Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance & Power

by Kristen Willeumier

Overview

A neuroscientist’s groundbreaking, science-driven plan for revitalizing, nourishing and rejuvenating your most essential asset—your brain.

Your brain is the most essential organ in your body.  The brain and spinal cord are intimately connected to every bodily system and organ, so when it is balanced everything in your body and mind will function more efficiently.  It’s vitally important to take proactive steps now, or you risk losing everything, including your ability to think clearly, be creative, remember details, solve problems and retain your memory.

In Biohack Your Brain, leading neuroscientist Dr. Kristen Willeumier reveals how you can change your brain by making simple and easy modifications to your lifestyle. Combining clinical experience with revolutionary science, she details how biohacking your brain can boost your cognitive performance and so much more.

Dr. Willeumier’s essential guidebook shows you the most effective techniques to prevent memory loss and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease—and even how to overcome negative thoughts and stress. Through research and case studies, you’ll learn how to upgrade your nutritional choices along with the effective use of supplements, brain games, and physical activity to overcome cognitive damage, whether it’s from previous injuries, such as a concussion or a bad fall or from the effects of living in modern day times.

Dr. Willeumier shares her own story alongside those from the NFL players and other clients she has worked with to help you leverage the latest research to find personal solutions. Biohack Your Brain teaches you how to take better care of your brain, and also how to  enhance your memory, lose excess weight, increase your energy and vitality in order to create the best health and life possible.    

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062994325
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/29/2020
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Dr. 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. 

Table of Contents

Foreword Dr. Keith L. Black ix

Prologue The Case for Your Cognitive Health 1

Chapter 1 Yes. You can Change Your Brain 5

Chapter 2 Brain Basics 25

Chapter 3 The Better Brain Diet 49

Chapter 4 The Better Brain Workout 81

Chapter 5 The Supplement Offensive 99

Chapter 6 The Hydration Offensive 123

Chapter 7 The Stress Offensive 145

Chapter 8 Thinking Your Way to a Better Brain 163

Chapter 9 The Brain Games You Really Need 181

Chapter 10 Biohacking Your Brain in Real Time 197

Epilogue Biohacking Your Brain in the Twenty-First Century 221

Afterword: Finding Love and Happiness in a Post-Coronavirus World 227

Acknowledgments 231

Glossary of Brain-Related Acronyms 235

Notes 239

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2020

Neurobiologist Willeumier debuts with a collection of proactive, accessible strategies for preserving and promoting cognitive health. Willeumeier has worked with NFL players whose brains have been damaged by concussions and with patients with Parkinson’s and here shares methods for recovery she successfully road-tested with them. Willeumier suggests easily achievable activities—including writing with one’s nondominant hand to force the brain outside its comfort zone and visualizing positive outcomes—as well as long-term lifestyle changes, such as eating a diet heavy on omega-3s, managing stress through exercise and mindfulness, journaling, and sleeping at least seven hours per night. One of the biggest brain drains, Willeumier explains, is prolonged stress, which can slow cerebral circulation by causing plaque buildup and increase one’s cortisol levels, which often leads to weight gain, sleep disruptions, and memory problems. This smart take will help those seeking ideas on how to sharpen their mental performance. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Biohack Your Brain is a superb brain-health guide that will nurture your mind, heart, and spirit.

BOB ROTH

"With the rise of health-focused wearables, we're predicting biohacking will be bigger than ever in 2021. This book further fuels that theory, as leading neuroscientist Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D., shares ways to supercharge your brain (think boosting cognitive performance and prevent memory loss) via simple lifestyle changes."

mindbodygreen

After my years playing professional football in the NFL, I took a deep dive into studying the most important organ in my body: the brain. Thankfully, I came across Dr. Willeumier, the foremost expert on research, knowledge, and practical ways to regenerate and revitalize the most valuable asset we each possess. Her passion for and dedication to helping and healing athletes’ brain function is unparalleled, and I am thrilled that you each get to receive some of the wisdom that she has blessed me with over the years.

EMMANUEL ACHO

Biohack Your Brain is an essential guide for those who are seeking to upgrade their mental game or to reverse the effects of damage from repetitive impacts. Read the newly revealed secrets Dr. Willeumier has discovered and utilizes—it might just save your brain function.

LEIGH STEINBERG

Biohack Your Brain is filled with wisdom, hope, and many great strategies to give you a better brain and a better life. Having worked closely with Dr. Willeumier for more than a decade, I know she is deeply passionate and a great communicator, which is found on every page of this book. I highly recommend it!

DANIEL AMEN

…a manageable guide to live a brain-healthy lifestyle.

Harper’s Bazaar Arabia

12/01/2020

Willeumier, a neuroscientist specializing in brain function, injury, and disorders, details her research at the Amen Clinics with NFL players and other patients experiencing brain health impairments. Within this text, she provides pervasive explanations of how nutrition, exercise, hydration, the power of positive thought, and cognitive training can improve brain functions. She emphasizes that the recommendations detailed throughout her book are beneficial to adults at any age and has written the book to be accessible to all. Diagnoses addressed include the most invasive neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to everyday memory, concentration, and learning deficits. Each chapter is highlighted with real-life experiences of her patients and herself, the positive results of their therapy, and easily implemented dietary and activity changes to promote a brain-healthy lifestyle. She concludes with a motivating four-step starter process. A good complement to John Randolph's The Brain Health Book and Sabina Brennan's 100 Days to a Younger Brain. VERDICT A beneficial overview of the brain, what we know about it, and what we're still discovering.—Laura Lipke, Towson Univ., MD

Library Journal

After my years playing professional football in the NFL, I took a deep dive into studying the most important organ in my body: the brain. Thankfully, I came across Dr. Willeumier, the foremost expert on research, knowledge, and practical ways to regenerate and revitalize the most valuable asset we each possess. Her passion for and dedication to helping and healing athletes’ brain function is unparalleled, and I am thrilled that you each get to receive some of the wisdom that she has blessed me with over the years.” — EMMANUEL ACHO, former NFL linebacker, Fox Sports analyst, and author of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

“Neurobiologist Willeumier debuts with a collection of proactive, accessible strategies for preserving and promoting cognitive health…This smart take will help those seeking ideas on how to sharpen their mental performance.”   — Publishers Weekly

“Biohack Your Brain is filled with wisdom, hope, and many great strategies to give you a better brain and a better life. Having worked closely with Dr. Willeumier for more than a decade, I know she is deeply passionate and a great communicator, which is found on every page of this book. I highly recommend it!” — DANIEL AMEN, M.D., CEO and founder of the Amen Clinics and ten-time New York Times bestselling author

“I’ve often wished I had a handbook I could give patients that outlined the interventions we actually know can improve brain health. I now have one.” — from the foreword by KEITH L. BLACK, M.D., chair and professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

“Biohack Your Brain is a superb brain-health guide that will nurture your mind, heart, and spirit.” — BOB ROTH, global meditation leader, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, and author of the New York Times bestseller Strength in Stillness

"It is so easy to get lost in the over-saturated market of mental health and wellness today. I’ve learned as an elite athlete to beware of the quick fix products and tactics promising stronger better brain health with no tangible action steps. Dr. Kristen Willeumier’s Biohack Your Brain is a step-by-step guide to unlock the power of your brain through simplified literal practices anyone can employ to optimize cognitive function. Such a thoughtful, relevant, and necessary approach to improve brain health.” — CHAMIQUE HOLDSCLAW, Team USA Olympic Gold medalist, Hall of Fame athlete, six-time WNBA All-Star, mental health advocate, host of Tremendous Upside podcast

“Biohack Your Brain is an essential guide for those who are seeking to upgrade their mental game or to reverse the effects of damage from repetitive impacts. Read the newly revealed secrets Dr. Willeumier has discovered and utilizes—it might just save your brain function.” — LEIGH STEINBERG, J.D., American sports agent, CEO of Steinberg Sports and Entertainment, and author of the New York Times bestseller The Agent

"A beneficial overview of the brain, what we know about it, and what we’re still discovering." — Library Journal Advance Reviews

"With the rise of health-focused wearables, we're predicting biohacking will be bigger than ever in 2021. This book further fuels that theory, as leading neuroscientist Kristen Willeumier, Ph.D., shares ways to supercharge your brain (think boosting cognitive performance and prevent memory loss) via simple lifestyle changes." — mindbodygreen

"In Biohack Your Brain, Kristen Willeumier, PhD, provides simple and easy tips to master cognitive training in your everyday life." — The Women's Alzheimer's Movement Weekly Newsletter

“…a manageable guide to live a brain-healthy lifestyle.” — Harper’s Bazaar Arabia

From the Publisher

"In Biohack Your Brain, Kristen Willeumier, PhD, provides simple and easy tips to master cognitive training in your everyday life."

The Women's Alzheimer's Movement Weekly Newsletter

"It is so easy to get lost in the over-saturated market of mental health and wellness today. I’ve learned as an elite athlete to beware of the quick fix products and tactics promising stronger better brain health with no tangible action steps. Dr. Kristen Willeumier’s Biohack Your Brain is a step-by-step guide to unlock the power of your brain through simplified literal practices anyone can employ to optimize cognitive function. Such a thoughtful, relevant, and necessary approach to improve brain health.

CHAMIQUE HOLDSCLAW