WEBVTT - 6-Step Science-Backed Morning Reset (Boost Focus, Lower Stress & Improve Your Mood All Day!) 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.199 Hey, everyone, Welcome back to on Purpose. Today is about 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:07.240 how to reprogram your mind before eight am. I want 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:10.039 to share with you the most practical, science backed morning 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.240 routine that I could find, and I actually tried myself. 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:16.960 Here's something nobody tells you about your morning. The first 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.520 sixty to ninety minutes after you open your eyes is, 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:25.959 neurologically speaking, the most programmable window of your entire day. 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:30.320 Your brain is literally in a different state. It's transitioning 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:34.800 out of theta and alpha brainwave patterns, the same frequencies 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:39.280 used in hypnotherapy, into the waking beta state you'll spend 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:41.520 the rest of your day in. And what do most 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.160 of us do with that window? We hand it over, 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:47.880 We pick up our phone, We scroll through someone else's priorities, 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:52.400 someone else's outrage, someone else's curated highlight reel, and we 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:57.400 wonder why we feel behind before the day has even started. Today, 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.320 I want to share the most practical, simple, gen only 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:04.520 achievable morning routine. I found one that I tried myself, 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:08.840 one built entirely on neuroscience and peer reviewed research. And 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:11.520 I promise you there's no ice baths at four am, 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:16.279 no two hour rituals that require monastic training, just six small, 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:21.040 surprising science backsteps that take about forty five minutes total, 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:25.520 and that anyone night Owls included can start tomorrow. And 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.320 here's what I love about each one. There's a clear 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:32.160 reason why it works at a biological level. When you 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:36.800 understand the mechanism, you're not relying on motivation. You're working 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.640 with your brain, not against it. Let's get into it. 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.840 I know mornings are something we all struggle with, and 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.319 I want to be honest, I've struggled with them as well. 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.840 It's not easy for me to wake up energized and early. 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:52.480 Sometimes I want to stay in bed. Sometimes I want 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:54.639 to scroll too, and end up doing that as well. 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:57.240 And so I've worked really hard on developing some of 0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:00.560 these habits that have changed the way I feel. I 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:03.640 want you to go through your day feeling ready, energized 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:07.000 and prepared, and I've found that when we do certain things, 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:09.919 we actually end up doing the opposite. So let's start 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:13.640 with the most controversial thing I'm gonna say today. Hitting 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:16.400 the snooze button is one of the worst things you 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.760 can do for your brain in the morning. Here's why. 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.320 When your alarm goes off, your brain is finishing its 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:27.760 final sleep cycle, usually rem sleep, the phase critical for 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:32.560 memory consolidation and emotional processing. When you hit snooze and 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.320 drift off for another nine minutes or nine times, your 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.680 brain starts a brand new sleep cycle that it cannot 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:45.200 possibly finish. You're essentially fragmenting your sleep into useless chunks. 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:49.840 Research on sleep inertia, that's the scientific term for that groggy, 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.919 disoriented fog you feel after waking, shows that fragmented sleep 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:59.760 from snoozing actually worsens cognitive function. We're talking about slower 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:04.880 reaction times, impaired memory, and reduced executive function. You're not 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:09.200 getting rest in those extra minutes, You're creating neurological confusion. 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.480 The internal clerk, controlled by a tiny brain region, gets 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:18.080 conflicting signals, and the grogginess can linger for hours. So 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.639 what do you do instead? I'm gonna share something with you. 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:22.639 It's a little weird, but I want you to try it. 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.440 I want you to try something called the future You 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.880 is calling alarm. Now. I've never loved the word alarm 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.839 because we think about alarms as a fire alarm. When 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:36.080 there's an alert, when there's some danger. Imagine you actually 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.720 shocking yourself to wake up out of danger. But try 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.800 the future you is calling before bed, record a ten 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:49.600 to fifteen second voice memo pretending you're you from six 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.840 months in the future. It could even be that morning. 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:58.440 Not motivational fluff, make it oddly specific and slightly dramatic. 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:03.160 For example, Hey, it's you. I'm literally standing in the 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:07.600 kitchen of the life you wanted. Don't hit snooze. Today 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:10.440 is one of the days that got me here. Also, 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.400 you still hate rushed mornings. Right, that's just an example. 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.960 Set that recording as your alarm. And here's why this works. 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:23.600 Your brain doesn't expect your own voice. It breaks the autopilot. 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:29.919 Future you creates curiosity instead of dread. It reframes waking 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:34.240 up as time travel, not obligation. And you can put 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:37.279 your phone outside your bedroom and only allow yourself to 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.719 hear the ending of the message if you stand up 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.640 and walk to it. What I find fascinating about this 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:46.479 example is that we're completely tricking the brain. Right. Usually 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:48.440 you think we have to force ourselves out of bed. 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:51.560 Usually we have to find a way to get that energy. 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:53.839 When you hear your own voice in the morning that 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:57.240 says it would mean so much for us to wake 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.200 up right now, because if we wake up right now 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.320 now will actually be really happy because guess what, there's 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:04.120 a voice in your head telling you go to sleep, 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:05.919 go to sleep, go to sleep, and we're not strong 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.039 enough to fight it in our head. And that's why 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:12.159 the alarm does that for you. Right Having an alarm 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:14.520 that's your voice telling you the reasons you want to 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:16.719 wake up, the amazing day, you want to have, the 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:20.960 life you want to build, to encourage you specifically, is 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:25.200 actually allowing you to externalize that powerful voice, that motivated voice, 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:29.080 that conscious voice before the subconscious takes over. The subconscious 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:32.200 is saying, just lie in, hit the snooze button, sleep 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.440 in more. It doesn't matter, It won't make a difference, 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:36.720 and your conscious mind at that time is switched off. 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:39.920 It doesn't have the ability to fight back. So use 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.800 your conscious mind to create a conscious alarm. I also 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:46.640 want you to seriously consider moving your alarm across the 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:49.680 room if you need to. The physical act of standing 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:54.159 upright triggers a blood pressure change that signals wakefulness to 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:57.680 your brain. But the voice no alarm is key. It's 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:01.719 a micro decision that becomes a macro habit step number two. 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:06.320 Now you want sunlight in your eyes the free drug. 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.840 This might be the single most impactful thing on the 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:14.159 entire list, and it costs you absolutely nothing. Within the 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:17.720 first thirty to sixty minutes of waking up, get outside 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:22.120 and expose your eyes to natural sunlight for ten to 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:25.200 twenty minutes. Now, I know that sounds like a long time. 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:28.080 You could have your morning coffee, You could do a 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.520 small workout outside. You could pace and take a phone 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:34.440 call if you wanted to, not through a window, ideally 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:39.640 not through sunglasses. Outside with the light hitting your retinas. 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:44.040 Here's the science, and it's genuinely fascinating. Your eyes contain 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:52.360 specialized cells called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells or ipRGCs, 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:55.560 if that makes it any easier, that have almost nothing 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:58.560 to do with vision. Their job is to detect ambient 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.120 light and send time signals directly to the parts of 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:06.640 the brain. That's the masterclock I mentioned earlier. That signal 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:11.480 does several things simultaneously. First, it triggers a healthy pulse 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:15.200 of cortisol. Now before you panic, cortisol gets a bad 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.600 reputation as the stress hormone. But the morning cortisol awakening 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:23.760 response is not the same thing as chronic stress cortisol. 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.400 Research published in multiple peer reviewed journals shows that this 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:32.280 natural morning surge, which peaks about thirty to forty five 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:37.800 minutes after waking, promotes alertness, supports immune function, and sets 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:42.400 the emotional baseline for your entire day. About seventy seven 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:47.400 percent of healthy people experience this response, and light exposure 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:51.880 amplifies it in the right direction. Second, that same light 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:55.720 signal tells your pineal gland to start the fourteen hour 0:07:55.840 --> 0:08:01.200 countdown to melotonin production. That means morning song unlight doesn't 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:05.800 just help you wake up, it directly programs better sleep tonight. 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:10.320 It's a twenty four hour investment disguised as a fifteen 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:13.800 minute walk. Third, and this one surprised me. Research on 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.760 office workers found that those who got significantly more bright 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:23.720 light exposure before noon scored substantially higher on cognitive performance 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:28.560 tests after just five days. Five days, and separate work 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:32.319 from Northwestern University found that people who got the majority 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:35.840 of their light exposure earlier in the day had lower 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:39.280 body weight compared to those who got light later. So 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:42.840 here's the practical step. Walk outside for ten to twenty 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:47.120 minutes after waking, Combine it with your coffee, your dog walk, 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:50.880 or just standing on your porch on overcast days, you're 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:55.559 still getting significantly more LUX that's the unit of light intensity, 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:59.320 than any indoor light provides. If it's pitch dark when 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.600 you wake up, use a ten thousand LUX light therapy 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:06.400 lamp positioned at eye level for twenty to thirty minutes, 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.400 and skip the sunglasses during the window. Regular glasses and 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.600 contacts are fine, but your eyes need that full spectrum 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:17.360 light input. Obviously, don't stare directly at the sun just 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.760 to point it out, but light exposure is huge. It's 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:22.920 it's helping you sleep better, it's helping you wake better, 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.320 it's helping you have better energy. And here, I know 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:26.920 what you're saying, Jay, how do I get ten to 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.240 twenty minutes? I get it, even if you can start 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:31.200 with one or two, If you can start with one 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.160 or two minutes, it will make a huge difference in 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.240 your life, and I hope you'll give it a go. 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.480 Step number three, the ninety second cold shock. I promise 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.360 you know four am ice baths. But stay with me 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.520 before you skip ahead. I'm not going to tell you 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:48.440 to take a twenty minute ice bath. I'm going to 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:51.760 tell you to do something much simpler and honestly, much 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:55.040 more interesting from a neuroscience perspective. At the end of 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:58.920 your normal shower, turn the water to cold for sixty 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:02.760 to ninety seconds. That's it. Here's what happens in your 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:06.640 body during those sixty to ninety seconds. Cold water activates 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:10.320 your sympathetic nervous system the fight or flight response, which 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:14.760 triggers a rapid release of neuropinephrine and adrenaline. These are 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:19.680 the same neurotransmitters responsible for alertness, attention, and mood elevation. 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.720 It's essentially a natural stimulant. But the more interesting research 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.440 is about what happens after the cold exposure. A study 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:31.040 looking at cold water immersion found that quartisole levels and 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:35.520 negative mood ratings were both measurably lower three hours after 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:39.280 just fifteen minutes of cold exposure. So the initial shock 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:43.240 wakes you up, but the downstream effect is actually a calmer, 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:47.200 more resilient baseline for the rest of your morning. And 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.960 here's the really compelling finding. Research on people who did 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:54.520 regular cold exposure just two to three times per week 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:58.120 for twelve weeks showed that their quartisole response to the 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:03.439 cold drops significantly. After only four weeks, the body's adapted, 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:09.440 but critically, researchers believe this adaptation generalizes, meaning your body 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:14.559 may also become better at managing cortisol responses to other stresses, 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:19.320 work stress, relational stress, the daily chaos of life. You're 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.520 essentially training your nervous system to be less reactive. There's 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:27.319 also a neurological angle that fascinates me. Your skin has 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:31.679 a significantly higher density of cold receptors than warm receptors, 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:34.560 especially on your face, where you might have ten or 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:38.440 more cold sensing spots per square centimeter for every two 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.600 warm sensing ones. Cold water on your face activates the 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.560 vagus nerve through what's called the dive reflex, which shifts 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:51.600 your nervous system toward the parasympathetic the rest and digest mode. 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:55.720 It's a reset button. Here's the practical step. At the 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.280 end of your regular warm shower, turn the doll to 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.439 cold and stay in for just six to ninety seconds. 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:06.959 Focus on breathing slowly and steadily through the discomfort. If 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:10.360 a cold shower feels too extreme, start with just splashing 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.880 cold water on your face and the back of your 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:17.079 neck for thirty seconds. Even that partial exposure activates the 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.400 vagus nerve and triggers a nora penephrine response build up. 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.680 From there, the goal isn't to suffer. The goal is 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:30.000 controlled brief discomfort that rewires your stress tolerance. Now I've 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.160 been trying all of these out. The voice alarm in 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:37.160 the morning worked incredibly well for me to sunlight. I 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:39.480 haven't been able to do ten to twenty minutes, but 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:41.480 even just doing the one to two minutes. I did 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:43.559 ten to twenty minutes when I first tested this out 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.480 for like thirty days, but my schedule's got busier, so 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:48.480 I'm trying to do one to two minutes at least 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.760 of direct sun exposure. And this one, the sixty to 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:55.199 ninety seconds, is an absolute game changer. These are all free. 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:56.840 You don't have to download an app, you don't have 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:22.160 to learn anything new. Step number four moved for seven minutes, 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.920 not sixty. One of the biggest myths about morning routines 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.520 is that you need a full gym session to get 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:32.880 the neurochemical benefits of exercise. You don't, and the research 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.040 proves it. A study published by the American College of 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:41.079 Sports Medicine validated what's now known as the seven minute workout, 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:46.280 a high intensity circuit of twelve body weight exercises thirty 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:50.680 seconds each with briefressed intervals. The findings showed that this 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:55.360 short burst of activity was sufficient to trigger meaningful cardiovascular 0:13:55.679 --> 0:14:00.320 and metabolic benefits, comparable in several measures to much longer, 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.920 moderate intensity sessions. But here's what I want you to 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:07.720 focus on from a brain perspective. When you move your 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:11.440 body in the morning, you're not just burning calories. You're 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:16.800 doing four things neurologically. One, you're increasing blood flow to 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:21.080 the prefrontal cortex, the seat of decision making, planning, and 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:24.200 impulse control. This is the part of your brain that's 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.920 slowest to come fully online after sleep, and movement accelerates 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:33.920 that process. Two, you're triggering the release of BDNF brain 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:39.360 derived neurotrophic factor, which is essentially fertilizer for your neurons. 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:44.080 BDNF promotes the growth of new neural connections and strengthens 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:48.840 existing ones. It's one of the most important molecules for learning, memory, 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:54.440 and cognitive flexibility. Three, you're flooding your brain with endorphins, serotonin, 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:59.640 and dopamine, the trifecta of mood regulating transmitters. This isn't 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:03.720 just f feeling good. These chemicals directly affect your capacity 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:09.840 for focus, motivation, and emotional regulation for hours afterward. And four. 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:14.400 Physical movement, especially if done outside, creates a state that 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:18.760 neuroscientists call optic flow. When you walk or run and 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:22.680 the visual world streams past you, it activates circuits in 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.440 your brain that reduce activity in the amygdala, your threat 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:30.320 detection center. It's one of the reasons walking feels so calming. 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:34.640 It's not just the exercise, it's the visual processing. Here's 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:38.240 the practical step. Do seven minutes of body weight movement 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:43.320 push ups, squats, lunges, jumping, jacks, anything that elevates your 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.960 heart rate. If you want structure, search for the scientific 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.840 seven minute workout, and it's free and widely available. If 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.400 seven minutes feels like too much, start with three. Do 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:56.960 it in your pajamas. If you want, the barrier to 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.800 entry should be almost zero. You're not training for a marathon. 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.520 You're telling your brain that the day has begun. I 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.720 think for so long, we've just put so much pressure 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.520 on needing an entire workout. And I know what you're thinking, Jay, 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.320 what's seven minutes gonna do. Here's what it's gonna do. 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.240 It's gonna give you the energy and the motivation to 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.160 do fourteen minutes, to do thirty minutes, to try and 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.840 invest more time. I think as humans we get into 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.920 this perfectionist mentality. It's either all I'm either going to 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:25.400 do an amazing workout or nothing at all. And I've 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.440 realized that showing up and doing a simple workout is 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:32.160 what gives us energy to do even more. Step number five, 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:36.280 the brain dumb journal. This is the step that changed 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:39.000 the most for me personally, and it's the one I 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:42.840 think most people underestimate journaling, but not in the way 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:45.960 you probably think. I'm not talking about keeping a diary. 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:48.880 I'm not talking about writing three pages of stream of 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:53.680 consciousness every morning, although that's amazing. I'm talking about a specific, structured, 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:57.480 five to ten minute practice that is decades of peer 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:02.880 reviewed research behind it. Foundational work comes from psychologist James 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:07.560 Penbaker at the University of Texas at Austin. His research 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:12.120 on what he called expressive writing demonstrated that writing about 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:16.439 your thoughts and emotions, particularly stressful ones, for as little 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:20.680 as fifteen to twenty minutes produces measurable improvements in both 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:24.480 mental and physical health. We're talking about reduced blood pressure, 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:29.600 improved liver function, stronger immune response, and fewer doctor visits 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:36.320 from writing. Neuroimaging research from UCLA helps explain why expressive 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:41.080 writing activates the prefrontal cortex, your executive control center, while 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:45.679 simultaneously dampening activity in the amygdala. So the act of 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:51.960 translating chaotic emotional experiences into structured language literally rebalances the 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:56.040 relationship between your thinking brain and your fear brain, and 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:59.840 it gets better. Research has shown that regular journaling practice 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.600 can reduce cortisol levels by up to twenty three percent 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:08.240 in consistent practitioners. A study on people with major depressive 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:13.280 disorder found significant improvements in depression scores after just five 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:17.520 days of expressive writing, and a meta analysis of twenty 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:22.680 randomized control trials confirmed that journaling is an effective adjunct 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:27.800 intervention for anxiety and PTSD. Here's what I also find fascinating. 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:31.840 A study published in the journal Mindfulness found that people 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:35.359 who practiced mindful journaling for just ten minutes each morning 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.480 showed greater self control and were less likely to abandon 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.199 their other habits throughout the day. So journaling doesn't just 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:47.679 help you process emotions, it strengthens the neural infrastructure for 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.199 discipline itself. And I know what you're thinking, Jay, What 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.240 do I write about? Maybe I won't have anything to say, 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:57.160 maybe I'll get lost or stuck. I found that even 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.640 just trying to remember my dreams was an incredible place 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.280 to start. I remember just writing about how I felt 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.840 in the morning, whether I was tired, upset, worried about something, 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:08.600 was just useful. It didn't have to be perfect, it 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:10.399 didn't have to be something that I'd have to hand 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:12.440 in for an exam or And it's weird, isn't it, 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:15.200 How we've all programmed ourselves to think, Like when you're writing, 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:16.879 it's like it's a test, it's an exam. It's going 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:18.639 to be amazing. No one's ever going to read this. 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:23.080 It's for you. Here's the practical step. Every morning, spend 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:25.720 five to ten minutes writing by hand. And yes, by 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:30.639 hand matters because handwriting engages different motor and cognitive circuits 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:35.560 than typing. Answer three simple prompts. One, what am I 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:40.160 genuinely grateful for today? Gratitude journaling has its own body 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:45.200 of evidence for boosting positive effect and counteracting depressive thought patterns. 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.240 Two what's the single most important thing I need to 0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:54.600 accomplish today. This forces prioritization and activates your prefront or 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:58.959 cortex for planning. And three, what's one thought or worry 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.760 I need to get out of my head. This is 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:06.680 the expressive writing piece. You're externalizing intrusive thoughts so they 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:12.280 stop consuming working memory. You're literally freeing up cognitive bandwidth. 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:18.040 Three questions, five minutes the reset says it works. Step six, 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:23.600 delay the scroll. Protect your first hour. This last step 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:26.399 might be the simplest to understand and the hardest to 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:29.800 actually do, and it might also be the most important. 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:33.919 Do not check your phone, no email, no social media, 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:38.040 no news for the first sixty minutes after waking up. 0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:41.359 Here's why this matters so much from a neuroscience perspective. 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:44.000 Remember that I mentioned your brain is in a highly 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:48.080 programmable state in the first hour after waking. The transition 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:52.040 from sleep to full wakefulness involves the shift from theta 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:56.640 and alpha brain waves to beta. During that transition, your 0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:01.760 brain is exceptionally receptive to external input. It's forming the 0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:05.800 emotional and cognitive framework for the entire day. When you 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:09.520 immediately check your phone. You're doing something very specific to 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:14.879 your neurochemistry. Every notification, every email, every social media post 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:21.960 triggers microdoses of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with rewards seeking behavior. 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:26.720 But it's not the satisfied content dopamine of accomplishment. It's 0:21:26.760 --> 0:21:30.959 the restless, craving dopamine of novelty seeking. You're training your 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:35.440 brain in its most impressionable window to be reactive rather 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:39.440 than intentional. Research are shown that checking email and social 0:21:39.480 --> 0:21:43.119 media first thing in the morning increases stress levels and 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:48.119 fragments attention, reducing your ability to enter deep focused work later. 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:52.200 You're essentially letting other people's agendas, their emails, their posts, 0:21:52.240 --> 0:21:56.200 their news cycles set the emotional tone of your day 0:21:56.520 --> 0:21:58.919 before you've had a chance to set your own, and 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:03.480 there's a compounding of effect. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman has talked 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:07.960 extensively about the importance of staying within your own mental 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.280 frame during the first hours of the day. When you 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:14.280 pick up your phone, you're stepping out of your frame 0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:18.240 and into everyone else's. The cognitive cost of switching back 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:22.359 is real. It's called attention residue, and research shows it 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:26.040 can impair your focus for the next task, even after 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:28.640 you've put the phone down. There's also a lesser known 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:32.320 benefit to delaying caffeine, which pairs well with this step. 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.399 If you drink coffee too early, you interfere with that 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:38.960 natural clearance process and you're more likely to crash later. 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:42.920 Delaying your first cut by sixty to ninety minutes means 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:46.119 the caffeine hits when your body actually needs it, and 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:49.520 the effect lasts longer without a harsh drop off. Here's 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:53.040 the practical step. Put your phone in another room before bed, 0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:57.000 or a minimum, keep it faced down with notifications silenced 0:22:57.359 --> 0:23:01.200 until you've completed steps one through five. Use a cheap 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:03.800 alarm clock instead of your phone alarm. If you need 0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:06.840 to ease into this, start by delaying your phone check 0:23:07.040 --> 0:23:10.600 by just ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes, and build 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.920 from there. Replace the scrolling with your sunlight, walk, your movement, 0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.600 your journaling. Fill the space with intention rather than reaction. 0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:23.160 And if you're a coffee drinker, experiment with waiting sixty 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:27.199 to ninety minutes after waking before your first cup. I 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:31.000 promise your afternoon self will thank you. Thank you so 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:32.960 much for listening. I know that you might not be 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:35.080 able to do all six of these steps starting tomorrow. 0:23:35.080 --> 0:23:37.840 I don't want you to choose one that makes a 0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:41.879 difference and add one every week after you feel comfortable 0:23:42.080 --> 0:23:45.119 with the one you've implemented. I hope this transforms your morning. 0:23:45.400 --> 0:23:47.600 I hope it'll let you retake you back your time 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:49.879 and your energy, and I can't wait to see what 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:53.600 you go on to create with this new found resilience. 0:23:54.160 --> 0:23:56.600 Thank you for listening. I'll see you soon. Thank you 0:23:56.720 --> 0:24:00.479 so much for listening to this conversation. If you and it, 0:24:00.560 --> 0:24:04.600 you'll love my chat with Adam Grant on why discomfort 0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:07.960 is the key to growth and the strategies for unlocking 0:24:08.280 --> 0:24:11.040 your hidden potential. If you know you want to be 0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:13.920 more and achieve more this year, go check it out 0:24:14.160 --> 0:24:14.680 right now. 0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:17.560 You set a goal today, you achieve it in six months, 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:20.760 and then by the time it happens, it's almost a relief. 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:23.119 There's no sense of meaning and purpose. You sort of 0:24:23.160 --> 0:24:25.240 expected it, and you would have been disappointed if it 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:25.879 didn't happen.