THE BOOK THAT LAUNCHED THE HIGH-OCTANE BRAIN™ MOVEMENT

High-Octane Brain™

5 Science-Based Steps to Sharpen Your Memory and Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer’s

by Dr. Michelle Braun

From a Harvard- and Yale-trained neuropsychologist and national leader in brain health, High-Octane Brain™ distills decades of neuroscience into a clear, prioritized roadmap for strengthening cognitive vitality — now and for the future.

This is the architecture of cognitive vitality.

An inspiring synthesis of what truly works.

Download Free Introduction
Download Free Introduction

Featured in:

Where the Movement Began

Before High-Octane Brain™ became a Cognitive Vitality System™, it was a question:

If we know what supports brain health — why is it so difficult to translate that knowledge into action?

In her clinical work evaluating hundreds of patients each year, Dr. Braun saw a recurring pattern. People were motivated to enhance memory and brain health. They were searching for how. They were overwhelmed by contradictory advice and costly interventions.

What they needed was clarity.

High-Octane Brain was written to provide it.

The book organizes the science of modifiable Alzheimer’s risk reduction and cognitive vitality into five prioritized, research-anchored steps — presented in order of their evidentiary strength and real-world impact. 

A Different Kind of Brain Health Book

Learn how to optimize your brain health trajectory.

In a marketplace crowded with cognitive claims, extreme dietary prescriptions, and expensive solutions, High-Octane Brain returns to proven principles:

  • What does the science actually show?

  • Which behaviors move the needle most?

  • How do we measure progress?

  • How do we inspire and sustain change?

Readers are guided through:

  • Five evidence-based pillars of cognitive vitality

  • Immediate “Brain Blip” solutions for everyday memory frustrations

  • A structured Brain Health Action Plan

  • A built-in tracking system to reinforce momentum

  • Insights from leading experts and role models ages 44–103

The result is not simply education — but motivation, activation, and outcomes that enhance not only cognitive functioning, but independence, joy, and purpose.

Immediate Gains. Long-Term Resilience.

Learn quick, easy choices to maximize your brain health.

Cognitive Vitality is not reserved for the distant future.

The same lifestyle domains associated with reduced dementia risk also:

  • Improve attention and memory within minutes

  • Enhance mood and sleep

  • Strengthen cardiovascular and metabolic health

  • Increase daily functioning and independence

Even brief sessions of movement can measurably improve memory performance.

Lifestyle enhancements can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s — in some cases by more than 15 years.

This dual timeline — immediate cognitive enhancement and long-term protection — is central to the High-Octane philosophy.

The Foundation of the Movement

High-Octane Brain became an Amazon bestseller and has been used in brain health initiatives across healthcare systems, universities, and community programs.

Its principles now serve as the intellectual foundation for the broader High-Octane Brain™ movement — including applied programming, educational initiatives, and organizational partnerships.

The book introduces the science.
The movement brings it to life through proven, real-world interventions.

Where science meets real-world cognitive vitality.

Your Future Brain Is Built Today

At its core, High-Octane Brain invites readers to ask a powerful question:

Am I building the strongest brain possible — for today and for decades to come?

The science suggests that cognitive vitality is not accidental.
It is constructed.

Download the Introduction and explore the roadmap.

  Because How We Think  

   Shapes How We Live.   

Because How We Think  Shapes How We Live.

Download Free Introduction
Download Free Introduction

PRAISE FOR HIGH-OCTANE BRAIN

  • "Dr. Michelle Braun is at the forefront of the exciting and promising field of' brain health,' and her new book, High-Octane Brain, empowers us all to steer our own aging path using a simple five-step program designed to engage brain health promoting behaviors to reduce dementia risk.Through a mixture of expert interviews, case examples, and practical suggestions, Braun uses her remarkable insights and crystal-clear writing style to convincingly argue that healthy aging is within our reach if we take the opportunity we all have to make healthy lifestyle choices. Written in a way that is inspiring to both lay and professional audiences, High-Octane Brain fills the tank with simple tools that allow users to implement her program and to measure progress. It isa 'must have' for those of us who work with aging populations, and those of us who want to invest in a more active, engaged, and healthy future for ourselves."

    Russell M. Bauer PhD, ABPP
    Preeminence Term Professor, University of Florida
    Director, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center of Excellence
    Malcom Randal Veterans' Affairs Medical Center

  • "Although not everyone thinks about the future, in the life of an Olympic athlete we are always looking to the future, sometimes even four years ahead. Our brain and bodies now and in the future are our best tools, and when they don't work 100 percent we are in trouble. If we just treat our brain and body with the proper care, we may outlive our projected time frames. Given my mom had dementia and passed away in 2004 at the age of 86, I hope I can outlive her and be healthy at the time of my passing. Michelle shares with you how to take great care of your brain now and in the future, not just to lower the risk of Alzheimer's, but for better overall health and well-being!"

    Bonnie Blair
    Five-time Olympic Gold Medalist

  • "Dr. Braun has written a life-changer, a life-enhancer. In clear, commonsense language with scientific facts, she is proving there is finally a way to fight Alzheimer's. Now [there is] hope where there was none."

    Martin J. Schreiber
    Former governor of Wisconsin
    Author of My Two Elaines: Learning, Coping, and Surviving as an Alzheimer's Caregiver

  • "An emerging field of neuroscience points to the importance of a healthy lifestyle in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's. . . . Dr. Michelle Braun illustrates in a clear and concise style strategies to maximize brain health and stave off Alzheimer's. Unlike other brain wellness publications, this book is based on solid scientific evidence, amply documented in the different chapters dealing with nutrition, physical activity, cognitive stimulation,stress reduction and sleep.At the same time, the material is brought to life through interviews with experts, case illustrations, summary tables and takeaway points that make this book an engaging read for the general public. Ina time when there are still no pharmacological cures for Alzheimer's, this book shows us a path towards healthy brain aging: a book invaluable not only to the clinician, but to all of us aiming to enhance our brain health and quality of life in our later years."

    Piero G. Antuono MD
    Professor of Neurology and Biophysics
    Medical College of Wisconsin
    Member
    Medical and Scientific Advisory Panel
    Alzheimer's Disease International

  • "Medical science has lessened the impact of many previously fatal diseases, but alas, not Alzheimer's, which threatens to overwhelm our health and long-term care systems and devastate more and more families. In the face of this crisis, Dr. Michelle Braun offers us a way in our everyday lives to confront Alzheimer's head-on, and cheers us on into believing we can succeed. In the process, she deftly straddles the complex worlds of neuroanatomy and brain science, condenses it all into concise lifestyle advice,and presents it in steps that are engaging, doable, and fun. Readers that follow her game plan will live much more enjoyable lives . . . not to mention the three-pound blob of tissue in your skull that makes you who you are will thank you profusely!"

    Tom Hlavacek
    Retired Executive Director
    Alzheimer's Association Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter

  • "If you value your brain, and you want the best current advice on how to keep it healthy -- what to do, and what not to do -- then this book should become your bible. Its advice is thorough, backed up by the best available research, and accessible. You can't change your genes, and you can't change your past life. But this book will show you that there can be real value in making changes going forwards, and what those changes should be."

    Barry Gordon M.D., Ph.D.
    Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Science
    Director
    Cognitive Neurology/Neuropsychology Division & Department of Neurology
    Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and University

  • "A "high-octane" brain is a one that is tuned to perform at the individual's optimal level. Neuropsychologist Braun (Psychology Today)has devised a Brain Health Action Plan to help achieve this goal, along with reducing and delaying the development of Alzheimer's. Her method focuses on five lifestyle modifications that can help with maintaining brain health, and each factor is thoroughly explained and explored throughout five chapters:Exercise, Consume Healthy Food, Engage and Learn, Lower Stress and Boost Well-Being, and Sleep. These chapters also feature Q&As with experts in the field. . . . This book is an essential addition as it describes a practical and evidence-based behavior modification program (as opposed to passive apps or rote memory games) that, through consistent practice, has the potential to have positive and lasting effects on an individual's brain health."

    Library Journal
    Starred Review

FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION

High-Octane Brain began as a book— but it was never meant to stay on the page.

High-Octane Brain Fitness™ brings the science to life through guided, group-based experiences that help people train their thinking, strengthen cognitive vitality, and build lasting confidence in their future brain health.

This is where knowledge becomes practice— and where better thinking begins to shape a fuller, more vibrant life.
EXPLORE THE PROGRAM
EXPLORE THE PROGRAM