Mitochondria, Energy, and the Brain: Notes from Take Back My Brain
Mitochondria - More Than a Powerhouse
Mitochondria are commonly known as the powerhouse of the cell but go well beyond producing energy. They also act as sentinels that detect changes in cells and signal them to respond. Whether cells respond to healthy inputs like nutrients and exercise or to insults and injuries, mitochondria coordinate what happens next. They produce ATP on-demand to power that work. Some researchers use the term salugenesis to describe the ordered cycle of cellular response and recovery.
The Brain’s Energy Demand
The brain accounts for only 2 percent of a person’s body weight, yet it uses roughly 20 percent of the energy demand of the entire body. Exercise is well known to support mitochondrial function, but Sundeep takes a broader view of what counts as exercise. Sleep and meditation can be considered additional forms of exercise for the brain since it does much of its best work in those states of rest, particularly during REM sleep.
Mitochondrial levels peak around the age of twenty-one years, declining as much as 10 percent per decade. The brain can also lose its capacity to regenerate the baseline demand of energy due to chronic stress, pollution, and poor diet. These environmental factors speed up the loss of the regenerative capacity.
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What and How to Measure
Measuring mitochondrial function is harder than it sounds. Sundeep explains that the lab tests available today, swabs and blood draws, offer indirect measures, with no validated markers yet to exist. Mitochondrial activity shifts from moment to moment with sleep, meals, and even time of day, and varies from one tissue to another. Mitochondria in different organ systems are unique in their quantity, quality, and performance.
Instead of relying on a single number, it is more relevant to treat oneself as an N-of-one and keep a journal everyday function over thirty or sixty days. Areas suggested include:
- Sleep: how long it takes to fall asleep and how often one wakes in the night
- Energy: how steady ones energy feels through the day and how it feels after a demanding day
- Focus and engagement: attention span during conversations, work, or school
- Comfort in busy settings: how transitions, noise, and group activities feel
- Movement: how a repeatable task, such as same flight of stairs, feels over time
The direction of the trend is most important over any one journal entry.
Actions steps to take
The conversation continued to return to the basics: whole foods, movement, and sleep. Eat the apple instead of drinking its juice, and consider partnering with a nutritionist or functional practitioner on a personalized plan. Choose movement scaled to each person’s ability to include, case by case, an outdoor walk in sunlight and nature settings instead of the gym. End the day with a wind-down, whether a screens-off policy or quiet meditation. In the end, the practices worth building are the ones one can keep.
Families managing autism or mitochondrial disease may find a journal helpful for sharing patterns with a care team. Anyone considering changes to their routine should talk with a qualified health care provider first.
This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for guidance specific to your situation.
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