A biweekly newsletter for dreamers, builders and creators to achieve (get things done), heal (fix what’s broken) and discover (learn something new). I am a licensed clinician, purposefully provoking security in others.
Hack Your Brain to Win the Day- AHD Issue #17
Achieve, Heal and Discover Issue #17
A biweekly newsletter for dreamers, builders and creators to achieve (get things done), heal (fix what’s broken) and discover (learn something new).
Control brain chemistry = win the day!
Our day rides the wave of our schedule →
Schedules ride the wave of our body →
Our body rides the waves of our emotions and →
Our emotions ride the waves of our brain chemistry.
Therefore…maybe.. if we can control our brain chemistry, we can win the day!!
Here are some resources to get you in control of your brain chemistry:
- Hack your neurobiology (Achieve)
- Control the Crazy (Heal)
- Keep your Brain Sharp (Discover)
Achieve (Get things Done)
Hacking Your Neurobiology
Loretta Breuning, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of Habits of a Happy Brain outlines the actions we can take to drive our daily neurobiology. I’ve synthesized some of the main takeaways:
Dopamine (responsible for motivation and reward)
How to activate: Set and achieve daily goals! Try setting short-run, long-run, and middle-term goals so you will always be approaching one when another is blocked.
Serotonin (responsible for reducing depression and regulating anxiety)
How to activate: Sunbathe in your own confidence! Write out some affirming statements about yourself and post it up places so you can see it.
Oxytocin (Bonding and sense of trust)
How to activate: Your daily connections matter! “Take a small step toward someone each day.” -Loretta
Endorphins (high boost, euphoria)
How to activate: Take a break to laugh and stretch. According to Breuning, both of these jiggle your innards in irregular ways, causing moderate wear and tear and moderate endorphin flow.
Heal (Fix What’s Broken)
Do you ever feel crazy?
As if your actions don't align with what you consider normal.
Well, your amygdala might be acting up.
The amygdala is a thumb-sized node in the middle of your brain. Its job is to trigger you into craziness. Specifically, it activates your sympathetic nervous system in order to help you survive the moment.
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Childhood Trauma Researchers, Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross, add that the amygdala also captures emotionally charged experiences and cues up automatic survival responses next time those experiences are triggered.
For example, the next time you smell a certain deodorant, it immediately brings you back to struggling days as a middle schooler in the locker room. Or a certain tone of voice might trigger you into defensiveness even though it is unwarranted. Your amygdala did that.
It becomes problematic when you find yourself overreacting to people and/or situations, or when you are not able to fully connect with others to complete hard tasks. Your survival responses can get you stuck.
To get unstuck, Dr. Purvis and Cross highlight 2 main interventions to get out of the amygdala.
- Use your voice- you need to practice talking about the experience that shaped your survival responses. You need to verbally express what you need in that moment.
- Create predictability- Create more predictability in your life where possible and also practice trusting others that want to give you stability.
Discover (Learn Something New)
Keep your brain sharp at any age
Dr. Sanjay Gupta walks through the 4 key areas on how to build brain health in his book, "Keeping Sharp"
He highlight 5 areas of focus:
Move- Physical exertion has been the only thing scientifically documented to improve brain health and function.
Discover- Picking up a new hobby, like painting or photography or even learning a new language can strengthen the brain.
Relax- Poor sleep can lead to impaired memory, chronic stress can impair your ability to learn and adapt to new situations.
Nourish- Consuming certain foods like cold-water fish, whole grains, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, fibrous whole fruits, and vegetables while limiting certain foods like high in sugar, saturated fats and trans fatty acids can help avoid memory and brain decline, protect the brain against disease and maximize its performance.
Connect- Interacting with others not only helps reduce stress and boosts our immune system, but it can also decrease our risk for cognitive decline.
Let’s win this week and get our brains in check!
I’m grateful for you!
Keep growing!
Edvardo Archer
P.S
Whenever you are ready, I created a course for you: Mood First Productivity: A System to Flow With Your Mood Into Productivity. It will help you build a system so your tasks and objectives can serve your mood and mental state. It's only 20 minutes. You can watch it along with any other course for free with your 30 day trial.
Check it out here: https://skl.sh/3QU9aNf
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Achieve, Heal and Discover
A biweekly newsletter for dreamers, builders and creators to achieve (get things done), heal (fix what’s broken) and discover (learn something new). I am a licensed clinician, purposefully provoking security in others.
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