A neuroscientist talked about ways to teach your brain how to be happy

The brain is a kind of general manager of the organism, which regulates the main aspects of life activity, establishing links between the personality, organism, body and environment. Emotional state, vitality and happiness depend on its abilities, said Alexei Danilov, MD, Head of the Department of Nervous Diseases of the First Sechenov Moscow State Medical University, Executive Director of the Association of Interdisciplinary Medicine. He told Izvestia how the brain controls all aspects of life, and explained how to influence your emotional state with sleep and healthy food.

"One of the most important tasks in life is to build such relationships with the outside world to realize your purpose and get true satisfaction from it," Danilov said.

At the same time, as the doctor noted, modern man prefers quick pleasures: instead of a full meal - snacks, instead of reading books - rils, instead of romantic courtship - dating services. As a result, the reward system, based on the principle of "you can't catch a fish out of a pond without work," is broken: a short-term burst of joy is followed by prolonged despondency.

"You need to get away from the constant dopamine stimulation and start taking care of your brain. The first step can be to respect circadian rhythms, adjusting sleep and wakefulness," the expert emphasized.

For most people is considered optimal sleep duration of seven to nine hours a day. And it is better to go to bed before midnight and wake up before 8:00. Sleep at this time contributes to a better recovery and a sense of vigor the next morning, the expert explained.

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According to him, great pleasure and long-term joy can bring a hike in the woods, fishing with friends and meals cooked and eaten together in the company of friends or in the family circle.

"Including cod liver, vegetable oils, fatty fish varieties and nuts containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and B vitamins in the diet has a positive effect on emotional well-being," Danilov added.

Another important aspect for brain health is protection from information noise. It is necessary to carefully choose books and movies, limit the time of reading the news feed.

The neurologist said that the author of the book "Food for Thought" Lewis Carroll talked about "mental gluttony", meaning reading books indiscriminately and thinking.

"Today it is scientifically proven that excessive information absorption leads to malfunctions in the neuro-immune-endocrine system, causing fatigue and increasing anxiety. Therefore, information consumption should be filtered as diligently as the choice of food," says the expert.

An important factor affecting brain health is the interpretation of life circumstances.

"Treating the problem as a quest - an exciting opportunity to test, hone your skills to overcome stress, instead of despondency and grumbling at fate, contributes to the formation of the immune system, resistant to infectious and non-infectious diseases," - concluded Danilov.

Earlier, on December 25, a nutritionist, gastroenterologist Gastro Clinic Roman Malkov told "Izvestia" about the connection between emotional state and intestinal health. According to him, stress and negative emotions trigger a chain of reactions that negatively affect the gastrointestinal tract.