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Dancing Circles Around Dementia

Dementia is loss of brain function that affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. No one wants to lose their faculties, and few things are more horrific than seeing your loved ones go through this hell.

There are specific things you can do to decrease your risk factors for developing dementia:

  • Control your weight;
  • Control your blood pressure — not too high OR too low;
  • Decrease your intake of sugar, gluten, and other inflammatory foods;
  • Eat your fruits and veggies;
  • Eat plenty of good fats;
  • Supplement with resveratrol, astaxanthin, EPA/DHA and other high-quality brain protectors;
  • Socialize with others;
  • Keep your brain active, learning, and challenged;
  • Exercise.

These are all important to do habitually. But there is one specific activity that has been proven to not only help prevent the onset of dementia, but to also REVERSE dementia in a person who has already developed it.

DANCING.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that adults who danced frequently had a significantly decreased risk (76%) of developing dementia. This is amazing of and by itself. But the study also showed that DANCING WAS THE ONLY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAT REDUCED DEMENTIA compared with those who participated in other activities such as golf, tennis, swimming, bicycling, walking, and housework (some would say that last one actually causes dementia!).

Dancing has been shown in numerous studies to have other benefits too, such as improving balance, coordination, and physical conditioning, as well as increasing socialization.

Dancing uses complex areas of our brain, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. When we do activities that are novel and challenging, these areas of the brain can rewire and become stronger. This is the principal of NEUROPLASTICITY (see my blog post entitled, “Did You Know Your Brain Is Plastic?” Researchers think that the increase in neural synapses achieved during dancing are what reverse the signs of dementia.

So put on your dancing shoes, turn on some music, invite your friends, and dance the night away! You’ll remember those moments — and others — long into the future.

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A Functional Neurologist’s Secret to Help Stop SNORING

Are You The Snorer or the Snoree?

Statistics say that 30-40% of adults snore. Not only is it annoying and sleep-depriving to those who may be unlucky enough to share a room with you (there’s even a syndrome named after this, called Spousal Arousal Syndrome), snoring typically means that you are not getting restful, restorative sleep. Lack of sleep leads to all kinds of other problems, including increased rate of aging and age-related illnesses (heart disease, dementia, and balance disorders, to name a few,) impaired immune system function, and decreased alertness, memory and energy. Lack of sleep messes with your moods, too, and makes you grouchy. You know it’s true.

Studies have shown that you cannot dream when you snore. And up to 40% of snorers also suffer from sleep apnea, a dangerous condition where the person will actually stop breathing for periods of time during sleep. This increases risks of stoke and heart attack, and leaves the person feeling unrefreshed upon awakening. Oxygen is one thing the brain does not ever, ever, ever like to be without, and neurons start dying within minutes of being deprived (if sleep apnea is a problem for you, please see your doctor ASAP.)

Why, Why, Why??

In order to have a solution, we must understand the problem first. Let’s talk about why you or your loved-one snores. You may already know that being middle-aged, overweight, and inactive are precursors to sawing logs noisily through the night. But the reason these are risk factors is because they correlate with your soft palate is getting weak and sloppy.

Your soft palate is right behind your hard palate, which is the hard part of the roof of your mouth.  If you run your tongue along the roof of your mouth from front to back, you will be able to feel where the hard palate stops and the soft palate begins. The soft palate looks like a semicircle at the entrance of the throat, and the uvula is the punching-bag-looking- thing that hangs down the middle of it.

If you look in a mirror, open your mouth really wide, and say, “ah ah ah,” you should see your soft palate raise and lower. You may notice that only one side raises, or that one side gets tired after two or three repetitions, and won’t raise as much the more you say “ah ah ah.”  This is called a palatal paresis, or a weakness in the soft palate. My mentor called it a “sloppy palate.” No one wants a sloppy palate!

When the soft palate is completely elevated, it blocks the nasal cavity from the mouth. Try this: raise your soft palate and then try to breathe through your nose.  If your soft palate is working right, you won’t be able to get air into your lungs.

Another function of the soft palate is to create a vacuum when it’s elevated, to close off the opening to your lungs when you eat. One sign of a very weak or sloppy palate is if you frequently cough and choke while you’re drinking, because the liquid “goes down the wrong pipe” (the bronchial tubes instead of the esophagus.)

Our soft palate should always maintain a certain amount of tone, even when we are sleeping. The tone of the soft palate mainly comes from the brainstem (the brainstem also controls breathing, blood pressure, and other automatic functions through our autonomic nervous system.) If your frontal lobe is firing strongly into your brainstem as it was designed to do, then your soft palate will have good tone, even when you’re sleeping. If one side is weak, it can mean that one side of the brainstem is not getting the same amount of signaling as the other side.  This is something to address with your functional neurologist.

If the palate is very weak and sloppy, it can cut off the flow of oxygen from the nasal cavity and mouth into the lungs, especially when you are lying on your back. This is what causes snoring. And if it cuts off the air supply for extended periods of time, it is called sleep apnea.

What’s the Solution?

You probably already know that increasing your activity and sticking with an exercise program is going to help. Lose some weight, and get moving.  That’s key for most people, for just about any problem they suffer from. But I’m going to share a secret with you that can target your snoring problem even more effectively: exercise your soft palate.

It may seem odd to “exercise” something that should work on it’s own. But when the automatic things in our body stop working properly, there are consequences. Think of your bladder, your lungs, and your heart. Thankfully, your palate is a muscle that is easy to exercise, and you can usually get it functioning again.

***Disclaimer***  Talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program.  Even one for your palate.

And just how do you put your soft palate on an exercise regimen? Weight resistance training for the soft palate is as easy as GARGLING!

That’s right, gargling. Put some fluid toward the back of your throat, tilt your head back a little, and gargle away. If you do this before and after you brush your teeth every morning and every night, you will get in a good habit that may just stop that snoring ridiculousness for good.

A word of caution here: if you find that you frequently inhale liquids down into your lungs, or if your soft palate is very, very weak, you could be at danger of choking if you try to gargle with liquid. Please be careful and try it first with someone there with you. Certain medications can make this even more problematic. Run this by your doctor if you are taking any medications, OR if you are self-medicating. Alcohol, for example, can make this exercise much harder than it should be. [Interestingly, most medications that people use to help them sleep or to decrease stress/anxiety, whether prescription or not, decrease the tone in the soft palate and can make your snoring problem worse.]

You can start by gargling without any liquid first, or by simply saying “ah, ah, ah” successive times to increase the strength of your palate, and gradually it will get strong enough for you to gargle with liquid.

Start with just a few seconds before and after brushing your teeth (another word of caution: harsh mouthwashes are not the best thing to use. Use a natural mouthwash (dilute it if it’s strong), or plain water, or water with a couple drops of hydrogen peroxide in it.  Warm salt water works great too, especially if you have a sore throat or swollen tonsils.)  Gradually work your way up until you are safely able to gargle for 20 seconds at a time.

For an “advanced” soft palate workout, try to “sing” while you are gargling. No one’s going to be able to understand what you’re singing. But different tones and pitches make your palate work differently, and make it even stronger.

Commit to trying this for three months, and you’ll be amazed. I’d love to hear back from you to hear your stories and testimonials, and answer any questions you may have.  Here’s to a good, quiet night’s sleep!

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Did You Know Your Brain Is Plastic?

optimum brain functionNo, I don’t mean it’s literally made of plastic. But it is changeable, malleable, and able to grow — no matter what your age.

The brain is packed-full of cells called neurons, whose job is to receive and transmit information. They use chemical messengers called neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, to carry out their job descriptions, activating some areas, and putting the breaks on others, so that we can move, eat, breathe, laugh, love, and live. So what’s this “plastic” business all about?

Plasticity is a term used to denote that the brain is changeable, malleable, and able to rewire. The primary way our brain “grows” is by creating new and complex pathways that connect different areas to one another. All of the things we learn and the events we experience throughout our lives create connections, or pathways, between brain cells. The more we do a particular activity, or the more profoundly an experience effects us, the stronger and deeper these pathways become.  Only 20% of our pathways are “hard-wired”, or common between each human being. That means the vast majority of your brain is made up of pathways that are unique to you: your genetics, experiences, thoughts, and activities.

Neuroplasticity is truly a “use it or lose it” phenomenon. The more times you activate a pathway (perform an activity, think a thought, act out a behavior, etc.,) the stronger and more efficient the pathway will become, and the easier it will be to fire that pathway in the future. This is great when it comes to learning to play a musical instrument, speaking a new language, developing better coordination and sports performance, or even becoming a more positive thinker.

But there is another edge to this sword. Some experiences are so strong that they can create a pathway almost instantly. Experiencing extreme pain, for example, can create a pathway that can effectively exist long after what actually caused the pain is gone. This partially explains why some people suffer from pain disorders such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) or Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS). A traumatic event can also “singe” a pathway into our brain, and can lead to anxiety or panic that can later make a person physiologically react even when they are not actually in danger, a condition known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)

So, now you know your brain is plastic. But can you really rewire it?  Absolutely. That’s what functional neurology is all about. The key is to use plasticity to your advantage.  Stay tuned to future blog posts to learn more.

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Anxiously Awaiting Treatment for Anxiety?

□ Constant worry;

 □ Extreme reactions to stress;

□ Inability to sit still or relax;

□ Insomnia;

□ Trouble concentrating;

□ Feeling that your brain is in constant over-drive even though you are fatigued;

□ Always fearing the worst;

□ Unable to turn off negative thoughts.

If you identify with any of the above symptoms, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder. And you’re not alone. According to the National Institute of Health, anxiety is the most common health disorder in America, affecting 19 million US adults, or about 18% of the population.

Fortunately, anxiety disorders are highly treatable conditions for the majority of sufferers. Today there are more options than ever, including natural treatment methods that safe and effective for patients who are looking for alternatives to prescription drugs.

WHAT’S GOT YOU SO WORKED UP?

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional affect, usually accompanied by a physiological sensation that is characterized by worry, doubt, and the painful awareness that one is powerless to control situations. The anxious person is hyper-vigilant, tense and insecure in most situations. Their heightened-negative state can lead to other health problems and bodily complaints, such as depression, chronic pain, digestive problems, insomnia, and cardiorespiratory irregularities that can be particularly prominent in those who suffer from anxiety.

Common symptoms and associated conditions can include:

  • Cycles of depression
  • Fatigue
  • Adrenal gland disorders
  • Tight muscles
  • Restless Leg Syndrome
  • Indigestion, acid reflux, GERD
  • Light or sound sensitivity
  • Attention deficits
  • Trouble shifting attention from negative thoughts
  • Social phobias
  • Muscle twitches or tics
  • Snoring
  • Impaired bladder control
  • Shallow breathing
  • Bad posture

In clinical practice, I have found that people who suffer from anxiety disorders tend to be very sensitive to chemicals, medications, and even some natural therapies, such as deep muscle massage and intense exercise. These individuals thrive instead on gentle and restorative therapies. Special precautions must be taken with environmental chemicals and pollutants and to limit side-effects of medications and even nutritional supplements.

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DEALING WITH

There are serious medical conditions that may mimic anxiety or accompany anxiety, and these disorders must be taken seriously and treated appropriately. These may include: heart conditions which are frequently accompanied by dread and apprehension; hyperthyroidism; systemic lupus erythematosus; anemia; blood sugar disorders; respiratory conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia.  All of these conditions can all result in symptoms that can be confused with or cause anxiety. Drugs like caffeine, alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, and even many medications, both prescriptive and over-the-counter, can all precipitate anxiety attacks.

Most people that have an anxiety disorder have another comorbid (that is, co-occurring and often related) condition, such as depression. Furthermore, there are actually several types of anxiety disorders, and one person can suffer from more than one type. It’s important to realize this because prescriptive medications can work wonderfully for some types, and not well for others. The more you know about what you suffer from, the more likely it is that you will be able to get appropriate treatment for your particular problem.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

There are a couple of things that are good to-dos for just about anyone who suffers from anxiety.  These include:

1.  Low impact, low intensity consistent exercise. Good options include walking and water aerobics (but be careful of chlorinated pools.)

2.  Diet and Nutrition.

  • The best diet is one that is high in protein (such as fish, chicken and turkey) and essential fatty acids (EPA, DHA, GLA, ALA,) and includes lots of vegetables.
  • Avoid caffeine and other stimulants which can be found in coffee, tea, diet foods and drinks, energy drinks, sodas, chocolate, and some pain relievers.
  • Avoid simple sugars, including honey, high fructose corn syrup, and white flour.
  • Avoid excito-toxins (such as MSG or hydrolyzed vegetable protein,) artificial ingredients or sweeteners (such as aspartame,) and preservatives.
  • Dietary supplements should include broad spectrum B vitamins, Essential Fatty Acids, antioxidants, and CoQ10 just to name a few. Your specific nutritional needs should be determined by a qualified healthcare practitioner.

3.  Use natural products in your home for cleaning and for personal care. They have the added benefit of being safer for the environment.

4.  Relaxation Techniques.

  • Breathing exercises
  • Massage (avoid deep tissue work)
  • Meditation
  • Stretching

5.  Counseling with a qualified licensed professional, minister, or other trusted source.

I NEED MORE HELP!

When an anxiety disorder begins to take over your life and affect your work and your personal relationships, further treatment is warranted. As mentioned above, pharmaceutical intervention may be a good option for you. Talk to your doctor about prescribing an anti-anxiety medication or antidepressant.

However, if you’ve already tried this route with limited success, cannot tolerate the side-effects, or are simply looking for a more natural approach, there are other options.

STILL NOT ENOUGH?

There are literally millions of combinations of neurological pathways and circuitry that functional neurologists use to achieve the desired effects. To affect these pathways, we may use a combination of:

  • Feedback from muscles and joints, utilizing specific adjustments and neuro-specific exercises;
  • Light and sound modifications;
  • Balance and coordination optimization (vestibular rehabilitation);
  • Cognitive learning exercises, such as number patterns or visualization techniques;
  • Oxygen optimization techniques, such as postural enhancement, rib and chest expansion, along with breathing exercises;
  • Customized nutritional plans focusing on the fuel delivery, metabolism and detoxification;
  • Targeted Amino Acid Therapy which can include neurotransmitter testing to identify imbalances and to help to optimize the chemicals in the brain (such as serotonin and dopamine).

Since you are a unique individual, you need a customized plan that is perfect for you.  Contact us today to schedule a consultation.  It’s time to tackle YOUR anxiety disorder.