The NAN Foundation is invested in providing the latest and most up-to-date information to keep your brain healthy and fit. Brain health is the scientific study of the many factors that influence the integrity of the human brain, including physical, psychological, and social forces that impact your life.
As neuropsychologists, we spend the majority of our time evaluating broken brains and devising strategies to help with their repair and rehabilitation. Sadly we see too many damaged brains as a consequence of avoidable accidents and poor lifestyle choices. We are especially concerned about unnecessary outcomes, where an ounce of prevention would have been worth so much more than a pound of cure.
When seriously damaged, the human brain can rarely be restored to its uninjured state. Remember the childhood tale of Humpty Dumpty; all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not put Humpty back together again, at least not the way he was before his great fall.
While not all brain injuries and diseases can be eliminated, it is also true that making healthy lifestyle choices can greatly reduce the collective level of human suffering we see everyday in those affected. A momentary bad choice or lapse in judgment can change everything. Riding a bike without a helmet, cruising down the street in a car without fastening the seatbelt first, recklessly zooming though traffic on a motorcycle, driving while intoxicated, and texting while driving can all have devastating consequences, not just to your brain but the innocents in your path.
Much of what we have to say about brain health is based on plain old common sense and the maxims you probably heard from your parents, grandparents and teachers when you were growing up. However, they deserve repeating. For far too many of us, these age-old wisdoms apparently did not sink in because we continue to engage in behaviors and lifestyle choices that clearly place us at risk for brain injuries and disease. While we know that we will never eliminate all brain diseases and traumatic brain injuries, we also know that every one we prevent is a step in the right direction.
The NAN Foundation brain health initiative is rooted in what we like to call the 8 Great Goals that can guide you to neurohealth and wellness. These goals are based on scientific research found in peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly publications. Because many of these articles and publications are written in scientific parlance that can often be difficult for the average reader to understand and apply to his or her daily life, we have taken the time to read them and have identified the most important take-home messages from each one. These 8 Great Goals will help guide you to choices that will keep your brain and body healthy.
8 Great Goals for Neurohealth and Wellness
- Protection and Prevention
- Medical Mindedness
- Movement, Movement, Movement
- Rest and Rejuvenation
- Happy Days
- You are What you Eat
- This is your Brain on Drugs
- Keeping Connected