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The moment Candy Calderon learned of her mother’s cancer diagnosis was the moment she became a revolutionary entity of change. Beyond the shock of the news was the fear of losing her closest confidante far too soon. “She was not only my mom, but also my friend, and a person that I could confide in,” Calderon added, recalling the experience that led her to pursue an education at one of the most respected nutrition and health coaching schools in the world.
Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and a Master’s in International Business, Calderon shifted careers to study at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York, while her mother endured four years of “excruciating pain and madness.” Utilizing the knowledge gained from her certification as a holistic nutrition and wellness coach, her objective was finding effective pathways toward healing that could aid in her mother’s survival.
But the true test came years after Calderon’s mother was declared cancer free. “I started picking up some of her behaviors,” she said, which included losing items, and forgetting names and the contents of past conversations. When her mother began reacting to the mention of her forgetfulness with agitation and aggression, Calderon was even further alarmed.
“She started to experience what we call chemo brain, which is cognitive decline as a consequence of chemotherapy,” she explained of her mother’s symptoms. Thrust into familiar surroundings, Calderon resolved to go back to basics. “‘What can I do to help my mom not only to heal from this illness, but also to help her thrive?’”
It’s Never Too Late To Start Healing Your Brain
While operating a private practice and making waves as a speaker and content creator, Calderon found time in her busy schedule to devour whatever information she could access on cognitive decline and its known reactive measures. “Books, research — you name it, I was reading.” Focused on familiar objectives of healing and prevention, she switched to the topic of brain health only to be faced with a shocking truth. Her current lifestyle was dramatically increasing her chances of following in her mother’s footsteps.
Now a certified Brain Health Professional, Calderon has a deeper understanding of the steep impact stress has on our bodies, and as a result, our minds. Confronting her allegiance to harmful norms of hustle culture was the first step toward this realization. “Especially because as a woman, I felt that I needed to work harder to make it as a professional in the wellness industry,” she revealed. In an immigrant household with Afro-Carribean values, hard work and sacrifice were expected. Ingrained in the back of Calderon’s mind was the idea that if she didn’t prioritize success past the expense of her own health and well-being, she’d never accomplish anything worth living for.
“Work until the day you die. And if you don’t feel like you’re going to drop dead when you go to bed, you’re not doing it well,” she remarked of her perspectives before observing the effects of stress and cognitive decline. A trailblazer in the Health & Wellness space, she’s since denounced the habits of her past life, creating awareness around the simple steps anyone can take to start healing their brains today.
Millennials, Memory, and Money
As the first generation projected to live to an average age of 100 years old, Calderon iterated how the topic of longevity is gaining notable traction amongst millennials. Millennial women, who generally outlive their male counterparts by 5-6 years, are even more interested, as they tend to have less support available to them in advanced age. Women are also twice as likely than men to suffer from cognitive decline illnesses, making up 70% of new Alzheimer’s patients.
“It’s something that many professionals are experiencing,” she said, referring to the individual case studies that line her research and practice. “There’s no point in sacrificing your well-being for the hustle because at the end of the day, you will not be able to enjoy it because your body is breaking down. What will millions of dollars in the bank do for you if you’re not even able to get out of bed?” Chronic stress can lead to a variety of mental and physical health problems, some of the worst often found deep within the neurons of our brains. Calderon suffered from insomnia for years before she recognized how deeply it was affecting her life and career.
“For professionals that are presented with complex decision-making situations on a daily basis, many of us have teams under us, people’s livelihoods that are dependent upon our decision-making,” she said. “We can not play with that.” Calderon shared that workplace stress and lack of focus are at epidemic levels, with over 30% of U.S. employees revealing their experiences of chronic job-related stress.
As reported in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research in 2017, people are increasingly more error-prone and tend to become shallow thinkers when coping with stress. The American Psychological Association estimated the economic cost of such stress accumulation to be $300 billion that year. By 2050, Calderon reported, the cost of cognitive decline illnesses, like Alzheimer’s, is expected to reach $750 billion per year.
Recognizing the widespread need for employers to prioritize the holistic wellness of their employees, Calderon founded CEO Wellness Club, a brain health and wellness program focused on founders, executives and leaders of impact who are up for the challenge. Thousands of people around the world have accessed her coaching through her signature programs that gamify cognitive improvement practices to create enjoyable experiences that enforce health-conscious habits for a new generation of professionals.
A proud Dominican-American, Calderon often draws on her multicultural background in the hopes of bringing a diversified approach to an industry that continues to show little representation of women or people of color. Collaborating with today’s top brands, including Google, LinkedIn, Tiffany & Co., The American Heart Association, and others, her thoughts have been featured in Business Insider, NBC Latino, People Magazine, Telemundo, and more.
Often praised for her ability to humanize backed-by-science content through thoughtful storytelling, Calderon has earned her place at the frontlines of a wellness revolution actively redefining what vibrant health means for us all. Hoping to empower individuals to be more proactive in their health decisions, she shared her top three tips for optimizing our brains.
Feed Your Brain
Every organ in our bodies needs proper nutrition to sustain functioning and support longevity. Our brains are no exception. For optimal brain health, Calderon suggests a wholesome diet that avoids highly processed, inflammatory foods and incorporates cleaner choices that strengthen the brain-gut axis. “Our brain loves omega,” she mentioned of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish, like salmon and sardines, avocados, and some nuts and seeds. “Walnuts are wonderful for our brains. When you see a walnut, you will see that it’s even shaped like a brain.” Hydrating with plenty of water, introducing good bacteria through probiotics, and adding in fibrous foods like blueberries and leafy greens are also key.
Exercise Your Brain
With our increased reliance on technology, many of the tasks that challenged our brains centuries ago have fallen out of use. Calderon suggests engaging in analog activities as a good starting point to create the fresh neuronal pathways that optimize our brains. Carrying out actions with our non-dominant hands, putting together puzzles, and playing board games are great ways to give our brains the routine exercise they require. Calderon also suggests the use of physical exercise to increase blood flow and assist with oxygenation in the brain, a crucial component of functioning and health. Learning new choreography, she said, would be a nice comprehensive activity to try as it challenges stamina, coordination, and memory all at once.
Rest Your Brain
Calderon credits lack of quality sleep as the main culprit behind the accumulated harm our brains endure. ”When you’re not sleeping better, you make wrong decisions, you make questionable choices, your mood changes,” she urged. Such behaviors can negatively affect our performance and interactions, at work and at home. Improving sleep quality remains the cornerstone of her practice, as most adults between the ages of 20-60 require 7-8 hours of sleep per night for proper neural regeneration. Calderon suggests starting with an assessment of our sleep oasis, which means checking air quality, updating bedding, blinds and lighting fixtures, using ear plugs if living with a partner who snores, and making sure wherever you’re falling asleep is clean and organized. When all else fails, reach out to an expert like her.
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