Brain plasticity or neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt due to new personal experiences. Learning ultimately strengthens the neural pathways in the brain.
Have you ever felt stuck in a particular situation because you didn’t have the proper education or just felt things didn’t go your way? I am living proof that if you pull up your bootstraps and have a little grit, you will be able to accomplish whatever goals you set for yourself. Not everyone has the means to attend an ivy league school or have the lucky winning lottery ticket, so what is the next best thing?
Desire and Perseverance are two essential qualities to have in conquering a goal. Desire is a powerful feeling of wanting something. The definition of persistence is doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. The road to your dream is often riddled with debris, and sometimes we may feel defeated. The road to conquering the goal will have failures and setbacks that block the path. Perseverance helps you find healthy ways to deal with temporary defeat and will build up your self-esteem and confidence.
WINNERS NEVER QUIT, AND QUITTERS NEVER WIN!
When you realize that you have the mental toughness to navigate your way around the obstacles, the obstacles are only temporary, and it is part of the journey you start winning in life. In the book Mary 153 Mother of the Angels, Chapter 4: The Soul’s Energy Contained in the Human Body is the seven methods to boost brain plasticity and bring peaceful feelings.
- BEE open to change and education
- Get regular exercise
- BEE creative
- M&M’s (Meditate & Music)
- Eat a healthy diet
- Get plenty of sleep
- BEE The Light! Positive! Laughter!
Now we will dive a little deeper into what each method means.
1. BEE open to change and education
Long-lasting changes occur in the brain when we learn new things or memorize further information. The changes that occur to the neural connections are called neuroplasticity. When we educate ourselves through school, problem-solving, reading, and or listening to books. The mind becomes more robust through the years of personal experience. Education at times can also bring about critical rethinking on subjects that, at one time, we may have an unconscious bias toward it. Meaning: that we did not even realize or understand the other point of view simply because we lacked the education or failed to listen to both sides thoroughly. Opinions and points of view may change as we become more educated
2. Get regular exercise
Regular exercise helps our body release natural endorphins. Endorphins are naturally occurring chemicals in the body that trigger a positive feeling in the body. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain just like a narcotic pain medication would. People who perform high-intensity interval training (HIIT) experience a more significant release of endorphins than in less demanding exercise activities.
Exercise is the fastest and most effective way to boost a promoter of brain plasticity called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), affecting all nerve cell areas. Stored BDNF is released by increased blood flow during aerobic exercise, increasing the heart rate for 40 minutes.
3. BEE Creative
When we imagine an idea or embark on a creative task can help focus the mind leading to long-term changes in neural networks. The focus of a craft has calming effects on the brain and body. Creative projects can release dopamine, a natural antidepressant. A simple act such as gardening can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress!
4. M&M’s (Meditate & Music)
M&M’s No, it’s not the candy that melts in your mouth and not in your hands. Meditation practices have been shown to increase the amount of white matter in the brain—an area of the brain that manages concentration, increased awareness, and decision making. The health benefits of meditation include preserving cognition. It can also shift our understanding of overwhelming emotions to one of clear focus and helps boost productivity.
5. Eat a healthy diet
Proper nutrition is good for overall health, but your neurons need to be protected from chronic inflammation and early decline.
A promoter of brain plasticity is a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Neuro or “Nerve” & Trophic relate to nutrition affecting all nerve cell areas. It is prominent in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of the brain. We already mentioned how exercise can increase BDNF, but what can we do regarding what and when we eat.
Avoid processed foods and sugar. These foods will have a higher glycemic index, meaning they will raise your blood sugar more quickly than foods with a lower glycemic index. When our blood sugars spike, what follows is a spike in insulin levels followed by increased inflammation. The increased inflammation can also lead to increased blood pressure etc. Processed foods and sugars also decrease satiety, which is feeling full. Suppose you wonder why you never feel full. Look at what you are eating. Some people can eat hundreds to thousands of excess calories daily because processed foods and sugars don’t allow them to feel full. This can lead to weight gain and pain from chronic inflammation.
Intermittent Fasting: During the first 12 hours of a fast, your body uses the food and carbohydrates you have already eaten. After 12 hours of fasting, your body starts the clean-up process as long as no food or sugar is taken in. The benefits are fantastic as the body cleans itself of plaque and deformed cells that could become cancer and will even begin using stored fat as a fuel source! An easy way to start is to eat your dinner meal containing higher amounts of healthy fats like avocado (This will keep you full longer, which is called satiety.) Have a large salad with a healthy protein. Then push your fast as long as you can into the next day. Can you do 16 hours, then 20 hours, a 24-hour fast, etc. Drink water, black coffee, and green tea. If you have diabetes, watch your blood sugars. Take a raspberry or strawberry if you are dropping below 70, yes, this breaks the fast, but eventually, you will progress. It may take a while for diabetic or insulin-resistant people to become fat-adapted, and your blood sugars don’t swing as much. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist for guidance.
Foods that increase BDNF- Coffee, Green Tea, caffeine, MCT oil, Turmeric, dark chocolate, and eggs.
In future blogs, I will discuss in more detail the benefits of:
What foods could be making us sick, more on intermittent fasting, decreasing blood sugars, and the benefits of autophagy.
6. Get plenty of sleep
On page 21 of Mary 153 Mother of the Angels. I discuss why getting seven to nine hours of sleep is crucial for good health.
7. BEE The Light! Positive! Laughter!
When we laugh, it naturally relaxes the body, lowering blood pressure, stress, and depression. There are some studying that shows it could even boost the immune system.
Whatever your desired goal is, stay positive and persistent. Use the tools listed above to become a better, healthier version of the one and only YOU!
BEE The Light!