3 Brain Health Metrics Worth Measuring for Better Brain Performance

🌟[TT] Metrics 🧠

I’m deep in the final review of my book on the BRA(i)NS® Method. Perhaps I should say, the final-final(-final? 🤣) review.

It’s taking longer than my other books because this is the most personal one.

And in the middle of a read-through, a phrase I first heard years ago surfaced again: what you measure, you improve.

I can’t recall where I heard this, because I do love to attribute it to the person when I can. Nevertheless, it’s one of my favourite paraphrases!

I often say this when I talk with a patient about lifestyle changes to improve their brain performance. After all, attention follows measurement. The moment you start counting something, you start caring about it, and it starts to improve.

So here’s the real question. What do you measure?

If you’re a high achiever wanting to keep your edge, or sharpen it, these are the three I’d suggest you track. They are not so obvious…

📍 Three things worth measuring

[1] How you move, not just how much.

Most people count steps or cardio minutes.

Those are useful numbers of course. But I think they are a bit narrow.

The better question, in my opinion, is how much your movement varies: strength work, cardio, mobility, balance, and mindfulness folded into either.

Each one pulls a different lever in the brain.

Try this: look back at last week and count how many of those five you actually touched. Most of us live in one or two.

[2] The hours you protect for what matters.

Be proactive and protect time for what matters. Examples could be: time with the people you love; time on a project that lights you up; time given to your community, as big or small as you wish.

Take time to sit with an elderly neighbour, or carry their shopping.

Take time to talk with your child about the things that interest them (be it football, AI coding, the book they’re reading, the computer games they are into).

It’s one of the more protective things you can measure.

Try this: open last week’s calendar and add up the hours that went to a person or a purpose, not a deadline.

[3] The consistency of your wake time.

Not how many hours you slept, but the consistency of when you wake.

Hold that steady and much of the rest of your day settles into place around it. Not sure about this one? Give it a try for 2 weeks.

Try this: pick one wake time, hold it for 14 days including the weekend, and tally how many days you hit it. Bonus: notice how you feel at the end of the fortnight.

What are brain health metrics?

Brain health metrics are simple measures that can help you track habits linked with brain health and performance. Three useful metrics are movement variety, time spent on people and purpose, and consistency of your wake time.

📍 The Brain Science*

Movement first. A meta-analysis of exercise trials in the over-50s found that aerobic training, resistance training, mixed programmes, and tai chi each improved cognitive function, at moderate intensity, across sessions of 45 to 60 minutes.

No single mode had a monopoly, which is the argument for variety. Exercise also reliably raises brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein involved in the survival and growth of brain cells. A note about the study: in that analysis, the BDNF rise tended to be smaller in studies with more female participants, so I think that suggests that individual response varies here.

On making time for what matters: social isolation is one of the modifiable risk factors named in the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia. A long-running study of older adults found that a stronger sense of purpose was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment, and a slower rate of cognitive decline. Both are observational, so this is an association, not proof. The direction, though, is consistent and hard to ignore.

On wake time: in a study of more than 60,000 adults wearing activity trackers, the day-to-day regularity of sleep and wake timing predicted mortality more strongly than sleep duration did. That study measured overall regularity, not wake time alone. I single out wake time because it’s the anchor you can actually hold: fix it, add morning light, and the rest of the rhythm tends to follow.

📍 Where this sits in the BRA(i)NS® Method

Measuring the right things is an Optimisation move: it’s how a habit actually takes hold. And these three metrics reach into every part of the ecosystem.

New to the Thursday Tips Tribe? The BRA(i)NS® Method has Purpose and Meaning as its container, with three pillars inside:

Building Brain Resilience (BR): your physical foundations.
Balancing the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): your stress and relaxation responses.
Optimisation: mindset, habits and community.
All of it individualised to you, giving the (i).

Movement variety builds resilience (BR). Time for people and purpose lives in your container of Purpose and Meaning, with community drawn from Optimisation. A steady wake time supports both your physical foundations (BR) and your stress-and-relaxation balance (ANS). Pick the metric that fits your week, and you’ve found the (i).

📍Question for you today

If you started measuring just one of these three this week, which would it be?

Another one – this one for me to understand if this helps you: would a short video reel on this topic be of interest/ help you? I’m trying to figure out how to show up on social media with useful videos, so I can add value, not noise! 🤣:

Wishing you progress with your metrics that matter,
Dr Sui Wong

PS – Tip 3 is exactly why I built the Sleep Anchor Method® app, with a personalised downloadable tracker. [click here to learn more]

*References:

Northey et al (2018) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28438770/
Szuhany et al (2015) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25455510/
Livingston et al (2024) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39096926/
Boyle et al (2010) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20194831/
Windred et al (2024) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37738616/

Frequently Asked Questions About Brain Health Metrics

What should I measure for better brain health?

Three useful things to measure are movement variety, time spent on people and purpose, and consistency of your wake time. These measures focus on practical habits rather than trying to reduce brain health to a single number.

Is counting steps enough for brain health?

Steps are a useful measure of physical activity, but this article suggests looking beyond step counts. Consider whether your week includes a variety of movement such as strength, cardio, mobility, balance and mindfulness.

Why is movement variety important for brain health?

Different forms of physical activity can support different aspects of brain health. Research discussed in this article found cognitive benefits across aerobic exercise, resistance training, mixed programmes and tai chi.

Why should I measure time spent on what matters?

Time spent with people, purpose and meaningful activities can support factors associated with brain health. Social isolation is identified as a modifiable risk factor for dementia, while a stronger sense of purpose has been associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.

Does wake-time consistency matter more than sleep duration?

Sleep duration still matters, but research discussed in this article found that regularity of sleep and wake timing was more strongly associated with mortality than sleep duration. The article focuses on wake time because it is a practical daily anchor.

How long should I track my wake time?

The article suggests choosing one wake time and keeping it for 14 days, including weekends. You can then look at how consistently you achieved it and notice how you feel.

What is the best brain health metric to start with?

There is no single best metric for everyone. Start with the one that fits your current week and that you are most likely to track consistently. This reflects the individualised approach of the BRA(i)NS® Method.

What are the 3 brain health metrics in this article?

Movement variety – track whether you include strength, cardio, mobility, balance and mindfulness.
Meaningful time – track hours spent with people, purpose and activities that matter to you.
Wake-time consistency – track how often you wake at your chosen time, including weekends.

My mission:

To inspire a movement for better brain health.

Because better brain health supports better wellbeing. And better wellbeing creates a ripple effect that benefits individuals, families, communities, and beyond. Making the world a better place for all. And it all starts with you as the individual.

I am a practising medical doctor (MBBS MD FRCP MA FHEA DipIBLM) working as a Neurologist and Neuro-Ophthalmologist, and am an active neuroscience researcher. My research is inspired by questions arising from my busy clinical practice, and I am grateful that both have been recognised with awards.

I am also an Author and Speaker, creating public-facing health content in my spare time.

Learn more:
drsuiwongmd.com

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