Dr. Amen's Blog

Jacob Bell who started an even 100 games at offensive guard during his eight-year career with the Titans and Rams decided he’d rather leave football on his own terms and no longer sacrifice his health for the sake of making more money.

“It’s a blessing to be able to retire and walk away on my own instead of being forced out of it,” Bell told reports.  “Think about what the guys are going through.  Everybody wants to make the money, but what are you really sacrificing?  If they tell you we’re going to take your brain and whack it with a baseball bat, but we’ll give you a couple million bucks, how many people would really do that? … I compare us to modern-day gladiators.  We’re giving our lives to the game of football for a price.”

It all changed when Bell, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals just last month, used the recent suicide of legendary linebacker Junior Seau as the impetus to walk away from the game while he still could.  He became the first player to change his life based on the assumption that if he didn’t, football would.

Not a very well-known player,  a 2004 fifth-round pick from Miami (Ohio), before Tuesday, he’ll now forever be the player who hung up his cleats because of his own health concerns following Seau’s tragic death.  He is embracing his newfound megaphone to make life after football better for those who participate.

“Man, I couldn’t be happier about it,” Bell told reporters. “For me, it’s something I have to do. It’s a platform that needs to be talked about.”

Bell says he feels great.  At 31 years old, he is moving fine and his mind is clear.  He isn’t sure how many concussions he had, but he reports no physical ailments.  But as someone who has often reached out to retired players, Bell knows that might not last forever.  Bell also knows the stakes and realities of the sport he still loves.

Don’t be surprised if Bell looms larger in retirement than he did as a player.  Having spent time over the years doing research on his potential post-career health status, the thoughtful Bell said it’s time to put it out in the open.  He believes it’s time to raise awareness for a game that is, in his mind, too slowly embracing the health concerns for its players.

“This is too big of an issue to be brushed under the rug,” Bell said. “What players are really coming out and letting people know the real deal? Now that I’m retired, maybe it’s easier for me to come out and speak.  I think it’s what I need to do. I don’t see it ending any time soon.”

Bell believes the NFL’s recent rule changes for making the game safer will help, but he also offered a few suggestions for how the league could help even more:

1. Make concussion awareness part of the rookie symposium.

Bell recalls taking part in the annual rookie symposium in 2004 and hearing repeated warnings about protecting his finances. “Everything revolves around the money,” Bell said. That was helpful. But concussion awareness wasn’t part of it. Bell thinks it should be.

“They need to bring a panel of doctors into the rookie symposium and say, ‘Hey, this is what we found, this is the research, this is what you all need to be aware of,’ ” Bell said. “I have to go out of my way, on my own, to find out (about brain health issues). Not through the NFL, [but] through retired players, through friends and my own contacts to find out what I can do for myself. That’s not good enough.”

League spokesman Greg Aiello said the agenda for the 2012 edition of the rookie symposium is still being formulated. “We expect health and safety matters to be included,” Aiello said.

2. Have players begin their careers with a brain scan.

The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis features a thorough medical examination for the players. Their entire bodies are checked to give teams a complete report on their health. It can sometimes prove positive. That’s where New England Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon learned he had cancer, and he sought immediate treatment.

Bell would like the process to go a step further.

“We have all these medical records of all these players from the combine, but how many of these players have gotten brain scans?” Bell asked. “How many of them know what their brains look like? Let’s go get all that done, get the imaging done from Day 1.”

A key part of Bell’s idea is that the results would have to be kept away from team executives who may decide a player’s future based on the scans. He’d like the information to be for the player’s eyes only. That may not be feasible, but it’s the goal.

3. Involve psychologists heavily in the education.

It is not yet known if Seau was seeing a psychologist or counselor for the demons he battled. It is not yet known if that would have changed anything.

But Bell wants to make it mandatory that each player meet with a psychologist upon entering the league. Not everyone will continue such meetings, but it’s a way of forcing players to begin a healing process that might not happen otherwise.

Bell believes activities to increase brain function would help — puzzles, learning a language, taking vitamins. But, as he said, “It would really help to have a personal relationship with a doctor. … The reality is, it’s a traumatic experience for your brain when you’re playing the game of football. But we can definitely help these players.”

I’m so proud of Jacob for standing up and looking out for his health.  I believe we are nearing a tipping point where the brain damaging effects of football can no longer be ignored and these players need to know that there is help.  If you or someone you know plays football and would like to make an appointment to check on the health of their brain, please call 1-888-564-2700 or click here for more information.

Surf some waves then surf the net if you want to prevent memory loss.  A recent Mayo Clinic study on brain function has found that a combination of moderate exercise and mental stimulation through computer use may help reduce the risk of age-related memory loss more than computer use or exercise alone.

The study published in the May issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings looked at the computer usage and physical activity of 926 people, ages 70 to 93, and assessed whether or not the subjects were experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a stage defined by professionals as being between normal aging and more pronounced form of dementia.

Researchers found signs of mild cognitive impairment in nearly 38 percent of participants who did not exercise and did not use a computer, compared with just over 18 percent of those who did moderate exercise and also used a computer.  Mild cognitive impairment is the stage between normal age-related memory loss and early Alzheimer’s disease.

The investigators also found that 36 percent of participants who did moderate exercise and used a computer had normal memory function, compared with about 20 percent of those who did not exercise or use a computer.

“We know that physical exercise is independently associated with cognitive function, and in 2010, our group reported that moderate physical exercise seemed to be beneficial as well,” said Dr. Yonas Geda, an associate professor of neurology and psychology and a physician scientist with the Mayo Clinic.  “So we asked a simple question – how about if we combine the two?”

“We found there was indeed a synergistic action between computer activities and physical exercise,” says Dr. Geda, referring to the process wherein two elements create a result not possible with either on its own.  “As frequent computer use has become increasingly common among all age groups, it is important to examine how it relates to aging and dementia. Our study further adds to this discussion.”

Moderate exercise has been linked to increased memory function in many studies, and Dr. Geda feels this indicates his results would translate to younger populations as well.

The best results were for those who exercised moderately five to six times a week, but even once a week was helpful, Dr. Geda emphasizes. “You should never underestimate any small amount of activity,” he says.

Moderate exercise included brisk walking, hiking, aerobics, strength training, golfing without a golf cart, swimming, doubles tennis, yoga, martial arts, weightlifting and using exercise machines, the authors explained in a Mayo Clinic news release.

Since spending time on the computer plus exercise is better than either on its own, spend your computer time on the Amen Solution @ Home and get even more of a brain boost.  There is a brain type test and dozens of brain boosting games designed just for your specific brain type!  Be smart about how you spend your online time by getting smarter in the process.  Click here to get started with the Amen Solution @ Home right now!

Source:  http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=664191

Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute.  Chronic sleep restriction can cause weight gain or loss, fatigue, headaches and daytime sleepiness.  When someone is sleep deprived the brain has to work that much harder and accomplishes less.  We all know what it’s like to go without sleep and how it affects our mood and increases stress levels.  Even the smallest amount can diminish mental performance.  Studies have shown that only one night of deprived sleep is as impairing in simulated driving tests as a legally intoxicated blood-alcohol level.

Over 40 million people suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders.  40% of adults experience daytime sleepiness and 69% of children experience one or more sleep problems.  Sleep is critical for the body to heal, repair, restore and regulate itself.  During sleep you are enhancing your learning and memory and will also do better on an exam if you had a good night’s sleep versus pulling an all-nighter.

Another study done by scientists at the University of Chicago found that sleep debt caused alterations in the body’s metabolic and endocrine functions.  Chronic sleep loss can reduce the capacity of even young adults to perform basic metabolic functions, such as processing carbohydrates or regulating hormone secretion.  Cutting back from the standard eight down to four hours of sleep each night produces striking changes in glucose tolerance and endocrine function.  Sleep deprivation also alters the production and action of other hormones, dampening the secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone and increasing blood levels of cortisol, especially during the afternoon and evening.

So how much sleep do we need? Healthy adults require about 7-9 hours of sleep per night.  Children need about 10-11 hours and teens around 9.  Although research cannot pinpoint and exact amount of sleep needed by people at different ages, it’s important to pay attention to your own individual needs by assessing how you feel on different amounts of sleep.  Do you feel well rested on seven hours of sleep?  Are you overweight, are you at risk for any diseases, are you a diabetic, do you have problems falling asleep?  Do you drink caffeine?  These are questions you should ask yourself before you find the number that works for you.