COGWHEELS #1: Introducing The CogWheels of Brain Health

This episode introduces a new series of podcasts that contribute to the overall understanding of the MINDRAMP Method for achieving Qualongevity – living long and living well. In this series of podcasts, we examine MINDRAMP’s CogWheels of Brain Health. 

The CogWheels are eight areas of human behavior that have been shown to have a profound impact on the health and resilience of our brains.  

1. How we move – Physical Exercise & Movement
2. How we think – Mental Stimulation & Management
3. How we relate to others – Social Engagement
4. How we cope with challenges – Stress Management
5. How we ingest resources – Diet, Nutrition, Breathing
6. How we rest and renew – Sleep 
7. How we cope with disease – Medical Conditions
8. How we interact with the world – Environmental Factors 

Research has revealed specific and actionable risk factors as well as protective factors that are associated with each of these behavioral areas. These research insights lead logically to a risk-management approach to protecting your brain from premature aging, cognitive decline and dementia. 

• If you want to reduce the amount of damage done to your brain, eliminate behaviors that have been shown to put your brain at risk. 
• If you want to increase the health and resilience of your brain, adopt or reinforce behaviors that have been proven to strengthen your brain and enhance its ability to repair damage. 

This series of podcasts will examine all eight of the CogWheels and offer concrete advice on how to manage these behaviors to minimize risks and to optimize protections.  

Episode #1 Chapters: (When you access the podcast, scroll your cursor below the green lines to the chapter icon – a stack of three dots and horizontal lines. Click to reveal chapters, then click on the chapter you want to hear.)   

• Introduction
•  How MINDRAMP Organizes Brain Health Research Around the CogWheels
• The “Combinatorial” Nature of the CogWheels
• A Behavioral and Lifestyle Modification Approach
• The Four C’s of Effective Brain Health Interventions:  Causes, Combinatorial, Customized and Continual  
• Conclusion