Episode 02: Boost Your Brain- Use It or Lose It

Dr. Majid Fotuhi

This is a must listen for everyone. Dr. Fotuhi not only tells us how to keep our brains active and healthy as we age, but he explains why things like sleep apnea, high blood pressure, lack of sleep and stress cause our brain to deteriorate. The idea is to create a very healthy reserve of brain power, and he tells us how to do it.

Dr. Majid Fotuhi is a Harvard- and Johns Hopkins-trained neurologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Fotuhi is one of the foremost authorities in the field of memory, concussion, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, and brain vitality in older adults. Through his 25 years of teaching, clinical work, and neuroscience research experience, Dr. Fotuhi developed a multidisciplinary approach to treating brain function disorders. In addition to treating patients in his current role as medical director of NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center, Dr. Fotuhi conducts clinical research, writes books, and gives public lectures about brain health, prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, and expanding brain capacity.

In addition to his published research, Dr. Fotuhi is the author of three books, including the recently released Boost Your Brain, the New Art and Science Behind Enhanced Brain Performance. He serves as an affiliate staff member at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Fotuhi's Three Tips to Boost Our Brains and Remain Vital and Thriving:

1. Memorize 5 new names every day. Memorizing names is not as hard as people think it is. By trying hard enough you will get good at it. Make a book, a little index card, something on your phone – memorize five names. It could be the name of the bank teller you have seen or someone in your building – football players or actors. Five names a day. Start in the morning, and at the end of the day you should be able to look at the pictures and say who is who.

*Note: Dr. Fotuhi also has a great technique in his book, Boost Your Brain, to memorize 20 random words!

2. Do 5 minutes of nothing once a day. Close the door, turn off all the phones and just sit there and enjoy the life that you have. Just sit there and marvel that as much as there are problems in your life; you are a lucky person.

3. Every day do something to make another person happy for no good reason. Do good deeds for other people when they least expect it. The beneficiary of that is you, more than the recipient of whatever you did. When you do something nice for someone else, you feel good about yourself. Feeling good about yourself reduces levels of cortisol, makes you calmer and makes you happier.