Stress is a by-product of life, and it will never be practical to expect to rid stress from our lives. Learning to recognize what is creating havoc in our lives, discovering ways to keep it from doing damage, and arming ourselves with stress-fighting techniques is what we’ll cover today.

Stress is a form of chemical warfare against the brain. It has the capability of ravaging brain cells and inciting dementia. That’s pretty graphic, and I’m here to lay out some things I’ve learned and to encourage all of us to put boots on the ground in self-defense.

Chronic stress can become self-perpetuating where the brain ends up wiring itself to act in stressful ways. We know there are many hormones in our bodies, and optimum health requires those hormones to be working in perfect harmony. When they are out of balance, which can happen for many reasons, we suffer the consequences. For this reason, we should always be open to a heart to heart talk with our doctor. He or she can arrange for lab work, which may identify that imbalance and be of help in getting us on the road to recovery. There are prescription medicines as well as anti-stress supplements, and your doctor is your best source in determining which are right for your situation.

In my research for this article, I found that adding foods high in magnesium can be very beneficial in fighting stress. During times of stress, your burn rate of magnesium increases and as your magnesium depletes, you become subject to stress, which makes you jumpy and more irritable. Magnesium has a relaxing effect on the body. Foods rich in magnesium include dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), avocado, nuts (cashews, Brazil, almonds), legumes (lentils, black beans, chickpeas, peas, soybeans), tofu, seeds (pumpkin, flax, chia), whole grains (wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, quinoa), fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, halibut), banana, and leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards, turnip greens, mustard greens).

This article is the second in a ten-part series regarding brain health in our living welderly lives. Some of the information I share is from a book I’m reading titled Regain Your Brain by Peggy Sarlin. I also attended a Healing Energy Convention held locally last weekend and will draw on that exercise as well.

My previous essay, in this regard, dealt with the importance of quality sleep while this article will detail the value of what Ms. Sarlin refers to as the symphony of hormones playing inside our bodies. That symphony depends on every cell functioning at an optimum level resulting in physical energy and being sharp-minded. If that hormone level is off-balance, we suffer the consequences, including lack of energy and memory issues.
Did you know that by age 70, our youthful hormones can drop as much as 90 percent? For optimum brain health, we need to boost our youth hormones and reduce the aging ones. Youth hormones include the human growth hormone (HGH), testosterone, estrogen, and thyroid. At the Healing Energy Convention, I attended a class about the importance of HGH. I learned that this hormone is highly effective in reversing signs of aging and it is replenished naturally in our bodies during the deep sleep stage. I’ll also refer you back to the article I wrote a couple of weeks ago entitled Memory Loss and Lack of Sleep. We need to recognize our need for quality sleep every night and make it a priority. My sleep quality has increased immensely in the last several weeks by implementing some of the tips I shared in that article. I use earplugs to keep out noise at all levels, a sleep mask to nullify distractions such as street lights, etc. and I’ve put myself on a schedule. My body knows it can depend on having regular hours for sleep. I feel more rested, and I know I’m getting into that deep sleep stage because I am dreaming nightly. It’s amazing what a difference this has made in the way I feel.

I’ve been reading a book entitled “Regain Your Brain” by Peggy Sarlin.  The tag line for this book is “Powerful New Scientific Discoveries That Give you Back a Youthful Mind.” The first chapter deals with the issue of sleep deprivation and its association with dementia and Alzheimers. I want to share some great information from this book and what we can do on a proactive basis to protect ourselves as much as possible from these diseases. There is still so much we don’t know about these conditions, and I certainly don’t pretend to be an authority. However, it occurs to me that we can take precautions and make some practical choices that could stave off the debilitating long term effects of a variety of health issues.

According to the National Center on Sleep Disorders, an estimated 70 million Americans have sleep problems, and the most common cause of memory loss is lack of sleep.

I’ve learned there are four stages of sleep referred to collectively as a cycle and that it’s important for our bodies to consistently move through each stage to fully reap the healing benefits of quality sleep. A cycle consists of stages 1, 2, 3 (non-REM) and REM (rapid eye movement). Each stage lasts five to fifteen minutes. Thus each cycle lasts about ninety minutes. On average, our bodies move through four to five cycles each night, and the entire cycle has specific restorative powers.

One of the most interesting things I found about this pattern of restoration is the part it plays in a daily nap. It’s suggested we limit that nap to no more than about twenty minutes. To do otherwise, we not only risk being able to fall asleep at night, but it hampers our ability to fully appreciate the restorative qualities available to us in a deep sleep state. A short power nap is said to boost our memory, cognitive skills, creativity, and energy level. It’s also touted to be a way to treat sleep deprivation.  Keeping it short is the key.

I’ve been going to an aerobics class taught at my local community center especially for senior citizens. The first time I went to this class, I peeked in the doorway and saw several rows of folding chairs. At each chair were a brightly colored ball, a pair of hand weights and a colored band secured with handles on each end. I felt disappointment assuming this meant low-impact sitting exercises geared for those not able to manage strenuous movement.  I determined that I’d complete the class and continue my search for something more challenging. I learned very quickly that though this class was labeled “Silver Sneakers Workout,” the 45-minute class was not confined to sitting exercises. The majority of class time was spent in constant upright motion. The class meets Monday through Friday and has four rotating instructors. Each has her own method of instruction and varies the routines to challenge every part of the body. Even the exercises involving sitting are not only challenging, but invigorating. Time goes by rapidly and the attendees offer encouragement and support to one another.

When I was young, I knew girls who would lay out in the sun slathered with baby oil. The goal, brown the skin to a healthy glow. I didn’t do that. To me, it seemed like a waste of time to just lay there. I was what we now call a free-range child. My friends and I played outside all day, “out from underfoot,” my mother would say.

My friend, Louise, lived up the street. I would skate up to her house and stand outside calling her name, “Louuuuu-ee-es.” I don’t know why I didn’t walk up to her door and knock, it’s just what we did. When she wanted me, she stood in front of my house and called out, “Daaa-na.” We didn’t have phones, so that wasn’t an option. From there, strapped on roller skates adorned our shoed feet and we would traverse up and down the street negotiating the cracks, humps, and gravel the best we could. The skates we used fit over our shoes and could be adjusted with keys to fit our growing feet. Sometimes we had to oil the wheels and then be extra cautious because those wheels turned more freely when lubricated. And if we lost our key, we’d borrow someone else’s key, because they all worked interchangeably.