BDNF has been described as fertilizer for your brain and it plays a key role in
neuroplasticity which makes your brain more resilient to stress and adaptable to change
decreased levels of BDNF have been associated with various neurodegenerative disorders such as
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. It's also been linked to depression,
eating disorders, obesity, and even suicidal behavior. While higher levels are associated
with enhanced cognitive function mental health and memory and as you can imagine brain health
is key to your mental health, so in this video we're going to take a look at what BDNF is and
how to increase it to optimize brain health and cognitive function. hi I'm Ben Angel and I teach
people how to biohack their way back to health before we dive in here like subscribe and click
the link below to join thousands of others who've already downloaded my brand new book mind control
to learn how to biohack their gut mind and mood in the 1980s researchers discovered a protein
that encouraged the growth of new brain cells they call it brain derived neurotrophic factor or bdnf
for short in numerous studies bdnf has been shown to increase brain plasticity ease depression boost
weight loss improve sleep by increasing your slow brain waves during deep sleep while protecting you
against neurodegenerative diseases the question is can we boost bdnf well before we get to that
we have to first address what stops or slows the production of it the top three offenders are
stress by the release of cortisol which suspends its production which means fewer new brain cells
are formed age unfortunately bdnf levels naturally decline with age and sugar eating
sugar has been shown to curb bdnf production while the best ways to increase bdnf include one music
one study investigated the effect of music on the brain and bdnf production in mice
they found that the exposure to music can modulate the activity of the hippocampus by influencing
bdnf production furthermore in a study of the department of neurosciences and mental health
in italy they found that bdnf levels are higher in people who practice music two diet in a study
published in nutritional neuroscience scientists from the university of las palmas de gran canaria
in spain studied the effects of the mediterranean diet on bdnf levels in patients with major
depression and once without they followed them over three years because dietary changes can take
months to affect brain function the patients with major depression had increased levels of
bdnf while those who weren't clinically depressed showed no changes in bdnf levels at all what does
this mean well it means that if you're depressed or mediterranean diet might improve your moods
but if you're not it's unlikely that anything will happen although although you will be healthier
regardless intermittent fasting has also been shown to boost bdnf levels by 50 to 400 percent
it's also important to point out that there's a link between obesity and low bdnf three deep sleep
bdnf is released during deep sleep but due to chronic stress and modern lifestyle habits such as
an abundance of blue light from electrical devices you may lack this key stage asleep
drop the room temperature at night where blue blockers and yes even try putting an
ice pack on your forehead at night to help induce sleep four probiotics prebiotics are
food for good bacteria to feed on they also help to colonize healthy strains in the lower intestine
fascinatingly prebiotic foods have been found to promote bdnf production
these foods include asparagus bananas chocolate garlic onions and tomatoes to name just a few 5.
adaptogens this is a personal favorite of mine it's ashwagandha ashwagandha has been shown to
decrease levels of cortisol by up to 30 percent and helps to boost bdnf levels while also helping
to prevent further decline of bdnf levels in the brain however this is one adaptogen
that you need to avoid if you do have low blood pressure and six nootropics in a research paper
titled behavioral and molecular evidence for psychotropic effects in l-theanine researchers
conclude that l-theanine has an antipsychotic-like and possibly antidepressant-like effect it exerts
these effects at least in part through the induction of bdnf in the hippocampus
and the agonistic action of l-theanine on the nmda receptor bottom line bdnf not only helps
to protect you from neurodegenerative diseases it encourages the formation of new brain cells and
protects existing ones so if you'd love to learn more about bdnf and other tips on how to biohack
your mind body and mood be sure to download my latest book mind control from the link below
and if you're battling depression or anxiety join me in the interactive workshop the biohacker's
guide to dismantling depression where we're going to dig out the root causes and tackle them head on
click the link below now because it's filling fast finally hit like subscribe and drop me a comment
by answering this question what steps have you taken before to boost bdnf production share it in
the comments below to help support one another i'm ben angel and i'll catch you next time take care