This week I am going to continue on from last week’s blog.  In line with Total Somatics’ theme for 2020 - Insight and Focus, I am going to open your eyes to other areas in your life where we can promote Neurogenesis.

Shhhh!

Have you noticed what a noisy world we live in?  From vehicle engines revving to barking dogs, there always seems to be noise!  Did you know that over time noise can begin to affect neurogenesis?  Living in cities creates an internal stress, leaving people feeling highly anxious and easily irritated.  Check out my blog from last week, I discuss this in further detail.

Researchers considered the effects noise has on neurogenesis by studying mice.  Researchers used different auditory stimuli on mice to see which created the highest rate of neurogenesis.  Amongst this auditory stimuli was music and baby mice calls.  Whilst conducting the study, they used the silence as a control group.  The research highlighted that each group had short term neurological effects, however the researchers were astounded to see that 2 hours of silence each day created cell development in the hippocampus.  

The hippocampus is a very important region within your brain.  This area enables your brain to turn short term memory into long term memories.  It is crucial in enabling you to retain a sense of time and place, helping you to form a coherent sense of self. It is really important to care for your hippocampus. The quality of your life is instrumental with this because when you become highly stressed a very unpleasant actions can happen.

Stress can impact greatly on a person because during chronic stress, damaging hormones are secreted from the adrenal glands.  These damaging hormones are known as Glucocorticoids.  They love to search out hippocampal cells and destroy them.  They do this by breaking down the neural connections within the brain.  When this happens, it is usually under severe stress.  The person will often find there are black spots in their memory bank and they cannot recall parts of their life or of that event.  As a result of this destructive action, amnesia develops.  So when we consider what chronic stress can do, let us consider the importance of these studies with mice.

If you recall, the researchers found that the silence for 2 hours each day created cell development or neurogenesis in the hippocampus.  But why?  The researchers said that total silence in nature creates a higher alertness and sensitivity because within nature when birds stop singing and calling, we become highly attentive, alert and as a result neurogenesis occurs.  The researchers also noted that with the continuous noise we live in, it has become a pollution to our mind, creating stress and a decrease in neurogenesis.  Silence on the other hand becomes a welcomed relief and allows for full relaxation, lowering cortisol levels and stimulating neurogenesis.

Let's consider another area of your health and well being, a choice you make every day!

What will you drink?

As we consider the Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness, looking at how we can blossom from the inside out, let us consider what the choice of drinks will do to our brain cell development.

Did you know that 75% of your brain consists of water, so to stay hydrated is crucial for brain health.  There are different types of drinks that have different effects on your brain, let us consider them.

Water:  Water is fantastic and will speed up neurogenesis.

Alcohol:  Alcohol slows down neurogenesis and moderate alcohol consumption slows the rate down by 40%.  There is one kind of alcohol which counteracts the slowing down effects of neurogenesis.  The active substance is called RESVERATOL and is found in the skin of grapes.  The substance is found in red wine whereas you will not find it in white wine because the skin is taken off because Resveratol kicks in.  However before you crack open a bottle of red to celebrate this information, just remember that alcohol slows down neurogenesis and Resveratol stimulates neurogenesis.  So by having red wine, you are back to square one, no new brain cell development occurs.

Coffee: Caffeine reduces the rate of neurogenesis and impairs memory. Ideally reduce your coffee intake significantly or quit.  Many people have broken their habit of coffee drinking and feeling huge health benefits. Within a few weeks your body will learn to work and function without stimulants and allow you to wake naturally.  Could this be a healthy intention to break a habit that is affecting the rate of new brain cell development?

Soft drinks:  The sugars and sweeteners in soft drinks slow down the rate of neurogenesis significantly.

Green Tea: Green tea is a fantastic drink to stimulate neurogenesis. Could your replace your coffee for Green Tea?  The healthy neurological actions that result from drinking green tea outweigh the effects of coffee. Your current and future brain health will love you for it!

In summary, in order to stimulate neurogenesis consider the following:

• Less caffeine
• Less sugar
• Less alcohol

Moving forward

As a regular reader of my blogs, you will know I love to educate you on all areas of your health and well being so you can make an informed decision.  When you have knowledge and skills, you feel empowered and able to enhance your health and well being.  Total Somatics considers the many ways you can support your brain and body health to complement your daily mindful somatic movement practice.  When you have a healthy brain, you are able to interpret, retain and recall cues.  Within my online program, I provide you with many somatic movement audios to help you reduce pain, improve posture, increase mobility and develop mindfulness.  Within these audios, I provide ample time for integration, the quiet time between movements.  As you read earlier, silence is very important for brain cell development and allowing your brain to absorb the somatic movements you are practising so that this information can be impressed into your brain.  Within my online program, I also break down various principles and concepts which are important to creating The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness.  If you would like to learn more, go to www.TotalSomatics.com.

Not sure what Somatics is?  Check out my FREE eBook by CLICKING HERE.

Would you like to hear more about health and wellness?  Check out my podcast series at WWW.REALLYWELLWOMEN.COM.

I look forward to teaching you these amazing skills so you can join the thousands around the world who have embraced The Total Somatics’ Approach to Health & Wellness.

Take care,

Heidi Hadley xx

www.TotalSomatics.com