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How to

...rewire your brain

STUFF HAPPENS: you smash a mirror, lose your temper with the traffic, run home to check you’ve turned off the gas. Then you shrug and move on, until the next time life throws you a curveball. But what if the next time is the next day, and the day after that? The answer could lie in your head. “An unbalanced brain causes its owner im- measurable trouble, including making the same mistakes again and again,” says uS neuroscientist dr daniel Amen.

ARE YOU OFTEN…

a. Impulsive and easily distracted? b. Rigid and resistant to change? c. Tired and sad? d. Anxious and driven? e. Angry and confused? f.uncoordinated and disorganised?

IF YOU ANSWERED…

a. Blurting out what you think and acting on impulse are symptoms associated with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s command centre. consider goal- setting, aerobic exercise to improve blood flow to the brain, L-theanine supplements* and a protein-based diet. b. Inflexible thinking is

linked to the brain’s gearbox, the anterior cingulate gyrus. If you have a tendency to Ocd, try counselling, exercise, eating complex carbs and taking St John’s wort to boost serotonin. c. If all the fun’s gone out of life, it could be due to an overactive limbic system, the part of the brain involved in setting a person’s emotional tone.cognitive

* check with your doctor before taking supplements.

To restore harmony, it helps to identify

negative thinking and see where it originates. “knowing the part of the brain that needs help is a short cut to optimising it,” says Amen, and his book, Magnificent

Mind at Any Age (£12.99), shows you how.

Tick the statements below most relevant to you and see what you can do to help yourself. If none applies, congratulations—you have a beautiful mind!

behavioural therapy could help and exercise can be as effective as anti-depressants. d. When the basal ganglia—the brain’s anxiety centre—

fires up, you feel scared

and stressed. Think about relaxation training, meditation and valerian (a sedative herb) and cut down on coffee and booze. e. Memory problems and a short temper point to the temporal lobes. Gingko may sharpen thinking and a course in anger manage- ment won’t go amiss. f.clumsiness can start in the cerebellum.dancing and tennis can improve coordination—and so can avoiding alcohol.

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