Archive | November 2013
How the brain is affected by your HEALTH!
Let’s start with how the brain operates; think of the human body as a car for a moment. The brain of the car is a computerized disc that allows a lot of the operations to take place in making the engine and more run proper and safely when the key is turned on (if that car is at least late 1980’s or newer). The battery is like the nervous system allowing connection of electrical currents to many parts of the car enabling them to do their job (Ex. lights turned on at night). Well we can’t live without the brain (sort of like the computerized disc in the car). Our nervous system works with the brain in allowing currents to be sending messages to our body parts to function (sort of like our car battery). To provide a MD with accuracy in evaluating how your brain is operating or if dysfunctional (Ex. Seizure disorder, Alzheimer disease-dementia, etc…) he or she uses a tool that is called an electroencephalogram (EEG) and he looks at your brain waves (alpha, beta, delta, & theta waves). Well how the car is diagnosed is through a diagnostic scanner that connects to your car telling the mechanic how the car is functioning, to see why certain car lights are on at the dash board when they shouldn’t be (ex. Like when the brake light or engine light or temperature light is on) well the doctor uses as a diagnostic tool also to evaluate these brain waves of the human body called an electroencephalogram (EEG). Well during certain times of human functioning the brain shows certain brain waves which gives information to MD’s on the patient’s brain normality regarding its function. There are the 4 traditional brain waves that researches in 1930-1940 have identified. These brain waves show us what is going on in the body. The following is a breakdown of what these waves represent in action:
Alpha-appear when you are relaxed and calm.
Beta-appear when we are actively thinking or actively doing problem solving .
Delta-appear during sleep
Theta-are associated with deep relaxation (like a hypnotic relaxation), in sleep, and visualization.
These brain waves are measured in what we call Hertz=Hz, for abbreviation.
So Alpha=(8-13 Hz), Beta=(13-38 Hz), Delta=(below 4 Hz) Theta=(4-7 Hz).
Since these brain waves were introduced into medical profession, other types of brainwaves have been identified and the traditional 4 have been further subdivided into 2 other groups; they are: 1)Sensory Motor Rhythm- This involves with some brain and motor function and 2)Gamma rhythm- This is more involved with mental activity of the brain. Our overall brain activity is a mix of all the frequencies at the same time, some in greater quantities and strengths than others.
So what is the meaning of all this? The answer is:
Balance with having Flexibility. This generally means being able to shift ideas or activities when we need to or when something is just not working. We don’t want to regularly produce too much or too little of any brainwave frequency. Just like the car, if you’re constantly in overdrive or the opposite it will stress the overall engine and its associated parts to the point that the car is no longer running effectively or productively. This is the same with the brain; it should not constantly be in cognitive thinking or problem solving 24 hours/7days a week, but not a zombie either. Living your life in keeping your brain waves balanced along with eating a balanced diet and doing regular exercise (2 to 3 times a week up to daily) with rest will help you maintain a good weight that is beneficial for your mind and body. Same principle as the car just constantly doing one of these activities, staying in the same gear or activity mode will hurt you (Ex. Prevent vitamin deficiency like calcium deficient which puts bones at risk of getting a fractured or broken bone. From too much work out with no rest=sprain or injury of the body. Without staying within a healthy weight can put you at risk for anorexia or obesity and both can cause injury to the body, like anemia or cardiac/diabetic diseases.)
How do you make or manage a healthy brain? Well, first being able to control the brain through balance and flexibility with resilience; that is the capacity of humans to come out of an extreme shock, damage, injury and trauma followed by getting back to a normal life (like run with the ball but don’t drop it.) Simply it is saying we bounce back positive after a negative stress in our lives (deep depression, become hateful or resentful, drink heavy to increasing or a smoker with increasing packs smoked/day rather than quitting cold turkey=unhealthy for the brain and their overall body). This is surely not saying it’s easy but that is why brain training yourself with healthy habits will help you deal with stress in your life better. Stay in a negative state, this keeps your brain in the same mode (Ex. Depression) and become stagnated. It can be hard to get out of especially the longer you stay in it; and it brings yourself down further into the negativity (depression, lack of confidence in oneself). So whatever stresses, injury, emotional hard time, pain, or fatigue that is due to never balancing your life (brain waves) you need to take the step to support your health both mentally and physically by directing your brain waves to something else positive in particular. It may not always be simple but no matter the hardship there is someone else in this world in the same boat as you or worse off than you. The more you think along those lines the easier it gets in dealing with life. Without brain balance, flexibility with resilience we holistically cannot function effectively; just like the car without the battery or computerized disc in today’s vehicle the car won’t function properly, unless it runs on electricity but it still won’t function correctly if the computerized disc is not working. We need all our brain waves balanced to sustain our wellness and health. Again, this generally means being able to shift ideas or activities when we need to or when something is just not working (like being healthy). We don’t want to regularly produce too much or too little of any brainwave frequency.
Well now you know how the basics of how the brain operates, how the brain waves have to operate to stay healthy but now we need to know how do we reach that step and that’s tomorrow’s article Part 2 but if you want to know how to get healthier for your brain and the body overall right now than go to my website
http://healthyusa.tsfl.com/. , otherwise see you tomorrow for Part 2.
QUOTE FOR MONDAY
“In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.”
Lee Iacocca (born October 15, 1924, is an American businessman known for engineering the Ford Mustang and Ford Pinto cars, being let go from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s.)
Stress versus Health
One way of looking at life is whatever challenges comes your way know you will survive and for any losses you may experience when looking back on them take the positive aspects or memories not the negative that builds a bad effect on you (Ex. Insomnia to depression to high blood pressure to alcoholism to drugs). A positive effect can be as simple as a smile when reflecting memories, which FYI allows less frowning that will cause less wrinkles on the forehead, as we get older. Sometimes it’s not that simply and when it gets harder take up a constructive way of dealing with it (Ex. Work out at your level, walking, singing, go to a comedy movie, get together with friends go out, and do anything that gets your mind off of the stress and even out of your body through work out at the gym to just biking or walking.).
For starters stress is a body reaction to CHANGE. How to you look at change? Easy, positive! It may not appear easy at first but try to look at this change as a sense of difficulty yet a challenge with a victory in the end, if approached right. Let us take the following challenges, for example – Having a child leave home for college or marriage, losing a home with this economy, a loss of a friend in your life: How do you look at these experiences positive? Well for the child I would be so happy for her or him starting college life with my worries but know I raised her or him well and if he makes mistakes on the way he will learn to get up off the ground and fix them knowing he can come to me or dad whenever he has the need or if we sense a problem we would address it (Its part of life=growing up). Another aspect to look at regarding this stress is there is loss in the parent role so fill up that loss with a new hobby, or get active in whatever organization you are in (Ex. Church, Temple, School, to just taking up ceramics or do more traveling with your spouse and friends). I had my falls with the stresses that I have come across but got up every time to stand again, some quicker than other times. How do you deal with losing a home with this economy well appreciate the good memories you had when you had the home and pick up starting a new life elsewhere with making it a journey down the yellow brick road leading you to where the rainbow is at the end; don’t look at it as a loss. Dealing with losing a friend, again, the way I look at it is I appreciate the time I had with her or him and know they haven’t left me in spirit (if deceased). If the person is still living know there are reasons for everything; whatever the cause was for the reason for the relationship parting and when out of my control I think of how I had a good friendship as opposed to never having one with that individual. I accept that nothing lasts forever or indefinitely, with appreciating the time I may have had with the person. Ending note is I look at life this way, whatever positive entity comes in my life may be taken away from me and appreciate every moment you spend with that person or thing in your life that you love so much (including my life span that only upstairs knows how long that time factor will be but I try to live a life at its healthiest optimal level with practicing positive behavior which is knowing whatever stressors come my way there is always someone worse off).
If I don’t deal with stress like this than I can expect complications that may arise, just like for anyone else who looks at challenges coming their way in a negative sense. You commonly see stress become a neg- ative experience when a person faces continuous challenges/stressors without relief or relaxation between the them. The ending result is the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds. Stress that continues without positive resolution at some level can cause a condition called distress, which is a negative stress reaction. The physical reactions that happen to your body due to negative stress:
-Elevated high blood pressure –Headaches –Chest Pain –Upset Stomach –Insomnia –Grinding of the teeth –Jaw Tension –Teeth grinded down –Irritability –Anger –Panic episodes –Vasoconstriction to our vessels causing increases to the heart rate –Decreases sex drive –Depression (Research even suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases.)
Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually. The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.
Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you — and many things that you do yourself (Ex. Work 40 to 60 hrs a week in a highly stressful job, like a policeman) – will put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. You can also cause the stress to impact your body with first just signs and symptoms (s/s) developing, that are listed above, but without relief of the stress these s/s can lead you into a disease/illness forming or even make the diagnose (s) you already have even worse.
Many signs and symptoms pick up when exposed to continual stress or stresses that just build up on top of each other causing some people in developing unhealthy habits, poor dieting, and the lack of desire to be as active as they were which in turn develops conditions that would not have occurred if this negative behavior didn’t happen over a long period of time.
This behavior with the stress or stresses you are experiencing increases the probability of health conditions starting to take place in your body or if you’re with certain diagnoses already the stress can possibly impact your body by worsening the condition. The conditions that can develop from any age of being under continual stress over a period of time are:
-ADD or ADHD –Panic disorders –High blood pressure –Anti-arrhythmias -Cardiac Disease -Diabetes 1 or Diabetes 2 -Stroke –Irritable Bowel Syndrome –Weight Gain/Obesity –Fibromyalgia –Complex Regional Pain Syndrome –ETOH -Depression and so much more.
How to bypass developing conditions that can be caused from the long constant stress or stresses you experience? One method is fight back (fight or flight), and when it gets really difficult don’t turn to bad heath patterns in your life to deal with the stressors turn to a healthy diet, keeping a healthy weight for your body mass index (BMI) so you can deal better with fighting the stressors in your life (if not sure what your BMI is check online to find out how to calculated it, it is for free), and practice healthy habits. You may be saying how to I even go about that or maybe it’s easy for me but not true. Let me shine some light on this topic. I was there many times before and found a resolution to help deal better with my stresses through a change in eating and I lost 22 lbs. and still I am trying with being physically challenged at this moment to get to my optimal shape. If you want to check out how to deal effectively with your stress and live a healthier life for prevention of complications that stress can cause go to healthyusa.tsfl.com/. You will learn both through Dr. Anderson and his book “Dr. A’s habits of health” and myself, as your health coach, with how to use medifast in your diet with certain foods you normally eat in your diet also. This will help you in dealing with stressors as well as boost up your health with losing weight and learning healthy habits in living. It is surely more than just dieting which is not only for 3mths or ½ year or even 2 years but its learning for life how to eat healthy with occasionally treating yourself to treats or favorite meals to lose weight and maintain it for life, to where it just becomes a part of your life and it doesn’t feel like dieting. It also is a program showing you behavior to learn by living healthier habits with explaining how it helps your body. Through Dr. Anderson’s book you will learn about all 4 food groups in how to eat the foods, when to eat the foods, what portion sizes to use, with learning even about diseases and illnesses that can occur through poor habits in diet, activity, and more. This program is giving you the steps that can lead you in the right pathway of how to control your life with reaching your optimal level of heath. You make the choices of what changes you want to make, no one else. There is no fee, no donations, no hacking, and no obligation on your part other than just to take a peek and see if what we can provide is what you would like. It can help you with conquering your stresses in life and reaching a healthier life which could impact even others around you especially your family and friends. If this occurs and this news spreads throughout America it would make our country much healthier which we could use for now and in the future. This is not a recruiting organization but a company that can help you and many others live a better and possibly longer life. Hope I have helped you in someway dealing with any stress in your life. Also, I hope to hear from you both with your comments on the articles you read on my blog with visiting the website in taking the right step to reach the optimal level of your heath including learning methods that help you deal the best you can with stress.