Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 My dad passed away from Alzheimer's disease, and it really shifted the course of my life and my career. And I spent the time studying Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline and the way our brain works. And then I looked at my dad and his life and kind of looked at the patterns of things that happened. And what I saw in my dad and I see in so many other people is as we reach our later years and we, uh, near retirement ages, we want to allow our brains to just rest. We've worked hard our whole lives, and we want to just let our brains rest. And as soon as we stop pushing ourselves, our brains stop growing, and then that, that decline can, can happen more rapidly.
Speaker 1 00:00:42 Hello, I'm Debra Rosman and a warm welcome to our listeners each month for the adhar Podcast. I have the privilege of interviewing individuals who are contributing to the creation of a more heart-based world. September 21st is not only the International Day of Peace, it's also World Alzheimer's Awareness Day. And I'm really excited to be talking with Dr. Scott Norta, a longevity physician who specializes in brain health, which as we all know, is essential for both mental health and peace, personal peace and global peace. Dr. Norder wrote this, Alzheimer's is one of the most feared diseases, and it's easy to see why rates of Alzheimer's disease are climbing exponentially. And most people aren't aware of new research showing that Alzheimer's is largely preventable. And he created what's called Creator of the Brain Lift Neural Protective Program. I love that name. And he's here to help us understand what we can do to protect our own brain health and maybe lift the brain fog some of us experience. Welcome Dr. NoDa.
Speaker 0 00:01:58 Thank you. Excited to be here.
Speaker 1 00:02:01 You know, people listening to this podcast are all ages 20 somethings to 80 somethings. Let's start with those who, like myself, are baby boomers. What do you suggest people over 60 do to lift brain fog, protect brain health, prevent Alzheimer's? What can we do?
Speaker 0 00:02:24 Yeah, I mean, the most important thing is that you can do something right? That, that was, uh, the belief for so long. And still a lot of people have that misunderstanding, that there's nothing you can do to prevent Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. And so number one thing is to understand that you can do something about it. Uh, that's, that's what I love about the type of medicine that we practice in functional medicine as it's an empowering form of healthcare. Instead of me just having to prescribe people a medication, we have the opportunity to partner with people, to empower them to, to change things and to take control of their life. So with that background, um, yeah, people over 60, there are so many good research studies showing, uh, multiple different things that can be done. So let's just start with a couple of basics.
Speaker 0 00:03:14 Uh, the one, there's been one study not too long ago that came out showing that for, uh, people in their middle of their life, or even up through their seventies or eighties, just starting an exercise routine can dramatically decrease your risk of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. So what I like to do is I'm all about stacking things in your life that are beneficial mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so, uh, if you can stack the things that we know to be beneficial, uh, and, and this is where a lot of people feel like, well, I'm 60, 70, 80, I don't move a lot already. How can I really get to a gym and lift weights and make a big difference in my life? And, and I feel like, you know, you just do what you can do and what you enjoy doing. So I love what, what you all do at HeartMath and really pulling your heart into everything that you do and combining that with, uh, the brain.
Speaker 0 00:04:12 So here are some thoughts. I liked, number one, to get outside. Spending time outside every day connects you with nature. It allows you to ground with the earth. If you can take your shoes and socks off and, and spend some time in the grass or the dirt or the sand or the cement, um, grounding is a really easy thing that just about anybody can do. And then that time outside in nature, allowing yourself to have a few minutes to, uh, do some type of deep breathing or meditation, clearing your mind, again, taking control, because our brain, if we don't control it, then it tends to control us. And so we go into these patterns of constant thoughts and worries, even as we're older. And I, I interview patients every day who are, uh, in their older years. And there's still, there's always just something to worry about, whether it's where the world is headed or their grandkids or their health or finances.
Speaker 0 00:05:13 And so our brain is naturally going to be drawn to those negative things and the worries, unless we proactively and intentionally control that. And so, uh, whether you're young or old, and we'll talk about maybe the younger ones here in a minute, but when you're older, really taking the time to pause. Uh, and I like to do that at the beginning of the day and then multiple times throughout the day, just pause and, and let your brain know. And number one, I'm in control and I'm gonna focus on the things that I want to focus on. Number two, let's focus on gratitude. Yeah. And then number three, kind of intentionally planning out the way that you want your day to go. So I think a a powerful morning routine is a really good way to start the day. And then, uh, combining that with some type of exercise.
Speaker 0 00:06:01 So that's walk, that's great if, if you can, uh, if you like to ride a bike, if you like to lift weights, if you, uh, can combine exercise with connecting with other people, that's a great way. So, like, my wife and I left to take walks at night. Uh, I know her parents left to go hiking. They're, they're in their older years and they're out here in southern Utah, hiking all these trails and Zion and Snow Canyon and all these state and national parks. And so you can also enjoy nature at the same time. So there's a a few ways to start the day. And then the other thing that I would say, and, and, uh, I, I know that you're aware, but my dad passed away from Alzheimer's disease and it really shift the course of my life and my career. And I spent the time studying Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline in the way our brain works.
Speaker 0 00:06:53 And then I looked at my dad and his life and kind of looked at the patterns of things that happened, partly, selfishly, to make sure that I don't follow that same pattern. 'cause I know I have that, that genetic risk. But also to, to understand how I can best help other people. And what I saw in my dad and I see in so many other people is as we reach our later years and we, uh, near retirement ages, we want to allow our brains to just rest. We've worked hard our whole lives, and we wanna just let our brains rest. And as soon as we stop pushing ourselves, our brains stop growing. And then that, that decline can, can happen more rapidly. So daily pushing yourself to learn something to progress, whether that's learning a language which some people like to do, learning or spending time with, uh, doing instruments, uh, or doing targeted brain training like, uh, we love Brain HQ as a program that we use in our, we, we partner with in our, um, brain lift program. So there are just a few things connecting with people, connecting with nature, uh, being proactive and intentional about your thoughts and breathing and uh, and gratitude. And then, uh, exercise and of course nutrition, eating good things. I could go on and on, but let's <crosstalk>
Speaker 1 00:08:13 Those. Well, that's wonderful. I wanna click on one thing you said because these are all healthy behaviors and things that we should be learning as children to continue throughout our life. And, but the one thing that I know, the, the worry loops that you talked about, and there's so much of that going on right now with young people, depression, anxiety, A D H D, the worry loops, and somehow that has the research shown that stress ongoing is connected to dementia at all. Because I think that's a serious issue. Even people exercise and do a lot of healthy eating can be obsessed with these neuro circuits that worry or are depressed or anxious. And that really concerns me a lot with, it's happening with the teenagers and the young people who don't see hope for the future. Have you seen a connection between that type of stress and dementia?
Speaker 0 00:09:11 Yeah, for sure. The, there's, uh, now a pretty, pretty strong, um, core of research that's shown the process that happens in our brain that turns on this H p a axis, which is kind of our fight or flight stress response. And that's what I was talking about with our brain has this sort of negativity bias. And so if we let it, it's going to tend to go toward just the things that we worry about in life, right? And, and it doesn't matter where we're at and what phase of life we're in, there are just always things that are going to worry us. And so, uh, I think the, the research, yes, so clear, and I see it so often that the more that our brains go into that fight or flight stress response, our, it basically sucks our reserves and our energy to do other things that are building and, uh, clearing out debris and toxins and, and really kind of heat, uh, healing and restoring and regrowing every day.
Speaker 0 00:10:10 So whenever we run into people where they're eating well and they're, they're exercising, they feel like they're doing everything right, uh, but they're still struggling with whatever illness, it, it can be an inflammatory type, autoimmune issue, or it can be cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. But, uh, so often that stress component is the one that people just haven't realized how, uh, much of an effect it's having in their life. So I would say 98% of the patients that we deal with have a really strong underlying sort of overactive stress response and H B A access that's always going in the background. And they may not realize it because they've lived that way for so long.
Speaker 1 00:10:53 Yeah, that is so important. Of course, at HeartMath, you know, our, a lot of our work with individuals and companies and health professionals is related to emotional self-regulation, stress regulation, so that people just even become aware of the stressors that, that, that they're processing and then knowing there's tools, there's things they can do about it. But getting these tools are waking people up to that because stress and anxiety has become almost an accepted norm. That's how we're supposed to be. And it certainly isn't. And, you know, is there anything when, I don't know if you work a lot with younger adults, but the, uh, the ones that I meet are so concerned about the future of the world, but also themselves. Um, is there anything else you find effective with younger adults to help them, uh, prevent brain, you know, mental health issues, not just Alzheimer's, but all the brain disorders that can happen, A D H D and, you know, the brain fogs that they complain about makes me feel better that when I hear a 30 year old say, oh, I'm got brain fog <laugh>, but I know it doesn't have to be that way.
Speaker 1 00:12:07 So what do you find with the younger people?
Speaker 0 00:12:12 Yeah, you know, I think, um, there, there are so many things. So I'll just say in general, what we'd like to do is you want to, the overall goal is give your brain the things that it does need. So that's the nutrition, it's the love and connection. It's the, the oxygen and all the things that it needs and sleep and rest, and then take away the things that it doesn't need. So that's all the toxins and toxic thoughts and interactions and excessive screen time and excessive time on social media and all the things that potentially can overwhelm the brain, right? And I would say that social media component and just time on our devices is a big one for a lot of the, the younger and older, uh, patients that we see. Um, but it, it just sort of colors our world and colors what is reality for us.
Speaker 0 00:13:01 And so, uh, so that's a big one again. So we're, we're feeding our brain what it needs, taking away what it doesn't, and then we're pushing our brain to get stronger and faster and better all the time. And so, um, and sometimes pushing our brain to be stronger and faster requires stepping away from things and having quiet time to allow our brain to have the space for those, those types of things. So again, I'll tell you what I do, um, since I'm in that younger crowd, I'm, I'm 41. Um, and what I've found, uh, I've noticed, again, as I've spent the research, spent the time researching and trying to figure out what I can do for my patients, uh, I've figured out just a few key things. So I, I talked about, uh, a morning routine. So my morning routine is, uh, and I've kind of figured out if I can design my life in a way where my brain has the, and my body have the space to, to be healthy, to grow and develop, then I can give more of myself to others.
Speaker 0 00:13:59 So, um, so my morning routine is to wake up early, uh, somewhere between five 30 and six. I go into our sauna that's in our closet. We had an infrared sauna and that really, uh, and I turn on usually red light therapy. And, and then, uh, within the sauna, I start out my day with that prayer and meditation, uh, very first thing that I do. And then I go into some scripture reading. And again, just kind of a lot of it is, is positive thinking and building myself up and understanding who I am and my role and purpose here on the earth. And, um, and then kind of intentionally planning out my day, uh, and, and figuring out how I want it to play out. And then once I get out, i'll sweaty, I do my exercise, and then I jump in my cold shower or cold plunge.
Speaker 0 00:14:49 And that's really kind of starting out my day. So there are just a few key things in there, um, like I mentioned. So, um, starting out with some type of positivity in your life so you can color the way that you want your day to go and intentionally planning it out. Saunas are awesome if you can do it. I told you before we jumped on the recording that it's 105 degrees here today. So there are days when I don't feel like getting in a hot, so I can just go outside and sweat like I did yesterday, <laugh>. Um, but starting out, uh, my day in that way allows me to then be in a space where I can mentally I'm prepared, and then physically I'm gonna push myself and exercise, uh, and then I'm going to, uh, do that cold plunge. So you get heat shock proteins in asana.
Speaker 0 00:15:35 You get cold shock proteins in the cold plunge. And so your body and your brain are already releasing anti-inflammatory, mood boosting, immune boosting, uh, components as you start your day. And then you're controlling your release of cortisol. So what should happen in that stress response is very first thing in the morning, your melatonin's dropping, your cortisol spikes wakes you up, it gets your brain moving. And then throughout the day, that cortisol should just slowly go down until you get back to nighttime when it's real low again. But what we see is we test people is a lot of times it's high in the afternoon, and then it's really spiking in the evening, because again, people are stuck in that, what do I need to do for this day? And so worried about what's happening and reading the news and worried about, now kids are coming home from school and I have to get dinner ready or, or it's a busy day at work, or whatever it is.
Speaker 0 00:16:27 And so, again, I think so often, and what I found, even in my professional life as a doctors, I felt like I was in this sort of rutt where I had to follow what the, the medical community told me was right, and that I had to do. And, and there wasn't a lot of flexibility. And once I stepped out of that and realized I can control the type of medicine that I practice, the type of life that I live, the way that I treat people, then it allows me to feel like I have much more control over my life. And so I would say that's a big one for younger people, is to feel like you have control and design, and then really designing your life the way you want it to be, filling it with things that are going to build you up and connect you with other people.
Speaker 1 00:17:10 I like that. You know, at HeartMath we don't necessarily prescribe quite a regime like that, and a lot of people wouldn't be quite motivated. We talk a lot about heart-based living and how just through your day, shifting back, like the power of pause to the heart and practicing heart qualities like find appreciation, care, compassion, gratitude, which you mentioned forgiveness. These aren't just sweet things, spiritual things to do. They're actually activators of heart, brain synchronization that can help us improve our cognitive function. And that's what a lot, lot of the research has shown. Heart, brain synchronization and techniques we can do to get heart-based living heart, brain in sync and coherence actually helps open up the frontal lobes for clearing brain fog, having more focus, mental clarity, more intuition, all those benefits from connecting with your heart and following your heart. And how do you see, what is your experience of, well, you just talked about listening to your heart. That's what I heard you say in all those mourning efforts, you are connecting more deeply with a deeper part of yourself, call it the heart, and, and getting that heart direction of what's purpose and meaningful to you. How do you see getting your heart and brain and seeing, 'cause it's so important for people, whatever methods they use to do that.
Speaker 0 00:18:42 Yeah, I think, I think that's key. You know, we, we talk a lot about like our heart being the place where our feelings are. And, and there's a lot of interesting research on that, uh, as far as what we feel and how it connects with the brainwaves that are actually happening in our brain and the, and the signaling pathways. And, um, and so just a few key things that I would say, in addition to what I've already talked about, one of those is the way that we connect with ourselves. So I talked about like really having, living with intention and planning out our day and really connecting with the way that we're feeling and gratitude, I think, uh, that's so important. But also throughout the day, just often we go through our day, sort of through mundane tasks or work or other things, and we don't ever connect our heart to what we're doing.
Speaker 0 00:19:35 So, you know, it's, it's interesting to see that research and see, like, if I'm doing the dishes or if I'm at work and I'm seeing patients, or if I'm cleaning something or if I'm, uh, pulling weeds, whatever it might be, right, I can put my heart into what I'm doing, and it makes such a difference. Instead of just mindlessly doing something while we're maybe thinking about other stuff, if we can connect. And I would say this is especially important when, uh, it involves being with other people. So I can come home from work or, or can, uh, talk to my kids after I'm working, right? And I can just hear them sort of jabbering in the background. Unfortunately, I still do this sometimes while my brain's somewhere else, but I try to take a moment and, and, uh, bring my, myself, my focus, my heart back to that conversation, that connection, uh, with my kids and, and let them tell me about their day, as silly as it might be, and the little things that happen so that it, there's that connection there with them and, and me.
Speaker 0 00:20:34 Um, and the same thing when I'm pulling weeds and mowing the lawn and I can have that connection with the earth and about what I'm doing and take pride and enjoy, like taking care of what I have. Um, or, you know, as I'm working, just really connecting with my coworkers and the, my patients in a way where my brain's not somewhere else. And I find that it adds meaning and value to your life, and it drops your stress levels rather than elevating your stress levels if you're connecting with somebody else. Although you may, you know, if you're, uh, an empathic person like me, you tend to maybe take on some of the, the feelings that other people have, but connecting with people in a way where, uh, where you, you can sort of add value and meaning into what you're doing, I think is so important.
Speaker 1 00:21:24 I, I, from my experience of behavioral psychologists, it's the most important thing. Even if you don't have time to do all the other exercises, maybe you don't eat perfectly, you don't do what all the other prescriptions. If you can shift back to your heart and release the stress, it helps clear, like you're talking about, clear the system. And through the day, you know, at HeartMath we start all our meetings like you and I did at beginning this podcast with just shifting in the heart, getting into heart rhythm, coherence, and just sending gratitude appreciation to each other, to all of you listening to this podcast, it's healthy as not only makes you feel good and gets your heart and brain in sync. So you're, you, you're optimizing your performance or your perceptions. It can shift perception in a moment when one thing looks like, oh, I gotta do this, and you're worrying about something, you just come back to that reset, reboot, you know, heart-focused breathing, find something to feel grateful about, and it changes the communication from the heart to the brain.
Speaker 1 00:22:33 And you just see a bigger picture, you see a different movie. And that is so important, like you were saying, to know that we have more power, these things we can do to take control of the inner movies that we see or process, that it's, it's not, we're not just victims of our, of our worry loops or of our perceptions. We really can choose. And that's what we mean by heart-based living. And you know, that's what HeartMath is dedicated to, is getting our art brain body in sync so we can live our best life. And you know, that's why I'm so honored to have you on this podcast because I know that's what you're about. And the world needs more people, doctors, programs, schools that help people understand this.
Speaker 0 00:23:25 Yeah. Can I add two things? I, I just love two things that you said. Perspective is one of those. I think a lot of stress comes from lack of perspective. Uh, and the more that we have a chance to step away from our small view of the things that are happening in our lives, the more that we see it from a big picture and realize it doesn't matter. For example, my 15 year old son was, is learning to drive right now
Speaker 1 00:23:54 <laugh>, and
Speaker 0 00:23:55 Here we are two days ago or a few days ago, and he's driving our truck into the driveway and mixed up the gas in the brake. Uh, and we plowed right into our, into our garage door. And it was an opportunity for me to say, how much does this matter versus my relationship with my son? Right? Yeah. Uh, definitely my initial reaction internally was a little bit frustrated, wanting to get really mad, and, and being able to just quickly step outside that and say, it doesn't matter. We'll figure that out later. Uh, and so just that perspective I think is so important. So that's number one. The other thing you said was that victim mindset, and that's something that, that I think we, we all need to understand. We can have this victim or victor mindset, right? We can let things happen to us and feel bad about it, or we can be the ones, uh, sort of taking control and, and having that victor mindset. So those are huge for anybody in any age, uh, but especially I think the younger kids when they feel like they maybe don't have as a lot of control over decisions and what happens to them. So,
Speaker 1 00:25:01 No, that's great. And, uh, people need tools and they need to be taught tools to make these shifts, to take charge. And, um, you know, I'm just reading about China wanting to limit screen time and they can just with a, you know, authoritarian thing because of how addictive it is and how babies one year old and two year olds, how it can stop brain development if you let them have too much screen time. I mean, it's scary, but for us it's about each of plus listening here. How do we take charge? Wherever you're doing, how do you go one more level to, you call it push your brain. I call to activate your higher potentials to really take, know that you can be more of the director of your life. So we're gonna do a little heart meditation to close out with that. Get our heart and brain sync with the research-based techniques that HeartMath provides, and we'll ask our own hearts intelligence for our next steps for clarity of what each of us can do for our own personal health and wellness, mental health heart connection. So let's focus our attention in the area of the heart and just do some heart-focused breathing, breathing through the area of the heart and out through the area of the heart, breathing a little slower, a little deeper than normal, and just find it easy rhythm that's comfortable
Speaker 1 00:26:42 Just doing this starts to balance your autonomic nervous system, which regulates 90% of your body's function. Now, as you continue this hard focused breathing, which you can do anytime during the day for a minute or two, you activator, recall a genuine feeling of gratitude, appreciation, or care or something, or someone in your life, put your heart into feeling that attitude of gratitude or care, then know that as you're doing this, you're synchronizing your heart rhythms, your brain rhythms into a more coherent mode, facilitate higher cor <silence> Now ask your hearts intuitive guidance for inspiration or clarity on your next steps for improving your mental, emotional health and having a more rewarding life. Sometimes it's as simple as just putting out more love and care and appreciation to others. And altruism has been found to just open our hearts and minds. I and I lock more of our potential. Now, whatever year intuitive guidance has said something specific, something general, remember to act on it. Remember to put that inspiration into action. Take a step towards it. And now let's close by co-creating a reservoir of coherent, hard energy that each of us can access as needed over the next month in the energetic field. And we need support to follow through on our heart's intuitive guidance and direction. Let's contribute to that hard energy reservoir.
Speaker 1 00:30:29 Well, thank you so much for sharing those few minutes with me and something you can do anytime during the day. Just take a time out, go to your heart, get in sync and follow your hearts guide, Dr. Norder is, and anything else you'd like to share with our listeners?
Speaker 0 00:30:50 Uh, I just wanna express my appreciation. It's been a blessing to be on here. And honestly, the more that I learn about the complexity of the body and our biology, the more I realize that it comes back to the power of love and connection. Yes. Uh, it's amazing how simple things like breathing and meditation can change physiology. And so yeah, take, take these things seriously and and implement them in your life and it will make a big difference.
Speaker 1 00:31:23 Yeah, thank you. And just it's self-care, but it feels good. It's like we're so brought up that self-care has to not feel good, but it, taking care of yourself is meant to feel good. Love is meant to, meant to be shared and feel good. So, as a gift to all of your listeners, I wanna remind you that you can get free access to an amazing online video course, the HeartMath Experience, to learn several helpful techniques for heart brain coherence and connecting with your deeper intuitive guidance and next steps. And our new HeartMath app, which just launched with our new Heart Brain synchronization sensor, has a old program called Seven Steps to Greater Brain Fitness based on getting your heart and brain in sync, like the exercise we did, you can go to heartmap.com to learn more, and I wanna remind you that the th Tuesday of every month we publish a new episode with a new guest. So be sure you subscribe so you don't miss our next guest and topic. Thank you all for being with us and take care.
Speaker 4 00:32:39 Thank you for listening to the Ad Heart Podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you can catch the latest episodes. If you're wanting even more heart inspired content, find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Look for HeartMath and also the HeartMath Institute. Both organizations are committed to helping activate the heart of humanity.
