The ADHD Doctor: “I’ve Scanned 250,000 Brains” You (Steven Bartlett) Have ADHD! & Coffee Is Damaging Your Brain!!! Dr Daniel Amen

1. You Can Improve Your Brain

Understand that your brain is not static; you can actively make it better or worse daily through your actions and habits, offering an empowering perspective on brain health.

2. Avoid Sugar and Fruit Juice

Eliminate sugar and fruit juice from your diet as they are pro-inflammatory, raise blood sugar, erode blood vessels, reduce brain blood flow, and contribute to obesity, diabetes, depression, and dementia.

3. Kill Automatic Negative Thoughts

Whenever you experience negative emotions, write down your thoughts and question their absolute truth, how they make you feel and act, and their outcome, then consider the opposite thought to manage your mind.

4. Avoid All Alcohol Consumption

Cease drinking alcohol, even casually, as it damages the brain’s white matter, reduces blood flow, increases cancer risk, and lowers heart rate variability, negatively impacting decision-making and overall health.

5. Limit Social Media Exposure

Reduce daily screen time, especially social media, to under three and a half hours to prevent wearing out brain pleasure centers, which can lead to increased anxiety, depression, addiction, obesity, and ADHD.

6. Increase Brain Blood Flow

Enhance cerebral blood flow through regular exercise, supplements like Ginkgo, and consuming foods such as beets, oregano, rosemary, and cinnamon, while avoiding constrictors like caffeine and nicotine.

7. Prevent Head Trauma

Protect your brain from head injuries, as even minor impacts can cause lasting damage due to the brain’s soft consistency against the hard, bony skull, impacting lifelong function.

8. Create a One-Page Life Plan

Write down specific desires for your relationships, work, money, and physical, emotional, and spiritual health on a single page, then align your daily behaviors to achieve these clear goals.

9. Process Emotional Trauma

Address past emotional traumas, which can manifest as a ‘diamond pattern’ in brain scans, using treatments like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to calm the emotional brain and reduce their impact.

10. Identify and Remove Toxins

Investigate potential toxins in your environment and body, such as mold, heavy metals, and chemicals in personal care products (using apps like Think Dirty), as they can cause brain damage and stay in your system unless actively removed.

11. Practice Daily Breath Work

Implement the 15-second breath technique (8 seconds in, hold 1.5, 4 seconds out, hold 1.5) four to eight times daily to break panic attacks, increase heart rate variability, and improve overall brain health.

12. Optimize Vitamin D and Omega-3

Ensure adequate levels of Vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids, as deficiencies are widespread and linked to mental health problems; consider supplements or increased fish intake, especially for those with darker skin.

13. Treat Sleep Apnea Seriously

If you snore loudly, stop breathing at night, and are chronically tired, get tested and treat sleep apnea, as it starves the brain of oxygen, triples Alzheimer’s risk, and mimics early Alzheimer’s on brain scans.

14. Practice Daily Gratitude

Before bed, review your day hour by hour, focusing on ‘what went well’ to cultivate happiness, set up positive dreams, and feed positive neural pathways in your brain.

15. Hire Complementary Skills

For entrepreneurs, especially those with ADD, strategically hire individuals who are organized and excel in areas where you are vulnerable (e.g., finance, operations) to complement your creative strengths.

16. Play Racket Sports for Longevity

Engage in racket sports like tennis, table tennis, or pickleball, as studies show participants live longer than those in other sports, indicating significant brain and physical health benefits.

17. Manage Weight for Brain Size

Actively manage your weight by counting calories and prioritizing quality food, as increased weight directly correlates with a decrease in the physical size and function of your brain, accelerating aging and inflammation.

18. Utilize Saunas for Detoxification

Incorporate saunas into your routine, as studies from Northern Europe link frequent sauna use to a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and it is an effective method for detoxifying the body from heavy metals and other toxins.

19. Walk Like You’re Late

Maintain a brisk walking pace (e.g., three miles an hour at age 80) as a form of exercise, which boosts blood flow, increases beneficial brain factors, and is strongly correlated with longevity.

20. Consider Cold Plunges for Dopamine

If you don’t have heart problems, try cold plunges to dramatically increase dopamine levels, reduce inflammation and pain, and potentially alleviate depressive symptoms.