Stronger, Sharper, Longer: The Brain-Boosting Power of Muscle

Change Your Brain Every Day

Dr Daniel Amen

Braintrauma, Healthtips, Sleep, Obesity, Anxiety, Braininjury, Depression, Ptsd, Mentalhealth, Mood, Brainhealth, Health & Fitness, Energy, Disease, Addiction, Mental Health, Healthadvice, Adhd, Memory, Focus

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	The stronger you are as you age, the less likely you are to get dementia.
0:08.2	So a lot of my patients tell me they're not working out for their bodies, they're working
0:13.5	out for their brain.
0:14.8	Well, and there's another part to that as, again, as a trauma, you know, neurosurgical ICU nurse,
0:19.6	we see a lot of head injuries with
0:21.7	with elderly people who fall. So they fall because they're not strong. And so that's why people
0:28.2	will say, that's why the muscle on the legs became, you know, this thing that people studied
0:32.9	for longevity. You have to be able to do squats without falling and hitting your head. You have to
0:37.2	be able to sit on a toilet and stand up and do daily functions.
0:40.3	If you're not strong, you can't do that or you'll fall and break a hip, right?
0:43.3	So that's why it's really important to have strength
0:47.3	because you actually not just for the reason you just mentioned,
0:51.3	but because actually it's how you protect yourself against
0:54.3	head injuries.
0:55.8	It's critical.
0:59.2	Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse.
1:04.7	Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day.
1:10.7	I am so excited about this podcast. We're going to be
1:13.8	talking about strength, about being stronger, sharper, and how to do it for longer. Building
1:19.7	muscle is actually one of the ways you protect your mind. In fact, it's one of the best ways to
1:25.0	protect your mind. In fact, the stronger you are as you age, the less likely you are to get things like Alzheimer's disease.
1:32.7	Isn't that crazy?
	...

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