100 Days to a Younger Brain: Maximize Your Memory, Boost Your Brain Health, and Defy Dementia

by Sabina Brennan

An easy program of one-a-day exercises to assess your brain health, improve your memory, protect your brain from cognitive decline and slow the effects of dementia

Living a brain-healthy life is not just to reduce the risk of dementia and other serious health issues but also to improve the quality of your life and brain performance now. Investing in brain health will cost you nothing but time and effort -- and the brain-healthy recommendations in this book can all be followed for free! Brain health expert Dr. Sabina Brennan's steps are simple to follow and within your control so can be integrated into daily life with ease over the course of 100 days,
Dr. Brennan's assessments and quizzes empowers readers to make informed choices every day about sleeping, eating and lifestyle habits that will benefit all aspects of life, from work to relationships and achieving personal goals. This motivating book proves that you don't need to understand complicated neuroscience in order to keep your brain healthy, inspiring you to do at least one small thing every day to radically improve your brain health.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2022

Reviews

[ZeilenZauber · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘*‘ Meine Meinung ‘*‘
Da ich nicht 100 Tage mit der Rezension warten wollte, habe ich die Aufgaben erst mal nur angerissen und mich auf die Erläuterungen konzentriert. Die eben erwähnten Aufgaben arbeite ich nach und nach, wie es angeraten ist, ab. Denn ein jüngeres Hirn ist immer gut.
Der Aufbau des Buches beginnt mit der Theorie, warum wir etwas fürs Hirn tun sollten und wie es überhaupt funktioniert. Dann geht es auch schon ans Eingemachte. Dass ausreichend Schlaf und körperliche Bewegung wichtig sind, ist ja wohl bekannt. Jedoch wird auch erklärt, warum und wie man dies in die Tat umsetzen kann. Das hat mir gut gefallen, denn ich finde es nervig, wenn ich einfach etwas tun soll, ohne zu erfahren, wieso, weshalb, warum. Da erwarte ich immer Hintergrundinformationen. Und diese Informationen werden in leicht verständlichem Schreibstil vermittelt. Es wird auf Fachchinesisch verzichtet und Fachbegriffe findet man im Glossar noch einmal explizit erklärt.
Ganz wichtig ist der Hinweis, dass Gewohnheiten im Schnitt 66 Tage für ihre Etablierung benötigen und deshalb das Programm auf 100 Tage ausgelegt ist. Denn auf diese Weise ist man erfolgreicher, weil die Änderungen länger kontrolliert in Angriff genommen werden.
Was die Aufgaben betrifft. Zu Beginn wird zum Beispiel der Ist-Zustand der Schlafgewohnheiten analysiert und dann entsprechend Tipps zur eventuellen Verbesserung gegeben. Das gefällt mir gut, denn nicht jeder ist auf dem gleichen Stand und so kann ich mir heraussuchen, was mir fehlt und was ich ändern sollte und will.
Zum Abschluss des Buches findet man zum einen Muster für das 100-Tage-Tagebuch (Bewegungstagebuch, Aktionspläne für unterschiedliche Aufgaben usw.) und das Glossar.
Das Buch bietet alles, um sofort anzufangen, etwas fürs Hirn zu tun. Also keine wirklichen Ausreden und mal ehrlich, wer möchte nicht, dass sein Gehirn jung und beweglich bleibt. Also von mir, junge 5 Gehirn-Sterne und eine Empfehlung für alle, die sich was Gutes tun wollen.
‘*‘ Klappentext ‘*‘
Wenn Gedächtnisleistung und Konzentrationsfähigkeit mit den Jahren nachlassen, fühlen wir uns dem natürlichen Alterungsprozess oft hilflos ausgesetzt. Dabei können wir selbst viel dafür tun, um im Kopf jung zu bleiben und Demenzerkrankungen vorzubeugen. Die renommierte Neurowissenschaftlerin und Demenzforscherin Dr. Sabina Brennan erklärt auf verständliche Weise, wie wir über die Lebensstilfaktoren Schlaf, Ernährung und Bewegung positiv auf unsere Gehirngesundheit einwirken können. Der von ihr konzipierte Fitnessplan fürs Gehirn lässt sich mühelos in den Alltag integrieren und führt in 100 Tagen zu spürbar mehr Klarheit, Konzentration und Lebensfreude.

[Jakki Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly nothing ground breaking or new in the advice but an excellent beginners guide to the simple things one can do to improve brain function in later years and how to generally live a happier and healthier old age.

[Marshall Wilcox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally good advice, but unrelated to the titular topic.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only scanned this book. Much apparently good advice, but would require a lot of effort and time. All the usual techniques and more, written by an academic in the field.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

100 Days to a Younger Brain is a lifestyle guide on brain and whole-body health by neuroscientist Dr. Sabina Brennan. Due out 14th Jan 2020 from Hachette on their Da Capo Lifelong imprint, it's 304 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I liked the logical format and layout here. The introductory chapters include a lot of interesting, scientifically accurate information about brain health and neurology and how lifestyle choices can affect overall health and brain health specifically. The how-to-chapter has a program (chapters 3-8) with timelines for making specific changes along with guides and explanations about what, when, how, and why changes are advantageous and not least, how to reasonably make those changes.

This book isn't a passive read at all. Changes will require the direct active participation of the reader to make changes and also to document in a journal what's being done and how it's affecting sleep, diet, energy levels, cognition, etc. The book is full of lots of charts and example logs for the reader to fill out and follow to track progress.

This is a positively written and encouraging DIY for brain health. Instead of feeling overwhelmed when reading, I felt like I could honestly follow much of the advice the author gives.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[April Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're concerned about brain health (and we should really all be concerned about it), then this book is a good place to start. You'll learn about the most critical factors for keeping your brain young and healthy, which will reduce your risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer's, or any other serious cognitive decline.

The title seems to suggest that this will be a workbook with 100 daily sections, but that's not the case. Instead, you're going to learn a lot of information about a several very important topics such as sleep, stress, social and mental activity, etc. At the end of each section, the author recommends how many consecutive days to spend focusing on her recommended tips. The ultimate goal is to work your way through her suggestions within the allotted 100 days by keeping a 100 Days journal.

Science has proven that your brain's age doesn't always coincide with your physical age. Keeping your brain young is critical for full cognitive functionality. With this book, you can take positive steps in the right direction.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 Days to a Younger Brain by Sabina Brennan is a pretty good resource. Some of the information you can easily access and read about online, but the book is a concise, easy-to-follow resource about brain health and simple steps to maximize your overall health and well being. I did like the included assessments, quizzes, and logs to identify areas of needed improvement and to track personal goals.

Overall, a useful and straightforward resource. I would give it a 3.5 rating.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 days to a younger Brain by Dr. Sabina Brennan is a book that is easy to read for anyone. This book goes through the basics on how your brain works and how you can keep it healthy. As you work through this program you will complete a series of assessments to show you a clear picture of the current state of your brain health and give you insight into what you are doing right and what needs fixing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to have a healthy brain.

[Kathy Carberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last a book that explores the brain in an interesting, engaging, and easy to understand way. I enjoyed this book enough to keep reading. It covers a topic that could easily become boring, but this book held my interest while I learned plenty of great things about the hub of the human body. This book made knowing the brain easy and interesting.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cherish sleep.
Be active.
Be present.
Be positive.
Be balanced.
Be realistic.
Be practical.
Be selective.
Start small.
Create challenge.
Embrace education.
Exercise every day.
Straighten up.
Strength and balance.
Adjust your attitude.
Add gratitude.
Marinate.
Smile.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 Days to a Younger Brain has some great advice and information. It is easy to read and use. The author has clearly done her research.

[Phuong · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay start for those who are new to published studies on health and longevity - a Beginnger's Guide at best. For those following leaders in these studies, no gold nuggets found here.

[Darragh Howley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I assume this is aimed more towards older people but thought it might contain some good information, which it does in parts.

I don't like to give a bad rating to something that's positive in intent and promoting good habits/healthy behaviors but it just felt like quiz and questionnaire overload. I'm not sure if the quizzes are based on science or just drawn up because they sound nice. Some are practical some are bizarre.

the actual format is a bit all over the place and not really enough room to fill out some parts. I didn't gain a lot from reading those but hope it is helpful for some people.

Overall takeway is keep active, look after your physical and mental health, engage your brain often in hobbies or studies, make sure you keep a social life and of course look after your sleep. not exactly groundbreaking but hard to argue with either.

[Patrick Alexander Steinberg MacDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book highlights the importance of mental health in six different areas: sleep, stress, social activity, sports, heart functioning and mentality. I can recommend it as an intermittend reading, as it provides good examples on dayly brain fitness activities.

[Roy Van Den Brande · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a book on cardiovascular health...

[Louise Foerster · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 100 Days to a Younger Brain, Dr. Sabina Brennan shares her deep and compassionate experience helping patients with their brain health. Her recommendations are sound, very achievable for all of us. She is encouraging, consistently open about our odds of particular outcomes and the ways that we can improve our lives through simple, effective lifestyle habits. I loved this aspect of her book -- the encouragement and down to earth suggestions made me feel empowered and encouraged that I am doing the best that I can to live healthy and well as long as I am alive. I also appreciated her focus on the actual facts of dementia, that losing your memory and abilities IS NOT an outcome of advancing years and that we have the power to alter the path. What I found jarring was the tone and the language -- Dr. Brennan is erudite and exceptionally accomplished and there are glimmers of this in her diagrams and "lessons" on brain structure and functioning. However, the tone and the level of language and her understanding of what the typical interested layman can absorb -- and already knows? Confounded, frustrated, and ultimately turned me off. In the hands of a professional writer or a skilled editor, we might have had a blockbuster of a book -- instead, it feels more like an extended article by an eager layperson and like so many other pieces out there. I applaud Dr. Brennan for her effort to help a wider audience -- but this book does not adequately represent all she knows and all she can teach.

[Witch-at-Heart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read on how to help teach our brain to be or remain more cognitive. The exercises are very time consuming and the chapters are very bogged down in the sciences of brain function. As I said it is interesting but make for a tedious read. I feel an academic in the field would love this book it has all the meaty details you could want. But it just isn’t written for the average reader looking for brain strengthening techniques. The majority of information is in the first few chapters and then it becomes laden with science studies and rehashing of already presented information. The most helpful chapters are 3-8 where the assessment and program is presented. This is a hands on book requiring detailed journaling and self re-evaluation. Overall it is a decent book and could prove helpful if your willing to put in the work of repeatedly doing the exercises well for 100 days. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Andrew Verlaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage. How anything else by this author got published is a mystery to me.