Caring for your Brain

Your brain is the control centre for all your body’s functions such as walking, talking, breathing, smell and heart-rate.  It also controls all of your “thinking” functions, your emotions, how you behave and all of your intellectual (cognitive) activities such as how you attend to things, how you perceive and understand your world and its physical surroundings, how you learn and remember.  It follows therefore, that any trauma to your brain can impair some or all of these functions or activities, either temporarily or in some cases permanently.  However your brain is not fixed, it can reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.   Brain cells learn by literally making new connections with one another.

As time passes and you feel better, people, even doctors, will tell you that you are fine, "it's time to get on with life." That sounds good but before you go rushing back out into that big wide world, listen to your brain, really listen.  You will want to believe that your brain is going to be the same. The problem is that many people get impatient and try to rush the healing process. Restoring the networks by which the brain functions takes time.  New routes are constantly being tried but some end up as dead ends.   Newly established networks needs constant maintenance, and research has shown that these repair phases occur in sleep.   They may also be slower and less efficient at relaying information.

So go s-l-o-w-l-y when you start trying to resume your life.  You do not know how much, or how quickly, your brain will recover.  A brain that is struggling to cope will let you know by giving you a headache, making you unusually irritable, or confused, or disoriented, or afraid.  Be prepared for a long period of convalescence. Initial recovery may be rapid but usually falls short of complete. Further recovery takes place more slowly over a period of months even years.

Repairing nerves and maintaining them in the best possible condition therefore requires rest, essential nutrients, hydration, gentle exercise and a healthy lifestyle.  Fatigue is normal following the illness and is the brain’s way of “shutting down” in order to carry out repairs.  It is important to rest before becoming overtired: doing too much on a “good” day often results in days of extreme fatigue.  Action for ME produce a very good booklet explaining “Pacing” and how to put it into practice. “Pacing for People with ME” is available for free online www.afme.org.uk or at a cost of £3 for a printed booklet.

Structure your day with rest periods in-between activities.  Recovery is aided by a structured timetable of graded mental activity followed by rest; followed by graded physical activity followed by rest.  Initially rest periods should be long and activity periods short. As you improve spend longer on your activities and take shorter rests, always remembering to stop before you get overtired.

A healthy diet will also aid recovery, one that is high in antioxidants – found in fresh fruit and vegetables, and high in omega3’s – found in fish or flaxseed oils.   Antioxidants protect nerves from destructive elements.  The recommendation to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day should be taken seriously.   Omega 3 is an essential ingredient of myelin the covering of nerves in the brain.  Covering nerves with myelin can be likened to covering a road with tarmac, traffic flows much easier and quicker down a tarmac covered road.  Omega 3 is found in fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna and sardines), flax (linseed) oil and can be taken as an oil capsule.

Exercise improves blood flow through the brain, bringing the essential nutrients needed for repair and maintenance.  Exercise may even spur the growth of new brain cells and prolong the life of existing ones. A little fresh air can even improve mood.  Exercise doesn’t have to be time consuming, expensive or excessive: a short walk round the block 3 times a day will give your brain the boost it needs.