How sugar affects the brain - Nicole Avena
When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice. This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine -- an overload of sugar spikes the number of signals being transmitted in the brain and leaves you craving more. Nicole Avena explains why sweets and treats should be enjoyed in moderation.
Lesson by Nicole Avena, animation by STK Films.
When we talk about mental health, most people immediately think about problems like ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and Stress. But what if we shift the perspective slightly and view mental health through the window of brain health? Doing so allows us to picture mental health in a very different way.
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Visit Dr. Avena’s website
Read Food Junkie, Dr. Avena’s blog on Psychology Today. Here is one post that is particularly relevant: Sugar Cravings: How sugar cravings sabotage your health, hormone balance & weight loss
All of this knowledge, and a great deal more, has helped to build a range of practical treatments to improve pain by working with your brain. The skilled Clinicians at Perth Brain Centre are equipped to teach you how these brain exercises for pain work and how to incorporate them into your daily life, to reclaim your brain and your life from chronic or persistent pain experiences.
Statistically our screen time increases in the cooler and wetter months, particularly winter. So too our time spent in other sedentary activities increases. There is a natural-ness to some of this behaviour. This month we set out to explore different ways of thinking about winter, screens, activity, and how we de-stress.
If we’re honest it’s more like this time in the new year, not New Year’s Day, when life drifts back to what we think of as our ‘normal’ and we start to consider, perhaps, that we may desire a different kind of normal. We really do want some new-ness for ourselves. We daydream about it; we consider what we could change in our same old routine to transform our ordinary into a life perhaps far more extra-ordinary.
We need to know more about Fibromyalgia because knowledge improves understanding, and a better understood person is happier, healthier and ultimately in less pain.
To boost the awareness of Autism around Australia and around the world on World Autism Day, join Autism Awareness Australia in showing support and love for those affected by ASD. Send in photos of your crew with #OurAutismCrew to get involved!
November marks Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) Week. PANDA, now in it’s 18th year, is all about supporting the mental and emotional wellbeing of expecting and new parents.
Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich looks at one of the secrets of the brain's incredible power: its ability to actively re-wire itself. He's researching ways to harness the brain's plasticity to enhance our skills and recover lost function.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.
When it comes to what you bite, chew and swallow, your choices have a direct and long-lasting effect on the most powerful organ in your body: your brain. So which foods cause you to feel so tired after lunch? Or so restless at night? Mia Nacamulli takes you into the brain to find out.
This week is the start of International Brain Awareness Ween 2018 ! Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is the global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research, and the “brain-child” of The DANA Foundation (www.dana.org). The Perth Brain Centre is proud to be an official partner of International Brain Awareness Week 2018, and every day we will be sharing some of the amazing benefits of brain research.
Anxiety and insomnia go hand in hand. When you're feeling anxious, it can be difficult to get to sleep. But when you're short on sleep, you may feel more anxious. This can result in a never ending cycle of anxiety, fatigue, and insomnia.
Breaking the cycle of anxiety and insomnia is best treated by addressing both issues concurrently. Ideally, you can alleviate anxiety before bed so you'll have less trouble getting to sleep. If you get a good night's sleep, you can face the next day better prepared to deal with anxiety.
Sugar free, gluten free, additive-free, paleo, Mediterranean, low salycilate…. With all of the many and varied opinions on diet these days it is easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to exploring diet and ADHD. Often the best approach is to start by looking at what scientific evidence is telling us…
Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by TED editors on the home page.
tDCS is a non-invasive brain based treatment that delivers a very weak depolarising and/or hyperpolarising current to the brain
Could you or someone you know benefit from reduced stress and anxiety? Looking for a drug free, non intrusive way to help?
