Our bodies are designed to move, and ignoring that fact
causes our brains to suffer. The evidence on exercise is
mounting to an impressive degree, validating it not only as a
method of boosting our long-term brain health (enabling us
to fend off diseases once thought unpreventable), but as a
means of enhancing the way we think and learn.
Similarly, we’ve evolved with another type of exercise:
thermal exercise. We are great at changing our environment
to suit our comfort levels, but the relative lack of variation in
temperature we experience on a daily basis may undermine
our peak brainpower and resistance to disease.
Sleep Loss
Last but not least, good-quality sleep is a precondition
for optimal brain function and health. It gives you the ability
to make dietary and lifestyle changes by making sure your
hormones are working for you, not against you. And it
purifies your brain and backs up your memories. Costco-
size gains for dollar store effort, and yet our collective sleep
debt is rising.
As I’ve mentioned, any one of these villains has the power
to wreak cognitive destruction, and they have formed an
unholy alliance to do so. But, if you allow this book to be
your bow and arrow, sword and spear, you may just stand a
chance.
In the coming chapters, we’ll lay out a road map to
circumvent the shortcomings of our discordant, high-stress
lifestyles as we marry evolutionary principles with the latest
clinical research. We’ll use diet to reset your brain to its