Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life

immunosurveillance
. 
Plasma cytokine gamma interferon orchestrates or regulates anticel-
lular activities and turns on specifi c parts of the immune system. 
If you are able to develop a sense of humor about yourself, you ’ ll 
fi nd that incredibly liberating. It ensures that you don ’ t take your 
current situation and yourself too seriously. Laughing at yourself 
allows you to see yourself as part of a greater whole. By not taking 
yourself too seriously, you can let things slide off you and not “ sweat 
the small stuff. ” I ’ ll describe how humor boosts your body and brain 
in greater detail in chapter 7 . For now, just be aware that by develop-
ing a sense of humor, you ’ ll cultivate positive thoughts and feelings. 
Maximize the time that you spend in the emotional state that 
you want to be in so that it comes naturally to you. You want it to be 
your default mood. Do everything that you can do to promote the 
thoughts, perspective, and behaviors that kindle a positive mood.
Light Chemistry 
Many depressed people keep the drapes drawn because they don ’ t 
want to let the outside world in. This is a bad strategy, because it 
cuts them off from natural light and changes the biochemistry of the 
brain. Low levels of light have been associated with depression. 
c03.indd 53
c03.indd 53
1/29/10 10:10:33 AM
1/29/10 10:10:33 AM

---

54 Rew i r e
Yo u r
B r a i n
The brain picks up signals from the retina of whether it is dark or 
light outside and sends that information to the pineal gland. If it is 
dark, the pineal gland will secrete the sleeping hormone melatonin, 
which is sedating. If it is light outside, the pineal gland won ’ t secrete 
melatonin. Melatonin is very similar in chemical structure to sero-
tonin. When there is an overabundance of melatonin, it competes 
with serotonin, and the serotonin level decreases. Low serotonin is 
correlated with depression. 
Low light is the operative mechanism in people who are suffering 
from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). People with SAD often fi nd 
themselves becoming more depressed during the winter, when there 
are fewer hours of daylight. A disproportionate number of people in 
the northwestern United States and in northern Europe suffer from 
SAD because of the overcast skies and shorter days in the winter. 
Therefore, if you ’ re depressed, you should maximize your exposure 
to natural sunlight. 
One of the treatments for SAD is to sit under a full - spectrum 
light. Sunlight is better, of course, but if you live in an area with low 
levels of light in the winter and you suffer from SAD, check into 
getting a full - spectrum light. 
To take advantage of the benefi t of light chemistry, maximize the 
natural light that you receive during the daytime so that you will 
help your brain chemistry promote good feelings. The emphasis is 
on natural light because you need a full spectrum of light. By the 
way, you ’ ll also need to provide yourself with a dose of vitamin D, 
which is important for your immune system.
Aerobic Boosting 
Exercise has numerous positive side effects. It boosts your mood in 
a variety of ways. For example, exercise enhances oxygenation of the 
blood. When blood is transported to your brain, you feel alert and 
calm. Exercise also lowers the acidity in your body, which increases 
your energy level. 
Your muscles are endowed with a rich blood supply. Just as 
exercise promotes better blood fl ow to the muscles and results in 
an energized feeling, so, too, does stretching. By stretching your 
c03.indd 54
c03.indd 54
1/29/10 10:10:33 AM
1/29/10 10:10:33 AM

---

S h i ft i n g
Le ft
55
muscles, you force or pump the used and deoxygenated blood back 
to your lungs for refueling. This blood fl ow is complemented by the 
replenishment of reoxygenated blood in your muscles. Stretching 
promotes refreshed and invigorated muscles and the release of 
tension. 
Exercising forces an increased output of norepinephrine, which 
revs up the heart rate. This increased output of norepinephrine also 
occurs in the brain. A higher level of norepinphrine can boost your 
mood. Some antidepressant medications increase the transmission 
of norepinephrine. 
Study after study has shown that exercise is an antidepressant. 
It does not have to be confi ned to a specifi c method, such as run-
ning. You can get an aerobic boost by climbing the stairs, raking the 
leaves, or taking a brisk walk. 
Research has shown that exercise is one of the easiest ways to 
promote neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. I ’ ll describe how that 
occurs in chapter 8 . For now, just remember that when you combine 
exercise with changing the way you think, you powerfully boost your 
mood.
Constructing Narratives 
As I have explained, the two hemispheres function differently. Your 
right hemisphere is more holistic and more emotional. Your left 
hemisphere, though more linear, is also the interpreter of your expe-
riences. Interpreting or labeling helps you to make sense of your 
experiences. Psychologists call this a narrative. 
Think of yourself as the narrator of your life. For example, per-
haps you are facing a challenge because your old neighbors moved 
out and new neighbors have moved in. You considered your old 
neighbors to be irreplaceable. The new neighbors, meanwhile, have 
a completely different lifestyle. You can construct a positive narra-
tive that describes how you are now being given an opportunity to 
get to know people whom you have never been exposed to before. 
Although it was sad to see your old neighbors go, your new neighbors 
c03.indd 55
c03.indd 55
1/29/10 10:10:34 AM
1/29/10 10:10:34 AM

---

56 Rew i r e
Yo u r
B r a i n
present a new interpersonal adventure. You ’ ll rise to the occasion to 
embark on this new adventure. 
Your left hemisphere utilizes language and puts your narratives 
in a linguistic form. Since your left hemisphere is more positive, if 
you maximize its ability to put a positive spin on your narratives, you 
cause your brain to rewire with a positive perspective. 
You modify your memories each time you remember them. Your 
left hemisphere can activate and change those memories with a 
positive spin. It also helps you to cultivate a positive narrative about 
what you will remember. 
Neither hemisphere is good or bad. Your two hemispheres must 
work like equal partners. Your right hemisphere is important for the 
subjective essence and for autobiographical memory. It sees the whole 
picture, but it needs the input from your left hemisphere, which 
provides details and a positive spin.
The Power of Belief 
Belief and specifi c types of thinking patterns can have a power-
ful effect on your mood. In recent years, research has illustrated 
how changing your thinking patterns can affect your mood. Brain -
imaging studies have shown different patterns of brain activity with 
different types of treatment for depression. Cognitive - behavioral 
therapy (CBT) activated the hippocampus, whereas Paxil lowered 
the activity of the hippocampus. CBT appears to turn down the over-
activity of the OFC, which is involved in endless ruminations. CBT 
cuts through the negativistic thinking and replaces it with realistic 
thoughts that quiet down the useless activity in the frontal lobes. 
The new positive and realistic thoughts are coded into memory 
through the hippocampus, but this does not necessarily occur with 
Paxil. Also, after a person stops taking Paxil, there is a rebound of 
depression. In contrast, when CBT is stopped, what the person 
learned is remembered. In addition, a signifi cant number of people 
do not respond to antidepressants. When these medications do 
work, they must be taken on a long - term basis. Both the placebo 
c03.indd 56
c03.indd 56
1/29/10 10:10:34 AM
1/29/10 10:10:34 AM

---

S h i ft i n g
Le ft
57
effect and antidepressant medications activate the same areas of 
the brain, the cortex. 
The controversial power of belief has been addressed in psy-
chiatry by comparing the effects of placebos to medication. For 
example, Irving Kirsch of the University of Connecticut reported 
that between 65 and 80 percent of responses to antidepressant 
medication can be duplicated by placebos. 
Researchers at the University of Toronto addressed the phenom-
enon of response to placebos by taking a look at brain physiology. 
They showed that depressed patients who believed that they were 
taking a powerful antidepressant medication, but were actually tak-
ing a placebo, nevertheless experienced changes in their symptoms 
that were related to changes in brain glucose metabolism. 
At least some of the benefi ts of taking medication are due sim-
ply to believing that it will work. The placebo effect highlights the 
power of belief, and the effect is not limited by mood. 
A recent