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Stimulating Your Mind Today For a More Functional Future with Dr. Tommy Wood · To Your Good Health

• 0:00
  David Friedman, BS: Hello, This is Dr.
• 0:00
  David Friedman, host of Ood Health Radio.
• 0:03
  Over the years on this show, we've covered just about every part
• 0:07
  of the human body, the heart.
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  Liver, gut, kidneys, and skin, and every one of these conversations
• 0:13
  has been very enlightening.
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  But today we're talking about the part of the body that matters most.
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  Your brain, you see arthritis, it stills your mobility, bad gut that
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  harms your immunity and skin conditions.
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  Of course, that affects your appearance, but your brain is the captain of the ship.
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  It's the keeper of every memory.
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  Every relationship, every dream you've ever had, it doesn't
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  just house your thoughts.
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  It is your thoughts.
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  It doesn't store your love.
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  It represents your very capacity to love.
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  And here's the good news.
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  The brain is far more resilient than we once believed.
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  And my guest today is Dr.
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  Tommy Wood, author of the new book, the Stimulated Mind.
• 0:54
  Stay tuned if you're feeling mentally drained.
• 0:57
  This show, we literally.
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  Change your mind.
• 1:00
  Don't go anywhere.
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  It all starts now.
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  Our next guest is a neuroscientist, physician, researcher, and elite
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  performance consultant whose work spans some of the most fascinating
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  terrain in modern medicine.
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  He holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry, a medical degree, and a PhD.
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  He's currently an associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience
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  at the University of Washington.
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  He's published dozens of peer reviewed scientific papers and lectured around
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  the world on brain health, metabolism, physical activity, and human performance.
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  He also co-founded the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.
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  He's a performance consultant to professional athletes across
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  more than a dozen sports.
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  This includes Olympians and world champions, and his clients
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  also include Formula One.
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  Drivers whom he helps maintain laser sharp focus and decision-making while
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  traveling at speeds of 200 miles per hour.
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  His new book is called The Stimulated Mind.
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  Future Proof Your Brain From Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age.
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  Welcome to the show, Dr.
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  Tommy Wood.
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: Thanks so much for having me.
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  I'm really excited to be here with you.
• 2:18
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah.
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  Now your book's called The Stimulated Mind.
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  I love that title.
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  Boy that grabs you first, share what inspired you to write this book?
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: I've.
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  At this point, nearly two decades working in the, a variety of fields as you just
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  mentioned, from brain injury and newborn babies to, concussions in athletes to
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  enhancing performance in, elite, many elite performers in various fields.
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  And then now increasingly looking at the various factors that come together
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  to affect long-term cognitive function and influence, cognitive decline, and
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  across all those different fields.
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  I saw these same.
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  Themes coming up again and again in terms of what the brain really needs
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  in order to, develop, at its best And then maintain function long-term.
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  And so I wanted to put that together in a book that was, very deeply
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  evidence-based and scientifically rigorous, but also very practical and
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  accessible to the general audience.
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  And I hope that that's, what, people can get out of the book.
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  find ways to improve their brain health and ideally, decrease their
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  risk of cognitive decline long-term.
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  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, that's great.
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  I know you mentioned in your book that dementia can begin decades
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  before any symptoms appear.
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  Now in my practice, I have patient's, they come in and they're worried they can't
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  find their keys, or they're searching for a word that's on the tip of their
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  tongue and they just can't grab it.
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  How can somebody know if This is just normal forgetfulness
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  or something more concerning?
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: That's a great question.
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  I think most people at some point will have a feeling like that, that,
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  they used to think that they had, really sharp wits, could remember
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  anything, whenever they wanted.
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  And now, things are starting to slow down.
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  It's a little bit trickier to remember, whatever it is, their keys
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  or, names, put names to faces, but.
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  Often when that happens, this could be sort of at the early stages some
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  cognitive changes, but most of us, actually usually related to all the
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  other things that are going on, in our lives as we get older, we have a, much
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  bigger range of experiences and things that we have to try and, remember.
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  And usually when.
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  When we're doing something like putting down our keys or parking our car, we're
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  not really focused on that action.
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  We're thinking about something else.
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  We're stressed, we're a bit sleep-deprived.
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  And so usually when people have those kinds of complaints, it's not the first
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  stages of, dementia or cognitive decline.
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  what it is, is usually, I like to think of it as a, it is almost like
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  a check engine light just to say.
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  This is probably a good point to think about what are the things
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  that are going on in my life that are maybe making it a little bit
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  trickier for me to remember something.
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  And that's usually, we're not fully focused on what it is that we're
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  doing because we're distracted or we're stressed thinking about
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  multiple things at the same time.
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  Or, we're not getting as much sleep, as we would normally.
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  Like, or that we, that would be best for our brains.
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  And so those kinds of early changes, we might call them
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  subjective, cognitive decline.
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  they're kind of a really good starting point for us to just step back and say,
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  this isn't probably the first stage of dementia, but This is a good time for
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  us to think about, taking stock of all the different factors that we know could
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  influence our brain health and cognitive function, and start to think about
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  whether we could make some changes there.
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  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, that's great.
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  I know I personally, I have a photographic memory, but as I'm
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  aging, I'm, running out of film.
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  Yeah.
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  Let me ask you, you know, we hear constantly about diet and exercise
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  are the pillars of heart health.
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  That's what you need to do, but.
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  What about brain health?
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  how much is truly within our control through lifestyle choices, and how much is
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  just the genetics we've been dealt with?
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: When you look at, genetic risk for cognitive decline,
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  dementia, Alzheimer's disease.
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  There are some common, Some column poly polymorphisms, genetic polymorphisms, we
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  call them, particularly in, something like the APOE gene, apoB, lipoprotein E gene.
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  Those who have, APOE comes in three different flavors.
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  two, three, and four.
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  and you have two copies of it.
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  So if you have, one copy of apoB E four, you have a two to six, fold
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  increased risk of, Alzheimer's disease.
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  If you have two copies, it could be six to 20 fold.
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  However, we see both within, those kind of genetic risks as well as in people
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  who have a family history of dementia, which is another risk factor for dementia,
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  that there's still huge capacity to decrease that risk through lifestyle.
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  Changes and, by making changes to our environment.
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  So, even if we do have increased risk because of genetics or because
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  of our family history, we, there's a huge amount that we can do.
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  and at this point it's thought that.
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  Potentially at least 45% of dementia cases.
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  And some studies suggest even more, may be entirely preventable.
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  if we attend to these, areas in our lifestyle that we know influence brain
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  health, so that includes physical activity, that includes nutrition,
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  it includes how we use our brains, the stimulus we give to our brains.
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  That was the, kind of the central point, uh, of my book.
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  but also things like, social connection, Avoiding smoking, alcohol,
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  some of these things which overlap very closely with heart health.
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  In fact, many people say that what's good for the heart is good for the
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  brain because a, healthy blood supply to the brain is one of the most
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  important things we can do, in terms of maintaining long-term brain health.
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  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, that's good to know.
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  A lot of people, they say, oh, my parents had the issues, dementia,
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  Alzheimer's, And then so I'm destined.
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  No you're not.
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  That's a good point that you bring that up is same with heart disease.
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  You know they parents that died of heart disease, so I'm destined.
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  No, you can change it.
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  Yeah, it's in your DNA, but as you said, you've got choices.
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  You can rise above that.
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  Let ask you, you've worked with Formula One drivers.
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  That's fascinating topic.
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  They gotta stay mentally sharp while driving 200 miles an hour.
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  What does peak.
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  Brain performance look like under that kind of extreme pressure.
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  And I'm curious, can the average person use any of these
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  strategies in their daily life?
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: Absolutely.
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  So there are two things that you have to balance when you are trying
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  to perform at that kind of level.
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  So one is the stimulus And the skills you have to develop in order
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  to be able to perform at that.
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  Level.
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  And so working with Formula One drivers, they have been essentially spending
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  all of their time driving, learning how to, perform in these incredibly
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  complex cars at incredible speeds.
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  And that's taken.
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  potentially decades for 'em to get to that point, at least sort of
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  10 or 15 years for most of them.
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  So there's a huge amount of time they spend, building skills to actually
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  be able to perform in that way.
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  And, that's relevant to all of us because, everything that we might like to do on
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  a day-to-day basis is in fact a skill.
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  So that could be, music, it could be languages, it could be a sport that
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  we play, but also focus is a skill.
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  And we know that if we don't spend time really focusing.
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  things and, using our brains that way, we start to lose that skill of focus.
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  So the first part is, actually using our brains, to develop the skills that
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  we want to have on a day-to-day basis.
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  the other side of that then is, usually recovery.
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  So.
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  When you stimulate the brain, just like when you stimulate the body with,
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  some kind of exercise session, you don't get stronger during the session.
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  You get stronger when you rest and recover afterwards.
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  So a critical component there is sleep.
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  That's when most adaptation happens, in the brain where we can improve,
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  its function based on the way that we've used our brain during the day.
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  But then we also need to make sure.
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  That we're giving ourselves adequate breaks during the day so that we
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  don't feel overwhelmed and overloaded.
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  as well as, avoiding things that can sort of, interfere with those
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  processes or add, additional stress.
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  so really it's about balancing this sort of stimulus and recovery
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  part, and that's relevant to all of us, both in terms of how we use
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  our brains on a day-to-day basis.
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  we really want to be spending some time, engaged in complex
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  skill learning processes.
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  That's what drives the function of the brain.
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  but then at the same time, we need to make sure that we're, avoiding things
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  that, can impair that adaptation process, particularly, that we're not, giving
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  ourselves, we're not shortchanging ourselves when it comes to sleep.
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  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, I know when it comes to these Formula One
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  drivers, millisecond counts, right?
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  It's like reaction time.
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  And one thing they can't settle for is procrastination, which
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  is so common in day to day.
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  you get people that can't make a decision, a Cheesecake Factory in 20 minutes.
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  It's like, come on, pick your meal.
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  You know?
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  I find it fascinating.
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  One thing, you know, how can somebody's reaction time be improved on the track?
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  'cause I think, uh, we're so slow to action and I think
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  maybe that affects brain health.
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  It's like.
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  Dive in, do it, get it done, and, we're just, nah.
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  Maybe tomorrow.
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: Yeah.
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  it is interesting because, people, procrastinate for different reasons.
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  Sometimes it's because they feel overwhelmed, right?
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  They're often, like at the Cheesecake Factory, that menu is enormous, right?
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  So you that's why people might feel overwhelmed, but sometimes
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  we procrastinate because we don't feel, enough, like
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  drive to actually do the work.
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  So like if the deadline's too far off in the future or something like that, Then
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  we might just, we might leave it until there's a, bit more urgency to do it.
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  And then sometimes we see that people are more likely to procrastinate.
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  Similarly, when they're sleep-deprived or they're stressed, they just
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  can't really focus, get their brain engaged in the same way.
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  And we know that these are things that are trainable And we can improve them
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  and just like we can actually improve reaction time up to a certain point.
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  So part of it is just practicing that process.
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  So when, we've done some work with drivers who are trying to improve their, reaction
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  time off the line, a lot of it is just.
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  first of all, getting really focused.
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  So, we talk about the needs to increase arousal And in this setting, arousal is
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  just, increasing sort of like, the energy that we are investing in this process.
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  So that's kind of our focus and attention and making sure
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  that we're really like engaged.
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  So, there are lots of ways to do that.
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  And we can do that on a day-to-day basis if we're not really feeling into it.
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  bright light.
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  is a great example.
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  we can, do a little bit of exercise.
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  So getting up and moving around that can sort of, increase our focus and attention.
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  upbeat music can do the same thing, And we do this, with the drivers as well to
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  kind of get them in the zone to perform.
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  And then it's just a case of, getting some reps in right, practicing the
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  processes that you're trying to do.
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  And so, particularly if we're thinking about.
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  Either making decisions in our day-to-day life or trying
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  to focus on a piece of work.
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  It's really just, building up a practice of, doing that.
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  So sometimes you just have to practice making those decisions, kind of get
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  yourself in the right, frame of mind.
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  get yourself amped up if you need to.
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  'cause sometimes we, if we're a little disengaged, we're
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  less likely to make a decision.
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  And then it's just that process of showing the brain that you
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  can do it, and practicing it.
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  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, And also I would guess tapping into
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  your instincts, trust them.
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  No more self doubts.
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  I think people just like that.
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  Devil's advocates said, no, maybe you should think about, I think, I remember
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  Captain Kirk on the old star track, man, he would just make a decision.
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  Boom, go for it.
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  I mean, it was just like, that's the captain man.
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  Everyone else is, I don't know, Jim, that doesn't sound good.
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  And he was always right.
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  So I think we have a hard time just trusting our instincts.
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  You know, if we're wrong, we learn.
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  From them And then we, know better next time.
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  So I think that's good as well.
• 12:28
  Lemme ask you, you brought up sleep a couple times and that's the number one
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  complaint I hear from people over 50.
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  They can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep, or they wake up
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  feeling like they never slept.
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  Why is getting old associated with insomnia And what effect really
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  does that have on brain health?
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: Yeah, there's a few different things.
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  play here.
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  And, some of it is, probably gonna be related, to the environment.
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  We know the environment is really critical, for sleep, so I'm sure,
• 12:53
  your listeners have heard several times, making sure you have a cool
• 12:55
  dark room, making sure you have some kind of, wind down, period where you.
• 13:00
  turning down the lights, you're not watching scary movies.
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  anything that's gonna get you sort of like laptop.
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  You're not working on the laptop right before you go to bed.
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  You're not working in bed.
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  All of these things can kind of make it harder to get settled down.
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  another thing that we see is that, Again, how we use our
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  brains often drives how we sleep.
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  So when you really work hard with your brain that night, your brain
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  has a biggest, drive for sleep.
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  we see the same thing with physical activity.
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  If you, do exercise that night, you tend to sleep better.
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  So I think sometimes what happens, as people get older is they stop
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  doing these things that challenge the brain and body that then.
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  Drive the brain to need more sleep.
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  So there was one study, in older adults where they had them do, brain
• 13:43
  training using a brain training program over a few weeks, and they
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  started to sleep better 'cause they were using their brains, And that was
• 13:49
  creating this greater drive for sleep.
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  So, yes, it's really important to create a wind down routine.
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  Create a environment that feels conducive to sleep.
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  But another thing that I think we can do is make sure that we're really
• 14:00
  challenging ourselves during the day, both physically and cognitively, because that
• 14:03
  sets up the brain to sleep that night.
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  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, I know.
• 14:07
  We're so techno bombarded in this era of human history, And
• 14:11
  we have apps now that trek sleep.
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  We got tools to sharpen our focus and more social media
• 14:15
  resources than ever in history.
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  But there's a flip side.
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  With all of this information overload, our brains are being pulled
• 14:21
  in so many different directions.
• 14:22
  I'm curious, as a neuroscientist, what's your views on This?
• 14:25
  Is modern technology helping our brain or quietly working against it?
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  Tommy Wood, PhD: The reality is, that it could go either way.
• 14:33
  So we see a few different strands of evidence that we could use technology
• 14:38
  to improve cognitive function, or it could have a detrimental effect.
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  So.
• 14:43
  In, older adults again, so people in their sixties and seventies, we see that greater
• 14:47
  technology use in general is associated with better cognitive function and
• 14:51
  potentially even a lower risk of dementia.
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  Because in that group of people who didn't grow up with social media and screens
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  in that same way, This is a new skill.
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  This is a new stimulus.
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  They're usually using it to connect to family, spend more
• 15:03
  time communicating with people.
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  that's a net benefit.
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  we also see.
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  a wide range of groups that using technology in stimulating ways.
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  So for instance, certain video games that have, you're in a
• 15:14
  first person in a, complex world, you're having to solve problems.
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  you're having to kind of learn the map.
• 15:20
  often you're having to react quickly to, whatever it is that you you are fighting
• 15:23
  or trying to solve or trying to climb.
• 15:25
  And those kinds of games, one that probably has the best evidence for it is
• 15:28
  Super Mario 3D World can actually improve.
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  Cognitive function because again, it's a new skill.
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  It requires you to rapidly process information, solve complex skills.
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  These are not things that we necessarily do on a day-to-day basis at the other end.
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  we see that if you are, spending say all day, just scrolling passively on
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  social media, we know that just passive consumption is associated with lower
• 15:50
  activation in certain parts of the brain.
• 15:52
  decreased ability to, focus and pay attention for extended periods,
• 15:56
  potentially worse mental health, as well.
• 15:58
  and we're starting to see a little bit of this with the large language
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  models, the AI like chat, GPT, where the first studies, and I think This is
• 16:05
  gonna change over time because these, AI tools are, changing so rapidly.
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  But we see that when people use these tools for a certain complex task, their
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  brains are less engaged in that task.
• 16:17
  and they feel less ownership of it because their brain's not doing the work.
• 16:19
  They're letting the.
• 16:20
  the algorithm do the work.
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  So there's kind of two parts of it.
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  We, can use these technologies as novel stimuli, that can actually
• 16:27
  build, interesting and new functions or we sort of let the algorithm take
• 16:32
  over And we stop engaging our brains And we let it do the hard work.
• 16:35
  And then I'll think, we'll see the opposite effect.
• 16:37
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, that was a good perspective.
• 16:38
  I know yesterday I'll share this, the family was in there, seeing me And then.
• 16:43
  Teenager was glued to the, social media And we locked.
• 16:46
  Come on honey.
• 16:47
  Time to go.
• 16:47
  wouldn't acknowledge it.
• 16:48
  We walked out.
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  The kids stood there for 10 minutes.
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  We did a test.
• 16:51
  Let's When the kid noticed everybody left the room.
• 16:53
  It's so like, mind boggling.
• 16:55
  It's like, And that can't be healthy.
• 16:57
  like 10 minutes.
• 16:58
  Finally looked at, oh, where is everybody?
• 17:02
  Lemme ask you this, something I feel strongly about.
• 17:04
  I love your neuroscience take on it, is I believe one of the
• 17:07
  greatest threats to long-term brain health is a lack of purpose.
• 17:10
  So many people, they get stuck in monotonous routine with
• 17:14
  nothing new to challenge them, nothing to look forward to.
• 17:16
  No sense of meaning.
• 17:17
  Does this type of mental stagnation, does it suppress like neuroplasticity
• 17:21
  or, reduce the brain's ability to generate new connections?
• 17:25
  Tommy Wood, PhD: So, yes, I, I think that is a really important part,
• 17:27
  what it means to like even be a human that lives a long time and feels
• 17:31
  good about their place in the world.
• 17:32
  but we do see that people who have a, lower sense of purpose do tend
• 17:36
  to have a higher risk of dementia.
• 17:38
  And I think that there's multiple reasons for this.
• 17:40
  So when we know, when we feel a lack of purpose.
• 17:43
  Essentially creates a stress response because we have this
• 17:45
  sort of existential crisis.
• 17:46
  Like, why are we even here?
• 17:47
  And our body feel that you can measure this in, terms of, stress responses.
• 17:51
  And we know that chronic stress is associated with
• 17:53
  increased risk of dementia.
• 17:54
  Also, if we don't have purpose, then.
• 17:57
  We are not going out and engaging with the world and engaging with
• 18:00
  other people and engaging with these, complex skills that we know are really
• 18:03
  important, for building and maintaining brain health because we don't really
• 18:06
  feel like there's a point to it.
• 18:08
  so I think there's multiple reasons why purpose is so important, and usually
• 18:11
  purpose is built either through.
• 18:13
  Meaningful, challenging, work or hobbies or it's built through connections to
• 18:19
  other people And we know that social connection is, really important for
• 18:22
  long-term brain health or, it's a bit of both and, and probably for
• 18:24
  most people it's a bit of both.
• 18:25
  So finding ways to connect to people, finding ways to engage in, hobbies
• 18:30
  and activities But also kind of feel challenging and, worthwhile in that way.
• 18:35
  I think that's gonna be a really critical part of all of this,
• 18:38
  particularly if we're trying to maintain our cognition late into life.
• 18:41
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, it's so true, especially when people retire.
• 18:43
  A lot of them soon die after 'cause they've lost their purpose.
• 18:45
  They think their purpose was the nine to five, and they
• 18:47
  don't find that other avenue.
• 18:49
  So a good point.
• 18:50
  Let me ask you, when you hear the word stimulated mind, the
• 18:53
  first thing you think of is.
• 18:55
  Coffee.
• 18:56
  Those two go together.
• 18:57
  So when I was in school though, interesting, we were taught that
• 19:00
  coffee was inflammatory, potentially linked to Alzheimer's disease, cancer.
• 19:03
  Now experts say coffee protects the brain and helps fight disease.
• 19:07
  So set the record straight for us.
• 19:09
  Is our morning Java a friend or fo to the brain?
• 19:12
  Tommy Wood, PhD: I think it can absolutely be a friend.
• 19:14
  So, a really, recent, a meta-analysis just came out.
• 19:17
  Uh, study of many studies showing that, regular, coffee and tea consumption was
• 19:21
  associated with a lower risk of dementia.
• 19:22
  This is sort of two to four cups a day, And we actually, we see
• 19:25
  this really consistently in the scientific literature nowadays.
• 19:28
  for the average American.
• 19:30
  Coffee is the primary source of antioxidants in the diet, and that's
• 19:33
  probably one reason why it seems to be so beneficial for the brain.
• 19:37
  We know that the antioxidants and polyphenols that we see in coffee and tea,
• 19:41
  but also in, berries in particular, as well as, the things that make, you know,
• 19:45
  peppers and carrots, red and, and yellow.
• 19:48
  these kinds of colorful, antioxidants are really critical
• 19:51
  for long-term brain health.
• 19:52
  for many people, coffee is the primary source of them.
• 19:55
  so the only reason why, we might see something slightly different is if we.
• 19:58
  Drinking coffee late into the day, then it can affect sleep.
• 20:02
  caffeine particularly, affects deep sleep.
• 20:04
  and there are some studies that show the same thing, that if people drink
• 20:07
  most of their coffee in the morning, they see long-term health benefits.
• 20:10
  But if they're drinking coffee throughout the day, some of
• 20:12
  those benefits are negated.
• 20:13
  It's not bad for our health.
• 20:15
  We just don't see an overall benefit, and that's probably because it's
• 20:18
  starting to interfere with our sleep.
• 20:19
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, interesting.
• 20:20
  What about these neurotropics on the market supplements?
• 20:22
  Promising sharper focus, better memory, protect against dementia.
• 20:26
  Lot of hype out there.
• 20:27
  As someone dedicated to his career, to evidence-based brain health, do any
• 20:31
  of these brain boosters earn the Dr.
• 20:32
  Woods seal of approval?
• 20:34
  Tommy Wood, PhD: essentially no, is the simple answer.
• 20:36
  Uh, uh.
• 20:38
  There are a few things, few, a few supplements we might use in
• 20:41
  scenarios with certain people, with certain athletes based on, their
• 20:44
  own, personal, like requirements.
• 20:46
  But I think what we do have really good evidence for is supplementing
• 20:50
  with nutrients that we know are critical for brain health.
• 20:53
  If we're not getting enough of them from the diet.
• 20:55
  So these are things that we, could, and, or should get enough of from the diet,
• 20:59
  but not everybody manages to do that.
• 21:00
  So, Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, particularly B12, and
• 21:04
  folate, vitamin D, and iron often.
• 21:07
  Those are the most commonly tied to an increased risk of dementia long-term
• 21:11
  if we don't have enough of them.
• 21:12
  And so.
• 21:13
  In the setting of, inadequate intake from the diet, or if for whatever reason
• 21:17
  you, you end up deficient, like some medications can interfere with, B12
• 21:21
  uptake, certain dietary patterns might have more or less of these, nutrients.
• 21:25
  We have good evidence that, we can supplement with these and still see
• 21:28
  benefit, but you could also get them from the diet if you're eating sort
• 21:31
  of a well-rounded OB omnivorous, nutrient-dense whole foods based diet.
• 21:34
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah.
• 21:35
  Speaking of diet, we've gone from skipping breakfast to
• 21:37
  intermittent fasting windows.
• 21:39
  Now the one meal a day and now there's multiple day
• 21:42
  fasts with no food whatsoever.
• 21:44
  Is depriving the brain of fuel a good thing for long-term brain health?
• 21:48
  Tommy Wood, PhD: This really depends on your starting point.
• 21:51
  So we see that.
• 21:53
  Energy availability, and that's energy availability in the dire And in the
• 21:56
  body has kind of a, bell-shaped curve relationship with, brain health.
• 22:01
  One way that you might measure That is what we call brain reserve, which
• 22:04
  is just a fancy way of saying how much brain you have in your skull
• 22:07
  And in general, more is better.
• 22:09
  And so we see that at very high energy availability.
• 22:12
  This is with people who've been.
• 22:13
  Overeating for extended periods of time, that's tied to type two
• 22:17
  diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, then we see
• 22:20
  a decrease in brain reserve, but we also see it at the other end.
• 22:23
  So if we're chronically depriving ourselves, we're chronically undereating.
• 22:28
  This is actually also very common in athletes and it can
• 22:31
  impair their cognitive function.
• 22:32
  We see changes in mood.
• 22:33
  We see changes in ability to sleep, inability to focus.
• 22:37
  Long-term, severe caloric restriction can also, decrease, brain volumes brain
• 22:42
  health, both because it is just not getting enough energy and because then
• 22:46
  you're not getting enough of the nutrients that we know are critical for the brain.
• 22:48
  so you want to hit this sweet spot where, you are able to maintain
• 22:52
  good cardiovascular and physical and metabolic health, but you are
• 22:55
  not going to either of the extremes.
• 22:57
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, very good.
• 22:58
  We can't, end without discussing the popular cannabis.
• 23:01
  It's everywhere.
• 23:02
  Gummies, beverage, tinctures, vapes, you name it.
• 23:04
  Many.
• 23:05
  They're going for brain related benefits.
• 23:07
  They're managing stress quieting that mental.
• 23:10
  Chatter, they're trying to get deeper sleep.
• 23:12
  What's your opinion on long-term cannabis use in cognitive health?
• 23:16
  Tommy Wood, PhD: I think most of these things, a short term fix that's papering
• 23:20
  over some bigger cracks that are usually gonna cause more of a problem downstream.
• 23:24
  So, in certain neurological conditions or in people with
• 23:27
  chronic pain, then we know that.
• 23:29
  extracts of, cannabis with THC and C BDD can improve sleep.
• 23:33
  That's probably gonna be, again, a net benefit.
• 23:35
  But for everybody else, if you're using this to relax because you're chronically
• 23:38
  stressed, but you're not dealing with the things, that are causing the chronic
• 23:41
  stress, or, finding other ways to buffer your ability to handle stress.
• 23:44
  So we know that people tolerate stress better if they, are
• 23:47
  physically active regularly.
• 23:48
  we also, know that You're thinking about trying to eliminate stresses or,
• 23:53
  or how we handle the, pressures on a day-to-day basis, mindfulness meditation.
• 23:56
  can we sort of buffer it in those ways?
• 23:58
  So I think that, there is some evidence that long-term use, particularly
• 24:02
  of high doses of some of these cannabinoids may be detrimental
• 24:05
  for the brain, certain extracts.
• 24:08
  Individual cannabinoids, have some interesting properties that are
• 24:11
  being studied for neuroprotection and neuroinflammation, but we're
• 24:13
  not at a point yet where I would say This is something that people
• 24:16
  should be regularly taking.
• 24:17
  And I think for most people, particularly if they're using it regularly,
• 24:21
  it's likely to be a net negative.
• 24:22
  mainly because whatever it is they're using it to deal with is
• 24:25
  the primary problem, but they're still not dealing with it.
• 24:27
  They're just sort of, dealing with the symptoms.
• 24:29
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah.
• 24:30
  And common sense when you're on it, it alters your mind.
• 24:32
  You can't think straight.
• 24:33
  What makes you think it's gonna help you think straight in the future?
• 24:36
  Tommy Wood, PhD: Yeah, that's that.
• 24:37
  I mean that,
• 24:38
  David Friedman, BS: Simple.
• 24:39
  It.
• 24:39
  It's simple.
• 24:40
  I mean, uh, such great information And the minute we have left,
• 24:44
  is there anything you'd like to share that we didn't get to today?
• 24:47
  Tommy Wood, PhD: I think the main takeaway that I want, people to have is first
• 24:49
  that we have a huge amount of, ability to change our cognitive trajectory, whatever
• 24:54
  it is now, or whatever our risk might be.
• 24:56
  Have, lots of ability to improve that.
• 24:59
  And then I think one of most important ways to do that, which
• 25:02
  we don't necessarily do enough of, particularly as we get older And
• 25:04
  we as we retire, is thinking about.
• 25:07
  The fact that how we use our brains is the primary determinant
• 25:10
  of how our brains function.
• 25:11
  So if we want to have focus and memory and be able to think quickly and make
• 25:16
  decisions quickly, then we need to do, activities that, train those skills.
• 25:21
  So, learning music, learning languages, interacting with people, learning sports,
• 25:25
  Those are the kind of things that really help and build, maintain, and maintain,
• 25:29
  brain function long-term because you are kind of training those capacities.
• 25:33
  And then if we do that, those capacities can, we can keep them
• 25:36
  around for, decades into the future.
• 25:38
  David Friedman, BS: Yeah, well said.
• 25:39
  Great enlightening conversation.
• 25:41
  I wanna thank you so much for joining us.
• 25:42
  The uh book is called The Stimulated Mind.
• 25:45
  Future Proof Your Brain From Dementia and Stay Sharp at any age.
• 25:49
  And you can get your copy@drtommywood.com
• 25:53
  and on Instagram you can find him at.
• 25:55
  Dr.
• 25:56
  Tommy Wood, and you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook at Dr.
• 25:59
  D Friedman.
• 26:00
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• 26:01
  Wood share something today that somebody you know needs to hear,
• 26:04
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• 26:06
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