superfoods?

Test Your Memory

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:00:04 PDT

When thinking about diet, it's easy to overlook the brain. But like your heart, the brain needs a healthy diet to function properly. Starving it or feeding it the wrong types of things can lead to memory loss, depression, and a host of brain diseases like Alzheimer's. Do you know what foods make for a happy brain? Take my quiz to find out . . .

Take the Quiz

Your Brain on Running

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:00:59 PDT

I have read many an article explaining how to run smarter, not harder, but according to a few recent studies discussed on the blog Well, running hard could actually make you smarter. While the majority of the research has been done on rats, both human and animal studies have found that working hard aerobically sharpens the senses and primes the brain for problem solving. When I think about it, the connection between running and thinking seems related to human evolution: run hard from your predator and devise a way to outwit the beast of prey. The scientists working with rats may ask that we don't jump to the conclusion that what works for rats will work for us, but I am adding these studies to my motivational arsenal when it comes time for a tempo run or sprint interval workout.

Are You a Fan of the Surreal? It May Make You Smarter

TresSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:00:00 PDT

Franz Kafka, David Lynch, and Rene Magritte were my Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas as a teenager. (Yeah, I was a weirdo.) So imagine my delight when I read a study that claims that surrealism may be good for the brain.

Research psychologists at UC Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia concluded that exposure to surrealist art, film or literature, because it puts you in worlds whose elements don't make sense, drives you to look for structure and sense elsewhere, hence raising "the cognitive mechanisms that oversee implicit learning functions." Want to hear the details of this study? Then

read more. To reach this finding, they had two groups of people read Kafka. One group was given Kafka's story "The Country Doctor," which in typical Kafkaesque fashion, goes from normal to weird in no time at all. The other group was given a rewritten version so that nothing was odd about the plot or narrative. After they finished their respective Kafkas, they were asked to find patterns hidden in strings of letters. Those who read the original Kafka stories were both more motivated to find patterns and more accurate in their findings than those who read the normalized Kafka. It's their second experiment that is almost more interesting to me - they divided groups between those who felt alienated by things they'd done in the past and those who didn't. "You get the same pattern of effects whether you're reading Kafka or experiencing a breakdown in your sense of identity," said Travis Proulx, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB and co-author of the article. "People feel uncomfortable when their expected associations are violated, and that creates an unconscious desire to make sense of their surroundings. That feeling of discomfort may come from a surreal story, or from contemplating their own contradictory behaviors, but either way, people want to get rid of it. So they're motivated to learn new patterns." So, basically, feeling alienated and consuming alienating art and literature drives you to make sense of things, giving your brain a workout. That would finally explain my motivation to find meaning in the world after watching The Hills, a surrealist masterpiece if I ever saw one! Source

Obesity Can Lead to Brain Degeneration

FitSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:00:58 PDT

Not only can extreme obesity take 10 years off your life, it could also be prematurely aging your brain. According to a new study published in Human Brain Mapping, the brains of obese people look 16 years older than those of lean people, due to eight percent less brain tissue on average. The brains of individuals classified as "overweight" appear eight years older than those of normal-weight people.

Though the study was rather small - 94 brain scans of subjects in their 70s - researchers concluded that the loss of brain tissue due to weight problems could put patients at higher risk of Alzheimer's. According to study author and UCLA neurology professor Paul Thompson, "you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control." So shape up your body, and the mind will follow.

Every day, it seems, we read about another health risk tied to obesity, but this is one of the most surprising I've come across. Does this shock you?

How to Eat to Fuel Your Brain

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:00:31 PDT

Feeling mentally hazy in the lazy days of Summer? You need to feed your brain. Fuel it with the right foods and it will run smoothly and consistently. Although eating one single food will not make you a genius, here is some food for thought.