Brain Health: The Zoetic Approach to caring for Your Brain
Of all the topics I discuss with clients, brain health and cognitive performance are among the most important. This is because the condition of your brain and the clarity of your thinking directly influence both your day-to-day wellbeing as well as your future.
Nothing may be more important than how well your brain works.
But sometimes folks do not really want to talk about it. I get it. The trajectory of your brain health seems inevitable. This is because that is what we have been told. And, in fact that is what the scientific community had concluded for generations.
But that is no longer the case. Recent and emerging research consistently shows that you can positively affect your brain health and increase your cognitive capacity with lifestyle. Neural networks can be strengthened. Blood flow can be improved. Inflammation can be reduced. Processing speed can be trained. Cognitive reserve can be expanded.
So, with the passage of time, you are no longer just waiting to see what happens to your brain, you can be crafting a state of positive brain health and a deep cognitive reserve.
The Zoetic Coaching Brain Health Framework:
1. Exercise: Build Blood Flow, Build Capacity
Both cardio-respiratory and strength training are essential for brain health.
As a starting point, we recommend:
150 minutes of cardio per week
Strength training three times per week
As physical capacity increases, intensity, frequency, and duration increase accordingly.
Why is exercise so powerful for the brain?
Because increased cerebral blood flow is one of the most important biological drivers of cognitive performance. Movement enhances oxygen delivery, supports vascular integrity, stimulates positive brain chemistry, improves mitochondrial efficiency, and reduces chronic inflammation.
Exercise is not simply muscle maintenance. It is a systemic signal telling the brain to stay adaptable and resilient.
2. Nutrition: Reduce Inflammation, Protect the Vascular System
When it comes to nutrition and brain health, two priorities rise above the rest:
Reduce inflammation
Support cardiovascular health
The first step is limiting or removing:
Refined carbohydrates
Saturated and trans fats
Alcohol
Ultra-processed foods
Once those are addressed, additional strategies can be layered in depending on the individual, including:
Keto cycling
Intermittent fasting
Emphasizing plant foods rich in phytonutrients
Food is biochemical instruction. It either increases your capacity and supports your health or it hinders it.
The brain requires optimal blood flow and is energy intensive. Good nutrition helps protect those systems.
3. Rest: Non-Negotiable
The right amount of sleep — during the right circadian window — is critical for memory consolidation, hormonal regulation, metabolic balance, and neural recovery.
What that looks like varies by individual. Our process involves:
Establishing a strong baseline of sleep hygiene
Optimizing sleep timing
Evaluating sleep quality
Adjusting as needed
Sleep is when the brain clears metabolic waste, recalibrates stress hormones, and stabilizes learning. Without sufficient restorative sleep, progress in every other domain is compromised.
4. Cognitive Reserve: Learn Something That Feels Hard
Cognitive reserve is built through challenge.
This means learning — but learning that stretches you.
Examples include:
Language
Musical training
Complex academic or technical subjects
Strategic reasoning exercises
Structured programs such as BrainHQ
The key is difficulty. The learning should feel effortful.
Emerging evidence also supports motor-cognitive dual-tasking — learning while moving. Practicing cognitive challenge during exercise (for example, treadmill intervals combined with problem-solving tasks) appears to amplify neural engagement.
It can be frustrating but that's often a sign it’s working.
The Bigger Picture
Research now show that genes or pathology alone do not determine cognitive outcome. Cognitive capacity, resilience and reserve matter and you have a high degree of control over what that looks like.
Lifestyle interventions consistently demonstrate measurable improvements in executive function, processing speed, and global cognition.
That means the conversation is no longer about whether lifestyle matters. It is about how you practice it.
Every workout, every nutrient-dense meal, every night of restorative sleep, every session of difficult learning is a deposit into your cognitive future.
References
The Nun Study (School Sisters of Notre Dame Study of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease)
FINGER Study (Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability)
U.S. POINTER Study (U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk)
ACTIVE Study (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly)
Research on the MIND Diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay)
