>>> ALL RIGHT. GET READY FOR A MENTAL BOOST. THIS MORNING, WE ARE FOCUSING ON STRATEGIES TO HELP OUR BRAINS AND IMPROVE OUR MEMORY. WENDY SUZUKI IS A PROFESSOR AT NYU. SHE'S OUT WITH A SERIES ABOUT BRAIN HEALTH ON MASTER CLASS AND HERE TO SHARE SOME OF HER EXPERTISE WITH YOU THIS MORNING. EARLIER ON THE SHOW, RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW, WE PUT UP A LIST FOR OUR VIEWERS AND OURSELVES AND WE'RE GOING TO NOW TRY TO RECALL -- >> DON'T PUT IT UP YET. >> AL, YOU GO. >> CARROTS, YOGURT, MILK, GRANOLA, TOMATOES, SPINACH. >> YEAH, THAT'S IT. I MEMORIZED IT -- >> IT'S INTERESTING YOU DO IT OUT OF ORDER, BUT I DID IT IN THIS ORDER. >> THAT'S VERY HARD TO DO. IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S NO BIG DEAL, BUT ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU PUT SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND YOUR MIND IS ALL OVER THE PLACE. WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS. >> HERE ARE THE FOUR SCIENCE-BASED TOOLS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE THESE MEMORIES STICK. THEY ARE REPETITION, DYLAN, I SAW YOU PRACTICING THAT AT THE BEGINNING, ASSOCIATION, NOVELTY, AND EMOTIONAL RESONANCE. THIS IS WHAT HELPS MEMORIES STICK. AND I DO A DEEP DIVE ON ALL FOUR OF THESE IN THIS MASTER CLASS CALLED -- >> EACH OF THESE? >> YES, CALLED BRAIN HEALTH. BUT TODAY I WANT TO FOCUS ON ASSOCIATION. BECAUSE THERE'S A BRAIN STRUCTURE THAT WE ALL HAVE CALLED THE HIPPOCAMPUS. AND IT IS A MASTER ASSOCIATER. SO ONE OF THE THINGS IT DOES REALLY WELL IS ASSOCIATE THOSE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO PUT IN YOUR MEMORY, LIKE THE GROCERY LIST, WITH SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR LONG-TERM MEMORY, AND IT'S REALLY GOOD AT DOING THIS WITH SPATIAL LAYOUTS. >> GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? >> THIS TECHNIQUE IS CALLED THE MEMORY PALACE. SO HERE'S HOW IT WORKS. IMAGINE YOUR CHILDHOOD HOME, I'M IMAGINING IT, AND YOU WALK THROUGH THE CHILDHOOD HOME. AND I'M WALKING THROUGH, ON THE THRESHOLD, I'M GOING TO PUT THE CARROTS RIGHT THERE. I'LL STEP OVER THE CARROTS, GO IN, I HAVE A BOOK SHELF ON THE LEFT. A BIG JUG OF MILK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK SHELF. I'LL TURN AROUND, THE PIANO, I'LL PUT MY TUB OF YOGURT RIGHT THERE. AND SO ON. AND I'LL WALK THROUGH THIS SEVERAL, SEVERAL TIMES. AND WHEN I HAVE TO RECALL THAT LIST, I JUST TAKE THAT SAME WALK. AND IT IS SO POWERFUL, THAT MEMORY EXPERTS AROUND THE WORLD USE THIS TECHNIQUE, THE MEMORY PALACE, TO HELP THEM REMEMBER RANDOM THINGS THAT THEY ARE CHARGED WITH. >> THAT IS SO COOL. WHY DOES IT HELP FOR IT TO BE YOUR CHILDHOOD HOME? >> NIT HOME THAT IS VERY, VERY, VERY FAMILIAR WITH -- IT COULD BE YOUR CURRENT HOME. >> WHAT ABOUT OVERALL BRAIN HEALTH, DOC? WHAT CAN WE DO TO FOSTER THAT? >> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO I, I KNOW THAT MOVING YOUR BODY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, IS THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE THING THAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR BRAIN HEALTH IMMEDIATELY, BUT ALSO FOR YOUR LONG-TERM BRAIN HEALTH. ASK WHY? EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU MOVE YOUR BODY, YOU ARE RELEASING A WHOLE BUNCH OF NEUROCHEMICALS. I CALL IT A NEUROCHEMICAL BUBBLE BATH FOR YOUR BRAIN. AND IT INCLUDES DOPAMINE AND SEROTONIN, IT MAKES YOUR MOOD IMMEDIATELY GO UP, THROUGH THE ROOF, BUT IT ALSO RELEASES GROWTH FACTORS. GROWTH FACTORS GO TO THAT MEMORY STRUCTURE, THE HIPPOCAMPUS, AND IT ACTUALLY GROWS BRAND-NEW SHINY HIPPOCAMPAL CELLS, THE MORE YOU MOVE YOUR BODY, THE MORE GROWTH FACTORS GET RELEASED, THE MORE HIPPOCAMPAL CELLS GROW, AND IT'S HELPING YOU GROW A BIG, FAT, FLUFFY BRAIN, EVERY TIME -- >> THE ONLY THING I WANT IS BIG, FAT, AND FLUFFY. SO YOU HAVE SOME OTHER THINGS, OTHER AREAS FOCUS THAT WE MAY NOT REALIZE CAN HELP OUR BRAIN FUNCTION. WHAT IS THAT? >> YES, SO, THE THINGS THAT HELP YOUR BRAIN FUNCTION, I'M GOING TO START WITH THE THING THAT WE ALL DON'T DO ENOUGH OF. SLEEP! SLEEP IS SO CRITICAL! IT CLEANS OUT THE GARBAGE FROM YOUR BRAIN, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, IT HELPS YOU EMOTIONALLY REGULATE SO YOU'RE NOT CRANKY AND ANGRY THE NEXT DAY. SO, SO HELPFUL. SECOND IS STRESS MANAGEMENT. SO CRITICAL. BREATH WORK IS SO IMPORTANT, EXERCISE IS GREAT BECAUSE OF THAT DOPAMINE AND SEROTONIN. SORRY, SOCIAL CORRECTION, SO CRITICAL. IN WE ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS, AND I INCLUDE PETS IN THERE AS WELL, WITH BECAUSE THEY ARE SO CRITICAL FOR OUR SOCIAL INTERACTIONS. AND FINALLY, FOOD, WHAT WE PUT IN OUR BODIES IS ALSO GOOD FOR OUR BRAIN. I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET SO MUCH, SO CRITICAL. >> REALLY QUICKLY, DOCTOR, ARE THESE SUPPLEMENTS WE HEAR ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FOR BRAIN HEALTH, IS THAT -- ARE THEY WORTH IT? >> A LOT OF THEM ARE NOT, BUT WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE HEALTHY FOODS, THE OMEOMEGS, BLUEBERRIE ARE SO GREAT FOR LONG-TERM BRAIN HEALTH. BUT I SAY, GET IT IN REAL FOOD. >> WENDY, I SEE WHY YOU HAVE A MASTER CLASS!
