PTA COFFEE BREAK:Tips for maximizing brain power

Dr. Daniel Amen, a child psychiatrist, brain imaging specialist and assistant professor at UCI, was the featured speaker at this month’s PTA Coffee Break, held March 21 at the Surf and Sand Hotel.

Amen, a Laguna Beach resident, is the author of 22 books, including a bestseller, “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.”

Amen spoke to a large audience of Laguna Beach parents about helping kids reach optimal mental performance by making a good brain great.

Amen says he has the world’s largest data base of brain scans, and he showed images of what healthy and damaged brains look like.

For example, a healthy brain scan shows a full and symmetrical image, whereas a damaged brain shows an asymmetrical image with pieces missing.

The brain, he said, is the most complex organ in the universe — with 100 billion neurons. A tiny piece of brain tissue similar to a grain of sand contains approximately 100,000 neurons. There are more connections between brain cells than there are stars in the universe, Amen said.

The brain is very soft, with the consistency of soft butter or tofu and housed in a hard skull with many sharp ridges. The brain uses 20% to 30% of the body’s calories, even though it comprises only 2% of the body’s weight.

Most people do not realize that they may have had an injury to the brain or the degree to which brain injuries contribute to changes in thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationships.

Amen emphasized that contact sports put kids at risk and recommended low-risk sports like table tennis.

When kids are at risk — involved in contact sports like football or soccer, or solo activities such as skateboarding, snowboarding, or skiing — properly fitted helmets are essential to protect the brain.

Many things can hurt the brain, such as: drugs, alcohol (i.e. people who drink alcohol every day have a smaller brain), stress, lack of exercise, sleep deprivation, or too much caffeine (dehydration makes it difficult to think).

Also harmful are a high frequency of watching television or computer games (which contribute to shorter attention spans because kids need more excitement to get their attention), and environmental toxins.

Conversely, many things can help the brain.

People with social contacts and emotional connections have brains that work the best, according to Amen.

“Love and connection are more important to longevity than vegetables,” he said.

Making a good brain great involves participation in eight “brain centered” principles that can change one’s life.

He advises people to “eat right to think right” — and says that what you eat matters, advising lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats in the diet.

The brain can be kept young through mental exercise. Learning new things is essential for new brain connections, Amen says.

Also, coordination exercises help the brain, because whatever is good for the heart is good for the brain, and physical exercise boosts blood flow to the brain and balances neurotransmitters.

Coordination exercises, such as dance, learning music, sports and juggling, improve processing speed and judgment.It’s important to eradicate ‘ANTs’ (automatic negative thoughts) that can unbalance the physical function of the brain.

Listening to music such as Mozart’s Sonata in D for two pianos can help heal the brain, he says.

Learning how to counteract stress with meditation or self-relaxation is essential to keeping the brain healthy.

Also, he advises people to supercharge neurons with specific supplements, especially a high potency multiple vitamin, antioxidants and fish oil.

Last, but not least, Amen reminds us that the brain can change.

“You’re not stuck with the brain that you have. You can make it better,” he said.