The TB12 Method

by Tom Brady

  The second way of training the brain is through the learned behaviors of mind-set and attitude—remembering to maintain the right mental toughness, and also that it’s a choice we make every day to be and stay positive.

  The third way to train the brain is by doing daily brain exercises that improve speed, focus, and mental agility. Train yourself to learn something new every day. Your body needs to stay pliable—but it’s important to keep your mind pliable, too.

  Your body needs to stay pliable, but it’s good to keep your mind pliable, too. The equivalent of nonpliable muscles is a brain that’s rigid in its opinions, or that believes what it wants to believe, or that’s unwilling to change, expand, or grow. Me, I love learning new things.

  BRAIN EXERCISES FOR FOCUS, MENTAL AGILITY, AND PATTERN RECOGNITION

  Football is a strategic, tactical game, more like chess than checkers. In chess, a player has a choice of strategic moves he can make, with his goal being to stay one or two steps ahead of his opponent. Both teams take the field with the same number of players, but the focus is on matchups, and those can change from play to play. For example, your opponent can double-team your tight end, leaving your wide receiver open—which will affect what decisions you make as a quarterback. There are other variables, too. A pass rush. Visibility. Wind. Rain. When I go to the line, information is coming in from the offense and the defense, moment by moment. During the snap, a defensive tackle pushes through the center. Do I step up or roll out? Our brains can process only so many variables at the same time, but on the field I need to be able to handle a bunch of elements and unknowns simultaneously.

  That’s why I spend time every day doing brain exercises. I can do them on my computer, my tablet, or even my phone. Since a big part of my job as quarterback depends on optimal pattern recognition, the more focus, attention, quickness, clarity, navigation, and retention I can bring to patterns and plays, the better my performance on and off the field will be. When people ask, I just tell them I’m “training my brain.”

  In 2013, we at TB12 sought out the world’s leading experts in brain plasticity—the brain’s lifelong ability to change in response to sensory and other inputs. You can think of plasticity as your brain’s pliability. Our search brought us to the scientists behind BrainHQ, and they worked with us to develop my brain fitness regimen, which you can find out about at http://tb12.brainhq.com. There are other brain training programs out there, but studies have repeatedly shown that only these exercises translate to real-world activities. The exercises increase the speed and accuracy with which I take in sensory information and improve my ability to process, store, and retrieve that information. People say, “You’ve got to exercise your brain just like your muscles,” and we shouldn’t wait for a trauma or a disease to appear to start training. It’s all about getting ahead and staying ahead. One of the reasons I keep my muscles—and my brain—pliable, especially during the off-season, is to get ahead and stay ahead when the season starts.

  The brain exercises I do start with the most basic building blocks of cognition—speed and attention—and move from there to higher brain function—for example, memory and decision-making. Even if at times they seem instinctual, most movements in sports are based on split-second decisions. For the best results, you need to quickly process the most complete and accurate information available. Faster brain speed lets me process and evaluate more information—and more accurate information is easier to store, manipulate, and retrieve, and also leads to better decision-making. As a result of using BrainHQ exercises, I can see more of what’s happening more accurately, and therefore make better decisions faster. Regardless of your age or condition, your brain will stay healthier and function better if you regularly do brain exercises.

  To give some sense of what BrainHQ training involves, one exercise might have me searching for a series of things that flash on the screen for a split second. As I correctly identify those series, the items get faster and more difficult, pushing my abilities and improving my recognition and reaction time. Although a lot of my brain training focuses on visual processing, there are also auditory exercises that target my speech and language processing, which includes remembering plays and play names and processing what I hear on the field (including through the speaker in my helmet). It’s hard to imagine any movement that isn’t helped by processing information more accurately and split seconds faster—whether I’m scanning the field for a receiver or an opening, reading the defense as I pass through the line of scrimmage, seeing defenders rush me, or taking the right step at the right time. Even if you’re not a football player, these exercises can help you improve your reflexes or your brain agility and power. I strongly recommend them.

  These exercises have been extremely helpful to me over the past five years. TB12 has partnered with experts and organizations with great reputations that confirm their efficacy, and many peer-reviewed studies in scientific journals have validated them, too. Studies show that, after doing these exercises regularly, an average user improves his or her processing speed, reaction time, visual acuity, visual search, multiple object tracking, useful field of view, peripheral vision, attention, memory, executive function, balance, and gait. Those kinds of abilities improve my performance in sports and in life.

  Here are some of the exercises we’ve incorporated into TB12 BrainHQ:

  TARGET TRACKER

  This game focuses on divided visual attention as I try to track several objects that are moving around the screen. In the game, various target objects appear on the screen, followed by additional moving objects that are designed to distract or interrupt my focus. As the game goes on, the target objects move faster, and over a larger area, and the contrast between the objects and the background gets dimmer, making the objects harder to track.

  MIXED SIGNALS

  If our brains took in all the information we saw, heard, felt, or thought, it would be impossible to know where to focus our attention. This game asks me to focus on a number, letter, color, or symbol while ignoring competing numbers, letters, symbols, or words. The goal is to help me distinguish between my visual and auditory attention and narrow my focus quickly as other distractions compete for my attention.

  FREEZE FRAME

  Alertness helps athletes with skills like higher-order reasoning, problem solving, learning, and memory. At its best it means performing in a state of readiness, relaxation, productivity, and full engagement. This exercise targets inhibition response (withholding the wrong movement), a key component of mental control on and off the field.

  DOUBLE DECISION

  What athletes see in a glance, from their center of gaze to the periphery, is called their “useful field of view.” The slower my processing speed, the longer it takes my brain to see what’s at the periphery. Improved processing speed means that I see more, and I see what I see faster. By having me identify the right object (from a pair) in the center of my gaze as I track the location of another target (among distractors) at the periphery, this exercise sharpens and speeds up my visual processing while expanding the scope of accuracy within my useful field of view.

  DIVIDED ATTENTION

  With information coming in left and right, I need to focus on what really matters. In this exercise, two shapes appear on the screen, and I’m asked to note the similarities between the shapes without getting confused when the two shapes match up in some ways but not in others. Over time, the images move more quickly and the rules change, which requires my brain to adjust quickly to changing conditions.

  These and other brain exercises, along with recovery and rest, are essential for making sure my brain remains in the same optimal state of pliability as my body.

  REST AND RECOVERY: SLEEP

  Breaking down my body as regularly as I do through negative and unintentional traumas and muscle contractions (especially imbalanced muscle contractions) through the daily acts of living, I have worked hard to find ways to rebuild my body to its optimal state through proper rest and reco
very. My general discipline and pattern is to sleep from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The greatest benefit of sleep is that it’s uninterrupted therapy and natural regeneration. Sleep is an opportunity to relax every part of your body, and is critical for all of us to recover for the next day’s activities. If we don’t get the right amount of it, our mental and physical acuity is lowered. We also need proper sleep to develop healthy neuroplasticity. In addition, over time the stress that builds up from not getting enough sleep takes a toll on our bodies. We don’t recover well, and it affects our energy and overall performance.

  Sleep has several stages, but the ones that we pass through every night are light sleep and deep sleep. During the deep sleep phase, your body can recover and repair itself. During the REM, or rapid eye movement, stage of light sleep, dreaming helps our brains eliminate any stored stress and tension. If you’re having trouble sleeping, here are some recommendations.

  CHANGE YOUR DIET

  Don’t eat right before bedtime. Too much alcohol and caffeine can also cause sleep problems, so be careful about their role in your life. The last thing I eat at night is dinner—and if I ever eat dessert, I try to do it after lunch, so the excess sugar won’t keep me up at night.

  TIME YOUR EXERCISE RIGHT

  Insomnia is often the result of not getting enough exercise. If you exercise at night, make sure it’s two to three hours before you go to sleep, since you don’t want to overstimulate your body and brain. If it’s night and you’re feeling awake, try drinking herbal tea anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour before going to bed. I usually don’t have much of a problem going to sleep at night, as I’m pretty tired from that day’s activities.

  PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SLEEP ENVIRONMENT

  Create a good pre-sleep routine to relax. Train your body to get into a rhythm by going to bed at a regular time, and turn off all your electronic devices a half hour before you go to sleep. If there’s a TV in your bedroom, consider putting it somewhere else. It’s a bedroom, not a tech cave. My wife doesn’t even allow cell phones near the bed when we sleep.

  TEMPERATURE MATTERS

  Stay cool—the ideal temperature in your room should be around 65 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18.5 degrees Celsius. I like my room cool, dark, and as quiet as possible to make sure I get a great night’s sleep.

  SO DOES CLEANLINESS

  Keep your bedroom clean, and make sure it gets enough fresh air. Contaminants like animal dander and dust can interfere with proper breathing and sleep. Consider putting a plant in your bedroom, as plants create moisture, filter out carbon monoxide and other chemicals, and pump more oxygen into the environment. You might also invest in a negative ion generator. Negative ion generators, which produce air molecules supercharged with electrons, enhance respiratory function, filter out indoor air pollutants, and guard against mold and bacteria. If the air in your bedroom is too dry, a warm mist humidifier is a smart idea, since it doesn’t need a filter and uses tap water.

  KEEP THE NOISE DOWN

  Create the quietest environment you can, or use a sound machine. Eliminating noise keeps your sleep uninterrupted—the quieter the better.

  DON’T SKIMP ON YOUR MATTRESS OR YOUR BEDDING

  Invest in a good mattress. If you can, avoid synthetic materials in your sheets, pillowcases, blankets, or duvets. When I was younger, I didn’t care what I slept on. But realizing one-third of my life is spent sleeping, I decided to invest more in my mattress, and I’ve realized the benefits from a better night’s sleep. Now a good mattress is important wherever I go, as I’m always trying to find something that’s comfortable and allows me to sleep as well as I possibly can.

  FUNCTIONAL APPAREL AND SLEEPWEAR

  Sleeping well helps our brains rest and rejuvenate, but I also want to make sure my body remains in a state of recovery even at night. I accomplish this through functional apparel and sleepwear. I’ve been wearing functional apparel for the past three years. It’s a very easy part of my routine. There’s no sacrifice involved, since I know I’m getting great recovery. This is a no-brainer.

  There’s no standard regimen for how players recover in the NFL. Everyone is different. Before I discovered functional apparel and sleepwear, Alex lengthened and softened my muscles before and after practices and games, and then I went home, rested, and made sure not to overexert myself. Minus the pliability sessions, most NFL players do pretty much the same thing. After the game on Sunday—assuming our team won!—players celebrate, hang out with friends and family, or hit the town. On Mondays, the whole team comes in for a workout. Everyone is still pretty sore from the day before. We do a strength training workout, followed by a conditioning run to get our muscles pumping and blood circulating in order to flush out waste. Tuesdays are a day off, and practice starts up again on Wednesday. By Thursday, everyone’s body has pretty much bounced back. Practice on Friday is rhythmic and fluid, and Saturday is a day to recover and get ready for the next day’s game. Throw in a massage or two during the week for some players, and by Sunday afternoon, everyone is ready to take the field. Then it starts all over again.

  A few years ago, we at TB12 began looking into the role of bioenergetic apparel and sleepwear, with the goal of reducing the amount of time it takes my body to recover during the season. I started experimenting with clothing infused with bioceramics, which give off far infrared rays, or FIRs, which stimulate and heat muscles, bones, and tendons. It didn’t take long to realize bioceramic apparel not only worked but also worked fast. Alex could feel the difference when he did pliability training on me from one day to the next. Because he and I have worked together for so many years and are so in sync with what we’re trying to accomplish, we knew it worked and how effective it could be. It’s really a no-brainer—regeneration all night long.

  Alex and I spent a couple of years researching the best materials and results of high-tech apparel, and in early 2017, in conjunction with bioceramic sources, we partnered with Under Armour to launch a line of bioceramic recovery sleepwear.

  It works like this: Up to twenty different ceramics—calcium, magnesium, and others—are combined with mineral oxides and heated to around three thousand degrees. The resulting powder is known as a bioceramic, which is imprinted directly onto the interior of our TB12 recovery apparel. Think of the result as a cutting-edge form of tech-enabled functional apparel.

  Like I said, bioceramics have a vibration frequency and give off a form of energy known as far infrared rays. These FIRs are able to penetrate the skin up to 1.5 inches, stimulating muscles, bones, and tendons. Studies show that FIRs help relieve chronic pain, increase rates of muscle repair and cell oxygenation, and—not least—reduce muscle inflammation, as well as increase overall energy.

  One of the biggest benefits of using bioceramic-infused recovery and sleepwear is better oxygenation. When I wear my recovery clothes during the day or at night, the increased oxygen flow they generate helps eliminate the by-products and toxins caused by exercise, including lactic acid. This allows nutrient-rich blood to circulate more efficiently throughout my body. FIRs also stimulate the production of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the energy source for our muscle cells. Without ATP, muscles simply can’t work, and finding ways to accelerate and store my body’s own ATP production amplifies my ability to perform at the highest possible level. ATP is also the key to having enhanced, oxygen-rich blood and better circulation. I admit, I like the idea of my body working for me—both creating and banking energy—during the night! I think of functional apparel and sleepwear as a mobile, 24/7 hyperbaric chamber. If my opponents aren’t wearing what I am, I’m getting the edge on them even when I’m sleeping.

  The improvements I’ve experienced since I started wearing functional apparel and sleepwear are hugely important to my recovery. Percentage points can make the difference between success and failure, when there’s so little margin for error in professional sports. Since wearing the sleepwear, the overall soreness I feel after games has decreased, and my inflammation le
vels are low. My dream is to someday have bedding as well, giving you bioceramic coverage all night long, from your head to your toes. After eight hours of sleep in my recovery wear, I wake up feeling alert and energized. During the day I wear recovery pants under my uniform at practice and when I work out. If your goal is oxygen-rich blood, why not oxygenate any chance you get? Teammates of mine who were skeptical at first but who tried recovery wear now love it. They can feel the difference. I can, too. In fact, over the past three years, I can count on one hand the number of times I haven’t worn recovery sleepwear. It requires no effort or discipline, too; you just put it on at night.

  I like the idea of my body working for me during the night. If my opponents aren’t wearing what I am, I’m getting the edge on them even when I’m sleeping.

  Best of all, with functional apparel and sleepwear helping to stabilize my levels of blood oxygenation, my muscles are always in a state of regeneration. That’s one reason why at age forty, I run faster and am still as strong as I was when I was twenty-five. Along with pliability, hydration, nutrition, and other amplifiers, recovery wear contributes to why I’m able to recover faster than a lot of other athletes. In the future, it’s easy to imagine even more technology embedded in apparel and gear, from biometric sensors that measure activity to fabrics and materials geared toward preventing injury and amplifying performance—and I’m proud to say TB12 is at the forefront of this movement. If I could, I’d wear recovery apparel every hour of the day—which, in fact, is close to what I do.