POWERED BY THE GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION INITIATIVE
Webinar Replay:
The Brain: Exploration of the Neuroscience of Stress, Fear, Rest and Peace
Before you watch this webinar…
Check out our introductory blog post + short video on The Brain: An Exploration of the Neuroscience of Stress, Fear, Rest and Peace with Dr. Zach Bush.
Introduction
“You are not stuck with the brain you have. Not only can you make it better, you can make it better in a very short period of time.”
– Dr. Kristen Willeumier
Key Takeaways
• Degenerative changes to the brain happen at the cellular level up to 20 years before symptoms appear.
• Everybody’s brain is unique, and no two brains are alike. ADHD and autism spectrum disorder offer opportunities to harness strengths.
• Connecting with nature and animals is a powerful tool for shifting brainwave activity.
• When the reticular activating system is chronically activated, it creates a lived experience of stress via the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system; this can be counterbalanced by training our brains to access the parasympathetic nervous system so we can rest, digest, and become aware of creative possibilities.
• If we are in a chronically stressed state, we accelerate brain aging.
• Sleep is the number one way to restore our brain and body.
• Meditation can increase our ability to learn and retain greater amounts of information.
“We only use around 10% of our brains to decipher the world. I believe the other 90% of our brain is the root of wisdom, our connection to the invisible energy field of consciousness that surrounds us.”
– Dr. Zach Bush
Core Themes + Highlights
• In her work with professional athletes, Dr. Willeumier studied how to restore + rehabilitate brain function
• The foods we eat, the thoughts we think, the quality of sleep, and exercise all impact brain function
• It is possible to repair the brain with the tools and choices we use everyday
• The brain is going through its initial growth phase from the womb up until age 25
• The frontal lobes of the brain help us make rational decisions and begin to fully develop during the late teens and early 20’s.Parents need to help guide their children, even after kids turn 18.
• Balanced hormones are essential for optimal brain function
• Everybody’s brain is unique and has strengths and weaknesses
• Neurofeedback can help retrain the brain, creating more optimal function and connectivity in weak areas
• There are helpful, non-medication approaches to addressing ADHD and autism, including: good nutrition, healthy sleep, exercise, going out into nature, and neurofeedback.
• The Earth has a heartbeat called the Schumann resonance, which is at about 7.8 Hz
• We can naturally shift brainwave activity by going out in nature and attuning to the vibratory rate of the Earth
• The human-animal connection is extremely powerful
• The brain is an amazing, adaptive machine
• Brain growth is not something you lose after childhood. You can continue to develop and create plasticity as you age.
• There is an incomplete story when we create pathology around neurodivergence
• Correlation is not causation as it relates to the root causes of neurodegenerative diseases in athletes.
• The reticular activating system (RAS) can be both helpful and a hindrance
• Acute stress can be helpful to get us out of dangerous situations. Chronic stress turns the body on itself and creates more susceptibility to disease.
• The body cannot restore itself or function optimally with elevated chronic stress
• The prefrontal cortex, the brain’s CEO, is the center of higher level thinking, rational decision-making, impulse control, focus, creativity. Stress impacts this area of the brain making it hard to make good decisions.
• Stress does not allow us to be our most creative, and it does not allow our bodies to go into the restorative component. Because of this, chronic stress accelerates brain aging.
We have to be proactive at protecting our brains.
• Sleep is the number one way to restore our brain and body
• When we are calm, we can access creative, genius information and problem-solving
• Meditation can increase our brain’s capacity for creativity and learning
• Consciousness is separate from the brain
• Healing requires a spiritual framework as well as a biological one
• Dr. Cummings shares his NDE and how it completely changed his perspective on life
• 99.999% of the brain is vacuum space that is full of electromagnetic field; modern, Western medicine falls short of acknowledging this
• Mindfulness, breath work and sleep are critical for accessing our human potential and connecting to consciousness
• The COVID vaccines create spike proteins that produce neurovascular toxins
• Be proactive and create immune resilience and regenerative capacity
• You can consciously direct your energy to have a healthy brain, vascular system and neurological system
• The foods we eat help determine whether we accelerate or slow brain aging
• Whole foods, plant based diets are a smart strategy to support long term brain health
• We can choose how we want to perceive our life
• The brain has the capacity to make new neurons as we age
• We don’t produce consciousness. We receive consciousness.
• We don’t know how to measure or understand what the other 90% of our brain does, yet. We only know that it’s vital, and it means that our sensory awareness is a very small part of reality.
“You are a figment of Mother Nature’s imagination. And here you are. You showed up right now. We’re here at the tipping point, and she will create something more intelligent and complex than exists on the planet today. This is the future, and we get to have a participation in that if we choose to change everything.”
– Dr. Zach Bush
Links & Resources
Panelists
Dr. Kristen Willeumier conducted her graduate research in the laboratory of Neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles and the laboratory of Neurogenetics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She received MS degrees in Physiological science and Neurobiology and a PhD degree in Neurobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she continued her work in the field of neurodegenerative disease. She was the recipient of an NIH fellowship award from the National Institute of Mental Health and has presented her work internationally. She lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Peter Cummings is board certified in anatomic pathology, neuropathology and forensic pathology. He earned his medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland and completed his pathology training at the University of Virginia. He also earned a Masters degree in pathology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a B.A. from the University of Maine. Formally, Dr. Cummings worked as a medical examiner at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He was a member of the SwissAir Flight 111 identification team in 1998 and during the summer of 2002, worked on identification process of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
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