Simone Gibertoni, CEO of Clinique La Prairie, on achieving optimal brain health and how it can unlock creative potential.

You’ve introduced the Brain Potential Programme. What are the most common issues you are seeing with clients today that can be solved with this?

Many of our guests today experience stress, difficulty sleeping, memory recall issues, difficulty concentrating, etc. Our new programme – Brain Potential – was borne out of the necessity and desire to address cognitive decline and these other very common issues. Carefully designed to unlock the potential of a sharper and more resilient mind by inducing positive and structural changes in the brain, the programme offers a truly transformative experience making it the most advanced brain enhancement programme in the world.

What does the experience look like, and where do you start when it comes to working with a new client?

Following Clinique La Prairie’s four-pillar philosophy, Brain Potential combines medical care, nutrition, movement and wellbeing. Guests receive science-based assessments, treatments and care across these four pillars. In practical terms, the programme is divided into three phases: assessment, intervention and follow-up. The first phase involves a comprehensive assessment that allows our specialists to capture the cognitive profile of each guest, which will then be analysed in order to tailor the subsequent interventions and induce positive and structural changes in the brain.

What happens after the programme and how fast do we see the benefits?

The programme consists of a seven-day immersion that focuses on interventions and treatments aimed at boosting one’s resources for brain health and brain maintenance. While a guest may leave the clinic feeling healthier and more relaxed, protecting one’s brain health is a long-term matter, and we recommend that guests integrate positive lifestyle habits (such as following a healthy balanced diet, being physically active, paying attention to their sleep habits and to their stress levels, and performing regular medical checkups) into their daily lives and maintain them in the long run.

The programme aims to unlock the brain’s full potential – can this eventually boost creative thinking?

We believe that the benefits of the programme are general and could benefit all brain functions, creative thinking included.

We don’t hear a lot about brain ageing. Is there a specific age when brain health starts to decline?

Our brain changes throughout our entire life. Some of these changes can be positive, some are barely noticeable, while others are associated with decline in brain functions later in life. The extent and rate of these changes varies drastically among different individuals, and depends on many factors such as genes, diet, physical activity, sleep habits, and cardiometabolic health.

“Creativity is directly connected to wellness. Prioritising wellness often results in improved concentration, focus, creativity, and overall work efficiency”

What does this look and feel like, and should we be worried?

In general, as we age, we lose volumes of brain tissue. These changes might start in our late 20s or 30s and are very subtle at first. The loss of brain tissue tends to become more pronounced in our 60s or 70s. Some brain structures show slow declines all our lives, while others like the hippocampus, a brain area that is fundamental for declarative memory, tend to accelerate their volume loss sometime around the seventh decade of life. Along with these changes, white matter lesions might appear because of a compromised cerebrovascular health. As a result of these brain changes, some cognitive functions such as speed of processing, memory, or working memory (the capacity to manipulate information mentally) tend to decline over time, while others, like vocabulary and world knowledge, are kept relatively stable over time and they might even show improvements. These changes can vary greatly from one person to another, depending on genetics, lifestyle, and social and environmental factors such as stress and pollution. While some risk factors might be more difficult to avert, focusing on lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep routine can help us to maintain brain health and to compensate for age-related changes that might occur during our lives.

What lifestyle changes can make a difference to enhance brain health and which ones have you implemented in your life?

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and balance is key to enhancing brain health. This involves many factors including nutrition, sleep, exercise, physical and mental health. I personally have a downtime morning routine that helps me drive my day and intentions: 6:30am wake up, hot water with lemon, a short session of yoga, a mental review of my day goals, and then I go to the office. To reset my mind and body, I also do 20 minutes of transcendental meditation twice a day, every day, no matter what happens! It is a great practice to build balance.

As an entrepreneur, how do you encourage creativity within your team and company culture?

Mindset plays an important role in the way we view what surrounds us. As leaders, role models, it is crucial to understand the responsibility we have towards our companies, communities and society. So essentially, we need to be present and mindful in our everyday lives, in order to be aware and seek the right kind of opportunities, allow space for creativity, change and adaptability to change, there- fore, creating positive momentum all around.

This is The Creativity Issue – what do you associate with that term and how do you hone it?

Being creative is directly connected to wellness. Prioritising wellness often results in improved concentration, focus, creativity, and overall work efficiency. The adage “health is wealth” holds true. One of the pioneering practices at Clinique La Prairie, ‘Transcendental Meditation’, comes highly recognised for its abundance of benefits. Regular practice helps train the brain to let go and helps us connect to our creative side and internal sources of energy. Transcendental Meditation is a particularly efficient tool for unlocking creativity!

– For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram

May’s – The Creativity Issue with Tiffany & Co. – Download Now

Image: Instagram @eyeswoon