WEBVTT - #2047 Brain Literacy - Harps (PT1) 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:04.240 Good, are you, bloody champs? Welcome to the show. So 0:00:05.240 --> 0:00:07.760 I've decided to do a few episodes with more of 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:13.720 an educational focus while keeping the vibe and the language 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.040 user friendly. So I thought I'd just do something different 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.079 and see how that goes, rather than spinning the wheels 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:23.799 and having some of the repetitious conversations that can be 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:27.840 had when we're doing the psychology, human behavior, human performance stuff. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:31.680 So we'll see how we go, and you, my audience, 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:36.879 let me know. So these work, These episodes are a 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:40.159 fair bit more work, which I'm happy to do, but 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:42.560 it'd be great to hear whether or not you vibe 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:46.440 with these kind of more We're not going to do 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:47.920 them all the times that I'm panic, but a little 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:50.680 bit more academic, a little bit more educational, a little 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:55.800 bit more teaching than coaching, and a little bit more 0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:03.120 kind of downloading information and nulle than it is specifically 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.680 inspirational motivation. So today I'm going to do a deep 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:11.560 dive into the single most powerful, confusing, brilliant, and occasionally 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.959 uncooperative piece of tech that you own or I own, 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:19.720 and that is our brain. Your brain, my brain. So 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:24.880 I guess before we dive in I should unpack the title, 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:28.040 which is brain literacy. So what does that mean? Thanks 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:33.039 for asking? So it's it's what is it? It's basically 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:38.120 the you understanding how your brain works. It's you understanding 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.080 what it does, how it works, how you and it 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.319 can relate because it's not you and you're not it, 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.959 but you're kind of intertwained. So understanding it not in 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:52.720 a medical or necessarily necessarily an anatomical or academic or 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.040 a physiological sense, but in a way that helps you 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:59.280 think and live and choose and feel and behave better. 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:04.800 So it means knowing the fundamentals, like that your brain 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:10.080 is a prediction machine, not a reality machine. That most 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:17.680 of your reactions are automatic, not in the moment, not intentional. 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:20.840 They almost happen, like a lot of our reactions happen 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:24.640 almost despite us, not because of us. If that makes sense. 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:31.320 That stress changes what's happening in your brain. That habits 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:40.160 are wiring neurological wiring, not will power. That thoughts aren't facts, 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:46.359 just thoughts, constructs, just stories. Sometimes the story turns out 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:48.080 to be true. So I guess something can be a 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.760 thought or an idea or a belief and also a fact. 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.280 But in general terms, just because we think something doesn't 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:59.679 mean it's true. I guess it's also understanding your brain 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:03.000 is allso so knowing that you can train it, and 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:08.120 you can calm it, and you can consciously manipulate what 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:10.600 your brain is doing and how it works, you can 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:17.680 rewire it over time, and also understanding that your your 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:23.840 brain's job is not happiness, it's survival. It's protecting you, 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:33.240 it's safety. And it's also knowing that self awareness, understanding you, 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:35.240 the understanding of the self that's in the middle of 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.000 your life. I know that's a bit philosophical, but that 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:44.160 changes behavior. You understanding how you work, you understanding your responses, 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:49.480 and you starting to open the door on understanding your 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:53.880 mind and brain. We maybe will dissect and separate those later. 0:03:56.400 --> 0:04:00.160 That's more important than motivation from a creating behavior, a 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:04.720 change and real world change on planet you. So brain 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:10.800 literacy isn't it's not neuroscience trivia. It's about you understanding 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:14.480 the mechanics behind your thoughts and emotions and behaviors so 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:16.720 that you can work with your brain instead of being 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:23.520 confused and frustrated and controlled by it. So I guess 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:27.120 in simple terms, it's knowing brain literacy is knowing how 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:31.480 your brain functions well enough to improve how you function. 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.760 And I guess it's important that we all have a 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:40.000 basic understanding of how our brain works, because like, it's 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:45.279 the author of your story, it's running the show, it's 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:49.040 running Planet you, it's the operating headquarters on planet you. 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:52.960 So because every thought that you and I have, every 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:55.799 feeling that we feel, every decision that we make, every 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:59.279 habit that you and I repeat, and every relationship that 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:03.880 we navigate is filtered through this kind of one point 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.080 three kilo if you're in America, three pound, give or 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:12.640 take this lump, this prediction machine, this lump of meat 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:16.520 that sits between our ears. And when we understand how 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.120 it works, the wiring, the shortcuts, the biases, the alarms, 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:24.000 the habits, the patterns, we stop taking everything personally and 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:29.680 start seeing it mechanically. Yeah, a bit more objective, a 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.800 bit less subjective. We stop blaming ourselves for being weak 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:40.120 and broken and start recognizing old wiring survival responses and 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:47.520 that long established not always good for us, often destructive 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:52.280 automatic programming. And once we get it, once we understand it, 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:56.160 like we can't develop, we can't work with we can't solve, 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.479 we can't mitigate the thing that we don't understand. So 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.479 once were understand or begin to understand our brain, we 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.000 can begin to work with it, not fight it. We 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:09.200 can calm it, we can we can work at training it, 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.520 rewiring it, and ultimately steer our life with far more 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:20.000 clarity I guess, and control and confidence and self awareness. 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.200 So for me, learning about the brain, you learning about 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:27.960 the brain, Understanding how our brain works, brain literacy. It's 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:32.960 not just interesting, it's really really important, and it's also 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:38.640 kind of life changing. It's liberating. So our brain runs, 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:43.039 our body, shapes our personality, creates our reality, stores memories, 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:49.279 controls emotions, forms habits, and makes about ninety five I 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.440 don't know what the exact number is, but over ninety 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.480 they say about ninety five percent of our decisions before 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:58.760 we're even where we've made them. So much of what 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.320 we do and how we do it is not even 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:05.040 really conscious. It's almost just this as I always talk about, 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:09.920 it's this autopilotness, this groundhog day, where we just we 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:16.640 don't even really choose consciously, we just respond automatically. And 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.680 most of us have never really been taught about how 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:24.000 this stuff works, and honestly, I'm still solving this problem. 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:25.880 I'm still learning this thing. And part of the reason 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:27.920 I want to do some of these sessions with you 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:32.520 is because I'm learning as I'm teaching. I'm consolidating and 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:37.400 clarifying information as I go with you. So we're really, 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:41.680 I mean, this is introduction to your brain, one oh one, 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:44.320 this is the fundamentals. You're not going to come out 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.560 the other side of neuroscientists. Neither am I. But we're 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:52.520 just stripping it back. So no jargon, no neuroscience flexing, 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:57.000 just clear, relatable, Oh that makes sense, explanations of why 0:07:57.040 --> 0:08:01.040 your brain does what it does, and more importantly, how 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:07.520 you can work with it consciously rather than being dragged 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:12.280 around by it by your old wiring unconsciously. So we're 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:16.160 going to explore why your brain sometimes works against you, 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.120 how much of your thinking is automatic, why you repeat patterns, 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:23.440 why what stress does to your operating system, and how 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.400 your brain can struct your reality and whether or not 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.960 we can truly rewire it. So for the purpose of 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:34.640 this episode, I've decided to explore ten what I think 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:41.000 are important, powerful, fascinating brain related questions. So keep in 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.760 mind that you're going to forget most of what I 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.840 share a So this for some of you might be 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.920 something that you come back and revisit. You might want 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:53.720 to listen through. You might not want to listen, or 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:56.160 you might go fuck your educational series, Craig, stick it 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:58.840 up your clacker, not interested. But for some of you, 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.560 I know some of you want to understand yourself and 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:07.079 understanding yourself, understanding your mind, understanding your actions and reactions, 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:11.880 your biases, your default setting, why you do the way 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.120 you do, why you do life the way you do. 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.160 A big part of that is trying to understand your 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:21.840 own brain. So this might be something that you revisit. 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:26.400 Maybe you come back and take notes and do a 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:29.280 deeper dive on some of the ideas and concepts that 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:33.800 I present here. So question one of my I think 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.480 I've got ten is what is the role of my brain? 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:39.480 So the role of our brain is to run the 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:42.840 human system, you and me. That's to unplanet you. It's 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:47.000 in charge. So it's the control center that keeps you alive, 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.360 it helps you navigate the world, and it creates the 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.800 experience that we call us or you call you, I 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:56.480 call me. At the basic level, the brain regulates the 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:01.800 essentials heartbeat, breathing, temperature, hunger, hormones, and unity, movement and 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:06.880 survival responses. It's constantly scanning our external and internal environments, 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.079 predicting what's happening, what might happen, what we think is 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:17.520 going to happen, and adjusting everything physiologically, psychologically, emotionally, adjusting 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:22.360 everything according to what we think is happening or will happen. 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:27.200 But it also does not just in that moment, in 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:31.320 the moment kind of predictive intuitive survival stuff that it 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.959 does the high level stuff thinking, planning, learning, remembering, imagining, 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:41.559 problem solving, creating meaning. It builds stories, expectations and interpretations. 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:47.840 It decides what matters or it predicts what's dangerous, what's possible, 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:54.520 and who you think you are identity. So, in short, 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:57.720 the brain's role is to manage the body, interpret the world, 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:00.839 and create your reality. They're probably very key things. It's 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.120 both the hardware and the software, the engine that keeps 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:09.680 you alive and the storyteller that shapes your life. But 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.400 question two is somewhat philosophical, but it's a really good 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:14.800 and powerful question and relevant, and that is can I 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:18.000 manage my brain or does it manage me, And the 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:20.480 answer is you're probably going to guess what I'm going 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.080 to say. The answer is both. So your brain is 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:27.720 the automatic pilot, and you're the pilot in training, learning 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:30.400 how to take the controls. On the one hand, your 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:34.560 brain absolutely manages you. It fires before you think, It 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.000 predicts stuff before you're aware, it reacts before you've even 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:43.120 got the full picture or the context. And it keeps 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:50.200 you alive using systems that you can't consciously access. Heartbeat, fear, responses, habits, 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:55.520 all these things that happen autonomically. Impulses, cravings, hormones, endocrime system, 0:11:56.400 --> 0:12:01.720 nervous system, stress, chemistry. So that's the brain in action. 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:06.760 But you also you also have the capacity to manage 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:11.720 the manager. So every time you pause instead of react, 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:15.520 every time you question a thoughts instead of believing it, 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:20.679 choose the uncomfortable but useful option or practice the new behavior, 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:26.400 that's you taking the controls back from the autopilot. So 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:29.840 you can't stop the brain from running its programs, but 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:34.800 you can rewire them. You can train your attention, regulate 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.400 your reactions, rewire your habits. Not quickly, by the way, 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:42.280 it takes a while. Update beliefs, change beliefs, challenge beliefs, 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:46.440 choose better behaviors. Calm your nervous system again takes a while, 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:50.880 takes training, takes patience, takes courage, and you can build 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:55.280 a smarter what would we call it, internal operating system. 0:12:56.280 --> 0:13:00.960 So the brain manages you by defaults. You manage the 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:05.680 brain by intention, and that's the work. That's the work. 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:09.040 Is you learning to manage your brain. You learning to 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.840 be the operator of this thing that's just happening all 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:16.160 the time anyway. So I'll say that again, the brain 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:18.760 manages you by default. You manage the brain by intention, 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:23.400 and that's the work, that's the opportunity, that's that's the upgrade. 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.360 So question three, how do I keep my brain healthy? 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.319 This is the thing that really fascinates me. And I'm 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:33.720 you know, when we know, like we all kind of 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.080 instinctively and inherently know that the brain is the epicenter 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:41.600 of us from a physiological and day to day living 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.120 and functioning point of view. Some people might argue the 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:48.400 soul is the epicenter, but I'm not speaking spiritually or philosophically. 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:53.800 I'm speaking scientifically and physiologically here. So I'm surprised that 0:13:55.200 --> 0:14:00.200 we don't care about our brain. We might say we care, 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:04.720 but we don't seem to practically behaviorally show that we 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:09.600 care about our brain as much as we should. You know, 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.720 just look at people shoving drugs into their body, fucks 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:15.400 up their brain, people under sleeping. I know, there's a 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.760 few variables around it, fucks up your brain. People eating 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.400 bad shit fucks up your brain. Drinking too much booze 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:23.400 fuckx up your brain, or at the very least impact 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:25.360 your brain negatively. All of these things, and there's a 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.320 few others that we can't always easily control, like stress 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:33.160 and anxiety has a detrial effect on brain chemistry, neurochemistry, 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:38.680 and cognitive function. Right, So keeping our brain healthy it 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:43.800 should be something we think about. So it's not complicated, 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.600 but it needs to be consistent. So think of it 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.000 like compound interests. So it's the small things that you 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:55.080 do every day, the habits that you build to create 0:14:55.120 --> 0:15:00.680 a calmer, smarter, more resilient brain or system over time. 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:04.200 So in this whole question of or process or challenge 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.680 of keeping our brain healthy, and this is all research based, 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.760 you know this, so and no surprise for me to 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:14.120 say this. The first big piece is movement. So exercise 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.640 is as close as we can get to a miracle 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:20.800 drug for the brain. I spoke about this with doctor 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:24.560 Bill yesterday or the day before. It boosts blood flow, 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:29.000 supports learning and memory, sharpens focus, improves mood, and dramatically 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:35.960 reduces the risk of cognitive decline. So the next not surprising, 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.800 non negotiable, or super important factor is sleep quality. Sleep 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.200 is like when we're sleeping. It's when the brain basically 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:51.240 repairs itself, clears waste, consolidates memories, and resets our emotional 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:57.480 system kind of like just hits the replenish button. So yeah, 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.440 we need sleeper is super crucial. I know that that's not, 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.560 you know, a revelation, but it kind of. It's very 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:09.360 very protective and restorative for the brain. And then there's 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.080 fuel or food. So your brain is sixty percent fat, 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.760 incredibly metabolically active. In other words, it uses a lot 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:23.200 of calories. A little known fact is that it uses 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:27.520 Your brain uses about twenty percent of your daily calorie intake. 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.920 So let's say you had two thousand calories in a day. 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:38.840 That little motherfucker in your skull uses twenty percent of 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:43.400 two thousand calories is four hundred calories, so four hundred 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.200 of your two thousand calories, So it uses about twenty 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.440 percent of calories, so four hundred of those two thousand 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:54.920 in this theoretical example would go just for brain fuel. So, 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.920 like I said, your brain sixty percent fat. It's incredibly 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:02.400 metabolically active, and it relies heavily on great nutrition. If 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.639 it doesn't get great nutrition, even if it gets the calories, 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:11.760 it can't work as well. So AMEGA three is antioxidants, polyphenols, 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.840 whole foods, And of course your brain is largely water also, 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.840 so it needs to be hydrated, so well fed, well 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:24.879 hydrated to keep it working well and ultraprocessed crap, albeit 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.399 still lots of calories. But it's kind of like putting 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.800 really shitty fuel in your car. When your car needs 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:37.640 ninety eight octane and you're putting ninety one octane or 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:42.360 eighty one octane, it'll kind of go, but it's certainly 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.320 not going to run. So you're putting something in it, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.159 but you're not putting in the optimal fuel for that 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:52.080 particular system. And it's the same with your brain. Also, 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.879 we know stress is a factor in terms of brain function. 0:17:55.040 --> 0:18:01.040 Brain health. So managing stress is ruual. And again, this 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:04.440 is a multi dimensional thing, isn't it me saying manager stress? 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:08.920 That doesn't help I understand that because there's no solution 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:12.359 in that, but just highlighting the fact that stress is 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:16.680 an issue. Stress itself isn't the problem as in a 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:24.159 one off, but it's the unrelenting, constant, unmanaged stress, constant anxiety, 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:30.520 constant overthinking, constant all those physiological symptoms that are attached 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:34.400 to that overthinking that's what does the damage and the inflammation, 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:37.720 that's what does the damage to the brain over time. 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:43.200 So you know, slow breathing, movement, recovery, rituals, healthy boundaries, 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:49.639 any kind of meditative practice, whatever meditation looks like for you. 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:52.240 For me, and we spoke about this the other day, 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:55.199 for me, meditation has been on a motorbike. So the 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:57.960 thing that would excite a lot of people's nervous system 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:01.679 or switch on there, you know, their sympathetic nervous system 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:05.399 through the roof, For me, it actually makes me calm, 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:09.960 It actually gives me joy, It actually weirdly relaxes me. 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.640 And in terms of keeping your brain working, well, don't 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:18.080 forget learning so constantly training our brain just like we 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:20.280 train our biceps and our quads and our back and 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.920 all our bits and pieces. Our brain loves to be stimulated. 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:27.720 It loves to learn. Might you might not necessarily love it, 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.320 but your brain stays young by forming new neural pathways. 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:34.920 And that happens when we expose ourselves to new ideas, 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:39.760 new lessons, new information. So our brain, like our biceps 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:43.720 and triceps and quads, our brain needs to be stimulated. 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:46.919 There needs to be some what would the analogy be, 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.880 almost like progressive overload to keep it adapting, to keep 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:55.479 it creating those new neural pathways, to keep it healthy. 0:19:55.560 --> 0:20:01.000 So read stuff, practice stuff, ask questions, solve problem, explore 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:05.040 new things, have new conversations with new people, expose yourself 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:10.720 to different ideas, stay curious. We're nearly there. Also we 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.320 know from keeping your brain healthy point of view, human 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:18.280 connection matters a lot, and it matters more than people think. Like. 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:25.400 Good relationships are literally protective for your brain. They protect 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:30.399 cognitive function. They keep your brain, believe it or not, 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:37.720 bigger and healthier while isolation while social disconnection while loneliness 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:45.280 literally shrinks your brain and can be associated with cognitive 0:20:45.320 --> 0:20:47.320 decline or in other words, your brain not working as 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:50.679 well as it could or should, and of course I 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:53.320 need to. I can't finish this section without talking about 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:58.760 the obvious brain killers, you know, smoking drugs, excess of alcohol, 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:03.080 chronic anger. People don't think about that, chronic anger. You're 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:06.719 getting yourself into a state all the time, producing all 0:21:06.760 --> 0:21:11.360 of those stress hormones all the time, which produces inflammation 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:18.200 in your brain and in your body, which is super destructive, 0:21:18.520 --> 0:21:24.520 super inflammatory, super super negative impact on your body. And 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:27.440 of course sitting on your ass for years at a time. 0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:29.640 We'll chuck that in as the final one. And none 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:32.200 of this, you know, our brain needs movement, our body 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:34.879 needs movement, and none of this is fancy. It's just 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:40.800 daily kind of brain friendly living. All right. I'm not 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:43.280 positive about this next section, but fuck it, I'm going 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:45.160 to do it anyway. You may or may not resonate 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:47.200 with this. I was trying to think of, how can 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:52.200 I explain, explain on an interesting way, on a pretty 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:56.280 fundamental level, the anatomy and the physiology. So, in other words, 0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:58.560 what's in the brain and how it works? What are 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:02.040 the bits of the brain where are they? That's the anatomy. 0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:05.800 The physiology is how does it work. And I know 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:07.800 for some of you this will be confusing, some of 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:12.080 you fascinating, maybe enlightening, But here we go. So I've 0:22:12.119 --> 0:22:14.800 come up with a bit of a metaphor. Imagine your 0:22:14.800 --> 0:22:21.280 brain as a massive, old, but upgradeable house that you've 0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:25.000 lived in your whole life. You didn't pick the floor plan, 0:22:25.080 --> 0:22:27.320 you didn't choose the day corps. You just woke up 0:22:27.359 --> 0:22:31.479 here one day as a kid, and you've been learning 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:34.560 the layout of that place ever since. So this house 0:22:34.600 --> 0:22:37.480 has a few key rooms that run the whole operations. 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:42.240 So downstairs, near the front door is the security office 0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:46.920 in this place. That's the amygdala. We call that. Generally, 0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:49.800 we see that as the emotional epicenter of the brain. 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:53.040 So the amigdalar, it's got motion senses, alarms, and a 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:57.720 guard who's very enthusiastic but not always very accurate. He 0:22:57.800 --> 0:23:00.879 thinks every noise is a threat designed to keep you 0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:04.640 alive but not comfortable. And when he senses real danger 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:08.720 or sorry, when he senses danger, real or imagined, he 0:23:08.840 --> 0:23:11.960 slams the shutters, locks the doors, and sends panic signals 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:15.639 through the whole house. And often that dude does that, 0:23:15.800 --> 0:23:19.760 the security dude, the amigdala the security office in our metaphor, 0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:23.720 he does that for no logical reason, but because of 0:23:23.760 --> 0:23:27.760 a perception. And which is why you know our overthinking 0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:32.400 can turn into all these this cascade of physiological problems. 0:23:32.440 --> 0:23:35.000 And also why we can we can. We have the 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:39.359 capacity to literally invent a problem out of thin air, 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:42.919 and while there is no real problem, it actually becomes 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:46.919 a real problem for us as an experience, not because 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:49.840 in our external world there's some kind of danger, but 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:53.399 because our internal world, in our internal world, there's a story, 0:23:53.440 --> 0:23:57.439 and that becomes a problem. So right next to the 0:23:57.480 --> 0:24:00.520 security office is the memory filing room. We call that 0:24:00.520 --> 0:24:05.080 the hip of campus, and that's where new memories get sorted, labeled, 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:07.840 and stored. When the security when the guard in the 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:11.720 security office panics, the memory team can't work properly, which 0:24:11.760 --> 0:24:15.720 is why fear and stress often shut down clear thinking 0:24:15.760 --> 0:24:21.720 and learning, which is why performing under pressure is such 0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:25.960 a skill. Like if you see somebody like I guess 0:24:25.960 --> 0:24:29.119 my story out of this is when my training partner 0:24:29.200 --> 0:24:31.439 died at the gym, mark when he temporarily died when 0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:35.199 he had a cardiac arresque cardiac arrest and he was 0:24:35.200 --> 0:24:37.879 on the floor and all of the things that happen 0:24:38.440 --> 0:24:41.960 when somebody is dead on the floor were happening. All 0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:44.639 of those physiological changes. Not a very pretty sight. And 0:24:44.680 --> 0:24:50.040 in the middle of all of that, everyone in that room, 0:24:50.080 --> 0:24:55.360 thankfully other than me, everyone panicked, nobody was thinking clearly, 0:24:55.480 --> 0:25:02.320 nobody was helpful. So people who are normally quite capable 0:25:02.359 --> 0:25:07.800 and quite confident and competent in certain situations, they become 0:25:07.840 --> 0:25:10.880 the opposite of that. So being able to perform under pressure, 0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:14.880 being able to perform in the middle of stress, being 0:25:14.920 --> 0:25:20.119 able to perform when things aren't going well is something 0:25:20.119 --> 0:25:26.119 we need to hopefully try to develop. So upstairs in 0:25:26.200 --> 0:25:29.680 our house, with the bright lights and big windows, that's 0:25:29.720 --> 0:25:32.720 the executive office. We call that the prefrontal cortex. So 0:25:32.800 --> 0:25:36.919 that's where all the smart stuff happens. So this is 0:25:37.000 --> 0:25:39.840 the smart part of the house. It does the planning 0:25:39.880 --> 0:25:44.000 and the reasoning and the critical thinking and the decision 0:25:44.080 --> 0:25:49.480 making and the emotional regulation, the long term thinking, and 0:25:49.680 --> 0:25:52.960 it's incredible, but it can be slow to activate. And 0:25:53.040 --> 0:25:58.679 if the security office downstairs hits the alarm, the executive 0:25:58.720 --> 0:26:02.680 office often gets low down instantly, So no meetings, no decisions, 0:26:03.200 --> 0:26:07.240 no logic, just survival mode. So when the amigdala, remember 0:26:07.280 --> 0:26:10.879 the emotional epicenter, When that goes nuts, then quite often 0:26:11.280 --> 0:26:15.679 the prefrontal cortex where logic and decisions and critical thinking happen, 0:26:15.800 --> 0:26:20.880 that goes offline and it just goes into survival mode. 0:26:21.600 --> 0:26:24.520 So down the hall from that is the habit workshop, 0:26:24.840 --> 0:26:27.560 the basal ganglia. Now this is where your routines and 0:26:27.560 --> 0:26:32.240 default behaviors are built and stored. And once something becomes 0:26:32.240 --> 0:26:36.560 a habit in your brain, it's like installing automated lighting. 0:26:36.600 --> 0:26:40.120 You don't think about it, it just happens. So good 0:26:40.160 --> 0:26:44.200 habits feel like helpful upgrades. Bad habits feel like wiring 0:26:44.320 --> 0:26:47.920 errors that you can't undo, even though you actually can. 0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:53.320 And then there's the control panel, the autonomic nervous system 0:26:53.720 --> 0:26:57.920 that quietly regulates breathing and heart rate and digestion and 0:26:58.000 --> 0:27:03.120 body temperature without thinking in inverted commons, without the prefrontal 0:27:03.200 --> 0:27:07.280 core text needing to come online and make these decisions, 0:27:07.280 --> 0:27:10.399 so that all just that happens despite you, not because 0:27:10.440 --> 0:27:13.440 of you, and all behind the scenes. These are behind 0:27:13.480 --> 0:27:17.800 the scenes jobs that you don't notice until something goes wrong. 0:27:18.400 --> 0:27:21.400 Then we notice the shit out of it and scattered 0:27:21.400 --> 0:27:24.679 through the house as the renovation team. That's neuroplasticity. So 0:27:24.760 --> 0:27:28.960 every thought, every repetition, every reaction becomes a blueprint for 0:27:29.000 --> 0:27:34.600 a tiny remodel. It's slow but relentless. So use a 0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:37.520 room enough and it strengthens. Avoid it long enough and 0:27:37.560 --> 0:27:41.399 it weakens. So learn something new, as I was talking 0:27:41.400 --> 0:27:44.800 about before and keeping our healthy, our brain healthy. Learn 0:27:44.920 --> 0:27:48.520