Boost your brain power

HAS your brain power slipped into the slow lane? Is your memory stalling? Age, stress and tiredness can make anyone forgetful, but the latest science reveals there are ways to keep your mental satnav on track.

Data travels around the brain like a car on a road network, and keeping the volume of this mental traffic flowing is the key to staying sharp.

Professor Robert Pickard, emeritus professor of neurobiology at Cardiff University, says: “If you don’t use your learning pathways regularly, your brain forgets the routes and they fall into disrepair.

“We lose around a third of our brain cells in our lifetime. Luckily, mental sharpness isn’t down to numbers, it is all about synapses — the junctions between cells.”

Every time a “car” carrying a piece of data reaches one of these synapse roundabouts, data is transferred from an electrical signal to a chemical one, directed around the roundabout to the correct exit and then converted back to an electrical signal to continue its journey.

“When you start to learn something, you open a little lane on to that roundabout, and if you keep rehearsing the arrival and exit of a car, the brain responds by changing its circuitry,” says Prof Pickard. “The access road gets bigger and the system for chemical transmissions gets more efficient. What starts off as a lane turns into a four-lane highway.”

However, if a learning pathway is not used regularly the synapse breaks the link to the roundabout, and forces the brain to explore side roads until it gets past that roundabout and back on its journey.

“That’s why you often remember something hours later,” he explains.

Anything which affects our brain’s neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers which regulate these roundabouts, will lift memory and cognition, so these signposts will help you stay on track.

PUZZLING

It’s said that doing crosswords and puzzles can boost brain power, but Prof Pickard argues it’s a myth. “You can get enjoyment from doing them, but puzzles have no effect on cognition because they are not relevant to your immediate needs and everyday life.”

However, learning something new does make a difference: “Studying a language is rejuvenating for the brain because it opens up new junctions,” he says.

LIFESTYLE LIFT

What’s good for the heart is good for the head, so exercise and a healthy diet protect against cognitive decline. Results from 25 clinical trials calculated that eating a Mediterranean diet high in fruit, veg and wholegrains reduces dementia risk by up to 40%. Prof Pickard says this is probably due to better blood flow and reduced oxidative damage.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Ginkgo and ginseng are medicinal plants with a history of use as mental stimulants. Prof Pickard says: “They both improve cerebral blood supply. When researchers want to look at neural function, it’s blood delivery we measure.” Try Vitabiotics Ultra Ginkgo & Ginseng 60 (£9.95; vitabiotics.com).

FAT FACTS

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish, aid cognitive function. They improve cell membranes and certain parts of the brain have very large proportions of omega-3 built into the circuits. The problem is, the enzymes we use to absorb omega-3 are also used for omega-6, found in most vegetable oils, which we eat in much larger quantities. And as Prof Pickard points out: “If have too much omega-6 in your diet, the omega-3 can’t get in.”

Equazen+ (£13.99, boots.com) provides a ratio of omegas which allows them to bypass problems caused with absorption from food.

RAISE A GLASS

Alcohol is one of the few toxins which can cross the blood-brain barrier protecting our brain, and too much can cause blackouts.

But it is possible to time your drinks to minimise damage. Prof Pickard explains: “To compensate for the fact that alcohol bypasses our main defence system, we have developed a chemical called alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks it down. If you have a glass of wine each day at the same time, our bodies will learn to raise our level of alcohol dehydrogenase at that time.”

PLANT POWER

Clinical trials show an extract of bacopa monnieri, a marshland plant, boosts learning and memory in 12 weeks. Prof Pickard says: “Bacopa supports a number of neurotransmitters. By improving the retention of acetylcholine, it gives your ‘car’ of information more power to get on to the roundabout. It also regulates dopamine and serotonin, which improves neural connections.” Potter’s Memory & Focus (£15.99, herbal-direct.com) uses an extract of bacopa monnieri proven

effective in 40 studies.

FANCY A BREW?

Tea has antioxidant properties that may protect the brain from degeneration and vascular damage. While Prof Pickard believes more research is needed, one study found black tea cut the risk of cognitive decline by 47%.

The brain responds by changing its circuitry. What starts off as a lane turns into a four-lane highway