Guilty as charged. Everyday I seem to struggle with being able to complete my daily tasks, as there is a constant stream of distractions vying for my attention. It’s all too easy to get off track and find that at the end of the day half the things you wanted to do aren’t done simply because of all the interruptions and distractions that got in our way.

It’s very easy to blame “being busy” and having to “multi task” to cope with all of our demands put on us in our daily lives.

Knowing that I am easily distracted by the email in box, unnecessary phone calls, children requiring pick ups, the dog, whatever, hasn’t helped and I get very frustrated with my seemingly increasing inability to ignore all of these.

The fact is that as we get older our ability to cope with these distractions diminishes. It’s not so much that we can’t focus; it’s more that all the other “stuff” gets in the way. The result can be diminished short-term memory. And it’s infuriating!

So, if this is a natural ageing process. What can we do to try and remedy the problem?

The brain has it’s own mechanism.

Some very clever people at the Kavli Institute in Norway have discovered that the brain actually has it’s own mechanism to allow us to filter out those distracting thoughts. Hooray.

Back to the brain and it’s all in that highly specialised area called the hippocampus, which deals with memory and learning.

The Kavli scientists used the analogy of a radio. When you really want to “tune in” to listen, we focus on what we want to hear and tune out the distractions of other noise. Our brain can do the same. The brain uses different frequencies of gamma waves to transmit different types of information, which can be past memories or current information of where you are right now. In the hippocampus the brain cells can choose which frequency it wants to focus on and more over can switch to other frequencies very fast in just fractions of seconds.

This shows that our super plastic brains are probably even more plastic than we have first believed. We know that we can strengthen new neural pathways in our brain and allow others to diminish but this demonstrates an even greater flexibility is possible, whereby brain cells can select different brain frequencies and constantly change very quickly.

So how does that help us with our older brains?

Well if we can learn to train our brains to ignore all those distractions more easily then our concentration and short-term memory would benefit.

One current way to do this is to undertake attention training.

There are a number of studies looking at Brain Games but the suggestion is that doing brain activities such as Sudoku or crossword puzzles helps to reduce our susceptibility to distractions. There are also an ever increasing  number of commercial “Brain Games” now available.

If looking to try one out, then look for one that offers a graded set of activities that can be undertaken over a period of time (over a number of weeks usually) gradually getting harder. Look for those, which have a way you can test yourself as you progress, to give you a measurable idea of your improvement.

Brain Games are not for everyone, if you have a different form of brain activity you enjoy, do that!

It’s really important to choose one that appeals to you, is within your budget and that you will enjoy doing.

Participating in a regular or daily session of focussed brain training or stimulation will pay off in bucket loads with helping us to have better short term memories and improved concentration and I’m all for that!

Reference: Laura Le Colgin, Tobias Denninger, Marianne Fyhn, Torkel Hafting, Tora Bonnievie, Ole Jensen, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser Frequency of gamma oscillations routes flow of information in te hippocampus. Nature, 2009;462 (7271): 353 10.1038/nature08573

We’ve probably all experienced the effect that having a really late night can have on our work and brain performance the following day.

That foggy effect associated with impaired brain performance and  reduced concentration.

And as we get older our capacity to deal with sleep deprivation seems to diminish as well.

We all need sleep, but many of us are chronically sleep deprived and this can be having the effect of reducing our mental performance on a daily basis, decreasing our ability to cope with stress, lowering our resistance to infection because our immune system is impaired and aggravating the risk of developing chronic disease.

The amount of sleep we get each night varies with individuals and their age. We have all heard the anecdotes of people such as Margaret Thatcher and others who manage to get by on as little as four hours sleep per night. Others of us need our eight hours in order to have some chance of functioning normally.

Typically infants need the greatest amount. As we age we get by on less sleep though our sleep patterns may also be disrupted by medication or pain ( eg arthritis)

If we have depression, had had a stroke or have cognitive impairment our sleep may also be disordered.

Studies have shown the effects of chronic sleep deprivation to produce the same effects on performance as drinking alcohol.

We spend roughly 1/3 of our lives asleep and 80% of that sleep is what we call deep sleep, which is associated with slow brain waves.

So why do we need to sleep?

Sleep has been shown to be vital as a time to allow the brain to rest, for neurons to repair and be able to function better when we wake.

It is also a time for the brain to consolidate and retain information. New neural connections are formed so those experiences are then stored as memories.

Many people suffer form disrupted sleep patterns or insomnia.

In one study of middle aged men with sleep disturbance it was found that they had higher levels of cortisol and CRH (corticotrophic hormone). These hormones are associated with the flight or fight response. In other words their brains were in a heightened level of arousal resulting in a poorer quality of sleep

If you are a “brooder” or a worrier who tends to react emotionally to problems, you may be the one at night tossing and turning unable to sleep as your brain keeps replaying the problem loop in your head.

If you can keep the emotions at bay it is possible to sleep on a problem and your deep sleep enables you to problem solve and wake with a solution. Eureka!

REM sleep with dreaming is also important for good brain health. This type of sleep is associated with brain learning the “how to” eg learning a musical instrument and decision making.

So what can you do if you have a poor sleep problem?

If it is really entrenched then seek help.

Medication with sleeping tablets really only offers a short-term benefit and may compound the problem if overused.

Longer-term management requires looking into all factors, which many be hindering getting a good nights sleep. We call this sleep hygiene.

Good sleep habits:

Reducing caffeine:

Many of us know that drinking coffee late at night may well keep us awake. But it may be that we are consuming basically too much caffeine over the day as well. Did you know that the  cup of coffee we have at lunch time may be enough to disturb your sleep that night.

Caffeine is found in tea (black and green) chocolate and cola drinks. The popular “energy” drinks with guarana such as Red Bull and Mother have also got very high caffeine levels.

So the first thing to do is to reduce or even try to eliminate the amount of caffeine you drink and include more non caffeine drinks such as herbal Chamomile, fennel and anise and of course, water.

Avoid alcohol:

Alcohol, which appears to relax us and gets us off to sleep is unfortunately associated with a poorer quality of sleep so you are more likely to wake up in the night.

Relax:

Going to bed in a relaxed mood will help you to get off to sleep. Have a warm bath and a drink of hot milk (the tryptophan in the warm milk is a natural sleep inducer.) How about a relaxing massage?

Turn off the TV:

Take it out of the bedroom altogether preferably. You want to avoid overstimulating the brain, so switch it off.

Exercise:

Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise each day as a minimum help us to sleep better at night, but don’t do it too late in the evening, otherwise it will have the opposite effect.

Have a regular bedtime:

Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day encourages good sleep patterns.

Can’t sleep? Get up.

If you really can’t sleep it’s better to actually physically get up, maybe have a cup of warm milk or read a book until you feel naturally sleepy again and then go back to bed.

Sweet dreams!   zzzzzzzzzz………

It has been well documented that physical exercise promotes better brain health.

As we get older we become aware that our reaction times in thinking becomes slower, we are less adept at planning and multi tasking. We find it harder to take in and remember new information. We find our ability to concentrate and focus diminishes and we may even notice symptoms of the onset of neurodegenerative disease. Yikes!

But do you have to go to the gym to be getting the necessary exercise to maintain good body and brain health?

Does the thought of donning lycra, using muscles you never know you even had, and getting really sweaty and puffed, (or being in the close vicinity to someone else in lycra who is sweaty and puffed) not inspire you to want to exercise?

Well the good news is. You don’t have to.

The key is regular exercise and it can be as simple as starting with increasing opportunistic activity.

It can be walking, swimming, running, golfing ,cycling, whatever you like and are happy to persist with. It can even include  going to the gym (lycra not essential)

What could you do at work to increase your activity levels?

Are you stuck at a desk all day in front of a computer screen?

The first thing is to get you up and off your bottom. Try planning in 10 minute slots where you get up, have a bit of a stretch and move and walk around the office. Better still, try to get outside into the fresh air.

It’s like long distance flying. After sitting on your bottom for too long in an aircraft we know the need to get up and have a stretch.

When parking your car either for work, at the shops  or elsewhere, rather than spending time trying desperately to get the closest spot to the nearest entrance, try parking a little further away from your destination so that you have to walk that incremental distance, plus you may find a greater number of freer spots to park in.

If there is the choice of the elevator or the stairs, take the stairs.

Get a dog! They are always ready for a walk and will provide the necessary incentive with a wag of the tail, fetching the lead (or even the trainers) and of course look at you with those big brown pleading eyes.

Is it ever too late to start exercising?

Absolutely not.

Obviously, the earlier the better. Kids who participate in sport in childhood and adolescence have been shown to tend to do better academically, and be better adjusted in terms of mood.

The aim is to carry on through out our lives participating in some form of regular activity that we enjoy.

The key is consistency.We need to be making exercise part of our every day lives that we simply do.

Studies have shown that  going for a walk every day for 20 minutes will add significantly to our overall well being and reduce our risk of stroke (by 57%).

Walking three times a week for 30 minutes has been shown to diminish our risk of developing dementia by 10% at least.

Walking that bit further is even better with improved benefits for every additional kilometre walked.

If we are feeling a bit stressed, under the pump or have a problem, going for a walk will help us to gain clarity in our thoughts and enable us to resolve these issues as well as improve our overall sense of well being.

When we exercise, we increase the amount of blood flow to our brain and that also means the brain receives more oxygen and glucose.

Regular activity will promote the formation of new blood vessels in the brain, we have greater energy production and our existing brain cells have a better chance of survival.

Even better, studies have shown that regular exercise enhances neurogenesis or the production of new brain cells in the hippocampus. This is a specialised area of the brain that is particularly important for learning and memory.

And yes there is more.

The extra “steak knives” on offer is that exercise stimulates the increased production of substances called BDNF’s which are crucial to supporting and nourishing existing brain cells.

Those who exercise more, show less loss of grey matter which means greater retention of the executive functions of the frontal lobes in reference to better concentration, attention and planning.

Plus, it appears that exercise can induce a change in the expression pattern of a wide array of genes. This is particularly important for example where  someone may be carrying a gene which may put them at increased risk of developing something like Alzheimer’s disease. If that gene is not expressed or if the expression is delayed, that could have a significant impact on that person in reducing or delaying the probability of them developing the disease.

The bottom line is that participating regularly in physical activity has clear benefits in assisting us to maintain good brain health and improving our cognitive function.

It’s a no brainer not to be exercising.

Now where did I put my trainers?

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