Podcast appearances and mentions of carolyn leaf

In this episode Andrea Samadi explores how movement and sleep work together in a "brain operating system" for human performance, focusing on restorative sleep (deep + REM), personal WHOOP data, and the trade-offs created by early-morning exercise. She shares four lessons and a simple experiment to help listeners protect REM and deep sleep while maintaining an active life, emphasizing weekly rhythms, small changes, and tracking patterns rather than chasing perfect numbers. SEASON 16 | BONUS EPISODE 4 RESTORATIVE SLEEP Where Adaptation Happens Why deep sleep restores the body, REM helps integrate experience, and healthy habits must work together. ON BONUS EPISODE 4, YOU'LL LEARN: ✔ What restorative sleep really measures ✔ How deep sleep and REM support different forms of recovery ✔ Why REM percentage and duration tell different stories ✔ What my six-month sleep data revealed ✔ The hidden tradeoff behind my 4:00 AM hiking routine ✔ What happened when I slept just 21 minutes longer ✔ Why healthy habits can sometimes compete ✔ How to protect sleep without giving up movement ✔ 4 Lessons and a simple experiment for discovering your own best rhythm Episode Introduction Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we bridge neuroscience, social and emotional learning, and human performance to create measurable improvements in well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity and results. I'm Andrea Samadi, and throughout Season 16 we have been building what I call the Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—a neuroscience-based framework for understanding how the systems of the brain and body work together to influence how we learn, adapt, connect, lead and ultimately perform. We are currently in Phase 3: Movement, Learning and Cognition. Movement is the foundation of this phase because it affects far more than our muscles. When we move, we activate processes throughout the brain and body. Movement supports neurogenesis—the development of new neurons—particularly in areas involved in learning and memory. It strengthens connections between neurons through synaptic plasticity. We covered neurogenesis on EP 141[i] if you want to revisit that episode, if you are as curious as I am about how to regrow our brain cells. Movement that we are learning in this phase, also influences brain chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which affect motivation, mood, attention and learning. Movement can also strengthen our resilience by helping us manage stress and become more emotionally flexible. It builds sleep pressure, (the longer we stay awake, the more adenosine accumulates that increases our need or “pressure” to rest) which can support deeper, more restorative sleep. And over time, these changes may contribute to greater creativity, insight, endurance and human potential. But movement only creates the stimulus. The benefits don't come from movement alone. They come from the way the brain and body respond to that movement—and that response is called adaptation. Movement changes the brain. Adaptation changes the body. Recovery is what connects the effort we make today with the strength, resilience and capacity we hope to build tomorrow. Without adequate recovery, we can receive the stimulus without fully receiving the benefit. That is why sleep belongs inside the Movement Loop. Sleep is not separate from movement, learning or performance. It is one of the primary places where the brain and body respond to what we have asked them to do. Throughout Season 16, I've been sharing some of my own health and performance data as a living case study—not because everyone should try to reproduce my numbers, but because our individual trends can help us understand how neuroscience shows up in everyday life. I thought that if I was curious about understanding my numbers—and using them to improve my health, well-being and productivity—then other people might benefit from what I've learned along the way. My data has helped me see that movement, recovery and performance cannot be understood in isolation. They work together as a system: Movement creates the stimulus. Recovery creates the conditions for adaptation. Restorative sleep is one of the places where that adaptation unfolds. And this brings us to one of the most important recovery metrics I've learned to follow: Restorative sleep. We often celebrate what happens while we're awake: Our productivity. Our focus. Our learning. Our movement. Our performance. But much of the adaptation supporting those abilities happens while we sleep. Deep sleep supports physical restoration. REM sleep supports emotional processing, memory integration and cognitive flexibility. Together, these stages help convert the demands of one day into greater capacity for the next. This episode began with one honest question about my own routine: THE QUESTION: What am I gaining by waking at 4:00 AM to hike—and what might I be giving up by not sleeping longer? This is not simply an episode about sleeping more. It is about creating a rhythm in which two essential health behaviors—sleep and exercise—support one another instead of competing for the same limited hours. You will see my data exactly as it is. Sleep is one of the weaker links in my current health routine, which makes it a useful place to learn. The goal is not to judge the data. The goal is to let the data ask a better question. Lesson 1: Restorative Sleep Contains Two Stories WHOOP (the wearable device that I use to measure sleep) defines restorative sleep as the combined time spent in deep sleep, also called slow-wave sleep, and REM sleep. Combining the two creates a useful overview, but separating them reveals two different parts of the story. Deep Sleep or Slow-Wave Sleep: Physical Restoration Deep sleep is concentrated more heavily in the earlier part of the night and supports processes associated with physical restoration. It is relevant after hiking, Zone 2 exercise, strength training and other demanding activity because sleep is part of how the body responds to the strain we create. During deep sleep: Tissue repair is supported. Growth hormone release increases. Immune function is supported. Energy is restored. The body adapts to physical strain. REM Sleep: Integration REM stands for rapid eye movement sleep and is known as the “mentally restorative” stage of sleep. This is where most dreams occur, and short-term memories are converted into long-term memories. During REM, the brain is highly active while most voluntary muscles remain temporarily inhibited. I'll never forget the part of our interview with Dr. Jaland Balal[ii], when he explained that this feature is what keeps us safe from moving around too much while we are sleeping, keeping our sleeping partners safe. REM has been associated with: Emotional processing Memory integration Aspects of learning Cognitive flexibility Creative associations Connecting new information with previous experiences Memory is supported across several sleep stages—not by REM alone. REM helps the brain process, connect and integrate. REM periods also tend to become longer as the night progresses. That means shortening the end of the sleep window may disproportionately reduce the opportunity for the longer, more REM-rich cycles that occur toward morning. Deep sleep helps restore the body. REM helps integrate the brain. We need both. That second sentence is personally meaningful because I have logged my dreams for years. A dream is not a diagnosis or a literal solution, and dreams can occur outside REM. But a dream log gives me a qualitative record of recurring emotions, images, relationships, problems and emerging ideas that my mind may still be processing. Since I enjoy learning, interviewing, writing, teaching and connecting ideas across neuroscience and social-emotional learning, REM matters for more than dream recall (which by itself is fascinating and something we will look deeper at in Phase 5 with Integration and Meaning). Lesson 2: My Data Revealed a Duration Gap When I looked at my WHOOP trends, the total restorative-sleep number was only the beginning.   Metric My average   Six-month restorative sleep 2 hr 43 min   Lifetime REM 1 hr 37 min   Last 90 days REM 1 hr 18 min   Last 30 days REM 1 hr 20 min   Recent REM percentage About 20% When I looked at six months of WHOOP data, my average restorative sleep was: 2 hours and 43 minutes per night. That number gave me the total time spent in deep sleep and REM—but it did not tell me how those two stages were distributed. When I separated them, another story emerged. My lifetime REM average was approximately: 1 hour and 37 minutes per night. But over my more recent periods, that changed: Last 90 days: approximately 1 hour and 18 minutes Last 30 days: approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes Recent REM percentage: approximately 20% of my total sleep Twenty percent is within a commonly reported adult range. But compared with my own lifetime average, my recent REM duration was approximately 17–19 minutes lower per night. That distinction matters. My REM percentage may appear healthy while my total REM duration is still lower than my personal historical average. So my real question became: Not “Is my REM normal?” but “What conditions help my brain produce more of its own normal REM?” This is the value of tracking. THE DATA LESSON: A population range provides context. Your baseline provides the story. Your trend gives you a question to test.           Lesson 3: The 4:00 AM Tradeoff I love hiking early. It gives me cardiovascular conditioning, time outside, morning light, mental clarity and consistency. In Arizona, it also helps me finish before extreme heat heats around 8am. But if I go to bed at 8:30 PM and wake at 4:00 AM, I create a maximum sleep opportunity of seven and a half hours. That is time in bed—not necessarily time asleep. It does not include the time required to fall asleep or periods of wakefulness during the night. If I remain in bed until 6:00 AM, I create two additional hours of sleep opportunity. Those two hours would not equal two hours of REM. They would contain a mixture of sleep stages and perhaps brief wakefulness. But because REM episodes generally lengthen later in the night, the added opportunity may protect some of the more REM-rich portion of sleep. If you want to understand sleep cycles, I highly recommend taking Dr. Mathew Walker's Masterclass[iii] The Science of Better Sleep. What the Early 4am Wake Gives Me Early movement and consistency Cardiovascular conditioning Time outdoors and morning light The mental and emotional benefits of hiking What Might it Cost Me Up to two hours of total sleep opportunity (lost) Part of one or more later sleep cycles (lost) Greater opportunity for REM and dream recall (important to me) Time for memory and emotional processing across sleep (important to me) The accurate interpretation is not that I lose two hours of REM. It is that I may give up two hours of sleep opportunity containing some of the night's more REM-rich cycles. That led to my central realization: healthy behaviors (like my early wake to hike) can compete when their timing is not coordinated. MY AHA MOMENT: Am I creating better sleep through movement—or repeatedly borrowing from the final part of sleep to make that movement happen? My wearable cannot prove that early wake times caused the change. Consumer wearables estimate sleep stages; they do not measure them with clinical polysomnography. But the pattern gives me a reasonable hypothesis to test. That is what self-tracking should do: not make us anxious about a number, but help us ask a better question. A Real-Time Clue: What 21 More Minutes Revealed While preparing this episode, my data gave me a real-time example of the tradeoff. On Thursday, August 27, I woke at 4:21 AM instead of 4:00 AM. That night I recorded three hours and two minutes of restorative sleep—the highest total of the week. It included one hour and seven minutes of deep sleep and one hour and 55 minutes of REM. That REM duration was approximately 35 minutes above my recent 30-day average. My graph in the show notes showed a substantial REM period close to the end of the sleep window. Twenty-one additional minutes cannot explain a 35-minute difference, and one night cannot establish cause. Sleep varies from night to night. But the observation supports the hypothesis that a 4:00 AM alarm may sometimes interrupt a REM period already underway. I also remembered my dream and added it to my dream log. That gave me another kind of data: not just how long I slept, but what my mind may have been processing, integrating or connecting. One night is a clue—not proof. Watch the trend. The lesson is not that 4:21 AM is a magical wake time. The lesson is that the final portion of sleep may be more valuable than its length makes it appear. A small extension may sometimes allow the brain to finish a cycle that an earlier alarm (or your natural body's alarm) would interrupt. Lesson 4: Build a Rhythm, Not a Perfect Day The remedy I've concluded is not to stop hiking, (I would be miserable) and it is not to maximize sleep or exercise in isolation (I wouldn't feel productive sleeping in longer). The solution is to create a weekly rhythm in which movement provides the stimulus and sleep protects the opportunity for adaptation. For me, that rhythm can include two kinds of days: 1. Early-Hike Days (twice a week) When a 4:00 AM wake time is necessary, (and possible). I can treat bedtime as part of the training plan. If family responsibilities the night before make a very early bedtime unrealistic, I can recognize that constraint and adapt. But it is important that I get to bed by 8:30pm if I want to wake up 4am.   2. Sleep-Protected Mornings On selected non-hiking days, I can remain asleep until approximately 5:00 or 6:00 AM and move later.  These mornings create more opportunity for later sleep cycles and give me a comparison condition for my experiment. What happens if I stay in bed longer? The goal is not a perfect day. The goal is a sustainable week. The Movement Loop is not: Move → Move More → Keep Pushing. It is: Movement → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity. For you, the listener, are you giving yourself enough time to recover? To Adapt? To Increase Performance? That leads to greater capacity? Or, did you notice, like me, that there was a trade off with your schedule? Tips to Implement: Run Your Own Restorative-Sleep Experiment You do not need my wake time, my REM number or a WHOOP device to learn from your own pattern. Use this five-step experiment for two to four weeks. Establish your baseline. Record your usual bedtime, wake time, estimated sleep duration, morning energy and—if available—deep and REM sleep for at least seven nights. The Whoop device rewards users who go to bed, and wake at the same time, calling it sleep consistency. Choose one change. Add 20–60 minutes of sleep opportunity on selected mornings, or move bedtime earlier before early-training days. Avoid changing every variable at once. Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman[iv] suggests that if you can find a way to add heat to your sleeping environment in the final 2 hours of your sleep, it can increase your REM sleep. Sleeping just 21 more minutes for me made a notable difference. Protect movement differently. On sleep-protected mornings, move later, shorten the session or choose a lower-intensity option instead of skipping movement entirely. This was the game changer for me.  I opted for a walk on sleep protected days. Track a small set of outcomes. Use total sleep, restorative sleep or dream recall if available, morning clarity, afternoon energy and exercise quality. Optional wearable metrics include recovery, HRV and resting heart rate. This is where you have to notice what you see from this ONE change. It might be obvious like mine—I noticed that extra time led to a dream that I could recall. Review the pattern—not the best night. Compare at least one or two weeks of early mornings with sleep-protected mornings. Look for a repeatable combination that supports both recovery and movement. The patterns will reveal whether the ONE thing you changed made a difference for you. If you do use a wearable, remember that sleep stages are estimates. Use the device to compare patterns under similar conditions, not to diagnose a sleep disorder or chase a perfect stage score. KEY QUESTION: Can I preserve the benefits of movement without repeatedly borrowing the time my brain and body need for recovery? A Bigger Experiment Is Still Underway I have also removed one significant sleep disruptor and am tracking what happens to my REM, sleep stress, HRV, resting heart rate and recovery. I do not want to draw conclusions too early. I want enough data to distinguish a temporary response from a genuine physiological shift, so I will return to that experiment in a future episode. For now, the question is narrower: how can I protect restorative sleep while continuing to live an active life? Review  To review and conclude this week's BONUS EP 4, let's bring the four lessons—and the data—together. Lesson 1: Restorative Sleep Contains Two Stories Restorative sleep combines two important stages: Deep sleep and REM sleep. Deep sleep supports physical restoration and adaptation. REM supports emotional processing, memory integration, cognitive flexibility and creative association. We need both. Every morning, I look at my restorative-sleep total and hope it is closer to three hours than two. But this episode taught me not to stop at that combined number. The total gives me the overview. Deep sleep and REM tell me how that restoration was distributed. And REM is personally meaningful to me for another reason: I have recorded my dreams for years. Dream recall does not provide a literal interpretation of everything happening in my life. But it gives me a qualitative record of the emotions, experiences, problems and ideas my mind may still be processing. So Lesson 1 is: Restorative sleep is not one number. It contains the story of how the body restores—and how the brain integrates. Lesson 2: My Data Revealed a Duration Gap Over the past six months, my average restorative sleep has been two hours and 43 minutes. My recent REM has represented approximately 20% of my total sleep—a percentage that may appear reasonable. But when I looked at duration rather than percentage, I discovered that my recent REM was approximately 17–19 minutes below my lifetime average. REM percentage and REM duration answer different questions. Percentage tells me how my sleep was distributed. Duration tells me how much actual time my brain spent in that stage. That distinction matters because someone can have a reasonable REM percentage but still receive less total REM when the overall sleep window is shortened. So Lesson 2 is: A percentage can look healthy while duration still reveals a gap. This is why personal baselines are so valuable. Our trends help us identify the question we need to investigate. Lesson 3: The 4:00 AM Wake Time Creates a Tradeoff My data led me to examine my 4:00 AM wake time. Waking at 4:00 does not mean I am losing two hours of REM. It means I may be giving up two hours of total sleep opportunity—time that could contain approximately one to one-and-a-half later, more REM-rich sleep cycles. Then, while I was preparing this episode, I received an early clue. When I slept just 21 minutes longer—waking at 4:21 instead of 4:00—my restorative sleep reached three hours and two minutes. That included one hour and seven minutes of deep sleep and one hour and 55 minutes of REM—approximately 35 minutes more REM than my recent 30-day average. I also remembered my dream and added it to my dream log. Twenty-one additional minutes cannot explain the entire 35-minute difference, and one night does not prove causation. But the graph showed a substantial REM period close to the end of my sleep window. That gave me a clue worth investigating: My 4:00 AM wake time may sometimes interrupt a REM period that is already underway. So Lesson 3 is: The final portion of sleep may be more valuable than its length makes it appear. This does not mean that 4:21 is a magical wake time. It means that a small extension may sometimes allow the brain to finish a cycle that an earlier wake time would interrupt. Dr. Huberman, and Dr. Holmes offered tips to stay in bed longer, to capture REM rich sleep time. Lesson 4: Build a Rhythm, Not a Perfect Day My early-morning hikes provide cardiovascular conditioning, time outside, morning light, mental clarity and emotional regulation. They support my health. They also make me happy. The remedy is not to stop exercising and become miserable. The remedy is to protect sleep as well as I realistically can and arrange movement around a more complete sleep window. That might mean saving selected mornings for longer sleep. It might mean moving later on non-hiking days. It might mean moving bedtime earlier when possible. And it might mean shortening a workout when sleep has been limited. The goal is not to maximize sleep or exercise in isolation. It is to create a sustainable weekly rhythm in which both can happen. So Lesson 4 is: The best routine is not the one that produces a perfect number. It is the one that allows the whole system to work. Now let me ask you: Do you know how much restorative sleep you receive? Do you look beyond the total and examine both deep sleep and REM? Are you tracking percentages—or actual duration? Does your schedule give you enough sleep opportunity? And could one healthy behavior in your life be unintentionally competing with another? My restorative-sleep average gave me the overview. My REM duration revealed the tension. My 4:00 AM wake time created the hypothesis. My additional 21 minutes gave me an early clue. My next step is to test a better rhythm. That is what measurement is supposed to do. Not judge us. Not pressure us to produce a perfect number. Guide us toward a better decision. I hope this deeper look at restorative sleep encourages you to identify one small experiment of your own—not to chase a perfect number, but to discover the rhythm that helps you learn, adapt and perform at your best.   We'll see you next time as we return to Dr. John Medina's work—not to repeat what we have already learned about attention, but to answer the next question in the Movement Loop: once movement activates the brain, how does attention determine what becomes learning? From there, we'll revisit Jason Wittrock's work through a new lens: how metabolic health, nutrition and energy availability help the brain and body sustain movement, recovery and performance. Resources and Episode Pathway Phase 1: Regulation & Safety The Foundation Core Question: Is the nervous system safe enough to learn? Everything begins with regulation. Before we can focus, learn, lead, or perform, the brain first asks one fundamental question: Am I safe? Throughout Phase 1, our guests showed us that regulation isn't simply about reducing stress—it's about creating the biological conditions that allow the brain to learn, adapt, and thrive. Together we explored: Baland Jalal – how sleep, curiosity, imagination, and creativity prepare the brain for learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/   Dr. Bruce Perry – why regulation, rhythm, and relationships form the foundation of every healthy nervous system.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/safety-first-why-a-regulated-brain-is-the-key-to-learning/   Dr. Sui Wong – how lifestyle medicine and autonomic balance build lifelong brain resilience. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/your-eyes-the-brain-s-early-warning-system/   Rohan Dixit – how heart rate variability gives us real-time feedback on our ability to regulate stress. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/breathe-to-reset-how-hrv-tech-reveals-hidden-stress/   Dr. Kristen Holmes – how recovery metrics reveal our physiological readiness to perform. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/   Dr. Antonio Zadra – how sleep and dreaming consolidate memories, regulate emotions, and generate insight. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/when-brains-dream-how-sleep-integrates-emotion-insight-and-creativity/ Together these conversations taught us that sleep and stress regulation aren't optional—they're the operating system that allows every higher brain function to work. Phase 2: Motivation & Neurochemistry The Direction Core Question: What moves us into action? Once the brain feels safe, it becomes ready to pursue goals. In Phase 2, we explored the internal chemistry that transforms intention into action. Our experts helped us understand that sustainable motivation isn't about willpower—it's about aligning our beliefs, thoughts, attention, energy, and movement. Together we discovered: Bob Proctor — our beliefs determine the direction of our lives. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/belief-first-the-neuroscience-of-motivation/   Dr. Carolyn Leaf — our thinking literally changes our brain chemistry. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/thoughts-as-biology-how-your-mind-shapes-neurochemistry/   Dr. John Medina — attention determines what the brain encodes and remembers. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/theory-of-mind-the-missing-link-between-attention-reward-and-motivation   Dr. Anna Lembke- Dopamine, Motivation and Why the Brain Repeats Behavior https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dopamine-nation-the-pleasure%e2%80%93pain-balance-that-drives-motivation/   Dr. Friederike Fabritius — managing our energy allows high performance to become sustainable. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/fun-fear-focus-closing-the-motivation-loop/   Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — movement activates the brain, preparing it to learn. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-to-learn-how-movement-activates-the-brain-and-fuels-motivation/   By the end of Phase 2, we introduced what became The Motivation Loop, showing how beliefs influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, actions create results, and results reinforce future beliefs. Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Human Performance The Transformation Core Question: How does movement change the brain—and how does recovery transform that change into performance? Now we're taking the next step. Phase 3 builds on everything we've learned so far. If Phase 1 created a regulated nervous system... If Phase 2 created motivation and direction... Phase 3 explains how the brain and body actually become stronger. Together we've explored this process through conversations with: Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — why movement activates the brain before learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/   Dr. John Ratey — how exercise builds a healthier, younger brain. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-matters-how-every-move-rewires-the-brain/   Dr. Kristen Holmes — why recovery determines adaptation and readiness. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-isnt-enough-how-recovery-drives-real-adaptation   Dr. John Medina — how attention transforms movement into lasting learning. Jason Whitrock — how metabolism and cellular energy fuel long-term performance. WHERE WE ARE GOING NEXT Phase 4 — Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence The Human System Core Question: How do we thrive with other people? The brain didn't evolve in isolation—it evolved through relationships. In Phase 4, we'll explore emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, trust, leadership, and psychological safety to understand how our relationships shape learning, well-being, and performance. Phase 5 — Integration & Human Performance The Complete System Core Question: How do all the systems work together? In our final phase, we'll bring everything together—regulation, motivation, movement, emotion, relationships, learning, and recovery—into one integrated framework. We'll discover how these systems work together to create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. Selected Sleep References “What Is Restorative Sleep?” https://www.whoop.com/us/en/thelocker/what-is-restorative-sleep/ Patel AK, Reddy V, Shumway KR, Araujo JF. “Physiology, Sleep Stages.” StatPearls/NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/ Goldstein AN, Walker MP. “The Role of Sleep in Emotional Brain Function.” Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4286245/ Paller KA, Creery JD, Schechtman E. “Memory and Sleep: How Sleep Cognition Can Change the Waking Mind for the Better.” Annual Review of Psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7983127/   REFERENCES:   [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 141 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-neurogenesis-what-hurts-or-helps-your-brain-cells/   [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 384 Review of our Interview with Dr. Baland Jalal  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/   [iii] www.masterclass.com Mathew Walker The Science of a Better Sleep   [iv] https://www.instagram.com/p/DbO7dKLO-c8/?hl=en Dr. Andrew Huberman on ways to increase REM sleep.  

In this episode Andrea Samadi explores Phase 3 of the Brain's Operating System—movement, learning, and cognition—focusing on the recovery and adaptation side of the "movement loop." She revisits Dr. Kristen Holmes' insights on measuring strain, sleep, and recovery to show how movement provides the stimulus while recovery enables lasting adaptation and greater capacity. The episode offers practical steps: identify your stimulus, track recovery, find your weakest link, and use feedback to train smarter—not just harder—so measurement becomes a tool for meaningful change. IN EPISODE 405, WE WILL COVER: ✔ Why recovery is not the absence of work—it is where adaptation occurs → How recovery allows the brain and body to absorb stress and build greater capacity. ✔ Where Dr. Kristen Holmes fits into the Movement Loop → Movement creates the stimulus; recovery determines how effectively we adapt. ✔ Why measuring your data matters → What gets measured can be adjusted, repeated, and improved. ✔ How to identify your personal recovery patterns → Using sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, strain, stress, and daily behaviors to uncover what helps—or limits—your performance. ✔ Why your recovery formula is uniquely yours → The habits that improve one person's readiness may not produce the same results for someone else. ✔ How recovery helps create more predictable performance → When you understand your patterns, you can make better daily decisions instead of leaving your results to chance. ✔ How repeated behaviors become adaptation → Measure → Adjust → Repeat → Recover → Adapt → Build Capacity. ✔ Where the larger journey is taking us → A preview of The Journey of the Mind Workbook and its five-step process: Understand → Reflect → Apply → Measure → Become ✔ What comes next in the Movement Loop → A Bonus Episode applying recovery science to real-world data, followed by Dr. John Medina on how an activated brain turns experience into attention, learning, and lasting change. EP 405 — From Recovery to Adaptation: Revisiting Dr. Kristen Holmes in Phase 3 WELCOME BACK Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we bridge neuroscience, social and emotional learning, and human performance so we can create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. I'm Andrea Samadi, and if you've been following along through Season 16, you'll know that we've been building what I call The Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—a neuroscience-based framework designed to help us understand how the different systems of the brain and body work together to influence how we learn, adapt, connect, lead, and perform. Our roadmap has five phases: Phase 1 — Regulation & Safety Where we built the foundation by asking: Is the nervous system regulated enough to learn and grow? Phase 2 — Neurochemistry & Motivation Where we explored the systems that drive us to act, persist, and pursue meaningful goals. And now, we are here—Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Cognition. This is where movement becomes the catalyst for learning, adaptation, and performance. The central idea of Phase 3 is that the brain does not change through information alone. It changes through experience. Through movement. Through challenge. Through recovery. And through the repeated process of adapting to what we ask our brain and body to do. I called the framework we are building in this phase: The Movement Loop: Movement (the stimulus) → Brain Activation (the brain responds) → Attention (the brain becomes engaged and ready to learn) → Learning (new information and experience begin changing neural pathways) → Recovery (the brain consolidates and restores) → Adaptation (the brain and body adjust to the repeated challenge) → Performance (the adaptation shows up in what we can do) → Greater Capacity (we become capable of more) Movement is the stimulus. Brain activation is the response. Attention opens the door to learning. Learning creates change. Recovery helps that change stick. Adaptation builds the system. Performance reveals the result. Greater capacity is what we gain. And then we repeat the cycle. In our last episode, EP 404, we revisited the groundbreaking work of Dr. John Ratey, who helped us understand the front end of this loop. Dr. Ratey showed us that: Movement changes the brain. Exercise activates the brain. It supports attention. It prepares us for learning. And it creates the biological conditions that allow the brain to change. But that leaves us with an important question. What happens after we create the stimulus? Because movement alone isn't enough. Training alone isn't enough. And more strain does not automatically equal more improvement. At some point, the brain and body have to recover from what we've asked them to do And that's where today's episode begins with the back end of the movement loop. WHERE THIS JOURNEY IS GOING Before we move into today's episode, I want to zoom out for a moment and share where I believe this entire journey is taking us. Because as we've been building The Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—making sense of the interviews we've gathered over the past seven years and organizing them into five phases we can all understand and apply—I realized we are doing something much bigger than simply reviewing past episodes. I had to stop for a moment and look at what we've built so far. And that's when something became clear: We are mapping a journey. We aren't finished yet—we are only in Phase 3—but as we continue into Phases 4 and 5, I think you'll begin to see the bigger picture. This is about more than learning how the brain works or connecting social and emotional learning skills to our daily lives. It's about asking: What will we actually do with everything we've learned once we've traveled through all five phases? That's what led me to what I'm calling The Journey of the Mind. We could just as easily call it The Journey of the Brain because we now understand how deeply connected the mind and brain are.[i] But for me, Journey of the Mind has a much older meaning. That phrase takes me all the way back to the late 1990s, when I had the opportunity to watch an unpublished video program with that title, created by my mentor, Bob Proctor. I had no idea where that experience would lead me. But it planted a seed. It encouraged me to stop looking outside of myself for every answer... and to begin looking inward. To become curious about my thoughts. My beliefs. My habits. My potential. And ultimately, the relationship between what happens inside of us and the results we create outside of us. That idea influenced my early writing and eventually became part of the path that led me here. And now, all these years later, I can see that the podcast has evolved into its own Journey of the Mind. Only now, we have neuroscience to help us understand what is happening along the way. We have hundreds of experts. Years of research. Stories. Experiments. Data. And our own lived experience. The five phases give us a way to bring all of that together. We began with Regulation and Safety, because before we can grow, the nervous system needs a stable foundation. Then we moved into Neurochemistry and Motivation, where we explored what drives our behavior. Now, in Phase 3, we are looking at Movement, Learning and Cognition—how experience changes the brain and how recovery and adaptation help us build greater capacity. Next, we'll move into Connection, Emotion and Social Intelligence, because none of us develops in isolation. And finally, we'll reach Integration, Meaning and Human Performance, where these systems begin to come together. And when we reach the end of Phase 5, I want to bring the entire journey into something practical. THE JOURNEY OF THE MIND WORKBOOK I'm currently developing a companion workbook for these five phases. The Journey of the Mind Workbook will help us take what we've learned and apply it to our own lives through a simple process: Understand. Reflect. Apply. Measure. Become. Understand the science. Reflect on our own patterns. Apply what we are learning. Measure what changes. And then ask the bigger question: Who are we becoming? Because the goal isn't simply to know more about neuroscience. It's to use what we know. To identify our gaps. Recognize what is working. Build a clearer understanding of how we learn, recover, connect, perform, and grow. And become more intentional about the future we are creating. The workbook is still taking shape, but it's coming. And my hope is that when we reach the end of these five phases, we won't just have more information. We'll have a map. A clearer understanding of our brain. A deeper understanding of ourselves. A way to measure our growth. And a framework for becoming who we are capable of being. Now, let's return to where we are today... Phase 3: Movement, Learning and Cognition. Before we go further, I want to give you a quick roadmap for today's episode. We're going to explore Kristen Holmes' work through 15 short parts, each one helping us move step-by-step through the recovery and adaptation side of the Movement Loop. (The left side of the loop). We'll begin by clarifying the difference between readiness and adaptation. Then we'll look at the stimulus–recovery–adaptation cycle, revisit Kristen's original idea that what gets measured gets improved, and connect that to what I've learned from tracking my own data over the past five years. From there, we'll explore the difference between training harder and training smarter, why movement is information, why the goal is not maximum strain, and how these same principles apply to learning and performance far beyond exercise. We'll also return to one of my favorite ideas from Kristen's original interview: Your competitive advantage is often built in your downtime. And finally, we'll bring everything back to the Movement Loop and ask the question that really matters: Is what I'm doing building more strain—or building greater capacity? So think of these 10 parts as a guided walk through the second half of the loop... from recovery... to adaptation... to performance... and ultimately to greater capacity. PART 1 — WHY ARE WE RETURNING TO DR. KRISTEN HOLMES? When we first interviewed Dr. Kristen Holmes in 2021 for EP 134[ii], she was Vice President of Performance Science at WHOOP. At the time, I had recently turned 50. I purchased WHOOP because I wanted to improve what I knew was my weakest link: sleep. And in that original conversation, Dr. Holmes introduced ideas that I've now carried with me for more than five years. One of them was this: “What gets measured gets improved.” Another was the idea that what we do in our downtime may actually give us our greatest competitive advantage. At the time, I understood this at one level. Sleep matters. Recovery matters. Strain matters. Your habits outside of the workout matter. But after five years of looking at my own data, I understand her message differently. And I think this is one of the most important things about revisiting experts over time. We hear something at one stage of our development... and then years later, we hear the same idea again with an entirely different level of understanding. We revisited this same 2021 interview earlier in this season during Phase 1: Regulation & Safety on EP 390.[iii] So why are we covering this topic again? Because I realized that Dr. Holmes' work sits at a critical intersection inside our Brain's Operating System. In Phase 1, her work helped us understand regulation and readiness. Her message was: Can your system handle what you are asking it to do today? But in Phase 3, the question changes. Now we're asking: Is what I'm doing today actually helping my system adapt? That's very different. In Phase 1, recovery helped us understand whether the system was ready. In Phase 3, recovery helps us understand whether the system is changing. And that's why we're returning to Dr. Kristen Holmes. Not to repeat what we learned. But to take it one level deeper. Just a note here: while I've been using WHOOP to measure my movement, sleep, strain, and recovery, WHOOP is only one tool. There are many other ways to track these patterns—from other wearable devices and apps to simple measures like sleep duration, resting heart rate, exercise intensity, energy levels, and how recovered you feel. The important point isn't the device you use. It's learning to pay attention to your own patterns and using that feedback to make better decisions. PART 2 — READINESS VS. ADAPTATION Now let's return to the Movement Loop we opened this episode with: Movement → Brain Activation → Attention → Learning → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity In our last episode, Dr. John Ratey helped us understand the front end of this loop—how movement activates the brain, supports attention, and creates the conditions for learning. Today, Dr. Kristen Holmes helps us move into the recovery and adaptation side of the loop—what happens after we create the stimulus. This is where we ask a different kind of question. In Phase 1, we looked at Kristen's work through the lens of readiness: What is my capacity today? How much strain can I tolerate? How well did I sleep? What does my HRV tell me? How recovered am I? Do I have the capacity to push? Or would backing off today serve me better? That was the Phase 1 question: Am I ready? But now, in Phase 3, we move one step further around the loop. Now we are asking: Am I adapting? Is the movement I'm doing helping me become stronger? More resilient? More efficient? Better able to recover? More capable than I was before? That is the shift from readiness to adaptation. And this is where Dr. Kristen Holmes' work becomes essential to Phase 3. Because movement may provide the stimulus... but recovery is what gives the brain and body the opportunity to respond to that stimulus, adapt, and ultimately build greater capacity. Or would backing off today serve me better? That was our Phase 1 lens. And it was foundational. Because if the nervous system is depleted, overstressed, or under-recovered, everything downstream is affected. But Phase 3 takes us another step forward. Now we are not only asking: Am I ready? We are asking: Am I adapting? ADAPTATION asks: What is changing because of what I repeatedly do? Am I becoming stronger? More resilient? More efficient? Better able to tolerate stress? Better able to recover? More capable than I was before? And this is where I think recovery is frequently misunderstood. Recovery isn't simply what happens when we stop working. Recovery is not the opposite of performance. Recovery is part of the process that creates future performance. That distinction changes everything. Because the goal is not simply to recover enough to get through today. The goal is to recover in a way that allows the brain and body to become better prepared for tomorrow. So I want to give you one sentence to keep in mind throughout this entire episode: Movement provides the stimulus. Recovery allows the adaptation. That's where Kristen Holmes' work enters Phase 3. Dr. Ratey helped us understand why movement activates the brain and creates the stimulus for change. Dr. Holmes helps us to understand what has to happen afterward if that stimulus is going to become something useful. Something the body can integrate. Something the brain can learn from. Something that eventually becomes greater capacity. PART 3 — THE STIMULUS–RECOVERY–ADAPTATION CYCLE Think about exercise for a moment. When you challenge your body, you create stress. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some level of challenge is exactly what we need. It's called hormesis, right? The challenge is the signal. It tells the system: Something is being asked of me. But the signal alone isn't what we are looking for. What matters is what your body does afterward. You place a demand on the system. Then the body needs time and resources to respond to that demand. We can think of it very simply: STIMULUS → RECOVERY → ADAPTATION → GREATER CAPACITY The stimulus is the challenge. Recovery is the response period. Adaptation is the change. And greater capacity is the result. The purpose of training isn't simply to create more strain. (Which is what I did for years). The purpose is to create a strain that your system can successfully recover from and adapt to. And that idea changed the way I began looking at my own movement. For years, I thought: Harder must be better. Longer must be better. More must be better. If I could hike for three hours, that had to be better than walking for one. If I could push harder, I assumed I would get better results. If I felt exhausted after a workout, I often assumed that meant I had accomplished more. But the data started showing me something different. Sometimes more strain simply created... more strain. And if I wasn't sleeping enough...(because I was repeating the same thing without enough rest) if I wasn't recovering... if I was stacking high strain on top of stress... then I wasn't necessarily building greater capacity. I could actually be interrupting the very adaptation I was trying to create. This is why one of the most important questions in Phase 3 becomes: How much challenge can my system absorb, recover from, and adapt to? Not: How much can I force myself to do? And this takes us directly back to the lesson Kristen Holmes gave us five years ago. Because if we want to know whether the stimulus we're creating is actually working... we need feedback. We need to see the patterns. We need to understand the relationship between what we do and how our system responds. Which brings us to Part 4: PART 4 — WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS IMPROVED In our Phase 1 episode with Dr. Holmes, I shared something that has become very important to me over the past five years. Once you begin measuring your sleep, your recovery, your strain, and your habits... you stop guessing. And when you stop guessing, patterns begin to emerge. For me, some of those patterns took years to understand. I began seeing that: Too much strain + not enough sleep = poor recovery. Over and over again. I knew intuitively that I was pushing too hard. But knowing something and changing behavior are two very different things. The data eventually forced me to look at the pattern honestly. There were times when I was training hard... waking early... cutting sleep short... and then wondering why my recovery didn't improve. I was giving my system a stimulus. But I wasn't giving it enough opportunity to adapt. That distinction matters. Because the goal is not simply: How much can I do? The better question is: How much can I do, recover from, and adapt to? That is a completely different way of approaching human performance. PART 5 — MY UNDERSTANDING OF RECOVERY HAS CHANGED When I first bought WHOOP in 2021, my weakest link was sleep. I knew I needed to improve it. And I did. Not perfectly. But significantly. What I find interesting now is that as one weakness improves, another one becomes easier to see. That's the value of measurement. Your weakest link can change. In 2021, mine was sleep. Today, I can see other areas much more clearly. Strength training is one. Balancing different kinds of movement is another. And this is where I began looking beyond total exercise time. Instead, I started asking: How much time am I spending in lower intensity movement? How much time am I spending at higher intensity? What happens to my recovery when I increase strain? How much sleep do I need after harder training? How quickly do I recover? What habits seem to help me recover faster? What habits tank my recovery? That's a completely different mindset than: Did I work hard today? PART 6 — TRAIN HARDER VS. TRAIN SMARTER One of the biggest lessons I pulled from Kristen Holmes' work was the difference between training harder and training smarter. In our Phase 1 review, I shared one example that really challenged my assumptions. I went on a walk along the canal near my house. Nothing extreme. I was walking my dogs and wearing a weighted vest. And during this much more moderate activity, I was able to reach Zones 4 and 5 for short periods. That surprised me, because those higher-intensity zones could sometimes be difficult for me to reach even during much longer hikes. I noticed the same thing when I started comparing different trails here in Arizona. When I first moved to AZ, Camelback Mountain—especially the Echo Canyon Trail—was my go-to hike. I used to hike it after work and again on the weekends. It was short, steep, and intense—about a 2.5-mile round trip on Echo Canyon, with the Cholla side a bit longer. So when I later moved to another part of the Valley and started hiking Telegraph Pass at South Mountain, I initially thought: This isn't going to give me the same workout. Telegraph Pass felt less intense. It didn't have that same steep, all-out challenge I was used to on Camelback. But once I started measuring my hikes, or learning new trails that were longer, I saw something I didn't expect. The longer, lower-intensity hikes were sometimes producing more overall strain than the shorter, harder hikes. That honestly shocked me. Because I had always assumed that if something felt harder, it must be giving me better results. But the data showed me that wasn't always true. A longer period of sustained effort—even at a lower intensity—could place a greater total load on my system than a shorter burst of very difficult exercise. And that taught me something important: How hard something feels in the moment is not always the same thing as the total load it places on your body. That was one of the moments when measurement changed the way I thought about exercise. I stopped asking only: How hard did that feel? And started asking: How did my body actually respond? And this is where data becomes useful. Not because the number knows everything. But because the number can reveal something we might otherwise miss. It can become feedback. And feedback helps us learn. PART 7 — MOVEMENT IS INFORMATION Movement is not just calories burned. I hardly ever think about calories anymore. There was a time when I could tell you almost exactly how much effort it took to burn off certain foods. But I think about movement very differently today. Movement is not punishment for what we ate. Movement is not simply exercise. Movement is information. Every time we move, we send signals to the brain and body about the demands being placed on the system. How much strength do I need? How much endurance? How much balance, coordination, speed, or cardiovascular capacity? And when we repeatedly expose ourselves to manageable challenge, the system begins to learn from those signals. It responds. It adjusts. And, with adequate recovery, it adapts. So movement isn't just something we do to burn energy. Movement is one of the ways we teach the brain and body what we want them to become capable of doing.   PART 8 — THE GOAL IS NOT MAXIMUM STRAIN This brings me to what may be the biggest takeaway from today's episode. The goal is not maximum strain. The goal is the right amount of strain for your current capacity. Because too little challenge may not create enough stimulus. But too much challenge without adequate recovery can work against the very adaptation we're trying to create. And this is where Kristen Holmes' message about strain and recovery becomes so powerful. In Phase 1, we used recovery to ask: Should I push today? In Phase 3, we can use recovery to ask: Is my current training producing the adaptation I want? That is a much bigger question. And it applies far beyond exercise. PART 9 — THE SAME PRINCIPLE APPLIES TO LEARNING Think about learning. We don't learn best by forcing information into the brain endlessly without rest. We need exposure. Attention. Practice. Then space. Sleep. Recovery. Integration. And then we return to the material again. Spaced Repetition. The brain changes through repeated cycles of challenge and recovery. So while we're talking today about Kristen Holmes, recovery, movement, and strain... the same architecture appears in learning. It appears in work. It appears in leadership. It appears in stress management. It appears almost anywhere humans are trying to grow. Challenge alone doesn't guarantee growth. Challenge + recovery + repetition creates the conditions for adaptation. PART 10 — YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS STILL BUILT IN YOUR DOWNTIME One of my favorite ideas from my original conversation with Kristen was something we revisited in Phase 1. Listen to Dr. Holmes' CLIP here. She talked about the importance of what we do in our downtime. That what happens outside of the performance itself may give us our competitive advantage. Five years later, I think I finally understand how deep that idea goes. Your workout may last an hour. Your hike may last two hours. Your presentation may last 45 minutes. Your game may last an afternoon. But adaptation is happening across the rest of the day. What are you doing with the other hours? Are you sleeping? Hydrating? Fueling? Managing stress? Allowing the nervous system to come back down? Giving the body what it needs to repair? That downtime isn't empty time. It's part of the training. PART 11 — RECOVERY IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS This is another mindset shift that helped me. I used to think of recovery as: Doing nothing. Resting. Taking a day off. But recovery can actually be very intentional. For me, over the past several years, that has included things like: prioritizing sleep hydration meditation breathing spending time outside lower-intensity movement infrared sauna red light therapy And again, the point isn't that everyone should copy my routine. The important question is: What actually helps your system recover? That takes us back to one of the central ideas of our recent Bonus Episodes. PART 12 — FIND YOUR GAP In Bonus Episode 2[iv], we introduced the idea of finding your gap. Instead of copying someone else's recipe for high performance, identify the variable that is currently limiting you. Maybe your gap is sleep. Maybe it's hydration. Maybe it's high stress. Maybe it's too much intensity. Maybe it's not enough movement. Maybe it's inconsistent recovery habits. Maybe it's strength. The point is that your gap is personal. And it can change. This is one of the most useful things measurement can give us. It can show us: Where is the breakdown in my loop? Let's return to the Movement Loop. Movement → Brain Activation → Attention → Learning → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity Where is your gap? Are you not moving enough? Are you moving but not recovering? Are you recovering but not challenging yourself enough to create adaptation? Are you pushing constantly without allowing your system to consolidate the gains? If you can locate your gap, you know where to begin. PART 13 — THE MOVEMENT LOOP THROUGH DR. KRISTEN HOLMES Let's walk through the entire loop now through the lens of Dr. Ratey and Dr. Holmes' work. MOVEMENT We create a stimulus. We challenge the brain and body. BRAIN ACTIVATION Movement changes our physiological and neurological state. This is where Dr. Ratey's work helps us understand why movement prepares the brain. ATTENTION An activated brain is better positioned to engage. LEARNING The brain receives information and experience. But learning isn't finished simply because we experienced something. RECOVERY Now the system needs space. This is where Kristen Holmes enters the loop. How well did we sleep? How much stress are we carrying? What was our total strain? How prepared is the system to absorb what we've done? ADAPTATION This is where the system changes. Over time, repeated cycles of challenge and recovery create new capacity. PERFORMANCE We begin to see the result. We move differently. Think differently. Learn more efficiently. Handle greater demands. Recover faster. GREATER CAPACITY And this is what makes the loop a loop. Because now tomorrow's starting point may be different from yesterday's. The system has adapted. So we can begin again. The WHOOP wearable device may have started with elite athletes, but optimizing performance isn't only for elite athletes. Any of us can measure our patterns, learn from the feedback, and use that information to build greater capacity. PART 14 — THIS CHANGES HOW I THINK ABOUT PERFORMANCE For most of my life, I thought performance was primarily about effort. Work harder. Try harder. Push harder. And effort still matters. But effort without adaptation can become a dead end. What I'm learning through this phase is that performance is much more dynamic. You need the stimulus. You need the challenge. You need the work. But you also need recovery. Because recovery is what allows the system to absorb the work. And that leads me to an important sentence I want us to remember: The goal isn't to prove how much stress you can tolerate. The goal is to become capable of more over time. That's adaptation. PART 15 — FIVE YEARS LATER, DR. HOLMES'  MESSAGE MEANS SOMETHING DIFFERENT When we first interviewed Kristen Holmes in 2021, the idea that what gets measured gets improved resonated with me immediately. That idea is partly why I bought a wearable device in the first place. I wanted data. I wanted answers. I wanted to improve sleep. But five years later, I think the lesson is bigger than measurement. Measurement itself isn't the goal. The goal is feedback. And feedback only becomes useful when we do something with it. Measure. Write it down somewhere. Observe what's happening month to month and year to year. Adjust. Recover. Adapt. Repeat. Measurement closes the learning/performance loop. That's why Dr. Holmes' work was worth revisiting here in Phase 3. Not simply because she studies recovery. But because measurement gives us information about whether the behaviors we repeat are actually creating the changes we want. PRACTICAL APPLICATION — HOW TO USE THIS THIS WEEK So let's make this practical. You do not need WHOOP. You do not need a wearable. You don't need complicated equipment. You simply need to start paying attention. Identify your current stimulus. What are you asking your body and brain to adapt to right now? Maybe it's: exercise strength training a new learning goal a demanding work schedule stress adapting to intensive heat in your new sauna Know what you're asking the system to do. Identify your recovery. Ask: How am I sleeping? How am I managing stress? Am I giving myself enough downtime? How do I feel the day after harder efforts? What patterns do I notice? Watch the relationship between effort and recovery. Does more effort always give you better results? Or is there a point where more becomes counterproductive? Find your gap. What is your weakest link right now? Don't try to fix everything. Start there. Look for evidence of adaptation. Ask yourself: Am I becoming more capable? Can I handle something today that used to be difficult? Am I recovering faster? Am I stronger? More focused? More resilient? If the answer is yes, your loop is working. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION To review and conclude this week's episode 405,  let's bring this episode together. We brought Dr. Kristen Holmes back into our roadmap intentionally. In Phase 1: Regulation and Safety, Dr. Holmes helped us understand recovery as readiness. Sleep. HRV. Strain. Stress. Recovery. The question was: Is the system prepared for today? Today, in Phase 3: Movement, Learning and Cognition, we've looked at those same ideas through a different lens. Now the question is: Is the system adapting for tomorrow? That's the progression. Dr. John Ratey helped us understand that movement provides the brain with a powerful stimulus. Kristen Holmes helps us understand that the story doesn't end with the stimulus. We need recovery. Because: Movement provides the stimulus. Recovery allows the adaptation. Adaptation improves performance. Performance builds greater capacity. And then the loop begins again. ONE QUESTION TO TAKE WITH YOU Before you move on with your day, I want you to ask yourself one question: Am I creating more strain…or am I creating more capacity? They are not the same thing. You can push harder without improving. You can work longer without adapting. You can accumulate strain without building capacity. The goal is not simply to do more. The goal is to create a system where you can become more. FINAL TAKEAWAY And this brings us right back to Kristen Holmes's message from 2021: What gets measured gets improved. But today, I would add something to it: What gets measured can be adjusted. What gets adjusted can be repeated (in this new way) And what gets repeated—paired with the right amount of recovery—can become adaptation. That is how capacity grows. And that is where Kristen Holmes fits into Phase 3—not simply as an expert on recovery, but as a critical part of the science of change. And this idea—turning what we measure into meaningful change—is also shaping the larger vision for this podcast. At the start of this episode, we mentioned I'm developing a companion workbook called Journey of the Mind—a practical guide designed to help us move beyond simply listening to these ideas and begin applying them in our own lives. The workbook will guide us through five steps to apply what we have covered on this podcast. Understand. Reflect. Apply. Measure. Become More. With each episode we've covered. And this workbook began with an unexpected spark of inspiration. So, I want to offer one quiet acknowledgment: To the person who quietly helped illuminate this path for me—thank you. Sometimes, the people who influence the direction of our lives may never fully realize what their presence helped awaken. My vision from that the spark of inspiration I received will travel through this work and reach you listening—inspiring you to move forward on your own path and create a life that is more intentional, meaningful, and fulfilling than the one you knew before. Because inspiration doesn't end with the person who first awakens it. It moves through us. And when we act on it, one spark can grow into something that serves many others—far beyond what either person could have created individually. We'll explore the transformative power of human connection more deeply in Phase 4. Then, in Phase 5, we'll examine how connection, meaning, and contribution can become something that continues growing beyond us. But until then, we'll continue building this journey—one insight, one application, and one measurable change at a time. COMING NEXT Before we move on to Dr. John Medina and the next part of the Movement Loop, we'll cover our next Bonus Episode and show you what adaptation can actually look like in real life. In Bonus EP 3, I'm going to take you inside one of the clearest changes I've seen in my own data over the past several years: my resting heart rate. We'll look at where it started, how it changed, what may have contributed to that change, and why resting heart rate can become a useful window into how the body is adapting over time. Because this is really what Phase 3 is about. Not simply moving more. Not simply collecting data. But asking: Is what I'm doing actually changing my capacity? Then, for EP 406 we'll return to the research of Dr. John Medina and explore the next critical link in the Movement Loop: Attention. Because movement can activate the brain—but activation alone doesn't guarantee learning. The brain must first notice what matters. It must direct its attention. Hold that attention long enough to encode new information. And return to that information if it is going to become something we can remember and use. Dr. Ratey helped us understand how movement prepares the brain. Dr. Kristen Holmes helped us understand how recovery allows the brain and body to adapt. And Dr. Medina will help us understand what happens between those two points: How does an activated brain turn experience into learning? Because movement may open the door— but attention determines what enters and stays behind that door. And we'll reinforce one of the central ideas of this journey: What we repeatedly do shapes who we become. The question is: Are those repeated actions expanding our capacity and moving us toward our highest level of performance—or quietly holding us back? That's where we'll turn next as we continue building the Movement Loop. I'll see you next time. EP 405 — KEY TAKEAWAYS ✔ Why Kristen Holmes belongs in both Phase 1 and Phase 3 ✔ The difference between recovery for readiness and recovery for adaptation ✔ Why movement alone does not create improvement ✔ The relationship between stimulus → recovery → adaptation → greater capacity ✔ Why the goal is not maximum strain, but the right dose of strain ✔ How recovery completes the Movement Loop ✔ Why your weakest link can change as you improve ✔ How measurement provides feedback for better decisions ✔ Why downtime is part of the performance process ✔ The difference between accumulating strain and building capacity THE MOVEMENT LOOP Movement → Brain Activation → Attention → Learning → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity → Repeat Remember: Movement provides the stimulus. Recovery allows the adaptation. The goal isn't maximum strain. The goal is greater capacity. RESOURCES: Watch the full interview from 2021 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOgivjYhhW8 CLIP 1 Dr. Kristen Holmes https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Lg7FiWJKZc4 Phase 1: Regulation & Safety The Foundation Core Question: Is the nervous system safe enough to learn? Everything begins with regulation. Before we can focus, learn, lead, or perform, the brain first asks one fundamental question: Am I safe? Throughout Phase 1, our guests showed us that regulation isn't simply about reducing stress—it's about creating the biological conditions that allow the brain to learn, adapt, and thrive. Together we explored: Baland Jalal – how sleep, curiosity, imagination, and creativity prepare the brain for learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/ Dr. Bruce Perry – why regulation, rhythm, and relationships form the foundation of every healthy nervous system.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/safety-first-why-a-regulated-brain-is-the-key-to-learning/ Dr. Sui Wong – how lifestyle medicine and autonomic balance build lifelong brain resilience. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/your-eyes-the-brain-s-early-warning-system/ Rohan Dixit – how heart rate variability gives us real-time feedback on our ability to regulate stress. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/breathe-to-reset-how-hrv-tech-reveals-hidden-stress/ Dr. Kristen Holmes – how recovery metrics reveal our physiological readiness to perform. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ Dr. Antonio Zadra – how sleep and dreaming consolidate memories, regulate emotions, and generate insight. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/when-brains-dream-how-sleep-integrates-emotion-insight-and-creativity/ Together these conversations taught us that sleep and stress regulation aren't optional—they're the operating system that allows every higher brain function to work. Phase 2: Motivation & Neurochemistry The Direction Core Question: What moves us into action? Once the brain feels safe, it becomes ready to pursue goals. In Phase 2, we explored the internal chemistry that transforms intention into action. Our experts helped us understand that sustainable motivation isn't about willpower—it's about aligning our beliefs, thoughts, attention, energy, and movement. Together we discovered: Bob Proctor — our beliefs determine the direction of our lives. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/belief-first-the-neuroscience-of-motivation/ Dr. Carolyn Leaf — our thinking literally changes our brain chemistry. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/thoughts-as-biology-how-your-mind-shapes-neurochemistry/ Dr. John Medina — attention determines what the brain encodes and remembers. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/theory-of-mind-the-missing-link-between-attention-reward-and-motivation Dr. Anna Lembke- Dopamine, Motivation and Why the Brain Repeats Behavior https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dopamine-nation-the-pleasure%e2%80%93pain-balance-that-drives-motivation/ Dr. Friederike Fabritius — managing our energy allows high performance to become sustainable. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/fun-fear-focus-closing-the-motivation-loop/ Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — movement activates the brain, preparing it to learn. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-to-learn-how-movement-activates-the-brain-and-fuels-motivation/ By the end of Phase 2, we introduced what became The Motivation Loop, showing how beliefs influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, actions create results, and results reinforce future beliefs. Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Human Performance The Transformation Core Question: How does movement change the brain—and how does recovery transform that change into performance? Now we're taking the next step. Phase 3 builds on everything we've learned so far. If Phase 1 created a regulated nervous system... If Phase 2 created motivation and direction... Phase 3 explains how the brain and body actually become stronger. Together we've explored this process through conversations with: Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — why movement activates the brain before learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/ Dr. John Ratey — how exercise builds a healthier, younger brain. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-matters-how-every-move-rewires-the-brain/ Dr. Kristen Holmes — why recovery determines adaptation and readiness. Dr. John Medina — how attention transforms movement into lasting learning. Jason Whitrock — how metabolism and cellular energy fuel long-term performance. WHERE WE ARE GOING NEXT Phase 4 — Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence The Human System Core Question: How do we thrive with other people? The brain didn't evolve in isolation—it evolved through relationships. In Phase 4, we'll explore emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, trust, leadership, and psychological safety to understand how our relationships shape learning, well-being, and performance. Phase 5 — Integration & Human Performance The Complete System Core Question: How do all the systems work together? In our final phase, we'll bring everything together—regulation, motivation, movement, emotion, relationships, learning, and recovery—into one integrated framework. We'll discover how these systems work together to create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. REFERENCES: [i] A Neurologist Looks at Mind and Brain, published October 1, 2003, by Phirose Hansotia.   [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 134 with Dr. Kristen Holmes “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery and Strain.”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/   [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 390 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-gets-measured-gets-improved-sleep-recovery-peak-performance/   [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EP 2 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/find-the-gap-how-recovery-unlocks-predictable-performance                      

In this bonus episode Andrea Samadi introduces the Predictable Performance System, a practical roadmap from her Brain's Operating System. She shows how measuring patterns—not chasing daily scores—plus consistent movement and targeted recovery behaviors create reliable adaptations and better performance over time. Andrea shares two real-world experiments (including a nine-day green recovery streak), five clear steps—measure, move, recover, adapt, perform—and a simple 7-day challenge to help you discover the single habit that unlocks more consistent results. On BONUS EPISODE 2, we will cover: Why high performance isn't about being “green” every day (using a wearable device) What nearly 2,000 recovery scores taught me about consistency and performance Why your daily inputs matter more than any single recovery score How I reached a personal best of 9 green recoveries in a row What happened when hard training caused my recovery to drop—and why that wasn't failure How another WHOOP user improved his recovery by identifying one key gap: hydration How to find your own gap in sleep, hydration, stress, movement, training load, or recovery The Predictable Performance System™: Measure → Move → Recover → Adapt → Perform → Repeat Why recovery is the bridge between today's effort and tomorrow's capacity How to create your own 7-Day Predictable Performance Experiment The key question to ask yourself: “What is the one missing input that could unlock my next level of performance?” The goal: Find your gap. Uncover your recipe. Build the system that works for you. BONUS EPISODE 2 The Predictable Performance System™ How Small Daily Inputs Create Better Recovery, Adaptation and More Consistent Results WELCOME BACK Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we explore how understanding the brain can help us create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. I'm Andrea Samadi, and over the past several months, we've been building something much bigger than a collection of interviews. We've been building what I call The Brain's Operating System—a roadmap for understanding how our brain and body work together to create optimal human performance. Before we jump into today's second Bonus Episode, let's quickly remember where we've been. PHASE 1 — REGULATION & SAFETY Everything begins with regulation. Before the brain can learn, perform, or grow, it first needs the biological conditions that support safety and stability. In Phase 1, we explored sleep, stress regulation, trauma, resilience and the nervous system. The lesson was simple: Regulation creates the conditions for growth. PHASE 2 — NEUROCHEMISTRY & MOTIVATION Then we asked: What moves us into action? We explored dopamine, beliefs, motivation, habits, attention and sustained effort. We learned that motivation isn't simply about willpower. Our brain is continually learning: What's worth pursuing? What should I repeat? Where should I invest my energy with? Phase 2 gave us some direction. PHASE 3 — MOVEMENT, LEARNING & COGNITION And now we're deep inside Phase 3. This is where movement becomes much more than exercise. Movement activates the brain. It supports attention. Learning. Memory. Metabolism. And when movement is paired with adequate recovery, something important happens: Adaptation. That's where our system begins to change. So the basic sequence we've been studying is: Movement → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance. But while studying this process, another question kept coming back to me. Why do some people consistently improve...while others feel like they're starting over every Monday and they are searching for the right formula. That question led me to today's framework: THE PREDICTABLE PERFORMANCE SYSTEM™ And this Bonus Episode is where I want to put the science into action. Throughout The Brain's Operating System, these Bonus Episodes will give me an opportunity to step away from the interviews and show you what happens when I apply what we're learning to my own life. I'll share the experiments. The data. What worked. What didn't. And most importantly... what we can learn from it, so we can ALL apply this information to our own lives. Because neuroscience becomes much more useful when we can turn what we know into something we can actually do. THE QUESTION THAT STARTED THIS EXPERIMENT Over the past five years, I've tracked close to 2,000 recovery scores using WHOOP (wearable device). And recently something happened that surprised me. I recorded nine green recoveries in a row (which meant for 9 days in a row, I had mastered recovery (my body's ability to take on strain and perform). This recovery score is calculated overnight using my RHR, HRV, RR, SpO2 (blood O2) and skin temperature. Factors like strain, stress and lifestyle choices affect this Recovery Score. That was a personal record. For years, I could put together a few strong days. Sometimes even a strong week. My record for years was 7 days in a row. But eventually something would interrupt the pattern. I'd train too hard. Sleep poorly. Travel. Get busy. Or simply fail to give myself enough time to recover. So when I reached nine consecutive green recoveries, instead of just celebrating the streak, I became curious. I asked: What changed? Because I wasn't on vacation. My work hadn't disappeared. I was still recording the podcast. Still exercising. Still traveling. Waking up early. Eating the same diet. In those green days most of the days I avoided alcohol (something I have learned from measuring everything I ingest—this will automatically tank my recovery score) but I did have one drink a couple of these days and still managed to keep a green score. Something that was highly unusual. I kept wondering what was I doing differently. Life hadn't suddenly become easy. So what was different? I went back through my data. And I stopped looking at individual scores. Instead, I started looking for patterns. That distinction changed everything. DON'T CHASE THE SCORE. STUDY THE PATTERN. When I first started tracking recovery, I'd look at each morning individually. Green? Great. Yellow? What did I do wrong? Red? I must have done something terribly wrong!   Looking at the patterns, I did learn that after a 4-hour hike, even one alcoholic drink will kick my recovery score into the red unrecovered zone. When you push your body hard, it's just not worth it to ingest a neuro-toxin. At least for me, it's not worth it. We are all different, and that's why measuring your own data is a valuable activity. What tanks my score, might not tank yours. Now I'm wondering what happens repeatedly? What tends to happen before my strongest recoveries? What happens before my worst ones? (the recipe was beyond clear here). What habits disappear when my recovery starts declining? And which habits consistently appear when it improves? That's where the story became much clearer. It wasn't one workout. It wasn't one supplement. It wasn't one perfect night's sleep. And it definitely wasn't motivation. It was the accumulation of small behaviors being repeated consistently. And that led me to one of the most important lessons from this entire experiment: The recovery score doesn't create the result. The behaviors that happened before the recovery score create the conditions for the result. I learned my recipe to create a RED recovery, and how to create a GREEN. The wearable device simply gives us feedback on how well we are doing with our recipe for success. THE DATA TELLS TWO STORIES When I looked at the data, I realized I actually had two experiments happening. The first was mine. I had the recipe for how to recover, and how to tank my score. The second belonged to another WHOOP user. And together, they revealed something much more interesting than either story alone. STORY ONE — MY DATA When I zoomed out across 6 months, my average recovery was around 58%. That's real life. There were excellent weeks. There were difficult weeks. Travel. When I was away internationally, sometimes without internet, the data didn't record correctly, but this is a good picture of what my scores look like. Work. Training. Stress. Vacations. Life happens. But recently that monthly average climbed to approximately 63%—an 11% improvement over the month before. For me, that mattered. Historically, when my monthly recovery averages climbed substantially, it was often because I had removed myself from normal life. Maybe I was on vacation. Maybe I was completely unplugged. But this time I wasn't. I was working. Training. Recording. Traveling. Living normal life. Life didn't become easier. My daily system became more consistent. And eventually that consistency produced something I'd never seen before: Nine green recoveries in a row. But here's what happened next. If you look at the graph…I just went about life as usual. I trained hard. My recovery dropped. And that became perhaps an even more important part of the experiment. Because this time I didn't panic. I didn't interpret one lower score as failure. I simply returned to the consistent behaviors that had been working in my GREEN streak. Sleep. Hydration. Movement. Stress management. Recovery time. And within a few days, the stronger recovery scores returned. That taught me something important: Predictable performance does NOT mean perfect performance. It means that you've got to find a system you know how to return to. My GREEN scores are now predictable. STORY TWO — FIND THE LEVER Around the same time, another WHOOP user turned to me and asked “why am I stuck in RED (unrecovered) everyday?” His pattern looked completely different. His monthly recovery average was around 41%. Lots of yellow. Lots of red. And very little improvement. Instead of randomly changing everything, we looked at the inputs. Sleep. Stress. Training load. Recovery time. Hydration. And one variable stood out to me. Hydration. So rather than redesigning his entire life, we focused on consistently improving that one behavior. When I say he improved hydration, we increased not just water, but we added an electrolyte drink (Liquid IV sugar free[i]) to his water to replenish minerals like sodium and potassium that he was losing from sweating in the 115 degree weather we are experiencing at the moment in AZ. Then we watched the data. His recovery pattern improved. More yellows appeared. His averages increased. And his recovery became more consistent. Today I asked him what he's noticed with this one change, and he let me know that his scores have been creeping up slowly. No green scores yet, but he's high yellow, which shows me that he's cracking his recovery recipe. Now, that doesn't mean hydration is the magic answer for everyone. That's not the lesson. The lesson is: Find YOUR lever. For one person, it might be hydration. For someone else, it might be sleep. Alcohol. Stress. Training volume. Late-night eating. Travel. Or simply not allowing enough recovery between difficult training sessions. Your job isn't to copy someone else's system perfectly. Your job is to use feedback to discover what matters most for you. Find your gap in your recovery system and you unlock more consistent, predictable performance. TAKEAWAY #1 STOP GUESSING. START MEASURING. You cannot recognize a pattern you aren't observing. And you don't need WHOOP to do this. Just find what tool works best for you. You could track five simple things each morning: Sleep How well did I sleep? Energy How energetic do I feel? Stress How stressed or regulated do I feel? Movement What did I do yesterday? Recovery behaviors Did I hydrate, recover and give my body what it needed? Give each category a simple score out of 10. Then look at the entire week. Not  just one day. TIP TO IMPLEMENT: For the next seven days, spend 30 seconds each morning recording: Hours of sleep Energy from 1–10 Stress from 1–10 Yesterday's movement One recovery behavior Don't change anything yet. First, collect information. Look for patterns before looking for the solution. THE BIG REALIZATION As I studied both experiments, the framework became obvious. Recovery isn't something that simply happens to us. There are many things we can't control. But every day we can influence the probability of recovering well. Our choices create patterns. Patterns create trends. Trends influence adaptation. And over enough time... those adaptations influence performance. Which brings us to the system. THE PREDICTABLE PERFORMANCE SYSTEM™ There are five steps. STEP 1 — MEASURE Awareness comes first. Track enough information to recognize trends. But remember: The goal isn't to become obsessed with data. (I'm borderline obsessed with mine). The goal is to use data to make better decisions. ASK YOURSELF: What's improving? What did I do to get this improvement? Write it down. What's declining? What did I do to tank my score? Write it down. And what repeatedly happens before each pattern? Learn your recovery recipe. What works for you? What does not work? TIP: Look at your weekly average instead of judging yourself by one day. One bad night doesn't define your health. One hard workout doesn't destroy your fitness. One red recovery doesn't erase your progress. Look for the trend. Learn what your personal recipe for success is. STEP 2 — MOVE Movement is the input. This is where Phase 3 begins. Movement challenges the system. We don't want to aim for a month of all green or high recoveries, because then we aren't challenging our system. Movement activates the brain and body and provides the stimulus from which adaptation can occur. But movement doesn't always mean crushing yourself in the gym. It might mean: Walking. Strength training. Hiking. Mobility. Cycling. Running. Playing a sport. Or simply interrupting long periods of sitting. TIP TO IMPLEMENT: Ask yourself each morning: "How will I move today?" Don't leave movement to chance. Put something on the calendar. Even a 20-minute walk counts. Consistency matters. STEP 3 — RECOVER This is the step I underestimated for years. I understood effort. I understood discipline. I understood training. But I didn't fully appreciate that the work isn't complete when the workout ends. The brain and body still have to process the stimulus. So recovery becomes an active part of the performance system. Protect sleep. Hydrate. Manage stress. Build recovery into the schedule. And learn when not to push. TIP TO IMPLEMENT: Create what I call your Recovery Minimums. Choose three behaviors that you protect even during busy weeks. For example: My Recovery Minimums ✓ Consistent sleep (going to bed and waking up at the same time) ✓ Daily hydration (I use liquid IV in the day and LMNT hot chocolate at night) ✓ Daily movement (I walk every morning, hike on the weekends, fit in gym workouts and strength training) to keep movement going. ✓ Stress regulation (always a work in progress, but breath work is my current way to manage stress) ✓ Time for recovery (I stack meditation and infrared sauna use together to save time). Your list may look different. But decide what your minimums are before life gets busy and you aren't putting time into recovery. STEP 4 — ADAPT This is the part we usually can't see. And it's one of the reasons people quit too early. Adaptation happens behind the scenes. You train. You recover. And your system responds. Over time, movement becomes easier. Your capacity expands. Your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient. Skills become more automatic. Your tolerance for challenge increases. Then one day... something that once felt difficult feels normal. TIP TO IMPLEMENT: Don't only measure outcomes. Look for evidence of adaptation. Ask: Is this workout getting easier? Am I recovering faster? Is my resting heart rate trending differently? Am I sleeping better? Look for how many wakes you have each night. Can I handle more work without feeling depleted? Is my concentration improving? Am I stronger? Do I have more energy? Those are clues that the system is adapting.   STEP 5 — PERFORM This is where most people want to start. Results. Achievement. The High Performance. But performance isn't Step One. It's Step Five. First we provide the stimulus. We move. Then we recover. Then we adapt. And eventually... performance becomes evidence that the earlier steps worked. You will notice you can sit longer, stay focused on one task, and see tasks through to completion. This changes the question from: "How can I perform better today?" to: "What can I do today that makes better performance more likely tomorrow?" That's a very different way of thinking. TAKEAWAY #2 DON'T TRY TO FIX EVERYTHING. One of the most useful things we learned from the second recovery experiment was that sometimes one behavior acts as a bottleneck. For the person with the low recovery score, hydration appeared to be an important lever. Stick to changing ONE thing at a time. When I first saw his HRV, I wanted to go there, but we started with hydration. So here's something you can try. Look at your own patterns and ask: "What is the ONE behavior that would make everything else work better?" Maybe it's getting to bed earlier. Maybe it's drinking more water. Maybe it's moving every day. Maybe it's reducing alcohol. Maybe it's taking a recovery day. Maybe it's managing evening stress. Start there. TIP: Run a seven-day experiment. Change one variable. Keep everything else reasonably consistent. Track what happens. Then evaluate. Don't guess. Test. This has been the most eye-opening part of finding my own personal recipe for high performance. Once you uncover yours, you can create your own predictable formula for high performance.   TAKEAWAY #3 CREATE A BASELINE YOU CAN RETURN TO. One of the biggest changes in my thinking came after the nine-green streak ended. My recovery dropped after hard training. But I knew what to do. I returned to the system. That's resilience. Not maintaining perfect conditions forever. But knowing how to return to your baseline when life knocks you away from it. Ask yourself: "When everything gets busy, what behaviors bring me back?" Write them down. That becomes your reset protocol. That's how I was able to create high recoveries the past few days making my monthly recovery a 16% increase over last month. TAKEAWAY #4 RECOVERY IS THE BRIDGE While developing this framework, I kept seeing the same image in my mind. A bridge. On one side is today's effort. On the other side is tomorrow's capability. Recovery is the bridge connecting the two. Without sufficient recovery, today's effort may never fully become tomorrow's capacity. With recovery, we give the brain and body an opportunity to adapt. Today's habits create the conditions for today's recovery. Recovery supports tomorrow's adaptation. Adaptation creates future capacity. And expanded capacity improves performance. That's the system. YOUR 7-DAY PREDICTABLE PERFORMANCE EXPERIMENT Here's your action step from today's episode. For the next seven days: MEASURE Track sleep, energy, stress and how overall recovered you feel each day. If you don't have a device to do this, just rank yourself on a scale of 0-10. MOVE Do something intentional every day. RECOVER Protect the recovery behaviors you've identified as most important. Mine are daily meditation, journaling, hydration, breath work and sauna use. LOOK FOR ADAPTATION Notice what begins becoming easier or more consistent. Where do you feel stronger? REVIEW YOUR PERFORMANCE At the end of seven days, ask: What improved? What got worse? What behavior had the biggest effect? What should I repeat next week? That's it. You're not trying to create a perfect week. You're trying to learn how your own system works. I don't know what your recipe for high performance will look like, but once you've got this recipe, your life will never be the same. THE BIG TAKEAWAY After nearly 2,000 recovery scores, here's what I believe matters most. Don't chase the score. Chase the behaviors that create the score. (Notice what they are—write them down). Don't chase one perfect workout. Build consistency. Don't panic when the data drops. Investigate. Don't change ten things at once. Find the lever. And above all... don't confuse effort with adaptation. Sometimes the thing that moves us forward isn't doing more. It's allowing the work we've already done to become part of us. The goal isn't perfect recovery. The goal isn't nine green days (while I've got my eye on how I can make this 10)… The goal isn't controlling every variable in our lives. The goal is to create a system that makes better outcomes more likely. Better days become better weeks. Better weeks become better months. And over enough time... what once felt difficult can become your new normal. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION To review and conclude BONUS EPISODE 2: Find the Gap—How Recovery Unlocks Predictable Performance, here's where we are in The Brain's Operating System. Phase 1 taught us to regulate. Before we can learn, perform, or grow, we need the biological conditions that support safety and stability. Phase 2 taught us what drives us to act. We explored motivation, dopamine, beliefs, attention, and the internal chemistry that moves us toward a goal. And now... Phase 3 is teaching us how we change. We move. We create a stimulus. We recover. The brain and body adapt. Our capacity expands. And eventually, that adaptation shows up as better performance. That's why today's framework matters. Because when performance feels inconsistent, the answer isn't always to work harder. Sometimes we need to ask: Where is the gap in my system? Is it movement? Sleep? Hydration? Stress? Recovery time? Consistency? Because when we can identify the gap, we can begin to change the input. And when we change the input consistently... we create new conditions for adaptation. That's how performance begins to change. So remember the sequence: Measure. Move. Recover. Adapt. Perform. And then repeat. Because performance isn't a finish line. It's feedback from the system you're building.   When we complete Phase 3, we'll soon move into Phase 4—Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence, where another layer enters the system: Other people. Relationships. Emotion. Trust. Communication. Empathy. Leadership. And then in Phase 5—Integration & Human Performance, we'll bring everything together: Regulation. Motivation. Movement. Recovery. Emotion. Relationships. Learning. Purpose. And performance. Because ultimately, no system works in isolation. Human performance is the result of all of these systems working together. FINAL TAKEAWAY If there's one idea I hope you remember from today's episode, it's this: Don't just chase the outcome. Study the system producing it. If your results aren't where you want them to be... find the gap. Because the gap may not be in your effort. It may be in your recovery. And when you find the gap in your recovery system... you unlock your next level of adaptation, capacity, and performance. Thank you for joining me for this second Bonus Episode. If today's framework helped connect the dots for you, I'd love to hear what you discover. What's the one habit that has the greatest impact on your recovery and performance? Sleep? Movement? Hydration? Stress management? Recovery time? And if you try the 7-Day Predictable Performance Experiment, pay attention to what your own data teaches you. Not whether every day is perfect. But what patterns begin to emerge. Until next time... Keep measuring. Keep moving. Keep recovering. Give your brain and body time to adapt. And keep building the systems that make better performance more predictable. Have an incredible week and we'll see you on EP 405 where we revisit Dr. Kristen Holmes and dive deep into more ways to improve our recovery., RESOURCES:   Phase 1: Regulation & Safety The Foundation Core Question: Is the nervous system safe enough to learn? Everything begins with regulation. Before we can focus, learn, lead, or perform, the brain first asks one fundamental question: Am I safe? Throughout Phase 1, our guests showed us that regulation isn't simply about reducing stress—it's about creating the biological conditions that allow the brain to learn, adapt, and thrive. Together we explored: Baland Jalal – how sleep, curiosity, imagination, and creativity prepare the brain for learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/ Dr. Bruce Perry – why regulation, rhythm, and relationships form the foundation of every healthy nervous system.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/safety-first-why-a-regulated-brain-is-the-key-to-learning/ Dr. Sui Wong – how lifestyle medicine and autonomic balance build lifelong brain resilience. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/your-eyes-the-brain-s-early-warning-system/ Rohan Dixit – how heart rate variability gives us real-time feedback on our ability to regulate stress. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/breathe-to-reset-how-hrv-tech-reveals-hidden-stress/ Dr. Kristen Holmes – how recovery metrics reveal our physiological readiness to perform. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ Dr. Antonio Zadra – how sleep and dreaming consolidate memories, regulate emotions, and generate insight. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/when-brains-dream-how-sleep-integrates-emotion-insight-and-creativity/ Together these conversations taught us that sleep and stress regulation aren't optional—they're the operating system that allows every higher brain function to work. Phase 2: Motivation & Neurochemistry The Direction Core Question: What moves us into action? Once the brain feels safe, it becomes ready to pursue goals. In Phase 2, we explored the internal chemistry that transforms intention into action. Our experts helped us understand that sustainable motivation isn't about willpower—it's about aligning our beliefs, thoughts, attention, energy, and movement. Together we discovered: Bob Proctor — our beliefs determine the direction of our lives. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/belief-first-the-neuroscience-of-motivation/ Dr. Carolyn Leaf — our thinking literally changes our brain chemistry. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/thoughts-as-biology-how-your-mind-shapes-neurochemistry/ Dr. John Medina — attention determines what the brain encodes and remembers. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/theory-of-mind-the-missing-link-between-attention-reward-and-motivation Dr. Anna Lembke- Dopamine, Motivation and Why the Brain Repeats Behavior https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dopamine-nation-the-pleasure%e2%80%93pain-balance-that-drives-motivation/ Dr. Friederike Fabritius — managing our energy allows high performance to become sustainable. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/fun-fear-focus-closing-the-motivation-loop/ Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — movement activates the brain, preparing it to learn. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-to-learn-how-movement-activates-the-brain-and-fuels-motivation/ By the end of Phase 2, we introduced what became The Motivation Loop, showing how beliefs influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, actions create results, and results reinforce future beliefs. Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Human Performance The Transformation Core Question: How does movement change the brain—and how does recovery transform that change into performance? Now we're taking the next step. Phase 3 builds on everything we've learned so far. If Phase 1 created a regulated nervous system... If Phase 2 created motivation and direction... Phase 3 explains how the brain and body actually become stronger. Together we've explored this process through conversations with: Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — why movement activates the brain before learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/ Dr. John Ratey — how exercise builds a healthier, younger brain. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-matters-how-every-move-rewires-the-brain/ Dr. Kristen Holmes — why recovery determines adaptation and readiness. Dr. John Medina — how attention transforms movement into lasting learning. Jason Whitrock — how metabolism and cellular energy fuel long-term performance. WHERE WE ARE GOING NEXT Phase 4 — Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence The Human System Core Question: How do we thrive with other people? The brain didn't evolve in isolation—it evolved through relationships. In Phase 4, we'll explore emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, trust, leadership, and psychological safety to understand how our relationships shape learning, well-being, and performance. Phase 5 — Integration & Human Performance The Complete System Core Question: How do all the systems work together? In our final phase, we'll bring everything together—regulation, motivation, movement, emotion, relationships, learning, and recovery—into one integrated framework. We'll discover how these systems work together to create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. REFERENCES: [i] Liquid IV https://www.liquid-iv.com/collections/hydration-multiplier-sugar-free    

Allen hosts an episode of "Hope for the Agora" exploring the connection between faith, mental health, and neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change. He discussed how repeated thoughts and experiences form neural pathways, and how trauma can shape these patterns, referencing works by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and Dr. Carolyn Leaf. Allen explained that while old pathways exist, new, healthier ones can be formed through deliberate practice and therapy, such as EMDR. He drew parallels between neuroscience and biblical teachings on transformation, citing scriptures that emphasize renewing the mind. Allen outlined practical steps for rewiring the mind, including identifying lies, comparing them with scripture, engaging the body, and inviting the Holy Spirit into the process. He concluded by affirming that change is possible through God's design and the work of the Holy Spirit.https://hopefortheagora.comhttps://agoranetworkministries.comKey References:Scientific- van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.- Hebb, D. O. (1949). The Organization of Behavior.- Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself.- Kolb, B., & Gibb, R. (2014). Brain plasticity and behaviour in the developing brain.- Merzenich, M. (2013). Soft-Wired.Christian / Neuroscience- Leaf, C. (2013). Switch On Your Brain.- Leaf, C. (2021). Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess.Scriptures:Romans 12:2Philippians 4:82 Corinthians 10:5Ephesians 4:22–24John 8:31–32Galatians 5:22–23Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV; often translated differently in modern versions)Isaiah 26:3Colossians 3:1–17Psalm 1:1–3

In this episode Andrea Samadi explores Phase Three of the Brain's Operating System — how movement acts as the essential input that activates the brain, sharpens attention, boosts learning, and improves social and emotional readiness. Drawing on Dr. John Ratey's insights and related neuroscience research, she explains the chain reaction from exercise to brain activation, learning, and adaptation. The episode also emphasizes the vital role of recovery in consolidating gains so movement leads to lasting performance improvements, and invites listeners to adopt movement as a daily catalyst for clearer thinking, better learning, and greater resilience. Dr. John Ratey and The Movement Loop On this episode 404, we will: Explore where Dr. John Ratey's groundbreaking research fits within the Movement Loop. Understand how movement activates the brain and prepares us to learn. Discover why attention is the gateway to learning and performance. Connect Dr. Ratey's work with Dr. Chuck Hillman, Dr. John Medina, Kristen Holmes, and Jason Whitrock to see the bigger picture. Learn how movement becomes lasting human performance by building our capacity over time. How Movement Becomes Human Performance Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. I'm Andrea Samadi, and on this podcast, we bridge the science behind social and emotional learning, emotional intelligence, and practical neuroscience so we can create measurable improvements in well-being, achievement, productivity, and results. If you've been following along through Season 16, you'll know we've been building what I call The Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—a neuroscience-based framework that explains how movement, recovery, and adaptation work together to improve our health, learning, leadership, and performance. Over the past seven years and more than 400 episodes, I've had the privilege of interviewing neuroscientists, physicians, psychologists, educators, and high performers from around the world. As I looked across those conversations, I realized they weren't isolated ideas—they were pieces of a much larger system. I've organized that system into five interconnected phases that mirror how we grow and develop throughout life. And as we work through each of these phases, we are sharpening our saw for productivity, learning and high performance, really, with the brain and body in mind. Phase 1 is Regulation and Safety, we launched on EP 384[i] with Dr. Baland Jalal on Sleep, Safety and Curiosity. This phase is where we build the foundation by understanding the nervous system, stress, emotions, and the importance of creating internal and external safety before learning or productivity can take place. Phase 2 is Neurochemistry and Motivation, where we explore how dopamine, reward, purpose, and emotional regulation influence our choices, habits, and sustained effort. Today, we're in Phase 3: Movement, Learning, and Cognition. This is where movement becomes the catalyst that prepares the brain to pay attention, learn, adapt, and ultimately perform at a higher level. In Phase 4, we'll discover how perception and social intelligence shape the way we understand ourselves, communicate, build trust, and strengthen relationships. And finally, in Phase 5, we'll bring everything together through integration and meaning—understanding how our experiences become wisdom, resilience, purpose, and lifelong growth. Each phase builds on the one before it, because meaningful human performance isn't created in a single breakthrough—it's built one system at a time. Together, they create what I believe is the brain's operating system for human performance. If we want to improve the entire big picture of our results, we can dive deeper into these 5 phases to see what areas we could sharpen a bit. I've put the individual episodes of each phase in the show notes for a deeper dive. Today's episode is one of those foundational pieces of Phase 3. Because before we can improve performance, we first need to understand how movement changes the brain. In Episode 402[ii], we introduced The Movement Loop, built around one simple idea: Movement is the input—it's what we do. Recovery enables adaptation—it's how the brain and body grow stronger. Performance is the outcome—the results we can see, feel, and measure. Every cycle expands our capacity to learn, lead, and perform. Every movement we make sends a signal to the brain and body. That signal activates the brain— increasing blood flow, neurotransmitters, and neuroplasticity—preparing us to pay attention and learn. When movement is followed by adequate recovery, the brain and body adapt. Those adaptations become the foundation for better performance—whether that's learning more effectively, thinking more clearly, leading with greater confidence, or improving our physical health. Then, in Episode 403[iii], Dr. Chuck Hillman helped us understand why movement changes the brain. We learned that every step increases blood flow, stimulates the release of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor—BDNF, often called fertilizer for the brain—and prepares the neural networks responsible for attention, learning, memory, and executive function. But understanding why movement changes the brain is only part of the story. Today's episode answers a different question: What does that actually look like in real life? How does movement change our brain? To answer that question, we're returning to one of my favorite interviews from March of 2021 with Harvard psychiatrist and bestselling author Dr. John Ratey, whose groundbreaking book Spark helped change the way millions of people think about exercise and the brain. Now, you might be wondering... "Andrea, didn't we already review Dr. Ratey's work in Episodes 375[iv] and 376[v]?" We did. But today isn't simply another review. Today we're looking at Dr. Ratey's work through an entirely new lens. When we first interviewed Dr. Ratey in 2021, I knew movement was important. But after spending the past several years interviewing experts like Dr. Chuck Hillman, Dr. John Medina, Dr. Kristen Holmes, Jason Whitrock, and hundreds of others—and measuring my own health and performance data that we'll explore throughout this season's bonus episodes—I now understand exactly where Dr. Ratey's research fits inside the Movement Loop. As I looked across all of those conversations, I realized they weren't isolated ideas. They were pieces of one much larger system. Today we're in Phase 3: Movement, Learning, and Cognition—the phase where movement becomes the catalyst for attention, learning, adaptation, and ultimately, human performance. In the coming phases, we'll discover how perception shapes our relationships, and finally how everything integrates into meaning, purpose, and lifelong growth. Today's conversation with Dr. Ratey is one of the foundational building blocks of Phase 3. Why This Matters If you've listened to this podcast for a while, you've probably heard me talk about movement as one of the few true non-negotiables in my day. Before my workday begins, I've already made time to move—not because I'm training for a race or trying to burn calories, but because I know how profoundly movement changes the way my brain performs. The research is clear. Movement prepares the brain to pay attention, learn more effectively, regulate emotions, solve problems, and perform at a higher level. I've experienced these benefits firsthand. On the days I move first, I think more clearly, I'm more productive, and I'm better equipped to handle whatever challenges the day brings. And I imagine many of you listening have experienced the same thing. Once you begin noticing how movement changes your thinking, it becomes much easier to make it a consistent part of your life. Why This Season Exists That's why my hope for Season 16 isn't simply to convince you that exercise is good for you. My goal is much bigger than that. It's to demonstrate why movement is the first step in The movement loop—and to show how every movement you make begins a chain reaction that improves learning, health, leadership, and performance. With every cycle, we don't just improve today's performance. We expand our capacity for tomorrow. As we continue exploring the Movement Loop, I hope you'll begin to see movement differently—not as another item on your to-do list, but as the input that starts an entire system of growth. Because movement isn't the goal. Movement is the beginning of everything that follows. CLIP 1: Movement Primes the Brain for Learning CLIP 1: Social Connection Reflection: Where This Fits in the Movement Loop Let's review Clip 1 with Dr. Ratey. When we listen to his clip through that lens, every sentence he shares fits into a specific step of the process. Reviewing Dr. Ratey, through the lens of The Movement Loop. Step 1: Movement — The Input Everything begins with movement. Movement is the signal we send to the brain and body that says: "It's time to wake up. It's time to adapt." Without movement, nothing else in the loop begins. As Dr. Ratey says, movement is what "turns on the thinking parts of the brain." Step 2: Brain Activation — The Brain Wakes Up This is exactly what we learned from Dr. Chuck Hillman in Episode 403[vi]. Movement immediately increases blood flow to the brain. It activates neurotransmitters. It stimulates Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or BDNF, helping create the ideal environment for learning. Dr. Hillman explained what is happening biologically. Dr. Ratey in this clip explains what we experience. You suddenly feel more alert. More awake. More ready to think. These are two perspectives describing the same process. Step 3: Attention — The Gateway to Learning This is where Dr. Ratey's words become especially powerful. He says movement helps us: stay with an idea, focus longer, evaluate information, scan our memory, and even simply stay seated long enough to think through something difficult. That isn't just better concentration. That's improved attention, and attention is the gateway to learning. Without attention, very little learning takes place. Movement prepares the brain to pay attention. At this point in the interview, he was referencing the fact that I had told him that I couldn't write podcast episodes on this topic without moving my body first. In the early days of this podcast, I found the science very difficult to understand. A couple of times I did think that this topic was over my head, and almost considered giving up. Almost, but very grateful for where the learning took me that I stuck it through. Step 4: Learning — Building New Neural Connections Once attention improves, learning becomes possible. Now the brain can: process information, make connections, strengthen memories, and solve problems more effectively. This is why Dr. Ratey says movement helps us become better learners, better thinkers, better workers, and better students. Movement isn't improving muscles first. It's improving the brain's ability to learn. Step 5: Social and Emotional Readiness One part of this interview that has become even more meaningful over time is Dr. Ratey's explanation of social connection. Exercise doesn't only improve cognition. It also changes our emotional state. We're more motivated. We regulate our emotions more effectively. We become more socially connected. Dr. Ratey explains that movement increases oxytocin—the hormone associated with bonding and trust—making us more open to connecting with others. That's important because learning has always been social. Whether we're in a classroom, at work, or with our families, our ability to connect with other people influences how well we learn, communicate, and perform. Movement prepares us socially as well as cognitively. Step 6: Recovery and Adaptation — Where Lasting Change Happens Now here's the part I didn't fully appreciate back in 2021. Everything Dr. Ratey has described prepares the brain for learning. But those immediate benefits only become lasting improvements if they're followed by recovery. Recovery is when the brain consolidates learning. It's when new neural connections are strengthened. It's when adaptation occurs. This is where Kristen Holmes' work on recovery fits perfectly into the Movement Loop. We recently reviewed our 2021 interview with Kristen Holmes on EP 390[vii] “What Gets Measured Improves: Sleep, Recovery and Strain” and it was Dr. Holmes who was (not the first person to notice I could improve my recovery scores) but was stern enough with me about how important that it was, and how I was leaving a lot off the table by not getting enough sleep/recovery to match the strain I was pushing towards each day. Movement starts the process. Recovery completes it. And together (this won't happen if one is missing) they create adaptation—the biological changes that make us stronger, healthier, and more resilient over time. The Big Takeaway When I first interviewed Dr. John Ratey in 2021, I thought he was teaching us why exercise is good for the brain. Today, after years of interviewing neuroscientists, physicians, performance experts, and educators, I see something much bigger. Dr. Ratey wasn't simply describing the benefits of exercise. He was describing the beginning of a biological process. Movement is the input. Movement activates the brain. The activated brain becomes ready to focus, learn, regulate emotions, and connect with others. Learning, when supported by recovery, leads to adaptation. Adaptation creates better performance. And every time we move through that cycle, we expand our capacity to meet tomorrow's challenges. That's the Movement Loop. It's not just a framework for understanding exercise. It's a framework for understanding how the brain changes, how we grow, and how human performance is built—one movement at a time. Review and Conclusion: The Movement Loop and Dr. Ratey To review and conclude what we've learned today. Dr. Ratey's interview wasn't simply about why exercise is good for the brain. It was about how movement begins a chain reaction that changes the way we learn, think, and perform. We discovered that: Movement is the input. Every movement sends a signal to the brain and body that it's time to change. Movement activates the brain. Blood flow increases. Neurotransmitters increase. BDNF begins preparing the brain for learning. The activated brain becomes ready. Attention improves. Executive function sharpens. Emotions become easier to regulate. We're even more prepared to connect with other people. That readiness makes learning possible. New neural pathways begin to form. The brain starts building stronger and more efficient networks. But learning doesn't end when the workout ends. Recovery allows the brain to consolidate what movement started. Recovery creates adaptation. Adaptation creates better performance. And every time we complete that cycle, we expand our capacity for whatever challenge comes next. That's the Movement Loop. This is something I've learned through years of interviewing experts, but also through measuring my own health and performance. The days I move first are always the days I think more clearly. I'm more creative with what I write as well as making connections that are important to me in my day to day life. More productive- with the entire day (family and work). More patient (with my kids and family) More present and clear. Movement doesn't solve every problem. But it prepares us to solve problems better, and increases our capacity and productivity. And that's a lesson I'll keep coming back to throughout this season. Coming Next… But there's still one important question we haven't answered. If movement activates the brain... why do some people consistently improve --while others seem to work just as hard without seeing the same results? Is it genetics? Motivation? Discipline? Or is there something happening between today's effort and tomorrow's performance? Next week, in Bonus Episode 2, we'll answer that question. We'll explore what I call The Predictable Performance System and look at years of my own recovery data to understand why recovery isn't simply the opposite of training—it's the bridge between today's habits and tomorrow's performance. Because the difference between predictable and unpredictable results... isn't luck. It's recovery. It's how we are balancing how much we push with how much we are able to rest/recover. Until next time... Keep moving. Protect your recovery. Build your capacity. And continue designing your brain's operating system for lifelong learning, health, leadership, and human performance. Thanks for joining me. I'll see you next week. RESOURCES: Clip 1 Movement and the Brain Dr. Ratey https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bbB4NzsnyQ0 Clip 1 Social Connection Dr. Ratey https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bbB4NzsnyQ0 Phase 1: Regulation & Safety The Foundation Core Question: Is the nervous system safe enough to learn? Everything begins with regulation. Before we can focus, learn, lead, or perform, the brain first asks one fundamental question: Am I safe? Throughout Phase 1, our guests showed us that regulation isn't simply about reducing stress—it's about creating the biological conditions that allow the brain to learn, adapt, and thrive. Together we explored: Baland Jalal – how sleep, curiosity, imagination, and creativity prepare the brain for learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/ Dr. Bruce Perry – why regulation, rhythm, and relationships form the foundation of every healthy nervous system.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/safety-first-why-a-regulated-brain-is-the-key-to-learning/ Dr. Sui Wong – how lifestyle medicine and autonomic balance build lifelong brain resilience. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/your-eyes-the-brain-s-early-warning-system/ Rohan Dixit – how heart rate variability gives us real-time feedback on our ability to regulate stress. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/breathe-to-reset-how-hrv-tech-reveals-hidden-stress/ Dr. Kristen Holmes – how recovery metrics reveal our physiological readiness to perform. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ Dr. Antonio Zadra – how sleep and dreaming consolidate memories, regulate emotions, and generate insight. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/when-brains-dream-how-sleep-integrates-emotion-insight-and-creativity/ Together these conversations taught us that sleep and stress regulation aren't optional—they're the operating system that allows every higher brain function to work. Phase 2: Motivation & Neurochemistry The Direction Core Question: What moves us into action? Once the brain feels safe, it becomes ready to pursue goals. In Phase 2, we explored the internal chemistry that transforms intention into action. Our experts helped us understand that sustainable motivation isn't about willpower—it's about aligning our beliefs, thoughts, attention, energy, and movement. Together we discovered: Bob Proctor — our beliefs determine the direction of our lives. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/belief-first-the-neuroscience-of-motivation/ Dr. Carolyn Leaf — our thinking literally changes our brain chemistry. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/thoughts-as-biology-how-your-mind-shapes-neurochemistry/ Dr. John Medina — attention determines what the brain encodes and remembers. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/theory-of-mind-the-missing-link-between-attention-reward-and-motivation Dr. Anna Lembke- Dopamine, Motivation and Why the Brain Repeats Behavior https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dopamine-nation-the-pleasure%e2%80%93pain-balance-that-drives-motivation/ Dr. Friederike Fabritius — managing our energy allows high performance to become sustainable. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/fun-fear-focus-closing-the-motivation-loop/ Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — movement activates the brain, preparing it to learn. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-to-learn-how-movement-activates-the-brain-and-fuels-motivation/ By the end of Phase 2, we introduced what became The Motivation Loop, showing how beliefs influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, actions create results, and results reinforce future beliefs. Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Human Performance The Transformation Core Question: How does movement change the brain—and how does recovery transform that change into performance? Now we're taking the next step. Phase 3 builds on everything we've learned so far. If Phase 1 created a regulated nervous system... If Phase 2 created motivation and direction... Phase 3 explains how the brain and body actually become stronger. Together we've explored this process through conversations with: Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — why movement activates the brain before learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/ Dr. John Ratey — how exercise builds a healthier, younger brain. Dr. Kristen Holmes — why recovery determines adaptation and readiness. Dr. John Medina — how attention transforms movement into lasting learning. Jason Whitrock — how metabolism and cellular energy fuel long-term performance. WHERE WE ARE GOING NEXT Phase 4 — Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence The Human System Core Question: How do we thrive with other people? The brain didn't evolve in isolation—it evolved through relationships. In Phase 4, we'll explore emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, trust, leadership, and psychological safety to understand how our relationships shape learning, well-being, and performance. Phase 5 — Integration & Human Performance The Complete System Core Question: How do all the systems work together? In our final phase, we'll bring everything together—regulation, motivation, movement, emotion, relationships, learning, and recovery—into one integrated framework. We'll discover how these systems work together to create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 384 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/   [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 402 “Phase 3 Intro: How Movement Builds the Brain https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-loop-how-everyday-action-rewires-your-brain-and-boosts-performance/   [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 403 “How movement Activates the Brain and Learning”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/   [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 375 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-exercise-primes-the-brain-insights-from-dr-john-rady/     [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 376 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-eat-connect-3-science-backed-keys-to-brain-health-ep-376/   [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 403 “How movement Activates the Brain and Learning”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/   [vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 390 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-gets-measured-gets-improved-sleep-recovery-peak-performance/  

In this episode Andrea Samadi revisits her October 2022 interview with Dr. Caroline Leaf about how our thought patterns act as biological instructions that shape brain chemistry, behavior, and results. They explore the mind–brain distinction, the magnet analogy for pattern formation, and practical steps to interrupt negative thinking.   Listeners learn why repeated thoughts build neural pathways, how beliefs trigger neurochemistry in the motivation loop, and how consistent practices—like Dr. Leaf's 63-day NeuroCycle—can rewire thinking over time for better focus, motivation, and wellbeing. This Episode, We Will Cover: ✔ What it means when we say your thoughts are “biological instruction” ✔ How your thoughts influence brain chemistry, the nervous system, and behavior ✔ Why thinking, feeling, and choosing are always working together ✔ The connection between thought patterns and future results ✔  How repeated thoughts create neural pathways and habits ✔ The Motivation Loop — and where thought patterns fit in ✔ The “magnet analogy” — how your thoughts organize patterns in the brain ✔ How to identify and change toxic or limiting thought patterns ✔  Dr. Carolyn Leaf's 63-day Neurocycle process for rewiring thinking ✔ How your internal state influences your external results and environment ✔ Why you are both shaping and responding to your environment

Season 15, Episode 392 introduces phase two of the roadmap: neurochemistry and motivation. Andrea Samadi breaks down the motivation loop—expectation, thought patterns, attention and action, feedback, and repetition—and explains how belief and dopamine drive what we start, persist with, or stop. The episode highlights earned vs. borrowed dopamine, the role of the anterior mid-cingulate cortex in willpower, and offers practical steps to build sustainable motivation through small wins, effort-first rewards, and consistent practice. ✅ What You'll Learn in This Episode ✔️ How the Motivation Loop works—and why your brain is always running it ✔️ Why dopamine is about anticipation, not just pleasure ✔️ The difference between borrowed vs earned dopamine—and how it impacts your drive ✔️ How your beliefs and thought patterns shape your brain chemistry ✔️ Why doing hard things strengthens willpower (aMCC) and builds resilience ✔️ What causes motivation to increase… or break down ✔️ How your brain decides to repeat a behavior—or avoid it next time ✔️ Why effort first, reward after is the key to building lasting motivation ✔️ Simple ways to train your brain to stay motivated ✔️ How to align your brain for sustained performance and results Welcome back to Season 15 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. I'm Andrea Samadi, and it's here that we bridge the science behind social and emotional learning, emotional intelligence, and practical neuroscience—so we can create measurable improvements in well-being, achievement, productivity, and results. If you're new here, welcome. We are currently reviewing past episodes as part of Season 15—organized as a roadmap of the brain's foundational systems. Instead of treating neuroscience, health, mindset, and performance as separate topics—like we've done in the past 14 seasons—we're now exploring how these systems come online in sequence. We started Phase 1, Regulation and Safety, with EP 384[i], with Dr. Baland Jalal, who taught us how learning begins (with curiosity, sleep, imagination and creativity), and reviewed anchor episodes with Dr. Bruce Perry[ii], looking into trauma, rhythm, and relational safety, Dr. Sui Wong[iii] on autonomic balance, and Rohan Dixit[iv], on HRV, real-time self-regulation and nervous system literacy. Now, we are moving to Phase 2, diving deeper into neurochemistry and motivation…then we'll cover movement, learning, and cognition… Then perception, emotion, social intelligence… and finally integration, insight, and meaning as we put all of the phases together. Season 15 Roadmap: Phase 1 — Regulation & Safety Phase 2 — Neurochemistry & Motivation Phase 3 — Movement, Learning & Cognition Phase 4 — Perception, Emotion & Social Intelligence Phase 5 — Integration, Insight & Meaning Because peak performance isn't built by doing more— it's built by aligning the systems underneath. And the truth is, most of us were never taught how these systems drive our behavior and results in the first place. So as I continue to explore and better understand these systems myself, I want to thank you for joining me on this journey… So that together, we learn how to align our brains— and use this understanding to unlock what's truly possible for us to achieve. Because I do believe that we're capable of achieving far more than we think is possible—with this understanding. PHASE 2 Today, we move into Phase 2 of our roadmap— Neurochemistry and Motivation. In Phase 1, we asked a foundational question:

Healing, money, motherhood, fertility, boundaries and so much more have been topics on the Imperfectly Phenomenal Woman podcast. To celebrate the final episode, we're listening back to some of the most unforgetable conversations that live rent-free in Lauren's mind.  In this milestone Episode 200, you'll re-experience powerful conversations centered around the limiting beliefs that often hold women back from living fully and authentically. You'll hear: Beliefs about Well-being and Boundaries 78. Avoiding Confrontation: You Can('t) Rock the Boat with Siona Peterous 111. Single Mom: You Can('t) Put Yourself First with Samantha Wright 92. Extend Yourself Grace: You Can('t) Juggle Motherhood & Work with Pastor Brelyn Bowman Beliefs about Financial Freedom and Debt 83. Money Moves: You Can('t) Pay Off Your Debt with Bola Sokunbi Beliefs about Exploring Paths to Motherhood 35. Egg Freezing: You Should(n't) Explore Your Fertility Options with Ruthie Ackerman 183. Infertility and IVF: You Can(t) Get Pregnant with Angela Gaston Personal Epiphanies: Beliefs About Identity, Healing & Voice 14. Me Too: You Can('t) Tell Your Story with Alexandra Cohl 49. Too Broken to Fix: You Can('t) Overcome Life's Challenges with Taya Marquis 108. Neuroscience: You Can('t) Deconstruct Toxic Thoughts with Dr. Carolyn Leaf 7. Facing Fears: You Are(n't) Good Enough with Chloe Dawson Closing 100. 101 Years of Wisdom: An Interview with Mother Manning ____  A message from Lauren: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to this podcast. After 200 episodes, I'm at peace with ending this chapter and look forward to the beautiful things that God has in store for me. Embrace the dichotomy of being an imperfectly phenomenal woman. There is so much grace in that duality. And don't forget, you are enough.    Let's stay connected! IG @lauren.e.will Substack @laurenwill Substack Post: The Final Farewell: 200 Podcast Episodes, One Imperfectly Phenomenal Journey dearlaurenwill@gmail.com ipwomanpodcast.com

What we water grows. Energy Follows thought. Our eyes and our feet are connected! We move in the direction of our FOCUS, and we FOCUS on the direction of our movement! We are unconscious creatures. So much of what we do is happening below the surface of our conscious thought and effort. However, the effects are just as real, powerful and lasting as those things we do that we are consciously aware of. Today On Like It Matters Radio Mr. Black wants listeners to get the power of our BELIEF SYSTEMS. Everything we do, or DO NOT do, is driven by a belief. Beliefs come from what we think about, and how we frameprocess the experiences from our past. Again, many of these BELIEFS and THOUGHTS are happening at the unconscious level- yet having catastrophic outcomes- UP UNTIL NOW. Today Mr. Black will share with listeners the knowledge that leads to application. Topics of discussion for this hour of power are Placebo, Nocebo, Epigenetics, Carolyn Leaf, Bruce Lipton- Biology of Belief. Listeners will also hear a few great stories and some poetry. Tune in and be inspired to live LIFE LIKE IT MATTERS- it is the Way of Warrior! Be sure to Like and Follow us on our facebook page!www.facebook.com/limradio Instagram @likeitmattersradioTwitter @likeitmatters Get daily inspiration from our blog www.wayofwarrior.blog Learn about our non profit work at www.givelikeitmatters.com Check out our training website www.LikeItMatters.Net Always available online at www.likeitmattersradio.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a Text Message.When I woke up one morning feeling the weight of depression heavy on my shoulders, I made a decision that would turn the tide in my battle for mental wellness. Our latest podcast episode is a raw and intimate exploration into the transformative power of acknowledging our struggles and arming ourselves with tools to fight back. With special guest Kareega Bailey, we dive into the necessity of mental health support and how seeking rejuvenation at a wellness event reignited my passion for podcasting and social media engagement, despite the pressures they bring.We don't often consider our genetic makeup as a player in the mental health game, but the truth is, our family history and brain chemistry can lay out a unique set of challenges for us to navigate. This episode is where we unbox the complexities of our inherited traits and cultural backgrounds, as revealed in Dr. Carolyn Leaf's "Cleaning Up My Mental Mess", and the continuous effort required to maintain mental fitness. From the specific hurdles faced by the black community to the wonders of neuroplasticity, we shed light on how understanding and embracing our identity can lead to a more robust mental state.Relationship dynamics can be the linchpin in our mental health journey; they can either anchor us to a healthy state of mind or pull us down into the depths. Sharing from personal experience, I discuss how being the pillar of support for others often left me neglecting my own mental well-being. This episode is a candid talk on the significance of cultivating positive relationships, setting boundaries, and the empowering realization that our guidance finds its true impact with those genuinely seeking change. Join us for this heartfelt conversation, where we celebrate the brain's incredible ability to adapt and the potent influence of healthy practices and supportive communities in our quest for mental wellness.Support the Show.

Welcome back to Heidi's Lane, where in part 2 of our inspiring "No Fail New Year" series, I open up about the often-hidden struggle of overthinking, inviting you into my world of wrestling with the overwhelming power of our thoughts.  I get real about how the chaos of our minds can feel like an endless battle, but also how we can turn this into a victory march. I'm sharing my own experiences and insights on how positive thinking, staying true to ourselves, and personal growth are not just concepts but lifelines.  We'll explore together how our thoughts not just influence, but often dictate our emotions, actions, and ultimately the paths of our lives.  This episode is more than just a guide—it's a heart-to-heart conversation for anyone looking to break free from the chains of overthinking, reshape their narrative, and embrace a life filled with passion and purpose.  Join me as we dive into the transformative power of our thoughts and discover practical, relatable strategies to overcome the overthinking that often holds us back. Here are the key moments from the episode: 6:00 The deception of overthinking 10:30 Our thoughts lead to our destiny 16:30 What you didn't know about our daily thoughts 31:30 Strategies to transform overthinking into positive actions 41:45 The subconscious influence on our thoughts 47:45 The power of positive self-talk 53:15 What you can do to reduce overthinking Connect with Heidi Website: https://heidipowell.net/ Email: podcast@heidipowell.net Instagram: @realheidipowell Facebook: Heidi Powell YouTube: @HeidiPowellNet Train with Heidi on her Show Up App! https://www.showupfit.app/ Here are the 4 books I spoke about in this episode: Soundtracks (Jon Acuff): https://amzn.to/47WV2KU Switch On Your Brain (Dr. Carolyn Leaf): https://amzn.to/3UcLNma The Power of Bad (Jon Tierney, Roy F. Baumeister): https://amzn.to/3u2OzQp Let It Be Easy (Susie Moore): https://amzn.to/3Hzk87s

Dr. Michael A. Caparrelli is a former pastor of 16 years and a PhD in Advanced Studies in Human Behavior. His books, lectures and resources help us navigate through mental health issues from a faith-based perspective. His non-profit organization, UNMUTED, helps give victims of trauma their voices back. He travels the world speaking at churches, schools, prisons and other venues. Today Dr. Caparrelli will discuss his latest book.Monster Mirror: 100 Hours with David Berkowitz, Once Known as Son of Sam. Monster Mirror was released a few weeks ago and ranked #1 New Release in True Crime on Amazon for the first week of its launch. According to Dr. Caperrelli, The book challenges a culture and clinical community that says there's no hope for Psychopaths. As you know, with Jesus, all things are possible! CBN interview: http://youtu.be/YpT7-lxZIMg Dr. Caperrelli has appeared on many venues and was recently featured on  the 700 Club, Dr. Carolyn Leaf's and Dr. Daniel Amen's shows. Michael will also discuss his non-profit organization "UNMUTED". and other books. Dr. Michael A. Caparrelli's added info   http://www.facebook.com/cappyphd  Unmuted 163 Midwood St Cranston, RI 02910-1526 USA  E-mail Unmuted777@gmail.com  Note: On Nov 15th COFRP was ranked # 5 out of  top 100 Christian podcast to listen to in 2023: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4569c4e1-076a-4791-b3ba-746ec57ccff7

“The idea that the brain CAN CHANGE its own structure and function through thought and activity is, I believe, the most important alteration in our view of the brain since we first sketched out its basic anatomy and the workings of its basic component, the neuron.” Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that's finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren't taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.    INTRODUCTION: For today's episode #302, and in keeping with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics, to take our learning to new heights, I'm going back to EPISODE #133[i] from May 2021 on “Applying Neuroplasticity to Your School or Workplace.” Now one look at this episode and I can see why I'm calling these past episodes Neuroscience 101 where I wanted to introduce important concepts in neuroscience and how they relate to learning, in real time, as I was learning them myself. The idea is that we are now going back and building on our understanding together, adding in anything new and relevant, that I'm now calling Neuroscience 202, and I can see with this first episode that I barely scratched the surface of what neuroplasticity is, and how we can use this fascinating concept to change our brain permanently.  REVIEW of EPISODE #133 We learned: ✔An introduction to neuroplasticity, and how this concept works in the brain when learning a new skill, thinking a certain way, or feeling a certain emotion. ✔How neuroplasticity helps us to create new habits, and how we can use it to break habits we don't want to keep. ✔The controversy behind this topic, and how two of the people we have interviewed ignored the naysayers, and built a powerful career with the early foundations of neuroplasticity. While I think this older episode is important to review, I can now see that learning how to apply practical neuroscience to our daily lives, really is cumulative. We learn one new concept that builds on another, and as we keep learning and studying together, new skills and levels of understanding are uncovered. It's like peeling back the layers of an onion and realizing there's more to uncover. Today, as we dive deeper in neuroplasticity, we will cover what Norman Doidge wrote about in his book, The Brain That Changes Itself, about “the idea that the brain can change its own structure and function through thought and activity” and then uncover what exactly neuroplasticity means for us today, so we can apply this fascinating concept to our life.    On today's EPISODE #302 on “A Deeper Dive into Applying Neuroplasticity To Learn Something New” will cover: ✔ What is neuroplasticity (the brain and nervous system's ability to change itself). ✔ How to use this incredible feature of our nervous system for ANYTHING we want to learn (getting rid of an emotion we don't want, building NEW emotions, or learning a new skill. ✔ The 2 STEPS Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests we understand in order to change our brain (the chemicals that are involved, and what parts of the brain they come from) from Huberman Lab EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain”[ii] ✔ How others have changed the structure and function of their brain from Norman Doidge's Book that features Barbara Arrowsmith-Young who we met with on EP 132[iii]) to Dr. Caroline Leaf's 5 Step Approach to changing your brain. ✔ Strategies YOU implement today, to change YOUR brain. Once we uncover what neuroplasticity means, and how we can use it, we can marvel at the pathway neuroplasticity has taken over the years, (from the early days when Barbara Arrowsmith-Young (from my hometown in Toronto, Canada) mentioned in our interview that people picketed outside her presentation about the brain and learning due to their lack of understanding) and we can now honor those who spearheaded the way for our benefit. Dr. Norman Doidge, the author of The Brain That Changes Itself says that Barbara's story is “truly heroic, on par with the achievements of Helen Keller” who while in graduate school came across the work of Mark Rosenzweig of the University of California, Berkeley, studying rats as one of the first scientists to demonstrate neuroplasticity, fueling Barbara to NOT give up on this idea that the brain in fact could change What IS Neuroplasticity? When I looked at my first attempt to explain this concept, I wrote neuroplasticity as “the ability for our brain to re-wire, grow, adapt or change throughout a person's lifetime” and then I put a couple of YouTube videos that explained this concept. I remember this one by Sentis[iv] as the FIRST lesson I had on neuroplasticity. It shows how pathways in the brain are either strengthened or weakened with use. While I do like those videos and where I began with my own understanding of neuroplasticity, there's more research now to take our understanding a bit deeper and add more meaning to this idea. I don't want to go down rabbit holes either, as I'm trying to show how we can use this concept ourselves, but if you want to learn more about how this works, you can watch a lesson from the incredible Sal Khan[v], from the Khan Academy. How Dr. Andrew Huberman Explains Neuroplasticity I had to start with Dr. Andrew Huberman, since there's no one else I know who can make science simple and easy to use. He has a short clip where he explains neuroplasticity here through Rich Roll's podcast from May 26, 2023.[vi] He explains that “if we want to learn anything new, like a new skill in a sport, or subtract an emotion, or build a greater range of an emotion that we follow these two steps.”[vii] STEP 1: The First Step to Neuroplasticity is to Recognize that you want to change something. This FIRST step almost knocked me out of my chair because we have just covered Dr. Carolyn Leaf's 5 STEPS to Cleaning Up our Mental Mess[viii] and it's centered around identifying a toxic thought that you want to change. With Dr. Leaf's protocol, you go through a 5 STEP process that conceptualizes the thought or emotion that you want to eliminate, and by working through the issue, over this 63-day period, the toxic thought, or emotion you don't want, gets weaker, and you build new, stronger, healthier thoughts or emotions in its place.  It's not like slapping a band aid on something that's bothering you, and pretending it's not there, you actually have to work through the emotions of this “toxic thought” pulling an origin story (or where this thought came from) out of your nonconscious mind, and into your conscious mind where it eventually holds less emotional charge for you. Dr. Leaf calls this Mind-Management. Dr. Huberman talks about this concept as the FIRST step of neuroplasticity. He even talks about someone who approached him while he was speaking, who said that his voice reminded her of someone else, and made her feel uncomfortable. If you speak to audiences, you'll relate to this one. There is always someone whose face looks like they aren't with you, and while I've been presenting, I would look at the crowd, and in my early days, I'd think “that person doesn't like what I'm saying” because that's MY perception coming through, which isn't always the case. Well, this person in the crowd really did approach Dr. Huberman and when she “called the thing she wanted to change to her consciousness” she turned it all around and told him “just by telling you that, your voice became more tolerable.”[ix] Of course Dr. Huberman douses us with a deeper understanding of the scientific side of this idea by saying that “this awareness is a remarkable thing because it cues our brain and the rest of our nervous system that when we engage in those reflexive actions moving forward (like our toxic thinking, or something we want to change) that those reflexive actions moving forward are no longer fated to be reflexive.”[x] This is HUGE when it comes to wanting to change our brain, or change an emotion we don't want, or even to add a new skill, we just need to PAY ATTENTION to whatever it is that we want to change. STEP 2: ALERTNESS ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR NEUROPLASTICITY: WE NEED 2 CHEMICALS (NEURAL MODULATORS) EPHINEPHRINE FOR ALERTNESS AND ACETYLCHOLINE FOR FOCUS AND MENTAL ALERTNESS: Dr. Huberman says once we have paid attention, there are 2 chemicals (neuromodulators) that are released from different parts in our brain. He says that “alertness alone is not sufficient for neuroplasticity” and that “the most important thing for getting plasticity (or this brain change we want) is that there be epinephrine (which equates to alertness) and the release of the neural modulator acetylcholine”[xi] for focus and mental alertness. He says that the “thalamus gets bombarded by sensory input all the time but when I pay attention to something, I create a cone of attention with this acetylcholine that amplifies the signal of what I'm paying attention to making this signal greater to everything else amidst it.”[xii] He says “the signal-noise ratio goes up in the thalamus of the brain”, and that engineers would understand this. Well, I'm not an engineer, but I completely understood this. This idea took me back to when I was working in the seminar industry (where many of my examples draw back to).  I had just finished working with the teens who presented their work on stage and I was sitting in a loud place with someone else I was working with. He looked at me when we were talking and said “hey, do you hear that?” And this was over 25 years ago, and I remember this conversation like it was yesterday. I said “what do you mean?” He said “Listen, if you listen carefully, you can hear Prince's Little Red Corvette playing off in the distance.” To listen, I had to focus and create what Dr. Huberman said was this “cone of attention” and now I know that the neural modulator acetylcholine was flooding my brain so the signal to noise would go up, and I could hear the song. It was a crazy experience because without focus, we both would have missed it. He started to bring in how we needed to create this level of focus for the goals we are working on, and it was a conversation I knew I'd never forget. How Others Have Changed Their Brain: Barbara Arrowsmith-Young I first learned about Barbara Arrowsmith Young when researching for Brian Fact Friday and EPISODE #129 as she was a case study in Dr. Norman Doidge's book, The Brain That Changes Itself[xiii] Dr. Doidge is a Canadian scientist, medical doctor, and psychiatrist who was one of the researchers who put Neuroplasticity on the map and he dedicated a whole chapter in his book to Barbara's story called “Building Herself a Better Brain” which is exactly what she did. You can read Barbara's book, The Woman Who Changed Her Brain,[xiv]  that's now in its third edition, here.   I've heard Dr. Daniel Amen say over and over again that “you are not stuck with the brain that you have. You can be empowered to change it for the better”[xv] and Barbara Arrowsmith Young did just that, and more. Her story blew me away.  You can revisit our episode, or read her story in Dr. Doidge's book, and learn why Norman Doidge said her to be “truly heroic, on par with the achievements of Helen Keller.” Barbara was determined to change her brain, and now that I have Dr. Huberman's formula, it makes sense to me how she did it. How Others Have Changed Their Brain: Dr. Caroline Leaf We've recently covered Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess book for adults and children, and her 5 STEP Process is neuroplasticity in action. While writing this episode I saw an Instagram post that she put up that says that “you can't stop anxiety by trying not to be anxious (like Dr. Huberman said-the first step alone is not enough).  You stop anxiety by allowing the feelings (Dr. Huberman said-draw them to your consciousness) while understanding that it is a transient sensory experience and a warning signal (to do something different) and NOT a permanent reflection of you and your reality.” It's the understanding that helps to eliminate the negative toxic thinking. Sometimes saying what we want to eliminate is enough (like when we've written things down on our CRAP board to get rid of our conflicts, resistances, anxieties and problems) or like the person who said “oh, your voice no longer makes me uneasy, Dr. Huberman” but some things we will need a bit more attention to for long-term change to occur. This 5 STEP approach is scientifically proven to change our brain, and I can tell you that it will help you to eliminate emotions over time (once we've decided on what we want to eliminate). 3 STEPS FOR CHANGING YOUR BRAIN: USE NEUROSCIENCE TO BRING IN THE FOCUS to whatever it is that you want to learn, triggering neuroplasticity. Is it an emotion you want to eliminate? Or one you'd like to amplify? Do you want to learn a new skill? Whatever it is, you will need to FOCUS your mind as you are implementing the new skill. I have a whole new take now on what focus looks like. It's what I had to do in New Orleans to hear Little Red Corvette playing in the background (making the signal to noise go up) so I could hear this song. As I'm now focusing, I know that epinephrine is released and I'm creating a “cone of attention” (Huberman) with acetylcholine that's acting like a spotlight to what I want to focus on, enhancing neuroplasticity in the process. Does this understanding help you to see HOW we can change our brain with our thoughts or activity alone? USE THE TOOLS YOU WERE BORN WITH: I used to watch my Mom, who we met on EPISODE #300[xvi] focus her eyes when I asked her a question. It was like she was diving into the depths of her mind to find the answer. Then I heard Dr. Huberman say that “you can use your visual focus as a way to increase your mental focus abilities more broadly” and I noticed that I do exactly the same thing as my Mom when focusing on something I'm trying to picture in my mind's eye. How do YOU focus your mind? SUPPLEMENTS, SLEEP, MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION: What else can we do to put ourselves in the best mode for changing our brain? Since we know we must find the focus, the most common tool most of us use is caffeine to increase our alertness, and coffee is one way to do this. I'm always looking at what's new in this area, and open to ideas and suggestions from you if you have found something other than coffee to increase your focus.   We know that mastering sleep so we are more rested with more capacity in the day, helps with our focus, increasing our ability for neuroplasticity to take place.  I have mentioned that my world changed when I started taking Qualia Senolytics[xvii] which is a nootropic supplement, from our interview with Dr. Greg Kelly from Neurohacker Collective. I noticed I seem more “locked in” while working with crystal clear mental clarity. Mindfulness and Meditation are scientifically proven strategies to increase our focus and while reviewing our most listened to YouTube interviews, I was not surprised to see that our interview with Dr. Dawson Church[xviii], the author of the book Bliss Brain, is now our #1 most listened to interview. What tools, strategies or supplements do you use for increased focus? REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: HOW CAN WE CHANGE OUR BRAIN? To review and conclude this week's review of EPISODE #133, with “A Deeper Dive into Applying Neuroplasticity to Learn Something New” we covered: ✔ What is neuroplasticity (the brain and nervous system's ability to change itself) and how to use this incredible feature of our nervous system for ANYTHING we want to learn (getting rid of an emotion we don't want, building NEW emotions, or learning a new skill). ✔ The 2 STEPS Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests we understand in order to change our brain.   STEP 1: THE FIRST STEP TO NEUROPLASTICITY IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE SOMETHING. Know thyself. What do you want to change? If you are here listening, I'm sure you are like me, always working on something to improve, whether it's cleaning up our mind for improved mental health, or learning something new that could take our physical health to new heights. Learning is a process, and if each year we can improve ourselves a bit more, we are on the right track. We've covered Dr. Leaf's 5 STEPS for Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess recently, and I must say that once we begin to change our brain, that it's work. I'm now on DAY 21 out of 63 days, working on my 4th time cycling through my toxic thinking, and it requires time, and effort in addition to just wanting this change. Barbara Arrowsmith-Young didn't just wish she could change her brain, she repeatedly did what she needed to do for this change to occur. STEP 2: ALERTNESS ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR NEUROPLASTCITY: WE NEED 2 CHEMICALS (NEURAL MODULATORS) EPHINEPHRINE FOR ALERTNESS AND ACETYLCHOLINE FOR FOCUS AND MENTAL ALERTNESS. Don't forget we create a cone of attention with acetylcholine that amplifies the signal of what we are paying attention to making this signal greater to everything else amidst it, and epinephrine is released for alertness in this process. Know thyself: How do you create focus? For me, sitting down and writing these episodes requires the most brain power I've ever used. I'm learning new ideas and then thinking of how to share them, so that others can benefit and use them. What's motivating me is what I'm learning really IS changing my life. One year at a time, I can see how learning about the brain, and how to use it, is making me a stronger, more improved 2.0 version of myself. Whether it's learning about neuroplasticity, or how our brain works while we are swimming in the ocean, anything new that I'm uncovering here, keeps me coming back to my desk, week after week, to uncover something new to share. I hope my excitement for this connection to science comes through, creating that cone of attention, and acetylcholine in your brain, that's needed to implement this idea in your life. STEP 3: SUPPLEMENTS, SLEEP, MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION I've found certain supplements for focus and mental clarity work well, in addition to getting enough sleep so I can think, and make connections with what I'm learning, but we all will have our own path of finding our optimal levels of focus. Know thyself: What works for you? This has been a process of self-discovery for me over the years, trying new tools, and then measuring the results, and sharing them here on the podcast. I knew that my sleep could be improved 4 years ago, and “although the primary function or functions of sleep are not understood, evidence suggests a strong relationship between sleep and plasticity (Frank et al., 2001; Tononi and Cirelli, 2014). Sleep loss leads to impairments in the plastic processes of learning and memory (Diekelmann and Born, 2010; Rasch and Born, 2013)”[xix] so I'm taking the science to heart, and working on this with as many tools and protocols as I can uncover. Since we know that deep sleep  “is when your cells regenerate and your muscles repair themselves” (WHOOP.com) and REM sleep “is key to processing new memories, learnings, and motor skills” (WHOOP.com) improving and measuring this area will always be what I'm focused on. MY WHOOP DATA: Shows that finally sleep is improving. REM sleep is 25% higher than my 30-day average (key for processing new memories, learnings, and motor skills) and DEEP SLEEP (SWS) is 28% higher, helping me to regenerate cells and help muscles repair themselves. With that thought, I'll end with a quote from Dr. Andrew Huberman, whose research helped me to dive deeper into how we can change our brain using this concept that we still don't know a lot about. "Neuroplasticity knows no bounds; it is a lifelong journey of growth, learning, and personal transformation." - Andrew Huberman I know in 2 years I'll be back to dive deeper into ways we can change our brain even further as new discoveries in science are made, and I hope you'll be with me here, applying them. With that thought, I'll see you next week. REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #133 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-applying-neuroplasticity-to-your-school-or-workplace/ [ii] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as [iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #132 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-story-of-barbara-arrowsmith-young-the-woman-who-changed-her-brain-and-left-her-learning-disability-behind/ [iv] Neuroplasticity Published on YouTube November 6, 2012  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g [v] Neuroplasticity from the Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/nervous-system-and-sensory-infor/nervous-system-introduction-ddp/v/neuroplasticity [vi] Dr. Andrew Huberman Explains Neuroplasticity with Rich Roll May 26, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYDsYyahUCA [vii] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as [viii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #299  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/ [ix] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as [x] IBID [xi] IBID [xii] IBID [xiii] The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge Dec. 18, 2007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c5aTlq3nYI [xiv] Barbara Arrowsmith-Young The Woman Who Changed Her Brain: How I Left My Learning Disability Behind and Other Stories of Cognitive Transformation, Foreword by Norman Doidge. Published  Sept. 17, 2017 https://arrowsmithschool.org/books-3/ [xv] Dr. Amen http://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2019/08/14/1901976/0/en/Dr-Daniel-Amen-s-Change-Your-Brain-Change-Your-Grades-Helps-Students-Parents-and-Teachers-Sync-Up-for-Better-Success.html#:~:text=Amen%20Clinics%2C%20Inc.,-Los%20Angeles%2C%20California&text=LOS%20ANGELES%2C%20Aug.,change%20it%20for%20the%20better. [xvi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #300  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/my-mom-hazel-macphail-with-majid-samadi-on-leaving-a-legacy-how-to-live-the-good-life/ [xvii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #285 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-gregory-kelly-from-neurohacker-collective-on-how-to-beat-aging-and-stress-with-qualia-senolytics/ [xviii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #98 YouTube Interview with Dr. Dawson Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH8yVKHjFN4 [xix] Roles for Sleep in Neural and Behavioral Plasticity by Jacqueline T Weiss and Jeffrey M. Donlea published January 20, 2022 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.777799/full

“By recommending that we balance our choices in biological (diet and exercise), psychological (stress control), social (relationships) and spiritual components in our lives, (Dr. Daniel Amen) provides a desperately needed roadmap to maximize brain health.” Joseph C Maroon, MD from Dr. Daniel Amen's book, The End of Mental Illness that we will dive deeper into on today's episode. On today's episode #301 we will cover: ✔  A review of EP #128 of Dr. Daniel Amen's book, The End of Mental Illness. ✔ An overview of Season 10 with Mental and Physical Health at the Top of Our List. ✔ What do Dr. Caroline Leaf and Dr. Daniel Amen have in common this month? ✔ How Andrea first learned about Dr. Leaf's work, and where they both spoke together. ✔ What Dr. Amen is focused on TODAY. ✔ What Dr. Leaf is focused on TODAY. ✔ How we can better prepare ourselves to help our next generation with their mental and physical health. ✔ The 4 circles of Wellness. ✔ How to Manage Our Mind Using Dr. Leaf and Dr. Amen's work together.  Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that's finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren't taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.    INTRODUCTION: For today's episode, #301, and in keeping with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics, I'm going back to EPISODE #128[i] A Review of Dr. Daniel Amen's Book The End of Mental Illness to see if we can dive deeper here, and add more to this episode than the 6 steps we covered two years ago for improving our brain health, which we know is integral for our mental health. As I'm looking back over our past episodes, you can see a graphic in the show notes of the direction I want to take us moving forward as we go back over some of our past Brain Fact Fridays and see what we can add to them, or what's new, to move us forward. When we first launched this podcast, I had a vision of connecting the most current brain research that I called Neuroscience 101 to our 6 social and emotional learning competencies to improve our well-being, productivity and results. PUTTING OUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH FIRST: Now, in Season 10 we've all graduated from the basics, and are building on this knowledge together, and I'm noticing what's IMPORTANT that needs to be at the Top of our list moving forward. These important topics I've called Neuroscience 202 that will take us deeper than where we first began and I've put Mental and Physical Health at the top of our list. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Just a reminder that I am not a medical doctor, and if you are struggling with your mental health, please do consult with a medical doctor. I'm not offering medical advice here, but am sharing the results I've personally obtained from studying and applying the tips that Dr. Daniel Amen suggests in his book The End of Mental Illness and then will connect his work to Dr. Carolyn Leaf's. My hope is that the strategies we uncover can help others, who might find themselves stuck, with some NEW ideas that I've used myself to access peace of mind, during times of high stress. And with the goal that once we master these strategies ourselves, that we extend them to others to help them with whatever they might be struggling with. This specifically includes our children. CONNECTING DR. AMEN TO DR. CAROLINE LEAF: When I looked back at my review of Dr. Daniel Amen's book The End of Mental Illness, that I covered in May of 2021, I wondered what I could add to this episode, to take our understanding a bit deeper when it comes to taking control of our mental health. This is Dr. Amen's life's work.  He has been on a mission to take the stigma out of term Mental Illness for decades. He says most of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime—and that “normal” is a myth..that 51% of us will have a mental health issue (post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, an eating disorder)”[ii] which shows me clearly that it's more normal to have a problem, than not. This became obvious to me when I started asking some trauma experts, and even past podcast guests, about what strategies they have used for their own children to help with the pressures they face in today's world. They all gave me tips and ideas, telling me that anxiety and depression is the norm with our children these days. This led me to go back to my review of Dr. Caroline Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess book and Neurocycle App, on EPISODE #299[iii] with the timely release of her new book, How to Help Your Child Clean up Their Mental Mess that she just released at the start of this month. Then I noticed that Dr. Daniel Amen has just released a BRAND-NEW course called Brain Thrive (PreK-1)[iv] to help with the prevention of mental health issues for children. Dr. Amen's timely release of this course reminded me once again that this is a topic is important to pay attention to. It's not an accident that Dr. Caroline Leaf released her book for children just last week, and now Dr. Amen releases an online course for children to learn these strategies. I'm definitely paying attention, and from the interest we received from our Deep Dive into Dr. Leaf's work, I know that so are you.   I know that you'll know these statistics, but here's a reminder. 1 in 5 children will struggle with mental health in their lifetime. And that 17.1 million youth under the age of 18 have had a mental health problem. (Dr. Daniel Amen). Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.[v] Before I add something new to Dr. Amen's episode from 2 years ago, I did want to mention that it was through Dr. Amen that I came across Dr. Carolyn Leaf's work. She talks openly on Dr. Amen's Brain Warrior Way Podcast[vi] about how many years she has been using this scientifically proven 5 STEP approach to help people all over the world to clean up their mental mess. I was lucky enough to have the chance to speak on a webinar with Dr. Leaf on Podbean's Wellness week, where I released an episode I'd written on “What Everyone Should Know About the Top 10 Mental Health Staples to Accelerate Productivity and Results.”[vii]  One of the sessions I had a co-presentation with Dr. Leaf and John Kim, (a writer and speaker known as The Angry Therapist). Since I had already heard about Dr. Leaf's work through Dr. Amen, I quickly reached out to interview her, and this is where the work began. Our mental health is a lot like our physical health. We can coast along doing well, until one day, something happens, and we release we could have done a better job at managing our health overall. I'm sure you've heard this quote before… “If you don't pay attention to your health now, some day, your health (either mental of physical) will get your attention” showing us all that prevention is vital. CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS: While writing this episode, I glanced over at Dr. Amen's Instagram account, (a bit because I still look at my phone from time to time while writing) but also to see what he was focused on today, and I noticed that he's on the same mission as he was 2 years ago, helping the world to put their mental health first, which was obvious with the new course for children he's just released.  He had posted a graphic that showed an image of a messed-up mind (drawn like a colorful ball) representing a mind full of anxiety, loneliness, worry, guilt, fears and negative self-talk and he asked his audience “What else would you add to this image?” People from around the globe added things like “self-sabotaging, obsessive thinking, paranoia, being reactive to everything, isolation, dark thoughts, self-doubt, sadness, overwhelm, anger and procrastination” to name a few of their additions. This post caught my attention and made me think that no one is exempt from having a messy mind, and we covered the 5 scientifically proven steps that Dr. Carolyn Leaf suggests on EP299[viii] so that we as parents, teachers, coaches can keep our minds free of mental mess, before helping others. I can't recommend these 5 steps enough, and the use of her Neurocycle APP to help us to work on cleaning up our toxic thoughts not by suppressing them, or pretending they aren't there by replacing them with happy thoughts, (which is just like putting a band aid on them) but by doing the really difficult work of digging straight to the root cause of whatever it is that is messing up our mind, drawing these thoughts out of the depths of our hidden subconscious mind, into our conscious mind, so we can deal with them, by recognizing why we have these thoughts in the first place.  In Dr. Leaf's NEW book, How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess, that I will review once I've thoroughly practiced all her suggestions in this new book, she explains that these “mental messes” we all have look like dead trees in our mind, and that these messes are not bad, but they act as warning signals for us to do something differently to build a healthy tree in our mind. I think this is a powerful analogy, or just another way of looking at what happens to our mind when we don't clean it up, and I know that once I understand this process myself, I'll be better able to help others, including those closest to me who need it. If I look at Dr. Amen's messy ball that shows what a mind that isn't managed looks like, or even Dr. Leaf's dead tree idea, I know that there is hope forward with these strategies and once we've mastered them, it will be easier to teach them to others. But Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess, or by putting our brain health first, takes some thought and isn't something we have been trained to do. There was never a mind-management class when I went to school, or a brain-health course in our PE classes. I do know that many are focused on integrated these ideas into our future classroom curriculums, but for those of us who haven't learned this yet, this is something we all just must learn on our own, so we can proactively move our own needle towards health and wellness, through the lens of prevention. IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Caroline Leaf's "How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess"  ANDREA'S NOTES: You can see my metacog drawing in the show notes which explains how I'm progressing through Dr. Leaf's 5 STEP process using her Neurocycle APP, and managing my mind. We did review this process on EP #299 in depth.  The idea is that once we have identified the main worry or anxiety that we have (the toxic thought) that will cause our mind to look like the dead tree over time if it isn't managed, that we then go through this scientifically proven 5 step process that reconceptualizes the old toxic thought, turning it into a stronger, healthier thought over time with understanding. You can see how I've drawn little buds showing how my old toxic thoughts are getting weaker with time, as I'm using my own mind to create NEW stronger and healthier thoughts. I'm currently on day 16/63 working through a current issue, and I can say that at about the two-week mark, I did notice my mind shifting from being worried about this problem, to feeling more in control of it, and even positive visions of the future where I can look back and not be bothered at all with this problem. This changes the emotions that I feel attached to whatever I was worrying about, which changes my behaviors, and then when I step back, my perspective of it all changes. I can even dig deep into the root cause, and see where my worry came from (and it's not a bad thing-it's just alerting me to do something different and not just suppress what I'm worrying about) which we know causes more dis-ease. This all leads me to freedom, peace of mind, and growth. It's such a beautiful process, and I can't wait to walk my own children through these steps moving forward, so that they build mind-management into their lives and futures. Once we've got the hang of these practices for improved mental and physical health, we can then role model the way for our next generation like Dr. Amen and Dr. Leaf are doing with their work. Children at the preschool levels can understand the importance of mind-management, and Dr. Leaf and Dr. Amen see how important this topic is right now. YOU CAN'T GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GOT It's the whole idea behind the Latin phrase “nemo dat quad non habet[ix]” that my mentor, Bob Proctor would quote often. He said so many things that I would write down and not fully understand until later in life. I remember writing things down over 20 years ago, knowing they were important because he said them so often, and I thought I understood what they meant at the time, until one day, I'd get this AHA Moment when it really clicked and I'd think “Ahh, that's what he meant” and I'd almost hear him saying that Latin phrase in my head. He would explain that no one can give what they have not got. In order to pass on anything to others, like an understanding of our mind in this case, we've got to fully understand how our own mind works. This can translate into anything in our life. As I was thinking about this, I opened up Instagram (for another quick mental break) and saw something that Grant Cardone's daughter (Sabrina Cardone) posted, about exactly this idea. I'll post her speech[x] in the show notes, but it was all about the importance of parent's role-modelling the way for their kids, from a kid's point of view. Now this speech was eye-opening. The idea is that as parents, teachers or coaches, that we role model the way, once we've got this understanding ourselves first. In general, the more brain reserve we have, the more resilient we are and the better our brain can handle the pressures of everyday life, as well as the aging process to keep “mental health” disorders at bay. There are many different factors for how one person can have more brain reserve than another but it stems from family history, or what types of injuries or trauma we've experienced, as well as our mental and physical health. It is clear that the decisions we make and the habits we engage in on a daily basis are either boosting or stealing our brain's reserve and are either accelerating the aging process (aging us) or rejuvenating our brain (turning back the hands of time).  When we grasp this concept, we realize that we actually have a lot of influence on the health and age of our brain, as well as on your own mental health and ability to end “mental illness” which is Dr. Amen's mission. BACK TO EPISODE #128 In our REVIEW of Dr. Amen's The End of Mental Illness book, 2 years ago, we covered the 3 parts to his book that's still relevant and important today. I do recommend a refresher of this episode. Part 1 of the book, he gives a history of mental health over the years, with some tips for brain health that can change your life. You will see some SPECT image scans and case studies and begin to see how some common brain health issues like depression, anxiety, TBI, substance abuse, or Alzheimer's Disease show up in the brain vs a healthy brain scan image. A brain scan really can change your life and give you some insight into your health. We covered this topic in 3 Parts back in 2020 with PART 1 “How A Brain Scan Changed My Brain and Life with Doug Sutton,”[xi] PART 2 we dove deeper into “What Exactly is a Brain Scan”[xii] and I made some predictions of what I thought I would see with my own SPECT Image Brain Scan that I cover on PART 3[xiii]. Part 2 of the book explains the BRIGHT MINDS acronym which is a guide for well-being with the brain in mind. We covered the BRIGHT part on this episode 128, but we missed the MOST important part in MINDS which was the MENTAL HEALTH part of his equation that we will cover today. Part 3 of his book offers strategies that can be used in schools and the workplace to end mental illness with a focus on brain health. It's in this part of the book that Dr. Amen says “You cannot change what you do not measure.” (Chapter 17) so we can see clearly WHEN our brain and body are NOT working right. Peter Drucker says “If you can't measure it, you can't improve it” and I'm sure we all can agree on this one. THE BRIGHT MINDS STRATEGY Today I want to look deeper at the M in Dr. Amen's BRIGHT MINDS Strategy and add what he says are the four circles to help us with implementing these important health and wellness strategies. All this work can seem like a lot but if we can think of these 4 circles, it makes this all easier to understand, and with time, you'll see how thinking with our brain health in mind will eventually become a habit. THE 4 CIRCLES OF HEALTH We opened up this episode with a quote from a doctor who mentioned the importance of thinking about these 4 circles. Dr. Joseph Maroon said that: “By recommending that we balance our choices in biological (diet and exercise), psychological (stress control), social (relationships) and spiritual components in our lives, (Dr. Daniel Amen) provides a desperately needed roadmap to maximize brain health.” Joseph C Maroon, MD from Dr. Daniel Amen's book, The End of Mental Illness. Dr. Amen says he first learned about these 4 circles in 1978 when he started medical school, and was told by Dr. Sid Garrett to “always think of people as whole beings, never just as their symptoms…always take into consideration the four circles of health and illness.” (Dr. Amen, The End of Mental Illness). IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Daniel Amen's The End of Mental Illness Biological: Where we think “Is my behavior good for my brain or bad for it?” This is where I think about healthy eating, exercise, intermittent fasting and doing the things I know are good for my brain, because I really do care about it. PUT THIS INTO ACTION We cover this topic in depth on a BONUS EP[xiv] with a Deep Dive into the Top 5 Health Staples. I know I need to add stress management to this list. What about you? How are you looking after this part of your brain health? Psychological Mindset: That includes “how we talk to ourselves—as well as our self-concept, body image, past emotional traumas, upbringing and significant developmental events.” (Page 81, The End of Mental Illness). This is where the work I'm doing with Dr. Leaf's 5 steps to Cleaning Up My Mental Mess comes in. I'm always thinking, feeling and choosing in the direction of more love, peace, and freedom of mind, which takes some work when something comes in and stops my peaceful thinking. PUT THIS INTO ACTION Dr. Amen brings up Eckhart Tolle's concept of the “pain-body” that I talked about on EP #281[xv] WITH Dr. Sean Sullivan who taught us how to shift our mindset in 10 minutes or less. We talked about how we all have these “pain-bodies” living inside us (Eckhart Tolle) and once we can see what they are (through Dr. Leaf's work-where they show up as our Origin Story) then we “just observe these pain-bodies (or toxic thoughts)  in the present moment” (Tolle) and we will notice that over time, their “energy will decrease.” (Tolle) This is mind-management in action. Once we've cleaned up our mental mess, we can go on to teach this concept to others. The idea of “I'm not good enough” used to show up ALL the time as the root cause of most of my stresses and anxieties, until I uncovered it, and this “pain-body” that developed over time in me, no longer affects me….at all! What about you? Are you aware of the pain-bodies or toxic thoughts that hold you back? Have you begun to clean them up? Social: We've all heard that “you become like the people with whom you spend the most time” (Dr. Amen) and you will be well aware of those who lift you up, versus pull you down. PUT THIS INTO ACTION While I don't have much time for the social part of life, I do make it a priority to keep the social connections that are important to me strong. Also, putting my spare time into this podcast helps me to connect with others around the world on a deeper level.  What about you? How do you keep your social connections strong? Spiritual: We've talked about this one often on this podcast. I've heard from so many of our guests that we are “spiritual beings having a human experience.” This we just can't ignore. Dr. Amen points to Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning book to explain this one, (page 94, The End of mental Illness) reminding us to do the following: Find purposeful work where you are productive. Love the people who are central to your life. Find courage in the face of difficulty (and help others to shoulder theirs). PUT THIS INTO ACTION Finding purposeful work is easy for me, as the podcast helps me to keep working towards improving myself and sharing it with others. This keeps me busy and I do feel the connection that extends far beyond myself here. What about you? What's your purpose? How do you find more meaning in your day to day life? CONNECTING DR. AMEN and DR. LEAF'S WORK TOGETHER: To close out this episode, now that we have these 4 circles in mind, (showing us that we are whole beings-our biological side, our psychological, social and spiritual side). Let's revisit the acronym BRIGHT MINDS (a guide for well-being with the brain in mind) and look closer at what the “M” stands for, and see how we connect Dr. Leaf's work, to Dr. Amen's, for a stronger, healthier mind. M-That stands for Mental Health is what Dr. Amen calls MIND STORMS. I love his analogy for our mental health, especially after looking at that graphic with the all of the mess in our minds showing up like a colorful ball. Since we've been focused on our Mental Health the past few episodes, I wonder what Dr. Amen would suggest we do to help us to Clean Up Our Mental Mess.  Chapter 11 of The End of Mental Illness goes deep into WHY these storms happen in our brain, and WHAT can cause them, I want to focus on ways he suggests we prevent them from happening in the first place, since I think they complement Dr. Leaf's 5 STEP Approach. While Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess, there are things we can do to help our brain/minds to improve, and things we can do that hurt our progress.  Dr. Amen suggests “avoiding anything that increases mind storms” (p 210 The End of Mental Illness) like “stress, tiredness, lack of sleep, alcohol, drug abuse, low or high blood sugar states, missing meals, and excessive screen time.” (Page 210). We all know what makes us feel “off” in our lives, and our mental health is centered around doing what makes us feel better, or good, and have more clarity of mind. I know what increases my MIND STORMS, making my mind messier than usual, and what keeps my mind clear and peaceful. As I'm now in my 52nd year of life, I want the ability to think clearly every day, so I can keep learning new ideas, and building a better version of myself, so when I find something that works, I'm sticking to it. Here are my top habits that help keep MIND STORMS out of my head and prevent mental messes from happening in the first place. CREATING HABITS THAT LIMIT OUR MENTAL MESS or MIND STORMS: CARING ABOUT OUR BRAIN: Just by caring about my brain, I think about the daily choices I'm making. When eating something, I'll ask “will this help, or hurt my brain” and think hard about whether It's worth creating a MIND STORM over a certain choice.  If I create a mind storm, I just know I'll have to spend extra time cleaning it up, so it's easier to avoid what I know hurts me at this point. KNOW WHAT CAUSES OUR MENTAL MESS or MIND STORMS: It's easy enough to know what makes me feel CLEAR and FOCUSED, vs CLOUDY and DISTRACTED. I just avoid things that steal my MENTAL CLARITY (replacing alcohol with non-alcoholic beverages, or sticking to my morning exercise routine that gives me a burst of energy/clarity throughout the day). DO MORE OF WHAT PREVENTS MENTAL MESS or MIND STORMS: Once you know what keeps your mind clear, keep doing that. For me, it's daily exercise, eating low glycemic foods that keep my blood sugar from spiking, or higher fat foods that keep me fuller and less likely to eat the wrong thing, daily meditation, working on at least 7 hours of sleep at night, and pain management strategies for anything on my body that hurts (chiropractor, massage therapy, stretches, tools for self-care) that keep my mind strong and clear… AVOIDING MIND STORMS FOR ME. REGULARLY CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS TO PREVENT BIGGER MIND STORMS IN THE FUTURE: Using Dr. Leaf's scientifically proven 5 STEP PROCESS and Neurocycle App because I know I'm not always going to make the right choice, and I'll have a MIND STORM at some point. So MIND-MANAGEMENT is something I add to my routine for those days when something gets past the gate, or when something unexpected comes my way, and needs my attention. With these final thoughts, I'll chose out this episode and ask you. What do you do that PREVENTS your MIND from getting messy? I'd love to hear your strategies, and what's working. And with that, I'll close out this episode, and see you sometime next week. In the meantime, once you have practiced Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, I highly recommend Dr. Amen's New Brain Thrive Course, and Dr. Leaf's New Book to help our children clean up their mental mess. RESOURCES: Dr. Amen's NEW BRAIN THRIVE COURSE https://offers.amenuniversity.com/bt5-headstart/ Dr. Caroline Leaf's NEW Book for Children https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/ REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #128  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/   [ii] Dr. Amen, Brain Thrive by 25 Online Course http://brainthriveby25.com/   [iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #299 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/   [iv] Amen University https://offers.amenuniversity.com/bt5-headstart/   [v]https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html#:~:text=Suicide%20affects%20people%20of%20all,%2D14%20and%2020%2D34.   [vi] The 5-Step Process to Managing Trauma with Dr. Caroline Leaf on The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast Published on YouTube May 22, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_sHPAvOXh4&t=2661s   [vii] Andrea Samadi's Pre-released episode for Podbean's Wellness Week Nov.27, 2020 https://podcastwellnessweek.podbean.com/e/what-everyone-must-know-about-the-top-mental-health-staples-to-accelerate-productivity-and-results/   [viii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #229 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/   [ix] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_dat_quod_non_habet   [x] Sabrina Cardone https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv902OLALiZ/?hl=en   [xi] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-brain-scan-changed-my-brain-and-life-with-doug-sutton/   [xii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-exactly-can-a-spect-imaging-brain-scan-change-your-life-with-andrea-samadi-part-2/   [xiii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/   [xiv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/   [xv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #281 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/psychologist-dr-sean-sullivan-andfounder-of-oneperfectshiftcom-on-how-to-shift-to-a-better-state-of-mind-in-10-minutes-anytime/  

In this episode, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Carolyn Leaf, who shared invaluable insights on how to support children in managing their mental well-being. The show highlighted the pressing issue of childhood suicide, which has reached epidemic proportions, with rates surpassing those of adults. Dr. Carolyn emphasized the importance of teaching children how to understand and handle their emotions effectively. She pointed out that negative emotions are temporary and not a permanent state. Using a powerful analogy, she likened children to pilots flying a plane without being taught how to navigate, land, or manage it properly. Parents play a vital role in guiding their children through emotional challenges. It is crucial to educate them about their emotions, equipping them with the tools to navigate through the complexities of our modern world, including the impact of social media and its potential to trigger negative emotions, depression, and self-loathing. During the episode, Dr. Carolyn introduced the concept of the "neuro cycle," which involves guiding children through the process of addressing and resolving negative feelings effectively. The show proved to be a treasure trove of valuable information and strategies for parents and guardians seeking to help their children develop emotional resilience and well-being in today's challenging environment.   On today's podcast, you will learn: The alarming rise in childhood suicide rates, surpassing those of adults. How children are not being taught how to manage their emotions. The role of our current society, including social media on children's mental well-being. Valuable strategies and advice to help children develop emotional resilience. The importance of teaching children that emotions are temporary. The "neuro cycle" method to help children process and resolve negative emotions effectively.   Dr. Caroline Leaf's Bio: Dr. Caroline Leaf is a communication pathologist, audiologist, and clinical and cognitive neuroscientist specializing in psychneurobiology and metacognitive neuropsychology. Her passion is to help people see the power of the mind to change the brain, control chaotic thinking, and find mental peace. Since the early 1980s, Dr. Leaf has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory. As a highly sought-after expert on mental health, she is the host of the top-rated podcast, Cleaning Up the Mental Mess. Dr. Leaf is also the author of several bestselling books, including “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess”, “Switch On Your Brain”, “Think and Eat Yourself Smart”, “The Perfect You”, “Think, Learn, Succeed”, and many more. She has a Masters and PhD in Communication Pathology and a BSc Logopaedics. Dr Leaf does ongoing research and clinical trials in the field of psychoneurobiology in order to improve mental health interventions. You can learn more about Dr. Leaf and her work at drleaf.com   ✨SUBSCRIBE✨ http://bit.ly/38pyo1U

On Today's EPISODE #299 we will cover:  ✔ A Deep Dive into Dr. Carolyn Leaf's 5 Scientifically Proven Steps to Clean Up Our Mental Mess, So We Can Help Ourselves, Others and Our Children (Preparing for Dr. Leaf's NEW Book Coming Out August 8th).  ✔ What to Expect in the 63 Day Neurocycle (from her APP) from Andrea's Experience of Breaking Down Her Own Toxic Thoughts. ✔ How This Scientifically Proven Process Breaks Down a Toxic Thought, and Reconceptualizes It into Something Healthy and Manageable. ✔ An Overview of the 5 Steps You Will Use to Manage Your Mind. ✔ What Tools and Strategies Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests for improving anxiety and stress in our lives. ✔ Andrea's Thoughts on implementing these strategies for improved mental and physical health, with tools to create balance on a daily basis. Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that's finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren't taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.    As we have now hit more than halfway through this year, I want to look back to where we started in January. We opened up January 2023 and SEASON 9 with an episode that focused on “prioritizing our mental and physical health, improving self-awareness and resiliency”[i] with a quote from Julie Smith, and her book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? She said “To me, working on maximizing our mental health is no different to working on our physical health.” Today, we are going to show just how true Julie Smith's concept of being mindful of our physical AND mental health is, and look at some strategies that we can all use immediately, for difficult times, so that we ALL keep our mental health at the forefront, with ideas for how we can use our mind to become resilient to stress. For today's episode #299, we are going back to the Basics, and reviewing EP #106[ii], from February 2021, where we covered a review of Dr. Carolyn Leaf's Neurocycle APP[iii] (that's scientifically designed to help manage and reduce anxiety, depression and mental ill-health by 81%) along with her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, that we covered when we interviewed Dr. Leaf on a BONUS EPISODE[iv] back in 2021. I continue to release her episode every year, as her 5 STEP process to identifying, and breaking up toxic thoughts is unlike anything I've ever seen or tried myself. If anyone ever asks me “what do you recommend for getting rid of those ruminating thoughts, those worries, stresses or anxieties” that ALL of us feel at some point in our life, I always send over Dr. Leaf's interview, and let them know about her APP that's now called The Neurocycle APP, based on applying these 5 steps. Why Am I Revisiting Our Mental Health Now? After our last EP #298 with my friend and Neurocoach, Grace Reynolds[v], I mentioned that my girls were struggling with going back to school, and my youngest in particular, with a new school, no friends there, and an entirely new routine. I tried some of Grace's strategies with her to help bring her brain back to calm, but I quickly realized that I needed more help for her. I thought back to Dr. Leaf's episode, and wished she has steps for me to follow that I could walk my 12 year old through, so I went back to the Neurocycle APP on my phone, and thought that it might be a good time for me to revisit the 5 STEPS that she suggests can clean up ANY mental mess, helping us to manage thoughts that make us anxious, or depressed, and eliminate ANY toxic thoughts,  showing us how to take control of them, manage them, and break them down so that they don't have any control over us. We've all got these thoughts in our head, whether it's work worries, financial worries, family worries, I'm sure everyone can write down a bunch of CRAP they need to get out of their head. It's really quite an experience and I thought I'm definitely past due for cleaning up my own mental mess. I opened up my APP that I haven't used since the last time I had a problem I wanted to eliminate, and right there on the home page was an alert about Dr. Leaf's new book, coming out in days, called How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health[vi] which covers scientifically-proven steps to help children ages 3-10 overcome unhealthy thinking habits and manage their mental health.  My wish was granted. In days, I'll have her new book, (it's coming out August 8th) and I'll share anything NEW she covers with how to help our children with their worries, keeping their minds peaceful, but until then, I've started a NEW 63-day Cycle, which is what Dr. Leaf recommends for eliminating ANY toxic thought that you have, anything that you know is taking away from your peace of mind, to see how I could work on my current worries, and be a stronger version of myself for my family.  When we can understand the 5 steps ourselves as parents, or teachers, and role model the way with our thoughts and behaviors, it's the first step towards showing our kids that there is nothing wrong with anxiety. It's not a bad thing. It's a signal to show us that we need to do something differently. Dr. Leaf said that she uses this system herself, and it's the way she manages her mind. If you look at Dr. Leaf you might think she looks somewhere in her 40s with her age, but it you follow her work, she goes back in time with her research, and shares she is around age 60. When we can manage our stress from the inside out, it does show up on the outside.   She shares “I truly believe that mental mess is something we all experience often,” and that it isn't something we should be ashamed of. This is my profession, and I still have to clean up my mind daily. The events and circumstances of life aren't going anywhere; people make a lot of decisions every day that affect us all, suffering of some sort for you and your loved ones is inevitable. That said, I wholeheartedly believe that although the events and circumstances can't be controlled, we can control our reactions to these events and circumstances. This is mind-management in action!” So for today's EP #299, I want to revisit my REVIEW of Dr. Leaf's 5 STEPS for Managing Our Mental Mess, and prepare for her NEW book coming out How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health.[vii] This book is on pre-order right now, coming out August 8th.  If you do pre-order a copy, go to her website and register your order, and you will receive some bonuses, like a video that will prepare your kids for going back to school. This is JUST what I needed last week.  I've pre-ordered my copy and highly suggest you look at her new book, if you are like me, with young children, noticing the effects of stress, and anxiety on their developing brains. I hope you find this episode helpful, as I'll share NEW strategies that go much deeper than what we've ever done before with cleaning up our minds, with Dr. Leaf's 5 Step Approach to reducing our own anxiety, and improve our own self-regulation. Finally, we will look at strategies that Stanford Professor and neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests we do in addition to Dr. Leaf's 5 steps, to make sure we are taking ALL the steps we can to increase our resilience to stress. Finally, once we've mastered these steps ourselves, we can role model the way for others in our life, like, our children, so they can do the same. CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS IN 5 STEPS Today, in order to go deeper into the 5 steps than I covered in my first review of Dr. Leaf's program[viii] back in 2021, I'm going to offer insights from actually doing the FULL 63 days (which Dr. Leaf calls a Neurocycle) three times. I did one full cycle to eliminate, and better manage a problem that I'd say was once my biggest fear, and it's not at all anymore now that I look at my notes, and then use the APP to understand something about myself on a deeper level, more than any counseling that I've ever paid for, attended, and done the work for. What happens with this 63 day Neurocycle process is that once we identify a problem we want to “clean up” from our mind, we'll go through these 5 steps every day, for 63 days, and in this process, we conceptualize whatever it is that gives us an emotional charge. It never goes away, but whatever it is that brings you worry and anxiety, over time, will lose its energy and power over you, so that in essence are able to control your thoughts, keeping them healthy, instead of them controlling you, and bringing you dis-ease. Dr. Leaf's Neurocycle app, costs $14.99USD/month which is much less than any time I've actually paid a mental health expert for assistance. I'm not paid to endorse Dr. Leaf, I just interviewed her, and fully believe in her process. You can go through the steps in her APP, or even watch the steps herself from her YouTube channel[ix]. NOTE: Remember, I am not a medical doctor, and if you are struggling with your mental health, please do consult with a medical doctor. On this episode I'm not offering medical advice, but am sharing the results I've personally obtained from using the 5 STEP approach that Dr. Leaf suggests, from my point of view, in her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess and using her Neurocycle APP. My hope is that it can help others, who might find themselves stuck, with some NEW ideas and strategies that I've used myself to access peace of mind, during times of high stress in my own life, with the goal that next, I'll be able to help my family to use these stress reduction strategies in their life, or for anyone who might be listening, and want to try them out for themselves.   63 DAYS TO BREAK DOWN A TOXIC THOUGHT The whole idea is that Dr. Leaf, from her years of research, suggests it takes 63 days to get rid of, and completely break down and eliminate a toxic thought. Day 1-21 you identify the thought you want to work on, (you'll know which one gives you the most emotional charge when you write out all of your worries) and you'll go through the 5 steps every day to deconstruct the thought, and reconstruct it into something you understand and can manage.  Day 22-42 you go through the 5 steps only, growing new thoughts around the toxic one, and Day 42-63 you finally break the “cycle” and form NEW thoughts, that support the future you want to see.  It sounds pretty simple and straight forward, but I've got to share that it's a bit messy. CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS IN 63 DAYS In our interview, she held up a dead, rotten looking tree, showing us that this is what our toxic thoughts look like, (in our mind) and I'm not one consciously think negative thoughts, knowing how damaging they are to our brain and results, but this image took it all to a new level for me with this dead tree. Anytime we are stuck ruminating on something negative, (either consciously-when we will know we are going down the wrong path, or even unconsciously, like what happened to me when I noticed feeling this sinking feeling in my stomach that something just wasn't right in our world) the dead tree is a good visual to think of. How on the earth could we possibly expect to build positive results with negative thoughts floating through our minds, causing negative feelings, actions and results? These negative thoughts further impact our conditions, circumstances and even our future environments. It's not something I want personally, or for anyone else, so when I noticed I was beginning to worry, and feel anxious with some things happening with our girls, that are a normal part of them growing up, and I knew these worries were beginning to impact my behavior, (I was more snippier than usual with them) I knew it was time for me to start a NEW 63 day Neurocycle and nip these worries in the bud, before they grew into something more difficult to control. I knew it was time to clean up my own Mental Mess. I'm on DAY 4/63 of the program now, and since this is my 4th time running through a 63-day cycle, I wanted to share my thoughts along the way, to help others who might be thinking about beginning this process. I'll link some resources in the show notes resource section of where to begin. I highly suggest watching the interview I did with Dr. Leaf on EPISODE #106[x] to get some background information of this 5-step process, and even her interview with podcaster Ed Mylett[xi] who brings some humor to the 5-step process from a guy's point of view. The Neurocycle APP puts everything into practice and brings the 5-steps to life. Here's My Experience of Using the APP to Clean Up My Mental Mess INTRO TO THE APP: I opened up the APP, and 63 days feels like a long way away, but if you can break down the journey into stages (1-21 where you identify what issue you want to DETOX from your mind and begin to deconstruct it, and then reconstruct it into something healthier, 22-42 where you practice the 5 steps and reinforce new, healthy thoughts, and finally days 42-63 where you break the cycle of negative thinking and find FREEDOM in your mind) where you notice you'll be able to manage your thoughts, and life, so much better. You go from having doubts, worries, and fears, to understanding, and eventually to FREEDOM and peace of mind. Here's how I felt throughout my 63 days. DAY 1: I felt anxious, with a problem I wanted to solve immediately. It was difficult to focus on my work, as the problem was on my mind. Dr. Leaf's dead toxic tree was enough of a visual for me to want to change my toxic thoughts, and get them out of my head.  I also felt an anxious feeling in my stomach, and knew I wasn't my best self. DAY 2: The first part is all about brainstorming what's on our mind. If I thought about the CRAP BOARD I talked about in our previous EPISODE, it's here we list out all of Conflicts, Resistances, Anxieties and Problems on a piece of paper. I did this myself, and actually did it with my daughter, to pinpoint what was stressing her out so much. Pinpointing what's bothering you the MOST is eye-opening, as you look at other things that cross your mind, and put them on the back-burner, so to speak. Now we are going to pick the one that's the most pressing. I've now identified the ONE thought I'll work on for 63 days. Most of us will be able to list a whole bunch of things that are on our mind, taking up space. You'll want to pick just ONE. At this point I already know how I feel when this problem comes across my mind, and I've started to apply strategies to calm my mind when I feel stressed out about it. The work of deconstructing this problem has begun. DAY 3: Now I've learned to pause and breathe when stressed with a strategy Dr. Leaf calls THINK/FEEL and CHOOSE. With time, this self-regulation strategy becomes automatic and when I THINK and FEEL something that makes me uneasy, I have the ability to CHOOSE how I respond or react to it, listening closely to what she says are “warning signals” in my body.  Alpha waves increase as I dig deeper into my mind, and gain understanding in this process.  I'm very clear with the emotions I feel, the behaviors I choose, and I'm using my own mind to gain some perspective of what this all means to me, and what are the root causes of it all. DAY 6: I'm beginning to change my perspective of the toxic thought, getting closure to it all, as I'm beginning to see where it came from in the first place. DAY 7: I can actually gather some insight, understanding and feel empowered as I've broken up a toxic thought with my own mind. After 7 days I can say I felt hope, or empowerment and had created a vision for the future I wanted as the toxic thought is now being restructured in my brain and turned into something useful. I'm thinking of her dead tree coming alive a bit. DAY 14: Dr. Leaf mentions is a BENCHMARK DAY as you might experience what she says is like a “mastery mirage” or that “Oh, I've got this feeling” and you want to stop here. DON'T STOP, or you'll undo all of the work you've done up to this point, and you'll need to start over at day 1. The toxic thought isn't dead just yet. Keep going, learning, thinking and reflecting. It's here you might need an accountability partner to keep going, but find some way to take this process seriously and keep moving, and doing the “mental” work to break free from whatever it is that's bothering you. I just wrote down what day I was on in my notebook out of 63 days, showing me that I wasn't finished yet. DAY 14-16: Somewhere around here I felt persistence, resilience, strength and power about the thought that was once toxic and troubling.  I can look back to Day 1 and remember how I felt, knowing this process does work. I know that I'm nowhere near where I was 2 weeks ago with this toxic thought. DAY 20: I can now see the BIG PICTURE and the future that was bright as the toxic thought no longer bothers me. This is an incredible experience to get to and know that we used our own mind to clean itself. DAY 21-24: Were the most powerful. I won't write here why, you'll have to do the work and see for yourself, but it was here that came deep understanding, healing and strength that would change me forever. DAY 25-63: Was a process of going through the 5 STEPS daily, and reconceptualizing the toxic every day until you build it into something else that's healthier.   I did cover in the 5 STEPS in our REVIEW of Dr. Leaf's Book[xii], but here they are again here: IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Carolyn Leaf's 5 STEPS for Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess in her Neurocycle APP. STEP 1: Gather Awareness (of what's bothering you). We've all heard of the importance of knowing our emotions, or when we name what's bothering us, or when we name it, we can tame it[iv]. What about those worries that we name, and they don't go away? This is where I used the Neurocycle APP and this is something I will continue to use to clean up my own mental mess, cleaning up those bigger worries that I know are impacting my results. STEP 2: Reflect and Analyze: Answer, Ask and Discuss Some Questions to Find the Root Cause of Your Emotions or What's Bothering You. This is how we pull thoughts from our non-conscious mind to our conscious mind, where it becomes weaker. It's no longer suppressed but acknowledged. Use your mind to ask yourself questions, and it will be interesting to see what comes up. This process takes time, reflection and daily effort. Our emotions are unique signals to learn how to cope with challenges, but over time, negative ones will damage our brain with consistent worry.  We want to find our way to growing the positive emotions, and weakening the negative ones. Since I'm on my 4th time doing this process, I can say that the ROOT CAUSE of ALL my worries, are pretty much the same issue. This activity will increase your self-awareness. STEP 3: Write out what you discover from step 2. Begin to capture what's bothering you and see if you can come up with root causes, or why you think this worry is on your mind. Learn to write in pictures, add color, shapes. Learn how to write in a metacog formula[v] digging into your nonconscious mind, bringing what's buried in there, to your conscious mind for you to deal with it.  It's here you will create self-regulation strategies to turn your worries into something that no longer holds you back. STEP 4: Recheck and Edit What You Have Written Down. Re-read what you have written and see what comes up. Can you add more to your answer to help make more sense of it? Dig deeper, look for patterns, triggers and keep looking for the root cause of the problem. As you gain more understanding of what's bothering you, you are now what Dr. Leaf says is called “conceptualizing” the toxic thought into something you can manage.  STEP 5: Practice and Apply Through Active Reach. Look at what you have written and see if you can come up with an action statement to practice what you have learned from your introspection.  You will read out your daily Aha Moment 7x a day to remind yourself what you are re-shaping. This last step is something positive and motivating to remind you of your NEW awareness around this thought. The APP even has a reminder that will pop up on your phone to help you to consolidate this new thought into your mind in this process. It will make you smile when you are going about your busy day, long after you've done this work. It's here you'll notice a shift in energy about the problem. I started to see mine differently here looking at it from a distance. DIVE DEEPER INTO YOUR RESULTS The Neurocycle APP has this NEW feature that measures how well you are managing your mind. You can click on the RESULTS tab and see a score for your Autonomy, Awareness, Toxic Thoughts and Isolation, Toxic Stress, Barriers and Challenges, Empowerment and Life Satisfaction based on answering questions after each day of using the app. This score will help you to dive deeper into your mental health and see where there is room for improvement along the way. What's NEXT? Now that I know how to identify and change my own toxic thinking, I'd like to teach this process to my girls, so they can keep their minds free and clear of their mental mess. Dr. Leaf's book for kids comes out August 8th (next Tuesday) so reviewing her 5 STEPS will be helping for ANYONE who wants to apply these steps themselves and then help others to do the same. Before I review this episode with some additional strategies, I do have to say that going through these 5 steps isn't going to be easy. I'm in my 4th cycle of 63 days, and in the very beginning, when you are writing down something that make you uneasy (a toxic thought) it will make you FEEL uneasy. The work is real, and so are the emotions that you will be breaking down. I had to find strategies to help me to center myself, and get out of the fight/flight part of my anxious brain, to the rest and digest parasympathetic side. There's no way around a problem, Dr. Leaf says the only way is “through” and I'll have to agree.  When doing these 5 steps, find ways to incorporate self-care into your day. Be good to yourself. To make sure I was putting my mind in the BEST frame for doing this deep work, I looked at what other strategies we could use to help calm our mind as we are cleaning up our Mental Mess, and I found a list from Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast. On Dr. Huberman's EPISODE on “Tools for Managing Stress and Anxiety[xiii]” he suggests: What Does Dr. Huberman Suggest? 1. BREATHING: Practice the physiological sigh[xiv] by consciously engaging in a double inhale followed by a long exhale to regulate heart rate and induce relaxation. Incorporate deliberate breathing techniques, such as longer and more vigorous exhales, to regulate heart rate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Dr. Leaf incorporates breathing into her Neurocycle steps, helping us to prime our brain for learning. I saw the importance of taking deep breaths when I interviewed Rohan Dixit and his Lief Therapeutics[xv] wearable HRV device. This device, that connected to my stomach with sensors, taught me to breathe and in turn, lower my HRV. 2. SUPPLEMENTS: Explore non-prescription compounds like melatonin, L-theanine, and ashwagandha for potential stress modulation. While I'm not anti-alcohol, I do have a new awareness of the damaging impact of this toxin on our brain, since Dr. Huberman's episode where he covers this in depth[xvi], I've been drinking HOP WTR[xvii] to help calm my nerves as an alternative to alcohol, especially when I need my mind clear and focused, or while learning new information. When life needs your full awareness, I highly suggest finding a healthy substitute that will help you to continue to build brain health in this process. I find this drink to be relaxing, and it does still relieve stress, probably as it contains Ashwagandha that's best known for its stress relieving properties. 3. PRIORITIZE SLEEP[xviii] AND MAINTAIN OPTIMAL HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) for overall health. I've been working on this area for a long time now, (since 2019) and finally seeing improvements[xix].  It's a process, involving many factors (physical and mental health) and optimizing all areas of health come one step at a time. You can see from my WHOOP (wearable tracker) data that my sleep performance struggles to reach the 70% mark (the suggest number for sufficient sleep) unless I'm on vacation. This is mostly due to the fact that I prioritize early morning works outs, for the benefits I receive there, so sleep is always my work in progress.  Finding the balance we need with our physical and mental health is a process. We've covered improving HRV on a few episodes, and I've been watching this number like a hawk for the past year. This past month, I've finally seen a huge jump in HRV scores that I attribute mostly to the Qualia Senolytics[xx] supplement that I started to use after interview Dr. Greg Kelly from Neurohacker Collective, and drinking more Hop Wtr. In February of this year, my HRV was averaging around 65 ms, and now it's averaging 84 ms, a 30% increase since February which is a huge jump that could go even higher if only I could get consistent sleep at night. These are my experiences for improving sleep and HRV, and know there are many other suggested strategies that we'll keep our eye on and cover in the future. 4. BUILD RESILIENCE: Engage in activities that raise the stress threshold, such as cold showers or intense exercise, while learning to calm the mind. This is a new practice for me and does come in handy when you travel to a place with no hot water once you've mastered cold water immersion. To conclude and review this week's Brian Fact Friday, of a deeper dive into Dr. Carolyn Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and Neurocycle APP, I highly suggest that if you have something you want to work through, something that's on your mind bothering you, and distracting you from being your best self, read Dr. Leaf's How To Clean Up Your Mental Mess book, and grab her Neurocycle APP, even if it's just for a few months to go through one 63 day cycle. You can always quit the APP, and come back to it at a later date, like I did. Then fine tune your mindset and resilience practice with Dr. Huberman's tips for managing stress and anxiety. You don't have to do it all at once, and you can see from what I'm measuring that balancing our mental and physical health will always be a “work in progress”, especially cleaning up our mental mess, so we can be the best version of ourselves, inspiring others to do the same. Since stress, anxiety and depression are at an all-time high in the world today, and if we as parents, teachers and coaches can equip ourselves with evidence-based strategies that work, we will be building a stronger, more resilient future for our next generation. Neurohacker Collective just posted this week that “people with higher baseline vagal tone (from practices like breath work, cold exposure, exercise, meditation, taking probiotics, laughter, singing and relaxation exercises) have shown higher levels of subjective well-being, and positive emotions (better self-regulation and self-control).” With that, I'll close out this episode, and see you next week, with EPISODE 300 with a surprise guest, my Mom, who will join my husband, Majid Samadi, and I, to cover some mindset success strategies that she's used over the years, many that we have discussed on the podcast. See you next week! RESOURCES: Neurocycle APP https://www.neurocycle.app/ Andrea interviews Dr. Leaf https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/ Watch Dr. Leaf's 5 STEP PROCESS on her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@DrCarolineLeaf All About Dr. Leaf's NEW Book for Children ages 3-10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1lb2_zaibg PRE-ORDER her new book How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess by Dr. Caroline Leaf COMING AUG 8th, 2023  https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/ The Vagus Nerve: What it is and how to stimulate it for increase stress resilience by Sara Adaes, Ph.D. October 22, 2022 https://neurohacker.com/the-vagus-nerve-what-it-is-and-how-to-stimulate-it-for-increased-stress-resilience?utm_source=social&utm_medium=insta&utm_campaign=quote_card_vagus_high_tone_positive_emotions REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #268 “Prioritizing our mental and physical health, improving self-awareness and resilience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-prioritizing-mental-health-in-2023-improving-self-awareness-and-resilience/   [ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/    [iii] https://www.neurocycle.app/   [iv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/   [v] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/grace-reynolds-on-mindfulness-neurocoaching-the-quickest-and-easiest-path-to-post-traumatic-growth/   [vi] https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/   [vii]How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health Dr. Carolyn Leaf Published August 8, 2023  https://www.amazon.com/Help-Child-Clean-Their-Mental/dp/0801093414   [viii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/    [ix] Dr. Caroline Leaf YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@DrCarolineLeaf   [x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/    [xi] Ed Mylett interviews Dr. Carolyn Leaf on her 5 Step Approach for Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess https://www.edmylett.com/podcast/dr-caroline-leaf-manage-your-mental-mess   [xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/    [xiii] Dr. Andrew Huberman “Tools for Managing Stress and Anxiety” https://hubermanlab.com/tools-for-managing-stress-and-anxiety/   [xiv] Breathing Techniques to Reduce Stress and Anxiety by Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZKIupBUuc   [xv]Neuroscience Meets SEL EPISODE #248 with Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/rohan-dixit-founder-of-lief-therapeutics-on-measuring-hrv-in-real-time-for-stress-relief-from-the-inside-out/   [xvi] What Alcohol Does to Your Brain and Body by Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkS1pkKpILY   [xvii] Hop Wtr https://hopwtr.com/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2qKmBhCfARIsAFy8buIrjK0UDxciFCwMs-rG6l6qHJ2SyQrmnYnDS92vJeDgDZU8JNzZ6w8aAiacEALw_wcB   [xviii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Review of the Fisher Wallace Device (One Year Later). https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/   [xix]Neuroscience Meets SEL Review of Heart Rate Variability https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-review-of-heart-rate-variability-the-most-important-biomarker-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience/   [xx]Neuroscience Meets SEL EPISODE #285 with Dr. Gregory Kelly from Neurohacker Collective on Qualia Senoltyics  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-gregory-kelly-from-neurohacker-collective-on-how-to-beat-aging-and-stress-with-qualia-senolytics/  

Today on Like It Matters Radio Mr. Black is going to be covering the topic of Mind Management. Dr. Carolyn Leaf's new book, "Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess", is going to be the focus of todays Radio Show. Knowing the difference between the Mind and the Brain, and the control and impact of both- is transformational. Your mind is not your Brain, and you are not your Brain. You are your mind! It's time to get in the drivers seat! Tune into Like It Matters Radio for an hour of power as Mr. Black posits: Under New Management Subcribe and follow Living Life Like It Matters  on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more! Be sure to Like and Follow us on our facebook page!www.facebook.com/limradio Instagram @likeitmattersradioTwitter @likeitmattersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mind Mastery: Conquering the Battlefield Within. Cleaning up your Mental Mess is Dr. Carolyn Leaf's purpose for her new book. Did you know for the first time in decades the trend of people living longer has been reversed due to our lifestyle choices. One of our most important lifestyle choices is between the stimulus and the response. In the field of Mental Health, we have sacrificed the processing of knowledge for the gathering of data. Did you know we can go 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3 minutes without air, but we cannot go 3 seconds without a thought! Good Mind Management A Happy, Significant life! Check out our website www.LikeItMatters.Net.  Be sure to Like and Follow us on our facebook page. Get daily inspiration from our blog www.wayofwarrior.blog. Learn about our non profit work at www.likeitmatters.net/nonprofit.  See omny.fm/listener for privacy information.

Today on Like It Matters Radio Mr. Black is going to be covering the topic of Mind Management. Dr. Carolyn Leaf's new book, "Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess", is going to be the focus of todays Radio Show. Knowing the difference between the Mind and the Brain, and the control and impact of both- is transformational. Your mind is not your Brain, and you are not your Brain. You are your mind! It's time to get in the drivers seat! Tune into Like It Matters Radio for an hour of power as Mr. Black posits: Under New Management. Be sure to Like and Follow us on our facebook page! Get daily inspiration from our blog www.wayofwarrior.blog Learn about our non profit work at www.likeitmatters.net/nonprofit Check out our website www.LikeItMatters.NetSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In This Episode, Dr. Joni Labbe, Reveals:Negative thoughts and emotions can adversely affect our health, biochemistry, hormones, and emotions.Maintaining a positive attitude and practicing positive self-talk, visualization, prayer, or meditation can improve our ability to cope with stress and heal.Functional medicine focuses on health management and has made significant progress in managing chronic health conditions.Dr. Carolyn Leaf, a neuroscientist, teaches how toxic thoughts and emotions affect our overall health. Her book "Who Switched Off My Brain? Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions" is highly recommended.Epigenetics examines the collective impact of genes, environment, food, social interactions, supplements, and mental/emotional state on the quality of life.Managing stress is crucial for overall well-being, especially for those with chronic health conditions such as Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism.Adrenal glands can impact emotions, energy levels, gut-brain function, thyroid health, and sleep quality.The first step to better health is checking blood work and adopting a self-care attitude.Chronic stress can cause inflammation, depress the immune system, alter moods, and affect relationships.Adrenal imbalances are common and can impact thyroid function.Addressing chronic viruses, environmental toxins, and food tolerances can help improve adrenal health and overall well-being.Resources:FEELING LOUSY IS NOT "JUST PART OF GETTING OLDER." IT'S ALL INCLUDED IN THIS PRESENTATION: 8 MASSIVE HYPOTHYROID MYTHS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW. Sign up for this free presentation to learn why your thyroid + hormones are making you feel like you're falling apart...and what you can do to start feeling better right now! https://vips.thyrosisters.com/webinar-optin-aWant to work with Dr. Labbe to unravel your thyroid mystery and get you back to feeling and functioning great again?Book A FREE Clarity Call: https://vips.thyrosisters.com/book-call-aFollow Us On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thyrosisters/

Do you struggle with self-hate? Do you believe that depression is a chemical imbalance? Are you marinating on thoughts of death and negativity? God has given author and speaker Jamie Lyn a gift to deliver heavier words in the Kingdom of God with humor, love and grace. She is the daughter-in-law of Lance Wallnau and married to Lance Wallnau Junior. In this podcast, Jamie Lyn shares about her testimony of being medicated for depression, feeling ashamed, and hiding it from her family. She was told it was a chemical imbalance, which was correct for the research at the time. However, she knew depression wasn't from God and she loved being around people. She learned from an early age to talk to God. She struggled with pride and striving. She cared very much for authenticity and getting the “real thing”. When she was alone, she “hated herself”. The way she saw her face was so dark. On paper, her resume was amazing. She was the children's pastor and struggling with depression. She believed the lie that she will never experience joy. She was marinating on death in her thoughts. She finally experienced a prayer of deliverance that opened a door of hope. She watched a couple videos from neurologist Dr. Carolyn Leaf that really helped her understand the science behind getting free. She learned that depression is not about a chemical imbalance. She learned that depression is behind her thought patterns, how you are eating, what you are watching on TV and other factors. She found hope that it wasn't a chemical imbalance. Hear this powerful and encouraging testimony of a renewed mind and how to stay that way. Our body is a house and Jesus is sitting inside of us. When you follow Jesus doesn't stop us from opening the door of darkness again. What will you choose when it knocks on your door? “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” ~Proverbs 23:7 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” ~John 10:27 JamieLyn's website: https://www.jamielynwallnau.com/ To purchase the book Holy Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Revolution-Finding-Satisfaction-Apart/dp/0768457858/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9HYAR9AYMJ17&keywords=holy+revolution+jamie+lynn+wallnau&qid=1680977232&sprefix=holy+revolut%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1 Heidi's website: https://heidimortensonlmft.com/  If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

Authentic Living (Mentality) Part 3 Circle 3 - Mentality (Think) These are the beliefs and stories that we tell ourselves. This is Where we are going. Process driven. Potential Pitfall- Intellectualizing. Quotes on thinking: Rene Descartes, the French philosopher, stated in 1637 - Cogito, ergo sum - “I think therefore I am”.  Probably the most significant quote to push a civilization to the unhealthy extreme of reason being the most important capacity.    “If everyone is thinking alike then no one is thinking.”  Benjamin Franklin "There is no conversation so boring as the one where everyone agrees." "When we like other people agreeing with us we will often not say what we are thinking."  "An opinion should be a result of thought not a substitute for it." "It is the mark of an educated man to entertain thoughts without accepting them." Aristotle Book: Think Again by Adam Grant Book: Clean Up Your Mental Mess by Dr. Carolyn Leaf 5 steps to manage our mind: Gather info (enjoyable or painful emotional/physical experiences) lean into the experience.  Reflect (who, where, what is happening that triggered this) Write (chaos into order and refine) Re-examine (how do I want to respond?) develop how you want to rethink and act in love. Active reach (practice and apply)

Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results. On this episode we will cover: ✔ The future of educational neuroscience. ✔ A mid-year look at our goals. ✔ How unresolved issues impact our brain and body. I'm Andrea Samadi, and for this week's Brain Fact Friday, I wanted to tie in our interviews from this week with something we can all use right away. I thought about what my friend Kate is building with YungMash Collective that we covered on EPISODE #235[i]—a mentoring community for young adults ages 18-30 to learn how to apply the most current cutting edge neuroscience to their lives to solve problems with their brain in mind. When Kate's Dad heard this interview, he told her “what a noble cause” which is exactly what Simon Sinek said to me when he heard of my mission to make an impact in the field of education. It made Kate's day to have her Dad's support with her project… Then I thought about Dr. Loretta Breuning's Habits of a Happy Brain book that we just covered on EPISODE #236[ii] and I'm amazed at how new this topic of applying an understanding of our brain is, for improving our everyday life and results. Before this interview, I wouldn't have thought about the serotonin boost that our mission would give both Kate and I, as Dr. Breuning taught us many things about how to increase our happy chemicals, and how serotonin increases when we have a sense of pride with our work, or social importance. IMAGE: From Habits of a Happy Brain by Dr. Loretta Breuning It's only been recently that I began making the connection between the work we are doing here on the podcast, improving our results, and what our brain has to do with it all.  We've mentioned in recent episodes that “the first academic departments devoted to studying neuroscience didn't appear until the 1960s” (National Geographic) proving this is a relatively new field of study to glean strategies from, and guide us towards an improved life. Since we are now mid-year, in Q3 of 2022, I thought back to the beginning of the year, where we launched our 6 PART Think and Grow Rich[iii] book review on “How to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever” and remembered that we opened each episode with a quote from Grant Cardone who said “In order to get to the next level of what you are doing, you must think in a wildly different way than you previously have been.” Leading me to These Mid-Year Thoughts: Are you thinking in a wildly different way than you did last year? What are you doing differently? What NEW results have you attained? Have you broken any records, or moved beyond where you've ever been before? Are you making an “effect” (which means a change) in the world? Have you stopped to integrate your NEW success into your current life? Remember, during our Think and Grow Rich book study, we said “it's our DUTY or OBLIGATION” to win in 2022? Do you think you are winning? After thinking about these questions myself, I opened my email to see a note from Michael Thomas, the Director of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience at Birkbeck, University of London letting me know he has a new book coming out called Educational Neuroscience: The Basics[iv] that we will dive into a bit later this fall on the podcast. I had written Michael Thomas' name on my desk last summer (June 2021) with a reminder for me to reach out to him after the interview with Professor and Canada's Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Dr. Daniel Ansari, from EPISODE #138[v] on The Future of Educational Neuroscience. I knew Michael Thomas as a pioneer in the field and if it wasn't clear to me 3 years ago, when we scratched down the name of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning as a podcast title, it's clear as ice now, Educational Neuroscience is going to be a part of our future. Michael's forthcoming book reminded me of how important this topic is for all of us to understand, (whether we are training in the field of education or psychology) where these disciplines interconnect, helping us to question our assumptions about how our brains learn and what this means for education.    For me, this means that this podcast is a lifetime commitment to keep learning, and sharing new ideas and strategies with you (as long as listeners tune in!). I'm committed on this end to finding high quality speakers, and representing their work for all of us to learn from, in the years to come.  I keep my eyes open for those who are winning, what they are doing, and then think of ways that we can all take our results higher, as we add this new understanding of our brain, to our everyday lives. With that in mind, for this week's Brain Fact Friday, I wanted to tie the importance of understanding our brain, for our physical and mental health, since we are focused on our health as it relates to learning this Season. This topic began to emerge more often during those early days in the Pandemic when families were suddenly forced under the same roof for work and school, and had to learn how to interact with each other in an entirely different way.  Remember those days? Did any problems emerge that you didn't have to face prior to this time? No one like dealing with problems like this, but for our mental and physical health, for this week's Brain Fact Friday, we are going to look at the impact of NOT resolving our problems, and what that does to our health. DID YOU KNOW THAT Unresolved issues (in your relationships, with your children, or even your work colleagues) … those problems we push aside because they are uncomfortable to talk about so we ignore them, to keep the peace, or have silence around a known issue, “damages our immune system in our brain and body? It damages everything about how we function as a human, damaging the tissues in our body, impacting our mental and physical well-being? Unresolved issues increase the vulnerability of our body by up to 90%” (Dr. Carolyn Leaf who appeared on our podcast last February 2021 for a BONUS EPISODE).[vi] If we are going to reach those high levels of achievement this year, with whatever it is we are doing, and do things in a wildly different way than we ever have before, I highly suggest listening to Dr. Leaf's most recent podcast episode where she talks about the impact of our thoughts on our health. She shares a study that blew my mind when I heard it. She calls it “the Blister Study[vii]” and I've linked it in the show notes for you to see where participants were all given a wound or a blister on their hand, and then were directed to either solve an argument amicably, or in a toxic manner (either with yelling and screaming, or ignoring the problem by keeping silent). This was a controlled study, so some people didn't act the way they would at home, but the study still revealed some fascinating things about the way we resolve conflict, and how our body heals. After 3 weeks, smaller wounds should heal on their own (Dr. Leaf) while bigger wounds take longer. They brought the participants back after this 21-day period to see what happened to their small wound (the blister). The study showed that those who were able to solve their conflict, or work towards a solution, (even if it was messy) came back and they had healed their wounds with an immune system that was working optimally. Those others who didn't resolve their problems had compromised their healing from up to 65%. Which made me look at my legs that I scraped up with a bad fall from hiking 3 weeks ago today. While I have other scars that haven't gone away from other falls (that were more serious) the small cuts from 3 weeks ago were completely healed. Until I heard about this study, I would never have thought about how my mental health, and how I solve conflicts, could impact my physical health. Have you ever thought about this? Did you know that if you are arguing with someone, and don't resolve it, that you are compromising that person's health right down to the level of how their brain cells function? That it actually “shortens the telomeres (that are like the ends of shoe laces, and protect the ends of chromosomes from becoming shorter) which impacts how we age. To conclude this week's Brain Fact Friday, if we are going to do things differently than we ever have before, one way would be to look at how we deal with conflict in our relationships. Do we ignore issues to keep the peace, which we saw damages our brain and body, or do we do what's difficult, and solve issues, as we think about the health and wellbeing of those people we interact with the most? If we really do care about others, solving our problems with our brain in mind is a healthy step forward. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. If there's conflict, I hope you solve it, rather than ignore it. I'll see you next week. REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #235 with Katherine-Alexander Dobrovolskaia on “YungMash Collective” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/katherine-alexander-dobrovolskaia-on-yungmash-collective-a-peer-to-peer-global-mentoring-and-empowering-community-based-on-cutting-edge-neuroscience/ [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #236 with Dr. Loretta Breuning on “Habits of a Happy Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/loretta-breuning-phd-on-habits-of-a-happy-brain-rewiring-your-brain-to-boost-serotonin-oxytocin-and-endorphin-levels/ [iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 of the “Think and Grow Rich Book Review: How to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/ [iv] Educational Neuroscience: The Basics Forthcoming book by Cathy Rogers and Michael Thomas  https://www.routledge.com/Educational-Neuroscience-The-Basics/Rogers-Thomas/p/book/9781032028552 [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #136 with Professor and Canada Research Chair Dr. Daniel Ansari on the Future of Educational Neuroscience  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/professor-and-canada-research-chair-in-developmental-cognitive-neuroscience-and-learning-on-the-future-of-educational-neuroscience/ [vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE with Dr. Carolyn Leaf on her NEW book “Cleaning Up your Mental Mess” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/ [vii]Hostile Marital Interactions, Proinflammatory Cytokyne Production, Wound Healing December 2005  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16330726/  

“Learn continually—there's always one more thing to learn” Steve Jobs Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, for episode #201 on “The Lessons Learned from our Top 10 All-Time Episodes” as we reflect on the episodes that YOU chose to be the most impactful since we launched back in June 2019. For those returning, welcome back, and for those new, I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding and applying the most current research that we can ALL use to improve our productivity in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments.  I launched this podcast as a solution to bring these ideas directly to you.  As we are now well into our 7th season, with a focus on brain health and well-being this year, it hit me while recording our 200th episode, that it would be helpful to take a look back and review the top lessons learned since launching this podcast over three years ago. There's so much content that's been covered, and while I can't mention every episode, you can always go back and scroll through the website[i] and pick episodes that stand out to you when looking for something new to learn. I still listen to these older episodes, and always pick something of value from each one. Like we said as we recapped our 200th episode, we picked high quality guests intentionally, and the content reflects these high caliber speakers. What I Wish I Knew When We First Launched This Podcast: While preparing for this episode, I glanced at the top 10 all-time episode list (that I have included in the show notes) and a few things came to my mind that I thought would be helpful to share with this review. Before I get to the lessons learned from our top episodes, I wanted to share some lessons learned from the production side of things. Many people reach out to me asking questions about “how do you launch a podcast” or “what would you have done differently if you were to do everything over again?” There's definitely ONE THING I would have done differently. If you scroll all the way down on our Podbean website to our first 6 months,[ii] you might see the downloads next to each episode are lower than you might expect up until December 2019. This is not just because we were starting out, (earlier episodes averaged around 300 downloads in the beginning, compared to 1,000 per episode now, but I'll tell you one of the biggest errors I made launching this podcast, that impacted our numbers right from the beginning. If you look, next to each episode, you can see the number of downloads for that episode, and in the beginning, (episodes created in 2019) I saved the audio files in the M4A format which is the format that Camtasia (where I do my editing) defaults to, after saving an audio file. For those listening who don't deal with audio files, think about it as one of those errors that you want to prevent others from EVER doing in the future. Who knew that Spotify, our third largest source of traffic, (with Apple Podcasts as our first, and Podbean, our host as second) only accepts MP3 audio files, so when setting up this podcast, I realized 6 months into it, that I had an error message on the connection to Spotify and zero downloads from this source?  It took 6 months to notice this error because there's a lot with launching a podcast, but a mistake like this had to be fixed sooner than later. To do this, we had to reformat all audio files from M4A format to MP3 for our podcast to appear on Spotify, and that meant that any episode created in 2019, was reset to zero. This was a huge lesson to learn, (when downloads are important for the spread of your podcast) but I'm glad we fixed it early on. If you are thinking of launching a podcast, be sure to record ALL audio files in the MP3 format. I wish I knew this in the beginning. There weren't any other big AHA moments from the production side of things that stick out, other than the fact that there was this annoying crackling sound with the audio in our earlier episodes. I still have no idea what was interfering with the audio in the earlier days, and the new Rodecaster Pro Sound Board that we implemented in 2021 eliminated that problem, but I don't think I would have changed the way we launched. I wanted to see if this idea would gain traction BEFORE we purchased all the high-tech equipment that we use now, and will continue to improve as we move forward. Now, on to our episode lessons According to you, the listener, the #1 all-time favorite was EPISODE #120[iii] with my personal review of the Fisher Wallace wearable medical device for anxiety, depression, and sleep management with over 5100 downloads. I mentioned on our previous episode that I receive the most feedback from this one, as I think that people really wanted to know there is a real person behind the review, who really did try the device. LESSON #1 from EPISODE #120: The Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device Improved My Sleep by More Than the 20 Minute Gold Standard. If you listen to this episode, you'll see that I was looking to improve my sleep, which it did, much more than the gold standard of 20 minutes improvement each night, and it was a non-evasive, drug-free way to do this. I can't tell you how many people I talk to who say they “barely sleep at all” and with sleep being one of the top 5 health staples that we covered on a BONUS EPISODE[iv] where we reviewed Seasons 1-4 at the end of 2020, and the fact that in my brain scan evaluation from Amen Clinics on EPISODE #94[v], Dr. Creado told me that my brain looked sleep deprived, I knew it was important to take a closer look at new ways to improve our sleep. Remember that I am just providing my experience of testing out this device, and everyone is different, but I do highly recommend trying it if sleep is something you are looking to improve. They do offer a 30-day trial and I saw the benefits well before the 30-day mark. I mentioned that in addition to being able to sleep longer, I noticed having more patience, was less high strung or anxious and calmer with my day-to-day activities. The improvements were significant enough that I continue to use the device every morning, since this review, while meditating and I seriously thought I would just be using it only for the month that I was conducting this review. The 2nd most popular episode of all-time was EPISODE #162[vi] with Dr. Anna Lembke, the Medical Director of Addictive Medicine at Stanford University on her new book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. When I saw Dr. Lembke on Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast and received a newspaper article written by Dr. Lembke on my car while I was hiking, (from a good friend who I was talking to about how addictive technology can be) I knew I had to reach out to Dr. Lembke for this interview. It wasn't until after I had read her book, that I figured out she was in the Netflix Documentary, The Social Dilemma[vii] where she discusses the addictive nature of social media, explaining that it taps into “our basic biological imperative to connect with other people—that directly affects the release of dopamine and the reward pathway” (32:35 The Social Dilemma) and she warns us that “there's no doubt that a vehicle like social media which optimizes this connection between people is going to have the potential for addiction.” LESSON #2 FROM EPISODE #162: A Dopamine Fast Can Reset Your Brain. There are many important lessons in this interview, but the one that stood out the most to me, and even surprised me during the interview, was that Dr. Lembke said that technology, or video games, or whatever it is that we are doing that we enjoy (too much) floods our brain with dopamine, and “if we can take a month off from our drug of choice” this will allow our brain to reset it's dopamine balance, and that after the month off, you can test it out and see if you are able to go back to whatever it is that you were over-indulging with, in a more controlled manner. If we can figure out how to reset our dopamine balance and keep our use of whatever it is that we enjoy to a level that it doesn't flood our brain, we will happier, balanced and don't have to give up entirely the things that we enjoy. Our next episode, The Neuroscience of Personal Change with “Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” from episode #68[viii] came in at the third most downloaded episode, and this one sat at the #1 spot until that review of the Fisher Wallace device took over.  What's funny to me about this episode, is that I remember sitting in the lobby at a local resort in Arizona, with my laptop open, as I was writing this script, and knew that I was missing something. The episode seemed boring, and it couldn't even hold my attention, so I did what I usually do when bored, and scrolled through my social media accounts to see if I could learn something new that would give me a new perspective and add something of value to this episode.  I'm always reading, watching, listening and learning from those around me, and add these ideas into the podcast. Then I saw it. I read a social media post from my mentor, Greg Link[ix], who I've mentioned in past episodes. He was the mentor who I drove 3 hours each way to thank for the ideas that he gave me over the years with this work. As co-founder of the Covey Leadership Center, Greg was the one who orchestrated the strategy that led Dr. Stephen R. Covey's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, (1989) to become one of the best-selling business books of the 20th century according to CEO Magazine, selling over 20 million copies in 38 languages. He created the marketing momentum that helped propel the Covey Leadership Center from a start-up company to a $110-plus million-dollar enterprise with offices in 40 countries. When he writes something, I always pay attention and what he has to say is always insightful and profound. This time, what he wrote was full of his own personal insight on what was happening in the world today, (it was June 2020)[x]  and his post was a very personal reflection that mentioned the 7 Habits book, and Habit #5 “Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood.” It's been a couple of years since I read his post, but it stopped me in my tracks and made me think about how it's typical that when communicating, we often want to say our point first, without practicing what Stephen Covey called empathetic listening. I knew at that moment that I wanted to think about ALL of the Habits (including the 8th one that is covered in a whole new book) and see how neuroscience could be connected to this best-selling book. It was this episode that Chris Gargano, the Vice President and Executive Producer of the New York Jets,[xi] would find our podcast as he was looking for content for his Leadership Course that he teaches at NYU and mentioned it was “ambitious” to make these correlations, and looking back at this episode, it was a lot of work to dive this deep into each of the habits, with this new angle. The biggest lesson for me thinking about this episode is that the first three habits are all about managing ourselves, habits 4-6 are about leading others, and habits 7 and 8 are about unleashing potential. Habit #8 that Stephen Covey wrote a whole book on, is about “Finding Your Voice and Inspiring Others to Find Theirs” and it gave me some insight into why Greg Link might have sent me ideas over the years. It was the 8th Habit and he was living it. LESSON #3 FROM EPISODE 68: The 8th HABIT: Find Your Voice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs. I met Greg Link, through Bob Proctor, around the time that Doug Wead came in to speak at the seminars (2002) and my passion for working with young people with these leadership concepts was just emerging. If you see Greg's background, he was a busy guy, and when I met him, at a seminar in CA, we were in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton, (now The Langham Huntington in Pasadena) where he introduced me to Stedman Graham, (who is known as the long-term partner of Oprah).  Stedman was there with a Basketball Team and had just published the Teens Can Make it Happen Book.[xii]  It wasn't just me that Greg Link was giving ideas to, but he gave others (like Steadman) ideas for how to make a book successful because that's the 8th HABIT “Find Your Voice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs.” Photo: Andrea at The Ritz Carlton, Southern CA (2002) This hotel is now The Langham Huntington, Pasadena.[xiii] What's Your Vision? REMEMBER: We all have the ability to impact the world by taking our mental energy and creating a vision, channeling our physical energy with discipline, unleashing this energy towards what we are passionate about and tapping into our spiritual side to further develop our talents and abilities. We can all do this, and once we've got to where we are going, we can role model the way for others to do the same, just like Greg Link showed me. The 4th most listened to episode was #168[xiv] with Dr. Bruce Perry and Steve Graner on the book Dr. Perry wrote with Oprah, What Happened to You that brings together all the work Dr. Perry has done over the years at The Neurosequential Network.[xv] I put the link to Dr. Perry's resources in the show notes because this is where I first started to get to know his work as I followed the trainings that he did when the Pandemic first began. Dr. Perry's work explains how traumatic events impact the brain, and I did find Oprah's parts of the book to be difficult to read as they were highly emotional, but Dr. Perry's intentional use of offsetting the difficult parts of the book with neuroscience, made for a balanced learning experience. LESSON #4 FROM EPISODE #168: Came from Steve Graner, who I found out in the interview is a childhood friend of Dr. Perry who now works with him as a Project Director, implementing the Neurosequential Model for Sport[xvi] when he said “as a teacher and a coach, why don't I know this?” He went on to explain that he understood Dr. Perry's model much better as a coach than as a teacher, and applied his model to his coaching first, and then eventually to his teaching.” Even though he was Dr. Perry's childhood friend, he didn't know everything he was teaching, and when he looked at the model, everything made sense in a way he had never seen it before. This lesson made me see exactly WHY we must keep learning about the brain, and applying what we learn to our work and lives. Moving on to our 5th most downloaded episode, where this journey with social and emotional learning began, with my mentor, Bob Proctor, from EPISODE #66.[xvii]  I list ten important lessons learned at the start of our interview together, and dove much deeper into more lesson learned from working with him for 6 years on EPISODE 67[xviii] but when the news hit that my dear mentor had passed on at the beginning of February, it took me a week or so, but I eventually watched our interview on YouTube[xix] to see if I could learn something new while reflecting back on everything. I did pick up a few lessons, but one wasn't immediate. It took me some time to step back and look at something he said to me from a different angle to find the answer I was looking for. Have you ever done that? Looked at something from a different perspective to learn something new? This is how it happened. Lesson #5 from EPISODE #66 with Bob Proctor: Leave Everyone You Come in Contact With, With the Impression of Increase. During Bob's memorial service, everyone was sharing their stories of how Bob impacted them, and their lives, and it was his son Brian who said something that connected the dots for me. He said that Bob was always leaving people with “The Impression of Increase”[xx] and explained that he would always leave people in a place of abundance rather than lack and limitation. Brian shared this story of how Bob would put him to bed and whisper “success secrets” in his ear at night, and when my girls were little, I did the same to them, so that they would begin to infuse this mindset into their non-conscious minds while sleeping. Brian's story made me recall something Bob asked me when I was moving from Toronto, Canada, to Arizona, USA in early 2001. He said, “Are you going to fly first class?” And I'm not kidding, times were lean in those days, I didn't even know how I was going to afford a sandwich when I arrived, but I remember laughing at the thought, trying to hide how scared I was of the unknown and just shook my head “no” and wondered why he would ask me that. It hit me AFTER his memorial service, all these years later, while revisiting our interview, at the very end, he said “there's only one corner of the Universe I can change, and that's me. Andrea can only change Andrea. It's very important that we understand that. The only thing that Bob can change is Bob. You can't change anyone else. You might inspire others to change, or cause them to look at things differently, but the ONLY corner of the Universe I can be certain of improving is my own self” and he went on to say, “when we understand that, we will stop letting outside conditions define us, control us, and dictate where we are going to go and what we are going to do.” This took me right back to that day when he said “Are you going to fly first class?” and my bank account didn't have enough money in it for a first class ticket, so I said no. He was giving me the Impression of Increase, trying to stretch my mind to think beyond what I could see. There was coach, and there was first class. I don't think he expected me to be reckless and spend money I didn't have, but he wanted to show me there was another option. 20 years later, when traveling with the family,  we do always check to see if we can fly first class (depending on points and availability) but in those lean years, I didn't even consider this option. Bob couldn't do this for me, but he could say something to give me the “Impression of Increase” that maybe there was another way to move to a new country. He could motivate me by his example, but the work had to be done by me, over my lifetime. And the same for you, listening.  Keep learning, growing and applying everything that we learn.   This lesson took another turn while writing this episode and I was trying to find the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena where I had that photo taken the day I had met Greg Link and Stedman Graham in the lobby, (2002) BEFORE I had published my book for teens, and was just creating the vision for my future. My husband looked at the photo, and said, “I know I stayed there in 2019) remembering a sports team that he saw there, and he found a photograph he took of that exact spot, 17 years later. Who knew, when I stood there in 2002, that my future husband would stand there years later on a business trip. The Impression of Increase has new meaning now, and I'm grateful to have learned this lesson, showing me that we can ALL create the vision that we want, and create a truly beautiful life. Why wouldn't we choose this option, over lack and limitation? Photo of the Langham Huntington, Pasadena, CA (formerly the Ritz) in 2019 The 6th most downloaded episode was Dr. Michael Gaskell's EPISODE #172 on “Leading Schools Through Trauma”[xxi] which is the title of his second book. Dr. Gaskell has a unique story, because his books and strategies stem not only from his experience working in schools, and offering trauma-informed solutions from what he has seen working in his day to day world, but he takes it a step deeper, BEING a former student who was labelled himself as “anxious, low-performing, hostile and other terms that pointed to the characteristics of trauma.” (xi, Leading Schools Through Trauma).  I know that this being trauma-informed is an important topic, from Dr. Bruce Perry's work, as well as Dr. Lori Desautels[xxii] work and this interview provides hope that the work being done in our classrooms today can have a profound impact on our students of the future, who may show these signs of struggle for a reason.   LESSON #6 from Dr. Gaskell on EPISODE #172 is to look deeper into why a student might be misbehaving or struggling and invest the time to get to know this student. He says this is a “critical investment” and that he was one of these struggling students, and no one ever gave up on him. Michael Gaskell's book and interview helped me to understand how to recognize trauma, and offers tools, and resources for being trauma-informed in today's classrooms.  The 7th most downloaded episode was #174[xxiii] with Dr. Francis Lee Stevens on “Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy” where he explained what he thought was missing from psychotherapy and how his new book on affective neuroscience fills this missing link. With the rise in mental health issues that we can clearly see have emerged since the global Pandemic, and the fact that on EPISODE #188[xxiv] we uncovered that “one-quarter of Americans intend to improve their mental health in 2022”[xxv]    LESSON #7 from Dr. Francis Lee Stevens from EPISODE #174 we learned of the importance of addressing our “feelings” to make an impact on our mental and physical health, and that changing our thinking can help us cope with our emotions, but we need to address our emotions to have long-term change in our health. In his book “Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy” his goal is to “change the feelings” we have that we don't like, not just manage the symptoms. Our 8th most downloaded EPISODE #161[xxvi] came from our second interview with Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and John Almarode on their new book with Corwin Press How Learning Works. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey were returning guests from EPISODE #77[xxvii] on “Developing and Delivering High Quality Distance Learning for Students” that still is our #1 most watched YouTube interview with over 6,000 views.[xxviii] On this episode, it being an early one, as times were really busy, I remember having the worst cold, and for some reason, my internet kept dropping and disconnecting the interview. I'm sure no one listening noticed this, as editing does wonders, but this is what I remember from this episode, looking back. This book was written, as John Almarode explains “to build a bridge between the research and classroom practice” and in PART 2 of their book, they talk about how to Adapt promising principles and practices to meet the specific needs of your students—particularly regarding motivation, attention, encoding, retrieval and practice, cognitive load and memory, productive struggle, and feedback. Douglas Fisher describes the Promising Principle of Attention and explains that life in the classroom would be much easier if we had our student's undivided attention for the whole day, but this is just not reality. He breaks this principle down by showing us What attention in the classroom means? What goes into paying attention. What are the practices that we can enact as teachers to improve and address the need for our students to pay attention? What does the research say about the need for attention in the classroom? What can we do right now? LESSON #8 from EPISODE #161 on How Learning Works to me proves that there is a bridge between the science of learning, and classroom practices and this book provides the steps needed for us to cross this bridge and put theory into practice. What stuck out the most to me in this interview, aside from all of the resources and tools, was that Douglas Fisher explains in the beginning of the interview how he became interested in studying the connection between the brain and learning back in 2007 when he realized everyone was talking about the brain, and he knew nothing about how the brain was connected to learning, so he signed up for a Neuroanatomy Seminar with doctoral students, and went every Thursday night, from 7-9:40 pm to figure out how the brain learns, and how a teacher can use this. There are two Brain Fact Friday episodes that came in at spot 9 with the Neuroscience of Belief[xxix] and spot 10 with Overcoming Digital Addictions[xxx] that I'll let you go back and review, mostly because it's Thursday afternoon, and I'm still writing this episode, and think it's time to wrap this one up, and go for a run before the Arizona sun gets too hot! To bring this episode in for a close, let's Review the Top Lessons Learned from the episodes YOU chose to listen to the most since we launched this podcast over 3 years ago.  LESSON #1: The Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device Improved My Sleep by More Than the 20 Minute Gold Standard.  If you are one of those people who know that your sleep needs some help, I would begin with measuring your sleep using free apps that you can find on your phone. You don't need to start with all of the fancy tools but begin to get an idea of how long you are sleeping, how much REM sleep you are getting, and become familiar with what a sleep cycle looks like. If you want to hear the episode with Kelly Roman[xxxi], the CEO of Fisher Wallace Labs and their wearable medical devices to help improve sleep, while also treating anxiety and depression, go back and listen to episode #108. I really did think that after the month trial and my review, that I would stop using the device, because I really didn't think it was going to make that much of a difference for me. I'm grateful that I found this device, that's cleared by the FDA for the treatment of depression, anxiety and insomnia,[xxxii] and will always share what I think can help us to improve the quality of our life, especially around the Top 5 Health Staples. LESSON #2: A Dopamine Fast Can Reset Your Brain. I had heard of dopamine fasting before I came across Dr. Lembke's Dopamine Nation book but didn't understand just how easy it was to flood our brain with dopamine, causing us to feel off balance. I almost didn't believe her when she said in our interview that many of her patients can go back to whatever it was they enjoyed doing, with some modifications, after a month off, once their brain had reset, until I tried it myself. If there is something that you are doing, that's causing you to feel off balance, you should be able to kick whatever it is on your own, or with an accountability partner to help you and Dr. Lembke's interview explained exactly how to do this. LESSON #3: The 8th HABIT: Find Your Voice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs. This lesson begins with you and looking back, I can't forget those early days when I wasn't sure of myself and didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted and was still searching for my own voice. When I met Stedman Graham, and saw he had written a book for teens, I remember thinking “That book will do well, he's got Oprah to help him to promote it” and I almost shrank back from writing my own book for teens until I saw that even the long-time partner of Oprah took advice from those around him like Greg Link, who was role-modelling the way. Find Your Voice First and Then Inspire Others to Find Theirs. You won't be able to do it for them, but you can role-model the way for everyone you'll be watching you. LESSON #4 came from Steve Graner, who works with Dr. Perry at the Neurosequential Network when he said “As a teacher and a coach, why don't I know this?” This is exactly why we launched this podcast as we search for new ideas that can accelerate the teaching and learning process with the understanding of neuroscience made simple. If I had Dr. Perry's upside down triangle when I was teaching those behavioral kids as a first year teacher in Toronto, it would have explained everything to me, like it did for Steve. I wouldn't have operated by trial and error, (like I did when telling my students to run around the school building when they were misbehaving) since that was the only way they would listen. AHA Moment, they listened because they were regulated after the exercise, leading me to conclude, like Steve did at the very beginning of this episode, “Why didn't I know this?” Lesson #5 from Bob Proctor: Leave Everyone You Come in Contact With, With the Impression of Increase. This concept came from Chapter 14 of the book The Science of Getting Rich[xxxiii] by Wallace D. Wattles, written in 1903, and the concept still holds today, almost 120 years later. Wattles wrote “when dealing with other people, whether directly, by telephone, or by letter, (this book was clearly written over 100 years ago) the key thought should be to convey of increase” (CH 14, SGR, Wattles) since we all desire increase. We ALL want to be, do and have more in our life and are always seeking fuller expression. So how do we do this? Always look for the good in people and point it out to them. Tell them what you see. Don't hold back. There's so much good in EVERY person and when you look for it, you'll see it. Make this a habit and a way of life. Always “leave everyone you come in contact with, with the impression of increase.” LESSON #6 from Dr. Gaskell on EPISODE #172 was to never give up on a struggling student, since he was one of these students, who didn't fall through the cracks, and went on to attain high levels of achievement with his career, helping others to do the same. I think this is the beginning for Dr. Gaskell's work, as he continues to write more books and present on this topic around the country. This lesson reminds me to the quote by Theodore Roosevelt, that “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” I don't like the idea of giving up on anything, but this takes it to a new level when you think of the unlimited potential locked up inside ALL of our students, and not knowing what each student is capable of doing or creating in their lifetime. LESSON #7 from Dr. Francis Lee Stevens from EPISODE #174 we learned of the importance of looking beyond the thoughts we have that are bothering us, to the “feelings” behind the thought to make long term change possible. For example, if something is bothering you, it might take some time to figure this out, but you can go deeper and see if you can make connections to your past to when you first felt this way, and how this experience made you feel (like I'm not good enough) or something like that. When you can begin to make sense of why you feel a certain way, you can begin to heal the past, that brings healing to your present day. I did see the connection with Dr. Stevens' work, and Dr. Carolyn Leaf's work from a BONUS EPISODE that we released this time last year on her book “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess”[xxxiv] that covers a 5-step process to reduce anxiety and toxic thinking. LESSON #8 from EPISODE #161 on How Learning Works to me proves that there is a bridge between the science of learning, and the classroom, and Douglas Fisher admitted he knew nothing about how the brain learns back in 2007. He mentioned he felt “incompetent and behind” without this understanding and that's what drove him to sit in a Neuroanatomy class with doctoral students to make this connection.  Listening to Douglas Fisher's introduction to neuroscience took me back to why we launched this podcast in the first place—to make neuroscience simple as I remember being awarded grant money to put my programs in Arizona schools, and an educator told me that I needed to understand the science behind learning, and write a new book for my program, and I began to question whether or not I was capable of doing this. 7 years later, I'm so glad I didn't give up on the idea of making neuroscience simple and easy for all of us to understand. I hope you've enjoyed reviewing these TOP EPISODES as much as I have and know that each time I listen to them again, I still do learn something new. I'll see you next week, and hope that wherever you are listening to this episode, that you and your families are safe. Until next time… REFERENCES: [i] Podcast website to see all past episodes https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/ [ii] Podcast website to see all past episodes https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/ [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #120 with My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device for Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Management. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/?customizing=1 [iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning BONUS EPIOSDE and REVIEW of Seasons 1-4  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/ [v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #94 on PART 3 of our Brain Scan Series: Andrea's Scan Results https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/ [vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #162 with “Dr. Anna Lembke on Her Book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/medical-director-of-addictive-medicine-at-stanford-university-dr-anna-lembke-on-dopamine-nation-finding-balance-in-the-age-of-indulgence/ [vii] The Social Dilemma Full Feature Netflix Movie Published on YouTube August 17, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mqR_e2seeM [viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #68 “The Neuroscience of Personal Change”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-personal-change/ [ix] Greg Link Speaker's Bio https://premierespeakers.com/greg-link/bio [x] Pandemic, Recession, Unrest: 2020 and the Confluence of Crises by Susan Milligan June 2, 2020 https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-06-02/pandemic-recession-unrest-2020-and-the-confluence-of-crises?context=amp [xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #166 with Chris Gargano on “Accelerating Leadership” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/vice-president-executive-producer-of-the-new-york-jets-chris-gargano-on-accelerating-leadership-for-maximum-impact-and-results/ [xii]Teens Can Make it Happen by Steadman Graham, December 2001 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Teens-Can-Make-It-Happen/Stedman-Graham/9780684870823 [xiii] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Langham_Huntington,_Pasadena [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #168 with Dr. Bruce Perry and Steve Graner on “What Happened to You” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-bruce-perry-and-steve-graner-from-the-neurosequential-network-on-what-we-should-all-know-about-what-happened-to-you/ [xv] COVID 19 Stress, Distress and Trauma Series https://www.neurosequential.com/covid-19-resources [xvi] Neurosequential Model in Sport https://www.neurosequential.com/nm-sport [xvii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66 with The Legendary Bob Proctor on “Where it All Started”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/ [xviii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #67 on “Expanding Your Awareness with the Top Lessons Learned from Bob Proctor's Most Powerful Seminars” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/ [xix] The Legendary Bob Proctor on The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast YouTube Interview Published June 4, 2020  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHWMCzfODU4 [xx] The Impression of Increase by Bob Proctor Published on YouTube October 8, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGoYzsugZ_0 [xxi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #172 with Dr. Michael Gaskell on “Leading Schools Through Trauma” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-michael-gaskell-on-leading-schools-through-trauma-a-data-driven-approach-to-helping-children-heal/ [xxii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #16 with Dr. Lori Desautels and Michael McKnight on “The Future of Educational Neuroscience in our Schools and Communities”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lori-desautels-and-michael-mcknight-on-the-future-of-educational-neuroscience-in-our-schools-and-communities/ [xxiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #174 with Dr. Francis Lee Stevens on his new book “Affective Neuroscience”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/psychologist-dr-francis-lee-stevens-on-his-new-book-affective-neuroscience-in-psychotherapy-science-based-interventions-for-our-emotions/ [xxiv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #188 Brain Fact Friday on “Putting our Mental and Physical Health First”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-putting-our-mental-and-physical-health-first/ [xxv] One-quarter of Americans Intend to Improve Mental Health in 2022 December 20, 2021 https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20211220/onequarter-of-americans-intend-to-improve-mental-health-in-2022 [xxvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #161 with John Almarode, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey on “How Learning Works” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/johnalmarodedouglas-fisherand-nancyfreyon-how-learning-works-translatingthescience-oflearningintostrategiesformaximum-learning-inyourclassroom/ [xxvii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #77 with University Professors Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey on “Developing and Delivering High Quality Distance Learning”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/university-professors-and-authors-doug-fisher-and-nancy-frey-on-developing-and-delivering-high-quality-distance-learning-for-students/ [xxviii] Our #1 Most Watched YouTube Interview with Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nLe3P50j4Q&list=PLb5Z3cA_mnKhiYc5glhacO9k9WTrSgjzW&index=56 [xxix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #173 on The Neuroscience of Belief https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-belief/ [xxx]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #157 on Overcoming Digital Addictions with Neuroscience  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-overcoming-digital-addiction-using-neuroscience/ [xxxi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EPISODE #108 with Kelly Roman on “Wearable Medical Devices for Anxiety, Depression and Sleep/Stress Management” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ceo-of-fisher-wallace-laboratories-on-wearable-medical-devices-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [xxxii] Fisher Wallace Clinical Trial Evidence https://www.fisherwallace.com/pages/published-research [xxxiii] The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles 1903 https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Wallace-D-Wattles-Collection/dp/1519738692/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_i=1519738692&psc=1 [xxxiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE with Dr. Carolyn Leaf on “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/

As we are in the middle of our holiday season, wherever you might be listening around the world, rushing about, tying up loose ends with work, with a focus somewhere in our heads towards whether we are ready, or not, for the holiday, where we can spend that quality time with those we love,  I want to release a quick episode to thank you, the listener, for your support with this podcast. This year, we were listed in the Top 15 Best SEL Podcasts for 2021,[i] and Top 20 Best Neuroscience Podcasts for 2021[ii] and I owe this honor to you. Without listeners, and high quality guests, there is no podcast, so thank you for tuning in, sharing the episodes that you enjoy, and sending me messages and feedback with new ideas to continue to feature the leading experts in neuroscience, education and the brain. For those new, or returning guests, welcome back! I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of you who tune in, have been fascinated with learning, understanding and applying the most current brain research to improve results in our lives (whether we are a teacher in the classroom, or using these ideas in the corporate space). This podcast uses Seasons to separate our content, and as we move into Season 7 at the start of the New Year, our theme will remain “Brain Health and Well-Being” as my friend Dan Vigliatore[iii] Health and PE Teacher from Toronto, Canada reminded me this year, that there's more to this podcast than providing meaningful content around neuroscience. Wellness education must be at the heart of everything we do, since our brain is involved in everything that we do, and everything that we are, and I do want to make that apparent for those listening, like Dan noticed. Especially with the fact that I began my teaching career as a PE teacher in the late 1990s. As we move into 2022, and plan for a new year of content, around the theme of Brain Health and Well-Being to optimize our cognitive, social and emotional competencies, I'm  truly honored to have this opportunity to host this podcast, because the strategies that we are uncovering in each episode are not only for you, but they are transforming my results, as well! I do look forward to uncovering new ideas, strategies and research in this field in the New Year that we can all use to take our results to new heights. Especially since it's such an interesting time in our world. Last night, we were speaking with our pediatric cardiologist who told us that at the beginning of the Pandemic, almost 2 years ago, it was very quiet in his offices, and now, with the new spike in COVID cases, he is busy with new patients coming in, with symptoms they weren't experiencing in the early stages of the virus[iv], showing us how important our health remains for us. With everything going on in the world today, I'm sure that YOU will have health in the back of your head this whole time, knowing full well that 2022 is only a few days away, and before we know it, we will all be back in the swing of a New Year, with our old schedules, homework routines reestablished, and hopefully, healthy habits back on track, so for just a minute, I want take this moment to stop, pause and think about what's important at this time of year.   Instead of releasing an episode about setting goals, like we did to launch the New Year Last year, with EPISODE #103[v] on “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Your Best Year Ever” that I still think is a good episode to revisit, for this week's BRAIN FACT FRIDAY and EPISODE #188, I want to cover “Putting Our Physical and Mental Health First: To Ensure a New Generation of Thriving Adults.” Our next generation needs us to model the way. The signs pointing in this direction have been clear the whole time of the Pandemic, but have you noticed there's a sense of urgency around mental and physical well-being at this time? I saw it with one of my first XMAS cards that came in the mail. I've been getting a Christmas card every year from my mentor Bob Proctor and his wife Linda. It always makes me smile to keep in touch with people who have had a profound influence on my life, and this year, when I opened the card, there was a handwritten note highlighting the importance of a “healthy” and joyous 2022. This was early December, before the Omicron Variant began impacting people around the world, but I noticed this, and it stuck in my head “pay attention to health this year.” Then I remembered that my next interview is scheduled for the middle of January, with Nick Jonsson,[vi] author of the #1 International Best Selling book on Executive Loneliness whose website headliner says “mental health issues are rising dramatically” especially in the workplace and I'd say the writing on the wall is clear where our focus needs to be in 2022, especially if we want to be stable, strong and predictable for the children in our lives, who watch and respond to everything that we do. So, for this week's Brain Fact Friday, DID YOU KNOW: “That one-quarter of Americans intend to improve their mental health in 2022”[vii] and that according to a poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, “almost 70 million adults resolve to find ways to improve their mental health this coming year.”[viii] American Psychiatric Association president Vivian Pender, MD thinks this statistic is “important and encouraging” but points out of the “level of variation among demographic groups” and that “psychiatrists need to understand these trends.” She references a poll conducted by APA's Healthy Minds from Dec. 6-8th with a nationwide sample of 2,119 healthy adults and 37% of them revealed “anxieties about the state of their mental health approaches.” The poll listed the following resolutions to make an impact on mental health as meditation (53%) therapy (37%), purposeful social media hiatus (35%), journaling (32%), accessing a mental health app (26%) and seeing a psychiatrist (1/5th of the participants). Since there is such an important and timely movement toward mental health and well-being at this time, I want to provide the TOP STRATEGIES that we've covered over the past 2 years on this podcast, that would fall into the categories of the top modalities for improving mental and physical health. STRATEGY 1: Meditation There's so much to this strategy, that it can be overwhelming for a beginner to know how to start. I learned something valuable from each of these episodes and I hope that it helps you to begin, or fine tune your meditation practice. EPISODE 25: Mick Neustadt covers “How Meditation and Mindfulness Changes Your Life”[ix] and this episode is great for people who are new to meditation and mindfulness. He explains what mindfulness is, why it's so important for young people, and what the research is saying about the importance of implementing a mindfulness program into your daily life. EPISODE #98: Dr. Dawson Church covers “The Science Behind Using Meditation: Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness”[x] where he explains how he was able to turn his attention away from the horrible tragedy of losing his home in the 2017 Northern California wildfires, to create thoughts, habits and behaviors to support a happy life. I still use Dawson Church's Bliss Brain Meditations every morning when I first wake up, because there's something very peaceful about them. EPISODE #28: Dr. Dan Siegel, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine covers “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence”[xi] taking us into the results he is seeing with understanding the “mind” in others (whether in schools or the workplace). EPISODE #60: I cover a deep dive into Dr. Dan Siegel's Wheel of Awareness Meditation[xii] for anyone new, learning about what to expect from this meditation.  Dr. Siegel's guided meditation has the potential for fascinating insights and results, and I will always point to this one, for anyone looking to strengthen their mind. EPISODE #154: Author and movie producer Tom Cronin on “The Portal Book and Film: How Meditation Can Save the World”[xiii] if you want to see how Tom transformed his life with meditation. Strategy 2: Accessing a Mental Health App or Tool In order to dig deep and make improvements with our brain and cognition, there are tools out there that can help. Before knowing about these tools, I thought the only way to strengthen my brain was through nutrition and exercise. EPISODE #108: CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories Kelly Roman who covers “Wearable Medical Devices for Anxiety, Depression, and Sleep/Stress Management.”[xiv] Fisher Wallace has over 70,000 patients and 10,000 subscribers using their devices and has continued to run three sizable clinical trials during the pandemic, investigating how neurostimulation is a strong contender as a treatment for anxiety and depression compared to drug use.  EPISODE #120: My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Medical Device[xv] came from following month following my interview with Kelly Roman after I had a chance to test the device myself. This is to date is our #1 most downloaded episode of all time with over 5K downloads and the episode I receive the most emails, and DMs on social media about. People want to know that there is a real person behind this review, who really did use the device. I would add a photo of me wearing it to prove I do use it but think the model in the picture looks much better than I do. All joking aside, this is a serious topic, and the emails I have received tell me that people are desperate for solutions when it comes to mental health. While I tested this device to help improve my sleep, I did notice feeling less anxious and worried about things, and it had a calming effect on me. Like I tell anyone who emails me, I highly suggest this product, and if you use it consistently, the way it's designed to be used (20 minutes twice a day) you should notice an improvement in whatever it is that you are looking to improve (among other things) like I did.  The only way to know this, would be to try it. They do offer a hassle-free 30-day trial period so you can return the device with no questions asked if you don't want to keep it. We had a BONUS EPISODE in February of this year, with World Renowned Neuroscientist Dr. Carolyn Leaf on “Cleaning Up Your Mess: 5 Simple Steps”[xvi]  She has an app that goes along with her book, called Neurocycle and I would say it's the most effective way to clean up your mind (other than going to therapy, that I have not done) that I have ever seen. She helps you to pinpoint a problem that you have, and eliminate it in a process she calls Neurocycling. EPISODE #106: I Review Dr. Leaf's “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess” book and Neurocycle App.[xvii] EPISODE #134: with Kristen Holmes from Whoop.com we cover “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery, and Strain with a WHOOP Device.”[xviii] EPISODE #135: I offer my biggest AHA moments from my interview with Kristen Holmes on “Recovery Strategies to Build Resiliency Against Physical, Mental and Emotional Stressors.”[xix] I haven't been wearing this device for a full year just yet, but there are immense benefit if you are able to measure your sleep, HRV, recovery and even your skin temperature and respiratory rates, on a daily basis. EPISODE #179: Sun Sachs, the CEO of Rewire Fitness covers their “First-To-Market Neuro Performance Mobile App for Athletes”[xx] This interview I really needed this app before and after, as I had just tested positive to COVID the day before and was right in the middle of the wonderful symptoms. I think that Sun Sachs' story was so engaging, and his voice was so calming, that I quickly forgot I was under the weather that day, and diligently use this app to help prime my mind before and after workouts. Strategy 3: Exercise I can't leave exercise off the table, but have put this strategy last, because I usually put it first. The research points to the fact that exercise can help us to achieve optimal physical and mental health and learning about this research really can help us to all put exercise first to move the needle with health and wellness in 2022. EPISODE #116: with Best Selling Author John J Ratey, MD on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”[xxi]  who explains why the brain is primed for learning after exercise. EPISODE #118: with a Deep Dive into John J Ratey's Books[xxii] EPISODE #123: with Northeastern University Professor Chuck Hillman, Ph.D. on “The Impact of Exercise on the Brain and Learning”[xxiii] On this episode we dive into the brain scans Dr. Hillman did showing how exercise had a clear impact on student's during test taking and can help us to all see of the importance of physical activity on a student's academic performance. To Review This Week's Brain Fact Friday: DID YOU KNOW: “That one-quarter of Americans intend to improve their mental health in 2022”[xxiv] and that according to a poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, “almost 70 million adults resolve to find ways to improve their mental health this coming year.” With the TOP 3 strategies I've shared with you (Meditation, Using a Mental Health App or Tool and Exercise) I wonder what you found to be the most insightful and interesting. Your brain will ONLY pay attention to what it finds interesting, which would be the first step towards making lasting change with whatever health and wellness strategy you choose. If you are ready for to make 2022 your best year ever (mentally and physically) pick one strategy that you find the most interesting, and start with that. Have a happy and healthy holiday, and I'll see you next week. FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  RESOURCES: Prioritize Mental Health in 2022 by Rochelle Ryan, Dec. 22, 2021  https://www.peoriatimes.com/opinion/article_d8b17f14-605c-11ec-b901-af80d364da97.html 3 Tips for Better Mental Health in 2022 https://www.colorado.edu/health/2021/12/20/3-tips-better-mental-health-2022 Employee Mental and Physical Health the Spotlight for 2022 https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/96614-employee-mental-and-physical-health-support-in-the-spotlight-for-2022 4 Mental Health Tips for Creating an Even Better 2022 https://www.harvardpilgrim.org/hapiguide/4-mental-health-tips-for-creating-an-even-better-2022/  REFERENCES: [i] Top 10 Social and Emotional Learning Podcasts for 2021 https://blog.feedspot.com/social_emotional_learning_podcasts/ [ii] 20 Best Neuroscience Podcasts for 2021 https://welpmagazine.com/20-best-neuroscience-podcasts-of-2021/ [iii] Dan Vigliatore https://twitter.com/PhysEdDynasty [iv] Heart Problems After COVID-19 by Wendy Susan Post https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/heart-problems-after-covid19 [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #103 “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Your Best Year Ever” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-leadership-3-ways-to-reset-recharge-and-refuel-your-brain-for-your-best-year-ever/ [vi] https://nickjonsson.com/page/mystory [vii] One-quarter of Americans Intend to Improve Mental Health in 2022 December 20, 2021 https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20211220/onequarter-of-americans-intend-to-improve-mental-health-in-2022 [viii] IBID [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #25 with Mick Neustadt on “How Meditation and Mindfulness Changes Your Life” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/mindfulness-and-meditation-expert-mick-neustadt-on-how-meditation-and-mindfulness-changes-your-life-results-and-potential/ [x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #98 Dr. Dawson Church on “The Science Behind Using Meditation: Rewiring Your Brain for Happiness” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-dawson-church-on-the-science-behind-using-meditation-rewiring-your-brain-for-happiness-resilience-and-joy/ [xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Dan Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/ [xii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #60 on “The Science and Benefits of Dr. Dan Siegel's Wheel of Awareness Meditation”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #154 with Author and Film Producer Tom Cronin on “The Portal Book and Movie: How Meditation Can Save the World” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-and-film-producer-tom-cronin-on-the-portal-book-and-movie-how-meditation-can-save-the-world/ [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #108 with CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories Kelly Roman who covers “Wearable Medical Devices for Anxiety, Depression, and Sleep/Stress Management” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ceo-of-fisher-wallace-laboratories-on-wearable-medical-devices-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 with Andrea Samadi's Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [xvi][xvi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE with  World Renowned Neuroscientist Dr. Carolyn Leaf on “Cleaning Up Your Mess: 5 Simple Steps” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/ [xvii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #106 Review of Dr. Carolyn Leaf's  “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ [xviii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes from Whoop.com we cover “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery, and Strain with a WHOOP Device.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [xix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #135 on “Recovery Strategies to Build Resiliency Against Physical, Mental and Emotional Stressors” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-recovery-to-become-resilient-to-physical-mental-and-emotional-stressors/ [xx]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #179 with Sun Sachs,  the CEO of Rewire Fitness covers their “First-To-Market Neuro Performance Mobile App for Athletes” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sun-sachs-ceo-of-rewire-fitness-on-their-first-to-market-neuro-performance-mobile-app-for-athletes/ [xxi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #116 with Best Selling Author John J Ratey, MD on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/ [xxii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #118 with a Deep Dive into John J Ratey's Books  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/deep-dive-into-best-selling-author-john-j-rateys-books-spark-go-wild-and-driven-to-distraction/ [xxiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #123 with Northeastern University Professor Chuck Hillman, Ph.D. on “The Impact of Exercise on the Brain and Learning” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/northeastern-university-professor-chuck-hillman-phd-on-the-impact-of-exercise-on-the-brain-and-learning/ [xxiv] One-quarter of Americans Intend to Improve Mental Health in 2022 December 20, 2021 https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20211220/onequarter-of-americans-intend-to-improve-mental-health-in-2022

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #174 with Dr. Francis Lee Stevens who works as a psychologist in Worcester, MA. He has taught a variety of classes in psychology and neuroscience and his research focuses on affective neuroscience applications to psychotherapy. Today we will dive deep into his new book, coming out on November 27th,  Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide for Working with Emotions and will explore how Dr. Stevens has taken the latest developments in affective neuroscience and applies these science-based interventions with a sequential approach for helping patients with psychological disorders. Learn more about Dr. Stevens https://www.drfrancisstevens.com/  Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/2H-g1xg6FRY In this episode you will learn: ✔︎ What Dr. Stevens saw was missing from previous forms of psychotherapy. ✔︎ Why changing our thinking doesn't change how we feel, and what he suggests instead. ✔︎ What Affect Reconsolidation is--that changes difficult emotions and feelings. ✔︎ How an understanding of the science of the brain works together with the practice needed for a new model of intervention. ✔︎ What we should all know about our emotions, how to dig deeper into our past to unlock memories, and deal with the feelings that keep us stuck. I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of our listeners, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies that we can use to improve our own productivity in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their books, resources, and ideas to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom, a parent, or in the corporate environment. The purpose of this podcast is to take the fear out of this new discipline that backs our learning with simple neuroscience to make it applicable for us all to use right away, for immediate results. What I think is fascinating as we are exploring this topic together, is that education is not the only field that can benefit from the understanding of simple neuroscience and “there are equivalent fields that seek to translate neuroscience findings to law (e.g. Royal Society, 2011a)[i] economics (e.g. Glimcher & Fehr, 2013)[ii] and social policy (e.g. Royal 2011b)[iii] bringing in research in behavior regulation, decision-making, reward, empathy and moral reasoning.” (Thomas, Ansari, Knowland, 2019).  When I received an email from Dr. Stevens about his new book that he wrote to help patients with psychological disorders with science-based interventions, I was very interested in learning more. If American psychologist Dr. Daniel Amen, whose book The End of Mental Illness we reviewed on episode #128[iv] believes that “normal” is a myth and that 51%[v] of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime (like post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, or an eating disorder—to name a few) then it's clear that it's more normal than not, to have a mental health problem and we must all pay attention to the first sign of any mental health issue, for ourselves, but especially our younger generations, since it's critical for children's success in school and life. Research shows that “students who receive social-emotional and mental health support achieve better academically”[vi] and “mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness but also encompasses wellness promotion; social, emotional, and behavioral health; and the ability to cope with life's challenges. Left unmet, mental health problems are linked to costly negative outcomes such as academic and behavior problems, dropping out, and delinquency. Mental and behavioral health problems not only affect students' short-term classroom engagement, but also interfere with long-term development of positive relationships and work-related skills.”[vii] I've designed my questions for Dr. Stevens so that we can all think of how we could apply his research in our lives if we are working with students/children who might have experienced trauma to see how we can use our emotional awareness, emotional validation, self-compassion, and gain a deeper understanding of specific emotions, specifically anger, abandonment, and jealousy. Let's meet Dr. Stevens and learn the emotional science behind the brain. Welcome Dr. Stevens, thank you very much for meeting with me today to dive deeper into your new book coming out this fall, Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy: A Clinician's Guide for Working with Emotions I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to speak with you. INTRO Q: Before we get to the questions, I want to ask about your background and what led you to working in the field of psychotherapy, but I've got to mention something I heard while I was researching your work this weekend on the Science of Psychotherapy Podcast[viii] you did last month, and I had to stop the podcast and listen a few times to be sure I heard this right. What did you learn from your time working as an Improv Comedian that you have taken to your work as a psychologist?  Q1: Dr. Stevens, getting to the questions that tie into your book, I saw that you mention “Research supports the idea that for many people, psychotherapy remains ineffective (Driessen, Hollon, Bockting, Cuijpers, & Turner, 2015; Dragioti, Karathanos, Gerdle, & Evangelou, 2017), with little explanation as to why” and I've always wondered about how “talking about problems solves them” without changing your thinking (because we can still have negative ruminating thoughts about something) unless we change the emotion attached to it, so I like the idea of CBT for helping people eliminate negative thought patterns. Can you explain where previous forms of psychotherapy have failed, what you found to be “missing” and how your book offers a new way forward through your research in affective neuroscience? Q2:  My husband does some work with our local sheriff's office here in AZ in his spare time, while I'm at my desk researching for interviews, and I'm always curious to hear what he sees in the field as it relates to mental health and what he shares when he gets back is always eye-opening especially if we have never dealt with someone who is struggling with mental health in a serious way. I just shake my head and really do wonder, for someone who works directly with people who struggle with mental health, what have you seen with the outcome of treatment for someone getting better vs staying on the same path that will just lead to problems later in their life? Q3:  Looking at the Table of Contents, I see PART 1 containing the science with your argument for a new approach to therapy, and PART 2 as the practice where you walk us through how we must cope with and understand our emotions. Can you explain both parts of the book and how you've been intentional with how you introduce topics for the reader to learn and use. Q4: I know how important emotions are for learning. One of our early episodes was with Marc Brackett, who wrote the book Permission to Feel[ix] which was important when many of us were raised to hide our emotions, then I wrote an episode on “How Our Emotions Impact Learning and the Brain”[x] and mention Jaak Panksepp and the fact that humans have seven networks of emotion in the brain. (Curiosity, Caring, Playfulness, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Lust). What should we all know about with our emotions, how our brain processes them, why we feel the way we do, so we can better manage/control those emotions that get us stuck in life? Q5: When we are dealing with something that gives us an emotional charge (whatever it is for us) could be when someone cuts us off on the highway, or when someone says or does something that just pushes our buttons, and we feel that surge of “I'm so angry right now”  can you explain how we should look to understand the problem behind what we are feeling, and work on reconsolidating it (Joseph LeDoux's work)?  (I've only see this with Neuro-Emotional Therapy where you look back at your childhood to see what happened back then that triggers the anger you might be feeling in the present, uncovering the root cause of the emotion and feelings, to clean it up (Dr. Carolyn Leaf).   Q6: This next question covers Brain Network Theory that we cover on episode #48[xi] with the idea of learning how to be aware of the importance of switching between our networks to experience creativity instead of working hard and burning out. I mentioned listening to a recent podcast you did on The Science of Psychotherapy[xii] and you were talking about our thinking brain vs our feeling brain, do you remember that podcast? I tried to bring some humor to this question with your improv background,  something (let's say you are working on something, and someone famous shows up at your door and wants to take you out for coffee—I was trying to think of someone famous that could possibly sway me to step away from my desk, and came up with Phillip Seymour Hoffman—whose no longer with us, but you get the idea) you really want to go (your feeling brain—Emotional Network) but your thinking brain (Central Executive Network) tells you to stay back and keep working, creating cognitive dissonance. We've all felt this and many of us could easily make the right decision for us, but what happens when our feeling brain overtakes our thinking brain? How can we learn to integrate our entire brain so that we can make better decisions? What else can you tell us about the networks in our brain (if you look at the image created by Mark Waldman, who is teaching me how to understand the basics of neuroscience)?   IMAGE: created by Mark Waldman on Brain Network Theory. Q7: We have also covered Joseph LeDoux's concept of memory reconsolidation[xiii] on this podcast, that you address in your book as Affect Reconsolidation. Can you share what you have learned with your research and what strategies you offer with this idea to help people to overcome negative emotions associated with past trauma that could be impacting/damaging their life? Q8: Is there anything important that we have missed about your book? Dr. Stephens, I want to thank you so much for your time, research and strategies to help us to all better manage our emotions, with science-based strategies. If anyone wants to get a copy of your book, I have put your website link in the show notes, but when does it go live on Amazon? Follow Dr. Stevens on Twitter https://twitter.com/DrLeeStevens   Get a copy of Affective Neuroscience on Amazon  Thank you! BIO: Dr. Stevens graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from Tennessee State University and completed his internship in Clinical Psychology at the University of Rochester Counseling Center. Dr. Stevens research focuses on the anterior cingulate cortex, a unique region of the brain located between the prefrontal cortex and limbic system brain areas.   Dr. Stevens has taught at several colleges and universities in the Boston, MA area including Wheelock College, Boston College, and Harvard University. Dr. Stevens has a long scholarship record in clinical affective neuroscience, publishing widely in journals such as Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, and International Journal of Group Psychotherapy. Additionally, Dr. Stevens has presented his work on emotion in therapy at multiple conferences. Dr. Stevens is on the executive committee of the Boston Neuropsychoanalysis Workshop, which develops models of empirically supported psychotherapy based on neuroscience. Dr. Stevens has a private practice and is a psychologist in Worcester, MA. His practice focuses on utilizing emotion for therapeutic change. FOLLOW DR. STEVENS: https://www.drfrancisstevens.com/ https://twitter.com/DrLeeStevens FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/    RESOURCES: What Oprah Learned from Jim Carrey Published Oct. 13, 2011  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPU5bjzLZX0 Leslie Greenberg's Master Lecture on Emotion Focused Therapy by Lynn Mollick https://nj-act.org/greenberg.html Inside Out, the Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/ Elizabeth Loftus “How our Memories Can Be Manipulated” https://www.npr.org/transcripts/557424726   REFERENCES:   [i] Royal Society (2011a). Brain Waves Module 4: Neuroscience and the law. London: Royal Society. [Google Scholar] [ii] Glimcher, P.W. , & Fehr, E. (2013). Neuroeconomics: Decision making and the brain (2nd edn). London: Elsevier. [Google Scholar] [iii] Royal Society (2011b). Brain Waves Module 1: Neuroscience, society and policy. London: Royal Society. [Google Scholar] [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE # 128 with “ A Review of Dr. Daniel Amen's End of Mental Illness Book” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/ [v] Dr. Amen, Brain Thrive by 25 Online Course http://brainthriveby25.com/ [vi] Comprehensive School-Based Mental and Behavioral Health Services and School Psychologists https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-health/school-psychology-and-mental-health/comprehensive-school-based-mental-and-behavioral-health-services-and-school-psychologists#:~:text=Research%20demonstrates%20that%20students%20who,being%20all%20improve%20as%20well. [vii] IBID [viii] Dr. Stevens Talks Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy Sept. 6, 2021  https://www.thescienceofpsychotherapy.com/francis-lee-stevens-talks-affective-neuroscience-in-psychotherapy/ [ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #22 Marc Brackett on his book “Permission to Feel” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/founding-director-of-the-yale-center-of-emotional-intelligence-on-his-new-book-permission-to-feel/ [x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE # 127 on “How Emotions Impact Learning, Memory and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-how-emotions-impact-learning-memory-and-the-brain/ [xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #48 on “Brain Network Theory”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/ [xii]Dr. Stevens Talks Affective Neuroscience in Psychotherapy Sept. 6, 2021  https://www.thescienceofpsychotherapy.com/francis-lee-stevens-talks-affective-neuroscience-in-psychotherapy/ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE # 127 on “How Emotions Impact Learning, Memory and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-how-emotions-impact-learning-memory-and-the-brain/

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for Brain Fact Friday and EPISODE #169 on “Improving Your Self and Social-Awareness” through Dr. Perry's What Happened to You[i] book and our insightful interview with Dr. Perry and Steve Graner on EPISODE #168. In Today's Brain Fact Friday, You Will Learn: ✔︎ How to improve your self and social-awareness after reading this book by thinking about the areas that hit you on an emotional level. ✔︎ Tips for cleaning up your emotions, so that we can be more resilient in the face of adversity. ✔︎ Strategies that you can use right away to apply The Neurosequential Model in your classroom, sports, or other work environments. After speaking with Dr. Perry and Steve Graner this week on a deep dive of the book he wrote with Oprah Winfrey What Happened to You, I could pick out many important lessons to focus on for this week's brain fact Friday, and will revisit this interview in future episodes, but if I had to pick just one, it would be to see if you can use the lessons in his book to improve your self and social awareness. Dr. Perry reminded us that “there's motor, cognitive, social and emotional capabilities that remain unexpressed in many people” and the purpose of this podcast is to help us as parents, teachers and coaches to understand these SEL competencies in ourselves, and others, with strategies that we can all use to further develop these skills that are not automatic. They require practice. I picked out 6 SEL competencies to focus on in this podcast, and you can go back and listen to the Lessons Learned from our TOP 100 Episodes[ii] that ties in these 6 SEL Competencies as a review. HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SELF-AWARENESS: As you're reading Dr. Perry's book, whether it's your first read, or 21st read, I encourage you to think about what parts give you an emotional charge. Dr. Perry mentioned that he went back and forth from Oprah's difficult emotional stories, to challenging neuroscientific topics on purpose, to provide a regulating back and forth pace, just like we do with athletics, and high intensity interval training,  There was an intentionality to the way the book was written to help us to not become overwhelmed with the content and they do remind us in the beginning, that if we do, to just put the book down, and come back to it. The end of the book powerfully ties in Oprah's story where she makes sense of her life and relationship with her mother. With this lesson in mind, can you make sense of your own life by looking for themes of what happened you? What themes came up for you while reading the book? If you haven't read the book yet, it's not difficult to think about things that push your buttons, whether at home or in the workplace. Think about your interactions with others and whether these themes show up in your life. Dr. Dan Siegel[iii] talks about being able to “Name it to Tame it” and Marc Brackett from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence reminds us that we can unlock the power of our emotions with the “Permission to Feel.”[iv] Write them down and when you are ready, you can pick the one that stands out the most to you and clean it up. Self-awareness goes a long way here. Go back and listen to Dr. Carolyn Leaf's BONUS EPISODE[v] on Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess to help you to make sense of whatever it is that comes up for you when reading this book.  She has a simple 5-step process that can be used to help you to unpack and make sense of these emotions that we all have, (Dr. Leaf herself uses this process to keep her mind operating optimally) so that emotions are expressed and healed, instead of turned inwards into toxic thoughts that will impact our mental health and well-being. This does take some time to first of all identify emotions that are bothering us, and then making sense of where they came from, to clean them up, but there's nothing like the feeling of having a clear mind when we are able to do this. HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR AWARENESS OF OTHERS? You can also understand others better with this new awareness. Whether you are a teacher in the classroom, a parent, or a coach, being able to have conversations around trauma, and being trauma informed will help you to handle these types of situations, leading to healing and resiliency. I came across an article the day after we recorded this interview with Dr. Perry, written by Allison Cooke Douglas, called “Meeting Children Where They Are”[vi] that will help you with specific ideas to apply the Neurosequential Model if you work with children and youth. Click on the link in the show notes and you can access a 10 Page PDF that will walk you step by step through Dr. Perry's Model with tips for healing trauma that you can apply to improve the well-being of those children, students or even athletes in your life. Can you make sense of what happened to you with this new understanding of our brain to bring you clarity for yourself, or how you parent, or teach your students to bring you some peace, like Oprah found at the of the book? I hope this new understanding that Dr Perry's Neurosequential model offers can help you to better understand yourself and others, bringing you to higher levels of communication, resilience and peace.  The next time you are working, and stress comes your way, think of Dr. Perry's Neurosequential Model and remember: STEP 1: All information comes into the brain through the brainstem through our 5 senses, as well as through interoception or “your brain's perception of your body state.”[vii] STEP 2: We must remember that our brain was designed to react to the information that comes into our body first, and we must find ways to REGULATE ourselves, or we won't be able to “reach the cortex” or our REASONING decision-making part of our brain. STEP 3: Do you have strategies to REGULATE yourself when under stress or pressure at work? If you don't have time to get outside for a walk when the pressure is too high, can you take some deep breaths and stretch for a minute at your desk? STEP 4: Only then can we REASON and access the SMART part of our brain. Dr. Perry also reminded us that creative insights are just not possible when we are under pressure and stressed on a day-to-day basis like when Oprah was recording her television shows. She came up with the idea to write this book when she was not under so much pressure, and her creative mind opened up. Nothing beats being able to step away from your work, and finding a peaceful place to clear your mind, and access those higher parts of your brain, where we can experience those flashes of creativity and insight that are squashed while under pressure. I hope you've had some AHA Moments with this Brain Fact Friday, improving the way you see yourself and others with a new way of looking a life, through the lens of our powerful brain, where we have the ability to reach incredible heights, and help others to do the same. I'll see you next week, with 2 interviews that will tie in our recent learning. John Harmon will show us how we can map our experiences in the brain (like learning, or playing sports) and how to use this understanding to improve performance while under pressure, and Robin Hills will give us some ideas on how to lead and encourage others to be their best, with strategies for improving our emotional intelligence, with our brain in mind. See you next week! FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  REFERENCES: [i] What Happened to You: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing https://www.amazon.com/What-Happened-You-Understanding-Resilience/dp/1250223180 [ii] Top Lessons Learned from our FIRST 100 Episodes https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lessons-learned-from-our-first-100-episodes/ [iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 Dr. Daniel Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis of Social and Emotional Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/ [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #22 Mark Brackett on his book “permission to Feel” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/founding-director-of-the-yale-center-of-emotional-intelligence-on-his-new-book-permission-to-feel/ [v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning BONUS EPISODE with Dr. Carolyn Leaf on “Cleaning Up your Mental Mess”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/ [vi] Meeting Children Where They Are: The Neuroseqential Model of Therapeutics October 1, 2021 by Allison Cooke Douglas, MS https://adoptioncouncil.org/publications/meeting-children-where-they-are-the-neurosequential-model-of-therapeutics/ [vii] Interoception: the hidden sense that shapes well-being Sunday August 15, 2021 by David Robson https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2021/aug/15/the-hidden-sense-shaping-your-wellbeing-interoception

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for EPISODE #158 with a return of our popular guest, expert in psychology, cognitive neuroscience and neurotechnology, Dr. Howard Rankin from episodes #146[i] and #152[ii] with Grant Renier, who started his venture into ‘Intuitive Rationality'[iii] 30 years before Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman published his groundbreaking book, Thinking, Fast and Slow[iv] creating a company that uses Intuitive General Intelligence (a knock off term like Artificial Intelligence)  to predict near and future events, while taking into account the fundamentals of human behavior. So basically, he has created a predictive technology that can peer into the future of sports predictions, health and medicine. Watch the interview on YouTube here.  Learn more about Grant Renier and Dr. Howard Rankin's artificial intelligence system https://intualityai.com/  See past episodes here https://www.achieveit360.com/episodes/  In Today's Episode, you will learn: ✔︎ How to Improve Our Strategic Decision-Making Process with the Most Common Cognitive Biases in Mind. ✔︎ How Grant's AI System (that can be used by anyone) can predict sports wins, medicine and financial markets. ✔︎ How Howard and Grant wrote their book, Intuitive Rationality to explain the future of decision-making, through the lens of Artificial Intelligence. I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of our listeners, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments with ideas that we can all use, understand and implement immediately. Dr. Rankin and Grant Renier will discuss their new book, Intuitive Rationality, that brings to light the fact that humans are not entirely rational but instead are influenced by several factors in arriving at decisions, like subconscious and environmental processes, and a need for emotional comfort and ideological consistency. These are “heuristics” which are defined as “mental shortcuts” designed to reduce the energy involved in critical thinking and complex processing, showing that pure rationality is almost never practical or possible for human beings and that even the most seemingly rational conclusions are at best probabilities based on the currently known data, which would almost certainly change over time. While these notions are not new, they have appeared in a new context, the 21st century where technology is prevalent and social connection has never been greater. These contemporary processes mean that the various ways that people think have never been more important. Understanding cognitive biases is now critical for anyone in being more aware and efficient in not just their own thinking but also that of others. I know that local police departments now train their employees on cognitive bias, so officers are aware of how their thinking impacts their decision-making on the job, and cognitive bias is an important concept for educators to think about in the classroom, as well in any workplace environment for that matter. Which biases and heuristics are programmed into Intuitive Rationality and how are they incorporated? This new book  and our interview  will answer these questions, as well as demonstrating the proven success of such a system that is a new direction in artificial intelligence logic. Grant and Howard will introduce this fascinating and paradoxical[v] connection between Intuition and Rationality to help us better understand the strategic decision-making process, to understand how and why we make the decisions that we do, how our world is defined by them, and show how this new approach to artificial intelligence can shift its development to a more human behavior-based logic, leading to a new field of AI-Intuitive General Intelligence. I like the sounds of this! Who doesn't want to figure out new ways to improve their thinking, and strategic decision-making with this new understanding while also getting a glimpse of the future? I think this concept could help us to stay one step ahead of the crowd. Let's welcome Dr. Rankin back for a third time to the podcast, and meet the co-author of their new book, Grant Renier and let's see if we can learn the concept of Intuitive Rationality together. Welcome Dr. Rankin and wonderful to meet you, Grant. Q1: For Grant: I'm fascinated with the system you created years before Daniel Kahneman's groundbreaking book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, for many reasons, but mostly because I've always wondered about incorporating “gut feelings” or intuition into our decision-making process. Now that I'm studying practical neuroscience and have spoken to Howard a couple of times now, he's convinced me that there's a problem with the way humans think. Can you explain what is Intuitive Rationality, your intuitive General intelligence system, and how it works (financial markets, sports. Elections and medicine?)  taking into the account of human decision-making? 1B: Howard, taking Grant's work into account, and the idea that you have a podcast called How Not to Think[vi], What should we all know about “how we think and make decisions?” Q2: Can you share some of the insights you write about in Chapter 1 about your visit to Walmart that are metaphors to help us to understand “how we think?” Can we talk through each of the examples of human thinking? Dan— “According to Aristotle, all human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.” You mention in your example that you had chosen the long life 100-watt light bulbs with a combination of chance, nature and habit as per Aristotle via Dan. In my studies so far, I have come across Jaak Panksepp[vii], an American neuroscientist who says we have seven networks of emotion in the brain that begin with seeking—we are always looking for something new, and the brain releases dopamine when it finds it. How do we make decisions here? Looking for something new, or choosing what we are used to and like? Maria— “As Buddha says, we are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” I understand this one, probably from my work with the speaker Bob Proctor who taught me the importance of guarding my thoughts, since our thoughts, feelings and actions control our results/conditions, circumstances, and environment.  How important are our thoughts in your opinion and how does our thinking tie into decision-making? Aloysius—As Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “One may say anything about the history of the world--anything that might enter the most disordered imagination. The only thing one can't say is that it's rational.” What role does our imagination play with decision making?  Crystal —Sigmund Freud said “unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” We could talk about this one for a week!! A month…maybe a year!! Before I start this one, I wonder, when making decisions, how can we keep emotions out of this process? Andrea's Thoughts: I've uncovered that Research shows that “emotion has a substantial influence on the cognitive processes in humans including perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning and problem solving.”[viii] This happens because our amygdala “is activated by emotional events. The amygdala boosts memory encoding by enhancing attention and perception and can help memory retention by triggering the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, to boost arousal.”[ix] How can we keep our emotions out of decision-making, or when can we become aware of how they are impacting our decisions? Q2B: How can you predict sports wins? What data is pulled? Maggie—“as Daniel Kahneman says, ‘We are very influenced by completely automatic things that we have no control over, and we don't know we're doing it.'” Dr. Carolyn Leaf on our interview in March of this year told me that our emotions show up in our behavior, and often times when we have a behavior we don't like, we can just take some time to identify the emotion attached to the behavior (or the root cause) that remains unforgotten in the non-conscious mind from something that happened to you in your childhood and making the connection between the emotion and the behavior explain why you are doing something “without control.” Is that what this means? Q3: It wasn't even 2 seconds into chapter 3 (A Starbucks Encounter) where you meet Sherlock Holmes for coffee (which sounded like an incredible idea) where he introduces risk aversion bias, confirmation bias, and availability bias. I have seen a list of the top 50 cognitive biases[x] but how many are you aware of, and how is it possible that we check ourselves against these biases during decision-making? Q4: Can you explain a few of the most important of the 12 core cognitive biases in Intuitive Rationality? (Availability, anchoring, confirmation, symmetry, risk-avoidance, memory decay)? Q5: How do these cognitive biases fit into AI and how would a system like what Grant has developed take into consideration Theory of Mind, or respond to different human cues like emotions? Q6: What should we all take away from Intuitive Rationality? I want to thank you both for your time today, and for explaining Intuitive Rationality to me and the listeners. I know these lessons and ideas will help us all to think clearly, and take a bit more time with our decision-making process. For anyone who wants to learn more about you, Grant, what is the best place? Intuality AI Website https://intualityai.com/ Grant Renier grant.renier@intualityai.com  Dr. Howard Rankin Howard.Rankin@intualityai.com  and www.IthinkthereforeIamwrong.com  To read the book? https://intualityai.com/the-book/ Thank you! Join the Intuitive Rationality Facebook Group to Learn More and Stay in Touch with Grant and Howard. https://www.facebook.com/groups/603274067316015 FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/   Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #146 with Dr. Howard Rankin on “How Not to Think” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phd-on-how-not-to-think/ [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #152 with Dr. Howard Rankin Interviewing Andrea Samadi https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phdinterviews-andrea-samadi/ [iii] https://intualityai.com/the-book/ [iv] Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Published Dec. 19, 2012 https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Daniel-Kahneman-Minute-Summary/dp/1623150604 [v] The Interplay between Intuition and Rationality in Strategies Decision-Making: A Paradox Perspective Published July 29, 2016 by Guilia Calabretta, Gerda Gemser, Nachoem M. Wijnberg https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0170840616655483 [vi] Dr. Rankin's How Not to Think Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-not-to-think/id1488982079 [vii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaak_Panksepp [viii] The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory Published August 24, 2017 Chai M Tyng, Hafeez U Amin, Mohammed N M Saad, Aamir S Malik  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573739/ [ix] What Makes Memories Stronger? https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/what-makes-memories-stronger [x] 50 Cognitive Biases in the Modern World https://www.visualcapitalist.com/50-cognitive-biases-in-the-modern-world/

How we feel in our bodies affects so many facets of parenting-- and in some ways you might now expect. My guest Mary Van Geffen joins me to talk about 4 Ps that can help us practice body awareness as we work on parenting our kids (even the spicy ones) with empathy and connection. “When in doubt I say choose connection rather than control. We're not going to have a lot of control and we don't have the time or the energy to follow through on things. So let's make sure we're connected because connection is the honey and it will help us to have more control.” We go in depth on how paying attention to your Presence, Posture, Proximity and Phase of your Cycle can change how you parent and bring awareness of how to honor your body and rest when you need it.  Connect with Mary:  Website:  maryvangeffen.com  Instagram: @maryvangeffen  YouTube: youtube.com/maryvangeffen   Links Mentioned:   Embodied Motherhood Worksheet with 4 Ps  Coaching with Mary use code: PODCAST for $5 off Dr. Carolyn Leaf, neuroscientist Parenting Siblings School — Join Mary's Parenting Siblings School to treat jealousy, constant bickering, mean words, and tattling with confidence.  How To Stay Calm When Your Child is Acting Crazy PDF  Featured Sponsors: Love Every — Take the guesswork out of your child's play. Choose Lovevery TODAY and get free shipping when you sign up to receive your Play Kits at Lovevery.com/DMA BetterHelp —Visit betterhelp.com/DMA and join the over 1,000,000 people who have taken charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Special offer for Don't Mom Alone listeners: get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/DMA. 

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for Brain Fact Friday and episode #156 that takes us back to the Top 5 health staples that we introduced at the end of 2020[i] when I was asked to speak at Podbean's Wellness Week[ii]  with Dr. Carolyn Leaf. I've listed a reminder to these 5 health staples in the show notes and think it's important to revisit them using the principle of “spaced repetition” since “where our attention goes, energy flows” (James Redfield) with the idea that as we move in the direction of our goals this next year, that we do so with our physical and mental health in mind. I'm Andrea Samadi, author, and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of our listeners, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies in our schools, our sports, and workplace environments with ideas that we can all use, understand and implement immediately. Medical Disclaimer: Just a reminder—I would consider myself a researcher, sharing preventative and supplemental ideas and strategies related to the most current research on the brain, health and wellness education. In addition to studying directly with Mark Robert Waldman, a leading neuroscience researcher and expert on communication learning and the brain, I spend my evenings, weekends and spare time making connections with our past speakers, so that I can share these ideas to help bring more awareness to the advancements made in this fast moving field.  Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have about your health and remember that you should never disregard medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you learn through this podcast. Back to our episode—You may have noticed the shift towards health and wellbeing at the end of 2020 as we were a good year into the Pandemic, and who wasn't looking for ways to improve their mental and physical health to improve cognition, productivity, and results. When I look at the top 5 health staples, I know that some of them I can put a check next to, and say “making progress here” and some areas I know I have completely forgotten about, and if these 5 health staples are important for future brain health, mental health and Alzheimer's prevention, I know it's important to keep learning as much as possible to further optimize these areas. As I am researching and learning, I will share anything important and relevant on our future Brain Fact Friday episodes. This week I wanted to focus on Health Staple #4 “Optimizing our Microbiome” because I still have questions myself about best practices in this area and making a stronger case for the gut-brain connection as we figure out the best ways to fix, repair and rebuild our body so that we can be the best possible versions of ourselves. To do this, I wanted to share some key findings from Jonathan Otto's recent documentary Autoimmune Answers[iii] with some ideas that he brings to light to help everyone understand that strengthening our immune system is the key to disease prevention and health, and how understanding Autoimmune Diseases (like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis or Type 1 Diabetes) all begins with an understanding of the gut-brain connection. We all know the toll that the Pandemic took on our mental health, and I was reminded today with a post on Instagram from Amen Clinics[iv] that “suicide hotlines have seen a significant increase in calls due to (the) Coronavirus” and that “we must continue navigating the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.” I think back to my interview with Dr. Carolyn Leaf[v] who I hosted Podbean's Wellness week with last December, and her most recent book that we covered on a bonus episode this past March reminds us that we must “Clean Up Our Mental Mess” since “unmanaged toxic stress puts our body into low-grade inflammation which can accelerate the aging process”[vi] among other things we will take a closer look at on this episode. Dr. Jon Lieff on episode #143[vii] reminded me that “inflammation is the precursor for chronic disease.” Which brings me to this week's Brain Fact Friday. I mentioned I wanted to focus on health staple #4 this week (optimizing the microbiome) and this week, I came across a documentary created by Jonathan Otto called Autoimmune Answers[viii]  that caught my attention because someone I know has been struggling with health issues for some time now, and every time he visits the doctor, he is told—your blood work looks fine, so it's got to be an auto immune disease.  I started hearing about automated immune diseases from Ari Whitten from his Energy Blueprint: New Science of Energy Class[ix] where he went deeper into the causes behind common illnesses that he would say showed brain-related symptoms like chronic fatigue, brain fog, depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, and loss of resilience that he attributed to “neuroinflammation” or chronic inflammation in the brain. He said that some of these illness were caused by a leaky blood-brain barrier (that should let in glucose, amino acids, and hormones, but keep out toxins and pathogens) and this is similar to a leaky gut.  His course explains how the powerhouse of the cells, the mitochondria go into defense-mode when stressed (lack of sleep, poor inflammatory diet, toxin exposure) which is at the root of inflammation. I will put the link to his course in the show notes, as I have learned so much from Ari, but it was here that I decided I had better watch Jonathan Otto's documentary if I wanted to get a better understanding of Autoimmune Disease and the gut-brain connection. REVIEW OF THE TOP 5 HEALTH STAPLES THAT ARE ALZHEIMER'S PREVENTION STRATEGIES I wasn't even 5 minutes into episode 1 of Jonathan's Autoimmune Answers and guess who appears as a doctor giving advice? Dr. David Perlmutter who taught me the top 5 health staples with his Alzheimer's Science of Prevention Documentary[x]. I know that we all know that when we feel “off” we can usually look at the top 5 health staples and see if there's a starting point to make improvements.  We have covered these staples extensively, but here's a quick review. How is your aerobic exercise? John Ratey on EPISODE #116[xi] made a clear case for the connection with aerobic exercise and improved brain structure and function along with fitness expert Luke DePron on EPISODE #90.[xii] How is your sleep? If you need help here, visit EPISODE #72[xiii] with Dr. Shane Creado on “Sleep Strategies That Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage” or EPISODE #120[xiv] where I share how the Fisher Wallace Medical Device Improve My Sleep. What about eating a healthy diet? We all can sway towards eating a certain diet, but Dr. Daniel Stickler took diet, nutrition, and our future to a whole new level on EPISODE #96[xv] and Dr. Perlmutter says it loud and clear in EPISODE 1 of Autoimmune Answers that “making good food choices will help us to make better decisions”[xvi] in our everyday lives. Are you optimizing your microbiome? We will dive into this one today, but Dr. Vuyisich was the first to talk with me about the importance of optimizing our microbiome for reversing chronic disease on EPISODE #93.[xvii] Have you tried Intermittent Fasting? Ketogenic Diet and Intermittent Fasting Expert Jason Wittrock covers this topic on EPISODE #94.[xviii] Other than taking probiotics at night, or making sure I'm eating a healthy diet, I don't pay much attention to optimizing my gut microbiome. Do you? Let me know if there are other ideas that you know of, that can help others. This brings me to this week's Brain Fact Friday: DID YOU KNOW THAT “70-80% of your immune system is found in your gut tissues?” (Dr. Gerenger and Dr. Kan from Autoimmune Answers, explain this in detail saying that many people who feel “off” visit their doctor only to be told that their labs are normal because “the inflammation that began in the gut, has not attacked the glands yet” (Autoimmune Answers, EPISODE 1)[xix] Dr. Daniel Amen (America's leading psychiatrist and brain health experts) calls our gastrointestinal tract our “second brain”[xx]  that is “lined with about 100 million neurons—more neurons than you have in your spinal cord” and he believes that “when you have problems with your gut, you're more likely to have mental health issues.”[xxi] We have also heard before that there does appear to be a hidden relationship between Alzheimer's disease and the microbiome in our gut and that “an imbalanced gut microbiome (dysbiosis) could lead to Alzheimer's disease and wider neuroinflammation through the gut-brain-axis. Promoting ‘good bacteria' relative to ‘bad bacteria' in the gut may be important in maintaining good digestive, immune and neurological health.”[xxii] This is still a developing field but taking prebiotics and probiotics[xxiii] are the best way to promote a healthy gut/brain balance. If 70-80% of my immune system is found in my gut tissues, I think it makes sense that I learn as much as I can about optimizing my gut microbiome. I do recommend watching the Autoimmune Answers documentary by Jonathan Otto, but in the meantime, here are my main take-aways from this documentary. 3 Tips for Optimizing the Gut Microbiome to Improve Your Immune System Know what helps your gut microbiome: Did you know that our gut is made up of trillions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes? This microbiome plays an important role in our health by helping to control digestion and benefitting our immune system. Taking a probiotic daily, remaining active, eating a healthy diet and avoiding foods that disrupt our microbiome[xxiv] (processed fried foods, sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners), are important for our gut/brain health. This makes sense to me, but I still sometimes forget to take my probiotic at night.  I did learn that taking digestive enzymes were a good idea to help break down your food so that the nutrients could be better absorbed. I've been taking digestive enzymes for over 20 years after a trainer said it would be a good idea, but now they have a new purpose. I did learn about the importance of taking fulvic acid to fight inflammation and improve my body's ability to be resistant to disease, but I haven't started this one yet. Know what hurts your gut microbiome: Antibiotics were designed to kill bacteria but they also “kill good bacteria in the gut” (Autoimmune Answers EPISODE 1) but so do oral contraceptives, NSAIDS, stress, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and toxins”[xxv] I always think really hard before taking something that I know will have a damaging effect on the health of my body, even if I think it will help me in the short term. I'm not perfect in this area, probably because I can't see the damage I'm doing so it's not always easy to make the best decisions here. Even though we sometimes know better, we still do things that we know are not good for us. What I learned from Autoimmune Answers that changed my thought process here a bit was that the stomach lining is “one-cell thick” from Dr. Vincent Pedre from EPSIODE 4[xxvi] so it's not difficult to damage the lining of our stomach, making it permeable to pathogens that come in and create what is called “leaky gut.” Add Aerobic Exercise: It Fixes Everything. Dr. Perlmutter reminded us that “aerobic exercise increases gut bacterial diversity”[xxvii] Researchers say “they noticed changes in the gut microbiome after six weeks of exercise. The gut makeup returned to normal after the exercise was dropped.”[xxviii] There are so many cases for adding aerobic exercise to your daily routine and now we can add gut health to our list.  FINAL THOUGHTS TO CLOSE OUT THIS WEEK'S BRAIN FACT FRIDAY When our podcast took the turn towards Health and Wellness at the end of 2020, in addition to the focusing on the science behind social and emotional learning, I decided to launch Brain Fact Fridays—with a goal to provide a brain tip that ties back to how our brain works. If I can also tie this Brain Fact to one of the Top 5 health staples, I think this reinforced, spaced repetition of ideas will be helpful, for all of us. Let me know what you think of this episode. Send me an email to andrea@achieveit360.com or connect with me through social media. At the end of last year, we learned how important the top 5 health staples were from Dr. Perlmutter's Alzheimer's Science of Prevention Documentary[xxix] but what about Autoimmune Disease? Have you or someone you know just felt “off' for some reason, and you've gone to the doctor, taken some blood tests, and they all come back fine, yet you intuitively know something wasn't right? This has got to be the most frustrating situation. If you've ever had this happen, you will know what I mean, and if you want to watch Jonathan Otto's Autoimmune Answers, be sure to click the link in the show notes.  https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/ I am not affiliated to Jonathan Otto in any way, nor is this an affiliate link, I just think his documentary could help someone who is struggling with their health to find some answers. I'm sure you can see that the implementation of these ideas is important, and what I love about hosting these podcasts (in addition to how much I am learning personally) is hearing that some of these high-level performers, like Dr. Carolyn Leaf, mentions she doesn't have it all together, all of the time either, and often uses the principles she teaches to help calm her brain and mind down during her work day. When I see these ideas being implemented in this way, I think it makes them more relatable for others who can see that no one is immune from life's challenges. We will all face challenges, but the key will be—to think—do you have the tools that you need to suffer the inevitable adversity and challenge less, and get back on track so that you get to where you are going in one piece with your physical and mental health intact? As we are interviewing high-level speakers, working on ways to improve productivity and results in our life, whether we are a teacher in the classroom, or someone looking to take their results to the next level in their workplace, I want to make sure that we all get to where we are going that we have exceptional health when we get there. When I'm sitting at my desk, and look up on my wall, I see a list of values that drive me on a day-to-day basis, and Health is at the top of this list. What would be the point of doing these podcasts, getting excited about the new strategies we are learning and implementing from all these powerful speakers, and hearing about how people around the world are implementing these ideas in their schools, classrooms and workplaces, without addressing the importance of our physical and mental health along the way of this journey. And with that, I wish you a wonderful weekend! See you next week. FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI:  YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi   Website https://www.achieveit360.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com   Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697   Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/  RESOURCES: Therapeutic Potential of Fulvic Acid in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases and Diabetes by John Winkler and Sanjay Ghosh Published Sept.10, 2018 Dr. Peter Kan, DC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6151376/https://askdrkan.com/about-drkan-in-gilbert-az/ Dr. Cathleen Gerenger, DC https://www.healthgrades.com/providers/cathleen-gerenger-2vgrd  REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE December 2020 with Andrea Samadi on “The Top 5 Health Staples”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/ [ii] Podbean's Wellness Week https://www.podbean.com/podcastwellnessweek [iii] https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/ [iv] https://www.amenclinics.com/ [v] BONUS EPISODE with Dr. Carolyn Leaf on “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/ [vi] https://neurocycle.app/ (Day 10) [vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #143 on “The Secret Language of Cells”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jon-lieff-md-on-the-secret-language-of-cells-what-biological-conversations-tell-us-about-the-brain-body-connection/ [viii] https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/ [ix]  https://theenergyblueprint.com/new-science-of-energy1/ [x] https://www.drperlmutter.com/alzheimers-the-science-of-prevention-2020-air-dates/ [xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #116 on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/ [xii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #90 with Luke DePron on “Neuroscience, Fitness and Growth”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/host-of-the-live-great-lifestyle-podcast-luke-depron-on-neuroscience-health-fitness-and-growth/ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE #72 with Dr. Shane Creado on “Sleep Strategies That Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-shane-creado-on-sleep-strategies-that-will-guarantee-a-competitive-advantage/ [xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 with Andrea Samadi on a “Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast  EPISODE #96 with Dr. Daniel Stickler on “Expanding Awareness for Limitless Potential” [xv]https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-daniel-stickler-on-expanding-awareness-for-limitless-peak-performance-health-longevity-and-intelligence/ [xvi] https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/ (EPISODE 1 Dr. Perlmutter) [xvii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #93 with Dr. Vuyisich on “Improving the Health of Your Microbiome: Reversing Chronic Disease” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-momo-vuyisich-on-improving-the-health-of-your-microbiome-preventing-and-reversing-chronic-disease/ Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #94 with Jason Wittrock on “Health, Nutrition, Intermittent Fasting and the Ketogenic Diet[xviii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-trainer-and-fitness-model-jason-wittrock-on-health-nutrition-intermittent-fasting-and-the-ketogenic-diet/ [xix] https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/ (EPISODE 1 with Dr. Cathleen Gerenger, DC and Dr. Peter Kan). [xx] Does My Gut Affect My Mental Stability? Dr. Daniel Amen October 1, 2019 https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/does-my-gut-health-affect-my-mental-stability/ [xxi] ibid [xxii] Alzheimer's Disease and the Microbiome by Oman Shabir  https://www.news-medical.net/health/Alzheimers-Disease-and-the-Microbiome.aspx [xxiii] What is the Difference Between a Prebiotic and a Probiotic https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323490 [xxiv] 11 Ways Your Life Can Disrupt the Gut Microbiome https://atlasbiomed.com/blog/11-ways-your-life-can-disrupt-the-gut-microbiome/ [xxv] Does My Gut Affect My Mental Stability? Dr. Daniel Amen October 1, 2019 https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/does-my-gut-health-affect-my-mental-stability/ [xxvi] https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/lifetime-access-2021/ Autoimmune Answers EPISODE 4 Dr. Vincent Pedre [xxvii] https://theautoimmuneanswers.com/lifetime-access-2021/ Autoimmune Answers EPISODE 4 Dr/ Perlmutter [xxviii] Researchers Say Exercise Also Improves Your Gut Bacteria Written by Elizabeth Pratt, September 24, 2018 https://www.healthline.com/health-news/exercise-improves-your-gut-bacteria#:~:text=Research%20Says%20Exercise%20Also%20Improves%20Your%20Gut%20Bacteria&text=Researchers%20say%20they%20noticed%20changes,reason%20to%20exercise%2C%20try%20this. [xxix] https://www.drperlmutter.com/alzheimers-the-science-of-prevention-2020-air-dates/

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, for Brain Fact Friday and episode #147 that has taken me back to Dr. Jon Lieff from episode #143[i] and his book The Secret Language of Cells: What Biological Conversation Tells Us About the Brain-Body Connection, the Future of Medicine and Life Itself.[ii] I'm Andrea Samadi, author and educator from Toronto, Canada, now in Arizona, and like many of our listeners, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies in our schools, sports, and the workplace with ideas that we can all use, understand and implement immediately, for improved results.   In Today's Brain Fact Friday You Will Learn: ✔︎ How Brain Fog is Created  ✔︎ How the Brain and Immune System Work Together ✔︎ How Cells Communicate with Each other ✔︎ How to Strengthen Our Brain-Mind-Body Connection by Understanding Our Brain State On our last Brain Fact Friday, episode #141, I talk about how meeting Dr. Lieff opened my eyes to the importance of keeping the cells in our body healthy for our future health, productivity, and results and that I had never thought about my health through this lens. His book explores the cellular conversation as a new way of understanding that our cells have constant, intelligent chatter between them, showing there is no separation of brain-body, mind-body or brain-immune and It got me thinking about neurogenesis, (how we create new cells in the brain) reminding me to take my Omega 3-DHA to increase Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, (which is the best way to produce new brain cells) and the ties to keeping our brain cells healthy for learning, memory and retention. But what else is there? What are some other ways that I can look at health, wellness and productivity at the cellular level? Which Leads us to This Week's Brain Fact Friday Have you ever wondered why we get brain fog, or have a harder time thinking when we are stressed? Dr. Jon Lieff shared with me why this happens, and I think it's important that everyone understands this function of our brain and body. Did you know that the brain and immune system work together? T-cells (an essential part of the immune system, a type of leukocyte or white blood cell) sends a message to the neurons (the cells in the brain and nervous system) to stop making memory cells (when you are stressed) and you get brain fog. Dr. Lieff reminded us in our interview that stress is “at the interface of brain function and inflammation” and that “T cells are essential for dealing with stress…Both brain and immune cells pick up perceptions of stress. Brief stress related to learning or the unexpected can be helpful in stimulating positive brain activity. However, chronic stress (where the body has no way to break from a stressor) can trigger damaging inflammation.”[iii] We have all heard that stress causes inflammation in the body, that “leads to a number of chronic health conditions”[iv] like cancer and viral infections and Dr. Lieff comes to the conclusion that “all processes in the human body, in all animals and plants, and in microbe communities as well, are based on conversations and group decision making among cells.”[v] One of the many fascinating parts of my interview with Dr. Lieff, that I have had many messages about, was where he explained that no one knew there were immune cells near the brain. Cerebral fluid (a colorless fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) he explained “is also for communication and that t-cells get into this fluid and send messages to neurons.”[vi] When there is an infection in our body, the immune cells send “a sick feeling” to our body signaling us to pay attention to what we are feeling and take a rest or break so that healing can take place. Have you ever felt that feeling? You are working and something feels off in your body? Stefanie Faye mentioned the concept of “interoception” (being able to perceive the sensations from inside the body in episode #39[vii] and Dr. Daniel Stickler mentioned it in on episode #96[viii] with an athlete's ability to read their body and not overtrain. Dr. Lieff shared that when everything is well within the body, “T cells signal to the brain that conditions are safe for normal activity” (page 35) but the minute there is an infection, or trauma, “the T cells change their messages to the brain to signal that the body is sick and the brain must slow down” until the t cells recognize that it is ok to return back to normal. We should be able to feel this shift in the body. This is a recent discovery that can serve us well to keep us operating at our highest levels possible. We must understand that our cells are smart, and that they communicate with each other, but this is just the beginning. What are some simple steps we can take to strengthen our brain? We will dive deeper into this next week with our interview with Dr. James Hardt[ix], who has worked with Tony Robbins, Michael Jackson, leaders of Microsoft, IBM and other high-powered executives to elevate states of intelligence and consciousness, but until then, here are my tips for keeping a healthy brain-body-immune system. HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BRAIN-BODY-IMMUNE SYSTEM? UNDERSTAND YOUR PATTERNS AND BRAIN STATE: If our brain and immune system are closely tied, it makes sense to me that we should understand something about how our brains work. Do you know the brain state you are in, how you operate, and how to switch between different brain states to improve your productivity? We have talked about the importance of switching between different networks in the brain to improve levels of creativity, with episode #48[x] on Brain Network Theory (bringing us to heightened perception with GAMMA brain waves,  and Stefanie Faye just released an article that affirms “the more we start to notice the rhythms we have in our brain states, moods, relationships, and day to day functioning, the better we get at cultivating the right conditions ahead of time, in a preventative, systems-thinking and growth-oriented way.”[xi] Through the brain mapping she does, Faye believes that people who experience brain fog are operating with THETA BRAIN WAVES (4-8 HZ) which is slower than needed for higher levels of productivity experienced at the ALPHA (9-13 level). Dr. James Hardt, who will take us deeper into the power of changing our brain states to change our life, next week, reminds us that “the average person's brain state shows low ALPHA (where creativity exists) and high BETA (stress)” whether it's time urgency, financial stress, or health related, this type of stress we know leads to dis-ease in the body. I do look forward to sharing more on this topic next week, and diving deeper, as I think we have only just started to scratch the surface of how to reach these higher levels of thinking with our last interview with expert in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dr. Howard Rankin on “How Not to Think[xii]” and if we were to brain map ourselves, it would be very clear, that most of us do not think—or we think far less than we think we think. That's it for this week's Brain Fact Friday on understanding how the brain-body, mind-body and brain-immune system work together and I hope that you have taken away something useful to help you to understand how we get brain fog, vs mental clarity, with some thoughts on moving to new brain wave levels for improved results. The key to this week's brain fact is that switching brain states takes focused effort. We must first of all be aware of where we are, (Dr. Hardt thinks most of us are at the BETA STATE) before we can move to a new state.   The only way I know of to move to the ALPHA STATE is through a state of wakeful relaxation that can be cultivated with a mindfulness/meditation practice, or from deep thinking that takes us into our non-conscious mind that World Renowned Neuroscientist Dr. Carolyn Leaf explains in our bonus interview on “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess.[xiii] From the research I am doing on Dr. Hardt, I can see there are quicker and easier ways to reach these higher levels and I look forward to sharing them with you. If you would like to see Stefanie Faye's recent article on “3 Ways to Get Rid of Brain Fog and Increase Mental Clarity” I will link her article in the show notes. Will see you next week with Dr. James Hardt, and I do look forward to sharing with you the new workshops we are creating for schools and workplace, as we begin to implement these ideas into our classrooms and workplaces. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, you can see what we have been doing on our website at www.achieveit360.com .   REFERENCES: [i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #143 with Dr. Jon Lieff on “The Secret Language of Cells” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jon-lieff-md-on-the-secret-language-of-cells-what-biological-conversations-tell-us-about-the-brain-body-connection/ [ii] The Secret Language of Cells: What Biological Conversation Tells Us About the Brain-Body Connection by Jon Lieff, MD. September 22, 2020 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084HKZ4HK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 [iii] IBID page 91 [iv] Here's How Chronic Stress and Inflammation Are Linked by Denise Shipani October 16, 2018 https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/united-states-of-stress/link-between-stress-inflammation/ [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #143 with Dr. Jon Lieff on “The Secret Language of Cells” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jon-lieff-md-on-the-secret-language-of-cells-what-biological-conversations-tell-us-about-the-brain-body-connection/ Page 2 [vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #143 with Dr. Jon Lieff on “The Secret Language of Cells” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jon-lieff-md-on-the-secret-language-of-cells-what-biological-conversations-tell-us-about-the-brain-body-connection/ [vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #39 with Stefanie Faye on “Using Neuroscience to Improve our Mindset, Self-Regulation and Self-Awareness” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/neuroscience-researcher-stefanie-faye-on-using-neuroscience-to-improve-our-mindset-self-regulation-and-self-awareness/ [viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #96 with Dr. Daniel Stickler on “Expanding Awareness for Limitless Peak Performance, Health, Longevity and Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-daniel-stickler-on-expanding-awareness-for-limitless-peak-performance-health-longevity-and-intelligence/ [ix] Change Your Brain Waves, Change Your Life with Dr. James Hardt Published on YouTube September 10, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_00ttCddWM [x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #48 on “Brain Network Theory: Using Neuroscience to Stay Productive During Times of Change and Chaos” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/ [xi] Stefanie Faye “3 Ways to Get Rid of Brain Fog: And Increase Mental Clarity”  Published July 14, 2021 https://stefaniefaye.com/articles/3-ways-to-get-rid-of-brain-fog-and-increase-mental-clarity/ [xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #96 on “How Not to Think” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expert-in-psychology-cognitive-neuroscience-and-neurotechnology-howard-rankin-phd-on-how-not-to-think/ [xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE with World Renowned Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf on “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Toxic Thinking” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/

Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, for Brain Fact Friday and episode #135 on my biggest AHA moment from EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes, the VP of Performance Science of WHOOP[i], a wearable personal fitness and health coach that measures sleep, strain, and recovery. To see the images in the show notes, and Andrea's Data, click here. In Today’s Brain Fact Friday You Will Learn: ✔︎ How the wearable health tracker WHOOP measures recovery. ✔︎ Why this data is useful for athletes, and humans in general, for mitigating physical, mental, and emotional stress. ✔︎ Strategies to improve recovery and decrease physical and psychological stress. ✔︎ See Andrea’s data and how she achieved her highest recovery rates using these strategies. ✔︎ How you can measure your own recovery to improve performance and resiliency. Welcome back, I'm Andrea Samadi, a former educator who has been fascinated with understanding the science behind high performance strategies in schools, sports, and the workplace for the past 20 years. If you have been listening to our podcast, you will know that we’ve uncovered that if we want to improve our social and emotional skills, and experience success in our work and personal lives, it all begins with an understanding of our brain. The purpose of this podcast is to bring the most current brain research to you, so you can make it applicable in your life whether you are a teacher in the classroom, or using these ideas to improve productivity and results in your workplace. As I am researching and learning new ideas, I’m also implementing them myself, and making connections to past speakers, so that we can all benefit from the research that is emerging in this new field of educational neuroscience. If you listened to EPISODE #134[ii] with Kristen Holmes, the VP of Performance Science with WHOOP whose Ph.D. work is in multilevel interactions of stress and circadian behavior[iii] or the impact of light on sleep optimization, you’ll know that I first came across Kristen while researching Heart Rate Variability for EPISODE #125[iv] where I started to see how important this one measurement was for tracking health, recovery, and resilience which is crucial to brain health and performance. After listening to the WHOOP podcast, with Founder Will Ahmed, I joined the community so that I could measure my HRV that I learned from Neurohacker Collective[v] is “the most important biomarker”[vi] --a measure that captures what’s going on in a cell at any given moment that can serve as an early warning system for your health.  As someone who has been working hard to make use of every second of the day, I thought, “I’ve got to know this number if I want to be operating at my highest capacity.” No one wants to intentionally leave anything on the table to chance or luck and staying on top of these metrics is a guaranteed way to take the guesswork out of human performance. Which leads us to this week’s Brain Fact Friday with a powerful AHA Moment I had during the interview with Kristen Holmes. After a month of measuring my data, and looking at the daily recovery score, I adjusted my behavior based on that number, and thought that recovery was based on the idea that I had to let my body recover physically after those days that I had high strain or exercised harder than usual. Even without measuring this data, we have a pretty good idea of days that we need to rest, based on how we feel.  I looked at the recovery score each morning, and it was never showing GREEN which would be 66%-100% recovered. My recovery score (that you can see a snapshot of in the show notes) was either yellow (recovering) or RED (not ready to take on strain) that I thought meant give your body more rest to prevent injury.  I even had a chart that told me that multiple days above my optimal strain targets (that averaged a score of 16) will promote fitness gains, but to dedicate time to rest if I continue this behavior, so I told Kristen that I actually stopped some of my workouts.   My thinking was close, but not exactly accurate, and since I’m new to measuring this data, was missing some key information that I would learn from Kristen. What would you think recovery means?  When you are tired mentally and physically, how do you restore yourself?  There is a way to use this data to improve future performance, that goes beyond what I think we would usually think about, and this was the biggest AHA Moment I had with my interview with Kristen Holmes, and also from listening to the podcast WHOOP did with Patrick Mahomes[vii], a world-class athlete who quantified the strain of his NFL season using the WHOOP device.  I thought it was crazy to see that he averaged over 20 for strain on game days and learned to change his behavior (both mentally and physically) to recover after these high intensity days. Bringing us to this week’s BRAIN FACT FRIDAY: DID YOU KNOW that recovery is “a measurement of physiological stress (how our body responds to our environment, or the demands we are putting on our physical body with our workouts), and psychological stress (manifested from our Autonomic Nervous System)?  Patrick Mahomes talked about the mental aspect of his training in depth, going into detail of how he uses visualization and the importance of his mental mindset, in addition to working on the fundamentals, for his success. Kristen Holmes reminded me that recovery is based on “how well you are coping with external stress”[viii] and the WHOOP device measures this score based on 4 measurements which each are important, but the first two gave me the insight I needed to better understand how we can measure and improve recovery. HRV: heart rate variability or the distance measured between our heartbeats. “The higher your HRV (the more variability you have between heartbeats), the more your nervous system is in tune with your environment, and the better you’ll perform. A lot of things affect your HRV, with stress as the most common factor”[ix] and HRV will be low when you are exercising at a high capacity and really pushing it and goes back up higher when you allow your body the rest and recovery needed for repair.  HRV levels can tend to be lower when you are tired and go higher when you get enough sleep. Activity level, stress, illness, hydration, alcohol consumption, nutrition and how tired you are can all impact your HRV levels. Sleep: how much you needed vs what you actually are getting, and how much sleep you spend at each sleep stage. Resting heart rate: that’s an indicator of physical fitness and heart function. Respiratory Rate: (that usually doesn’t usually change from day to day, but is something to pay attention to, if this measurement does change.” Kristen went on to explain that recovery is “a measurement of physiological stress (how our body responds to our environment, or the demands we are putting on our physical body with our workouts), and psychological stress (manifested from our Autonomic Nervous System). And that the “more recovered you are, the more responsive your heart will be to both demands of the ANS—and the less recovered, the less responsive you will be.”  If your recovery score is low, and you are trying to run from a tiger (as an example) you won’t be as responsive to the stress, or if your recovery score is low, and you are hoping to perform at work or school, you will not have the reservoirs of fuel that you could have, if you had done things differently, and were operating from a highly recovered score. Since the WHOOP recovery score correlates to your HRV score, for those who don’t use the WHOOP device can still use their HRV score (you can measure this for FREE using an app on your phone)[x] and remember that “the more variability you have between heart beats (or the higher your HRV score) the more capable you are of adapting to external stress (relationship stress, financial stress, or the stress our body goes under with the foods we are putting into it etc.).” (Kristen Holmes) So here was my AHA Moment: Recovery was lower not because of too much exercise, but not enough sleep, hydration, and other physical stressors. What strategies do you have to mitigate your daily stress? What is your relationship with light, and do you know how to use light to help your circadian rhythm?  Can you improve your sleep quantity and quality? Some great questions to think about with this AHA Moment, making me reflect on some strategies from past episodes that can help improve the psychological stressors to improve recovery, and then I was speaking to a colleague from Israel, named Shlomit, who was sharing with me the turmoil her country has been experiencing with the missile attacks earlier this month.[xi] She mentioned to me the psychological and mental conflict these attacks have had on many people in her area, disrupting their daily life and bringing uncertainty, fear and stress. Their peace and safety were taken away in a heartbeat, and she realized this was something she had taken for granted for so long. She didn’t ever worry about not having safety and security in her own home and suddenly she is sharing a bomb shelter with another family and not even sure she can finish her shower, for fear of evacuation. Much like the freedom that many people around the world lost during the Pandemic, and the upheaval this time has caused families worldwide. During this conversation, Shlomit asked me if I knew the meaning of the word “Shalom” and although I had heard this word often, especially during Passover, I couldn’t give her the meaning. She told me it meant “peace” and was also used to say hello or goodbye, and that her name, Schlomit, was the feminine version of the word peace and that although there was much fear, turmoil, stress and uncertainty in her world, she knew she had to savor the peace in her life, and never take this freedom for granted again the future. My AHA moment with Kristen, on the importance of managing psychological stress, paired with my conversation with Schlomit, reminded me to look back at the bonus episode we did with Dr. Carolyn Leaf[xii], on Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess[xiii]: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Toxic Thinking for our strategies to improve psychological well-being, that will improve our recovery score. You can download her APP Neurocycle[xiv] (formerly called the Switch App) that walks you through the 5-step process that I cover in my review of her book,[xv] based on 38 years of research, on how to change your brain (which is neuroplasticity in action) and get rid of toxic thoughts through self-awareness, journaling and reflecting. These 5 steps do take some time, but if you want to clean up your mental mess and close the gaps you might have with energy you are wasting on toxic thinking, it’s important to do this work. STEP 1: Gather Awareness (of what’s bothering you). We’ve all heard of the importance of knowing our emotions, or when we name what’s bothering us, we can tame it[iv]. What about those worries that we name, and they don’t go away? These worries or fears really can impact our mental health, and we have seen with our recovery score, can impact our health and performance. If you have something on your mind, the first thing you can do is to take out a journal, and write out some of the worries that are taking space in your mind. I’ve also heard this being called a CRAP Board, where you write out all of your conflicts, resistances, anxieties and problems. Once you have gotten them out of your head, and see them on paper, it’s easier to look at them and think “am I worrying about something that has not happened yet?” If so, get it out of your head, and stop worrying about things that may or may not happen in the future. Schlomit reminded me to savor the peace and safety in your day, as it can be quickly taken away, like hers was. STEP 2: Reflect and Analyze: Answer, Ask and Discuss Some Questions to Find the Root Cause of Your Emotions or What’s Bothering You. This is how we pull thoughts from our non-conscious mind to our conscious mind, where it becomes weaker. It’s no longer suppressed but acknowledged. Use your mind to ask yourself questions, and it will be interesting to see what comes up. This process takes time, reflection and daily effort. Our emotions are unique signals to learn how to cope with challenges, but over time, they will damage our brain with consistent worry.  See if you can get a new perspective on what you are worrying about. Is there anything positive you can gather from your insight? STEP 3: Write out what you discover from step 2. Begin to capture what’s bothering you and see if you can come up with root causes, or why you think this worry is on your mind. Learn to write in pictures, add color, shapes. Learn how to write in a metacog  formula.[v] STEP 4: Recheck and Edit What You Have Written Down. Re-read what you have written and see what comes up. Can you add more to your answer to help make more sense of it? Dig deeper, look for patterns, triggers and keep looking for the root cause of the problem that’s occupying your mind. STEP 5: Practice and Apply Through Active Reach. Look at what you have written and see if you can come up with an action statement to practice what you have learned from your introspection.  You will read out your daily Aha Moment 7x a day to remind yourself what you are re-shaping, or make it easy, and let the app or your phone send you a reminder. Example: I am worrying about xyz because I am afraid of xyz…but this hasn’t happened, and most likely will not happen, so this worry is wasting my time. If it happens one day, I will deal with this problem then, but not wasting the mental energy worrying about something that I cannot control. I can control my reaction to my worry. So in my journal, I wrote out my worries like branches on a tree, and the trunk she says is the perspective of the thought. I begin to look at my worries from a different angle or perspective. Right here you should notice a shift in energy about the problem. I started to see mine differently here looking at it from a distance. Then the roots of the tree are the origin story, or root of why I am worrying about this problem, which is what we want to uncover. This activity will give you an incredible amount of self-awareness. The next day, I had my highest recovery day in the past month:   If you have something like this on your mind, I highly suggest taking the time to upload the app on your phone, grab a journal and begin the work to eliminate and clean up your mental mess. You could also learn more about Resonance Frequency Breathing[xvi], that Kristen Holmes suggested as “the best way to improve HRV, sleep, recovery and reduce anxiety.” (Kristen Holmes, WHOOP). This type of breathing is when the frequency of our breath matches the frequency of our heart, bringing coherence, giving us a stronger ANS (Autonomic NS) and allows us to control our stress response better, and become resilient to physical, mental and emotional stressors. To review this week’s Brain Fact: DID YOU KNOW that recovery is “a measurement of physiological stress (how our body responds to our environment, or the demands we are putting on our physical body with our workouts), and psychological stress (manifested from our Autonomic Nervous System)?  It’s important that we have strategies in place to mitigate our physiological and psychological stress. Once you have these strategies in place, (like Dr. Leaf’s 5 steps to Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess), Meditation, or what Kristen suggested as the best way to improve HRV, sleep, recovery and reduce anxiety, with Resonance Frequency Breathing, it’s as simple of implementing them, measuring how your recovery has improved and then knowing when to add more strain. The key is to not just guess with these numbers. If you have a passion to improve your performance and life and are human, I highly recommend looking at the WHOOP device to learn more about your recovery score. Episode #134 with Kristen Holmes received so much feedback and interest from high level performers, past podcast guests, athletes, Google executives, people in the health and wellness industry, from around the world, letting me know how much they love this wearable health and wellness tracker. I look forward to seeing you next week with another case study, this one is a fascinating story of Lois Letchford, whose son failed first grade, could only read 10 words, had no strengths, and was given a low IQ. Lois used the principles from Dr. Immordino-Yang, from interview #100, and her son was able to defy the odds, and graduated from Oxford University with his Ph.D. in 2018. I can’t wait to share her story with you, but until then, have a good weekend. See you next week.   RESOURCES: Recovery Tips from Leading WHOOP Members https://www.whoop.com/thelocker/recovery-tips-from-leading-whoop-users/ REFERENCES: [i] https://www.whoop.com/ [ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science of WHOOP.com on “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery and Strain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [iii] Let there be circadian light Feb.20, 2020 University of Washington Health Sciences https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200220141731.htm [iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #125 “What is Heart Rate Variability and Why is it Important for Tracking Health, Recovery and Resilience”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-is-hrv-and-why-is-it-important-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience-with-andrea-samadi/ [v] https://neurohacker.com/ [vi] Biomarkers https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/science/biomarkers/index.cfm [vii] Patrick Mahomes’ WHOOP Data: Quantifying the Strain of an NFL Season by Mark Van Deusen https://www.whoop.com/thelocker/patrick-mahomes-heart-rate-strain-data/?utm_source=members&utm_campaign=the-locker&utm_medium=email&utm_content=patrick-mahomes-heart-rate-strain-data&_ke=eyJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIlBBQm5XSyIsICJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJhbmRyZWFAYWNoaWV2ZWl0MzYwLmNvbSJ9 [viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science of WHOOP.com on “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery and Strain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [ix] IBID [x] https://welltory.com/ [xi] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57094737 [xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE with Dr. Carolyn Leaf on “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Toxic Thinking” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/ [xiii] Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress and Toxic Thinking by Dr. Caroline Leaf AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW (March 2, 2021)  https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-Your-Mental-Mess-Scientifically/dp/0801093457 [xiv]https://theswitch.app/?_ke=eyJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIktxZ0g5ZCIsICJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJhbmRyZWEuc2FtYWRpQGNveC5uZXQifQ%3D%3D [xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #106 Review of Neuroscientist and Best-Selling Author Dr. Carolyn Leaf’s “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ [xvi] Resonance Frequency Breathing Published on YouTube Sept. 25, 2020  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIi1Tc5i8s4&t=694s

Step one: Renewing your mind  Romans 12:2 – “Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” If you need help with this, I teach this in my book Broken Crayons Still Color. https://amzn.to/3fo1fFE Step two: Focusing on one thing at a time There's really no such thing as successful multitasking. Studies have confirmed that we do our best work while focusing on one thing. Our work becomes watered down when we try doing multiple things at once. Step three: Develop Habits Dr. Carolyn Leaf has shown with her brain research that you can form a long term memory in 21 days and an automatic habit in 63 days (9 weeks) when you focus only on one main habit at a time. Then, you can layer them on top of each other.  This is what has worked for me with my fitness goals. I started with simply exercising 15 minutes a day a few days a week. And that's why we are hosting the MOMENTUM challenge to help you form the same habit.  MOMENTUM Free 21-Day Move Your Body Challenge Have you signed up for our free challenge? It's called Momentum: a 21-day move your body challenge. WooHoo!  In this challenge, we help you gain momentum in your fitness by encouraging you to move just 15 minutes a day. You'll get free workouts, accountability in our app or online member area, and audios.  Sign up now and invite a friend to join you here: https://aliveandactivewellness.com/momentum/  

Step one: Renewing your mind  Romans 12:2 – “Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” If you need help with this, I teach this in my book Broken Crayons Still Color. https://amzn.to/3fo1fFE Step two: Focusing on one thing at a time There's really no such thing as successful multitasking. Studies have confirmed that we do our best work while focusing on one thing. Our work becomes watered down when we try doing multiple things at once. Step three: Develop Habits Dr. Carolyn Leaf has shown with her brain research that you can form a long term memory in 21 days and an automatic habit in 63 days (9 weeks) when you focus only on one main habit at a time. Then, you can layer them on top of each other.  This is what has worked for me with my fitness goals. I started with simply exercising 15 minutes a day a few days a week. And that's why we are hosting the MOMENTUM challenge to help you form the same habit.  MOMENTUM Free 21-Day Move Your Body Challenge Have you signed up for our free challenge? It's called Momentum: a 21-day move your body challenge. WooHoo!  In this challenge, we help you gain momentum in your fitness by encouraging you to move just 15 minutes a day. You'll get free workouts, accountability in our app or online member area, and audios.  Sign up now and invite a friend to join you here: https://aliveandactivewellness.com/momentum/  

Recently, while working through Dr. Carolyn Leaf's 21-Day Brain Detox, I came face to face with a toxic thought I didn't even know was lurking in there: without wealth, I can't make significant impact. I was shocked this was even in my brain, because I know (while money is a vital currency in life), making an impact is not specific to money. This led me to scripture to identify foundational verses for making an impact and what that can mean in my business as I Hustle with Heart. I'm excited for you to glean some insight from my hindsight, and can't wait to see your comments on this! Reference Verses: Matthew 25:40-41 Hebrews 13:161 Thessalonians 5:11Matthew 5:16 - my anchor verse for banishing this toxic thought! Watch these episodes LIVE on FB @thehustlewithheartcoach. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and keep up with the blog and updates at www.erinharrigan.com, and please show your love by giving this podcast ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on @applepodcasts! Do you have your copy of my new book, Pursuing Success God's Way: A Practical Guide to Hustle with Heart yet? Head over to my websiteto order your copy and subscribe for all things Hustle with Heart (and a FREE gift!)

Coming at you this Monday morning from the car! This Monday, we're talking about the most important thing... MINDSET. Recently heard Dr. Carolyn Leaf, a neuro scientist, who is studying the brain. She said something I just couldn't agree with more. If we can get control of our mind, it will change everything. The mind controls what you think, then what you feel and then what you choose to do.  So what are you thinking today? Are you going to slay dragons? Are you going to crush it?Think these things and don't be shocked when you start producing on a high level because you started your day thinking and feeling this. Checkout this list of mindsets you can start your day with here: https://betterhuman.today/blogs/news/you-think-you-feel-you-chooseWake up and think, it's Monday this sucks. I'm tired. I want to stay in bed. From this you'll feel tired, you'll look tired and you won't try to be the best you. You choose to not finish, you choose to be late. What you think creates feelings which in turn causes you to choose. Choose to be happy or choose to be angry.There is nothing light about this. This will determine your life, your success, your daily weekly, monthly, yearly choices and they start stacking up.So what will you choose today?