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Everyday
Encounters with Brain Stimulants
It is not difficult to consider one's brain
too abstract to care about. But no one will deny the importance of this
fascinating organ. What might surprise you are the common occurrences in
everyday life that stimulate and subdue brain function.
TRANSPORTATION
Often, patients arrive in our office after having taken a cab and
report unsteadiness, dizziness and/or nausea. In the city where
inhabitants use automobiles less frequently than most American cities,
what is it about riding in a car that causes these neurological symptoms?
It could be because of an inability to process the visual images one takes
in when looking out the window of a moving vehicle. It is a tremendous
stimulus for your brain to process all of the images, signs and symbols
reported to the body while traveling in a car. Some are unable to read
while riding in a bus or car without feeling sick. If you're one of those
people, have you ever been able to read on the subway without a problem?
Part of the reason could be that there are no images whizzing by the
window, only the occasional tunnel light. The instances of dizziness are
often brain under-connectivity. For example, signals from your eyes don't
match what your inner ears and body are telling your brain, thus you feel
unstable and off balance.
Parents and Teachers
Developmental
Delay Resources begins its Fall lecture series entitled: TROUBLE-SHOOTING
Behavior & Learning Problems for Kids with DSI, ADHD, LD, PDD and
Autism.
Dr.
Theirl will speak on the neurological
connection
on Monday,
October
18th
For
more information, call
800-497-0944
or
go to
www.devdelay.org
The vestibular system (inner ear) is that
which tells us what direction our head is moving. When you challenge this
system (like spinning or standing up too fast), it may not be able to
properly tell the brain where you are in space and for a moment, you feel
off balance, queasy or dizzy. When this occurs more often than not, or the
feeling sticks with you, it can be an indication of neurologic
dysfunction. Dizziness and motion sickness are in the top 5 complaints of
my patients. As your doctor, I work to help strengthen connections between
your eyes, inner ears and body so that your brain knows exactly how to
process your surroundings.
CHEMICALS
Sadly, living in the city exposes each of us to an unknown amount of
chemicals from something as simple as air freshener to pollution. The
brain's duty is to work with the digestive and immune systems to clear
threatening substances. Patients often report improved health after a
detoxification program. Herbal, dietary and homeopathic are a few types of
detoxification routes.
TELEVISION
As much as I enjoy the occasional evening of TV or a movie, there is
much evidence to suggest a detrimental effect on one's neurological
function, especially in children. The topic is too immense to cover all
the integrated aspects in this newsletter, so instead I will focus on the
neurophysiologic effect of watching a television screen. Watching TV is
like a trick on your brain. Though your eyes see a "real life"
situation, the sound is not realistic, there are no smells, there is no
environmental representation (like feeling the wind or warmth of the sun),
etc. The quick pace of television images also challenges the brain in a
way that is not natural. It takes in an enormous amount of light
stimulation and information while watching TV, but it does not have the
capacity to make sense of all that is coming in causing confusion, lack of
reaction and energy loss.
Visual input received from sources other
than television is important to take into account when one is struggling
with attention and concentration difficulties. When a person's language
centers, which are located in the left hemisphere, are not working
optimally, I might suggest they sit on a certain side of the classroom to
help exercise that area with the goal of increasing the ability to focus
and concentrate. Vision is indeed a very powerful sense and eye
coordination stimulation in the office is often key to helping the brain
become balanced and work at its optimum.
PHARMACEUTICALS
As you know, most pharmaceuticals have some kind of side affects, but
what is of interest to us here are those that have neurological side
affects. It is not uncommon for a patient of mine to be on a prescription
drug that lists the symptom they are seeing me to help as a side effect of
that drug. The role of pharmaceuticals must be factored into the bigger
picture. If you have ever taken the opportunity to look at medication
literature at Medscape.com, take a moment to do so. It is very educational.
The
office will be closed
Thanksgiving Weekend
and will reopen on Tuesday, November 30th.
Dr. Theirl will be out of state
and will not be reachable by email, pager or phone during this time.
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Inside
the Next Issue
Brain Food
If
you are what you eat, then what is your brain? We’ll take a look at the
role of nutrition and its affect on our brain’s ability to function
optimally.
NOISE
No doubt about it - New York is a loud place to live. Most of you who
have been given auditory stimulation as part of your home-therapy understand
how the brain processes music versus words, fast versus slow and high versus
low tone, etc. For example, your left brain is excited by fast tempo music
with voices while your right brain is excited by slow tempo, low toned music
without voices. Here, in this city with its own pulse, you must deal with
many different types of sound stimulus. Having difficulty handling sounds
can suggest decreased sensory integration, or the brain's ability to
"make sense" of the sensory input. We take this into consideration
when you are a patient so that you may enjoy all of the wonderful sounds
that the world has to offer.
LIGHT
A friend of mine used to work in a newsroom and did not have any windows
to the outside in her office. It was astonishing to hear how warped her
sense of time (and weather) was after nine hours disconnected from the
outside world, working in artificial fluorescent light. Everyone has heard
of far northerners who in winter experience only five or six hours of
daylight per day. Those areas often show high incidences of alcoholism and
depression. It is important to take in natural light, if possible. We use
the ultra violet rays from sunlight to produce vitamin D. It also stimulates
hormone release in our brain by stimulating the eyes. There is a reason why
that bright, sunny day helps us to feel so good! However, too much of a good
thing can be bad; please be careful to protect your skin.
EXERCISE
It is a proven fact: exercise helps depression and makes us feel better.
Combine that with the cardiovascular and weight management benefits, the
research that shows exercise boosts memory and there is simply no reason to
delay adding exercise to your life. Our brains are designed for movement.
Gravity and movement are the primary excitation to our brains. So get out
there and move!
CONCLUSION
The brain is an amazing organ being able to take in all this information
and stimulus and attempt to make some sense of it for us. Feeding your brain
with the nutrients and stimulus it needs plus keeping mentally and
physically active is important to maintaining the health and function of
your brain.
Obviously, it is likely impossible to
eliminate all the negative neurological stimulus received every day. But it
is important to identify which are positive for your health and which are
not. Have you ever finished watching a television program and felt sluggish,
tired or even irritated? This may be more than boring content - it may be a
physical reaction to the light input you received while watching. Have you
ever enjoyed soothing scents like lavender? If you are sensitive to it, it
could have a strong neurological impact. Paying attention to the details of
the world around us enriches our daily experience and may give you insight
into your neurological health.
WHAT CAN I DO? Here are some simple
things you can do to exercise your brain:
- Read books that challenge your mind and
reading level.
- Meditate
- Leave your grocery list at home and try it
from memory
- Take a walk and recognize all the senses
giving you information about your surroundings
- Learn how to say a few phrases in a new
language
- Turn off the TV for an evening and see if
you feel different
- Scents are some of the strongest memory
stimuli we have. Pay attention to your nose.
- It's Autumn; appreciate all of the colors
in the fall leaves and realize the magnitude of vision.
- Work on puzzles and riddles (try this
one)
[sense,
eyes, stimulus, neurons]
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Disclaimer:
this newsletter is not meant to substitute for health care with a qualified
health professional. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to
your routine.
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