By Marti Webb Slay

When neuroscientist Lindsey Smith, PhD, was recovering from breast cancer surgery, she was given instructions to exercise and eat well, but accessible information about how to do that effectively was lacking.

“When I asked my physician what I could do to keep this from coming back, he said, ‘eat right and exercise,’ and that was it. As you can imagine, I needed more information. I was dealing with a completely shattered nervous system, my life had been turned upside down, and it was a lot to manage.”

She decided to take her experience in higher education along with her background in neuroscience, the neuroendocrine system, and pathology, and develop an educational, neuroscience-based program that would have helped her at the time. The result was Synaptic Harbor, which offers neuroscience-based tools for peak performance and well-being.

“It was a combination of my stubbornness and my need for knowledge, structure, and efficiency. So that’s what I began dedicating my time to,” she said. “Initially it was a personal pursuit.”

Smith grew up with an interest in mind-body holistic practices, but pursued a conventional biomedical research-based education, earning her doctorate in neuroscience from UAB and specializing in brain plasticity, synaptic physiology, learning and memory, hormones and behavior, and later, digital pathology.

Returning to her roots, she explored mind-body tools through modern neuroscience, finding several were backed by research and have emerging clinical relevance. Her primary focus is sound-based tools. “These practices work,” she said. “We have brain scans, cellular and molecular data in health and disease, and evidence of long-term functional brain changes.”

Smith leverages this data to create sound-based integrative learning programs and assistive tools that enhance brain plasticity and stress resilience at the cellular level. “This brain-body education empowers people with practical neuroscience knowledge, helping them understand how daily choices shape their brains over time and offering actionable frameworks for positive brain change,” she said.

She offers free sound baths through Jefferson County libraries. Participants relax on yoga mats and are immersed in tones from crystal singing bowls and other idiophonic instruments. These hour-long sessions use soothing sounds, guided imagery, and meditation to foster stress resilience and teach about the nervous system, promoting restorative non-sleep, deep rest. She uses the baths to teach stress management and mental resilience techniques, helping participants learn how to achieve healthier lives, better stress control, and improved sleep.

“I want to expand what people currently know,” she said. “Diet and exercise are just two of six key factors. When you look at all the latest data, there is a six-part Venn diagram of what it takes to live a healthy life and for your brain to age well.”

The other factors are sleep, environmental toxin exposure (especially endocrine disruptors), relationships, and stress.

“The Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest studies on adult life, showed that loneliness and not having a support system is just as bad for your health as smoking,” Smith said. “And the one I focus on the most, because it undermines all the others, is stress. Stress affects cellular health, brain function, diet, exercise, social ties, and sleep. It is one of the six major contributors to people not thriving, but its role as an influencer of our habits is often overlooked. If we are stressed we probably aren’t reaching out to our support systems as much, we are coping with late night snacks, nicotine, or habits that undermine our sleep quality. The majority of Americans report symptoms of stress, according to the American Psychology Association, with nearly half of adults reporting that stress negatively impacts their behavior. Most importantly, stress-resilience is not a trait we are born with. It is a skill we build, and that’s where neural plasticity comes in.

“Habit change is essential, particularly with chronic illness. When you undergo a cancer diagnosis, you have to make lifestyle changes. But most people have no roadmap for how to do that.”

Smith has developed a fuel vs. friction framework to identify what supports or hinders progress in these six areas, aiding stress resilience and positive habit adoption.

Through Synaptic Harbor, Smith offers educational services, including a December Masterclass, “The Brain Rewired: From Synapse to Self-Discovery.”  While she targets her information for the lay public, she says it can also be helpful to physicians, as they help guide their patients to healthier lifestyle choices.

More information about the Masterclass and other services Synaptic Harbor offers can be found on the website www.synapticharbor.com.