Arden - The brain bible : how to stay vital, productive, and happy for a lifetime

Copyright 2014 by John Arden. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-182657-0
MHID: 0-07-182657-2

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-182654-9, MHID: 0-07-182654-8.

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A book owes much to its many contributors. This book is no exception. Singling out the many people who helped this one along the way to its final form would blur the paramount contribution of two people. Without their efforts there would be no Brain Bible.

Tom Miller, my editor at McGraw-Hill, took this book with him to his new company, as it was about to suffer the fate of books that are orphaned when a publishing house closes down a division while books are still in the pipeline for production. He had a vision for this book, and he helped craft all aspects of it from the macro level to the micro level, making it far, far better along the way.

Roger Williams, my literary agent, has been a friend, teacher, and astute navigator through the many complexities of the publishing industry. His wisdom and counsel not only provided constant advocacy for this book but also gave me a great education on the changing landscape of the commerce of the written word. I thank him for promoting healthcare by ushering this book into being.

This book emerged out my concern for the scores of patients who have told me about their confusion and frustration with the often conflicting news stories and misinformation on ways to keep the brain healthy. One week they read that pomegranate juice is a magic potion, and the next week they read that keeping the mind quiet preserves the brain for later challenges. Next they read that crossword puzzles are the ticket, only to read the following week that there is limited benefit. What are reasonable people to believe?

There are far too many products sold with great promise, many of them snake oil. The truth is that there is no one thing alone, no miraculous pill or computer-based program, that will ensure a long and happy life for your brain. There are instead a variety of brain-healthy factors that you should know about and practice.

Perhaps you, like many people, dont want to sift through the maze of data to establish a clear road map and regimen for keeping your brain sharp. This book is in part an effort to pull all the loose ends together and provide a path. Instead of offering you myriad facts about the brain or pieces of information without cohesion, I have tried to organize the information about what you can do to maintain a sharp brain around five central factors. These well-researched factors can be considered a formula of behaviors and practices that will help protect and nurture your brain.

Having spent roughly 40 years helping people enhance their mental health, I have seen many theories arrive with great fanfare and fade away with a shrug of the shoulders. Frustrated with the tendency of psychology to feature the flavor of the week, I looked to neuroscience to weave it all together. To this end, in the mid-1980s I retrained in neuropsychology to focus the help that I provide on a brain-based approach.

As the director of one of the largest mental health training programs in the United States I am tasked with ensuring that our over 100 postdoctoral residents and interns receive training in practices that are steeped in science and are evidence-based. In other words, part of my job is to distill science and theory to central factors that enable our graduates to receive the best that science and healthcare offer. These training programs take place in 22 medical centers that offer integrative medical care, meaning that all healthcare providers collaborate for comprehensive, state-of-art healthcare. Integrative healthcare is our mission. An integrative approach to personal healthcare is the focus of this book.

In my nonKaiser Permanente life I have taught practical neuroscience with mental health professionals throughout the United States and abroad. I have led 30 seminars on an annual basis for the last several years. I have been fortunate to meet thousands of mental health professionals over the years who are eager to learn about practical neuroscience, not only to help their clients but also for themselves.

This book is meant for all of us who care about and want to nurture a healthy brain.

The Good News About Your Brain

Brain Bible Basics

What can we mature adults do to sharpen our brains? This book aims to answer that question with a deceptively simple formula. The differences between a sharp and a dull brain can depend on whether you establish and maintain the factors that I will cover in this book. A large body of research has shown that without these factors the brain dulls, resulting in major health problems, including dementia. By applying them to your daily life you can cultivate a healthy brain capable of thinking clearly and feel positive through the rest of your life.