Healthy Habits & The Nervous System

Boosting your serotonin levels can be as simple -- and natural -- as changing up your morning meal. Watch this video featuring Dr. Oz guest and fitness expert Tim Ferriss to learn how to start your day with a surge of serotonin. Full Answer

Nutrition also affects your neurons - for better and for worse. A diet high in sugar and saturated fat diminishes neurogenesis, whereas other foods increase it, including chocolate (in moderate amounts), tea, and blackberries, which contain a substance... Full Answer

Sure, vacations are great for both your stress level and your sex life. But they can also help improve your cognitive skills. How? Well, for one thing, you'll probably use a map or at least a complex set of instructions at least once. When you're... Full Answer

You're on a beach with a cold drink in one hand and a sizzling paperback in the other. The beach breeze kisses your face while the ocean tickles your toes. You hear gulls talking, waves crashing, and the steel-drum band jamming. You smell salt water and... Full Answer

For a quick and easy boost to your brainpower this weekend, pull down the shades, close your eyes and catch some daytime ZZZs. People who take daytime naps outperform non-nappers on memory exercises. And, surprisingly, a mere six minutes of... Full Answer

Exercise promotes blood flow to the brain and supplies the cells with oxygen and nutrients; in addition, it seems to boost brain hormones that help keep you focused, lowers memory-damaging amino acids and prevents—or possibly reverses—the... Full Answer

You should take an afternoon catnap. Most of the concentration and memory benefits we get from sleep happen in the first stage, so even a snooze as short at 30 minutes can benefit your brain. Full Answer

I still get amused by people who think sleep is a state of nothingness. Or that it’s a time when the body takes a much needed time-out. On some level, it’s true that sleep is a break from busy wakefulness for the body’s renewal... Full Answer

Research shows that when you're chronically sleep-deprived, your body doesn't have the time to build proteins and other brain-boosting components. So instead of waking yourself early, sleep until you wake naturally. Full Answer

Are you a do-gooder? If you are, chances are you'll stay sharp as a tack as you age. Volunteering in a social setting -- tutoring kids in a library or school, for example -- can help reverse or delay declines in brain function that happen with... Full Answer