Summary
Dr. Tommy Wood, associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, discusses practical strategies for future-proofing the brain against dementia. His research focuses on brain health across the lifespan, including therapies for brain injury in newborns, prevention and treatment of adult brain trauma, and the factors that contribute to long-term cognitive function and decline. He is the author of the forthcoming book on how to stimulate the mind and protect against neurodegeneration.
Key Points
- Practical strategies for preventing cognitive decline and dementia
- Brain health optimization across the lifespan
- Therapies for brain injury and trauma recovery
- Factors that contribute to long-term cognitive function
- Research-backed approaches to neurodegeneration prevention
Key Moments
Creatine supplementation for brain protection and dementia prevention
Tommy Wood discusses creatine as a high-benefit, low-risk supplement for brain injury recovery and neuroprotection, noting at least one trial in pediatric TBI showed creatine-enhanced recovery.
"Other things that are going to become important with varying degrees of evidence, but still good enough that there's a high sort of positive asymmetry, right? High possibility of benefit with low risk creatine supplementation. Creatine is probably more beneficial if you have it on board beforehand, but there's at least one trial in pediatric TBI that showed creatine-enhanced recovery."
Creatine dosing protocol and cognitive stimulation effects
Wood reveals he takes 10 grams of creatine daily in one dose for cognitive stimulation and potential dementia prevention, noting it can affect sleep if taken late in the day. He and Tim discuss practical dosing considerations.
"I do supplement with creatine. I don't have the perfect trial that creatine is going to prevent dementia, but I think we've seen enough interesting data across depression, again, sleep deprivations."
Exogenous ketones for brain injury and cognitive performance
Tim Ferriss discusses using exogenous ketone monoesters sparingly for cognitive performance, while maintaining a broader strategy of fasting and ketogenic diet for metabolic flexibility and brain health.
"So I've got the fasting and the ketogenic diet and all of that stuff, right? Which I do regularly. They've got the exogenous ketones, which like you, I use sparingly."
Blood flow restriction training for lactate production and travel fitness
Tommy Wood describes using BFR cuffs with resistance bands as his portable gym for travel, explaining how BFR generates high lactate levels with low mechanical load, which has brain-protective benefits through increased BDNF.
"So if you, for whatever reason, don't want to do sprints on a Ryan machine or you can probably get up there with some blood flow restriction on."
Sleep as the non-negotiable foundation for dementia prevention
Wood identifies sleep as the single most important non-negotiable for brain health, noting that inadequate sleep is strongly associated with increased dementia risk, while encouraging people not to catastrophize about occasional poor sleep nights.
"The one that we haven't talked about that really is non-negotiable is sleep. Yeah, let's talk about it. I think this is the major thing that's missing from these studies."
Walking 4000 plus steps daily for brain health
Tim Ferriss highlights walking as a key part of his dementia prevention strategy, doing daily walks alongside zone three training and weight training twice a week.
"walking every day, lots of walking. And we'll come back to that because actually, I can't resist. We probably will come back to it, but walking 4,000 plus steps."
Fasting and ketogenic diet for brain metabolic flexibility
Discussion of how intermittent fasting and ketogenic diet support brain health through metabolic flexibility and ketone production, as part of a comprehensive dementia prevention strategy.
"I just think a lot faster when I have more metabolic flexibility with something like intermittent fasting. That's another thing I do a lot of, where my body is has just got the machinery to produce ketones."
Continuous glucose monitoring for metabolic tracking
Tim describes using both a continuous glucose monitor and continuous ketone monitor simultaneously for 28 days to track metabolic health and avoid glucose spikes as part of his brain health strategy.
"But I have a CGM on right now. I had a continuous ketone monitor on at the same time for about 28 days. I'm really interested to look at all of that."
