Stress is a regular part of life. As humans, our stress response evolved as a survival mechanism giving us the physical strength and mental agility to deal with a life-threatening situation (such as a predator); but, in our current day life, humans feel stressed by many non-life-threatening situations. In today’s episode, we’re talking all about stress: what it is, how it affects your brain as well as your body & some strategies you can use to help manage the stress you experience on a day-to-day basis.

Your memories help make you who you are. Although the hippocampus is crucial for memory formation, memories are not stored in one specific area of the brain. In fact, strong memories often include sights, sounds, smells, and emotions. So, emotionally powerful memories will link many different areas of the brain together. This episode covers everything about memory – the different types of memories that you have, how memories are formed and three tips you can use to help boost your memory performance.

Your gut and your brain are inextricably linked. What you eat and drink affects your body, your brain, your mood, and your risk of disease. Your brain and your gut are physically connected via the spine and your vagus nerve – but, your gut and your brain are also in constant and regular communication. Today we’re talking with Doug Cook, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and the Gut Brain Guy! Doug has over 20 years of experience and believes that health is the greatest wealth.

Eating to help support brain health is fundamental. In this episode, we’re talking with Ann Gentry – the founder of "Age like a Goddess: Life-enriching Cooking and Coaching." When Ann Gentry set out to revolutionize the world with a plant-based cuisine, people told her she was crazy. Twenty-five years later, people called her a pioneer of the organic and vegan cooking world. Ann Gentry is on to the next frontier in healthy eating and lifestyle with a focus on eating for brain health and healthy aging.

Welcome to the conclusion of our three-part series on happy brain chemicals with Dr. Loretta Breuning. If you missed the last two weeks of the podcast, I strongly suggest that you go back and listen to the three-part series in order, starting with episode #20. In today’s episode, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into the content covered in some of Dr. Breuning’s books, including Habits of a Happy Brain, Tame your Anxiety and the Science of Positivity. We’ll also touch on her podcast: The Happy Brain.

Welcome to Part 2 of our three-part series on happy brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins

If you missed last week’s episode (#20), I suggest you go back and listen to it first, before jumping into this episode. Here, we will specifically be talking about oxytocin (your brain’s love chemical) and endorphin (your brain’s pain masking chemical). Dr. Breuning also shares with us some exciting information and insights about how to build new neural pathways.

In the next three episodes (three-part series), we will cover the topic of happy brain chemicals: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins.

Our guest Dr. Loretta Breuning is the author of eight books, including "Habits of a Happy Brain" - which talks about the brain chemicals that make us feel good, and how to stimulate them naturally.

In this episode (part 1), you'll learn valuable information about dopamine (our brain’s reward chemical) and serotonin (our brain’s pleasure chemical).

Physical exercise is good for your body and your brain. In this episode, we'll be talking about the benefits of regular exercise and different ways you can get your body moving. The content from this episode was originally a guest blog post written by Jackie Cotton – a physiotherapist. Jackie has worked both in rehabilitation hospitals and in the community, helping people with various issues - e.g., neurological conditions. Tune in to learn about the benefits of exercise and how to stay active!

Habit formation is a foundational component of a brain healthy life. On this episode of the BrainShape Podcast we’re talking all about habits: what habits are, how habits are formed and some tips and tricks you can use to help build good habits and get rid of bad ones.

The billion-dollar brain training industry would have you believe that playing brain games on your computer or mobile device will help boost your mental functioning, but the scientific research on the matter tells a different story. Brain games help you get better at the game, but they do not help you to improve mental functioning overall. We need to step away from training discrete cognitive abilities using computerized programs and apps and engage in the complexity that exists in our everyday worlds.