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SPIRIT (LIFESTYLE)

Is a glass or two of red wine every day good, or bad for my brain?

There’s been a lot of information in the news recently about the benefits of drinking red wine.

It’s important to clarify: It’s not the wine or the alcohol that’s helpful, it’s the anti-oxidant chemical that produces the white ‘bloom’ on the skin of the red grape. You can drink red grape juice or eat the grape and get the same health benefit.

If you prefer wine, a glass of wine a day is not thought to be a problem but excessive alcohol consumption is definitely harmful. Don’t drink more than one glass a day if you want to stay in the healthy zone.

Are people who are hard-wired for stress more prone to Alzheimer’s disease?

Taking the phrase "hard-wired for stress" in a metaphorical rather than literal sense, the answer would seem to be yes. People who are more sensitive to stress - and who therefore experience more stressful episodes, of greater intensity, and for longer duration - will be at increased risk of developing dementia.

However, it’s extremely important to emphasize that everyone can control their stress response. Being born with, or acquiring, an elevated stress response does not condemn us to Alzheimer’s disease, or any other dementia - but it does increase our risks.

Anyone who might regard themselves as "hard-wired for stress" should seek out the many effective ways of reducing stress in their lives. There are numerous non-pharmacological tactics for stress reduction, including:

• Exercise,
• Meditation and prayer,
• Reducing caffeine intake,
• Maintaining a healthy diet,
• Avoiding peaks and troughs in blood sugar by eating regularly, and
• Moderating sugar intake.

Avoiding nicotine and stimulants will also help lower the stress response once you have weaned yourself off them.

Is the negative long-term impact of stress caused by cortisol on the hippocampus reversible? If so, how can it be corrected, and how long does it take?

It is not possible to give a definitive answer as to whether the effects of stress are reversible.

The hippocampus is one of the areas of the brain that is most affected by stress. Fortunately, it is also an area of the brain where it is possible to regenerate new brain cells.

On one hand, we know that long-term exposure to stress does kill off cells in the hippocampus and harms its performance. This can lead to significant memory problems.

It is also well-established that chronic exposure to stress is associated with significantly higher risk of developing dementia.

On the other hand, various studies including the observation of animals have demonstrated that the brain can recover from stress.

These studies suggest that several factors seem to have a restorative effect on brain function and memory. The first is eliminating or massively reducing chronic stress. At the same time, it’s important to give the brain and body time to:

• Peacefully recuperate,
• Be stimulated by games,
• Learn new non-stressful skills, and
• Engage in physical activity

How completely the brain can recover, and how long it would take, we are not able to say. But it is worth the effort to do these things because of the known damage that chronic stress can cause.

Can you please comment on depression and social isolation in relation to Alzheimer’s disease?

Depression is often present in a person with Alzheimer’s disease - and it is possible that depression ca also increase the risk of developing the disease. It is certainly a common additional health problem among people with all kinds of dementia.

It is important to treat depression when it occurs, either with therapy, medication, or a combination of both. People with dementia do not have to suffer with untreated depression; left untreated, it will negatively impact their quality of life.

Social isolation associated with having dementia is one possible cause of depression and is also a risk factor that the depression will worsen. Many people find a way out of depression by ensuring that they talk to other people - either socially or in support or therapy groups.

How do you keep the brain focused and alert while trying to deal with information overload in the face of employee shortages?

It is impossible to address organizational issues in specific work-places here, but it is strongly recommended that people in this situation should seek ways of lowering the stress in their life (see above points about stress).

Lowering your stress levels may involve reconsidering your current employment situation, but it could also mean looking at the balances you have in the other parts of your life.

Please comment on the value of quiet time (other than meditation) to assimilate new ideas, be creative, and evaluate experiences versus time spent with constant stimulation?

Many people believe very strongly in the benefit of quiet times for the brain, in addition to times of meditation and/or prayer.

Not only did our ancestors and forebears sleep longer (on average) than we do today, but for the vast majority of the human population during our evolution, the hours of darkness were times of talk or silent reflection. While undoubtedly there were songs and stories around the campfire, anthropologists have suggested that our forebears had far more quiet times in their lives.

Many brain researchers, including Richard Restak, make the point that although our brain has not evolved very much over the last 200,000 years the demands made on it have multiplied exponentially in recent decades.

Now, we are always on the go, assaulted by messages and sounds. We have gained many conveniences and acquired a huge array of 24/7 entertainment and stimulation. What we have lost is quiet time, connection to the rhythm and cycles of nature, and opportunities for quiet reflection - when the brain can rest and "recharge".

We know that sleep is crucial to learning and memory. But there is an epidemic of people in the modern world who are sleep deprived both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Television, contrary to popular belief, does not help us to unwind and using alcohol to relax also affects quality of sleep even at low dosages. Sitting quietly, soaking in a bath or walking in nature would be better.

Regarding the importance of times of quiet reflection to creativity, invention, and innovation: brain imaging technology has confirmed what scientists, researchers, and creative people have known for millennia.

The brain needs quiet time to assimilate and allow the creative process to happen - the time and space to bring together the raw material and make the surprising connections and leaps of faith that lead to creativity. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but ‘mama’ needs sleep and a rest to do her best work!

The Benefits of Meditation:

• What is the purpose of meditation and prayer?
• Dr Herbet Benson (Harvard Medical School) has written that blood is shunted to the frontal lobe of the brain during meditation. Can this be confirmed or explained?

Whole libraries of books have been written about the benefits of meditation and prayer!

The spiritual benefit of both these disciplines are endorsed and encouraged by every one of the world’s great religions. Both give a sense of detachment and can lead to ‘acceptance’, which means a reduction in fruitless worry and agitation. Brain imaging shows that people who meditate achieve higher levels of more restful and restorative brain waves.

You may wish to read God, Faith and Health by Jeff Levin (published by John Wiley and Sons, 2001) for a superb overview of what the cover describes (accurately!) as "the connections between health and an array of spiritual beliefs and practices, including prayer...[and] meditation". This will give you a wealth of great information about the physical and mental health benefits of these practices.

Subsequent research has only increased the weight of evidence attesting to the positive consequences of prayer and meditation.

In The Memory Prescription, Dr. Gary Small confirms that functional MRI scans have shown changes in brain blood-flow patterns in people trained to meditate.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Sexuality:

• How important is sexual activity to the healthy brain?
• Is there a relationship between decreasing sexual activity and brain activity and alertness?

Good news - sexual activity is very important for brain health! Increased blood and oxygen flow happens during sexual activity, and increased physical touch and comfort is vital for emotional health.

Considering a relationship between decreasing sexual activity and brain activity, it would be very hard to evaluate which factor came first. For example, depression leads to both a decline in libido and mental fitness. Similarly, blood flow problems can cause both erectile dysfunction and vascular dementia.

Sleep and the Healthy Brain:

• How many hours of sleep would you recommend?
• Does good sleep have to be taken all at once, or can you nap an equivalent amount during the day?
• Is it possible to regain mental function lost due to sleep/breathing problems?
• What effect do sleeping pills have on the brain?

It is said that insomnia is a symptom not a disease, and that chronic insomnia puts a person at high risk of developing depression and other health conditions. The normal range of time to fall asleep is up to 30 minutes, and 6 to 8 hours sleep is recommended regardless of age.

People require restful sleep and not just short bursts. If you are sleepy during the day, napping can be energizing but napping is not good if it then prevents you from getting a long stretch of sleep at night.

Sleep induced by sleeping pills is not as effective and restorative as falling asleep naturally.

Some hints on getting a good night’s sleep:

• Get into the habit of going to bed at the same time every night and slowly increase the time you spend in bed every day by about 10 minutes until you reach the right amount of sleep time.
• Do something calming prior to sleep. Some people don’t realize that watching TV can be too stimulating for the brain prior to sleep.
• Eating foods high in tryptophan (warm milk, turkey, etc.) will help promote the production and release of melatonin, which regulates the sleep cycle - but you need to take these foods as much as four hours before going to bed for your system to have sufficient time to release the melatonin.
• If you tend to dwell on problems and this keeps you awake, try to replace these thoughts by reading something calming or of a spiritual nature before sleep.
• Some people cannot tolerate stimulants such as caffeine as they age, and may need to refrain or strictly limit coffee, chocolate and colas to the morning.
• Exercising during the day will help promote good levels of energy during the day and a better sleep at night. Don’t exercise immediately before going to bed. But most importantly, don’t allow yourself to become a ‘couch-potato’ as you age.
• Deal with issues of physical pain or discomfort that may cause wakefulness.