In many recent posts, I have reviewed much of what is known about the various factors influencing stress reduction. These have included changing thoughts, maintaining focus, managing your time, progressive muscle relaxation, and exercise. As I mentioned in the last post, stress is bad for your brain. Recent developments in biology as it relates to neuroscience further inform us about the mechanisms and the strategies to overcome these bad effects.
How do you maintain the fitness of your brain during periods of stress? Earlier research at Stanford showed that stress slowed the rate of new neuron birth in the hippocampus and in fact killed brain cells in that structure. The hippocampus is crucial to memory and learning and often is implicated as part of the memory loss in Alzheimer's Disease. Loss of neurons in the hippocampus may leave us more vulnerable to continued stress.
What we have learned is that the hippocampus is an area of the brain capable of giving birth to new neurons contrary to the thought for many years that this was not possible. New neurons are born and die in the hippocampus all the time.
Exercise is one of the most potent ways to stimulate new neuron birth in the hippocampus. I noted this in the last post. Research from Yale University has indicated that a molecule called IL-1beta (Interleukin-1 beta) is responsible for limiting hippocampal neuron birth. IL-1beta is involved in inflammation, increased by stress. If we can reduce IL-1beta during periods of stress, it may counteract cognitive problems that too much stress creates.
It is known that Omega-3 can reduce many hormones involved in inflammation as well as oxidation in the brain. This can counteract increases in stress, caused by IL-1beta. Putting all this together, use of Omega 3 as well as combining with exercise may well help protect the hippocampus during stress.
So, exercise can increase the birth of new neurons in your hippocampus and Omega-3 may protect them from stress-induced IL-1beta. When combined with other strategies such as maintenance of focus, attention to your potentially problematic thoughts, proper management of your time, and progressive muscle relaxation, you are well on the way to preventing excessive levels of stress reactions in your life. After all, stress in life is inevitable but your reaction to it is a choice.
For other information, please consult my website at www.successandmindset.com.