The three brains: how they work together to support health and wellbeing

We have three brains: the head brain, the gut brain, and the heart brain. They are all centres of intelligence. There is ongoing communication between the heart, brain, and gut; together, the three brains influence health: mental health, emotional health, and physical health. Our mind, body, and heart work together as a whole system. You’ve probably heard the sayings ‘follow your heart’ and ‘trust your gut’. There is truth in these sayings.   

THE THREE BRAINS

The head brain is important for things like problem-solving, resilience, and learning etc. When it comes to the gut brain, the majority of serotonin receptors are located in the gut (‘happy hormone’). This is why nutrition is important. The gut is sensitive to emotions such as fear, and that’s why you may notice that when you’re nervous you tend to feel it in your stomach. The gut brain is also involved in immune function. Poor gut health can effect mental wellbeing because the gut and the brain are physically connected via something called the Vagus nerve which runs through the body. The heart brain is extremely intelligent. The heart is the place of connection, compassion, intuition etc. It’s responsible for emotional functions like expressing empathy and courage. The heart sends more signals to the brain than vice versa. That’s why you’re more likely to make a decision that’s aligned with what you want when it comes from the heart.   

WORKING TOGETHER

The idea is that the three brains to work in harmony to support overall health and wellbeing. For example, feeling positive, resilient (head brain), feeling happy, intuitive (heart brain), being active, eating well and having good digestion and strong immunity (gut brain).  You can support all three in the following ways:

Head brain – keep your cognition sharp by continuing to learn, by having connections, and also by having daily movement. Stay positive by speaking to yourself kindly and by spending time in positive environments.

The gut brain – eat a diversity of plant foods (e.g., different coloured fruit and veg). Prebiotics are a type of fibre that feed the good gut bacteria and can be found in onions, asparagus, garlic. Probiotics are live bacteria and can be found in yoghurt and fermented foods like kefir. Things that can negatively impact gut health include things like antibiotics, alcohol and excess added sugars.

Heart brain –  keep the heart physically healthy through exercise. Keep the heart emotionally healthy by dealing with deep-rooted issues that have resulted in a closed heart. Meditate to reduce anxiety, increase compassion and to tap into your intuition more easily.  

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