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Do you want a supercharged brain?
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Creativity is the key!
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Tango dancers' brains look
up to seven years younger
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than their real age.
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Similar effects show up in
visual artists and musicians.
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Even interactive gaming can turn back
your biological clock a few years.
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But beware of exposing your
brain to not-so-positive influences.
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Endless scrolling and screen
time cause stress and headaches.
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Skip sleep, your
brain will switch off!
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And if you suddenly have
trouble seeing or walking,
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your brain could
be in serious danger.
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One such danger is a
malignant tumor called lymphoma.
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More on that now on In Good Shape.
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When Neele Fellner turned
18, life seemed perfectly OK.
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But just three weeks after her
birthday, that changed dramatically.
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Neele was learning to drive at the
time and during one lesson suddenly
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noticed something was
wrong with her field of vision.
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I walked into a garbage container
on my way home and realized that
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I couldn't see out of
the corner of my eye.
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I started to panic and ran home.
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Once there, she felt one side of
her face and her left arm go numb.
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I knew who to call, but was unable
to type the name into my phone.
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Somehow I eventually
managed it, and called her.
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And then my mom arrived, right
at the same time as the ambulance.
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She was taken straight to hospital,
where she underwent weeks of tests
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to determine the cause.
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At one point she had a minor
relapse, which involved the return
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of neurological dysfunction.
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They then immediately conducted a biopsy,
and a week later came the diagnosis:
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Neele had a lymphoma
in her central nervous system.
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The lymphoma was located in two
places in her brain and one of the
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tumors was pressing
on the optic nerve.
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Lymphoma develops when certain
white blood cells that usually fight
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viruses and bacteria
undergo abnormal changes.
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These lymphocytes multiply
uncontrollably and can cause damage
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to healthy tissue and can
potentially enter the brain.
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The lymphoma cells are
usually blocked by what's called
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the blood-brain barrier.
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But researchers suspect
that chronic inflammation
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or immune system disorders
could disable this mechanism.
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In the case of Neele Fellner,
her diagnosis led to her being
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transferred to a
specialized tumor center.
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She then received immunotherapy,
followed by the decisive next phase:
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high-dose chemotherapy,
which is 8 to 10 times stronger
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than a regular treatment.
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The critical issue with this
high-dose chemotherapy is that
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it destroys the bone marrow,
the stem cells and blood-cell creation.
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So we collect stem cells
prior to the chemotherapy.
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Stem cells are the precursors of
all blood cells, and are produced
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in bone marrow.
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Patients are first given medication
that stimulates stem cells to move
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into the blood.
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They're then collected via a blood
filtration process before being
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frozen and returned
later to the body.
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Following the high-dose chemotherapy,
Neele Fellner was given back her
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frozen stem cells.
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And immediately after the treatment,
the tumors had regressed,
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with no trace of
the lymphoma now detectable.
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She currently still has to go
to the clinic for follow-up checks
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every six months.
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Her mother frequently accompanies
her when she talks to the doctor.
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This current follow-up is about
detecting a relapse or recurrence.
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But everything's looking
good, and the tumor is gone.
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It's always nerve-wracking, so it's
a huge relief when everything's OK.
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Thanks to high-dose chemotherapy,
patients with a lymphoma in the
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central nervous system now have
a very good chance of being cured.
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Over 80 percent are
cured in the long term.
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And if you've made it through three
or four years, the likelihood of the
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lymphoma returning is extremely low.
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The doctor then wishes his patient
all the best until they meet again
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in six months' time.
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It's given me a whole new outlook.
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I appreciate life so much more, and
minor problems become unimportant.
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I'm just grateful every
day for waking up healthy.
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The brain remains one of
science's greatest mysteries.
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We still don't know how it
stores all those memories.
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Or retrieves vast amounts
of information in an instant.
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How it sparks
emotions and sensations.
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and makes
those all-important decisions.
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So what we do know!
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For the brain's 170 billion workers,
it's a day much like any other.
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The heads of neurons touch the feet
of other neurons, forming synapses.
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That's how they communicate.
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Meanwhile, glial cells supply
them with nutrients and fluids.
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Nobody suspects yet,
but the peace will be short-lived.
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Deep inside the brain is the
thalamus...a kind of relay station
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for most sensory information.
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Unimportant details get
swept under the table.
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But suddenly-- panic breaks out!
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The highly strung amygdala
has spotted something that
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evokes unpleasant emotions.
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And the hippocampus
starts calling up bad memories.
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Just in case, the hypothalamus
prepares the body to make a run for
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it by instructing the pituitary
gland to pump chemical messengers
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into the bloodstream.
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Gradually, the news spreads
throughout the entire neurological complex,
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and is processed by
a wide range of different departments.
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The visual information
is examined in detail.
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Options for averting
danger are analyzed.
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The motor cortex starts
working on an escape plan.
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Language experts get busy
trying to name the spider species.
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Other departments are
trying to assess the situation.
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How are people around us reacting?
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Maybe the spider is
actually kind of cute?
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What other options are
there to deal with the situation?
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Meanwhile, in the prefrontal
cortex, the boss is sitting in
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the executive suite.
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But it's hard to say exactly
who's making the final call.
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As is often the case, a lot of units
are involved and good decisions
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are usually down to teamwork.
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It takes less than a second to react.
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The motor cortex initiates movements.
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Signals are transmitted from the
oldest department, the brain stem,
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through the spinal cord
to the rest of the body.
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The lungs are
instructed to take a deep breath.
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And then it's the
cerebellum's turn to shine.
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It's where complex
sequences of movements are trained
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and precisely coordinated.
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With the help of a pincer grip,
the spider is grabbed by a leg
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and transported into the garden.
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Danger has been averted!
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But the next drama
is already brewing.
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Just another long and
strenuous work day in our brain.
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Though many processes
are still a mystery.
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This is one company that
doesn't give up its secrets easily.
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Sport is great for
your body, and your brain!
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But chose your sport wisely.
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Those soccer headers
don't look all that safe!
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One study of amateur footballers
found damage and abnormalities in
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specific parts of the brain.
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And athletes with this brain damage
scored worst on word-recall tests!
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Another study found similar
damage in American Football players,
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caused by constant
head-on tackles and collisions.
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And a blow to the head really hurts!
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The brain itself
has no pain receptors.
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Headaches are caused by irritation
of the membranes and blood vessels
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and the activation of nerves
that transmit pain signals.
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Magdalena Schmitt is
15 and a 10th-grader.
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She's always loved playing
handball but for the past year,
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excruciating pain has gotten
in the way of her hobby:
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It was a migraine
and I felt terrible.
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I couldn't concentrate
anymore and felt nauseous.
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I couldn't do anything, really.
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At first I had one a week,
but now it's three or four.
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I've often had to cancel handball
training or meeting up with friends.
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Magdalena suffers from
tension headaches and migraines.
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They are the two most common
forms of chronic headaches,
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although researchers have yet to fully
understand how they come about.
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Migraines are believed to be
caused by an overstimulation
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of the brainstem.
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The resulting release of chemical
messengers leads to inflammation and
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blood vessel dilation, which explains
the characteristic throbbing pain.
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The main trigger for
headaches in general is stress.
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But they're also influenced
by hormonal changes and,
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especially in the case of migraines,
genetic predisposition.
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This pain clinic has been
helping people with headaches
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for over 30 years.
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Dr. Britta Fürderer and her team have
also seen a rise in the number
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of children and teenagers
coming here for treatment.
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In recent years we've had a lot of
young people citing increased
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screen time as triggers or 'stressors'.
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But there's also emotional
strain, irregular eating habits,
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and especially insufficient exercise
and increasing pressure to perform.
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Magdalena took part
in a 2-week program
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at the pain clinic
specifically designed for young people.
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In her case, the headaches mainly
come from schoolwork-related stress.
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There's one key message for patients
to take in when they begin treatment,
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especially for migraine sufferers.
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It's vital for them to understand
that migraines are a part of them.
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They'll always have this
predisposition but they can influence
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the frequency of attacks
by altering their lifestyle.
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Patients attend psychological
counselling sessions to learn how
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to cope with their condition and how
to avoid getting tension headaches
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or migraine attacks.
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Another major aspect is establishing
a daily structure that includes
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breaks and that
works with the condition.
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The hard part is sticking to it
and constantly reminding yourself
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to do that.
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To interrupt or alleviate
acute attacks, many people turn
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to painkillers, in the
case of migraines: triptans.
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But this kind of medication
should not be taken too often.
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The general rule is a maximum
of 10 days per month:
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You might offer
your brain the option
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of immediately
responding to an approaching
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or already present
headache by taking painkillers.
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And if you do it too often, there's a
risk of the brain learning from that.
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And with the brain then expecting
painkillers, the urge to reach
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for them becomes stronger.
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Exercise and sufficient breaks
are important and above all:
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regular meals, because
low blood sugar and dehydration
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can also trigger headaches.
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Relaxation exercises help patients to
unwind, while physiotherapy can ease
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pain caused by tense muscles.
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Magdalena now keeps a headache diary.
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While there are still
often days when she has attacks,
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they're less intense than before.
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Her hope is that one day, she'll
have the headaches under sufficient
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control to be able to fully enjoy
all of her favorite activities.
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Young people are getting
more headaches these days.
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One big reason is a lack of exercise.
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Studies show that physical
activity can cut the risk.
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Add stress at school and at
home, plus hours of screen time,
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and the problem grows.
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And researchers warn that
there are even more dangers hiding
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in social media and AI.
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So could that mean that we're
actually getting dumber?
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Could people increasingly
staring idly at their phones
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and other screens explain the
decline in IQ in recent years?
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Some researchers think so.
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They say that, unlike in previous decades,
human intelligence is no longer increasing
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and that digital media may be
partly to blame for what
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they call "brain rot".
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When you rely on others for help,
you stop doing things on your own.
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And when you stop doing
something, you get out of practice.
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So that might suggest that
the decline in intelligence level
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reflects people forgetting
how to actively use their brain.
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A trend that could
worsen in the age of AI.
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Neurobiologist Dr. Christoph Krick
warns against delegating too many
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everyday tasks to a computer,
stressing that consistent
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brain training is key to
retaining our mental sharpness.
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What you actually experience,
what you do and achieve yourself
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is what trains your brain,
whereas simply consuming things doesn't.
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For example: a baby will learn a
lot of social skills by interacting
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with its parents.
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But a toddler will not learn
much from staring at a screen.
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Dr. Krick runs a special workshop
where young people can learn more
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about how the brain works.
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They also conduct experiments,
with this one focusing on reaction times.
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The use of colored signals helps them
to see which regions of the brain respond
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and how quickly.
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Exercise has an especially
positive impact on reaction speed.
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In our experiment involving multiple
colors, green and yellow, we also see
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cognitive skills being engaged.
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In the frontal lobe, for example,
which is crucial for intelligence.
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Declining intelligence may
pose a challenge for the future.
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Shorter attention spans
and weaker reading skills combined
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with complex tasks can
make it harder to meet academic
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or professional expectations.
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Regular brain workouts can help
and even guard against illnesses
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as you age.
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By doing this you build up mental
power that then supports you
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as your brain ages, for example,
or if it's affected by dementia.
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So people who develop strong
cognitive reserves over their
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lifetime are in a
far better position.
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In this case, AI could still
prove useful for training purposes.
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Meaning: reverse roles with your
chatbot of choice and have it ask the
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questions, which you
then have to ponder.
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A daily curriculum of learning
challenges to keep your mind active.
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Friends, co-workers, even a stranger
on the bus, can boost your learning,
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thanks to brain activity
triggered by social interaction.
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New connections give
memory a big boost!
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And it's no secret that exercise
helps you remember everything
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from vocabulary to math formulas.
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But don't worry, there's good news
for the shy or less sporty among you!
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Imagine being able to study in your
sleep, without any time pressure
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or late-night cramming.
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Sounds like a dream!
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But only a dream?
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Nicolas Lutz from the University of
Munich has examined the phenomenon
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of sleep and its effects
on the body and mind
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and many questions
remain unanswered.
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These experiments look
at memory functions.
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Test subjects were asked to learn
pairs of words that have little in common,
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such as "apple" and "forest"
or "castle" and "owl".
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They were then either sent
to bed or asked to stay awake,
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under controlled conditions, meaning:
no caffeine, dimmed lights
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and no stimulating games or movies.
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After spending the following night at
home to get some proper rest,
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they were all then given a test by
the researchers to see how well they
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still remembered those word
pairs from two days previously.
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What we found is that sleep
helps memory consolidation.
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And in particular, it reinforces
weak associations between words.
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After sleeping, participants
remembered up to 25 percent more
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than those who
had to stay awake.
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That's because while we're asleep the
hippocampus, the brain's short-term
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storage unit, shifts new
information into long-term memory.
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If it didn't, what we
learn would rapidly disappear.
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Short-term memory normally only hangs
onto things for 30 seconds max.
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It's the shift to
long-term memory
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that makes knowledge
permanently available.
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Typically 20 to 40 minutes after we
nod off, we hit our first deep-sleep phase,
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the phase that
is crucial for learning.
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The heart and lungs slow
down, and our blood pressure
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and body temperature drop.
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The brain largely tunes out from the
outside world but is extremely busy,
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sorting and consolidating
information taken in during the day.
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So: while we sleep, the brain really
does store what we've learned.
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A process that we
can actively support?
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A question that neurobiologist
Jürgen Kornmeier is trying to answer,
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using experiments with fragrances!
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Participants in his study learned
Japanese vocabulary for three days,
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with a mysterious
envelope on their desk.
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The envelopes for one group
contained rose-scented granules,
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the other group's:
neutral-smelling scraps of paper.
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And the test subjects also kept the
envelopes next to them while in bed.
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When we reintroduce the rose scent,
the sleeping brain remembers
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the vocabulary it's learned.
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And then there's a high likelihood
of those words being transferred
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to the long-term memory.
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Lo and behold: the rose-scent group
learned 8.5 percent more words.
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Ah, the sweet smell of success!
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The scent seems to be saying
to the brain: do not forget this!
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And brain scans confirm that scents
activate the hippocampus during
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the deep-sleep phase.
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If your brain has linked information
to a scent during the day,
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the same scent can help
to boost memory storage at night.
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The great thing about using
scent is that it works at home
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and our research has made a
key contribution here.
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But can we learn new
things while asleep?
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By having Japanese vocabulary playing
in the background, for example?
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Tests have been conducted
but with underwhelming results.
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You can't learn complex information
like a language while asleep.
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You do still have to
learn the vocabulary.
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But it might work a bit
more effectively if you use
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the scent trick.
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00:22:27.163 --> 00:22:29.310
And it doesn't have to be roses.
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Lemons work just as well, as does
lavender or mint, basically anything,
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provided it's a smell we like.
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00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:41.340
But how can we consolidate
what we've learned while asleep?
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Having the scent for at
least three nights can indeed
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boost learning efficiency.
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We've not yet tested what happens
after four, five or six nights.
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The old myth of putting a book
under your pillow can actually help,
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provided you've read it beforehand.
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00:23:12.730 --> 00:23:15.630
Your brain doesn't just lock
in memories while you sleep.
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It also clears out harmful waste,
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00:23:18.736 --> 00:23:21.790
takes stock of the day,
and regenerates.
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00:23:22.369 --> 00:23:25.224
A good night's rest makes us
more focused and alert,
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sharpening reaction times
and problem solving skills.
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So: Let's get more sleep!
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Larena Hees is a student and a
world-beater in the highly demanding sport
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of mountain bike trials.
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In the past, she'd fall asleep
at her desk after from training.
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But then she started powernapping,
taking a 20-minute doze before
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hitting the books.
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After a power nap,
I feel a lot more focused and alert.
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00:23:58.990 --> 00:24:02.430
The point of powernapping is to
bounce back fast from a lull
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in energy levels, basically a brief
recharge for your body and mind.
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00:24:08.260 --> 00:24:12.098
It's a short period of sleep lasting
between 5 and 20 minutes,
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00:24:12.098 --> 00:24:16.720
in contrast to the classic siesta
of at least half an hour.
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00:24:20.020 --> 00:24:23.151
The University of Tübingen
has a special sleep clinic,
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00:24:23.151 --> 00:24:25.492
run by Dr. Daniel Sippel.
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He says: if you're feeling tired
at lunchtime and are able
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to take a powernap,
then do so!
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00:24:35.770 --> 00:24:39.530
There's been pretty extensive
research into powernapping.
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00:24:39.530 --> 00:24:43.690
It has positive effects for a range
of areas: concentration, memory
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and also creativity
and physical performance.
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00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:51.660
Specialists have recommended
powernaps at the workplace
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due to that effectiveness.
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00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:57.180
Surveys show that the majority
of employees would sometimes fancy
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00:24:57.180 --> 00:25:01.220
taking a brief snooze, with a quarter
saying they'd like to regularly.
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00:25:02.854 --> 00:25:06.100
A lunchtime nap is essentially
a good thing for a lot of people
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00:25:06.100 --> 00:25:07.720
but not everyone.
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People who have severe difficulty
falling and staying asleep
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should probably not powernap.
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00:25:14.270 --> 00:25:17.390
For healthy sleepers,
there are more pros than cons.
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A study in the US shows that
pilots' alertness and reaction times
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00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:24.442
improved after powernaps.
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00:25:25.580 --> 00:25:28.700
Down on the ground,
they can help to prevent accidents
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00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:30.119
for the same reason.
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00:25:32.260 --> 00:25:36.460
A French survey suggests they make
it easier to solve complex problems.
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00:25:38.109 --> 00:25:41.869
And researchers in Greece found that
occasional powernaps lower the risk
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of death from cardiovascular diseases,
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so also benefiting
the body in the long term.
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00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:53.290
You can't beat a midday snooze!
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Just don't forget
to set that alarm,
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00:25:55.128 --> 00:25:57.005
you wouldn’t want
to miss the next edition
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00:25:57.005 --> 00:25:58.339
of In Good Shape!
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00:25:58.339 --> 00:25:59.740
See you soon!
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