Why we must be Brain Sentinels

2022 is almost over and we are only beginning to comprehend the wreckage from the pandemic.  

Last December my parents lay in a hospital battling the Delta variant of COVID-19.  Winds up to 118 mph shut down the highway, stranding 56,000 trucks across three states and preventing me from going to their side.  Within weeks, my vivacious father, who had been cutting trees down with a chainsaw a week before, was gone.  Mom survived, but after 14 days in the hospital, she was weak and mourning. 

A year later, she is still struggling.  So are my children.  All of us are trying to readjust.

I witnessed COVID in the hardest way possible. Every death profoundly impacts at least nine individuals.  I am among the families of over 6 million people who died in the pandemic.  At best, there are 54 million people suffering deeply from these deaths.

We are the survivors… and it is hard.

My mother’s mind aged exponentially through the pandemic and I have come to learn the brains of my children probably have too.  She complains of brain fog, the inability to remember what she has just heard, memory loss, and the inability to focus. She has always bounced back from health challenges, but is struggling to regain her strength and clarity of thought. I had no idea of the scope of the damage until reading the latest research.

Scientists have discovered patients from the ages of 22 to 85 years old with severe COVID-19 showed a drop in cognitive performance best described as accelerated brain aging.   Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine likened it to “chemo brain”.  Essentially inflammation damages the brain and the processes that rely on them.  Both patients who undergo chemotherapy and those with severe COVID-19 experience similar “brain fog.”

But that isn’t the only impact.  Teenage brains have aged too, even those who did not have COVID.

A new study suggests that stress related to the pandemic physically altered teen brains, making the structures appear several years older than teen brains before the pandemic.

“We found that youth assessed after the pandemic shutdowns had more severe internalizing mental health problems, reduced cortical thickness, larger hippocampal and amygdala volume, and more advanced brain age.” Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, December 1, 2022

What does that mean?

During the pandemic, our young people suffered more anxiety, depression, emotional and physical abuse, and burdens associated with their parents losing a job (29% ).  This has impacted their thinking brain while increasing the size of the memory, trauma and emotional centers in their minds.

In the past, these physical changes in the brain have only been seen in children who have experienced chronic adversity such as violence and neglect.

The frightening part is that these brain structure changes are linked to poor mental health later in life.  It is uncertain whether this is a permanent change at this point.  This is where the adaptability of the brain can act as a benefit…IF we begin taking steps to foster it in positive ways.

As eloquently stated by Nevine El-leithy, PhD,  a neuroscientist grounded in electrical/biomedical engineering with a biopsychosocial/education,

“The one thing that’s clear is that we need to act as a community of erudition, passion, and brain sentinels. This is a call to come together to address such existential concerns if we authentically believe that the future is HUMAN.”

The quality and health of that future depends on taking action to foster our minds. We must act to improve our brain health and the brain health of those we love.

We do not know what the next challenge will be, but we do know there will be one.

I authentically believe that the future is human, a future that will be directed by human MINDS.

I am acting as a brain sentinel. Are you?

Need a personal touch to guide you through more ways to foster your mind?

A limited number of private coaching spots are available.

For a custom approach and accountability partner, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

The power of the mind is limitless when you simply begin the journey.

It would be my honor to help.

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