Use Your Microbiome for Better Mood, Memory, and Dreams with Dr. Jeffrey Bland

Digital technology guides modern life to a great extent. Screens are everywhere, notifications pop up nonstop, and social media announces the important events—both personal and on a global scale.

There’s no denying that technology is convenient – indeed that is the whole point of it. It is far easier to keep in touch, to plan things, and multitask. But this reliance on technology is also changing the way your brain and body functions.

This negative aspect of technology is the reason digital detox has become such a buzzword in recent times. But what is it? And how can you use it to your advantage?

What is Digital Detox?

Digital detox typically means some form of abstinence from technology and technological devices. In the same way you might follow a certain diet to minimize the harm done to your body by bad food habits, digital detox does the same for your brain. The truth is, technology is likely an inevitable part of your life. Even if you can’t completely discard it, you can work to minimize the harmful effects it has on you. Digital detox is incorporating a planned tech-abstinence into your routine.

How to do a Digital Detox

Digital detox isn’t easy. Technology has an addictive effect on most people who use it. It’s also common to rely on it for a lot of very important things. The combination of those two elements can create anxiety. So the temptation to fall back into old habits during a detox period can be strong. Here are a few ways you can plan your detox while managing these temptations.

1. Take a tech-free vacation

One of the best ways to do a digital detox is complete abstinence for a period or time. But that might create problems for your usual routine. That’s why vacations are a great way to incorporate tech-abstinence.  Choose a location that has little or no connectivity. This forces you to go without—even when you are tempted.

Be sure to get everyone’s buy-in before you head to your destination. It can be difficult to watch your spouse scroll away while you’re not. Plan activities that can help everyone on vacation stay in the present moment without relying on technology and have options to fill in everyone’s downtime. When it comes to things like taking photos, buy disposable cameras so you can still capture the special moments.

With a little foresight and planning, it’s possible to enjoy a technology-free vacation that leaves you feeling more connected, rejuvenated, and refreshed when you get back.

2. Set time aside during the weekend

If going on a vacation isn’t in your immediate future, you can plan a specific window of time every weekend to be technology-free. You’ll want to unplug or turn off any and all technological devices during that window. You can do this at any point in time, not just on the weekends, but it might be difficult to disconnect during the work week.

Depending on your reliance to devices, you’ll want to start small. Maybe just an hour to start, with the goal to build your time away every weekend. You’ll want to communicate your plans to close friends and loved ones, and have a plan for emergencies—both your own and someone else’s. While time away from devices is ideal, you don’t want to sacrifice your personal or business relationships.

3. Don’t take the screens to bed

One of the worst things you can do is bring your phone, laptop, or tablet to bed. To start, electronic devices emit a bright light that mimics the blue spectrum in sunlight. This light is strongest in the morning and stimulates the cortisol in your brain to help dissipate the melatonin that helps you sleep. By bringing these devices into your nighttime routine, you’re triggering the continued elevation of cortisol, which delays melatonin releases, and hampers your sleep.

On the other side of sleep, checking your devices first thing in the morning actually triggers your brain for constant distraction and can even elevate your levels of stress. Seeing an email or message while you’re still sleepy can spike your emotional response, which keeps you in a reactive state throughout the rest of the day.

Ideally, you want to keep these devices away from the bed and, if possible, out of the bedroom entirely. If you use your phone as an alarm, invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock. This eliminates the temptation to check your notifications as soon as you wake up.

4. Don’t look at devices while eating

Apart from being bad manners, looking at a phone while eating or keeping it on the table while you eat is bad for your body and brain. But this rule doesn’t only apply to dinner. How many times do you eat breakfast on the go, scrolling while you eat? Or work through your lunch?

Studies show that not concentrating on your food while eating affects your digestion. You’re likely to eat faster and choose foods that are easier to eat while working. Use meal times as an opportunity to connect with family and friends and give your brain a chance to reset from the demands of working.

5. Go outside

Sunlight is one of the things devices typically deprive you of. Technology makes your life comfortable, but often that means you don’t go outside often enough or get enough exercise. While enjoying some time away from technology, you want make sure to soak in those healthy rays.

You can make these excursion fun and limit your temptation to grab your device by going to areas without reception. Go on a hike, take a walk, spend time at the beach, or plan a picnic in the park. You can add the brain-boosting power by learning a new hobby or engaging in a creative activity while enjoying the outdoors.

6. Don’t use devices on your breaks

Everyone does this to some extent. You take out your phone during your ten-minute break to check your message and end up scrolling through social media until it’s suddenly time to get back to work. The problem is those feeds are still showing you information through images, videos, texts, and captions. Your overworked brain is continuing to work and process that information instead of being able to recover so you can get back to work.

It takes time to shift your brain back to work mode when you’re done. You end up needing a break from your break, and since that isn’t possible, you overwork your brain leaving you fatigued and exhausted at the end of the day. If you don’t have specific break times and end up reaching for your phone or social media multiple times throughout your day as a break, you’re training your distraction muscles instead of your ability to focus.

Instead, make sure you relax during your work breaks, no matter how long they are. Drink some water. Take a brief but brisk walk around the office or building. Look outside a window to alleviate eye strain. Or even take a power nap.

Conclusion

Digital Detox is not an easy habit to initiate depending on your dependence on technology. But it is extremely rewarding in the long term and also manageable if you do it in a planned manner. Whether you plan to start big or go slow, the above tips should help!

For more on how to prepare for a digital detox, watch this video:

Your body changes with age, and that includes your brain. With today’s modern medicine, human life expectancy has significantly increased. But that makes quality of life in later years more important than ever. One of the biggest factors in longevity is minimizing brain-related problems, like memory loss, as you age.

Degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia are increasingly common features of aging. They can make your life difficult as cognitive functionality and memory slowly slips out of your control.

How great would it be if there were some way to protect your brain so you can add not just years to your life, but life to your years? 

Total prevention of memory degeneration is still not possible. But you can protect your brain longer and to a much greater extent through simple but effective lifestyle changes.

1. Exercise regularly

Daily exercise has time and again been linked to a healthier brain. Studies continue to provide evidence that exercise prevents memory loss in old age. Cardio-vascular exercises like walking, jogging, cycling, etc. are considered the most beneficial for your brain.

The link between maintaining a healthy memory and exercise is not crystal-clear, but researchers believe its may be due to an increased level of blood circulation. Exercise increases blood flow throughout your body, including your brain, which then increases the amount of nutrients and oxygen feeding your neural pathways. This leads to healthy neurogenesis, a process necessary in both preserving old brain cells and generating new ones.

Studies show walking daily for at least thirty minutes multiple times a week can help prevent overall brain decline with age.

2. Follow a brain-focused diet

Eating a healthy diet is always good for your overall health, but it can have a particularly profound effect on brain health. Trans-fatty food, sugar, processed food, etc. contribute to faster degeneration of brain cells. On the other hand, a diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, lean meat and fish, whole grains, etc. can boost your brain health.

Some experts recommend the Mediterranean diet as particularly beneficial for preventing brain degradation. Include more leafy greens, lentils, and fruits in your diet and switch to olive oil for daily fat consumption. For your protein needs, eat more fish and cut back on red meat.

3. Keep your brain busy

In the same way physical activity keeps your body fit, mental activity exercises your brain. Regularly engaging in mental agility exercises and active learning have been correlated with better memory in old age. Keep challenging your brain to do new things and push yourself by raising the difficultly in completing increasingly harder tasks.

Crosswords puzzles, Sudoku, brain teasers, etc. are all good ways of keeping your brain flexible in a playful way. Learning new skills and reading on diverse topics are also great ways of keeping your brain busy and agile.

4. Form social bonds

Loneliness and stress are at the root of many modern day problems, including memory deterioration. Isolation and chronic stress can lead to increased risk of depression, one of the biggest causes of onset dementia. Forming and maintaining social bonds can help prevent that.

Social interactions, bonding with loved ones, even just chatting with friends can help your mood significantly by releasing important mood hormones like serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine. It also creates a social safety net so you feel less isolated, and provides more opportunities for engaging your mind in new ways. All of this is great for your brain health.

5. Take care of chronic problems

High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol are all chronic problems that many suffer from. If left unchecked, over time they can lead to memory-degenerative diseases.

Pay attention to your health by knowing the symptoms of these health problems. Visit your doctor for regular check-ups, and follow their guidance and advice, including maintaining daily medications or health practices. Small changes in diet and exercise can help improve your sleep, which is beneficial towards overall better health.

When you actively manage or prevent chronic health problems, you can significantly delay or reduce the chances of age-related diseases, including memory loss.

6. Get enough sleep

Sleep is extremely important for your memory. A large part of memory consolidation takes place during the deep sleep stage. Losing even one hour of sleep, including restless sleep, can lead to lower attention during the day and cause memory loss in old age. Over time, the negative effects of sleep deprivation can accrue to make your brain slower, heavier, and more prone to degeneration.

When it comes to sleep, the key is quality, not quantity. You can improve your sleep by changing some simple steps in your nighttime routine. Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before bed. Stop drinking caffeine early enough in the day to avoid the stimulating effects as you go to bed. A few small changes can go a long way towards improving how you sleep.

Conclusion

There’s no way to stop the aging process. But you can help prevent the onset of memory problems and age-related diseases through healthy lifestyle changes. It’s never too late to start taking care of your body and your brain. Remember, little by little, a little becomes a lot, so why not start today?

‍For more information on ways you can protect your brain, watch this video:

There’s no denying laughter is the best medicine, and it’s not just a popular saying. There is ample scientific evidence to back this claim up. Engaging in genuine laughter regularly is good for your body and your brain. In fact, the more you laugh, the better your overall health is going to be. Laughter improves immunity and the cardiovascular system, but its effects on the brain are truly amazing. Let’s look at all the amazing ways laughter improves your life and your brain.

Anatomy of laughter

Laughing is one of the most natural expressions humans are capable of. But what goes on behind the smile while you’re laughing is far more complex. Laughter uses a sizable chunk of the brain by connecting and working out several areas at once. Let’s break down the journey of a laugh in your brain as revealed by humor researcher Peter Derk:

• Analysis of words or situations happens in the left side of the cerebral cortex.
• The frontal lobe and the limbic system beneath the cortex—the area that processes nuanced emotions—gets activated.
• The right side of the cortex works out the distinct trigger of laughter, or in lay terms, ‘gets’ the joke.
• Brainwaves travel to sensory processing areas in the occipital lobe.
• Motor functions activate to produce the physical ‘act’ of laughing.

Benefits of Laughter

Laughter benefits your brain on both social and individual levels. Whether you’re laughing with others or laughing alone, the benefits of laughter are consistent. Here are some things that laughter does to your brain:

• Lowers stress and pain: Laughter can work wonders for stress relief. Studies have shown that muscles stay relaxed for up to 45 minutes after a good, hearty laugh. Laughing stabilizes the flow of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine. Studies have linked laughter to the production of endorphins, which are considered the natural pain killer of the body.
• Helps with learning and motivation: Laughter has an important role to play in the reward circuitry of your brain. Laughter produces dopamine, known as the ‘reward hormone’, and regulates mood, motivation, learning, and attention. The influx of dopamine activates the reward circuit in the brain, making you feel good, as well as motivated to move forward. When in a stressful or dead-end situation, try taking a few minutes off to share a laugh with co-workers, or maybe watch a stand-up routine. You’ll find renewed motivation and focus when you go back to work.
• Prevents short-term memory loss: Stress is bad for your short-term memory, especially as you get older. The tendency to forget things that should be available in your working memory—like where you put your keys or the name of a particular object—increases when you are under a lot of stress. Laughter can be an immense help for that. A study at Loma Linda University in Southern California tested forty older adults for memory and stress levels in controlled conditions. Before giving the participants tests, they divided them into two groups. One half watched a funny video for twenty minutes and the other half simply sat calmly in another room. The people who watched the funny video and laughed performed better in short-term memory tests. Their stress levels were also significantly lower.

Conclusion

Laughter is good for you in every way. It’s uncomplicated, it’s instinctive, and it has the power to bring people together almost instantly. Make time to laugh and spread laughter a little more. Your brain needs it—and so do you.

For more on the neuroscience of happiness, watch this video with Dr. Daniel Amen: