Ultimate Brain Health Guide (Improve Working Memory, Mood, and Possibly IQ)

Recently a family member asked me for some tips for improving short-term memory. I ended up doing a deeper-than-usual dive into the topic. Some of my findings confirmed what I already knew or suspected, but others caught me by surprise. You know those giant canisters of powder with a picture of a bulging venous bicep on the label? Well, more on that later …

Lifestyle Factors

In terms of maintaining or improving brain health, mood, short-term memory, and other measures of cognitive function, lifestyle factors are the most important.

• Adequate and high quality sleep is crucial. This Harvard Medical article covers the basics. Sleep deprivation increases beta-amyloid levels (which can clump together to form plaques) and is associated with a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Usually getting a good’s night sleep is as simple as getting some exercise during the day, eating well, limiting caffeine, going to bed early enough, turning off bright lights and screens well before bed, and having a comfortable bed and room temperature (there are many factors, but they’re not complicated). For those suffering from insomnia, exposure to bright sunlight during the day (either natural or via 10K+ lux phototherapy lamps), very restricted blue light exposure at night, calming amino acids such as glycine and l-theanine, collagen supplementation (high in glycine and proline), histamine-reducing probiotics (l. rhamnosus, l. plantarum, bifidum), and cortisol-limiting adaptogens (such as CBD oil, Holy Basil, ashwagandha KSM66, passionflower, and magnolia bark) may all be helpful. I’ve written about my own experience recovering from insomnia here.
• Exercise, especially aerobic exercise. Consistent moderately strenuous aerobic exercise increases the size of the hippocampus and improves memory.
• Social interaction protects against cognitive decline in older adults (and generally, a rich social life, maintaining friendships, and participating in group activities greatly benefits all aspects of mental and physical health).

Blood Sugar Control

Neurologists and neuroscientists have been aware of the relationship between uncontrolled blood glucose levels and Alzheimer’s disease for a long time, and in recent years some have defined Alzheimer’s disease as type 3 diabetes, or diabetes of the brain.

This study confirmed that higher fasting plasma glucose is associated with increased cortical thinning.

Fortunately there are many ways to control blood sugar levels. Once again, quality and duration of sleep, and physical exercise are important. There are also a few foods and supplements that can control blood sugar and increase insulin sensitivity:

• Berberine is as effective as metformin in terms of controlling blood sugar (via increased glucose update in skeletal muscle). I’ve also written about using berberine as an alternative to statins in controlling blood lipid levels.
• Cinnamon lowers blood sugar and may help control type 2 diabetes.
• Chromium (as chromium picolinate, chromium GTF, or chromium polynicotinate/niacin-bound chromium) enhances the effects of insulin, contributing to lean muscle mass gain and lower glucose levels. High doses of certain forms of chromium (especially industrial hexavalent chromium) can be toxic. Chromium bound with niacin (sold as Chromemate) in doses of up to 200mcg/day is likely very safe.
• Limiting carbohydrates (especially refined carbs and high-fructose foods), as well as balancing total calories with energy expenditure is important in terms of restoring normal insulin sensitivity. For some people, a temporary ketogenic diet, periods of fasting or intermittent fasting, and/or a very low carbohydrate diet (<100g/day) may also be helpful.
• Apple cider vinegar before high-carb meals. If you can stomach it.

Neuroprotective Foods and Herbs

• Blueberries enhance cognitive performance within hours after consuming. Our daughter loves frozen blueberries and eats them plain as a snack or for dessert. I’ve hopped on board and add them to smoothies almost every day. Pterostilbene, a polyphenol found in blueberries, in combination with nicotinamide riboside (see below) is also being researched for possible anti-aging effects, and is also effective in improving maze performance in mice with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Fatty fish and fish oil improve cognitive function in mild Alzheimer’s disease. However in this high quality study that compared fish oil to blueberries, while both groups reported fewer cognitive symptoms, only the blueberry group tested higher on memory performance.
• PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone) is a redox cofactor found in natto, kiwi fruit, papaya, green bell peppers, green tea, and many other foods. PQQ promotes nerve cell growth and protects the brain in a variety of ways. Research in humans is limited, but PQQ supplementation does appear to improve some markers of mitochondrial function and metabolism, and improve performance of some cognitive measures. I take 10mg PQQ several times a week.
• Lion’s Mane is a beautiful, odd-looking mushroom that has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. This article by mushroom guru Paul Stamets goes into some of the research and cognitive benefits (especially interesting is the “curious mouse” research observation). Lion’s Mane can be hard to find fresh, but there’s an herb store near my house that sells dried powdered Lion’s Mane.
• Other options (which I haven’t personally tried) include huperzine-A (an alkaloid compound found in a kind of Chinese moss that increases acetylcholine levels in the brain and has neuroprotective qualities), and bacopa monnieri (an herb used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of dementia).

Vitamins

• Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency has long been associated with cognitive deficits and dementia. Pork is the richest food source, but most diets provide adequate thiamine. Unfortunately, alcohol disrupts B1 absorption, storage, and the conversion of B1 to its active form, resulting in memory and cognition issues, and in more severe cases, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (a form of beriberi). For optimized mental performance, avoiding alcohol entirely is probably the best bet. Alcohol consumption might be partially mitigated with B1 supplementation, there are still questions of absorption and metabolism. A rare factor in thiamine deficiency is thiaminase (an enzyme found in some types of raw fish, such as carp and herring, and bracken ferns). While thiaminase is destroyed by heat, thiamine antagonists (from polyphenols and tannins from tea, coffee, cinnamon, blueberries, red cabbage, red currants, red beets, and betel nuts, and also from flavanoids such as quercetin and rutin) also reduce thiamine bioavailability, and are generally heat stable. Thiamine deficiency is common among populations that chew betel nut and fermented tea leaves, and supplemental thiamine doesn’t always fix the problem. Vitamin C and citric acid, on the other hand, appear to enhance thiamine bioavailability, and degradation of thiamine is much slower in acidic environments.
• There is significant evidence to support the use of both niacin and niacinamide to treat dementia, psychosis, and a wide range of neurological problems. Nicotinamide (a non-flushing form of vitamin B3, also called niacinamide) has been demonstrated to drastically reduce levels of the tau protein that leads to Alzheimer’s tangle lesion, in mice, as well as improving cognitive performance. A particular form of vitamin B3, nicotinamide riboside (commonly sold as Niagen) has been shown to have the same benefits. Niagen (nicotinamide riboside) is much more expensive than plain-old niacinamide, but may have additional anti-aging and metabolic benefits. Time will tell (but I’m taking it).

Scientists also found that the nicotinamide-treated animals had dramatically lower levels of the tau protein that leads to the Alzheimer’s tangle lesion.

• A deficiency of almost any essential vitamin or mineral can cause cognitive and/or mood issues, but in addition to vitamin B1 and B3, adequate B12, B6, magnesium, and zinc are extremely important.

Amino Acids and Organic Acids

• I was surprised to learn that creatine supplementation, more often associated with body-building than with improving cognitive performance, improves both working memory and at least one measure of intelligence. [full PDF]. The study was done with vegan and vegetarian subjects, who may not have been getting enough dietary creatine (from meat) in the first place. Creatine is also neuroprotective in several ways. Creatine monohydrate is very safe, well-researched supplement that exists in the body naturally. Weight lifters use it in very large amounts (which may lead to GI and sleep issues), but there are beneficial effects with smaller doses as well (as little as 2g per day).

Creatine supplementation had a significant positive effect (p < 0.0001) on both working memory (backward digit span) and intelligence (Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices)

• Betaine (also called TMG, or trimethylglycine) is a form of the amino acid glycine found in beets and other vegetables. Betaine/TMG appears to accumulate in the hippocampus, improving cognitive function and memory. It’s also a methyl donor, and may help support methylation processes when supplementing with various forms of vitamin B3 (which can use up methyl groups). Note that betaine as TMG is not the same as betaine Hcl, which is used to increase stomach acid and improve digestion (and should never be taken on an empty stomach).
• Other amino acids can be used for neuromodulation, though tolerance will most likely develop with chronic use, similar to caffeine use. For example, l-tyrosine (a “building block” for the neurotransmitter dopamine) can be used to boost specific forms of concentration, most likely via increased dopamine and norepinephrine levels (as an aside, there’s anecdotal evidence that l-tyrosine supplementation may reduce or reverse gray hair). I’ve experimented with up to 250mg tyrosine early in the day when I really need to concentrate and ignore distractions — more than that makes me jittery and interferes with sleep (think of tyrosine as a much cheaper and safer form of modafinil). In a similar way, supplemental l-tryptophan can boost serotonin and melatonin levels when taken with a high-carbohydrate, low-protein meal. The amino acid l-theanine (found naturally in tea) can be used to promote concentration, reduce anxiety, and promote sleep quality. Unfortunately boosting neurotransmitter levels via amino acid precursors has not been shown to help much for dementia.

Summary and Protocol

This post is information dense, but I want to recommend a most-likely-safe protocol for people who want to improve their cognitive performance quickly (within weeks, if not days). Check with your doctor first, and always introduce supplements and new foods one at a time and in low doses to check for side effects, but as a layperson I think the protocol below is likely to convey cognitive benefits to most people over 40, and to anyone experiencing age-related cognitive issues.

5 Day Per Week Brain Health/Cognitive Performance Protocol

• Fatty fish such as salmon or sardines, or 2-4g fish oil
• Blueberries (1C+) or supplemental pterostilbene
• Natto or 5-10mg PQQ
• Lion’s Mane mushroom (1-2t powdered)
• Niagen (2 pills daily) or niacin or niacinamide 50-100mg (and possibly much higher doses, up to 3g/day, under medical supervision)
• TMG 500-1000mg with a meal (especially if you have methylation issues)
• Creatine 2-5g with a meal
• GTF chromium 100-200mcg
• 30+ minutes aerobic exercise
• 10+ minutes resistance exercise
• 7-9 hours sleep in total darkness
• No alcohol or refined sugar/flour/grains

Once again, I’m a science fiction writer, not a medical professional, and I’m pretty sure there’s no study that has tested everything below together. So if you want to experiment, proceed slowly and cautiously, trying one thing at a time. I give doses as ranges, as the ideal dose for an individual will vary according to body weight, metabolism, age, sensitivity to possible side effects, etc.

Live long and prosper.