When he’s not on CNN to find out about the coronavirus, Sanjay Gupta is his day-to-day, as a neurosurgeon. “I’ve had a long-standing love affair with the brain,” she said.
“You’re a brain surgeon: what is it like to have it in your hands?” asked CBS News’ chief medical correspondent, Dr. Jon LaPook.
“The first time I had brain surgery, you know, almost 30 years ago, it was a mystical experience,” Dr. Gupta replied. “You can’t believe these three and a half pounds are everything: all our pain, all our joy, all our memories, all our learning, everything.”
And in his spare time, Dr. Gupta has written a book about the brain, “Keep Sharp,” specifically, how to keep him fit. [The book is published by Simon & Schuster, a part of ViacomCBS.]
Simon & Schuster
For Dr. Gupta, it’s personal: “In many ways, this story started when my grandfather developed Alzheimer’s. I saw this when I was a teenager and, you know, it really stayed with me. It’s probably been a journey. all my life I understand how I could prevent this from happening to me and anyone else. “
More than five million Americans have Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia.
Dr. LaPook said, “One of the biggest fears my patients have is developing dementia. They will come in and say, ‘You know what?’ I can’t think of anyone’s name. I know them so well. I was in the middle of a sentence, I lost my mind. So how do you know the difference between the changes that come with normal aging and the onset of dementia? “
“This is a number 1 topic of conversation in our home,” Dr. Gupta said. “Before it was because my parents always asked me this question. And now my wife and I always ask ourselves this question, ‘Am I starting to get more forgotten?’
“When it comes to finding out if something is some kind of normal or abnormal memory loss: people lose keys all the time. It becomes more abnormal when you don’t remember exactly what those keys are for.”
It turns out that the brain changes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease begin decades before symptoms appear.
“There’s some suggestion, right, that even if you’re destined to develop Alzheimer’s in the future, that if your blood vessels in the brain are open, if you’re doing everything you can to keep your heart healthy, in fact, keep it away , is it possible to delay it? “asked Dr. LaPook.
“I think now there’s no doubt we can say – and I don’t think we could have said that five, ten years ago – but there are things we can do that involve lifestyle changes that could delay the progression of the dementia, and even reverse it. “
Dr. Gupta said the key is to do activities that create “cognitive reserves” in the brain – areas of new nerve growth and wiring that can catch the skinny if needed.
So let’s get on with it. Without any miracle drugs on the horizon, what is the recipe for fighting dementia?
Let’s start by exercising. That said, what is good for the heart is good for the brain.
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Dr. Gupta said, “When you move, it’s like you’re signaling to your body and brain,‘ I want to be here. I’m not ready to go! “What specifically releases the brain [are] these things called neurotrophins; these good chemicals feed the brain. “
“In the United States, a lot of us go 100 miles an hour, but a lot of us do it sitting down, not moving,” Dr. LaPook said.
“You know, people keep saying‘ sitting is the new smoking. ’Every time you’re about to sit down, say,‘ Do I? ’ need be seated “” And then try to move moderately throughout the day. It is so effective when it comes to the brain and what we can measure by doing to the brain. “
“And there are simple habits you can do, for example, take the stairs instead of the elevator.”
“It takes months, years to change the heart,” Dr. Gupta said. “The brain can change how that. ”
How about the diet? You’ve also heard of it: eat less red meat, less processed foods, more vegetables and fruit, most of all, says Dr. Gupta, a type of fruit: “They always say, Jon,” Apple a day drives away the doctor. . “I think in terms of the brain, they’re berries. Berries, in terms of what they can do for the brain and some of those chemicals that they release, will probably be one of your best foods.”
Some berries? “Almost any berry. … Immerse yourself in berries!”
What if you work directly on your thinking skills? Crosswords? Video games? What works, if any?
Dr. Gupta said, “I have nothing against crossword puzzles and even video games and brain training games and things like that. I think they can be great. We do crossword puzzles, play the piano, do it. you do it over and over again, and practice does it perfectly.This is absolutely true, but it is exchange which generates resistance. You need change.
“So I wouldn’t just do crossword puzzles. The way I think about it is that if you can get out of your comfort zone somehow every day, you’re probably taking advantage of other brain real estate that you don’t have. If you don’t. , use very often.Do something that scares you every day.Whatever the metaphor, whatever it works, do something different. Learn a new skill. I remember talking to these neuroscientists who said, “Eat dinner with your left hand tonight if you’re right-handed.”
Sleeping well is another way to stay sharp. There are so-called “garbage collection cells” that help remove toxins from the brain. And while you sleep, the memories of the day are processed.
LaPook said, “Our knowledge of the importance of sleep has really changed over the years. It’s not just about letting our batteries recharge, is it?”
“Sleep is such a sophisticated activity that we spend a third of our lives doing it,” Dr. Gupta replied. “The brain is a remarkably complicated organ. When you go to sleep at night, it takes the experiences you’ve had throughout the day and consolidates them into memory. Why do we even have experiences if we don’t do the things necessary to remember them? , right? We are learning that the brain is constantly going through this “rinsing cycle” at night ”.
To find one of the best ways to fight dementia, look no further than your friends and family.
“We know this social interaction is so important,” Dr. Gupta said. “We are social creatures. We know there are certain neurochemicals that are released when we actually touch and see someone directly in the eye.
“The best thing you could do in general, in terms of putting it all together for brain health, would be to take a quick walk with a close friend and talk about your problems.”
Because? “With the brisk walk, you get the move. You do it with a friend: you get the social connection. It becomes something beautiful for the relationship, but also for the brain.”
Of course, coronavirus means seeing friends up close and up close is a bit difficult right now. But with Americans beginning to be vaccinated against COVID, perhaps the time is approaching when we can move on from the pandemic.
Dr. LaPook asked, “What do people want to know is, when we get back to normal, if not normal? What do you think?”
“I think we’ll start going back to normal much sooner than people realize, and I think maybe in mid-to-late spring, it’s going to start to feel a lot more normal,” Dr. Gupta said. “Things will start to open up. People will be out and more.
“I have three teenage girls. I think they’ll be back in school next fall. I might be wrong, but that’s where things seem to be going.”
So as we hope to get out of isolation, here’s a New Year’s resolution – think about doing something for your brain.
“Empathy and kindness, compassion: they do a lot for everyone’s brain, right?” asked Dr. LaPook.
“They’re the latest types of food for the brain,” Dr. Gupta replied. “Every sight you see, every sound you hear, everything you touch, feel, whatever it is, try, and then the feelings, the experiences you have through empathy, through those connections with people , they also nourish the brain.It is really good for the brain.
“That’s why we live.”
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Story produced by Alan Golds. Editor: Ed Givnish.