aging exerAfter 96 years of age, he has crying spells in the afternoon or early evening hours when our brain hormones are slowing down to ready for sleep.  With less exercise and more time sitting down watching TV and eating every 2 hours, he forgets to remember things as his brain and muscles are not working as it should when he was young.  Whenever I see him, I give him a hug and trains other caregivers to hug him more. He perks up and can do more walking.

Hugging can increase the production of dopamine in your brain, and this can be seen in PET scans of the brain. Dopamine levels are low in people with conditions like Parkinsonism and mood disorders like Depression.

So if you see someone depressed, give him a hug, and bring a little joy to their life.
Dopamine levels are low to those with Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases.
Dopamine containing neurons control  voluntary movements. The association with a physiologically reduced glutamate release from frontal and prefrontal cortices, hippocampi and amygdala would induce further decrease of Dopamine release, inducing hypo-activity, gait disturbances and decline of executive functions.

The earlier the impairment of Dopamine system occurs, the fastest the cognitive decline goes.

Hormones and nuerotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine are responsible for our emotions and affects our memory and muscles causing Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease.
In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter—a chemical released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behavior.
Epinephrine, also called adrenaline, hormone that is secreted mainly by the medulla of the adrenal glands and that functions primarily to increase cardiac output and to raise glucose levels in the blood.
Norepinephrine, also called noradrenaline, substance that is released predominantly from the ends of sympathetic nerve fibers and that acts to increase the force of skeletal muscle contraction and the rate and force of contraction of the heart.

Supplements and Nutrition

Eat happy foods: eggs, colorful whole foods and yams and whole foods/dietary supplements rich in the following nutrients:
Folate, Vitamin B complex, SAM-E,omega 3, digestive enzymes, probiotic, Vitamin C, copper, iron from greens, NAC
Suggested exercises should include walking, dancing , stretching, yoga, meditation, and other body movement.
Remember all the above information assumes that you have a healthy liver. Take care of the laboratory organ of your body, the liver which processes all chemicals, drugs, alcohol and nutrition in your body.
During sleep, your brain is helping the liver detox your body. The lymphatic system which travels opposite your circulatory system is responsible for cleaning your blood.

Lactate and brain

Lactate is considered an important metabolite in the human body, but there has been considerable debate about its roles in brain function. Research in recent years has suggested that lactate from astrocytes may be crucial for supporting axonal function, especially during times of high metabolic demands or hypoglycemia. The astrocyte-neuron lactate transfer shuttle system serves a protective function to ensure a supply of substrates for brain metabolism, and oligodendrocytes appear to also influence availability of lactate. There is increasing evidence for lactate acting as a signaling molecule in the brain to link metabolism, substrate availability, blood flow and neuronal activity.
The brain produces its own lactate from the metabolism of glycogen and tends to export lactate at rest [; ; ; ; ; ]. Lactate is brought into the brain across the BBB to be used as fuel when plasma lactate is high or plasma glucose is low [; ; ].