Change Your Brain Every Day - Stronger, Sharper, Longer: The Brain-Boosting Power of Muscle

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

Strength isn’t just for looks—it’s protection for your brain, body, and longevity. In this episode, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen reveal why building muscle is one of the best ways to prevent dementia, depression, and frailty. Learn how strength training boosts memory, mood, and focus—and why it’s your body’s insurance policy against life’s unexpected setbacks. Tana shares her personal story of trauma and healing through fitness, and the science behind real brain-healthy enhancers like creatine, protein, and sleep. Whether you’re recovering from injury or just want to stay sharp, this episode will inspire you to get stronger—inside and out.   00:00 Intro 01:10 The Connection Between the Physical Strength & the Brain 03:56 Clearing the Cobwebs 06:31 What Robs Your Strength? 08:21 Strength Enhancing Fakers 13:38 Healthy Ways to Build Strength 14:06 Sponsor 14:46 Diet & Lifestyle 16:37 Creatine 23:01 Brain & Body Reserve 27:07 Wrap Up   Smart Creatine, Brain T-Max, and other brain-healthy supplements: https://brainmd.com

The stronger you are as you age, the less likely you are to get dementia. So a lot of my patients tell me they're not working out for their bodies, they're working out for their brain. Well, and there's another part to that as a, again, as a trauma, you know, neurosurgical ICU nurse, we see a lot of head injuries with elderly people who fall. So they fall because they're not strong. And so that's why people will say, that's why the muscle on the legs became, you know, this thing that people studied for longevity. You have to be able to do squats without falling and hitting your head. You have to be able to

sit on a toilet and stand up and do daily functions. If you're not strong, you can't do that, or you'll fall and break a hip, right? So that's why it's it's really important to have strength because you actually not just For the reason you just mentioned but because actually it's how you protect yourself against head injuries. It's critical Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day. I am so excited about this podcast. We're going to be talking about strength, about being stronger, sharper, and how to do it for longer.

Building muscle is actually one of the ways you protect your mind. In fact, it's one of the best ways to protect your mind. In fact, the stronger you are as you age, the less likely you are to get things like Alzheimer's disease. Isn't that crazy? Crazy. Right? Um, one thing that most people don't know, the thing that kills older people is frailty.

Yeah. And so many women don't want to work out because they don't want to get bigger. But in truth, they actually get smaller if you work out. So they've actually done studies on this. I was a trauma nurse and they've done studies on people who go into a trauma unit or into the ICU after a big accident or after a major surgery for illness or something like that. And the ones that come out of a traumatic accident and survive and thrive afterwards

versus the ones who do not and either deteriorate or pass away was based on how much muscle they had going in. And I thought that was so fascinating because a lot of times people are like, oh, well, how did your aunt die? She died, she broke her hip. Well, it wasn't the broken hip that did it.

It was the frailty that does it, right? And that leads to all of the other problems. They don't recover. So most people think strength is just about aesthetics or athletic performance. But what if I told you your strength is your protection for your brain, your memory, and your mood? Research links muscle mass and grip strength with a lower risk for Alzheimer's and dementia, improved executive function and

memory, decreased depression and frailty as we've talked about. Muscle is metabolically active brain protective tissue. Losing it accelerates aging, keeping it, slows cognitive decline. In fact, there was another study recently that showed that longevity was connected to how much muscle you had on your upper legs, on your hamstrings and your quadriceps. So I thought that was really interesting. Well, I think that's one of the reasons we walk every day to keep strong. Now doing more leg direct exercise that build muscle, but walking is an excellent exercise.

Working out's been a part of your life for a long time. In fact, I actually think it was one way you treated the vulnerability to depression. Depression and well, I didn't believe in ADD till I met you, but I guess- Just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean it's not real. So I used to say it was the way I cleared the cobwebs. So I, and I had to do it first thing in the morning. I used to get up even at 16 years old is when I started getting up at four o'clock in the morning. I'd be at the gym by five and I didn't drink coffee then.

So, but that was how I cleared the cobwebs was I would do intense exercise and then I could focus. So that was my way of getting energy and vitality and being able to focus. And I got addicted to it. So I loved being muscular. Wow. And that was also a time because you had to change schools that depression sort of hung

around. Yeah, there was more to it. I also was, I had been attacked when I was 15 walking to high school and it made me feel super vulnerable. I was almost raped. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones. I got away. I was drugged down an alley.

And I remember feeling so vulnerable because of that. And that's when I got really into like weightlifting. I didn't work out to be skinny. I wanted to be strong. And so that became a real thing for me was just putting muscle on. Talk about the mindset with women who don't want to work out because they worry about

how it'll change their bodies. I find it really interesting when I used to teach classes and I would talk to women about strength training and they would almost always say, I don't want to be muscular. I don't want to look like a man. And I'm like, hmm. That's like, do you know how hard it is for women to put that kind of muscle on? The women who work out really hard because they want more muscle would love if that were true. It's just not true.

You can work out really hard as a woman. We just don't have the same hormonal profile. So if you work out pretty hard as a female and you're lifting pretty hard, you're still not going to get that bulk unless you're taking something to put bulk on, unless you're doing some sort of hormonal treatment. It's very rare that a woman actually has that genetic and hormonal profile to be able to do that. Dr. Justin Marchegiani, yeah.

Yet the cognitive benefits and the mood enhancing. And the bone and the like for osteoporosis and for like everything. So what robs your strength? It's being sedentary. I mean, whenever I'm working on a book or now I'm working on a script for a new public television special, I don't want to work out because it's like, no, I just want to, you know, I'm like so focused on what I really want, which is energy, a good mood and strength.

So, So I see the same thing when I was writing, I would get stuck in this place. I could sit there for like 12 hours and just not do anything. So I started setting my phone. I started setting a timer on my phone so that every two hours I would literally go run the stairs or do some squats or do something. So that I stopped that, that habit of not moving. Right. So television and scrolling increase frailty. Ultra-processed foods, high sugar, low protein, chronic stress because chronic stress increases

cortisol which decreases bone density, decreases muscle mass and puts fat on your belly and the fat on your belly takes healthy testosterone and turns it into unhealthy cancer promoting forms of estrogen, sleep deprivation. And what's interesting, what's bad for your muscles is almost always bad for your brain. So talk about the fakers, the strength enhancing fakers. So, when I was in my early thirties, the thing that was the big thing at the time was ephedrine. And it was in every workout, like GNC or any store you went into, like all of the workout products were like all about ephedrine.

And I got to tell you, I've never done cocaine in my life, but I was like, this must be what cocaine feels like. It was incredible. Like I would get these crazy workouts. I was like, I had so much energy. I felt like I was the Hulk. I was like King Kong when I took ephedrine. And I loved it until I went to the hospital one day to work.

And a guy came in, I was 32, he was 32. He was a professional cyclist and he went into cardiac arrest and had a stroke and was completely incapacitated from that day forward. And his parents were suing the company that made the products that he was taking. And I was like, whoa, I take that product. And that's when it hit me that I needed to find

a different way to get my high at the gym because that was not going to work. And then it turned out a lot of people were having problems. So a lot of these things like ephedrine or some of the crazy stuff, I think that's not legal anymore, but they just replaced it with something else. There's all these pre-workout things that have stuff in them that are not really good for you. They jack up your blood pressure, your blood, your cortisol, your heart rate to a level

that is really unhealthy. Dr. Justin Marchegiani Well, what about steroids? Dr. Julie Kwan Well, yeah, that's a whole different discussion. Dr. Justin Marchegiani But that would be a stress enhancement. Dr. Julie Kwan So, let me back up. Let me back up. Steroids, when you're talking about things like testosterone, there's very, it's very different when you're talking therapeutic dose versus vanity dose, right? That's different.

If you are low in certain hormones, that's not good for your brain either. That's not good for your cognitive function either. So if you're going to someone who really specializes in helping you optimize your hormones at a therapeutic level, that's different than these guys who literally will rip your head off if you look at them the wrong way, because they're taking vanity doses, or they go to jail at them the wrong way because they're taking vanity doses or they go to jail because they're

crazy because they're taking vanity doses or they get testicular cancer because they're taking these high doses. Dr. Justin Marchegiani, M.D. Or they cheat on their spouse. Dr. Julie Kwan, M.D. Right. You're more likely to go to jail, cheat, like be crazy. Dr. Justin Marchegiani, M.D.

I mean, when I see some guys or this can happen for as well. And I see their testosterone levels 2000. Right. Right. If normal, if healthy is between 450 and 1100. Right. You push it above it. What happens is your empathy goes down. So you turn into more male, your empathy goes down and your libido goes up, which is a prescription

for visiting your children on the weekends and losing half your net worth. And then imagine if you mix that with alcohol, it also increases your propensity for violence. Right. So. Let's agree. We're both in favor of optimizing your hormones.

Under the care of a physician who is giving you therapeutic doses for your body. You're not giving them from some crazy person. And we've been talking about BrainMD products. And one of the products I take every day is called Brain T Max. And my testosterone stays right around 600, which is right where I want it. You know, I don't want it at 1100 because I need empathy in my job. I need empathy. And I need to see it all. And I don't want my libido to be so high that it's distracting. You are distracted enough all by yourself. So energy drinks, hormone replacement that might be too much for you, crash diets, fasting extremes, performance enhancing drugs, they may help but may not actually be good for your brain. I want to address one more thing.

So a lot of these spads and trends, I mean, again, they target these young kids. It's crazy to me. These detox teas, they're basically diuretics and laxatives. Okay, so it's crazy to me that they're targeting young people, but they're marketing them as detox. When in fact, what they're doing is they're depleting your body.

If it's giving you diarrhea, and it's cleansing you that way, or it's a diuretic and it's making you pee too much, you are not only messing up your electrolyte, it's like an electrolyte imbalance, but you are dehydrating yourself. And that is one of the number one fastest ways to decrease your strength.

In fact, so many studies have been done on dehydration. So hydration is one of the most important things. People who are dehydrated, they have less strength in the gym. In fact, when you're properly hydrated, you have 19% more strength when you work out. And pilots who are dehydrated, they actually did a study.

It only 2% dehydration affected their cognitive function. I don't want to be on that plane. Like I don't know about you, but hydration is critical. So you're saying you should give the pilot a bottle of water on the way in? Yes, for sure. All right, so let's talk about the real deal. Healthy strength enhancers, brain healthy strength enhancers.

So the evidence-based pillars of lifelong physical and cognitive strength resistance training. Two to four times a week improves BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, boosts working memory, focus and energy. Your brain is your most valuable asset. It controls everything from your focus and memory to your mood and energy. That's why I created BrainMD to give you science-backed supplements that support your brain so you can feel and

perform your best every day. If you haven't tried them yet, go to brainmd.com and use the code PODCAST20 for 20% off because when your brain works better, you work better. It's also really important to get a protein rich diet. And this is even true if you're vegan. I know so many people struggle with that and they think that, you know, because of being a vegan or certain ways that they eat, that that's not important. It is important. And there are healthy forms of protein you can get no matter what, but that's going to really help you with your strength. As will sleep.

Sleep hygiene is so important. Deep sleep equals muscle repair and glymphatic brain drainage, which means when you sleep, your brain cleans and washes itself. And they only learned this, I think maybe 15 years ago, that when you sleep, glymphatic passages open up and all of a sudden you get all this fluid that goes through your brain that cleans it and it doesn't open during the day when you're thinking, doing tasks and so on. So sleep is so important. I remember we used to tell Chloe that

when she didn't wanna go to sleep, it's like, no, you have to because your brain needs to clean itself. Washing. You have to wash your brain. Your brain and in my children's book, I have a children's book, Time for Bed, Sleepyhead, actually talk about how your

brain cleans and washes itself. So you have to go to bed. Right. That's funny. Also omega-3 fatty acids, they're anti-inflammatory, yes, but also anabolic, which means they build muscle. And I did a study here at Amon clinics on 50 consecutive patients who are not taking omega-3 fatty acids. 49 of them had suboptimal levels of omega-3 fatty acids. And creatine, we need to talk about creatine because that is, I mean, even when I was young working out,

they've gotten so much better with it now. And so many women are afraid of taking creatine because they think it's gonna make them look bulky. And I never noticed that. I actually just feel more, I feel sharper and I feel stronger when I take creatine. And I used to take it strictly for the workout benefits. I didn't know that

it had cognitive benefits. So talk about that. And now mood enhancing benefits. So there are a couple of new studies that are just wild. One of them, they sleep deprived people and one group they gave 20 grams of creatine. So it's like four scoops of our SmartCreatine. And the next day, they were cognitively sharp compared to the sleep-deprived group that didn't get creatine. But a brand new study out just last month showed that five grams of creatine, just like one scoop of our smart creatine. So they took two groups with 50 people each. One, they both had major depression. So they were depressed.

And one group, they gave CBT-2 cognitive behavior therapy, which we think of as kill the ants, so I discipline your mind to not let the bad thoughts just stick around, plus placebo. The other group, they gave CBT-2, to killed the ants plus five grams of creatine. The group, the placebo group did better, like 30% better. The smart creatine group or the creatine group, 67% better.

I mean, it was amazing. Their PHQ-9 score went from, who's the average of 19, which is you're depressed. The placebo group went to 11. The creatine plus CBT group went to five. Wow. It was stunning how simple that is, how simple of an intervention that is. Of course, everybody who's depressed should learn how to not believe every stupid thing they think, right?

They should learn to kill the ants. I think that's just sort of a basic human skill to learn how to discipline your mind. But then giving it the nutrition it needs. So, hear me clearly, creatine is not just for bodybuilders. It's a brain booster, a mood enhancer, and it's also been found to be neuroprotective. Right. And what's interesting is I am not a breakfast person. I want to just share this really fast because I just am not a breakfast person, but I work out in the morning and so I need some sort of strength.

You don't want to work out with an empty tank. It's just silly. You're just trying to like drive your car with no fuel. So the way that I counteract that is we do a quarter calf almond milk latte in the morning. And I love mine to have, and believe it or not, I promise you, it just makes it taste creamy and smooth. You don't taste any weird tastes in it,

but I like to put everything in there. So I actually like MCT oil, cause that gives me fuel for my brain, for sure. And my body creatine, collagen, and mushrooms. I like the mushroom powder in my coffee. It's amazing. And you blend it. You blend it all up in a blender. I know I make it for you. I know. See, I love how I've trained you for this. It's just amazing. So, why Smart Creatine? It enhances short-term memory, executive function, mental clarity, especially under stress.

It's now been shown to help mood by improving cellular energy like ATP, increases muscle mass and strength, increases energy availability, and muscle fibers supports high intensity training and reduces fatigue. It's been found to be neuroprotective, especially in critical aging areas of the brain like the hippocampus. Pretty cool, huh? It's really cool. And I'm sorry.

I didn't even know that. I used to take it just because I thought it gave me a good workout. And I'm just so proud of BrainMD. Ours was actually specifically formulated for better absorption. So there's no bloating. That's one of the hits on it or GI issues, common in cheaper versions, combined with cofactors to enhance uptake in the brain and muscle tissue. So smart creatine isn't just about pumping iron. It's about preserving mental muscle and protecting cognitive function.

So the stronger you are as you age, the less likely you are to get dementia. So a lot of my patients tell me they're not working out for their bodies. They're working out for their brain. Well, and there's another part to that as a, as a, again, as a trauma, you know, neurosurgical ICU nurse, we see a lot of head injuries with elderly people who fall. So they fall because they're not strong. And so that's why people will say, that's why the muscle on the legs became this thing

that people studied for longevity. You have to be able to do squats without falling and hitting your head. You have to be able to sit on a toilet and stand up and do daily functions. If you're not strong, you can't do that or you'll fall and break a hip, right? So that's why it's really important to have strength because you actually not just for the reason you just mentioned, but because actually it's how you protect yourself against

head injuries. It's critical to have strength. So I want to talk about something else that's very related because you brought this up that people who get sick or people have a surgery or people have an accident. It's the brain and body you bring into the accident. Reserve. That and we have a friend, remember Garrett, who we thought was going to die. He was one of the young doctors who worked with us, very fit, very healthy, loved his

brain, loved his body. And then he went to Hawaii. He was cliff diving. He jumped into a pool that was known to have leptospirosis in it, which is a parasite that you get from some of the waters in the world. And he got that and he got deathly sick. In fact, do you remember the night I went to bed wondering if I was going to get a call in the middle of the night? Oh no, it was bad.

I remember we went and saw him. And in the ICU where I used to work, if you saw someone on what we called a circle bed, you knew they were circling the drain. It was bad because it means he's not, his body's not able to function on its own. So they had him on the circle bed that just rotated and rotated and rotated. He was in a coma. It was bad. Yeah. But he ended up a couple of weeks later coming out.

And the only reason he did it, it was the muscle reserve on his body. And so, I always think of brain reserve, you know, what's the extra tissue I have to deal with whatever stress comes your way. So this isn't just a nice thing to do. We started out by saying this is insurance. The muscle on your body is the insurance because bad things happen to all of us. And the stronger you are, is you age. And so, a simple routine, maybe you have a simple routine, you know, I mean, for me, I do my arms twice a week, I do biceps and triceps. I figured out I love doing pushups and so this-

Well, this is one thing I want to share too, because so many people will write to me on my social media page and they will tell me, well, I can't do that anymore because I'm hurt. So I just want to share one thing. I used to do CrossFit and karate, very intense exercise. Like I loved really intense exercise. I liked to lift really hard. And then I got hurt.

Like I hurt my back and I was supposed to have back surgery. Like it was pretty significant. So I crushed my L2 disc and it was bone on bone and I couldn't really do much of anything. I was supposed to have surgery, but I didn't want to have surgery. So, I started doing a therapeutic form of Pilates, not the commercial, you know, really intense forms, but just really getting my core strength back and then slowly working up to doing strength training, not the level I used to, but still strength training and I still haven't had surgery and I don't have pain anymore.

So really important, even if you have had an injury, don't use it as a reason not to do anything. Talk to someone who's an expert, figure out what you can do. Like it's probably even more important for you to figure out what you can do to keep the rest of your body strong and build that reserve. Well, and I think because of your back, you work out, but you work out with a therapeutic trainer, someone who you know isn't going to hurt you. And that's always the first rule for me in working out,

it's don't hurt me. And so pain is for a reason to tell you something is wrong. But if pain sticks around for more than a couple of months, that pain is now in your brain. And over the next year, we're gonna talk a lot about how to get the pain in your brain out. Well, we hope this was helpful for you. You can check out Smart Creatine at brainmd.com, or I also mentioned Brain Team Max at brainmd.com. Leave us a comment, a question, a review, topics you would like for us to cover.

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