How To Protect Your Brain From Stress: Niki Korteweg (Transcript)

Here is the transcript and summary of Niki Korteweg’s talk titled “How To Protect Your Brain From Stress” at TEDxAmsterdamWomen conference. In this TEDx talk, science journalist Niki Korteweg focuses on the impact of stress on brain health and offers practical tips for enhancing brain resilience.

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

So, is there anyone in this room who would like to have a better memory, better being able to remember things? Okay, that’s nearly half of you. And are there maybe people in this room who would like to have better concentration, better being able to focus on your job and not get distracted all the time? That’s even more people.

Well, I can tell you, if these things don’t work the way you want them to, it may have to do with stress. And luckily there are things you can do to improve it. I’m trained as a neurobiologist and I work as a science journalist. So you can say I know a thing or two about this precious organ. But there can be quite a gap between knowing a lot about the brain and actually being good to it, I learned.

When I started off as a science journalist 20 years ago, I was so eager to show the world that I could do it. I took on every assignment I could have, I interviewed every hotshot around, I worked till way past midnight. And I had to get up early because I had two little kids and a hard-working husband and all sorts of challenges and no time to think.

Now we all know where that leads to, right? I couldn’t believe it, but I had a burnout, and it felt like my brain had just given up on me. I wasn’t able to plan anymore, I couldn’t decide from a large to-do list what to do first, what to do next.

I couldn’t concentrate on my work. I couldn’t remember anything, and my emotions were all over the place, mainly low.

As a science journalist, as a brain scientist, I knew that chronic stress is devastating for your brain. It gets marinated in a toxic cocktail of stress hormones, and it affects two areas in particular. The first area is the frontal lobe, and I brought a human brain model here, it sits in your head like this.

And this frontal lobe, we use this to do exactly all those things I just mentioned, to set a goal, to make a plan, to decide what to do first, what to do next. It’s the seat of your working memory, you use it to focus on your job. And it keeps your emotions under control.

And the second vulnerable part is the hippocampus, it’s on either side of the brain, a bit more in the middle. And this is the core of our memory.

Now why are these two areas so sensitive to stress? It’s because stress hormones, high stress hormone levels, literally make these cells in these areas shrink. You see a brain cell here of a rat, this is the cell body, and you see all those long extensions, those branches and twigs. And they reach out to other neurons, they make contact with each other. So they form a network, and in rats and in people who are chronically stressed, you see that these branches disappear, the contacts break down, they just dissolve. And the network just doesn’t work as well anymore. So that’s bad news, right?

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But luckily, brain science has revealed many things you can do to counteract this. And I discovered that when I dove into the literature in search for ways to improve the brain. And I’ll share with you the four most important ones.

Be Physically Active

By far, the best thing you can do for your brain is be physically active. Now we all know that being physically active is good for you, right? But there can be quite a gap between knowing this and actually doing it. But when we’re working out, it’s not just good, because your heart starts pumping and you get oxygen to your brain.

While you’re being physically active, your brain actually makes a growth factor that stimulates the outgrowth of these branches. They grow out again, they reestablish contact, maybe even new cells are formed. So while you are working out, you’re not just working on a gorgeous body, but you’re also working on a gorgeous mind.

And you don’t have to run a marathon if that’s not your thing, because research shows that already people who just walk briskly for three times a week, 45 minutes a day a week, a period, three times a week, 45 minutes, their hippocampus is already bigger in size than in people who only do stretching exercises.

So I used to decide to first get that deadline and then go to the gym, maybe later, maybe next week. But I don’t do that anymore. I now first go to the gym and then get the deadline.

Sleep Well

The second very important thing you can do for your brain is sleep well. Now I’d like to see your hands. Who of you has slept eight hours last night? Eight hours. Well, you’re doing quite okay. I think it’s 40%.

There can be quite a gap between knowing that sleep is good for you and actually doing it. But I can tell you, and you may know already, that sleep loss is a chronic stressor for your brain as well. Only after one night without sleep, you know that your concentration is bad, your memory is worse, you’re more irritable.

So that’s only after one night of sleep, this area behind your forehead starts malfunctioning, let alone after many nights of too little sleep. While we sleep, our brain reorganizes itself. The good connections are strengthened, the bad connections are taken out, and it washes itself clean from waste products. So we really need that for a good working brain.

Now I told you I worked till way past midnight, but I don’t do that anymore. I make sure I get my eight hours of sleep. And it’s really difficult for me because I’m a night owl and I like to stay up late. But whenever I miss an hour or two, I make sure I make up for it the next night. Of course, your brain then also needs good building blocks, food.

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Mediterranean diet

And doing food research is very difficult, it’s very hard to pinpoint which specific vitamin or mineral is good for your brain. But for an entire eating pattern, it’s perfectly clear. People who eat a Mediterranean diet have a better brain for a longer time with a better memory and better concentration.

Now what is that, a Mediterranean diet? It sounds like it’s all pizza and pasta, maybe. Maybe you hope that, but that’s not the case. It’s large amounts of fruits and vegetables, that’s the basis, and you see fish here lying. Fish is very important because it provides omega-3 fatty acids. And these are essential building blocks for our brain, and we cannot make them ourselves.

Well, you see some other proteins and grains, and you also see these healthy fats, olive oil and nuts. In some studies, these seem to be the two secret ingredients that keep your brain healthy for a long time. Just saying. Maybe some eagle eyes in the room have spotted a bottle of red wine.

I don’t know if you saw that. I hid it here behind the label. No, no, it’s not good for you. I’m sorry, not for your brain at least.

Meditate

And there’s a fourth thing you can do for your brain, and that is meditate. And this is maybe even a harder area to do research on. But there’s an increasing pile of scientific papers that show that daily meditation can have beneficial effects on your focus and your attention.

And in a basic way, you can look at meditation as a training of your attention, because you sit with your eyes closed and you focus on your breath. And then your mind wanders off to something you have to do, and you put it back on your breath, and it happens again. And this way you train your attention and also your flexibility, your emotion control.

It seems that many of these functions of the area behind your forehead are strengthened by meditation training. So you can try it if you like, build it into your routine in the morning or just before you go to bed. And you can start with five minutes a day and see how it goes. I do it every day, and in times that I don’t, I really miss it.

So with these four adjustments in your life, you can really counteract the devastating effect of chronic stress and make your brain resilient to it. I built these into my routines ever since my burnout. And I must say my brain works well again, maybe even better than ever.

And I know now that it’s perfectly fine to work hard and long hours as long as I take good care of my brain. So I hope I’ve made the gap between knowing and doing a little bit smaller for you today. And I can only ask you, please be good to your brain, because it’s the crown of who you are, so treat her like a queen.

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Thank you.

SUMMARY OF THIS TALK:

Niki Korteweg’s talk “How To Protect Your Brain From Stress” focuses on the impact of stress on brain health and offers practical tips for enhancing brain resilience. Here’s a summary of the key points:

Personal Experience with Burnout: Korteweg shares her own experience with burnout, highlighting its effects on her ability to plan, decide, concentrate, remember, and manage emotions. This personal narrative underscores the talk’s relevance and the seriousness of chronic stress.
Impact of Stress on the Brain: She explains how chronic stress releases hormones that negatively affect the brain, particularly the frontal lobe and hippocampus. The frontal lobe is responsible for goal-setting, planning, decision-making, working memory, focus, and emotion regulation. The hippocampus is central to memory formation. Stress causes brain cells in these areas to shrink, impairing their functionality.
Strategies to Counteract Stress:

Physical Activity: Korteweg emphasizes the importance of physical activity for brain health. Exercise stimulates the production of growth factors that promote the growth and reconnection of brain cells, particularly in the hippocampus. She notes that even moderate exercise, like brisk walking three times a week for 45 minutes, can have significant benefits.
Adequate Sleep: Sleep is crucial for brain health. It aids in reorganizing the brain, strengthening good connections, and cleaning out waste products. Korteweg advises prioritizing sleep and striving for at least eight hours per night to ensure proper brain function.
Healthy Diet: A Mediterranean diet is recommended for maintaining a healthy brain. This diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, fish (providing essential omega-3 fatty acids), healthy fats like olive oil and nuts, and minimal processed foods. She dismisses the notion that red wine is beneficial for the brain.
Meditation: Korteweg advocates for meditation as a means to train attention and emotion control. Regular meditation can strengthen functions related to the frontal lobe, such as focus, attention, and emotional regulation.

Integrating Healthy Practices: The speaker stresses the importance of incorporating these healthy habits into daily routines. She shares how these changes helped her recover from burnout and maintain better brain function.
Closing Message: Korteweg concludes by urging the audience to be mindful of their brain health and to treat their brain with care, emphasizing its central role in defining who we are.

Throughout the talk, Korteweg combines scientific insights with practical advice, making a compelling case for lifestyle changes to protect the brain from the detrimental effects of stress.