Perform Ep 12: Dr. Tommy Wood: Enhancing Brain Performance & Preventing Dementia

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Thomas Wood, an MD trained at the University of Oxford with a Ph.D. in physiology and neuroscience. He is a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington. We discuss how both physical and mental challenges can enhance cognitive function in the short and long term. We also examine the crucial roles of nutrition, sleep, and other lifestyle factors in supporting overall brain health. Additionally, we explore the potential benefits of supplementation with creatine, caffeine, and certain vitamins and their impact on mental performance or recovery from traumatic brain injury. We explain the mechanisms by which different types of exercise—resistance, aerobic, and high-intensity training—positively affect brain health and longevity. We also discuss various behavioral approaches to combat brain fog and prevent age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. This discussion explores practical steps anyone can take to improve brain health, regardless of age or background.

Articles

• The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress (Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
• Manipulating sleep duration perception changes cognitive performance – An exploratory analysis (Journal of Psychosomatic Research)
• A study of static, kinetic, and dynamic visual acuity in 102 Japanese professional baseball players (Clinical Ophthalmology)
• Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation (Scientific Reports)
• Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation - a randomized placebo-controlled trial (Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition)
• Using synthetic datasets to bridge the gap between the promise and reality of basing health-related decisions on common single nucleotide polymorphisms (F1000Res)
• Mitigating Traumatic Brain Injury: A Narrative Review of Supplementation and Dietary Protocols (Nutrients)
• Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission (The Lancet)
• Demand Coupling Drives Neurodegeneration: A Model of Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Dementia (Cells)
• Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
• Does resistance training in older adults lead to structural brain changes associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s dementia? A narrative review (Ageing Research Reviews)
• Long-Term Improvement in Hippocampal-Dependent Learning Ability in Healthy, Aged Individuals Following High Intensity Interval Training (Aging and Disease)
• Strength and multiple types of physical activity predict cognitive function independent of low muscle mass in NHANES 1999–2002 (Lifestyle Medicine)
• Handgrip strength and all-cause dementia incidence and mortality: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study (Journal of Cachexia)

Books

• “How Not to Study a Disease: The Story of Alzheimer’s”

Other Resources

• Brain HQ
• RightEye
• Neurotracker
• ImPACT Testing
• King-Devick Test
• Creyos
• Cognitive Function Test (Food for the Brain)
• Neurable
• How Hard is Hard Enough? Exercise Intensity and Brain Health (Better Brain Fitness podcast)

Perform Episodes Mentioned

• Genetic Testing for Sports Performance
• Nutrition to Support Brain Health & Offset Brain Injuries

People Mentioned

• James Hewitt: human performance scientist
• Federica Conti: research scientist, Human Performance Center, Parker University
• Alois Alzheimer: German psychiatrist, neuropathologist
• Emil Kraepelin: German psychiatrist