Let’s do a little imagining. Your brain is a city full of cell towers and neurons are the towers. Your thoughts, memories and moods are the calls and data going through them.
It’s called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or BD , a protein which your brain cells make. But for this column, let’s call it the 5G upgrade instead.
This protein works like a signal booster and construction crew. It tells the brain cells to make more antennas and build more connections called dendrites. In short, the more antennas, the better, sharper and faster for learning, thinking and memorizing.
Now let’s focus on the tower. It has a transmission cable called the axon. BD wraps it in insulation so signals are not slow. Low BD means weak signal. High BD means fiber optic speed. Each tower has a code for growth and repair.
In order to unlock the tower’s software, BD sends enzymes to crack the code in order to turn on the genes. This is called epigenetics — your lifestyle habits that change how your DNA works.
The good news
Scientists once thought that adults couldn’t grow new brain towers but newer studies show otherwise. In your hippocampus, the memory center, BD triggers new towers to grow even past your mid 60s. For this to happen, BD must thrive. Low BD feels like brain fog and depression. High BD feels like emotional resilience, quick thinking, instant loading and fast recall.
You can build more BD through good habits such as movement. Exercise creates the strongest BD signal. So, keep moving. A sedentary lifestyle will do the opposite. The construction crew within will only move when you exercise.
One other factor that is so important is deep sleep. Without sleep, there is no upgrade. This is because towers repair themselves at night. Sleepless nights mean that no repair work can be done.
Nutrition is vital. The crew can’t build antennas and cables without the building blocks called food. Consider Omega-3 foods like salmon, sardines, chia seeds, flax, walnuts. Then there are polyphenols like blueberries, dark chocolate (85 percent or higher), olive oil, green tea and turmeric and black pepper. Protein is high on the list such as eggs, chicken, legumes, whey. Magnesium and zinc are necessary as well. Natural sources include pumpkin seeds, spinach, almonds, dark chocolate. Finally, include fermented foods rich in good bacteria like yogurt, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut.
As a warning, foods that turn off BD are excessive alcohol, ultra-processed foods, trans fats and sugar.
Remember the importance and power of your breath. Slow breathing boosts antenna-building. All it takes is five to six slow breaths per minute. Inhale through the nose in five counts, hold your breath for three counts then release your breath through the mouth in five counts. While breathing, you will find yourself in a meditative state. This is when BD spikes by 30 to 50 percent after a meditation session. With every meditation, the upgrade gets more efficient.
Once in a calm state of mind, you can now connect with your feelings. Tap into your sense of gratitude and awe. Feel it. Emotions can heal you. Love, the most powerful force on Earth sends “upgrade now” messages to the brain in minutes. So, feel the love.
Affirmation: “My brain is 5G!”
Love and light.
