Healthy Brain, Happy Life – by Dr. Wendy Suzuki

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We talked about Dr. Wendy Suzuki’s research in the category of exercise and brain-benefits in our main feature the other day. But she has more to say than we can fit into an article!

This book chronicles her discoveries, through her work in memory and neuroplasticity, to her discoveries about exercise, and her dive into broader neurology-based mental health. So what does neurology-based mental health look like?

The answer is: mitigating brain-busters such as stress and anxiety, revitalizing a fatigued brain, boosting creativity, and other such benefits.

Does she argue that exercise is a cure-all? No, not quite. Sometimes there are other things she’s recommending (such as in her chapter on challenging the neurobiology of the stress response, or her chapter on meditation and the brain).

The writing style is mostly casual, interspersed with occasional mini-lectures (complete with diagrams and other illustrations), and is very readable and informative throughout.

Bottom line: if you’d like the more in-depth details of Dr. Suzuki’s work, this book is a very accessible way to get 320 pages of that!

Click here to check out Healthy Brain, Happy Life, and give yours the best!

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  • Eat To Beat Chronic Fatigue!

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    How To Eat To Beat Chronic Fatigue

    Chronic fatigue is on the rise, and it can make life a living Hell. Days blur into one, and you try to take each day as it comes, but sometimes several days gang up on you at once.

    You probably know some lifestyle changes that might help—if only you had the energy to implement them.

    You’d like to eat well, but you need to…

    1. Buy the fresh produce (and take a little rest after)
    2. Put the groceries away (and take a little rest after)
    3. Wash the vegetables (and take a little rest after)
    4. Chop the things as necessary (and take a little rest after)
    5. Cook dinner (and take a little rest after)

    …and now you’re too exhausted to eat it.

    So, what can be done?

    First, avoid things that cause inflammation, as this is a major contributor to chronic fatigue. You might like our previous main feature:

    Keep Inflammation At Bay!

    Next up, really do stay hydrated. It’s less about quantity, and more about ubiquity. Hydrate often.

    Best is if you always have some (hydrating) drink on the go.

    Do experiment with your diet, and/but keep a food journal of what you eat and how you feel 30–60 minutes after eating it. Only make one change at a time, otherwise you won’t know which change made the difference.

    Notice what patterns emerge over time, and adjust your ingredients accordingly.

    Limit your caffeine intake. We know that sometimes it seems like the only way to get through the day, but you will always crash later, because it was only ever taxing your adrenal system (thus: making you more tired in the long run) and pulling the wool over the eyes of your adenosine receptors (blocking you from feeling how tired you are, but not actually reducing your body’s tiredness).

    Put simply, caffeine is the “payday loan” of energy.

    Eat more non-starchy vegetables, and enjoy healthy fats. Those healthy fats can come from nuts and seeds, avocado, or fish (not fried, though!).

    The non-starchy vegetables will boost your vitamins and fiber while being easy on your beleaguered metabolism, while the healthy fats will perk up your energy levels without spiking insulin like sugars would.

    Pay the fatigue tax up front. What this means is… Instead of throwing away vegetables that didn’t get used because it would take too much effort and you just need an easier dinner today, buy ready-chopped vegetables, for example.

    And if you buy vegetables frozen, they’re also often not only cheaper, but also (counterintuitively) contain more nutrients.

    A note of distinction:

    Many more people have chronic fatigue (the symptom: being exhausted all the time) than have chronic fatigue syndrome (the illness: myalgic encephalomyelitis).

    This is because fatigue can be a symptom of many, many other conditions, and can be heavily influenced by lifestyle factors too.

    A lot of the advice for dealing with chronic fatigue is often the same in both cases, but some will be different, because for example:

    • If your fatigue is from some other condition, that condition probably impacts what lifestyle factors you are (and are not) able to change, too
    • If your fatigue is from lifestyle factors, that hopefully means you can change those and enjoy less fatigue…
      • But if it’s not from lifestyle factors, as in ME/CFS, then advice to “exercise more” etc is not going to help so much.

    There are ways to know the difference though:

    Check out: Do You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

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  • Reinventing Your Life – by Dr. Jeffrey Young & Dr. Janet Klosko

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    This book is quite unlike any other broadly-CBT-focused books we’ve reviewed before. How so, you may wonder?

    Rather than focusing on automatic negative thoughts and cognitive distortions with a small-lens focus on an immediate problem, this one zooms out rather and tackles the cause rather than the symptom.

    The authors outline eleven “lifetraps” that we can get stuck in:

    1. Abandonment
    2. Mistrust & abuse
    3. Vulnerability
    4. Dependence
    5. Emptional deprivation
    6. Social exclusion
    7. Defectiveness
    8. Failure
    9. Subjugation
    10. Unrelenting standards
    11. Entitlement

    They then borrow from other areas of psychology, to examine where these things came from, and how they can be addressed, such that we can escape from them.

    The style of the book is very reader-friendly pop-psychology, with illustrative (and perhaps apocryphal, but no less useful for it if so) case studies.

    The authors then go on to give step-by-step instructions for dealing with each of the 11 lifetraps, per 6 unmet needs we probably had that got us into them, and per 3 likely ways we tried to cope with this using maladaptive coping mechanisms that got us into the lifetrap(s) we ended up in.

    Bottom line: if you feel there’s something in your life that’s difficult to escape from (we cannot outrun ourselves, after all, and bring our problems with us), this book could well contain the key that you need to get out of that cycle.

    Click here to check out “Reinventing Your Life” and break free from any lifetrap(s) of your own!

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  • How To Know When You’re Healing Emotionally

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    The healing process can be humbling but rewarding, leading to deep fulfillment and inner peace. Discomfort in healing can be part of growth and self-integration. Because of that, progress sometimes looks and/or feels like progress… And sometimes it doesn’t. Here’s how to recognize it, though:

    Small but important parts of a bigger process

    Nine signs indicating you are healing:

    1. Allowing emotions: you acknowledge and process both negative and positive emotions instead of suppressing them.
    2. Improved boundaries: you improve at expressing and maintaining boundaries, overcoming fear of rejection, guilt, and shame.
    3. Acceptance of past: you accept difficult past experiences and their impact, reducing their hold over you.
    4. Less reactivity: you become less reactive and more thoughtful in responses, practicing emotional self-regulation.
    5. Non-linear healing: you understand that healing involves ups and downs and isn’t a straightforward journey.
    6. Stepping out of your comfort zone: you start taking brave steps that previously induced fear or anxiety.
    7. Handling disappointments: you accept setbacks and respond to them healthily, without losing motivation.
    8. Inner peace: you develop a sense of wholeness, and forgiveness for yourself and others, reducing self-sabotage.
    9. Welcoming support: you become more open to seeking and accepting help, moving beyond pride and shame.

    In short: healing (especially the very first part: accepting that something needs healing) can be uncomfortable but lead to much better places in life.  It’s okay if healing is slow; everyone’s journey is different, and doing your best is enough.

    For more on each of these, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like:

    Why You Can’t Just “Get Over” Trauma

    Take care!

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Related Posts

  • Yoga for Better Sleep – by Mark Stephens
  • If Your Adult Kid Calls In Crisis…

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    Parent(s) To The Rescue?

    We’ve written before about the very common (yes, really, it is common) phenomenon of estrangement between parents and adult children:

    Family Estrangement & How To Fix It

    We’ve also written about the juggling act that can be…

    Managing Sibling Relationships In Adult Life

    …which includes dealing with such situations as supporting each other through difficult times, while still maintaining healthy boundaries.

    But what about when one’s [adult] child is in crisis?

    When a parent’s job never ends

    Hopefully, we have not been estranged (or worse, bereaved) by our children.

    In which case, when crisis hits, we are likely to be amongst the first to whom our children will reach out for support. Naturally, we will want to help. But how can we do that, and where (if applicable) to draw the line?

    No “helicopter parenting”

    If you’ve not heard the term “helicopter parenting”, it refers to the sort of parents who hover around, waiting to swoop in at a moment’s notice.

    This is most often applied to parents of kids of university age and downwards, but it’s worth keeping it in mind at any age.

    After all, we do want our kids to be able to solve their own problems if possible!

    So, if you’ve ever advised your kid to “take a deep breath and count to 10” (or even if you haven’t), then, consider doing that too, and then…

    Listen first!

    If your first reaction isn’t to join them in panic, it might be to groan and “oh not again”. But for now, quietly shelve that, and listen to whatever it is.

    See also: Active Listening (Without Sounding Like A Furby)

    And certainly, do your best to maintain your own calm while listening. Your kid is in all likelihood looking to you to be the rock in the storm, so let’s be that.

    Empower them, if you can

    Maybe they just needed to vent. If so, the above will probably cover it.

    More likely, they need help.

    Perhaps they need guidance, from your greater life experience. Sometimes things that can seem like overwhelming challenges to one person, are a thing we dealt with 20 or more years ago (it probably felt overwhelming to us at the time, too, but here we are, the other side of it).

    Tip: ask “are you looking for my guidance/advice/etc?” before offering it. Doing so will make it much more likely to be accepted rather than rejected as unsolicited advice.

    Chances are, they will take the life-ring offered.

    It could be that that’s not what they had in mind, and they’re looking for material support. If so…

    When it’s about money or similar

    Tip: it’s worth thinking about this sort of thing in advance (now is great, if you have adult kids), and ask yourself nowwhat you’d be prepared to give in that regard, e.g:

    • if they need money, how much (if any) are you willing and able to provide?
    • if they want/need to come stay with you, how prepared are you for that (including: if they want/need to actually move back in with you for a while, which is increasingly common these days)?

    Having these answers in your head ready will make the conversation a lot less difficult in the moment, and will avoid you giving a knee-jerk response you might regret (in either direction).

    Have a counteroffer up your sleeve if necessary

    Maybe:

    • you can’t solve their life problem for them, but you can help them find a therapist (if applicable, for example)
    • you can’t solve their money problem for them, but you can help them find a free debt advice service (if applicable, for example)
    • you can’t solve their residence problem for them, but you can help them find a service that can help with that (if applicable, for example)

    You don’t need to brainstorm now for every option; you’re a parent, not Batman. But it’s a lot easier to think through such hypothetical thought-experiments now, than it will be with your fraught kid on the phone later.

    Magic words to remember: “Let’s find a way through this for you”

    Don’t forget to look after yourself

    Many of us, as parents, will tend to not think twice before sacrificing something for our kid(s). That’s generally laudable, but we must avoid accidentally becoming “the giving tree” who has nothing left for ourself, and that includes our mental energy and our personal peace.

    That doesn’t mean that when your kid comes in crisis we say “Shh, stop disturbing my personal peace”, but it does mean that we remember to keep at least some boundaries (also figure out now what they are, too!), and to take care of ourselves too.

    The following article was written with a slightly different scenario in mind, but the advice remains just as valid here:

    How To Avoid Carer Burnout (Without Dropping Care)

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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  • Foam Rolling – by Karina Inkster

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    If you’ve ever bought a foam roller only to place it under your lower back once and then put it somewhere for safekeeping and never use it again, this book will help fix that.

    Karina Inkster (what a cool name) is a personal trainer, and the book also features tips and advice from physiotherapists and sports medicine specialist doctors too, so all bases are well and truly covered.

    This is not, in case you’re wondering, a book that could have been a pamphlet, with photos of the exercises and one-liner explanation and that’s it. Rather, Inkster takes us through the anatomy and physiology of what’s going on, so that we can actually use this thing correctly and get actual noticeable improvements to our health from it—as promised in the subtitle’s mention of “for massage, injury prevention, and core strength”. To be clear, a lot of it is also about soft tissue mobilization, and keeping our fascia healthy (an oft-underestimated aspect of general mobility).

    We would mention that since the photos are pleasantly colorful (like those on the cover) and this adds to the clarity, we’d recommend springing for the (quite inexpensive) physical copy, rather than a Kindle edition (if your e-reader is a monochrome e-ink device like this reviewer’s, anyway).

    Bottom line: this book will enable your foam roller to make a difference to your life.

    Click here to check out Foam Rolling, and get rolling (correctly)!

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  • What Different Kinds of Hair Loss/Thinning Say About Your Health

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Dr. Siobhan Deshauer shows us different kinds of hair loss, what causes them, and what can be done about them:

    Many different causes

    Here’s how to tell them apart:

    • Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss that can occur at any age and affects about 1 in 50 people. It often presents as smooth patches of hair loss and can be treated with steroid injections. Severe cases may require high-dose prednisone, which can restore hair growth over time.
    • Discoid lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin, leading to inflammation, scarring, and permanent hair loss. Unlike alopecia areata, it causes visible damage to the scalp and hair follicles. This type of lupus typically does not involve internal organs, unlike systemic lupus. 
    • Telogen effluvium occurs when a major systemic shock, such as an infection, surgery, or significant stress, triggers many hair follicles to enter the resting phase simultaneously, resulting in delayed hair shedding. The condition is diagnosed with a “hair pull test” and is typically temporary, as the resting phase is followed by normal hair growth phases.
    • Allergic reactions to products, such as hair dye containing PPD, can cause hair loss due to scalp irritation and inflammation. An allergic response may trigger hair follicles to enter a resting phase, leading to hair loss by the same mechanism as telogen effluvium. Treatment with steroids can calm the reaction, and hair usually regrows after recovery.
    • Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection, can present with varied symptoms, including hair loss in a distinct moth-eaten pattern. Hair loss due to syphilis is reversible and curable with penicillin treatment, with hair regrowth typically occurring a few months after treatment.
    • Biotin deficiency is rare due to its production by gut bacteria and presence in foods such as nuts, seeds, and beans such as soybeans. Deficiency can result from excessive consumption of raw egg whites, which block absorption. Severe deficiency causes hair loss and skin issues but can be treated effectively with biotin supplements.
    • Iron deficiency anemia can cause hair thinning along with symptoms like fatigue and breathlessness. It often results from inadequate dietary intake, but can also occur after heavy menstrual bleeding. Treatment with iron supplements, or blood transfusions in severe cases, can restore both hair and energy levels, leading to significant improvements.
    • Trichotillomania is a psychological condition marked by an uncontrollable urge to pull out one’s hair, often associated with anxiety or depression. Hair patches may show different stages of regrowth. While it can be challenging to manage, the condition can be treated with appropriate psychological and medical support.
    • Traction alopecia results from hairstyles that exert prolonged tension on the hair, causing it to thin or fall out. This type of hair loss can be prevented by reducing the strain on the hair. Loosening hairstyles and giving the scalp a break can help hair regrow over time.
    • Hypothyroidism causes symptoms like fatigue, dry skin, and hair thinning due to insufficient thyroid hormone production—however, it can be managed with diet, and if necessary, thyroid medications.
    • Zinc deficiency may also cause hair loss and a characteristic rash. Treatment with zinc supplements can significantly improve hair growth and other symptoms.
    • Medications, such as chemotherapy drugs, Accutane, and anti-seizure medications like valproic acid, are known to cause hair loss as a side effect. This type of hair loss is often reversible once the medication is stopped.
    • Male pattern hair loss, or androgenic alopecia, is influenced by testosterone and genetic risk factors—which, contrary to popular belief, can come from either or both sides of the family. Early onset, especially before age 40, is linked to an increased risk of heart disease. However, effective treatments are available, and early intervention is beneficial.
    • Female pattern hair loss is basically the same thing as male pattern hair loss (indeed, it is literally still androgenic alopecia), just a) almost always much less severe and b) with a gender-appropriate name. It affects up to 40% of women by age 50 and is characterized by thinning hair at the top of the head. It’s related to hormonal imbalances involving testosterone, such as those seen in PCOS and menopause, amongst other less common causes. Early treatment can be effective, and research is ongoing to develop more targeted therapies.

    Dr. Siobhan Deshauer advises, if you’re experiencing hair loss, to monitor other symptoms too if applicable, take photos for tracking, and consult a doctor early for diagnosis and potential treatment.

    For more on all of this plus visual illustrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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