BrainSpan

Brain and Nervous System Health Assessment

Brain and Nervous System Health

Your overall well-being is very closely connected to how well your brain and nervous system perform. Often, clients ask us about how to maintain a healthy brain. The first question, however, to ask is whether your brain and nervous system are unhealthy. Until recently, it was very difficult to quantify brain and nervous system health. But not anymore. Now, there’s the BrainSpan brain health assessment!

Being able to measure important biomarkers and cognitive function really helps to create an accurate snapshot of brain and nervous system health. For each section of the BrainScan assessment, you will receive:

  • the results,
  • an explanation of what the result means,
  • why it matters, and
  • how to improve your results if changes are needed.

The good news is, for any section of the assessment where you receive a suboptimal score, there are treatments and options available to improve your score.

What is the BrainSpan Assessment?

In order to achieve your optimal overall health, the cellular health and function of your nervous system need to be at their optimal levels. BrainSpan quantifies your structural (at the cellular level) and functional brain health levels. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that the assessment is comprised of two parts:

Part 1 – Structural Brain Health

The first part of the assessment is a blood test that requires no more than a simple finger prick and a drop of blood. The cell membranes in your blood sample are then analyzed for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as trans fats. When the levels of these biomarkers are in balance, they contribute to controlling inflammation, repairing cells, and regulating vital neurotransmitters. If the levels are out of balance, they can cause cellular destruction and adversely affect memory. So, understanding your levels and maintaining a balance is very important. The BrainSpan assessment provides us with the information to establish baseline levels. Then we can create a plan to improve them if needed.

Part 2 – Functional Brain Health

The second part of the assessment is an easy, 15-minute cognitive test that measures how well your neural connections are functioning. This is determined by assessing four basic cognitive functions:

          • sustained attention,
          • memory capacity,
          • processing speed, and
          • cognitive flexibility.

How well your brain performs these functions can be an indicator of how well it is regulating your body’s systems.

Powered by the Brain Resource® International Database, this portion of the assessment is a scientifically and clinically validated tool utilized by a research network of over 350 scientists.

 

Why Take the BrainSpan Assessment?

Knowing the results of the BrainSpan assessment will enable us to make better decisions to help you attain your wellness goals and reduce risks associated with aging. Below are examples of actions taken with patients after a BrainSpan assessment:

  • The assessment indicates that the amount of omega-3 in your system is low. We will then recommend dietary changes to help bring that level up.
  • You’re experiencing chronic pain and we know your omega-6 level is very high. Too much Omega 6 puts the body into a pro-inflammatory state, as well as increases pain and the development of chronic diseases of aging. We will develop a plan to bring your omega-6 level back down, thereby bringing down general inflammation in the body and reducing the risk of chronic diseases of aging.
  • The test results indicate a high-risk factor for dementia or stroke. We will start an intervention program to lower the chance of a disabling disease or tragic episode affecting you.

Check out Dr. Sharman’s article on How to Easily Know Your Omega Fatty Acid Levels. It contains more great information on the BrainSpan assessment and how it can help you.

How Can You Schedule a BrainSpan?

First, we’ll need to determine if participating in BrainSpan is the right course of testing and treatment based on your overall health goals and concerns. At an appointment with Dr. Sharman, we’ll establish your health goals and determine if the BrainSpan assessment is right for you. In order to participate in the assessment, you do have to be a current patient of Dr. Sharman.  BrainScan can only be prescribed by a licensed professional.