By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
Our brain is our factory of thoughts/ideas/meanings, dreams, and also the central command headquarters. It controls our thoughts, emotions, memory, speech and body movements and functions like walking and breathing. It gives meaning to what we see, hear, touch, smell and feel. Our eyes see people, places and things but it is the brain that gives meaning to those. For example, you are able to see the words I typed here because you have a brain. If you know English, you are able to make sense of what you have read because your brain has a memory of English words, like a dictionary, and thus can process the words to produce the idea(s) that the writer wants to communicate. Otherwise, these are just words and would be meaningless. Another example: My four years old grandson sees junk food but does not know it can be eaten so he does not reach out for it. To him, it is meaningless. But he sees camote and because he has been fed camote before and he found it yummy, this memory is stored in his brain. His brain then commands his hands to get the camote and eat it. See how important it is to create good memories, especially in children. So our brain is like the CPU (central processing unit) of a computer – it receives and processes information that you put in, stores it in its memory and retrieves it when you need it and gives instructions to its parts or to attachments like printer, scanner, to act or not to act on these information.
Although the brain (and spinal cord) has such immense powers, it is a softie. I mean, it is a soft mass of nerve cells called neurons, glial cells, immune cells, blood vessels, water and fat. It is 60% fat, making it the fattiest organ of the body. There are about 100 billion neurons.
As of now, we know that there are three major parts of the brain- the cerebrum (largest outer portion), the cerebellum and the brain stem. 1) The cerebrum controls thinking, speech, reading, learning, senses, emotions and voluntary movements like walking. It is divided into right and left hemispheres– the right controlling the left side of the body and the left controlling the right side. Interesting, eh? The controls crisscrossed as they descended somewhere in the brain stem. 2) The cerebellum is located below and at the back of the cerebrum. It controls balance, coordination, posture and fine muscle control like writing. 3) The brain stem, located at the bottom of the brain and deeper in the skull, connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls basic body functions like breathing, heartbeat and swallowing.
The brain tapers to the spinal cord which in turn branches out nerves in many points along the way from the neck to the tailbone (a total of 31 pairs of spinal nerves). Imagine the brain as like broccoli but with deeper grooves and the spinal cord is the stem. Or like the cockscomb flower.
From the tailbone the last pair of nerves, the sciatic nerve, spreads out to the left and right leg down to our toes. These nerves exit from the spinal cord in between the vertebrae (dulig) so when these vertebrae are compressed, one would feel numbness or pain in the area affected. For example if the sciatic nerve is compressed or irritated, one could feel pain from the lower back to the foot. This condition is called “sciatica”.
The brain, spinal cord and nerves make up our nervous system. For protection, the Creator encased our soft brain and spinal cord with the hard skull and backbone. Inside the skull, the brain is encased in 3 layers of meninges- one tough covering like leather and 2 thin ones like fairy feather silk perhaps. In between the meninges is the cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid covers the spinal cord also and in some brain ailments, it is usually tapped or aspirated to help doctors diagnose the ailment. This fluid cushions both brain and spinal cord so even if the head hits something, there is protection to some extent. For additional protection, there is the blood-brain barrier to prevent harmful substances from entering our control center. This is like a specialized tight mesh between the blood and brain tissue. Really, our body is so mindfully designed! BTW, why the brain is usually referred to as “grey matter” is because of the greyish-pink hue of the unmyelinated (unsheathed) brain cells and red capillaries in the surface of the brain. There is white matter, too, buried deep inside.
How do messages reach the brain and how does the brain send out messages to our various body parts? Well, we have an efficient communications network, better than Smart or Globe and it is free. Messages to and from the brain to and from any part of the body are electrical impulses and are transmitted through the nerve network. It is so high speed that our actions would seem automatic. For example, you touch a hot surface and you immediately withdraw your hand- it seems automatic but it isn’t. The nerve endings in your hand sensed the heat so this message was sent electronically to the brain for processing and your brain commanded your hand to withdraw. All in a split second. Amazing, isn’t it! It is like switching a light bulb.
However, for the brain to function well, it needs a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients like the rest of our body. The difference is that the neurons have higher rate of metabolism and thus they are more vulnerable to deprivation of oxygen and nutrients. It is said that some brain cells start dying less than 5 minutes of no oxygen supply. Continued lack of oxygen in the brain can cause severe brain damage or even death. As a coping mechanism, our body is designed to feel dizzy and/or faint when there is lack of oxygen and/or nutrients. This puts you in a lying or sitting position so that blood flow to your brain is restored. Observe when you are very hungry and blood sugar goes very low or when your blood pressure goes too low because of your antihypertensive medicine. So when you feel dizzy or sleepy, listen to your body and lie or sit down and close your eyes and let the blood flow to your brain to avoid damage.
How do we maintain a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain?
1. Eat naturally-grown foods to keep our blood free-flowing- meaning it is not sticky, and to keep our blood vessels pliant, not stiff with sugar, artificial chemicals, fat and excess protein. Don’t clog your blood vessels with unnatural food.
2. Be physically active- move your body as much as you can everyday – housework, farmwork, gardening, walking, running, dance, yoga, etc.
3. Be mentally active and grateful- keep engaging your mind to recall knowledge, insights, lessons and skills (minimize saying you forgot), meaning you pass these on to others, especially the young. Keep doing what you like to do as long as these don’t harm yourself or others or the environment. Be open to learn new things.
4. Remain socially involved – engaging in meaningful, constructive conversation and activities with others and sharing stories stimulate the mind, prevent depression and anxiety. Volunteer for in church or community. This does not mean, though, that you sacrifice your family for others.
5. Trust in the Divine and his wonderful design of our body and the rest of creation.
6. Get enough sleep. If you do the above five, your sleep will be okay.
Cheers to a healthy you and me!
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“Come and see the works of God, how wonderful he is in all his doing toward all people.” Psalm 66:5
