Key Messages
How To Find Lasting Happiness In Today’S World With The Help Of Drs
Brain Wash, written by doctors David and Austin Perlmutter is designed to give readers a crash course in practical brain science.
In it, they discuss the pitfalls of our modern day culture of instant gratification and how it can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and disconnection.
You’ll also learn why early humans can teach us essential things about nutrition, why keeping a houseplant can help keep you healthy, and why your device’s screens can be affecting your quality of sleep.
Most importantly though, the authors provide readers with an extensively detailed 10-day bootcamp program which will help them start building healthier habits and craft a life centered around making smart choices that promote long-term happiness.
Through their step-by-step program you’ll gain access to all the tools you need to rewire your brain for success!
We Live In A World Of Instant Gratification, But It May Be Undermining Our Long-Term Happiness
Today, we live in a world where instant gratification has become the norm and long-term happiness seems increasingly out of reach.
This is due to our modern routines that are packed full of activities designed to give us quick highs but neglecting any type of deeper contentment.
Statistics have revealed that the number of antidepressant prescriptions has been on the rise since the 90s and suicides rates have followed in nearly every state.
Additionally, more than one in four people deal with insomnia, showing just how prevalent this sentiment is.
The reason for this disconnect lies within our brains and its evolution over millions of years to cope with an unsafe and unstable environment.
Our ancestors learned to prioritize social acceptance and energy-rich food as survival techniques, unfortunately these instincts remain wired into us today.
Big businesses see profit potential in these old brain patterns by supplying unhealthy sugary sweets or virtual validation from liking posts on social media platforms – both give us an immediate high but lack any long-lasting contentment down the line.
When we’re constantly pursuing instant gratification, it leads us to feel disconnected from our true selves and one another and ultimately results in chronic health problems such as obesity or depression.
To find genuine happiness again, we must look beyond short-term pleasure and start rewiring our brains back towards a healthier path of sustained well being.
The Brain Is Changeable And Plastic, Adapting To Different Experiences For Good Or Bad
The human brain is a remarkable organ, with an unbelievable capacity for change.
Phineas Gage is a prime example of this – even after his disastrous accident that pushed an iron rod through his skull, his brain eventually healed and he was restored to his affable self.
His story serves as a reminder that our brains are malleable and can be changed for both the better and worse.
Thanks to neuroplasticity, whenever we have new thoughts, feelings, or experiences our neurons form new connections.
The connections between neurons are what determine our overall thought patterns and personality so if you constantly have negative or anxious thoughts these will become stronger over time.
With that in mind, it’s important to take steps to make sure your positive thought patterns remain just as strong.
Our brains contain three main sections –the brain stem responsible for basic bodily functions such as breathing; the limbic system with its amygdala responsible for processing emotions like fear and excitement; and finally the cerebral cortex which moderates things like reflective thinking, problem solving, and complex planning.
A healthy balanced communication between the limbic system and the cerebral cortex is essential if we want to keep our reactions in check and safeguard against impulsive behavior.
By learning how we can rewire our brains to take control of negative habits, we can use neuroplasticity more beneficially and enjoy healthier thought patterns on a regular basis.
Our Brains Are Dangerously Overstimulated In The Modern World
Our brains weren’t designed to handle the world we live in today.
12,000 years ago, there were no TVs, smartphones or strawberry ice cream, and our minds evolved with primitive risk and reward structures that don’t always serve us well now.
When you engage in an activity like eating a sweet snack, your body rewards you with a release of dopamine, which kick starts a chain reaction that strengthens that behavior so it’s more likely to reoccur.
This is great when the sweets are rare but now they’re everywhere and our brains build up a tolerance for this rush of dopamine leading us to never really be satisfied.
The opposite issue occurs too much when our bodies are put under stress– cortisol floods our systems and triggers fight-or-flight mode priming us to make impulsive decisions.
With how often we cycle through pleasure and stress every day – digital devices included – it’s no surprise that our brains become overstimulated.
The result? We are left with an overactive limbic brain primed to increase stress levels and search for instant gratification to calm down– creating a dangerous cycle that feeds into itself
It’S Time To Stop Being Addicted To Our Phones: Limiting Social Media Use Can Significantly Improve Our Mental Health And Happiness
The age of the internet and social media has brought us incredible convenience and connectedness, but it comes at a cost: overuse of these platforms can severely limit your happiness.
Evidence suggests that consistent use of digital communication technology overstimulates our reward systems, leading to addiction and even physical changes in the brain which damage our impulse control.
Furthermore, relying on this form of interaction may make us feel more isolated, instead of connected.
A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania illustrated just how important disconnecting from the internet can be for mental well-being.
They asked their participants to limit their social media use to only ten minutes a day for three weeks — and found that it had a significant effect on loneliness and depression levels.
To protect your own happiness and relationships, strive to reining in compulsive online habits; carve out some time away from screens and aim to be mindful when scrolling through endless news feeds.
You may find that ditching your digital devices can help reconnect with yourself and your surroundings — without compromising all the great benefits that social media brings!
In The Modern World, Fostering Empathy Is Crucial To Combatting Disconnection Syndrome
At the heart of mental health, emotional well-being and avoiding disconnection syndrome is empathy.
Empathy entails having an understanding and appreciation of someone else’s feelings, emotions and points-of-view.
It’s a critically important factor in being able to communicate with others, for which we rely on interacting with our environment.
Unfortunately, the modern world has been eroding our ability to foster empathy.
A study conducted by the University of Michigan found that students since the year 2000 had become 40% less empathetic compared to those before.
This could be linked to overstimulation of dopamine receptors caused by social media usage and weakening connections between the prefrontal cortex (which processes emotion) and amygdala (which responds emotionally).
Additionally, narcissism has increased significantly in recent decades, contributing to aggression, violence and other antisocial behaviors – all of which are strongly anti-empathetic traits.
Without trying to offset these effects, our ability to connect with people will continue to decline which can have devastating consequences on our emotional state.
To counteract this we must actively put effort into rearranging our neurons towards fostering more empathy in ourselves and those around us.
Doing so requires interconnected solutions ranging from reducing social media usage and strengthening connections between cognitive structures like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala – through activities like meditation – as well as taking it upon ourselves to help strangers or family members wherever possible.
Ultimately, it is only through collective levels of empathy that we can hope to sustain strong relationships which will help us combat disconnection syndrome in society today.
Reconnect With Nature To Improve Health, Mood, And Well-Being
It’s undeniable that technology has improved almost every aspect of our lives, but it can also be a double-edged sword.
We are now more connected than ever–we work, shop and communicate online.
But this also means that we spend less time in nature and interact with it less.
To combat this disconnection syndrome, we need to start by reconnecting with nature.
Experience the elements of nature like fresh air, field and forests, sunlight–all of which have a profound impact on your health & wellbeing according to numerous studies.
A survey found that whopping 90% Canadians appreciate how they feel (happier, healthier, productive) after spending time outdoors.
Moreover regular exposure to sunlight helps release Vitamin D which is necessary for building serotonin – a hormone associated with happiness.
Furthermore being surrounded by natural beauty reduces levels of stress hormones like cortisol in the brain which can lead to better mental health over time.
So don’t forget to take some time off from your hectic routine and find moments throughout your day to engage with nature in whatever small way you can – walk through a park or eat lunch somewhere green!
The Artificial Modern Diet Is Bad For Your Waistline And Your Brain
Eating a healthy diet is essential for both our physical and mental health.
Unfortunately, our modern diets are anything but healthy.
With more processed foods, added sugars, and unhealthy fats, it’s no wonder we’re experiencing skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other lifestyle diseases.
Worse still, this artificial modern diet could be damaging our brains as well.
Experts have linked high sugar intake to lower production of BDNF (a protein essential for creating strong neural connections) and increased risks for degenerative brain conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Consuming too much sugar has also been associated with depression—in 2018 a study found a direct link between excessive sugar consumption and mental wellbeing issues.
On the other hand, healthy diets that are low in refined carbs and packed with omega-3 fatty acids can help us stay happy and balanced by increasing the body’s serotonin levels through rich sources such as nuts, seeds, olive oil, and red meat.
Of course, eating right is only half the battle—getting enough sleep on a regular basis is just as important when it comes to maintaining mental health.
The Importance Of Sleep And Exercise For Maintaining Brain Health
Getting enough shut-eye is one of the most important habits for preserving brain health.
Every human has an internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm, which evolved when we still lived in nature and helps us sleep at night and wake up with the sunrise.
With our modern lives often disrupting this pattern, a full third of American adults report getting less than seven hours of sleep per night – and this sleep deficit has serious consequences for our mental health.
Studies have found that insufficient sleeping can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, weaken memory functions, reduce cognitive functioning, and cause more impulsive behavior due to weakened control over emotion processing regions.
Furthermore, a lack of sleep interferes with your body’s glymphatic system which “cleans” your brain of unhealthy metabolic waste like beta-amyloids.
Fortunately there are many steps you can take towards achieving better rest such as avoiding electronic screens close to bedtime (they give off too much blue light), power-naps during the day if you need to catch up on sleep loss and of course regular exercise, another essential habit for overall brain maintenance.
The Benefits Of Exercise On Our Minds: Getting Moving Is Essential For Cognitive Health
Regular exercise is key to optimizing cognitive performance.
We see this evidenced by an increase in the prefrontal cortex, especially during times when focusing and problem-solving are needed.
One study placed 171 children into two groups to test their critical thinking and math skills.
At the end of the trial, it was found that those who had exercised prior placed significantly higher than the ones who hadn’t.
Physical activity can also have a great effect on mood.
Many people report feeling like they’ve been given a lift after getting some physical activity in.
Science shows this isn’t just a short term boost either – participating in regular physical activities has been linked with a rise in overall positive state of mind as seen by one particular experiment which monitored over 40,000 adults for over 10 years and reported that even 1 hour of activity per week could reduce risk of depression!
You Can Retrain Your Brain By Practicing Mindfulness
The power of mindfulness to help retrain our brains has been demonstrated by recent scientific research.
Many studies now support the idea that practices such as meditation can improve mental health and have positive effects on the structure and functioning of our brain.
For example, a 2011 study at Harvard showed that participants in an 8-week mindfulness program had a higher concentration of gray matter in their prefrontal cortex after the program was completed.
This neural activity is associated with improved focus, sensory processing, and decision-making abilities.
In addition, Dr.
Yi-Yuan Tang at Stanford University has found that daily mindfulness practice increases connectivity within the prefrontal cortex while decreasing activation in the amygdala, making it easier to control emotions and reduce anxiety.
And with just 12 minutes of meditation each day, increased blood flow can be observed in this part of the brain responsible for self-control -allowing you to benefit from these brain-boosting effects during your coffee break!
From deep breathing exercises to progressive muscle relaxation techniques, there are numerous easy ways to incorporate mindfulness into your day.
Just remember to take it slow at first and don’t be too hard on yourself if your mind wanders – after all, developing this skill takes some time and practice.
With dedication and patience, we can harness the amazing ability of mindfulness to retrain our brains for better physical and mental wellbeing!
Committing To A Ten-Day Brain Wash Program Is An Effective Way To Reclaim Brain Health
The Brain Wash program developed by Dr.
David and Austin Perlmutter is a comprehensive ten-day program designed to help with disconnection syndrome—a condition that results in depression, fatigue, and lack of connection with ourselves and the world around us.
To ensure long-term change, the final section of their book emphasizes that committing diligently to this 10-day program is essential.
Each day focuses on one aspect of your overall brain health.
On day one, you might try an digital detox by cutting unessential technology, while day two encourages reflecting on positive aspects of life along with practising gratitude and empathy.
Day three is all about reconnecting with nature – take some time out for a short walk or picnic outside!
Days four and five involve a diet detox, followed by establishing better sleep habits on days six and seven respectively.
Eight and nine are dedicated to embracing exercise and meditating, while day ten focuses on strengthening social connections.
To achieve long-term change, taking stock during day nine helps identify what worked well during the program so far; while day ten’s aim is to keep up the momentum going forward into your new routines that have been established.
With dedication to this 10-day Brain Wash program’s regimen of healthy habits outlined above, the stage is set for lasting transformation!
Wrap Up
Brain Wash is all about small changes that can lead to big rewards.
The overall message of the book is that by focusing on simple habits like eating healthy and balanced meals, getting enough sleep, and managing our digital distractions, we can learn to be happier and more mindful in our lives.
The key to success is focusing on sustainable change – do not jump into a complete lifestyle overhaul right away, as it will lead to burnout and disappointment.
Instead, make simple changes gradually over time.
In this way, they will become ingrained in your life and help you become truly content with yourself and your circumstances.
So go ahead – start small and take control of your own brain washing!
