Five Ways to Unleash the Power of the Female Brain

by: Daniel Amen, MD

 
When my mother brought my fifth sister, Joanne, home from the hospital, my older brother Jimmy and I ran away. Even though it was just for 45 minutes, as the only boys, we had had enough. The girls had taken over and they were everywhere. Not only was I was raised by a very powerful mother who was a champion golfer for decades. I have five highly successful sisters, three incredible daughters, two beautiful granddaughters and 14 nieces. My wife, Tana, says that I came housebroken and well trained when it came to dealing with women, but it was not an easy process. The female brain is very different from the male brain.
 
In the largest brain imaging study ever done, we compared the scans of 46,000 male and female brains using a study called SPECT, which looks at blood flow and activity patterns. Out of 80 areas tested; females were significantly more active in 70, which just explained my whole life I have 5 sisters, 3 daughters and 14 nieces). These differences help us understand some of the unique strengths and vulnerabilities of the female brain and give us important clues on how to optimize it.
 
Because of the increased activity, females often exhibit greater strengths in the areas of:
But this increased activity also makes females more vulnerable to:
As a woman, when you understand your brain and how to care for it, there is no stopping you! But, when you do not give your brain the love and nutrients it needs, or support it with the right habits, you’ll never be able to reach your full potential.
 
In this article, there are 5 steps to unleash the power of the female brain. The information will help boost your energy, mood, and focus. It will also help you look and feel younger and more beautiful, no matter what your age. Did you know that the health of your skin is actually an outside reflection of the health of your brain?
 
Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, once said that “There is no strategy more beneficial to society, than the ones in which women play a central role.” Women admit problems and reach out for help faster. If a couple is having trouble nearly 8 out of 10 times it’s the woman who calls one of our 6 Amen Clinics across the U.S. for help, or if a child is struggling in school or with his emotions, nearly 9 out of 10 times it is the mother who brings him in, even though both parents work full time. I think that the female’s ability to admit problems and get help is one of the main reasons why women typically live 7 years longer than men.
 
We found that females have stronger activity in an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is involved with planning, judgment, empathy, and self-control. I think of the prefrontal cortex as the brain’s brake. It helps keep you on track and stops you from saying or doing stupid things. When the prefrontal cortex is low in activity you can struggle with short attention span, distractibility and problems with impulse control. When it works too hard, as it often does in women, it’s like the parking brake is always on and you can get stuck on certain thoughts or behaviors, such as worrying or holding grudges.
 
An area deep in the prefrontal cortex called the anterior cingulate gyrus is also more active in females. It is involved with error detection which is why you can sometimes focus too much on what is wrong: with your body, your children, or even your own good husbands -- not that I’ve ever noticed my wife doing that. A study from Canada showed that women produce 52% less serotonin than men. This is very important as serotonin helps calm and relax the prefrontal cortex. When serotonin levels are too low people often struggle with anxiety, depression, pain syndromes, trouble sleeping, because you can’t let go of the negative thoughts, obsessive worry, and carbohydrate cravings.
 
Researchers have also found that females also have more activity in the part of the brain responsible for gut feelings and intuition and they also have more activity in the limbic or emotional and bonding areas of the brain, which is why they tend to be primary caretakers for children, and the elderly, and why they often excel at collaboration
 
So, based on these differences female brains tend to have five special strengths: empathy, intuition, collaboration, self-control, and a little worry. But these strengths also can have dark sides.
Knowing all this, here are 5 ways to unleash the power of the female brain.
  1. Always balance empathy with self-care. Women are doing more today than ever before and the constant stress is stealing their health and making them sick. Remember what they say on airplanes -- if the masks come down, put yours on first. That way you can be healthy to help others. Women make appointments for everyone else, but not themselves. Take the time you need to get healthy. The supplements l-theanine, magnesium, and Holy Basil can help lower stress.
  2. Intuition is an important skill that keeps us alive and gives women an important edge. If you tap into it you can get to solutions faster. But, it’s always important to check out your feelings with facts. For example, you might walk by a coworker who doesn’t look up and think she’s mad at you. But, in fact, she might’ve just had a fight with her husband, you don’t know. Once you have a thought, check it out. I often tell my wife and daughters, “Please don’t read my mind, I have enough trouble reading it myself.”
  3. Boost collaboration by working to include others. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review was titled: “What Makes a Business Team Smarter?” The answer was “MORE WOMEN.” Men tend to be competitive, while women are more collaborative and focused on group cohesion. This is why women often make great bosses – they have gifts of empathy, collaboration, intuition and also tend to make fewer risky decisions when stressed. But be careful with too much collaboration. Setting appropriate boundaries and learning to say no is critical to effective leadership and your health.
  4. Self-control is so important to keeping you healthy. You can boost your self-control by making sure your blood sugar is stable. So you have to eat to stay in control of yourself. When blood sugar levels go low, blood flow to the brain goes low and you make more bad decisions. Also, get at least 7 hours of sleep at night or your self-control disappears. I especially like magnesium, GABA and melatonin to help sleep.
  5. Balance worry with wellness. Some anxiety is good if it keeps you on track, but too much is painful. To get your anxiety under control look for natural ways to support healthy serotonin levels: exercise can do it, as can certain supplements, like 5HTP, B6, and saffron.

Daniel G. Amen, MD is a psychiatrist, brain imaging expert and medical director of Amen Clinics in Newport Beach and San Francisco, CA; Bellevue, WA; Washington, DC; Atlanta and New York City. He is the author of the new book, Unleash the Power of the Female Brain.