Change Your Brain Every Day - Are We Sending Kids to College Too Early?

Episode Date: October 8, 2018

Studies show there is a massive uptick in depression, anxiety and even suicide among college students. What could be the reasons for this? In this episode of The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen describe how timing in brain development may be a major factor in how a young person handles their college experience. Daniel and Tana also illustrate which supplements may help to combat these issues.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. Here we teach you how to win the fight for your brain to defeat anxiety, depression, memory loss, ADHD, and addictions. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we've transformed lives for three decades using brain spec imaging to better target treatment and natural ways to heal the brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.

The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceutical products to support the health of your brain and body. For more information, visit brainmdhealth.com. Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. And stay tuned for a special code for a discount to Amen Clinics for a full evaluation, as well as any of our supplements at brainmdhealth.com. Welcome back, everybody. We're having so much fun doing this podcast. Although our guests keep thinking that we're crazy. We are crazy. Just own it. Brain Warriors Way. So this is from my nickname, 247.

I really enjoy Dr. Daniel and Tan Ayman. They are full of information for brain health. The podcasts are short, so it doesn't take a lot of time to listen to. However, they contain helpful and interesting information about optimizing your brain health and your life. They are also a delightful couple. You should actually see us at home. We're kind of the same way here. Another one from Aaron, keep up the amazing content my brother-in-law turned me on to this podcast months ago and i've been hooked ever since we now have a family group text going oh that's awesome with little side conversations about the podcast episodes oh how fun your show has changed some of my family members' views on health. Thank you in capital letters for that.

I've been trying for years. Your dedicated listener, Erin. That's awesome. Thank you so much. That's so fantastic. We are grateful. Today, we are going to talk about a new study out, record number of college students seeking treatment for depression.

Another one came out on a record number of college students seeking treatment for anxiety disorders. Colleges are overwhelmed. But you've been saying this for a long time. Isn't it usually the first year, I mean first two years, but especially the first year that's the hardest? Don't kids sort of freak out when they first move away from home? Well, they do.

We send kids away early, too early, I think. Now, I know we're going to get hate mail for this. I went to Yale and I was just fine, even though I got drunk three weekends out of four. Well, and the freshman 15 that's there for a a reason. Right. So let's get this clear. Your brain is not finished developing until you're 25 in girls, and it's more like 26 or 27 in guys. I hate that. Why are we always behind? That's sort of irritating. Could have told you that a long time ago. Was that kind? It's just true. Was it kind?

But was it kind? I've never been known for being kind over truthful. Did Chloe say something about that recently? Yes. My daughter follows my footsteps. No question. So your brain is not fully developed, especially in the front part of the brain. So the front third of the brain, largest in humans and any other animal by far, it's called the prefrontal cortex,

30% of the human brain, 11% of the chimpanzee brain, 7% of your dog's brain, unless you were Frasier or Bulldog, who was probably no more than 4%. Cats have 3% prefrontal cortex. That explains a lot. Mice have 1%. So if the most human thoughtful, thoughtful part of your brain is not fully developed, yet we send kids away where they have no supervision,

where their most influential sources are their friends who are getting drunk on the weekend. What I've seen as a child psychiatrist is that is often their first suicide attempt. It is often their first psychotic episode. And I just think we have to be more protective. Well, and that's just sort of a general sort of overview and blanket of what's going on. But it would seem to me, I mean, I'm not the psychiatrist, but it would seem to me as a parent.

Does that mean you're actually going to listen to me? No. Not necessarily. But it would seem to me that as a parent, okay. And, and D and seeing my daughter's friends and a lot of the parents that I know, especially in our neighborhood, um, that a lot of it has to do with how you raised your kids as well. Okay. So, so many kids are over sheltered while they're home. They're very, very sheltered while they're home or their parents control very much of what they do. And then all of a sudden these kids go off to college and they don't really know

how to do a lot for themselves. So now you've got another problem right there. And that's why so many kids have no clue how to take care of themselves. So let's talk about the factors going along with the increase in childhood anxiety and depression and then what to do about it. Right. So 80% of the population is low in magnesium. Right. And there's actually a new study showing magnesium by itself was an antidepressant. Now, where do you get magnesium in food?

Green leafy vegetables, for sure. And when you think about, even though colleges have salad bars, many of them. Yeah, no, pizza. It's the kids that are overwhelmed and behind often grab the simple things. Well, and it's study groups with pizza or whatever, fast food. It's fast food. Right. Right?

So their diets are not right. And you had already mentioned the freshman 15. Well, and colleges aren't making it easy for kids because dorms aren't set up for healthy eating most of the time. No, and it's group think. Right. A lot, which at that age, at least, I mean, I remember when I was that age and that was not a great group think.

No. Although for me, I actually didn't go to college until I was 20 because I went in the Army. And even though it was group think, we still had parents. Right. I mean, in the Army. It's the ultimate mom. And I often say it's the ultimate good mother. Right.

Because the rules are really clear. When you follow the rules in the Army, they reward you, they promote you, they promote you, they give you more money, they put these cool little ribbons you can put on your uniform. And when you don't, the discipline is clear, it's quick, it's unemotional. Lots of consequences. Right. And so, you know, that really helped. So I actually started college a little bit later and that really helped me grow up. I'm absolutely convinced it's why I'm a medical doctor.

Right. Because if I would have started when I was 18, and still fairly immature, I think, that, you know, I wasn't really grounded. I was really more interested in girls than grades. Right. Your grades weren't what they were when you finally did start college. Not at all. So I think it's okay to keep them home a little bit longer. If they need to be. If they need to be.

And so now, obviously, here at Amon Clinics, we see a lot of teenagers who have ADD, anxiety, depression, and I'm completely opposed to sending them halfway across the country or all the way across the country where they're not being supervised on a regular basis. Yeah. So I, this, this is interesting to me. I don't know where this started. Maybe this is just my perception based on sort of our area and where we live. This idea that's sort of like it's kids against parents and we're going to like put, you know, we need to make our kids do something and the kids are gonna like not get it done.

And I don't know, it's a little weird to me. I mean, as a parent, it would seem that we would want our kids to do the absolute best they can do and support them in getting that done, right? We wanna make sure that our kids are successful in life. That's really what the goal is. Make them responsible human beings and successful in life and trying to figure out what's going to help them become that even if it's not maybe your ultimate dream and idea of how that should happen. Maybe you need to step back for

a second and go, hmm, how can I be creative? How can I be helpful? How can I set my child up for success? And maybe it's not going to be the traditional way but maybe it will still work i always tell chloe that the most successful people in the world that i know do think that they think of a thousand ways to do things they think outside the box and they rarely do it just the same way everyone else does it so be willing to be open and think about how you might be able to support your kid maybe it's not that traditional way, but maybe it will work. So let's talk also about some other causes, low vitamin D because kids aren't outside in the sun. They are playing video games. And let's be honest, you recommend, I know because I've heard the story a thousand times,

you recommend supplements and vitamin D supplements, specifically things kids are low in, for kids who are in college and they're so busy they forget to take them. You know, set your phone. That's another reason to keep them home a little bit longer. Well, or at least if they're already gone. Or educate them so they know why in fact they need them. That's what we find with Chloe and we have a high school course called Brain Thrive by 25. It's free. So you can go to brainthriveby25.com and sign up for yourself or your kids.

It's an awesome course. And it decreases drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, decrease depression, and improve self-esteem. And all that to say is when you educate kids on the right things to do and why, and why it's to their benefit. They do so much better. Well, and when we told Chloe that it would actually not only help her skin, it would help her sleep better, but it would help her grades. And so she kept forgetting to take them initially. And so yes, at first I reminded her, but then I'm one of those moms

who's like, you need to like be responsible for your life. So I'm a little bit different that way. So I helped her come up with a strategy, but I don't sit there and hover over her and make sure she gets it done. So we put it in her phone. Just like college students, successful college students have a calendar or some way that they stay on track. We'll put that routine, help them to get that routine put into that calendar. So magnesium, vitamin D. So what else is different? Do you think girls are on birth

control pills at earlier and earlier ages? Oh my gosh. Seventh grade, some of Chloe's friends were on them for their cycles that were... And there are. More girls now have PCOS than ever before. More girls now have problems with their periods. More girls now are on it because of their skin and Sometimes it's just an excuse come on. Okay, so birth control pills increase the risk of depression 40% in addition why are female cycles being disrupted because there are so many endocrine disruptors hormone disruptors in the personal products

that children use in their shampoo, in their body soap, in their makeup, and so on. I talk about this in memory rescue and plastic bottles as well. So getting your physical health is critical, but also add to the mixed social media where they're comparing themselves to other people and because they're not like Kim Kardashian, and Kim is actually not like Kim, right, on the public Kim. But if you compare yourself negatively to other people, then you feel bad psychologically. And then if you hang out with depressed people, you're more likely to get depressed. We did a podcast, and if you hold the hand of your partner,

your brains actually begin to sink. So if you're hanging out with negative people, you're going to become negative. That's why I'm starting to see the world through rose-tinted glasses. That's what had... Oh my gosh, it explains it. It's because we hold hands all the time. Be careful.

You're going to start preparing. Oh, you are. You're starting to prepare for the end of the world. Oh my gosh. That explains it. Okay. Four quick things. Take magnesium every day.

Get your vitamin D level checked. I think most people need about 5,000 units of vitamin D a day. If you're on birth control pills, you need to increase serotonin. You can do that with exercise or 5-HTP or saffron. Turn off the social media. Yeah. And really limited. I just did a segment with one of our psychiatrists and she specifically, it's one of her specialties, is seeing college students. And

the biggest thing she said she sees is kids suffering from depression because they're obsessed and addicted to their social media. And what she said she noticed is the same thing you said that the studies are showing. The more time they spend, the more, the worse the depression. And so that's really important. And then one thing that I started Chloe with, and it wasn't easy at first. Okay. Cause I admit, even when we travel, I still drink out of plastic bottles when we're traveling and it's inconvenient to carry something. But my daughter is actually better at it than I am. She does not drink out of plastic bottles. She takes her, you know, her aluminum, not aluminum, stainless steel bottle everywhere she goes. Because she loves herself. Yeah. Stay with us.

Use the code podcast10 to get a 10% discount on a full evaluation at amonclinics.com or on our supplements at brainmdhealth.com. Thank you for listening to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. Go to iTunes and leave a review and you'll automatically be entered into a drawing to get a free signed copy of the Brain Warriors Way and the Brain Warriors Way cookbook we give away every month.