Teen depression explodes along with smart phone use

Although depression continues to rise among the population as a whole, it is rising most dramatically among teens, and smart phones may be largely to blame. Major depression diagnoses among teens have risen more than 50 percent in the last decade. While academic challenges and relationship woes can promote depression, scientists blame the precipitous rise on those evil twins, the smart phones and social media. Considering almost 20 percent of people suffering from treatment-resistant depression attempt suicide, this is concerning.

Also, in functional neurology and functional medicine we know other factors burden the teenage brain and contribute to depression. A rise in childhood brain-based disorders and neuroinflammation are also at play — treatment-resistant depression is increasingly being understood to be a problem of an inflamed brain.

Researchers found a correlation between smart phone use and depression. The more time teens spend on their phones the more depressed they are. Increased smart phone usage also raises possible exposure to the emotional anguish of cyber bullying.

Excessive smart phone use triggers another behavior that plays into depression: sleep deprivation, which has been linked to mood disorders, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts.

Compared to pre-smart phone days, teens are isolating themselves thanks to technology. This is not news to parents who grew up in a different era.

Today’s teens are spending more time in front of a screen instead of with each other hanging out — virtual hang outs have taken the place of roller rinks, bowling alleys, basketball courts, swimming pools, and secluded gathering spots.

Fewer teens work part time jobs and date. In fact, 56 percent of teens date today compared to 85 percent 30 to 50 years ago. (The good news is teen births are down.)

Research shows these changes in teenage behavior and emotional states happened rather abruptly around 2012, which coincides with the year when teens with smart phones increased to more than 50 percent for the first time.

Meanwhile, rates of teen depression and suicide have exploded since 2011. And now, research shows three out of four teens owned a smart phone by 2017.

Unfortunately, as clearly addicted to their smart phones and online hang outs as teens are, this modern collective habit is making them unhappier than previous generations. Research shows a correlation between time spent on screens and social media and degrees of unhappiness — depression rates among girls is more than double than among boys. Likewise, the less time kids spend on their phones and tablets, the happier they are.

In fact, teens who spend three or more hours a day in sucked into a virtual reality raise their risk of suicide by more than 30 percent.

Childhood brain development disorders and teen depression

It’s easy to pin all of teens’ mental health woes on smart phones. While they clearly play a role, today’s teen are hit with a double whammy: industrialization has significantly impacted the human brain, and young people’s developing nervous systems are the most vulnerable.

The rates of childhood developmental disorders has exploded in the last 20 years, including ADHD, autism, OCD, and learning disabilities. These disorders are increasingly being linked to the effects of environmental toxins, poor diets, and stressful lifestyles in both pregnant women and children.

Although it’s up to parents to work with their teens to help them engage in activities other than Snapchat and Instagram, functional neurology and functional medicine help address the metabolic health of the young brain.

This involves addressing not only neurological imbalances that may have been in place before birth, but also inflammation, blood sugar imbalances, poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. After all, depression is increasingly being recognized as an inflammatory disorder.

Metabolic issues to look out for with brain development disorders include:

• Inflammatory foods and food intolerances
• Chemical sensitivities
• Chronic infections — bacterial, fungal, or viral
• Digestive issues and leaky gut
• Autoimmune disease (when the immune system attacks and destroys tissue in the body, which can include the brain)

The types of brain rehabilitation a child needs depends on their history and a functional neurology examination. Together with nutritional and lifestyle protocols, we develop functional neurology rehabilitation exercises tailored to the individual’s neurological needs.

Many families notice rapid and significant changes in their teens’ behavior, mood, sociability, learning, and other brain-based signs.

Ask my office how functional neurology can help if your teen suffers from depression.

Fail a sobriety test while sober? Your brain is in trouble

Even if you don’t drink or, heaven forbid, drive drunk, it’s still worth conducting a sobriety test on yourself while sober. This can give you valuable information about your brain health and your risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s. This is because the sobriety test measures the function of your cerebellum, the area of the brain most commonly known for its role in balance and coordination. This area of the brain is most compromised while under the influence of alcohol. However, the cerebellum is also very vulnerable to the ravages of modern diets, stress, and lifestyles.

Poor cerebellum function does a lot more than compromise your balance. It also can raise anxiety, cause insomnia, make you sensitive to sound and light, accelerate degeneration of the rest of your brain, and skew your metabolic and hormonal function. The cerebellum is basically the gatekeeper of input to your brain. When its function starts to fail the brain becomes overwhelmed with excess sensory input. This keeps your brain and body in a state of red alert, or chronic stress.

Sobriety test exercises that can tell you whether you’re in trouble. If you fail your sobriety test while sober, the exercises used in the test can also help you improve your brain function and health.

Sobriety test exercises:

One-leg stand test: Stand with your feet together and arms at your side. Keep your arms at your side during this test, do not raise them for balance. Raise one foot off the ground and hold it there while looking at it and counting slowly (one one thousand, two one thousand…).

If your cerebellum is healthy you should be able to stand comfortably on just one leg while doing this exercise. If you sway or start to lose your balance you know your cerebellum is compromised. Practice this exercise several times a day to improve your brain health.

To further challenge yourself, stand near a wall or something you can grab in case you start to fall. Then perform the exercise with your eyes closed. If you get good at that, then perform the exercise while standing on a piece of foam to make it more challenging, and then with your eyes closed.

Heel-toe walk test: Another common sobriety test is the heel-toe walk, also called the walk-and-turn.

Keep your arms at your side during this test, do not raise them for balance. Walk heel to toe on an imaginary line for nine steps, pivot, and walk heel to toe backwards for nine steps.

Although it’s not part of the sobriety test, we recommend you first begin by simply standing heel to toe before trying to walk. Stand next to a wall or something you can grab in case you start to fall. Can you stand heel to toe with your eyes closed? How about on a piece of foam?

You should be able to perform this test smoothly and without wobbling, swaying, or tipping. If you can’t, this means your cerebellum is compromised and you need to practice this several times a day to slowly improve the health and function of your cerebellum.

Although it’s not part of the sobriety test, another way to test your cerebellum is to stand with your feet together and close your eyes. If you sway more to one side, it may indicate that side of your cerebellum is more compromised.

Other signs or poor cerebellum function include dizziness, nausea in cars or on boats, or nausea or dizziness when seeing things move swiftly such as in movies.

Don’t overdo it cerebellar exercises

It’s common for people with cerebellar dysfunction to become easily nauseous or fatigued. Do not push your brain past its capacity by overdoing these exercises. Just a few minutes a few times a day should have you rapidly seeing improvement. If you start to feel nauseous or dizzy, simply stop and allow your brain to rest. Try the exercise for a shorter time next time. You want to exercise your neurons without overtaxing them.

Why good balance is so important for your brain

The cerebellum doesn’t just manage balance and coordination. Newer research shows it also plays a role in emotions, memory, language, planning, and abstract thinking.

When the cerebellum loses function, it starts to fail at gating information to the rest of the brain, thus overloading the brain with more information than it can manage.

This causes symptoms such as:

• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Emotional reactivity
• Insomnia due to a racing mind
• Light sensitivity
• Blood pressure changes
• Digestive issues

Other signs of a damaged cerebellum include:

• Loss of coordination of motor movement
• Inability to judge distance and know when to stop
• Inability to perform rapid alternating movements
• Staggering, wide-based walking
• Movement tremors
• Tendency toward falling
• Slurred speech
• Weak muscles
• Abnormal eye movements

Is my cerebellum compromised?

Functional neurology and functional medicine offer ways to restore cerebellar function through diet, lifestyle, and customized brain rehabilitation exercises. For instance, the cerebellum is extremely vulnerable to a sensitivity to gluten, dairy, or other foods, but gluten especially. If you have poor cerebellar function, please ask my office about ways to determine if your diet is a factor in your rapid brain degeneration.

Also, please ask my office for information about how we can use functional neurology to identify your areas of compromised brain function and more targeted ways to improve brain health and lower your risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Memory slipping? This brain chemical may be low

If your memory is starting to slip, if you get lost on common routes while driving, and if you find your brain isn’t working the way it used to, it’s important to know about the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, called acetylcholine. Early signs of poor acetylcholine activity are a red flag for dementia and Alzheimer’s. In fact, the symptoms of acetylcholine deficiency and early dementia are the same.

Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter tasked with converting short-term memories to long-term. This happens in an area of the brain called the hippocampus, which also happens to be the area of the brain that degenerates in dementia and Alzheimer’s.

See if any of these signs of poor acetylcholine apply to you:

• Loss of visual and photographic memory
• Loss of verbal memory
• Memory lapses
• Impaired creativity
• Diminished comprehension
• Difficulty calculating numbers
• Difficulty recognizing objects and faces
• Slowness of mental responsiveness
• Difficulty with directions and spatial orientation

Other symptoms of poor acetylcholine activity include forgetting common words, forgetting what you were talking about in the middle of a conversation, difficulty calculating numbers — such as counting backwards by sevens, and slow mental processing.

Low acetylcholine also can manifest as poor spatial orientation or memory. This can be seen in losing your sense of direction or getting lost on well-traveled routes.

It’s important not to laugh these off as senior moments if they are happening regularly. They are serious red flags that your brain is radically declining in health and function.

In addition to applying functional neurology protocols and principles, it’s useful to see whether supplementing with acetylcholine can help you. If you have a hereditary risk of Alzheimer’s this can also be a good ally in your tool kit. Even if your memory is fine and your risk is low, supporting acetylcholine can optimize your brain function for better performance.

Many of the nutritional and botanical compounds that support healthy acetylcholine activity have also been shown to help protect the brain against the plaques that cause Alzheimer’s disease.

Another benefit of supplementation is the brain does not become tolerant to compounds that support acetylcholine — it is something your brain will benefit from ongoing. With some supplements or drugs, you need to raise the dose or take breaks in order to have the same effect. However, with compounds that support acetylcholine the opposite can happen. Stimulating the receptors with acetylcholine compounds makes them more responsive and you may find you need less supplementation as time goes on for the same effects.

Here are some compounds that have been shown effective in boost acetylcholine activity:

L-Huperzine A: One of the most effective compounds for poor acetylcholine activity, and to boost memory and cognition.

Alpha GPC: An easily absorbable choline to raise acetylcholine levels that has been shown to improve cognition. It has also been shown to help with stroke recovery.

L-acetyl carnitine: An amino acid that activates acetylcholine receptors and improves cognition and delays the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Pantothenic acid: This B vitamin (B-5) helps increase acetylcholine levels in the brain.

Acetylcholine dosing

If you take compounds to support acetylcholine, the amount you take does not depend on your body weight but instead on your degree of need. Start with the recommended dosage and gradually increase until you notice a benefit. You can see whether even more continues to help you improve or if you have found your ideal dose. Too much can cause negative symptoms such as muscle cramps, nausea, and increased gut motility.

Signs that it may be helping you include improved memory and mental clarity.

How often you need to take it is also individual, whether it’s once a day or three times a day.

If taking acetylcholine makes you “crash” and develop fatigue, this does not necessarily mean it’s bad for you. Instead, it may mean those neurons are so fragile that acetylcholine support pushed them over the edge. If this happens, you may benefit from very small doses to begin with. If you know your brain is fragile to start with, it’s wise to start with small doses anyway.

If taking acetylcholine immediately makes you feel nauseous or even vomit, this is a red flag you may need to support your vagus nerve, the nerve that runs between the brain and the gut.

Foods rich in acetylcholine

If you are a vegan or vegetarian, acetylcholine support may help you because dietary sources of acetylcholine are primarily found in animal foods:

• Liver and organ meats
• Egg yolk
• Beef
• Tofu
• Nuts
• Cream
• Milk with fat (not non-fat or skim milk)
• Fatty cheeses

It’s important to get enough acetylcholine in your diet because if you don’t, your brain will break down healthy brain tissue to supply itself with the compounds needed to make acetylcholine: phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine.

Support general brain health

Although acetylcholine support can be great for supporting your memory and cognition, it is not a magic bullet. Your brain still needs a good supply of oxygen from healthy circulation, a steady source of energy from a diet that keeps blood sugar stable, and the right stimulation.

If you’re not exercising regularly, actively challenging your brain, and supporting your brain through a healthy diet and lifestyle, then you will experience a decline in brain health regardless of what supplements you take.

Ask my office how functional neurology can help you improve your memory and lower your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Want your kid to be a happy adult? Get them into nature

Parents want their children to grow into healthy, happy adults. But a recent study shows they may be missing out on a powerful ingredient to help make that happen: Plenty of unstructured time in nature.

A recent Danish study showed that the more time kids spend in nature the more likely they are to be happy as adults.

This wasn’t a small study of a few subjects. These scientists had a point to make and made sure they did it right — they followed one million subjects over 28 years.

They accounted for and controlled other factors that influence happiness when looking at the data, such as familial mental health, education, and socioeconomic status. Yet even after factoring in those considerations when looking at the data, they still found a staggering 55 percent lower rate of mental health issues in adults who grew up surrounded by nature. This is significantly more effective than what any pharmaceutical drugs can do.

To verify the data, researchers used satellite images of the subjects’ hometowns.

Many studies link improved mental health with nature

Although it’s the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, it’s far from the only one. Plenty of previous research has demonstrated the mental health benefits of ample exposure to nature.

With more than 50 percent of the world’s population living in urban areas, and with that number projected to increase to 70 percent, studies like this are important so that green areas are incorporated into cities and suburbs.

Here are some ways nature has been shown to improve mental health:

Improves creativity. Studies have shown spending time in nature improves cognition and complex working memory span and reduces anxiety and rumination.

Lowers depression. A 2012 study had subjects with major depression disorder take long walks. One group walked in nature and one group walked in an urban environment. Those who walked in nature exhibited better memory and mood.

Reduces anxiety. While regular exercise improves mood and brain health, exercising in nature has been shown to be most effective in lowering anxiety.

Buffers stress for children and the elderly. Children and the elderly are more vulnerable to the stresses of urban environments. Cities that incorporate parks, playgrounds, and gardens can help mitigate stress for both these groups. Additional studies have found access to green spaces improves quality of life for seniors.

Gardening lowers stress hormones. A 2011 study found gardening lowers stress hormones and improves mood.

Heart healthy. Walks in nature lower stress hormones and blood pressure and help relieve anxiety, nature, fatigue, and confusion studies have found. These all translate to an internal environment that is more heart healthy.

Feel healthier. A 2006 study found that urban environments that included plenty of green spaces made locals think of themselves as healthier.

Quicker recovery. If you’re sick or injured, you’ll recover faster with a view of nature. One study showed hospital patients with a view of trees recovered faster than those with a view of a brick wall.

Good for women. Studies have also shown nature helps women’s health by alleviating stress and anxiety and by promoting a clear and healthy emotional perspective that feels reassuring.

Why our brains respond to nature

It’s common sense that we feel happier in nature. Urban life is very new within the time span of human history. However, scientists have theorized that we feel and function better in nature for several possible reasons:

• Evolution has built a positive natural response to nature into us a survival strategy.
• Nature enhances brain function by making us pay attention more consciously to cognitive tasks.
• Being in nature exposes us to bacteria in the soil that promote the release of serotonin, our natural “anti-depressant” brain chemicals.

Functional neurology can help you improve and restore your brain function so that you feel more naturally inclined and motivated to get out into a natural environment more regularly. Also, consider the mental health benefits of creating your own nature with a garden, potted plants, and hanging plants.

The best fat for your brain: DHA in fish and algae oil

Fish oil capsules tout their ratios of DHA and EPA. But DHA and EPA offer different benefits and the ratio between these two matters when it comes to brain health. In a nutshell, a higher ratio of DHA to EPA is best for your brain. Meanwhile, a supplement that focuses on EPA is more geared toward taming inflammation in the body.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are both omega-3 fatty acids. They naturally occur in cold-water ocean fish, including salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, black cod, and bluefish. These are the best dietary sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

Vegetarians can find omega 3 fatty acids in raw nuts and seeds. Take note: Nuts and seeds contain fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which your body must convert to EPA and DHA.

Unfortunately, if you have blood sugar issues from eating a diet high in carbs, your body may not adequately make this conversion

Also, some people’s bodies do not do a good job of making that conversion because of high blood sugar, genetic issues, a diet already too high in omega 6 oils from packaged and processed foods, or heavy use of omega 6 oils such as canola.

A potent source of brain-friendly DHA comes organic algae farms

The problem with depending on fish for omega 3 fatty acids is that ocean fish comes with problems these days. Fish populations have been gutted from over fishing. Ocean fish are contaminated with heavy metals and pollutants. It’s sad but this is where we are today with this vital source of brain nutrients.

Fortunately, researchers have discovered that the DHA we derive from fish comes in part from the microscopic algae they eat. We now have access to DHA algal oil through the harvesting of organic microscopic algae. Studies show that algal oil delivers the same omega 3 levels as fish.

This means you can access an algal oil-based essential fatty acid supplement with a very high, very brain-friendly ratio of DHA to EPA, with a 24:1 ratio. Most essential fatty acid supplements have a 1:1 ratio of DHA to EPA.

Algal oil also comes with the added benefits of avoiding the depletion of fish population and the contamination of mercury and other toxins.

Why DHA is especially good for the brain

While EPA is great for helping lower chronic pain and inflammation anywhere in the body, DHA is best for the brain.

In fact, studies show consuming high ratios of DHA help with depression, mood swings, bipolar symptoms, poor memory, cognitive decline, and other brain-based disorders.

If you want to support brain health, your essential fatty acid supplement should have at least a ratio of 4:1 of DHA to EPA. However, contact my office if you’re interested in one that has a 24:1 ratio.

How DHA improves brain function and health

DHA works in the brain by supporting the brain’s neurons.

Ample DHA in the brain ensures neurons are sufficiently fluid and flexible, which is necessary for them to communicate with one another. Good communication between neurons is foundational to healthy brain function, good cognition, a brain that is calm and alert, for proper brain development in children, and for healthy brain aging in adults. DHA also inhibits brain degeneration.

DHA has also been shown to improve both short-term and long-term memory and reduce brain inflammation. Reducing brain inflammation is important because this is at the root of so many common problems, including depression, fatigue, memory loss, and brain fog. Brain fog is also serious because it speeds aging of the brain and raises your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

DHA prevents a leaky blood-brain barrier

If you’ve heard of leaky gut, or intestinal permeability, you may also be interested to know that the brain can be leaky too. The brain is lined by a cellular membrane called the blood-brain-barrier. The blood-brain-barrier protects the brain from bacteria, toxins, and other pathogens yet allows necessary nano-sized compounds in and out. Leaky brain is much more common that people realize and typically accompanies leaky gut; both have similar mechanisms. A leaky blood-brain barrier also speeds brain degeneration and raises the risk of dementia.

Luckily, a study demonstrated we can use DHA to help preserve the integrity of the blood-brain-barrier.

How much DHA should you take for brain support?

Most people don’t realize how much fish oil they need for sufficient omega 3 fatty acids. This is especially true if they are eating a lot of chips, crackers, cereals, restaurant foods, and other foods that contain omega 6 fatty acids. One study showed that a beneficial amount is 3,500 mg for a person eating 2,000 calories a day, or about four capsules, more if you consume more calories.

The recommended dose of algal oil is about half that of fish oil — 2–3 grams a day. Fish oil can thin your blood, so please talk to your doctor if you will begin taking it.

For more advice on how functional neurology and functional medicine can improve your brain health, contact my office.