Dr. Wendy Suzuki: Boost Attention & Memory with Science-Based Tools

Every single time you move your body, you are releasing a whole bunch of neurochemicals. And some of them we've talked about—the good mood comes from dopamine and serotonin, noradrenaline. But the thing that gets released, also, particularly with aerobic exercise, is a growth factor called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. And that is so important because what it does is it goes directly to your hippocampus, and it helps brand new brain cells grow in your hippocampus.

We all have the capacity to grow a bigger, fatter, fluffier hippocampus. And so what I like to give people is this image of every single time you move your body, it's like giving your brain this wonderful bubble back of neurochemicals ... I need my bubble bath of noradrenaline and dopamine and serotonin and growth factors. And with regular bubble baths, what am I doing? I'm growing a big, fat, fluffy hippocampus.

Studies have shown that just 10 minutes of walking outside can shift your mood. That is part of that neurochemical bubble bath that you're getting—dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline ... Anybody can walk for 10 minutes.

So, what do you get with the one-off? This is usually an aerobic-type exercise session, 30-45 minutes. What you get is that mood boost—very, very consistent. You get improved prefrontal function... and significant improvements in reaction time.

What all the neuroscience data suggests is the best time to do your exercise is right before you need to use your brain ... That is why the morning, for most of us, is beneficial. That's why I do it in the morning; I'm lucky enough to be able to do that.

The more you change and you increase your workout up to 7x a week, the better your mood was—you had lower amounts of depression, anxiety, higher amounts of good affect—and the better your hippocampal memory was with the more you worked out...

I would say the top three tools that everybody right this minute today can use to up their capacity to attend where they want to include exercise... meditation... and the third has to be sleep.

I've learned that, over the pandemic, I did sleep experiments on myself, and I learned that I was sleeping an hour less than I really needed. So, I really need 7 and a half to 8 hours of sleep, and I was getting 6 and a half.

My cold exposure protocol is, at the end of every morning shower that I take, the shower is warm, but I give myself a big blast of cold at the end of that, and it makes me feel so good.