Neurological and Mental Health
Here’s How I Activated Neurogenesis to Transform My Depressive Mind into a Joyful State in 5 Steps.
I provide practical ways to improve neurogenesis, prevent neurological decline, and improve cognitive reserves.
Purpose of the Article
There is a piece of good and bad news in this article. Both neurogenesis and neurodegeneration are real and affected by lifestyle choices and habits. Healthy habits lead to neurogenesis, and unhealthy ones lead to neurodegeneration.
Subscribers who enjoyed my recent article on my recovery from brain fog in my younger years asked about its essential mechanism in the brain. When I mentioned neurogenesis, they wanted me to explain and elaborate on this technical term.
Thus, this story provides my high-level perspective on neurogenesis and neurodegeneration using my reviews, mental health transformation, and experiments as a case study in summary format.
I have been passionately interested and rigorously investigating the topic since the mid-1980s when neurogenesis research took attention in scientific communities.
As I was on the optimistic bandwagon, I transformed my mental health with practical experimentation from insights into neurogenesis. Some skeptics and pessimists in my circles struggled with their depressive thoughts.
This is not a scientific paper and not health advice. Instead, I aim to make this piece practical and valuable with takeaway points encouraging readers to explore neuroplasticity as a lifestyle goal by customizing these principles for a healthier and happier life.
An Introduction to Neurogenesis and Neuroplasticity.
In this section, I attempt to briefly answer the question of “What is neurogenesis?” without going into scientific details. The topic is highly complex for the public and evolving with no conclusive findings yet.
As documented in this review paper, “the first evidence of adult brain neurogenesis came from Joseph Altman in the 1960s from his studies in rats.” However, as Altman’s study was not rigorous enough, the science communities did not take it seriously.
So only after 1980, when a neuroscience professor (Fernando Nottebohm) published the first clear evidence of adult neurogenesis in songbirds, other scientists got interested in the development of neurogenesis hypotheses.
Nottebohm’s findings were replicated in subsequent studies. Thus, neurogenesis became a real phenomenon in science communities.
In my perspective, neurogenesis is a never-ending process if the brain is nurtured with fundamental requirements consistently. In other words, neurogenesis happens at every age, contrary to wrong claims before the 1980s.
In simple terms, neurogenesis is the formation of new neurons and new connections in the brain, providing better functionality.
Neurogenesis starts even before we are born and continues until we die. So, our brains can grow and shrink. This concept is known as neuroplasticity in science.
I don’t want to bore you with technical and scientific details. But, essentially, according to overwhelming studies in the neuroscience literature, neurogenesis happens in the dentate gyrus and the lateral subventricular zone of the hippocampus.
As I mentioned in my previous articles, the hippocampus is a critical part of the brain responsible for memory and lifelong learning. This highly complex structure of the brain is essential for our survival.
Unfortunately, this brain region is susceptible and might get damaged by internal and external stimuli, as depicted in the brains of patients suffering from neurological and psychological disorders.
Neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders gave us valuable clues into the brain structure of the patients.
The critical point is that neurons in the brain keep changing. For example, the neurons we have at the age of 60 are entirely different from what we have at the age of six.
This is a new perspective in neuroscience. Unfortunately, old-school scientists did not consider that. Some healthcare professionals still don’t believe in neurogenesis but are adamant about the existence of neurodegeneration. However, new generation neuroscientists prove that neuroplasticity exists as documented in credible resources.
So, despite fierce arguments in scientific communities, I believe that neurogenesis is not a hype or controversial matter anymore based on my years of review of the literature. I ignore skeptics, as some still don’t believe in the most fundamental facts on earth.
If neurogenesis did not exist, we wouldn’t be able to perform cognitive tasks after old age. I witnessed some adult students over 60 or 70 who got doctoral degrees.
My mental faculties also got stronger as I got older. Frankly, I feel younger as I get older. I gained better health and a defined body after 50. One of the contributing factors to my feelings is neurogenesis.
I see a clear link between neurogenesis and depression. For example, in animal studies, when neurogenesis increased, depression symptoms decreased. Likewise, when neurodegeneration happens, depression increases.
Some studies also indicate that increased Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is associated with decreased depression. So BDNF protects the brain from depression. It also helps us cope with addictive behavior leading to depression and anxiety.
After this brief theoretical background, I’d like to introduce five lifestyle factors that might increase neurogenesis and prevent neurodegeneration by creating epigenetic effects and balancing hormones and neurotransmitters.
1 — Essential Nutrition and Supportive Supplements
This section is relatively longer as I cover three key points: the importance of nutrition, the necessity of supplements, and how we consume our food.
a— The Importance of Nutrition for the Brain
The importance of nutrition on brain health is a no-brainer. Yet, despite its importance, millions of people still suffer from nutritional deficiencies leading to physical and mental disorders.
While the most critical aspect of nutrition is to provide energy to the brain, there are two other critical use cases of nutrition for the brain. The first one is the growth and maintenance of neurons from amino acids and co-factors. The second one is signaling molecules to facilitate development and maintenance.
So, in addition to energy-producing food from carbohydrates and fats, we also need proteins (amino acids) and micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.
Unfortunately, research into the nutritional aspect of neurology and neuroscience is still in the infant phase. Most of the research is on animal studies. However, those studies provide valuable insights.
For example, the importance of omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA recently gained visibility and acceptance. I also noticed a significant improvement in my mental health after getting an adequate amount of omega-3 acids from my diet and even supplementing them when I couldn’t access food sources.
b- Some supplements might be necessary.
A well-balanced diet including energy, protein, vitamin, and mineral sources is ideal. However, some restrictive diets do not provide the required amount of nutrients. In that case, the solution is to supplement them with support from qualified healthcare professionals.
Over the years, I tried numerous supplements. I tested them using objective and subjective measures based on my findings from the studies. I also triangulated them with the experience of others.
So far, the key supplements contributing to neurogenesis and overall brain help are Vitamin D and B vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12. Minerals like magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and many more.
In addition, molecules like choline, acetyl-l-carnitine, n-acetyl-cysteine, creatine, alpha-lipoic acid, CoQ10, NADH, TMG, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, and some nootropics provided subjective improvements.
Even though addressing the deficiency of essential nutrients is vital, we also refrain from overdosing on some molecules. For example, some minerals like iron, copper, selenium, and even vitamins like vitamin A can be toxic at excessive doses.
It is still difficult to obtain objective results for nutritional benefits. Nevertheless, many informed hypotheses indicate the importance of some molecules for neurogenesis. I believe that we will learn more about specific nutrients for neurogenesis in the next few decades.
c — The way we eat might affect brain performance.
In addition to what we eat, how we eat (e.g., frequency of meals) can matter for brain health. I reviewed and experimented benefits of time-restricted eating to boost neurological and mental health.
The key contributing factor is ketosis giving the brain alternative energy and working as a signaling molecule making an epigenetic impact and reducing inflammation in the body and brain.
Therefore, I made ketosis a lifestyle habit, as documented in this article titled Here’s Why I Choose Ketosis as a Lifestyle Habit.
I have written numerous articles on fasting. Thus, I won’t repeat them. Interested readers might check the following articles for details.
Six Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Lower the Risks of Mental Disorders
Keto Diets and Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle Tick the Boxes of Health Goals.
2 — Maintaining Physical and Mental Fitness
Like all other cells in the body, brain cells like neurons and glial cells also need movement. In addition creation of synapses also need movement.
The most significant impact of physical movement is to provide oxygen to the cells. Blood flow in the body and brain requires movement. Therefore, regular exercise is critical for brain health and is necessary for creating new neurons.
Recent studies indicate that specific exercises like aerobic workouts can contribute to the initiation of neurogenesis. In addition, the effect of exercise on signaling molecules such as BDNF is well documented.
For example, this paper states: “It is well established that acute exercise increases circulating levels of BDNF, and numerous studies have sought to characterize this response to improve brain health.”
An experimental study confirmed that “intense resistance exercise increases peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factors.”
When we look at the big picture from a metabolic health perspective, exercise significantly affects blood glucose metabolism, insulin profile, and blood pressure. These metabolic constructs impact brain health.
When I improved my fitness, I noticed a significant improvement in my thinking capabilities, problem-solving, working memory, task-switching, decision-making, and mood. In addition, after intense exercise sessions, depressive thoughts disappeared.
Another example of the contribution of regular exercise is to my recovery from brain fog, as I documented in an article titled Here’s How I Defeated Brain Fog with Six Lifestyle Habits Decades Ago.
To contribute to neurogenesis, I include both cardio and resistance training. However, as excessive cardio might be risky as we age, I personalized my training. For example, I perform low-impact cardio on my joints, such as HIIT and hopping on the trampoline.
I also customized my resistance training, mainly focussing on calisthenics using the body weight and only once or twice weekly heavy lifting to stimulate all muscles. Rather than muscle growth, I focus on lean muscle maintenance.
Both cardio and resistance training can contribute to neurogenesis as they make biochemical changes in the brain, as evident in the secretion of neurotransmitters and hormones during intense workouts.
Even though there is not enough empirical evidence yet, based on my experience and observations in education platforms, I believe that mental fitness exercises such as listening to music, reading, therapeutic writing, playing chess, playing computer games, and solving puzzles can stimulate the neurons and might create new neural pathways in the hippocampus.
In addition, learning new concepts, solving problems, and gaining new skills might contribute to neurogenesis as memories and learning activities happen in the hippocampus. I use my chores as daily brain boosters.
Furthermore, improving working memory and task switching might activate neurogenesis. I prefer unitasking focus rather than multitasking at work for better performance and less stress in the flow state for neural balance.
3 — Resting the Brain with Restorative Sleep
The next big item for neurogenesis the restorative sleep. The brain cannot survive and thrive without adequate sleep. So we need to sleep every day. It is easy to survive without food for several days but impossible without sleep.
Even though studies are still at the nascent stage, as documented in this review paper:
“Clearly, there is ample evidence that the structural integrity and function of the hippocampus depend in part on sleep, not only in laboratory rodents but in humans as well. Imaging studies in humans have confirmed the role of sleep in hippocampus function and formation of memory.”
Numerous studies investigated memory disruption in chronic insomnia. For example, this pilot study informed that “chronic insomnia is associated with alterations in brain structure.”
I read several hypotheses on hippocampal volume reduction due to sleep deprivation and insomnia adversely affecting neurogenesis. However, proving these hypotheses will take years as it is tough to test neurogenesis in the human brain. Mainly studies use animals to test their ideas.
Even though we don’t have much empirical evidence for the effects of sleep on neurogenesis, it is self-explanatory and evident in human behavior. Therefore, we don’t have to wait for a scientist to prove the effects and importance of sleep for neurogenesis and neurodegeneration. It might take decades, considering the physical and ethical challenges of neuroscience.
From my reviews, restorative sleep plays two critical roles in neurogenesis. The first one is to remove toxins built during the wakeful state. And the second one is to allow neurons to communicate with each other.
I experimentally tested the impact of sleep on my mental health by observing my behavior and performance with increased and decreased sleep.
My findings convinced me that restorative sleep, including a balanced deep, rem, and light sleep, provided significant cognitive improvement, better physical performance, and mood enhancement by reducing oxidative stress.
4 — Focusing on Cellular and Neurological Health
As this is an extensive topic, I only focus on fundamentals to support cellular and neurological health from the support and protection perspectives.
The fundamental of cellular health is energy balance in the brain. The interactions in the cells for growth and maintenance are critical.
Like cells are vital in the body for the health of our tissues and organs, special cells called neurons and glial cells are critical for brain function and health.
These two types of cells differ from a functionality perspective. For example, neurons transmit electrical and chemical signals. In comparison, glial cells support neurons by insulating them.
In addition to nutrition and movement, the next critical point to the health of neurons and glial cells is toxicity. Even though the brain has a protective mechanism called the blood-brain barrier, some toxic material still can pass through nutrition, medications, and other lifestyle factors.
For example, a common lifestyle factor is the toxins from cigarette smoking. In addition, excessive alcohol can also increase the toxicity in the brain cells.
Alcohol-related brain impairment is well-documented in the literature. In addition, excessive alcohol use is known to be toxic to the central nervous system.
Furthermore, excessive alcohol interferes with the absorption of nutrients such as vitamin B1, as I explained in an article titled Dementia: Korsakoff’s Syndrome Due to Vitamin B1 Deficiency.
B vitamins play a critical role in the brain. For example, B1 synthesizes neurotransmitters, maintains membrane potential, and enables myelination.
So the key point is toxins not only directly impact the degeneration of neurons and glial cells, but they might also impact the use of critical nutrients.
Eliminating and refraining from toxins and pathogens is crucial for cellular and neurological health. The human defense system is designed to remove toxins and pathogens.
However, when harmful materials from external sources and internal processes go above the threshold, the body can struggle to eliminate them. Furthermore, the nervous system and the brain are extra sensitive to excess toxic substances.
The best practice is to refrain from ingesting toxins and pathogens from food, water, and air. Nevertheless, it is impossible to eliminate them entirely.
We must avoid toxic food and maintain hygiene such as cleaning and cooking the food to reduce the number of pathogens.
The next option is activating the body’s self-healing system to eliminate toxins, pathogens, and damaged proteins in cells. I cover this point in section five.
5 — Initiating Self-Healing Mechanism of the Body and Brain
I will keep this section short as I wrote numerous articles about the self-healing capabilities of the bodily organs, including the brain.
The two well-known mechanisms are autophagy and mitophagy. These two concepts use the same principles, one for cells and another for mitochondria.
As mentioned in the previous section, internal and external toxins and pathogens are the most significant threat to the brain, particularly neurons, glial cells, and dendrites.
The critical point in this section is that even though the defense system can handle these toxins to a certain degree, it struggles after they pass the threshold. Therefore, activating the body’s self-healing mechanism is a viable option to reduce the effects of toxins and pathogens.
I link two stories for interested readers to understand these self-healing mechanisms from a practical point of view using lifestyle choices.
Here Is What Happened When I Experimentally Initiated Autophagy Decades Ago.
Here’s How I Initiate Mitophagy and Make My Mitochondria Denser in 7 Steps.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Even though the science of neurogenesis is still new and making good progress, there is significant evidence that both animal and human brains can create new neurons and connections if required factors support them.
I call these factors lifestyle choices. Therefore, I covered them under five broad headings. Practicing healthy lifestyle habits can increase the chance of neurogenesis, decrease neurodegeneration, and create cognitive reserves for our old age when we face neurodegenerative disorders like dementia.
In addition to animal studies, observations in patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, longevity studies, and subjective experiences in psychological studies depict that healthy lifestyle habits play a critical role in neurogenesis.
For example, people who meet fundamentals such as consuming nutritious food, getting restorative sleep, staying fit, and keeping stress low by resting, having fun, and building good connections and relationships usually have a better neurological and mental health profile.
I focused on fundamentals like nutrition, exercise, sleep, and rest. I also believe that the way we eat affects the brain. For example, time-restricted eating provides many benefits to brain health.
We need to focus on two items from biological and psychological perspectives for neurogenesis and neurodegeneration. They are chronic inflammation and chronic stress. These two items are the root causes of neurological and mental health disorders.
I firmly believe that neurogenesis increases our cognitive capabilities, boosts our mental capacity, protects us from neurodegeneration, and improves our mood while reducing mental decline.
Using the practices in this five-step approach, I eliminated my depressive thoughts and boosted my mood, giving me better neurological and mental health.
To conclude, neurogenesis brings happiness and joy, but neurodegeneration brings disease, suffering, and death, as shown by millions of dementia, clinical depression, and anhedonia patients globally.
Let’s benefit our brain’s neuroplasticity to design our lives for more joy, true happiness, and better health by keeping our neurons young and active with healthy lifestyle habits.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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If you find this article valuable, you might check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting on my reviews, observations, and decades of sensible experiments.
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