Inspiration for Brain Fitness

A recent study from Northwestern University researcher Mark Beeman extends his work on creativity and inspiration. We all know those moments when we’ve been struggling with a problem for a while, and then suddenly we see the answer. An article in the New York Times gives an example: what do “trip,” “house,” and “goal” have in common? Think about if for a moment. It isn’t the kind of problem that you can sit down and work through, like a math question. Even if you start going through possibilities in your mind, you may eventually have a moment when you see the answer (they all can come after “field”).

Beeman shows that people can do this kind of puzzle better when they are in a relaxed frame of mind, such as after seeing a comedy video. Beeman speculates that at such a time, your mind is more able to make the kind of new connections that help to solve this kind of problem.

This has implications for understanding the neurochemistry of puzzle solving. Why do we enjoy puzzles, games, and problems? One possible answer is that working them stimulates the release of the brain chemical dopamine in the parts of your brain that are associated with pleasure (interestingly, drugs of abuse also stimulate the release of dopamine). Working and especially solving puzzles may be inherently rewarding because of dopamine release, explaining why so many of us can spend so much time on them.

Dopamine is key in understanding cognitive abilities such as working memory and psychomotor speed, as it is critically important to both of them. One theory of the cognitive changes that occur with increasing age implicates lower levels of dopamine in the brain, so anything that helps keep that chemical system active is probably important.

Beeman’s work suggests that getting to the solution may also involve other brain systems, or at least a change in the status of brain systems that focus attention. Instead of tightly focused attention on the problem, being able to disconnect from it in a limited way may facilitate the problem’s solution.

The bottom line: Developing the ability to let go and relax when solving a problem may be an important part of getting to the solution. Deadly serious practice of cognitive tasks may promote your brain’s fitness, but getting to the answer of some problem may be facilitated by relaxing.

Eating for Brain Fitness

A lot has been written on the Web about eating for brain fitness. Almost anyone might want to know if one magic food can make your mind clear and keep your memory sharp. When it comes to eating, there are no magic bullets, but studies give us some direction.

First, you should know that no really good study has been shown that any food or diet can prevent memory problems. That being said, there are some basic dietary principles that make sense.

One of the most basic principles of eating for brain fitness is to eat so that you can maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown that excess fat can produce inflammatory substances that have been associated cognitive decline.

Sticking with a diet that helps you avoid excessive weight gain can also help you avoid developing something called the metabolic syndrome. That’s a combination of things that are associated with risk for diabetes and other diseases. One of the facets of metabolic syndrome is having high levels of blood sugar. Your brain needs sugar to work, but paradoxically if you have high levels of sugar in your body a lot of the time, you can have low levels of it in your brain.

Eating a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, rich in whole grains, and low in saturated fats may help you keep your brain sharp. In particular, the Mediterranean diet has been related to lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease and slower decline in people who already have it.

If there are specific foods that are good for brain fitness, it’s not clear. Colorful berries, though, are high in substances called antioxidants and may help preserve your brain function. Other foods that may have an impact include leafy green vegetables (full of B vitamins that are key to maintaining your brain’s function) and other colorful foods.

Research doesn’t really support that idea that any one food is a magic bullet for keeping your brain functioning at its best, in spite of what you may read on the Web. The truth is probably a little more complicated.