As parents, we all want to give our children the best future. But did you know that their success, their emotions, and their behavior all come down to one thing—brain health?

Dr. Daniel Amen, a world renowned psychiatrist, emphasizes the importance of brain health in every aspect of life- mental strength, relationships, and overall happiness. The brain controls everything!

The rise in depression, anxiety, ADHD, and even suicides among our children and young adults is alarming. While awareness around mental health has grown, which is a great start, awareness alone is not enough. It’s time to take action and make a change! This starts with you and your children!

Mental health is controlled by the brain!

Mental health struggles including depression, anxiety, and ADHD are actually symptoms of an unhealthy brain. The brain is a physical organ that controls everything about you! Everything you think, feel, say and do! The brain controls our emotions, focus, learning and decision-making. The brain is incredible and complex.

Brain health is pivotal in your child's development. Did you know that their brain is not fully developed until age 25 and even later for boys. The last part of their brain to develop is the prefrontal cortex. This is the decision-making area of the brain. This is why children need parents for guidance. Children need your influence to help them keep a healthy brain. When the brain is healthy, they will thrive! But an unhealthy brain leads to trouble.

I experienced this trouble firsthand as a young adult. When I was a sophomore in college, I found myself in a deep depression. It was one of those cases where if you knew me, you would have never suspected it. I had a great life- a loving family, many friends, I was at my dream school and doing well. I really had no external reason to be depressed and for over 10 years the depression was a mystery to me. Now that I have studied brain health, the reason for my depression is very clear. I had an unhealthy brain.

I’ve narrowed it down to a few key things – sleep, diet, and thoughts. I was getting maybe 4 hours of sleep at night and often pulling all nighters to study for exams. My diet consisted of cereal, peanut butter and jelly, and mac & cheese. I really thought Special K was healthy. I had no idea that I was wrecking my body and mind with a blood sugar rollercoaster. The last thing was my unmanaged thoughts. I had no skills in controlling those negative thoughts that automatically popped into my head. My story is terrifying. It is terrifying because it was so easy to get depressed. I had a blessed life and none of that mattered when I was doing things that hurt my brain. What does this mean for our kids and young adults? Even for grown adults? How can we prevent this?

The answer is brain health. I truly believe what caused my depression was preventable. Depression is a symptom of the brain when it is not healthy. Now that you are aware of this, join this brain health revolution that has been started by Dr. Daniel Amen. Love your brain and see how your life can change!

 I am going to share 6 brain health basics and then 6 tiny habits that you can start for you and your child.

1.  The brain controls everything we do, and everything we do impacts the brain
   
   The brain is incredible. It controls our breathing, our thinking, what we say, what we do and how we do it. It controls how we interact with others, our motivation, and our focus. On the other hand, while the brain is controlling everything, it is also impacted by everything. Everything we hear, see, touch, smell, and taste is impacting the brain. The next few points explain this more.
2.  The brain loves healthy food
   
   Eating healthy is especially critical for the developing brain of your child. Their brain is being built by the food they are consuming. This is important for the long term not just the short term. Short term impacts of food can be very obvious. Have you ever noticed how your child behaves after eating something with sugar or red dye 40? There is a reason red dye 40 is being banned. It has an impact on the brain and changes behaviors. The brain loves real food- veggies, fruits, natural proteins, and healthy fats. The brain does not like sugar or fake and processed foods.
3. Blood flow keeps the brain healthy
   
   Blood flow is the most critical risk factor in Alzheimer's disease. Our brain needs healthy blood flow to thrive. Exercise is a great way to boost blood flow.
4. Sleep is essential
   
   As parents, you've all experienced the aftermath of lack of sleep of yourselves and a tired child- irritability, brain fog, fatigue. This is because the brain needs sleep. Sleep is a time of not just rest but also to repair and consolidate memories.
5. Thoughts impact the brain
   
   What you think controls how you feel and ultimately what you do. Our thoughts good or bad impact neurotransmitters in the brain that affects our brain systems. Thoughts are so powerful, and it takes skills to manage these. Skills that we are often not taught. I encourage you start being aware of you and your child's automatic negative thoughts and start questioning them.
6. The brain is soft like butter and must be protected
   
   The brain is soft like butter and surrounded by the skull with sharp boney ridges. Head injuries are a hidden cause of mental health problems. Be aware of this! Sometimes accidents are unavoidable, but some can be prevented. Try to protect your children when you can by avoiding contact sports or activities such as football, hitting soccer balls with heads, or head banging bricks or boards.  Seek the help of a doctor who understands the brain, especially if a blow to the head has caused a change in behavior.

 Now how do you apply this information? 

The best thing you can do for your child is model a brain healthy life. You will be amazed at the improvements you will find in yourself and your child.

Start today with one simple habit!

Here are a few ideas:

1. Every day, with every action, ask yourself and your child "is this good for my brain or bad for my brain?"
   
   Train them young. Start talking about the healthy foods when you serve them. For example, when serving them blueberries, ask them "are blueberries good for your brain or bad for your brain?" Then you can expand, "what about candy? Is candy good for your brain or bad for your brain?"
   
   When you make healthy decisions, explain this to your child. They will eventually pick up what you are modeling. For example, at a birthday party, I will not eat the cake and I will tell my kids, cake is bad for my brain. I am loving my brain.
   
   They will learn. They are still learning how to make decisions. Remember their prefrontal cortex is not fully developed. Here is an example how I know my kids are taking in what I am trying to teach them. At nighttime, my two year old tries to avoid going to sleep by asking for a snack. He started to ask for apples and his stance is "But Mommy, apples are good for my brain." He has also said funny things like "poop is good for my brain but not my bum". Start having these conversations with your kids early so they know the importance of their brains and how what they eat and do impacts it.
2. Prioritize sleep
   
   You are busy parents or caregivers but sleep is critical for both of you and your child
   
   For you aim for 7-8 hours.
   For your child, look at the advice from your pediatrician based on their age group. Sleep needs can range from 8-14 hours.
3. Remove added sugar and high glycemic foods
   
   This can be a hard one. Maybe start by just being aware how you feel when you eat them. Once you are conscious of the effects it has on your brain and body, avoiding these foods may become easier.
4. Get moving to boost blood flow
   
   Start small. As a busy parent or caregiver, you sometimes have to get in what you can. Maybe try physical activities with your children like a trip to the park, riding bikes, or skating. Remember to wear helmets where appropriate!
5. Challenge your thoughts. Are those negative thoughts true? Do they serve you
   
   Negative thoughts come automatically. Dr. Amen calls these ANTs - automatic negative thoughts.
   
   These are often not true and do not serve you.
   
   Learn the skill to recognize these when they happen then question them!
   
   Ask yourself - is this true? Does this thought serve me? Then try to reframe your thought to something that is more accurate and helpful. Do this with you kids as well.
6. Implement helmet wearing for any activity where falls can occur
   
   Where the helmet! Dr Amen tells a story about a young woman who fell off of her bike and hit her head. Before her accident, she was a very happy person.  After her accident, she started to experience depression and ultimately died by suicide. There are many other stories where head injuries caused psychiatric problems. The best thing to do is try to prevent them by avoiding the activity or protecting children and yourselves by wearing a helmet. If head injuries do occur, seek the help of an experienced doctor in this area. The Amen Clinics have many success cases of helping those recover from head injuries.

I hope you found this post helpful. Understanding brain health has changed my life and I am on a mission to advocate for this to help others overcome their mental struggles and prevent these in children.

I am writing the series of the Brainy Adventures of Buddy and Tug to help share these concepts in a fun way to our kids.

If you'd like to learn more, I am just getting started. You can subscribe to my email list and get some free coloring pages, weekly brain health tips and updates on the book series.

Thank you for reading and love your brains!

Jenny Gregory

Jenny Gregory

Dr. Amen Brain Health Licensed Trainer

The Prosperous Mind LLC