WEBVTT - Using Nostalgia to Decrease Pain 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:05.880 Welcome to Fitness Disrupted, a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:16.120 I am Tom Holland and this is Fitness Disrupted. All right. 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:20.400 Just got off doing a podcast myself, being a guest 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:23.040 on a podcast. I don't do that that frequently. I 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:30.320 know I should, we should. I just there's it's got 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.239 to be the right one and it doesn't have to 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:38.760 be a super popular I gotta agree with with what 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:41.040 we're gonna talk about. I mean, I know what I'm 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:42.680 going to talk about, but you know, you know what 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.080 I'm saying. And there's only so many hours in the day. 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:49.120 But but let's listen that whole pr promotion thing. I 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:52.800 hopefully I am going to let the show's content speak 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:54.680 for itself and push it that way. But yes, I'm 0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:57.600 going to do other podcasts. Uh. And so I just 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.320 literally just ended it and I'm like, know what, I'm 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:05.120 gonna ride this energy? Uh well, that was an hour. 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:07.360 That's a long time, and I'm going to do this show. 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:15.080 And it's just another fantastic study, another fantastic topic in 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:19.560 the sports psychology realm or just psychology. But you can 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:22.759 absolutely and I will apply it to the sports psychology 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:26.920 realm as well. And it's something that I want almost 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:31.319 every episode to have take away that you can utilize 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:35.040 right away. You can utilize it right away. And so 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:40.840 I'm going to talk about pain and nostalgia and this study, 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.120 and there's been a bunch, but this was a recent 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:49.000 one that added to this body of research into nostalgia. 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:51.280 I'm gonna have trouble saying that. I think I say 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:57.160 that word very frequently. Nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia and pain and 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:01.680 the perception of pain. And this goes to the mind 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:07.600 body connection, obviously, and how powerful that is. And if 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:10.160 you've listened to prior podcast, you know that this was 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.119 a huge part and is a huge part of my studies. 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:17.560 But when I said I'm going back to school for 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:21.400 the master's program, it was had to be exercise science, 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:23.920 but I also wanted to sports psychology. So I found 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:28.160 a program that had both. And so within that program 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:32.720 there was the exercise science exercise physiology courses, and then 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:38.680 there was counseling courses and psychology those three buckets. And 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:45.560 it was amazing because I said, I need to figure 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.680 out this connection. Because I had worked for so many 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:52.160 years in the industry already as a trainer group exercise instructor, 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:55.280 all of these you know, different aspects of the industry, 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:57.800 and I realized, like, yeah, a huge part of this 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.600 is motivation. A huge part of this is behavior, human 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:07.560 behavior and all of the associated issues they're in. And 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:12.640 so this study, this recent study that you know, plays 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:16.919 on the body of work prior, is awesome and it's 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:20.400 a little unique in that they added another element, another 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:24.040 layer to the studies that had come before. And it's 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:30.840 about nostalgia and pain and basically controlling the mind and 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.520 what you can do and how you can do it 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:39.880 in your everyday life in sports performance. And it's what 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.520 I say at the end of every show, we control 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:44.240 three things, how much we move, what we put into 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.400 our mouths, and our attitudes, and our attitudes is just 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.920 our state of mind, our mental state, what we think. 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:54.320 And so awesome new study quick break when we come back, 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:55.840 and to jump right into it, I want to hear 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:58.680 the title of study or is this gonna are people 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:01.240 gonna are you gonna say? I'm not waiting for that. 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:04.160 The study title is is a mouthful as well as 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:11.240 they usually are. Thou a mo cortical, turning down, turning 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.240 it off already, thou a more cortical mechanisms for nostalgia 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:18.920 induced analgesia. I'm going to break this down. Trust me, 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:21.760 Trust me, you want to hear what this is all about. 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:32.720 All right, quick break. I will be right back all right, 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.800 checking the news, reading articles. The other day this popped 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:43.200 up without hesitation, said, this is a show. This is 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:47.600 such a perfect show. It's the mind body connection. It's 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:53.640 all about psychology, you know, I say frequently and wrote 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.760 in many of my books when it comes to performance 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:01.400 sports performance. Let's take anything a marathon. The top athletes 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:08.159 male female are pretty darn close physiologically, pretty darn close. 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:12.320 They've done the training, they have similar attributes VO to 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.720 max and all that kind of stuff. It's who wants 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:22.120 it more? Oversimplification maybe, but not really. Who wants it 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:25.920 more that day? Who's more in control of their perceptions 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:30.279 of pain? Who's more willing to suffer that day? But 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:34.560 then the interesting caveat twist is are they suffering as 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:38.440 much as we think? Where are they managing? That's suffering? 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:43.120 And that's what today's shows about. And I love everything 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:47.320 about this because it does apply to endurance events that 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:50.400 I do. And one of the reasons I do One 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.839 of the many reasons I do them is this is 0:05:53.960 --> 0:06:02.359 learning about coping, about controlling discomfort, about learning how to 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:07.839 do that mentally alright, mental training, mental control. And I've 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:14.160 done podcasts on visualization and self talk. Self talk one 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.400 of my favorite. So there's many different ways I should say, too, 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:22.840 control our thoughts, control our perception of pain. Self talk 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:27.600 is one of them. I've talked about association and dissociation. 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:32.719 Quick refresher for those people who are running and you 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.120 throw your music on and you need your music to 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:38.600 run or whatever exercise, whatever cardio you do, you need 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.880 the music. That's because you want, by and large, to dissociate. 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:43.919 You want to think about anything other than what you 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:46.559 are doing, and quite often that's running for many people, 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:51.400 and for me it's swimming. When they invented or perfected 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:56.440 the waterproof iPod at the time and headphones changed my 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:59.159 life because I wanted to think about anything other than 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:01.520 going back and forth in this pool for an hour. 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:04.840 Just saying it out loud is torture to me, and 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:06.960 I apologize to all you swimmers out there. We can 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:11.800 still be friends, but I need my music if possible, right, Okay, 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:18.200 So that is a huge difference in the approach to performance, 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:24.200 and top athletes can't afford to disassociate or dissociate. Who's 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:27.240 going to add that a in there dissociate the way 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.240 the average person can write, because they need to monitor 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:33.160 their breathing and their foot strike if you're running, and 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:37.640 all the different you know, attributes that add to their performance, 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:41.720 all the mechanisms and biomechanics and physiology and all that 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.240 kind of stuff. All right, but a huge part of 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.920 life is coping, right, and control and stress and anxiety. 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:52.000 You know a few more of my favorite topics because 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:57.200 they're all connected, and you know, association and dissociation, their 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:04.240 attentional strategies broad attentional strategies for or coping, and that 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:14.000 can be external stimuli, right, events, effort performance, sports, performance 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:18.320 of musical performance, you know, a lecture. So there's different 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:21.920 ways to cope, right, and those are within our control. 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.600 Quite often people want to say it isn't right, and 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:30.080 you know, stress is a choice. Stress is not a thing. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:37.840 It's our what it's how we perceive that event. It's 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:42.360 the thoughts in our head. Okay, And so now we 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:46.360 have a new way or you have a new way 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:52.240 to potentially cope in times of discomfort, and that could 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:56.920 be this study was about physical pain, but I would 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:02.319 and will add in mental right, mental discomfort, physical discomfort. 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:08.240 All right? So what is nostalgia? Sounds like something on 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:14.599 a Seinfeld episode, all right. One definition is a sentimental 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.520 longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:23.160 period or place with happy personal associations. For me, because 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:25.760 I'm in my fifties, that's the seventies and the eighties, 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.199 more the eighties when I was in high school. Right, 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:34.400 seventies though, a lot of nostalgic thoughts and memories, I 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:39.640 should say for me, all right. And one great line 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:43.480 in these articles I read about this study talked about 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.360 fuzzy feelings about bygone days. Right, you think of those 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.760 TV shows or music, Oh my gosh. Right, that's another 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:59.280 reason listen to the music. It elicits feelings in our body, crying, happiness, anger, 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:04.520 the depending on what you associate that music too. Right. 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.840 So nostalgia is so many different things, but it reminds 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:12.240 you of bygone days, Happy days, happy days. It's a 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.800 show it was on when I was a kid, and 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:20.040 that brings up nostalgic feelings, all right, So this study 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:26.560 so interesting looking at the perception of pain when people 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:31.280 are shown nostalgic images. Now, as I said in the opening, 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.800 it's not new. Bunch of studies, including one set of 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:39.760 two thousand studies two thousand twenty where people looked they 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:46.040 had writing assignments that were meant to bring up nostalgic feelings. Okay, 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:49.120 and they had one group that were chronic pain sufferers 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:53.560 and another that were healthy individuals who were given physical 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:57.080 discomfort lab generated similar to the one I'm gonna talk 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:03.120 about in this study, and what they found us uh well, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.800 let me not let me similar findings to what I'm 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:08.640 gonna tell you. But it's not new. These studies are 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.079 not new, different ways to do it. But what they 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.400 say is with this new study, they are still looking 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:17.160 at how it affects the brain. Right, so they know 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:19.880 the perception of what people are saying, the perception of 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:24.679 pain when they are experiencing it different ways, But what's 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:29.120 the brain doing And that's what this study looked at specifically. Okay. 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.920 So in this study, they not only induced pain physical 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.440 pain not really bad. I'll tell you how they did it, 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.960 but they put an m r I headset on the 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:43.480 participants as well, so they're gonna ask them the perceptions 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:49.320 of pain as they experience nostalgic images that I will specify. 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.280 And then they also looked at what's what's lighting up 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.839 in the brain, what's going on? All right? So that 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:56.800 great title again, let me see if I can say 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.640 it thalamo cortical. There we go, make is ms for 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:05.959 nostalgia induced analgesia. Okay, what's going on in the brain 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:10.040 for feeling better when you look at things that make 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:14.439 you feel good. Ridiculous oversimplification of it, okay. And this 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:19.400 was a bunch of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Okay, 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:23.160 they recruited thirty four people between eighteen and twenty five. 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:25.360 That's going to be one of the limitations I will 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:30.160 get to. But eighteen years old with no particular sensitivity 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:34.480 to pain. So in some of those prior studies I mentioned, 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.319 they had people with chronic pain. Nothing here right there, 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:40.240 going to induce the pain themselves, the which is which 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.240 is obviously pun intended a touchy subject when it comes 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.959 to research, all right. And they had m ri I 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:50.800 headsets put on to monitor their brain activity. So this 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:55.439 is interesting how did they induce pain in these participants 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.000 where they use something called CHIPS right, which is an 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:03.079 acronym for contact heat evoked potential stimulator. And this is 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:06.079 a device with the metal surface that you put on 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:08.920 the skin. And for these participants, they had them on 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:13.880 the forearm and the researchers can gradually make this metal 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:17.679 plate hotter, increasing feelings of pain, but as they say, 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:21.400 and not so much as to seriously harm the participant. 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.160 This is a great example two of why certain types 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.480 of research is problematic. Right, you can't hurt people, you know, 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:30.600 you can't do harm to people, So that actually goes 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:34.000 to the findings. This was moderate discomfort, which is also 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:36.400 one of the limitations. Will look at right, Okay, so 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:41.439 thirty four people eighty five no particular sensitivity to pain, 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:46.200 had this CHECKS device on their forearm and the researchers 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:48.880 are going to make it hotter. But what are they 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.320 going to do at the same time, were they're gonna 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.440 be shown one of two sets of images right on 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:56.760 a projector they're going to show them images. The first 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:00.520 set are gonna be photos that bring up nostalgic feelings 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:05.120 things from their childhood, like toys, chewing gum package they used, 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:08.080 or a cartoon. I don't know about you, but, like 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:12.920 you know, sometimes when cartoons from uh my childhood come up, 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:16.199 just brings back crazy feelings, right, especially when you haven't 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.560 seen them in a long time. You know, I have kids, 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:22.440 they're out of the cartoon age, but every now and again, right, 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:26.760 and yeah, you know what I'm talking about, that feeling, 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:31.160 it's powerful, It's super powerful. So those are the first 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.360 set of photos and then the second set, same exact 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:38.640 or categories. Right, they're gonna do toys, chewing gum packages 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:43.240 or cartoons, but they were from present day. Such a 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:46.840 cool study, right, simple but like you get it. You know, 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:48.680 a lot of studies we talked about here they could 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:52.120 be really complex. This one's pretty darned straightforward, and I 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:55.160 would argue with you know, just some great concepts going on. 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:59.680 That's what they find. What did they find? Well, let 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.360 me say this though. As they were showing them the images, 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:06.920 the heat that they were being exposed to increased gradually, 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:10.120 so the researchers would gradually turn up the heat and 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:13.560 then they would be asked to rate their feelings of 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:15.440 pain on a scale of one to ten. I'm sorry, 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:17.960 zero to ten, so zero being nothing tend being like 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.600 ridiculously bad. What were the findings When we come back 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:23.160 from the break, I'm going to give it to you 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:27.120 and then the takeaway which you probably guess it, and 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.800 that's exciting, right, Okay, quick break. When we come back 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:42.800 the results from this study, we'll be right back all right, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:47.680 talking about how nostalgia can decrease your perception of pain. 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.400 Bunch of research into this already, but I didn't give 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:55.800 you where. This article is study Journal of Neuroscience, and 0:15:55.840 --> 0:16:01.200 this was March of onet, so just came out really exciting. 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.320 And so again this research had been done before, but 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:06.680 this was one that truly started to look at the 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.680 brain activity right to see what was going on and 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:12.920 what did they find. So the group that looked at 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.920 the nostalgic images, in addition to having different brain activity, 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.080 which I'm gonna give you in a second, rated their 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.440 pain levels as what we're than the ones when they 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:25.520 were shown photos of the present day, same amount of heat, 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:31.120 the same amount of moderate low to moderate discomfort, but 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.480 they perceived it as being less. And some of you 0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:40.840 may be going big deal it is. It is one 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:44.120 thing I keep saying about this podcast is bringing you 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:50.760 all the different concepts and then all the different empirical 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:56.600 studies and articles and research that corroborate slowly over time. 0:16:56.640 --> 0:17:01.480 The associations. Sure, but when we have so many in 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.760 so many different ways, start to go, do I have control? 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.959 Do I have control over what I think? And do 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.919 those thoughts in my head make a difference self talk, 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:20.600 visualization association versus dissociation. I love this. I love the 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:29.680 control that we have according to this research. Okay, uh so, yeah, 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:31.800 and then and I'm just gonna read this to you 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:34.000 because it's interesting, and for those of you who want 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:36.280 to know more, go to the go to the study itself, 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.359 the research. Um. But what was unique about this study 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:41.280 was the m r I headsets right, that they're looking 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:43.119 at what's lighting up, what's going on in the brain 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:46.879 when they're looking at the nostalgic images, what's going on 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:48.639 in the brain when they're not when they're looking at 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:53.479 the images from the present day. So when they viewed 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:57.720 the nostalgic images, there was reduced activity in the left 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:04.200 lingual gyrus and para hippocampal gyrus to brain regions implicated 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:09.359 in pain perception, okay, and activity in the thalamus, a 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:12.840 brain region involved in laying information between the body and 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.960 the cortex reading directly from it here was linked to 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:19.720 both nostalgia and pain ratings. That's what they're saying is 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:24.000 the thalamusts may integrate nostalgia information and transmit it to 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:28.600 pain pathways. All you need to know, all we need 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.159 to know at this level is that different things happened 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:35.200 in the brain. They saw it. They saw different things 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:38.480 happen when people controlled their thoughts, when they felt good, 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:42.399 when they thought about and saw So you gotta go. 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:48.959 It's visual here, happy images, happy thoughts. And the takeaway 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.840 at the end of this summary is that these findings 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:57.919 offer implications and perspectives for the further development and improvement 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:04.160 of non drug psychological analgesia. In other words, let's try 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.720 to control what we think first before we medicate. Let's 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:13.159 do and control as much as we can naturally. And 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:19.720 this again is low to moderate, but just really cool findings. 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:24.960 And another way of putting this is viewing nostalgic images 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.240 of items and scenes associated with childhood can help to 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:35.080 reduce pain perception. Okay, I'm going to use this as 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:41.960 I do and have before. Even more this is even 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:48.440 more proof that we have this whole arsenal of mental tools. Right, 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:51.200 So if i'm you know it, got an iron man 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:53.639 coming up in Brazil, getting ready to go across the 0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:55.520 Grand Canyon and back, two things that are gonna take 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:59.120 a long time, going to be in moderate too, depending 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:00.880 on where and when. Then the race of what's going 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:04.400 on discomfort, and so I use all of those tools 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:08.840 that I talk to you about, the self talk, the visualization. 0:20:09.560 --> 0:20:13.400 So since I can't bring a projector with me and 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:18.679 watch images projected onto a screen, I can combine what 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:25.440 visualization and then this concept of nostalgia, so in my 0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:30.600 mind I will think about happy thoughts from my childhood 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:37.360 to help decrease my perception of pain discomfort. We're already 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.880 doing this, and anyone who has competed has done anything 0:20:40.920 --> 0:20:45.360 like this at any level. You have a lot of time, right. 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:48.720 The the joke I used to give at pre race 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:50.440 lectures is, you know, you start the race, you go 0:20:50.520 --> 0:20:52.680 this greatest thing I ever did. Ten minutes later you're like, 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:54.320 why am I doing this? This is the worst thing. 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:56.399 Why why do I? And then that goes on for 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:59.560 the rest of the race. However many hours you're doing it. 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:04.640 So we need to control those thoughts and so this 0:21:04.720 --> 0:21:12.800 is more exciting, should be more exciting news. You know, 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:17.439 I talked about all the different workouts and ways to 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:21.760 work out that you should add to your exercise arsenal. Right, 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:27.240 body weight workouts, micro workouts, you know, jim workouts, cardio workouts. 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:30.280 I want as many options as possible. And now to 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:34.360 learn how you can do the same thing right with 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:40.600 your psychology Arsenal, of tools to control your thoughts, your emotions. 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:47.000 You're perceived perception of pain and this is physical pain, right, 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:52.399 this is this is listen thirty four people right, and 0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:54.840 they always and these studies by saying more research needs 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:59.160 to be done. Of course, what's the downside? That's? Does 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:01.480 it always love to go to rite? So many people 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:04.159 take supplements where you're spending a ridiculous amount of money. 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:07.000 There's little to no research at all, usually none at 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:09.040 all into them, and the downside is you're wasting your 0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:13.720 time and your money. Well, we're all gonna be in 0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:18.200 times of discomfort and pain, whether it's chosen activities where 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:23.159 it's gonna happen or just everyday life. What's the downside 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:26.400 to going You know what? When I'm stressed out and 0:22:26.480 --> 0:22:30.040 I don't know. Pick some activity of daily living where 0:22:30.040 --> 0:22:31.440 you have to do something for a couple of hours 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:34.040 where you know, maybe you don't want to be doing it, 0:22:34.119 --> 0:22:37.960 and you're in if nothing else mental, but maybe a 0:22:37.960 --> 0:22:44.360 little physical discomfort. Now you can start thinking about who 0:22:44.359 --> 0:22:47.679 watched chips back in the day. I just hurd the 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:51.679 theme to that, whatever your happy thoughts are, you go 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:58.000 to your happy place. Top athletes are doing this all 0:22:58.040 --> 0:23:02.280 the time. Back to what I said at the beginning, 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:07.359 basically the same physiologically, who's in better control of the 0:23:07.400 --> 0:23:10.840 psychological and what tools are they using at what point 0:23:11.359 --> 0:23:18.440 in their performance to maximize their performance? And this can 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:23.159 be pre event, this can be during the event so 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:26.760 often and should be both. Let me read you the 0:23:26.840 --> 0:23:32.960 significant statement significance statement which is significant from this UH research. 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:38.200 Nostalgia is known to reduce individuals perception of physical pain. 0:23:38.680 --> 0:23:42.919 The underlying brain mechanisms, however, are unclear. Our study found 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:46.240 that the thalamus plays a key role as a functional 0:23:46.400 --> 0:23:52.359 linkage between nostalgia and pain, suggesting a possible analgesic modulatory 0:23:53.000 --> 0:23:57.680 mechanism of nostalgia. These findings have implications for the underlying 0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:03.760 brain mechanisms of psychological analgesia use the power of your mind. 0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:07.080 I get excited every time I bring you more research 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:13.640 into control. I get excited because it benefits me even more. 0:24:13.880 --> 0:24:16.199 I mean, I've been doing this in different ways, but 0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:22.840 it gives me different ideas for competition and for enjoyment, 0:24:23.119 --> 0:24:25.560 to control what happens in my daily life as well 0:24:25.600 --> 0:24:29.760 as those competitions and just activities. When I run across 0:24:29.760 --> 0:24:32.080 the Grand Canyon again and back, it's not a competition, 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:39.879 that's just chosen insanity with a friend, and it's challenging 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.560 and like one of the most amazing things I've ever done. 0:24:44.840 --> 0:24:49.040 Surprised I'm going back. But because when you learn how 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:58.480 to manage the discomfort, the chosen discomfort, the payoffs are enormous. 0:25:01.400 --> 0:25:06.840 We control our thoughts. Stress is a choice. I've learned 0:25:06.880 --> 0:25:09.720 not to say that to stress out people right away. 0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:14.560 You want to wait till a happier time. It's our perception. 0:25:16.800 --> 0:25:20.679 Do I have the tools necessary to get through this? 0:25:20.800 --> 0:25:23.679 Have I experienced it before? If so, was I successful? 0:25:23.720 --> 0:25:28.600 If not? Do I have the tools necessary? And the 0:25:28.680 --> 0:25:34.240 more challenges you take, the more obstacles you overcome, the 0:25:34.359 --> 0:25:40.959 less scary it all becomes when you don't and you 0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:48.359 you give up that control, that perceived control, everything is 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:55.000 much scarier. Everything is a much bigger hurdle. So there 0:25:55.000 --> 0:25:58.639 you have it. I love it. Can I read you 0:25:58.720 --> 0:26:00.399 the title one more time? What's see if I can 0:26:00.440 --> 0:26:04.240 do it without getting tongue tied fallow? More Cortical Mechanisms 0:26:04.280 --> 0:26:10.240 for nostalgia induced analges a Journal of Neuroscience March. People, 0:26:10.400 --> 0:26:16.680 you have another tool in your mental toolbox. You're welcome 0:26:17.560 --> 0:26:22.119 fuzzy feelings about by gone days that now research shows 0:26:22.440 --> 0:26:25.720 it shows up on an m R. I that's exciting, 0:26:26.160 --> 0:26:29.720 at least for me. All right, enough, thank you for listening. 0:26:29.840 --> 0:26:33.080 Tom h Fit, Instagram and Twitter. I love hearing from 0:26:33.119 --> 0:26:36.160 you guys, and you're you're reaching out much more. Questions 0:26:36.160 --> 0:26:39.359 and comments, keep them coming. I will answer them and 0:26:39.400 --> 0:26:42.360 shows I will answer them directly. UM and I love 0:26:42.359 --> 0:26:44.680 your success stories. Oh my gosh, so thank you. Thank 0:26:44.680 --> 0:26:47.399 you for reaching out. Follow the show, Rate the show, 0:26:48.080 --> 0:26:50.280 rate this show? Have you rated the show? I haven't 0:26:50.280 --> 0:26:53.040 looked into that in a while. Please do greatly appreciated. 0:26:53.040 --> 0:26:55.440 The newest book is The micro Workout Plan, and if 0:26:55.480 --> 0:26:58.560 you have read that, I always appreciate Amazon reviews. Huge 0:26:59.040 --> 0:27:03.359 to authors, but thank you, super excited to continue to 0:27:03.480 --> 0:27:06.119 bring you the best information so you can live your 0:27:06.119 --> 0:27:10.440 best life. And now you can use this today when 0:27:10.440 --> 0:27:14.920 you're stressed out, Start thinking about that barbied all you had, 0:27:15.040 --> 0:27:18.760 or your that I have Big Jim, who is the 0:27:18.800 --> 0:27:21.479 guy's equivalent Back in the day we had everything. Oh 0:27:21.560 --> 0:27:24.680 my gosh, just thinking about it makes me nostalgic right 0:27:24.680 --> 0:27:29.320 thinking back to those times. But that's good news. Control 0:27:29.320 --> 0:27:32.119 what you can, let the other stuff go, and we 0:27:32.200 --> 0:27:35.800 control on which we love, what we put into our mouths, 0:27:35.840 --> 0:27:43.720 and are mental tape recorders what we think, and that's awesome. 0:27:44.680 --> 0:27:48.240 I am Tom Holland. This is Fitness Disrupted, Believe in Yourself. 0:27:52.440 --> 0:27:55.800 Fitness Disrupted is a production of I Heart Radio. For 0:27:55.880 --> 0:27:58.720 more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 0:27:58.760 --> 0:28:02.159 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:03.040 favorite shows.