Depending on how you live and the things you do, you will develop one type of brain or another, you will feel one way or another, you will think in one direction or the opposite. The brain holds great secrets to improve our daily lives. This is what Sara Teller investigates and disseminates, physicist and doctor in neuroscience from the University of Barcelona, ??co-author of The Brain of Happy People, which was translated into nine languages.
Now he publishes Neurocuídate (Aguilar), a volume in which he talks about what happens in our most complex organ when we love, when we are afraid, we exercise, we sleep or we consult social networks, to give some examples. With hundreds of scientific references, Teller weaves a compendium of information and advice that at times leaves the reader stunned.
What is neurocare?
We know very well how to take care of our body, but we know very little about how to take care of our brain. Neurocare is carrying out habits and ways of thinking that promote a healthy brain, which is not the same as having a healthy body. The type and duration of physical exercise we have to do to take care of our brain is not the same as what is good for a healthy body. To take care of our mental health and have a healthy brain, doing 15 minutes a day of light exercise is enough, while to take care of your cardiovascular health you need more and more intense activity. Neurocare means taking this new area of ??the brain into account.
Neuroscience explains what happens in the brain during falling in love, for example… Can we really only be in love for a few months?
Studies by Dr. Helen Fisher have shown that falling in love lasts a maximum of 15 months. The brain, in falling in love, is under conditions that better end soon! It is a very addictive brain, with a lot of dopamine, we have a lot of motivation and euphoria and high levels of norepinephrine, which make you be very attentive to what the other person says or does, to their interests. When we fall in love we have the front part of the brain – the one dedicated to reason – more dull, and that is why it is said that when we fall in love we lose our judgment a little. This cannot last forever, because having the zone of reason turned off could be dangerous in the long term.
He explains that the neurochemistry of desire is very different from that of pleasure. What happens in our brain, with one sensation and with another?
Wanting something is not the same as liking what you want. They can tell me “you’re going to love the food at this restaurant” and I’ll want to go try it, but maybe when I try it I won’t like it. The neural circuit is totally different for desire and for pleasure. Pleasure is present, when I am enjoying myself, and the neurochemistry that is generated are endorphins or endogenous opioids. The desire is for something future, it is generated with the release of dopamine.
Dopamine has a dark side, he says. Which?
Dopamine pushes you to fulfill your desires, to pursue pleasures. At an evolutionary level this has been very good for us because many pleasures are related to vital functions of our daily lives, such as eating, drinking, sex… Dopamine helps us move to fulfill these functions and survive. The dark side is that it causes a lot of addiction, we always want more, and that places happiness in the future, preventing us from enjoying the present. Furthermore, dopamine is behind addictions, for example, to drugs.
What happens to the brain when we have anxiety?
It is a very mental emotion, an anticipation of every possible threat. Stress is a real, instant, present fear, while anxiety is about the future, a prediction the brain makes of something bad. It is a very evolutionary adaptive mechanism, but the problem is when it gets out of hand and we feel a lot of worry and rumination.
Why do so many people suffer from anxiety today?
The first reason is that we have a brain that has not yet adapted to the new changes we are experiencing, such as being surrounded by screens all day, which greatly overstimulates the brain. Secondly, it is the way we think, the pressure, the demand, the self-criticism that we generate. Also when we know that we do not have the resources to face something, such as the common lack of time today. It seems like we have to know English, go to the gym, eat healthy, cook… There is no time, and the feeling of lack of it makes us anxious.
How do we take care of the brain to combat anxiety?
We must eliminate the external overstimulation, the inputs that come to us and observe the internal dialogue, how you are speaking to yourself. This influences the part that is activated, and if the amygdala is activated, this generates anxiety and stress.
For them, talk about the effects of yoga, meditation, journaling, massages…
These techniques regulate the nervous system because they activate the vagus nerve, the relaxation system. We are always with the sympathetic system active, and we need to balance ourselves, activating the other. It is not about suddenly aspiring to live in a constant state of relaxation. Humans are made to live actively. The problem is abuse: if I always have the sympathetic system active, this completely deregulates body and mind. It has to be compensated.
Social networks represent maximum overstimulation. How does the brain react to them?
Behind social networks is dopamine again. Every time they give us a “like” this pleases our brain and a lot of dopamine is released, we want more, and it creates addiction. The trick of networks is that these rewards for the brain are random, today I have many likes, tomorrow none. That gets me hooked. Furthermore, dopamine is behind surprises, the unexpected, which causes pleasure. Notifications are always surprises, “let’s see what’s behind this WhatsApp”. That makes our brain attentive and addicted.
What do you recommend for neurocare, with social networks?
Digital diet in the short term can help, but in the long term it cannot be obtained. The first step is to become aware. First you have to know what they cause in the brain. With networks we are constantly multitasking, and this raises cortisol levels. We must keep this in mind, and above all individually realize how the networks feel to us. Some lonely people come into contact with other people through networks and feel very happy. Other people end up leaving other facets of life for the immediate rewards of networking, and end up feeling empty.
Breathing is important for ‘neuro-care’, but it seems as natural to us as living, we don’t give it importance.
Yes, it is something we do naturally, but it has been seen that depending on how we breathe, it can change our mental and emotional state. Our brain is interconnected with breathing. That is why it is so important to know how to breathe. Most people hyperventilate, breathing short and quickly, and this deregulates the nervous system, it is very harmful to our brain. People who breathe well gain longevity, breathing well lengthens life.
What is breathing well?
It’s breathing long and deep. When taking and releasing the air we should take at least three or four seconds for each action. If you can make it longer, much better. The air should not stay only in the upper part, in the collarbones, but it has to reach the ribs and abdomen. It can be learned, but it is a habit that we have very integrated unconsciously, so we have to practice a few minutes every day at home. There are many videos on YouTube that show it.
How can we explain that we do so badly an activity that is necessary for our lives and that we do every moment, instinctively, since we are born?
Babies breathe well, but over time we unlearn. We live in such a hectic world that breathing responds to this state.
The positive effects of meditation on the brain and health have been called into question. Are the studies that demonstrate this and that support that meditating modifies the brain reliable?
There is a lot of scientific evidence, published in very good journals, such as Nature Neuroscience. I am convinced of the benefits of meditation and how it works in the brain: it trains the part of the organ that realizes when you are distracted. This has an incredible impact on daily life. If I notice that I’m losing attention, I can decide when I want to be present and when I want to wander. Meditation helps cultivate presence. But also, with meditation a lot of positive neurochemistry is released that provides calm and well-being, neurotransmitters such as GABA or serotonin. Additionally, meditating activates the vagus nerve, the parasympathetic system, which decreases the activity of the amygdala, and reduces cortisol. It also changes brain waves to more relaxed and focused ones.
The effects of yoga on the brain have been proven to be more positive than those of other types of exercise. In what sense?
Yoga is a slow movement, and that allows you to be aware within your body or your breathing. When we are attentive to something present, we do not wander, the brain does not become distracted. This makes you gain presence, and we eliminate that mental jumble that floods us. Yoga is incredible for gaining mental health, it is a mild or moderate exercise, but it has been seen to reduce stress and anxiety, help with depression, and activate the parasympathetic system.
How should we eat to take care of our brain, beyond everything we already know about the Mediterranean diet and the rejection of ultra-processed foods?
We must reduce ultra-processed foods, sugars and unhealthy fats. There are nutrients such as omega-3 or vitamin B, which greatly help the brain and cognitive abilities. However, the most important thing is to take care of the intestinal microbiota, connected to our brain. As? The most beneficial thing is to eat in a varied way. With paleo, keto or vegan diets you have to be careful with food restrictions. The most recommended is a Mediterranean diet but very varied.
We have heard about probiotics and prebiotics, but it also talks about psychobiotics. What are they?
They are probiotics or bacteria that help our mental health. It is being studied, it is a very new topic, and research is being done on probiotics for anxiety, depression or autism, for example. But it is delicate, and recommended doses and frequencies of intake have not yet been determined.
What is neuroinflammation and how is it avoided?
It is mental dullness, when we feel mentally dense our brain is surely neuroinflamed, and this comes from the microbiota. 70% of the immune system is in our intestine, you have to watch what you eat so as not to inflame the brain. Inflammatories are excesses of salt, sugar, unhealthy trans fats… With a varied diet, fermented foods and fiber, the microbiota is taken care of to avoid neuroinflammation.
He gives many neurocare tips through sleep, and among them he talks about the best sleeping position, which would be on your side, with your head on the pillow. Because?
In the brain we have other cells apart from neurons, which are called glia. Glia are the mothers of neurons, which protect, care for and supply nutrients and oxygen to neurons. Without glia, neurons would not live. It has been seen that when we sleep on our side we favor the glymphatic system, creating an intersynaptic space in which the glia can act better. The glia clean the waste and toxins of everyday life, they sweep your brain.
