How Stress can kill off brain cells

We know that prolonged stress can have a deleterious affect on our bodies and our health.

We know also, that prolonged stress has a very damaging effect on our brain causing actual cell death and making it harder for us to lay down new memories.

We all experience stress to a greater or lesser extent in our daily lives.

Can you remember a time when you felt severely stressed or under extreme pressure?

Can you remember what it felt like and the effect it had on your thinking?

Many people describe this situation as if they are in a brain-fog. Their thinking is muddled and clouded. It becomes incredibly hard to think straight. Our ability to problem solve, to think logically and to make decisions is severely compromised.

That’s why so may decisions made in the heat of the moment may turn out to be wrong ones, and ones we may come to regret.

So how does stress kill off our brain cells?

You may be familiar with the “fight or flight” syndrome.

If we are about to be run over by a large truck, take an exam, or be mugged our body prepares us to either run away extremely fast or stand and fight.

Our adrenal glands release adrenaline into our blood stream which causes our heart rate to go up; more sugar is released into the blood stream to provide energy to the muscles, our breathing rate increases and our blood pressure goes up. At the same time, cortisol is also released and this helps to maintain the higher level of blood sugar and elevated blood pressure until the danger has passed.

Not all stress is bad. Some stress can be good for us; it heightens our awareness, makes our mind sharper and encourages us to think more creatively. We work harder to meet a deadline.

The problem arises when the level of cortisol remains elevated.

Too much cortisol over a period of time dampens down our immune system so we become more susceptible to illness and disease and it affects our brains by causing brain cell death especially particularly in the area called the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the area of the brain important for memory.

Stress can lead to depression.

Excessive cortisol can also thought to have an effect on our serotonin levels and contribute to depression developing.

Stress inhibits new brain cell formation.

Every day our brains produce new brain cells again primarily in the hippocampal area but excess cortisol will have a negative effect on this, inhibiting new brain cell formation.

So the bottom line is that severe prolonged stress will

• Have a negative effect on our learning and memory

• Make us more susceptible to developing depression

• Reduce our ability to grow new brain cells

All of which contributes to poorer brain performance.

Tips to help reduce stress:

Taking time out every day just for yourself. Start with 10 minutes and find a quiet place where there are no distractions or interruptions such as the phone, the kids, or the computer.

And just concentrate on being “in the moment” being aware of your breathing, your thoughts and try to quieten down the mind chatter.

Meditation is an excellent way to relieve stress. People who meditate regularly will tell you they find their mind is much clearer and more focussed.

Yoga and Tai Chi achieve the same results as meditation.

If you are aware of the stress you are experiencing is coming from your work situation or family difficulties, finding a counsellor or course to help teach stress management may be of help. Talking to someone else may help you to think through your problem and find a solution.

Find something else to distract you from your stress. Go for a walk, do some exercise, listen to some of your favourite music.

Stress can be managed. It’s a question of working out what works best for you.

A good friend of mine has been battling with her weight for years. She has been on every diet known to man kind, read all the diet books, cooked all the diet recipes for herself and her family and yet her weight bounces up and down like the veritable yo-yo.

I don’t think her partner has ever dieted in his life. He works hard, plays hard, exercises. He enjoys his food and stays slim and trim.

Unfair?

Perhaps. But now scientists may have discovered why repeated dieting fails.

Most dietary advice indicates that it would be prudent to cut down on known “fattening” foods and increase exercise. And yes this may produce the desired effect until the diet is stopped, old eating patterns return and so does the weight along with a bit extra for good measure.

We also know that comfort eating to deal with stress, accounts for much obesity.

Increased levels of obesity and increased levels of diabetes put us at greater risk of developing dementia as we get older.

In this research, Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in Boston took two groups of rats. One group as the control just had their regular rodent food. The other group was fed “normal” food for 5 days and alternated with 2 days of “sweet” food, the equivalent of us enjoying a few servings of high fat, high sugar desserts.

The dieting group on their normal diet ate less and avoided stress related situations (What that is in rat terms I don’t actually know!)

When on the high sugar diet they coped better with anxiety provoking situations, but also ate more. Plus those in the diet group when on “normal” food were found a much higher level of a stress neuropeptide CRF x5 that of the control group. This stress hormone returned to normal when the rats went back onto the high sugar diet again.

Aha!

How often have you heard the excuse of people tucking into a huge bowl of ice cream or consuming that family bar of chocolate because they feel stressed?

OK I confess, I’ve done it too.

But maybe we do it not because we actually are stressed. It’s that our brain is telling us we feel stressed (by having a higher level of the stress neuropeptide CRF in our system) because you are showing withdrawals to the high sugar/fat foods that we have intermittently.

In other words, frequent changes to our diet being “good” for a period of time followed by going back to our usual eating patterns works against us big time because of the changes that occur as a result of this, in our brain.

So sadly for my friend until she can lose the diet books and choose to implement a healthy eating plan she will continue with her vicious circle of dieting and overeating. Her continued efforts of deprivation and compensatory binge eating will not only deprive her of continued successful weight management but more importantly make her at risk of heart disease and poorer cognitive function, particularly as she gets older.

The key to deactivating the stress response by our brain is losing the idea of dieting, as that for most of us conjures up deprivation and not being allowed to eat certain foods that we like. And for most of us what we know we “mustn’t have” is instantly more desirable!

By eating a varied diet including all the fabulous brain foods such as fish, fruits, vegetables and nuts we can work towards maintaining a healthy weight, enjoying  mood stability and better thinking.

Happy New Year! Raise your glass….

of Water!

Many of us celebrate the New Year, often with a glass or two of bubbly, wine, or beer or whatever your favourite tipple. How was your head on January First?

A little fuggy?

Was the furry tongue and thickish head merely from getting to bed too late? Or was it in combination with perhaps imbibing in some alcohol as well?

The most logical explanation is that you are actually dehydrated and the effect on your brain can result in you being somewhat less than tiptop 100% the following morning.

And it’s not just alcohol, which has a dehydrating effect. Tea and coffee by their diuretic action also depletes our body and our brain of water. They stimulate the kidneys to work harder, so, although you are drinking a beverage made with water, your body and mind sadly doesn’t benefit from this.

Without enough water in our body, we eventually will feel thirsty. But by the time we experience the symptom of thirst we are already significantly dehydrated.

When dehydrated, some people will experience headache, lethargy and mental dullness. If the dehydration is not corrected this will lead to further deterioration of memory function and increasing confusion.

A physiotherapist friend of mine was telling me the story of a lady she had to assess recently for her problems of urinary incontinence. The lady concerned also had dementia and was being cared for by her husband. The husband was asked how much fluid his wife drank each day and it transpired she was drinking at least 750mls of tea daily and not much else.

She was dehydrated!

The physio suggested cutting down her tea intake and replacing it with water.

The result?

A significant improvement in the incontinence problem, but moreover the lady’s husband reported that (although there was no improvement in her actual dementia) she appeared to be functioning at a better level. She was thereby able to continue to stay at home for longer, being cared for by her partner.

Just by increasing her water intake and rehydrating her body.

How much water do we need to drink each day?

Eight glasses or around two litres.

If you are not drinking this much, then you could be suffering from chronic mild dehydration, which could be having a negative effect on your brain function.

Try increasing your water intake by having a bottle of water available with you during the day to sip on when you feel thirsty. Instead of having that second cup of tea or coffee ask yourself first. “Do I really need this or would I be better off having a glass of water instead?”

Try to limit the number of cups of tea, coffee and soft drink you have to three or four a day and drink water at other times.

Pour a glass of water to drink when having lunch and dinner.

If exercising, ensure you have a bottle of water with you to maintain your hydration.

Don’t like water?

Adding a slice of lemon makes the taste different.

Or try drinking herbal teas such as peppermint, chamomile or rooiboos.

Unfortunately green tea despite all its wonderful antioxidant properties contains significant caffeine and is just as dehydrating as black tea.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year.

Cheers!