we think the brain works today.
Now, fast-forward almost up to the present. As a medical student, I recall reading an old article on the neuroanatomical basis of emotion and memory. This article has stood the test of time: it laid the foundation upon which our current understanding of this area is based. I was shocked, however, to find a sentence in it which would not have made it past the scientific reviewers even in my school days- saying, in effect, that “We don't know what this part of the brain does, but since it's bigger in men than in women we assume it must have something to do with sex.”
If all this isn't enough of a challenge, there's also the problem of how fast new information accumulates. When I was in college many years ago, one of my chemistry professors described a study which had been done to look at the production of new information in the field. It concluded that if someone spent forty hours a week doing nothing but reading the new scientific literature as it was published, by the end of the year she would be months behind! Today's diligent scientist would undoubtedly fare even worse.
We’re bombarded all the time with news of breakthroughs and new theories about how to improve our health. Unfortunately, many of these result in conflicting advice. Is hormone replacement therapy good or bad? What about caffeine? Should I take supplements, or not? Eat butter or margarine? How much red wine should I drink with my fish? Is it safe to eat the apples yet? Will my cell phone give me brain cancer?
You don't have to go to medical school and read ponderous scientific journals all day to find a path through this heap of information. In this book, Sondra Kornblatt will guide you through it. She explains how the brain is put together, how it works, and how it influences many aspects of your life. You’ll learn how it produces moods and emotions and how hormones affect it. You’ll gain practical tips about supporting your brain: how to feed it, rest it, amuse it, help it repair itself, and keep it healthy. You’ll learn about sleep, exercise, and diet; vitamins, supplements, and toxins; meditation and clever tricks for remembering things; and even the benefits of “yawn attacks.”You’ll have some laughs—and that is also good for your brain.
This book is well-researched and presents current brain science in a comprehensible way. The information here is practical and comes from both Western medical and alternative viewpoints. You don't have to be a doctor or neuroscientist to benefit from it. In thirty years as a neurologist, I’ve seen women of all ages who are concerned about their brain health. This book is a wonderful tool for anyone who wants to understand how to keep her brain happy and functioning at its peak for a very long time.
Jean Millican, MD
Seattle, Washington
Acknowledgments
Writing this book was like making a clay sculpture. I had to search the earth for clay, dig it, mix it, wedge it, envision it, shape it, smash it down, reshape it, simplify it, and finally glaze and fire it.
It wasn't a lonely journey. My caring community of family and friends helped me from the search for clay to the kiln. They kept me from trashing the book, my sanity, and my brain.
A bounty of appreciation to my editor, Caroline Pincus, associate publisher at Conari Press, for wise edits delivered with kindness; Susie Pitzen; Robin Doyle, who also reviewed the manuscript and made excellent suggestions; and marketing at Red Wheel/Weiser and Conari Press for being the best book people; my parents group, PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support), which has supported, fed, and loved my family for nineteen years; my Communications Department cadre who meet the challenges of Group Health with as much sanity and as little jargon as possible; Sasha London, for research and assistance; Rebecca Parsons, for humor, editing, and good hair advice; Ella Hansen, for nonpareil citations; Ragini Michaels, for reminding me of the book's vision and teaching me to be more present in this paradoxical life; and Howard, Diane, and Michael, for the support that lasts.
And mostly to my children: Milo and Ella, thank you for your writing opinions, grocery shopping, Glee watching, music sharing, Sadie loving, dish wrangling, and dinner celebrations. Let me know what you think if you ever read this book. I love you.
Chapter 1
The Weary Brain
A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up.
Erma Bombeck, humorist
Women are overloaded.
Need proof? Look at the covers of magazines in the grocery line for the long list of things we “should” attend to.
Lose 11 pounds in 7 days. Exfoliate your skin. Buy the latest fashions. Get a flat stomach. Organize your garage. Six tips to get ahead at work. Save for retirement. Latest smart investments. Five sexy ways to make your man love you. Eat right for your unborn baby. Parenting the terrible twos. Help your children read in just ten minutes a day. Get your teens to church. Find your best new smart phone. Beware of toxins in your furniture. Choose the right Botox doctor. When to bikini wax in the winter. Cook healthy quick meals. Build a compost bin. Care for your mother across the country. Stay fit through all ages.
We’re living in a world so fast paced, with so many expectations, it's really crazy. There's a limit to what the nervous system can handle, and most of us are way over the limit.1 With demands coming from all sides, we feel like we’re going to lose our minds—and perhaps our brains too.
Your brain is the center of your stormy life, but it is not like the quiet, calm eye of a hurricane. Your brain is more like a boat in a harbor, whipped around in winds and cross currents, banging against the pier, held by ropes that are straining against the stress.
You can hear it in your language: you say you forgot a parent-teacher conference because of brain fog, missed a party because you were brain fried, can't retrieve the name of a book author because of a brain fart, or procrastinate learning a new telephone system at work because your brain is toast.
Poor brain. It has to orchestrate everything: muscles, hormones, digestion, mood, speech, sleep, memory, dreams, compassion, emotions, actions, and stress.
Even though it's doing all that, it's easy to take the brain for granted. You frequently don't give yourself the things your brain needs to function well: good foods, exercise, stimulating challenges, a nontoxic environment, quiet time, nature, bigger perspectives, emotional care, friends to talk with, and respect for what it's doing.
There's only so much you can change outside, but you can change what you do, including how you support the brain.
Taking care of your brain can change your life.
You and your brain need care to stay sane in this crazy world. When you support your brain, it has more resources to handle what's expected of it. You’ll be more relaxed about your overwhelming to-do lists. You’ll also know how to stop blaming yourself and your brain for not handling the impossible. Instead, you’ll support your brain in order to get the best from it—and from your life.
Brain Fitness for Women shows you holistic ways to sustain your brain—more than just clever games that stretch your cognitive ability, like most brain-fitness books focus on. Your cognitive ability is just one part of your brain, and there are many factors that influence our brains every day: toxins, information overload, overwhelming emotions, and hormone changes.
You’ll
