The Invincible Brain: The Clinically Proven Plan to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life by Majid Fotuhi

This chapter contains several case studies of people who improved a great deal by taking Majid’s program. Of 129 patients he saw 84% of them improved significantly. The five pillars of the program are fitness, sleep, nutrition, mindset, and brain training.

This is where you determine which of your daily habits or medical issues may impact your brain performance and what you need to work on to become sharper. Start by saying why you wish to improve, your short-term goals, your current % of your gaol state, and your role model(s). Then there 40 questions that let you assess your current state. Next there are blood tests and other tests your doctor can help you with like hearing, vision, cardiac, and scans. There is a brain fitness calculator you can self-score. Finally, there are also several websites you can use for cognitive testing.

Exercise is the fastest, easiest, and most effective lifestyle intervention for making a noticeable difference in brain health. It improves mood and self-esteem. Exercise works by increasing the number of mitochondria in your cells that create energy for all body functions. Exercise also creates nitric oxide, which reduces blood pressure, plaque formation, and inflammation. Your bones will be stronger and you will be happier.
Consider consulting an exercise physiologist at a local gym to help you set up a plan, and be sure to set up a schedule, and stick to it. The key is to slowly increase your effort towards goals that you set. Too much, too soon can result in injury. You need a mix of aerobic exercise, weight bearing effort, balance training, stretching, and meditation. Try to do some each day, but take a day off when your body needs it. Majid lists no less that 52 activities to choose from. Be sure pick the ones you like the most. Include some you do with others to enhance your social life. Mix some that are easy with some that are strenuous, but stop if you feel pain.
An important indicator of your fitness is your VO2 max. This is a measure of how much oxygen your body can deliver to your cells per minute. Here is a link you can use to determine your VO2. VO2 Max Calculator – Your doctor can also arrange for a professional VO2 max test.

For people with sleep problems, this chapter alone is worth the price of the entire book. Sleep is necessary. This is when your body restores energy, repairs muscles, cleans the brain of waste, repairs injuries and organ damage, consolidates memories, and processes experiences. Getting good sleep is the next most important thing after exercise. Seven to eight hours is recommended. If this is a problem, consider having your doctor order a sleep study, which may be done at home.
Anxiety, depression, or thinking negative thoughts interfere with sleep, and can reduce brain volume. Poor sleep leads to hypertension, obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. Along with a positive attitude you should address any medical and psychological issues. There are strategies here for people with obstructive sleep apnea. There are also 26 tips starting with going to bed and getting up the same time every day.

Your goal should be to choose food that you find enjoyable but still healthy for your brain. Keep in mind that you are also feeding the micro organisms that populate your large intestine. Feed them what they can eat that you can’t digest (prebiotics) such as fiber, and eat food that contains healthy micro organisms (probiotics). These are fermented foods like yogurt and fermented vegetables.
Step one is to eliminate and much sugar and salt as possible. Give up soda (including those with artificial sweeteners), junk food, and highly processed foods. Sugar is terrible for your brain and addictive, so this may not be easy. There is detail here about why obesity is bad for your brain. Avoid refined grains like white bread, white rice, and pasta made from wheat. Focus on greens, berries, whole fruits (not juices) nuts (walnuts are the best), fatty fish like salmon, olive oil, seeds, beans, and green tea. As for supplements, Majid suggests omega-3 fatty acids, turmeric, quercerin, resveratrol, B12, D3, and iron.

You can change your thoughts, but this won’t happen if you don’t believe you can. Thoughts lead to emotions which lead to behaviors which lead to more thoughts. You can enter this cycle at any point. Depression is worrying about the past. Anxiety is worrying about the future. Stress is worrying about the present. The common feature is worry, which usually involves things you can’t control. Clinical depression, anxiety, or bi-polar disorder need professional help, but for most of us, working to change our mindset is enough.
Cortisol is a brain chemical that is bad for your brain. If a person upsets you, assume it’s their problem and not yours. Try to feel compassion for them and forgive them. Ask yourself if your thoughts are based in reality and if your problems are really as big as they seem. Some stress can be helpful as it allows to focus, makes you more alert, and improves performance. It is called eustress. Appreciate the good things in your life. Do things that bring you joy. Socialize with positive people, meditate or pray, volunteer, exercise vigorously, and try yoga. Majid suggests some biofeedback apps. He also offers 12 mindset and stress management practices you can choose from.

Everybody can get smarter, with effort. Exercise the muscle that is your brain. Use it or lose it. Like you should mix up your exercise, you should also do some brain cross-training. Try do mix in exercises for attention, memory, executive function, and speed. Five to ten minutes a day is all you need. The key is to do it daily. Suggested apps are Lumosity, Brain HQ, Elevate, Name Shark, and Peak.
There are synergistic benefits of exercising your brain and body at the same time. Racquet sports require rapid decision-making, hand-eye coordination, and strategic thinking. You can also listen to stimulating content while you walk or run. Using a smartphone and multitasking on your computer both disrupt focus. Turn off the phone and the Internet if you are doing computer work that doesn’t require it. Things like daydreaming and taking a quite walk can promote creativity. There are 24 ideas here for brain training.

Although this book talks about a 12-week program, it’s really a program for life. Once you sort out the five pillars you need to keep going or you will fall back to your older, negative life-style. Majid was the first to publish the results of this type of program, but he hopes to see supportive results from others soon. With a significant cognitive improvement of 80% of his patients, he is on pretty solid ground. He has also seen most of his patients continue to improve.
Now it’s time to create your brain portfolio and assess the results. You should feel happier if you stick to it and do it right. Try to make your leisure life compatible with the exercise, diet, mindset and brain training pillars, and the sleep pillar should improve too. If you are happier your relationships should improve as people enjoy being with happy people. The book ends with 26 goals you can choose from. It’s the only body and brain you will ever have so take care of it. Good luck.

Majid is an adjunct professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins Mind/Brain Institute and of psychological and brain sciences at George Washington University. He is the the medical director of The NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center. He has been interviewed by more than 50 media outlets. He has published many highly respected international journals. His website is drfotuhi.com.