Free Boost Your Brain by Majid Fotuhi Page B

from computer use usually resolve once you stop using your computer, but they can also be avoided by limiting glare, adjusting your distance from your computer screen, and correcting minor vision problems.
    Insomnia Insomnia is a critical sleep disorder that can reduce brain function, as you’ll read in chapter 9 . Often people ignore their insomnia, considering it just one more fact of life to be dealt with. They don’t realize that insufficient sleep could be shrinking their brains and crimping their cognitive performance. What’s more, they fail to realize that insomnia can be treated. In addition to many herbal supplements or various medications, meditation and neurofeedback have been shown to reduce sleep problems, either directly or by reducing anxiety.
    Snoring Snoring can be benign, but it can also be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder that starves the brain of oxygen, seriously shrinking the cortex and hippocampus. Unfortunately, it’s often a problem that goes ignored or is even laughed about. (Patients sometimes gleefully report they get the master bedroom to themselves because their log sawing has driven their spouses to the guest room.) But treatment for OSA, as you’ll read in chapter 9, can be highly effective, reversing the damage done in the brain.
    Medications There are a host of medications, especially in high doses, that can temporarily affect cognitive function. These include anxiety medications, such as Valium; sleeping medications, such as Ambien; narcotic pain medications, such as Percocet; and older antidepressant medications, such as amitriptyline. I often favor minimizing my patients’ medications as much as possible. Medications that dull your senses and prevent you from absorbing information can lead to disuse atrophy—shrinkage of the brain—in the long run.
    Smoking In addition to boosting your cancer and other health risks, smoking raises your risk for brain shrinkage and cognitive decline.
    Lung Problems Uncontrolled asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or emphysema make it harder to exercise strenuously, limiting oxygen flow to the brain and putting the brakes on brain growth.
    Gum Disease Studies have linked gum disease to an increased risk of inflammation in the body and to memory impairment and dementia. 5 That may be because such conditions are often interlinked with other health problems—diabetes raises the risk of dental problems, for example—or brain-shrinking lifestyle habits.
    Thyroid Conditions Hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough of the hormone that controls metabolism, is very common among women in particular. But men can suffer from it too, and both can suffer from hyperthyroidism, in which the thyroid gland produces too much hormone. Hypothyroidism can contribute to a variety of problems, including obesity, which, as you’ll soon read, is a brain shrinker. Hyperthyroidism, meanwhile, can cause nervousness, fatigue, or even heart failure, which also shrinks the brain. 6
    Cardiovascular Problems High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes can all lead to cardiovascular problems, which increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. In addition, poor blood flow to the brain dramatically shrinks the brain. 7 Although heredity plays a part in these risk factors, all are greatly reducible through lifestyle changes, and treating these conditions has been shown to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
    Liver Damage Alcohol abuse and certain other conditions can cause liver damage, which results in increased ammonia in the blood and indirectly damages the brain. In addition, alcohol abuse by itself, even without liver failure, directly causes brain atrophy or shrinkage, especially in the pathways linked to memory and attention.
    Obesity Excess weight and obesity—particularly in the form of belly fat—are known brain shrinkers, reducing cognitive function in the short term and raising