How to stop your brain from shrinking and improve your thought processes
by Farzad Heidarie PhD
Background
The fact that your brain may be slowly shrinking sounds frightening and painful. What are the causes, how do we recognize the effects, and can the process be prevented or reversed? Research suggests that among the many possible causes could be certain activities, drugs or everyday habits. Brain shrinkage has been linked to a declining memory, difficulty in thinking, or solving metaphorical puzzles. Changing aspects of your life and adding brain exercises into your routine may prevent a deterioration in function.
Causes of shrinking
Sleep quality
Lack of sleep damages your brain. Less than six to eight hours of sleep per day is linked to shrinking gray matter over time, according to a recent study published in the journal Neurology. Scientists at the Universities of Oxford and Oslo studied changes in the brain MRI scans of 147 Norwegian adults over 3.5 years. Study subjects were asked to monitor their sleep quality, patterns of sleep, and daytime sleepiness. On average, it took participants 20 minutes to fall asleep, and they then slept for an average of seven hours. A sub-group who experienced poor sleep quality were found to have suffered shrinkage of their frontal cortex. In addition, there was deterioration in three other areas of the brain, including those responsible for reasoning, planning, memory, and problem-solving. [1]
Drugs
Antipsychotic drugs are known to shrink the brain. [2] Volumes of gray matter shrink with different types of antipsychotics, and the higher the dosages, the more the gray matter shrinks, ultimately decreasing the amount of messages being sent throughout the brain. While generally detrimental, brain shrinkage can actually help with psychosis by cutting down the amount of detrimental activity.
Depression and stress
Sufferers from depression may also face deterioration in brain structure and function according to a study from Yale University. [3] Researchers found lack of pleasure and happiness caused dendrites, the structures that serve as connectors within the brain to shrink. Similarly, major life stresses can cause neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to shrink. These areas are responsible for aspects of metabolism (e.g. glucose), emotional processing, and problem solving.
Incredible brain facts
Your brain is made up of grey and white matter. The gray matter on the outside is responsible for thinking, seeing, hearing, speaking, movement and feelings. Different bits of the brain’s gray matter are responsible for these various processing functions. By comparison neurons in the white-colored myelinated axons help quickly transfer messages back and forward from the various organs in the body.
So what can you do?
- Start off by getting a good night’s sleep for your brain’s sake.
- Do some regular brain exercises e.g. switch hands and use your non-dominant hand to perform simple tasks such as writing a few sentences, eating and brushing your teeth. This will force your brain to learn in a new way and engage under-used regions with new wiring.
- Exercising improves cognitive performance and increases neurotropic factor (BDNF), a substance that strengthens brain cells and neural connections. Exercise has even been shown to build new cells in the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory, organizing, and storing information.
- Meditation will give your brain the power it needs. This is often called the “relaxation response,” helping to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. Yoga, meditation, or prayer have been shown to improve brain health. [4]
There are no excuses when it comes to brain health — treat your brain the same way you would a new sports car or a computer, update it, don’t overuse it, add new software in the form of various activities and do not forget to refuel or feed it when needed.
Sources
1. Sexton CE, Storsve AB, Walhovd KB, Johansen-Berg H, Fjell AM. Poor sleep quality is associated with increased cortical atrophy in community — dwelling adults. Neurology. 2014 Sep 9; 83(11): 967–73.
2. Moncrieff J, Leo J. A systematic review of the effects of antipsychotic drugs on brain volume. Psychol Med 2010 Jan 20; 1–14.
3. Ota, Kristie T., et al. “REDD1 is essential for stress-induced synaptic loss and depressive behavior.” Nature medicine 20.5 (2014): 531–535.
4. Wells, Rebecca Erwin, et al. “Meditation’s impact on default mode network and hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment: a pilot study.” Neuroscience letters 556 (2013): 15–19.
