Sleepy Foods #4

Did you know that L-theanine, an amino acid that is contained naturally in green tea, not only helps maintain a calm alertness during the day but also appears to promotes a deeper sleep at night? The down side is that green tea doesn't contain a high enough concentration of L-theanine to provide these effects. Suntheanine, which is pure L-theanine, and delta-E (available from IMPaXworld.com) may be better choices. And then there is melatonin, a hormone that controls sleep. No surprise, it can help to induce sleep. Interestingly enough, studies have shown that lower doses of melatonin are more effective than higher doses. Some recommend taking 0.3 to 0.5 milligrams three-to four hours before going to bed. It’s different strokes for different strokes. Experiment until you discover what works best for your brain.

Imaginary Brain Playmate

Researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of Washington have been studying imaginary playmates. An article in the journal Developmental Psychology reported that what people once thought was a rare phenomenon of early childhood development is not rare, and neither is it a red flag. In fact, children’s pretend play can persist well into school years and may morph into a different form. The power of imagination is a mental faculty built into the brain (likely in the right frontal lobe). If you have honed your imagination, those skills can help you plan, envision, create, innovate, invent, set and achieve goals, and so on. Without these skills, I believe a brain can actually be handicapped in thinking ahead, figuring out what something may be like, and what may be needed in the situation. My brain created an imaginary First Nation playmate, although I learned quickly to keep quiet about it. Growing up in Canada, Little John Deerfoot (and I have no idea where that name came from!) was the recipient of a great deal of my childhood chatter about life. Today, when I pull up his image in my mind’s eye, he is as clear as if he were here in person, with his jet-black hair, beaded headband, single feather stuck in the back, and buff deer-skin clothing with fringe. Lots of fringe! Did you have an imaginary playmate?

Stress and Your Brain

Does your brain harbor unrealistic expectations that, in turn can cause negative stress known as distress? Or are you experiencing misstress, the result of expectations that you have not brought to conscious awareness so you miss the actual impact to your life and health? The brain is the first body organ to register a stressor. Within the brain itself, the hippocampus, often referred to as the brain’s “search engine,” may be the portion most sensitive to stress. High levels of adrenalin and cortisol due to chronic stress can actually end up killing brain cells, often beginning with cells in the hippocampus. Effective stress management techniques can be, therefore, critically important to maintaining good brain function. Remember that multiple stressors may require multiple stress management strategies. Here are three to consider:

1. Whenever possible, avoid negative stressors or limit the length of exposure time (e.g., do you really need to attend that function and if so what is the minimum amount of time you can devote to it)?

2. When in a stressful situation, decide whether there is some action you need to take at the moment. Maybe not, but perhaps you can use the knowledge gained to take a different action in the future.

3. If a specific task is very stressful for your brain and you decide you must do it eventually, try to get it over with sooner than later. Procrastination can add even more stress to the task itself.

Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie, might put it this way: “Use your little gray cells to take care of your little gray cells.”

M-F Brains and Stressors

The female brain appears to be twice as vulnerable as the male brain to many stress-related disorders, including depression and PTSD. Studies have revealed a discovery in rat brains that may help to explain this male-female difference. Researchers, including Rita Valentino PhD, a NIMH grantee, used antibodies and an electron microscope to see how receptors for Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which acts as both a hormone and a neurotransmitter, responded in the brains of male versus female rats. The brains were studied unstressed and after exposure to a stressful swim. In the male brain under stress, many of the hormone's receptors retreated inside the cell, making the brain less stress reactive. In the female brain, the hormone’s receptors remained on the surface of the cell, resulting in a lower threshold for stress-induced activation of the brain’s alarm system. According to Valentino, this study is the first to uncover sex differences at the level of receptor signaling.

Stress Responses and Gender Differences

Males and females tend to deal with stressful situations differently. When confronted with acute stress, both males and females may initiate a fight-flight response initially. Males are more likely to respond to an emergency situation with aggression (fight), while females are more likely to flee (flight), turn to others for help, or attempt to defuse the situation, and then move rather quickly into a tend-befriend pattern. Results of studies by Shelley E. Taylor, et al have shown that tending involves nurturing activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress; befriending involves the creation and maintenance of social networks that may aid in this process. Males are more likely to use physical aggression in struggles for power within a hierarchy or to defend territory against external enemies. Females reliably show less physical aggression than males but they display as much or more indirect aggression in the form of gossip, rumor-spreading, and enlisting the cooperation of a third party in undermining an acquaintance.

Laugh and Last

Studies have shown that the person who laughs, lasts. In other words, a good sense of humor and using that to trigger mirthful laughter can provide many therapeutic effects on the body. It’s one of the strategies to help retard the onset of symptoms of aging. Every normal brain is believed to be born with the ability to develop a sense of humor. Not everyone chooses to hone those skills, however. Some have developed a good sense of humor and yet fail to exhibit mirthful laughter, saying things instead such as, “That was funny,” or ‘That was hysterical.” Those comments, however, are not particularly helpful to brain and body unless accompanied by mirthful laughter. Different people find different things funny. Identify what your brain finds funny and then expand the list. The more things your brain finds funny, the more opportunities for you to choose mirthful laughter.

April Fools' Day

When, where, and how did April Fools' Day begin? Apparently, no one is absolutely certain. It might have happened when the Gregorian Calendar took effect in 1582, changing New Year's Day from April 1 to January 1. The term itself may have originated in France in 1582 or 1584. Some people insisted on celebrating the “old” New Year and they came to be known as April fools. It became a common phenomenon to play tricks and jokes on them. The general concept of having a day when people play jokes and tricks on others is, however, an ancient one. The ancient Romans had such a day, the Hilaria festival of March 25. And the Holi festival was celebrated in India on March 31. The medieval monasteries even had a celebration when the bishop was replaced for one day by a common monk, who could order his superiors to do the most ridiculous tasks. The custom of playing April Fools' jokes was likely brought to America by the British. As grade-school students in Canada, I remember we liked it when April Fools’ Day fell on a school day. It was great fun to tell the other kids some piece of “believable news” and then laugh and say “April Fools!” Today, my right hip is getting replaced and that is NOT an April Fools’ joke. Thank you for your good wishes!