Louisa Nicola

Neurophysiologist and brain coach, Louisa Nicola, is back to talk about how to optimize brain health and performance with exercise. Louisa sheds light on why exercise is so important for brain function, the best form of exercise for the brain, and how to take control over your brain health to prevent stroke, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. If there’s one episode that will persuade the most sedentary person to finally prioritize exercise in their life, it’s this one. Louisa shares some incredible facts about the brain, disease, and exercise that will make you less scared of disease and more empowered to take care of your body. Louisa Nicola is a neurophysiologist, brain coach to elite athletes, and Founder of Neuro Athletics, a full-service neuroscience diagnostic testing company.  Follow Louisa Nicola @louisanicola_ Follow Chase on Instagram @chase_chewning Follow him on Twitter @chasechewning Key Highlights To optimize your performance at work and consistently operate at your best, you need to think of yourself as an athlete. An athlete bases their life on the tactics of their sport (their job), the technical side, the sports psychology side, nutrition, and strength. “If you base your life on those pillars, the ROI is exponential,” Louisa says. What does neuroscience currently say about the benefits of exercise on brain health? Louisa explains the difference between exercise and physical activity, noting why resistance training is better for the brain than aerobics. She details a study that shows a reversal in mild cognitive impairment (pre-dementia) from just six months of exercise alone. You are in control of your brain health. Lifestyle interventions give you the control over developing/preventing stroke, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.  Start to assess yourself. The #1 thing that is controllable, yet can collapse the capillaries in your brain, is consistent high blood pressure (hypertension), which can decrease brain function. Do you check your blood pressure regularly?  Louisa shares why she’s so intrigued by vascular health right now and the crucial role your veins play in brain health. Episode resources: Get your FREE variety pack of Recharge electrolyte drink mix with any purchase at https://www.DrinkLMNT.com/everforward Save 10% on Ketone-IQ with code CHASE at https://www.HVMN.com Save 15% on grass fed beef sticks with code EVERFORWARD at https://www.Paleovalley.com/everforward Watch and subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/wRvHVLzykew Louisa has also been in episode 436 and episode 624

In this episode of The Align Podcast, Louisa Nicola and I go deep into how we can enhance our cognitive function, our life longevity and the overall regulation of our nervous system. We discuss how important the mind-body connection is and how this can be strengthened through movement and other practices. We then tap into loneliness, how it plays a vital role in our emotional health and whether it could be the primary factor contributing to human happiness. Louisa also discusses the dangers of alcohol addiction, the concept of dopamine fasting and the benefits of journaling.  Neurophysiologist and human performance coach, Louisa Nicola is the founder and head performance advisor of Neuro Athletics - a consulting firm that boasts the best athletes in the world. By using science-driven data from EEG scans, lab tests and cognitive assessments, Louisa has a first-class ticket inside the brain of elite NBA and MLB stars. Louisa graduated from the University of Sydney medical school with a major in neurophysiology and is currently completing her doctorate studying the effects of resistance exercise on the brain. Louisa serves on the board of Momentous, Tonal, and Klora. Thank you to our sponsors: HVMN: Use code ALIGN for 20% off at: https://hvmn.com/align LifeForce: Use code ALIGN for 15% off at: mylifeforce.com Levels: Get 2 free months of the Levels Membership at: levels.link/ALIGN

I am excited to connect with one of my favorite neuroscience experts today! Louisa Nicola is at the intersection of neuroscience and athleticism. She helps to bring a fresh understanding of what it takes to achieve peak performance through science-based tools and methods. She is also the host of The Neuro Experience podcast, which focuses on brain health, neuroscience, longevity, and athletics. Louisa knows how to take complicated subjects related to brain physiology and hormones and explain them so that people can fully understand and appreciate them. In this episode, she and I dive into her background. We speak about her three pillars for peak performance, alcohol, and how sleep impacts the glymphatic system. We get into strategies for better sleep, the perimenopausal brain, how chronobiology impacts sleep, how to address jet lag, and how exercise improves brain performance and health. We also talk about the best foods and supplements for brain health and how creatine improves performance. I hope you enjoy listening to today’s conversation as much as I did recording it! IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: How an accident shifted the trajectory of Louisa’s life.  Louisa unpacks the various stages of sleep and explains why sleep is so important. How sleep impacts the glymphatic system. Some common characteristics of perimenopause. Some simple ways to aid the penetration of naturally secreted hormones into the brain.  How blood pressure fluctuations impact the brain. What is jet lag, and how can we combat it? How does alcohol affect the brain? Louisa explains cardiac remodeling. The value of different types of exercise for brain health. The difference between physical activity and exercise. How our food choices impact our brain health. How to mitigate the effects of traumatic brain injuries. How does creatine monohydrate improve brain performance? Connect with Cynthia Thurlow• Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn• Check out Cynthia’s website Connect with Louisa NicolaOn Twitter and Instagram The Neuro Experience PodcastBook mentionedThe XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi

Louisa Nicola is a neurophysiologist and brain coach for many professional athletes and Wall Street execs. She discusses science-based tools and strategies to boost brain health and mental performance. Support your Workout Sessions and Healthy Hydration with this Creatine Electrolyte Combo by MYOXCIENCE Save 15% with code podcast at checkout Link to the Video Interview: https://bit.ly/3R7noel Connect with Louisa: https://www.neuroathletics.com.au Show Notes: 03:10 Louisa was elite triathlete when she realized the impact the brain had on all aspects of performance. She and her fellow athletes were not taught about sleep or nutrition. 04:20 The nervous system must be optimized to optimize performance throughout the body and as a person. 05:35 We used to sleep about 12 hours a day in prehistoric times. Sleep regenerates our brains. 06:20 There are 4 stages of sleep. Stage one is as you are falling asleep. Stage 2 is light sleep. Stage 3 is deep sleep/slow wave sleep/non-REM sleep. Stage 4 is REM sleep. Stages 3 and 4 are the most important stages for our brains. 06:52 During deep sleep, hormones are secreted: testosterone, estrogen, growth hormone. The glymphatic system is your brains sewage system. It cleans toxins, including amyloid beta. A buildup of these toxins can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. 07:50 Your brain is comprised of neurons and others. Glial cells bind neurons together. During deep sleep, glial cells shrink, making way for the cerebral spinal fluid in your brain to wash out the trash. 08:55 A groggy wakeup may be an indication that you are not getting into deep sleep. 30% of your total sleep time should be deep sleep. 20% of total sleep time should be REM sleep. 09:30 REM sleep is where memory consolidation and learning take place. 10:30 The biggest disruptor of sleep is anxiety and stress. This activation of the sympathetic nervous system may prevent you from falling asleep or wake you in the night. 10:55 Alcohol is the biggest inhibitor of REM sleep. Blue light blocking glasses are helpful, but do not block out all light. 12:00 Eating less than 2 hours before bed keeps us awake through digestion and the increase in our core body temperature. Core body temperature must drop at least 2 degrees for us to go to sleep and stay asleep. 15:00 Alcohol inhibits the action of GABA, our calming neurotransmitter. Cortisol peaks with alcohol. Alcohol and marijuana sedate you. It does not elicit sleep stages. 16:15 You are preparing for sleep the minute you wake up. Consistency is key. 17:20 Try to get as much sleep as possible before you get on a plane. It is called Sleep Banking. 18:10 Your prefrontal cortex is the ruler of your brain. It is where cognition happens: attention, reaction time, processing speed. 6 hours of sleep is a sleep deprived state, in the scientific literature. 10:20 As we age, we have a lower efficacy of our frontal lobe. There is a thinning of our cerebral cortex. Thinning in the prefrontal cortex causes a lower decision rate and worsening of our processing speed, inhibition and impulse control. 21:20 We can slow brain ageing through lifestyle interventions, such as sleep, good nutrition and exercise. 21:40 There is an atrophy of our brain white matter, where our myelinated neurons live, as we get older. Our processing speed declines. This can be seen using an EEG. 25:50 Mild cognitive impairment is a predementia state. 27:30 You should be working on your brain. It is the control center of your entire body. 27:50 You can stave off predementia states and the slowing of cognition through exercise. 29:45 Head trauma can cause an accumulation of talc proteins tolC proteins and amyloid beta, which is somewhat comparable to Alzheimer’s disease. 30:30 A hard hit may require a month’s recovery. Within 24 hours post trauma, decreasing the temperature of the brain, eating a high fat diet, or having exogenous ketones can help heal the brain. 33:40 Ingesting exogenous ketones can help prevent trauma from happening to the brain. 36:00 EPA/DHA are anti-inflammatory. If you have a high omega 3 index of 8% or more, you can increase your life expectancy by 5 years. 37:10 A risk factor for all-cause mortality is a low omega 3 index. 37:40 Quality supplements reduce risk of oxidation and toxicity. EPA/DHA feeds your brain what it is made of. It is made of water and fat. A high omega 3 index helps with cell membrane fluidity. 39:25 A standard omega 3 blood panel does not test the red blood cell. Red blood cell cycle lasts about 120 days. You need to ingest EPA/DHA daily for cardiac, brain and overall health. 41:20 Farm raised seafood does not contain the same amount of nutrients. 41:30 Omega 3 is made of EPA, DHA and ALA. ALA is the plant form found in flax and chia seeds. To get the recommended dose of omega 3 through ALA is a lot of food. ALA gets converted into DHA. 42:20 Your eyes are the only neurologic tissue outside your brain. Vision changes may be a way to indirectly assess brain health. 45:05 Most 2019 deaths were attributable to heart disease and brain diseases. 45:40 A healthy performing brain can make sound decisions, be rational and practice impulse control. 47:00 Your brain fatigues faster if you are not eating well, sleeping well, and exercising. You need brain energy. Stress and an inflamed brain disrupts pathways in the brain. 48:50 People who have type 2 diabetes and obesity have a higher rate of neural inflammation. 49:50 When we exercise there is a release of myokines, muscle-based proteins (peptide hormones). They act on different organs in positive ways. They are water soluble, and some can pass the blood-brain barrier. Binding receptors to myokines are on heart muscle, spleen, liver and more. Once bound, they create a chemical reaction. 51:10 Interleukin 6 myokine, is secreted with the contraction of a muscle. It is pro-inflammatory cytokine… unless it is released from a muscle – where it is released as anti-inflammatory. It affects immunity and different areas of the brain. 52:00 Irisin myokine is a messenger molecule. It crosses the blood-brain barrier to the prefrontal cortex, where it affects cognition, and hippocampus, where it induces BDNF, that induces neurogenesis. 53:56 When you learn something and immediately exercise, you can have greater capacity to remember. If you sleep for 20 minutes after learning something, you will embed everything you learned. 54:30 Irisin release is increased 1 hour after exercise. 54:50 Workouts of 70 to 80% of you one rep max for a robust release of irisin. More of a release is given during resistance training, than aerobic. The more resistance, the more the release. 58:10 You can stave of neurodegenerative diseases and states by 20 years by inducing exercise protocols that impact myokine release. 58:50 50 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer’s disease. That rate is set to triple by 2050. 59:30 EPA/DHA can clear accumulated proteins in your brain. 00:01:00 Demyelinating diseases, MS, are becoming more prevalent. Chronic stress and chronic cortisol may be the cause.

Today’s episode is the second in our new sober curious series. This week we brought on Yale-trained, board-certified family physician Dr. Aviva Romm to talk about the impact of alcohol on our hormones and neurophysiology researcher and director of Neuro Athletics, Louisa Nicola to speak to the impact on the brain.On this episode, we talk about:  how alcohol impacts your hormones, including irregular periods & fertility  the shocking link between alcohol and breast cancer in women  what people with PCOS & endometriosis need to know about drinking alcohol  alcohol’s effect on your circadian rhythm & cortisol levels  exactly why and how alcohol impacts mental health, including dopamine, serotonin, and more why alcohol feels energizing even though it’s a sedative (plus, how to get that effect without drinking) a lifestyle habit that can literally reverse negative impacts of alcohol  the best type of workout for repairing brain health  what you can do to support your brain before or after a night out  a neuroscience-backed way to feel calm without reaching for a drink  and so much more!  We would LOVE to hear from you any thoughts, reactions, or takeaways you have as you’re listening, so definitely screenshot and tag me @lizmoody, Dr. Romm @dr.avivaromm, and Louisa @louisanicola_ on Instagram.  Check out my previous episodes with Dr. Romm—Ask The Doctor: Hormone Edition—Everything You Need To Know About Balancing Hormones Naturally and Hormone Q&A—Solutions for Belly Fat, Acne, Hair Loss, Migraines, PMS, Insomnia, Low Energy, and More.To join the Healthier Together Podcast Club Facebook group, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthiertogetherpodcast.This episode is sponsored by Seed. You can get 15% off your first month's supply of Seed's DS-01™ Daily Synbiotic by going to seed.com/daily-synbiotic and using the code LIZMOODY. This episode is sponsored by AG1 by Athletic Greens. Visit athleticgreens.com/healthiertogether and get your FREE year supply of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs today. This episode is sponsored by Paleovalley. Head over to paleovalley.com and use the code LIZM for 15% off.This episode is sponsored by Cymbiotika. Get 15% off using code LIZ at cymbiotika.com. Healthier Together cover art by Zack. Healthier Together music by Alex Ruimy.

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Today’s guest is Louisa Nicola, a neurophysiologist and human performance coach, and the founder of Neuro Athletics, which provides scientific strategies to help athletes and investors achieve peak performance. In today’s episode, Louisa is helping all of us become better investors by giving a masterclass on peak performance. She walks through the three pillars she focuses on: sleep, exercise and nutrition. She gives some tips and tricks to improve in each category and how all three improve cognitive performance. Louisa also touches on some of her favorite supplements, common tests she recommends to her clients, and why alcohol is probably hurting you more than you realize. ----- Follow Meb on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube For detailed show notes, click here To learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com ----- This episode is sponsored by AcreTrader. AcreTrader is an investment platform that makes it simple to own shares of farmland and earn passive income, and you can start investing in just minutes online. For more information, please visit acretrader.com/meb. ----- Today’s episode is sponsored by The Idea Farm. The Idea Farm gives you access to over $100,000 worth of investing research, the kind usually read by only the world’s largest institutions, funds, and money managers. Subscribe for free here. ----- Interested in sponsoring the show? Email us at Feedback@TheMebFaberShow.com ----- Past guests include Ed Thorp, Richard Thaler, Jeremy Grantham, Joel Greenblatt, Campbell Harvey, Ivy Zelman, Kathryn Kaminski, Jason Calacanis, Whitney Baker, Aswath Damodaran, Howard Marks, Tom Barton, and many more.  ----- Meb's invested in some awesome startups that have passed along discounts to our listeners. Check them out here! 

Louisa Nicola is a Neurophysiologist and Brain coach to elite performers. She founded Neuro Athletics which helps high performers gain an extra advantage in their field. Neuro Athletics believes that the most significant insurance policy for humans is the brain. Louisa was a world champion triathlete and raced both nationally and internationally for Australia and competed in London, Beijing, and Auckland. After retiring in 2012 Louisa followed her dreams and went to Sydney Medical school and graduated with a particular interest in neurophysiology. Louisa is the head performance advisor and CEO of Neuro Athletics. Follow Louisa on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/louisanicola_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@louisanicola_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louisanicola_/?hl=en Key point topics and studies mentioned: Strength vs. endurance exercise benefits Mechanism of how exercise can benefit the hippocampus, a region in the brain that is responsible for learning and memory Tips and advice to optimize aging brain health H.V.M.N. Podcast Fam: We're giving you an exclusive offer. You guys are some of our most loyal fans, and we want to give you a special reward. Use HVMNPOD10 to get 10% off your next H.V.M.N. order.

Today’s guest is the head performance advisor and CEO of Neuro Athletics, Neurophysiologist and Billionaire coach + a NEW and great friends of mine, Louisa Nicola. She's on a mission to optimise mental performance and to help educate, train and unlock human performance through science and data with a commitment to your potential.Today we chat about how her brush with Gary V started her incredible podcast The Neuro Experience, the common things we do that fasten the brain ageing process (an in turn things we can do to slow it down), she gives us a neuroanatomy 101, shares her favourite supplements and coffee tips! Louisa also shares the BEST form of exercise for brain health, tips for optimal sleep and what a balanced brain means to her.Connect with Louisa more on IG or TikTok.Until next time,Stay BalancedP.S. Need a fix in-between episodes? Head on over and connect with us on our TikTok & Instagram!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thebalancetheory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louisa Nicola is a neurophysiologist, brain coach to elite athletes, and Founder of Neuro Athletics, a full-service neuroscience diagnostic testing company.  Back in episode #436, Louisa Nicola gave us an introduction to the brain and nervous system, setting the foundation for us to understand how neuroscience can help us get more out of life. This week, Louisa is back to dive deeper into the science behind brain performance.  In this discussion, Chase and Louisa talk about the three domains of peak brain performance: nutrition, physical exercise, and neurophysiology. Louisa breaks down how to utilize nutrients, exercise, and sleep, so you can better optimize your brain health. The pair also talk about keeping the blood-brain barrier strong, the benefits of using exogenous ketones, and why you need to be more mindful of maintaining your dopamine levels.  Plus… Can our brain cells regenerate or are the connections just getting stronger? Stick around until the end to hear Louisa’s shocking answer! Follow Louisa Nicola @louisanicola_ Learn more about NeuroAthletics Follow Chase on Instagram @chase_chewning Follow him on Twitter @chasechewning Key Highlights Sleep: “Sleep is probably the most underrated high performance tool we have,” Louisa says. If you’re an athlete who doesn’t get enough quality sleep, it affects almost every aspect of your performance and increases risk for injury. Louisa goes on to describe the impacts of sleep on brain health, brain disorders, and brain aging. Nutrition: “When it comes to the brain, there are certain things that the brain favors, especially as it relates to nutrition and supplementation,” Louisa says. Listen in to learn how stress, inflammation, and supplementation of key nutrients, like EPA and DHA, can play a role in longevity and cognitive performance. Plus, Louisa explains the benefits of going on a high fat diet immediately after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion). Hydration is a key indicator of brain functioning. If we are 2% dehydrated, we can have a decrease in our cognitive performance by 30%. Exercise: “You can grow the gray matter of your brain by physical activity alone,” Louisa says. She then recaps various research studies that show the relationship between exercise, particularly resistance training, and cognitive performance as well as how exercise can prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Your brain loves quality time with other humans, loving relationships, social interactions, and of course, self-love.  How will you know these practices are actually improving your brain health? Tune in to find out! Episode resources: Save 20% on your wellness and telemedicine needs with code EVERFORWARD at https://www.WildHealth.com Save 15% on Mello magnesium superfood drink mix with code EVERFORWARD at https://wwwHelloNed.com/everforward Watch this video on YouTube https://youtu.be/Jk7VpS9jooM EFR #436: Neuroscience That Will Help You Perform Better, Think Faster, and Live Longer with Louisa Nicola EFR #612: Dr. Gabrielle Lyon on Plant Protein Versus Animal Protein and How to Prevent Disease and Promote Longevity Using Muscle Centric Medicine Listen to The Neuro Experience episode with Layne Norton, PhD FITLIGHT