Rewire Your Brain, Reimagine Your Life

Did you know your brain is essential for everything you do? It influences how you think, feel, act, and interact with others. At the Amen Clinics, we have examined over 63,000 brain scans in the past 20 years. It's evident that the brain is crucial for judgment, personality, character, and innovation. When your brain functions well, so do you. Conversely, when your brain is troubled, you are more likely to encounter difficulties in life.

On the screen, you see two brain SPECT scans. SPECT is a sophisticated brain imaging study we use to examine blood flow and activity patterns, revealing how the brain operates. It shows areas with good activity, low activity, and high activity, helping us balance the brain's function. The scan on the left is healthy, with full, even, symmetrical activity. The scan on the right shows an alcoholic's brain, where alcohol has a toxic effect on brain function. While many believe that two glasses of red wine a day are good for the heart, it is not beneficial for the brain.

A healthy brain enhances happiness, health, wealth, wisdom, creativity, and innovation. An unhealthy brain, due to injury, poor diet, toxic environments, or other factors, leads to sadness, illness, poverty, lower intelligence, rigidity, and inflexibility—the antithesis of innovation.

Your brain is the most complex organ in the universe, with an estimated 100 billion nerve cells, each connected to others by up to 10,000 connections, surpassing the number of stars in the universe. Information travels in your brain at about 268 miles per hour, unless you're impaired by substances like alcohol. Despite being only 2% of your body weight, the brain consumes 20-30% of your daily calories, making it the most expensive real estate in your body. On average, we lose 85,000 brain cells daily, but behavior can accelerate or decelerate this aging process. Thus, the health of your brain directly impacts innovation.

Several factors harm the brain: brain injury, substance abuse, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, poor diet, lack of exercise, and Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs). On the flip side, positive social connections, continuous learning, a healthy diet, sufficient sleep, and practices like meditation and gratitude can significantly benefit brain health.

Three brain scans of 60-year-olds illustrate this: one with Alzheimer's, one from an overweight individual with sleep apnea, and one healthy brain. The latter is the desired state. Brain imaging can inspire "brain envy," motivating better habits. My brain scan at 37 showed concerning results despite healthy behaviors, prompting lifestyle changes that improved my brain health by 52.

Brain imaging has shown that good decisions today can improve brain function within two months. With a healthier brain, all aspects of life—body, finances, relationships, and innovation—improve. Moreover, understanding the development of the brain and the importance of protecting it can lead to better decision-making and taking environmental toxins and weight management more seriously. Early detection and prevention of Alzheimer's, expected to triple in the next 25 years, are also crucial.

Creating a brain-smart world starts with individuals, families, schools, churches, businesses, and communities. For example, the Daniel Plan at Saddleback Church focuses on holistic health, resulting in significant weight loss and health improvements among participants. By addressing diet and lifestyle changes in schools and other institutions, we can foster a healthier society.

Brain health and innovation are closely linked. Let's work together to create a brain-healthy world.