Optimize Your Brain: 3 Important Habits for Productivity, Memory, and Longevity (Based on 200,000 Brain Scans)

A new year is coming fast, and you know what that means. Fresh start, clean slate, no excuses. But if you want next year to feel different, you gotta do something different. The good news is, it's never too late to make a career pivot. Go back to school and take charge of your life. Purdue Global is Purdue's online university for working adults. Different paths, different schedules, and they meet you where you are with the support you need. So start your comeback today at purdueglobal.edu. aT&T believes hearing a voice can change everything. And for anyone who loves podcasts, that makes perfect sense. The power of hearing someone speak is unmatched. It's why voicemails from loved ones get saved and replayed. They mean something. Everyone has that person who gives them a lift. Maybe it's a call with a close friend that feels like home, or that familiar voice that brings energy before something big. AT&T knows the holidays are the perfect time to do just that. Share your voice. If it's been a while since calling someone who matters, now's the time. Because it's more than just a conversation. It's a chance to say something they'll remember forever. So spread a little love with a call this season. Happy holidays from AT&T. Connecting changes everything. Hey, it's your friend Mel. And welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. I am so glad that you're here today because when I started the Mel Robbins Podcast, I always had this vision that it would be like you and I taking a walk twice a week and just doing life together. And then occasionally, when we felt like it, if they were cool enough, we would invite some of the world's leading experts and interesting people to go on that walk with us so that we could learn from them. Well, what if I told you that I was able to get you an appointment with the world's leading expert on brain health? Somebody that has scanned 200,000 brains, somebody with clinics around the world that see 4,000 people a month. Someone who has written 12 New York Times bestselling books on the brain and brain health? What would you say if I said, hey, I got us a free appointment with the world's leading expert on your brain health? Well, you know what I would say if you said that to me? I would say, so I don't care. Why do I care about my brain health? It's basically like three pounds of macaroni in between my ears, and some days it gives me a headache. So what do I care? Here's why you should care. There are simple things that you can do to take better care of your brain. And when you take better care of your brain, you will be happier, healthier. You can make a huge difference in symptoms of anxiety and depression and adhd. It is literally the place that you need to start when it comes to a happier and healthier you. Our expert today that's Joining us is Dr. Daniel Amen. Dr. Daniel Amen has been a psychiatrist for 40 years. He is one of the world's leading experts on brain health. He was on speed dial with the NFL during all of the concussion hearings because he understands that in order to improve your health, you have to improve the structure and functioning and blood flow in your brain. It makes sense, doesn't it? You gotta tune up the engine in your car. So of course you've gotta take better care of your brain. And he's not gonna overwhelm you. One of the reasons why I love Dr. Daniel Amen is, first of all, he's fun, he's hilarious, and he talks in takeaways. So am here with you. I got my pen. I am ready to learn. I am ready to learn. Okay. What supplements do I need to take? What do I need to know about how to be a happier me? What do I need to eat? What should I do that I'm not doing? How much sleep do I need? How much water do I need? What are the things that will help me? Mel Robbins, a woman without a PhD and not a lot of time. How can I make my brain better? And I gotta be honest with you, I have referred so many people to him because I believe that his advice works. Whether you're dealing with the impacts of concussions, or you're dealing with the impact of anxiety, or you're dealing with a brain that has been impacted by past addiction, there will be information for you that is not only specific, but that's gonna help absolutely everybody. So you ready? Should we invite Dr. Daniel Amen, the Brainiac, the bestselling author, the OG of brain health, to the Mel Robbins Podcast? I'd say so. Here we go. Dr. Daniel Amen, my friend. I am so happy that you are here on the Mel Robbins podcast.

Well, I love being with you, so thank you for having me.

Oh, you're the best. You know, one of the reasons why I love you is you have been a expert on the brain and a psychiatrist for 40 years, and you not focus on what's wrong with us. You literally teach us how to bring out more awesomeness through brain health. You call it elite brain training. What is that?

Well, A long time ago, I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing, and it's wrong. Their brain health issues. And if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. People often don't understand that your brain, physical functioning of your brain, creates your mind. Everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet, to end the whole concept of mental illness and create this revolution in brain health, which is why I'm so grateful to hang out with you today.

Oh, I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I just was struck by the fact that you distinguished between the brain and the mind. What's the difference between your brain and. And your mind?

Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain, creates your mind. People get this mixed up all the time, but you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. If you saw the scans of people with Alzheimer's disease, you see that they're wildly damaged, and then that person is no longer fully that person because their brain has been damaged. People really need to know, if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain.

And so are you saying that absolutely anybody can improve the physical health of their brain, and that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health?

Everything. And it happens quickly. So, for example, if you get better sleep tonight, your mind can be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

Wow. It's interesting because you're right. There is so much information and so many conversations out there about mental health. But you have this revolutionary approach of teaching all of us how to take better care of our brain and how to improve our brain itself and how that has a direct impact. So I want to start at the very beginning, because you've been doing this for 40 years, you are, in my opinion, the world's leading expert on the brain. And can you give us just a 101 on the brain and what you want anybody and everybody to know about the brain. And I want you to speak directly, Dr. Amen. To somebody who may be listening, who's never thought about this topic before.

So your brain is involved in everything you do. How you think, how you feel, how you act, how you get along with other people. It's the organ of intelligence, character, and every single decision you make. And when your brain works right, you Work right. And when your brain is troubled, for whatever reason, you're sadder, sicker, poorer, because your decisions aren't as good. Today I'm in Miami, but I usually live in Newport beach, where we have more plastic surgeons than almost anywhere in the world, because people care more about their faces, their breasts, their bellies, and their butts than they do their brain. And that's insane, because it's your brain that makes you attractive. It's your brain that makes you happy, it's your brain that keeps you purposeful, or it's your brain that is the organ of rage. And so getting your brain right is critical. And it's these three steps. Brain envy. Got to care. Avoid anything that hurts it. Know the list. And Quite frankly, most second graders would get a 90% if you gave them 100 things that hurt their brain. Then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. I worked with BJ Fogg for six months. He runs a persuasive tech lab at Stanford on how people change. And we develop tiny habits. What's the smallest thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference? And the mother tiny habit is whenever you go to do something today, ask yourself takes three seconds. Ask yourself, is this good for my brain or bad for it? And if you can answer that with information and love, love of yourself, love of your family, love of your mission, you're gonna just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you you.

Wow. All right, let me unpack this. So, number one, brain envy is this idea of actually caring about the health of your brain. And so do you recommend that you have somebody in mind that you envy? Like, clearly, I envy you because you take incredible care of your brain. But is it just this concept that you just actually have to wake up and realize that what's in between your ears is the most important aspect of your health and wellness period. Is that what you're saying?

Yes.

And number two, you then said that there are these microhabits that you have developed. What are three microhabits that have the biggest impact on the health of your brain, other than asking yourself, is this good or bad for my brain?

So I start every day with, today is going to be a great day. Because once you get the physical functioning of your brain healthy, you then have to program it. So I start every day. So why is today going to be a great day for you? Directing your mind. It puts your brain in a positive state. And then my favorite of all the habits I do is when I go to bed at night, I say a prayer and then I go, what went well today? And I go on a treasure hunt. And I actually start from the very moment I woke up looking for what was right about the day. And I've done this now seven or eight years. And even the night my dad died about two and a half years ago. And it was an awful, awful day. I did it because it was my habit, right? The brain is lazy. It does what you nudge it to do. And so it really helped me, even in a really hard time. But it's almost my favorite time of the day because, like you, I'm busy and great things will happen and I'll just not really focus on it.

Let's take a short pause to hear from our sponsors and we'll be right back with Dr. Amy. When our daughter Kendall moved into her first apartment, she called and she's like, mom, I need help. I have no furniture. I have no clue where to start. I live across the country from you, like a five hour plane ride. What do I do? So we jumped on FaceTime and started scrolling through Ashley.com together. We found so many styles that we loved. And boom, beautiful couch, great price point. And now I don't need to worry about her. I also added an end table, a coffee table, a lamp. I mean, if you love the look, you should love the whole look, right? Together on Ashley.com, we could build the perfect space and I could give her the support I wanted to. When she moved into her place, she ended up falling in love with the clean lines and soft fabric of the sofa from the Alyssa Court collection. I just feel so grateful. Big shout out to Ashley.com you took what was a stressful situation into a really incredible experience together. Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley.com to find your style. Most security systems. I'm just going to say it. They're too late. The alarm goes off after someone breaks in, and by that point, the damage is done. Windows broken, doors kicked in. You're already in cleanup mode. Simplisafe flips the script. It's not just about catching bad guys. It's about stopping them before they even touch your door. First, SimpliSafe's AI powered cameras detect potential threats outside. Then live agents step in, talking to the person through the camera and making it clear you're on video. And the police will be called if you don't leave. Simplisafe can even trigger a siren or a spotlight. A warning loud enough to make anyone think twice. And to Give you peace of mind you deserve. That's how you stop a crime before it starts. And you're not stuck with any commitment either. No long term contracts or hidden fees. And you can cancel at any time this month. Only take 50% off any new system. This is one of the best prices you will ever see for Simplisafe. Don't miss it. Hit simplisafe.commel again, that's simplisafe.commel and lock in your discount. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. Want to know one of my Go to Gifts Masterclass? Yep, Masterclass. It's one of the best gifts you can ever give. Last year I got an annual membership for my daughter, Sawyer. She started with Esther Perel's class on relationships. I'm not exaggerating when I say it opened up a completely new conversation for both of us. Personal, professional, family, all of it. See, Esther says one sentence and you're like, okay, that explains my last three relationships. That explains why I'm always fighting with my mother. That's what I love about the Masterclass platform. The instructors do not hold back. They share the kind of insights you only get from people who've lived it, practiced it, researched it and refined it for years. You can listen in audio mode while you're on a walk, watch lessons offline, even knock out a few sessions while dinner's in the oven. Flexible, Practical. It works. Memberships start at just $10 a month and they come with a 30 day money back guarantee. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to Masterclass.com Melrobbins for the current offer. That's up to 50% off at Masterclass.com MelrobbINS Masterclass.com MelrobbINs. Okay, so Dr. Amen. Is there one supplement that you believe everybody should take for better brain health?

Well, a couple multiple vitamin. A really high quality multiple vitamin. I make one called Neurovite Plus. Brand new study showed people with memory problems who were headed to darkness when they took a high quality multiple vitamin. Within a matter of months, their memory was better.

What? Wait a minute. Hold on a second. So you're saying that a high quality multivitamin can not only improve your memory, but if you are sliding on a slippery slope toward memory loss, research shows that it can actually bring memory back.

Yes, brand new research just came out. They're actually comparing it to placebo and cocoa extract chocolate. And they were hoping the chocolate would do it. It wasn't the chocolate, it was the multiple vitamin. Now, I never make a disease claim with supplements, but if this level of B6, B12 and folate did that, wow.

I'm going to start popping it like candy is what I'm going to do. That's incredible. So a multivitamin has a huge impact. I hear a lot about fish oil too.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to be good for your heart, good for you brain, good for your hair, good for your skin, good for your eyes.

Why is it good for the brain?

25% of the nerve cell membranes in your brain are made up of omega 3 fatty acids. So if you're deficient, your brain is not going to work as fast and efficiently as it could. And low levels have been associated with, with all sorts of bad things, from depression to dementia to adhd.

I'm gonna sprint out of this interview, go get these supplements. I mean, I've been really. I'm sort of embarrassed because we've got a brain that I clearly envy here in Dr. Amen. And I feel like I am really dropping the ball here on my own brain. And so I'm gonna report back the next time we have you on about how I feel really religiously, taking a multivitamin and my fish oil. I promise Dr. Amen. I wanna go into some of the other, I guess, chemicals that you hear associated with the brain and have you explain to us what they are and why they're important for happiness, for brain health. Let's talk about serotonin. What is it and why is it important?

Serotonin is hugely important for many different functions in the brain, but for happiness, for flexibility and respect. Respect's ones that fools people. But when your serotonin levels are low, you more easily feel disrespected. And if you have a social fight or you feel diminished in some way, your serotonin levels drop. When serotonin levels go low, people tend to worry. They get stuck on negative thoughts, negative behaviors. They tend to be argumentative and oppositional. And if things don't go their way, they get upset, which on the surface can appear selfish, but it's really not selfish, it's rigid. And boosting serotonin with, like, bright light therapy, which is why it's so important to get sunshine. And while, you know, as we go into the holidays, time, change happens just at the wrong time, right? As we get less sunlight and it gets colder, colder outside, we just, you know, then got a bomb dropped on us. Like, all of a sudden you lose an hour, a Day of light and light is so important.

Let me back us up a second. So does your brain create serotonin? Is that like, what is. Like what is the function of serotonin in the brain?

So your gut makes about 90% of the serotonin in your body, but it doesn't go directly into your br. Your brain creates serotonin from the amino acid precursor called tryptophan. And that's why often eating tryptophan rich.

Foods like turkey.

Can be helpful. You have to eat tryptophan rich foods with a carbohydrate because you need an insulin response to drive tryptophan into the brain. So turkey and sweet potatoes together is a great combination to boost your mood.

So when you have high levels of serotonin, how does that impact you?

We tend to be happy. You're a little bit less motivated. You sort of don't care that much. I remember when Prozac first came on to the market and I would give it to some of my depressed patients and they would say they would be less depressed but also less motivated. Because as tryptophan goes up, dopamine, another chemical we should talk about, goes down. They have this sort of counterbalancing effect. So a lot of people who take SSRIs, they go, well, I'm happier, but I don't really care that much.

So is serotonin sort of the happiness one and dopamine is the motivation and drive one? Is that their relationship?

Dopamine is the molecule of more. When you get dopamine, you go, oh, I like that. And the problem is, the more you get, the more you want. And then it turns into trouble. We are wearing out our dopamine centers in the brain. In our society, with our phones and social media and the non stop video games and texting, we're being thrilled to death, which ultimately wears out the pleasure centers in the brain. So you have to be very careful. I often talk to people about drip dopamine, don't dump it.

What does that mean? Drip dopamine, don't dump it.

So you want little tiny piece, you know, little tiny bursts of dopamine, not a big splash. So, for example, cocaine, big splash of dopamine, and you go, whoa. But the problem is you have none left. And then you get depressed, which you then start using. Alcohol is the same way. Alcohol dumps dopamine. Nicotine vaping dumps dopamine. Scary movies dump dopamine. Falling in love dumps dopamine. You want to drip it.

So would an example of dripping dopamine. Include the two microhabits. You talked about. One, being waking up in the morning and saying, I'm going to make it a great day. How am I going to do that? And also at the end of the day, going on that treasure hunt for what went right.

Yes.

Excellent. How can you tell if you have.

Low dopamine, if you are tired, if you're sad, and you just don't have the motivation to get done what you want to get done? But the good news is, even if you've been bad to your brain by doing the right things, your brain, we call it neuroplastic. It can be better even in a matter of months.

Wow. We've talked about supplements, we've talked about some microhabits. What are simple ways to increase dopamine?

Cold showers will do it. So I just took a shower before I did it, and I always finished with like two minutes. I turn all the way cold. Because cold therapy has been shown to increase both norepinephrine, another neurotransmitter, and dopamine.

Any, like certain times of day where your dopamine is higher or lower just naturally in the morning, and is the same true with serotonin in the evening? Okay, so to explain that to us and then how we can use something.

Natural to boost it, Everybody's circadian rhythm or the rhythm of their energy is different. There are morning larks and night owls, and you have to know what you are. A lot of my ADD patients are night owls, and society is biased against them because school starts early, work starts early for a lot of people. But you just have to know your rhythm. And if you're doping, dopamine is high in the morning. That's when you want to focus and get work done. If it tends to be higher later in the day, know your rhythm.

I'm, like, slightly overwhelmed. I don't even know where to start in terms of, like, how to boost my serotonin naturally, how to boost my dopamine naturally. So are there certain things you should do first thing in the morning to keep your dopamine levels high to stay focused, focus to promote your brain health?

So one thing I really like is morning bright light.

Okay.

Morning bright light therapy. And you can actually get these therapy lamps 10,000 lux, so it's bright.

Okay.

Put it. Don't look at it. Put it like an arm's length away from you for 20 or 30 minutes in the morning. Super simple. Can significantly improve dopamine, your energy, mood and cognitive function. Exercise Whether you want to increase serotonin or dopamine, it does both. Walk like you're light for 45 minutes, four or five times a week. Super simple, bright, light exercise. Just incredibly helpful. I just turned 68 this year, and it's very clear to me that the stronger you are as you age, the less likely you are to get Alzheimer's disease. But it's really for older people, it's frailty that kills them almost more than anything else. So light exercise, simple supplements, and now you can eat in certain ways to boost the neurotransmitters in your brain.

So when you say frailty and strength, are you also recommending, in addition to the 30 to 40 minutes of walking, as if you're late three or four times a week that you also add in strength training?

You bet. I think it's absolutely critical for men and for women. Your muscles are your protein reserve. You've probably seen one person gets into a car accident, they come out of it just fine. Another one's permanently damaged, same accident. Why? Because it's the level of brain health or brain reserve they brought into the accident that often determines the outcome. So every single day of your life, from my perspective, every single day of your life, you should be boosting your brain reserve.

Well, that's what I find to be so inspiring and empowering about your work, your research, your message. Dr. Amen. And all the content that goes crazy viral on TikTok. You are very clear that there are simple things that we can do to train our brains, to make our brains healthier, and that has an enormous impact on the quality of our lives. And so it's not too late for anybody listening to improve their brain health doing these simple things. Can we talk quickly about cortisol, like, what it is, why it matters, to kind of understand what it is when it comes to your brain health.

So cortisol is critical. It's made by your adrenal glands, and it helps us manage stress and deal with inflammation when it's high because of chronic stress, chronic negativity, that it actually puts fat on your belly and shrinks your hippocampus, the major memory center in your brain.

Dr. Amen. Hold that thought. We're gonna take a short break, and when we come back, we're gonna dig right back into it. This time of the year is chaotic. Stress is high, treats are everywhere, and you're crashing. By 3pm if you want to feel sharper, more focused, and beat the cravings, it's time to get to know your glucose with Lingo, a real time glucose wearable for you. Staying in a healthy glucose range isn't one size fits all it's normal to fluctuate. What matters is learning your patterns and building habits that work for you. You see how your glucose responds to what you eat, how you move, even how you sleep. I mean, here's the thing. One in three adults are living with prediabetes, and most have no idea. But tuning in early and making lifestyle changes can transform your health for today and tomorrow. Get to know your glucose today with Lingo, designed for you by Abbott. This holiday season through December 31st. Use code MEL10@hellolingo.com to get 10% off a lingo plan. Purchase one use per customer. This offer cannot be combined with other offers, US and Puerto Rico only. The Lingo glucose system is for users 18 years and older, not on insulin. It is not intended for diagnosis of diseases, including diabetes. Individual responses may vary. Outdoit with Intuit quickbooks It's the trusted end to end solution that businesses rely on. QuickBooks provides a team of AI agents and trusted experts, so doing it yourself no longer means doing it alone. Their payment agent gets you paid faster, their customer agent secures more sales, and the accounting agent automates and categorizes transactions. Get your critical business jobs done with QuickBooks on the Intuit platform. The Mel Robbins Podcast is proudly sponsored by Amica Insurance, our exclusive insurance partner. As Amica says, empathy is our best policy. From listening to your insurance needs to following up after a claim, Amica provides coverage with care and compassion because as a mutual insurer, Amica's built for its customers and it prioritizes you. Isn't that the way insurance should be? At Amica, your peace of mind matters. Visit amica.com and get a quote today.

Foreign.

What are three things you can do to start to bring down those cortisol levels?

Meditation. Incredibly helpful prayer for people who do that. Hypnosis. I'm a huge fan. I've done it with my patients for the last 40 years. Having a regular relaxation process and then ask yourself, is this worth killing brain cells for me? Whenever I listen to people arguing or really focused on whatever the latest conspiracy theory is, I'm like, is this worth killing brain cells for me?

No, it's not. I know you have a specific breathing pattern that is associated with a calmer mind. Can you teach it to us?

I love it so much. It's the 15 second breath. If you're having a panic attack, this is going to fix it in two Minutes or less. What researchers discovered is you take twice as long to breathe out as you breathe in. It produces an automatic relaxation response in your body. So the pattern is this. And it's four seconds in, hold it for a second and a half, eight seconds out, hold it for a second and a half.

Will you walk us through it?

So four seconds in, hold it, eight seconds out, Hold it out and then repeat. So let the energy of breathing go lower in your body. And if you just practice this on a regular basis, cortisol will go down and you're just going to get flooded with a feeling of calmness and relaxation. Now you got to practice. You have to create a pathway in your brain of relaxation.

Why does this 15 second breath work?

Because it stimulates, encourages your brain to go into a parasympathetic state. So there's a difference between stress. What scientists call sympathetic state has nothing to do with sympathy. It's a bad word. But a sympathetic state is where I was on the beach at Corona del Mar walking my dog, and I saw two pit bulls running toward me.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. Right? So my heart went fast. I mean, it was panic. And ended up turning out okay.

Well, what happened? Now I'm on the edge of my seat. Did you pick up your dog? Did they just jump up?

Oh, no, he's a big white shepherd.

Oh.

And I got bit. He ended up in the ocean. Yeah, it was sort of a disaster. I still get triggered sometimes. It is critical to eliminate trauma because I love walking on that beach so much. So I actually did a session of emdr. I don't know if you and I talked about emdr. It's specific psychological treatment for trauma. It's actually really cool.

You're right. It is really cool. So I have been doing EMDR for the past two years as part of my work with my therapist on a whole host of issues, and in particular, emdr. You guys, it is super helpful, or at least it has been, for addressing childhood drama. And so what it is, because it's a big long name that I can't even remember what EMDR stands for. But here's what you basically do. You're with a therapist and you revisit something from your past that's super triggering. And as you do that, you then stare at this ball moving back and forth on the computer screen. And I have no clue why this actually works. But I do know that it has helped me a lot. And it's so powerful and super cool that I want you to know more about It. And so we're just gonna do another episode on it. That's what we're gonna do. But in the meantime, Dr. Amen. I have another question, and it's this. How do you calm a really busy brain?

So the first simple thing to do is the diaphragmatic breathing, the breathing pattern that we just talked about. The second thing that we haven't talked about, but so important is to direct your thoughts. I was 28 years old before I learned I didn't have to believe every stupid thing I thought. I'm in class when I was a psychiatric resident at the Walter Reed Army Medical center, and I heard my professor say that. And I'm like, no way. Because my mind would torture me. You know, I'm one of seven children. I was pretty much irrelevant. I have, you know, five sisters. There's a lot of chaos in my family, and my mind would torture me. And if you start writing down your negative thoughts and just ask yourself whether or not they're true. And there's a whole process I teach my patients. I need to be the director of my mind. Rather than my ancestors directed, or the voices of my parents directed, or the news or the gossip at work. I need to be the director. I want to be happy, connected, purposeful. I often go, well, does this thought fit me? Being happy, connected and purposeful? And, you know, Mel, just because you have a thought has nothing to do with whether or not it's true or whether or not it's helpful or, you know, everybody has crazy thoughts. Jerry Seinfeld once said, the brain is a sneaky organ. Well, all of us have weird, crazy, stupid, sexual, violent thoughts that nobody should ever hear. And just because you have a thought, it doesn't say one thing about you. It's just sort of, you know, like the weather. It's not the thoughts you have that make you suffer. It's the thoughts you attach to that make you suffer.

I want to ask you a question because I want you to talk to the person that has never considered that they could direct their thoughts or that the things that they think aren't necessarily true. If there's a person hearing this, just like you were 28 years old, sitting in a class when it first entered your mind, other than taking out a notebook, and just start to write down the things that are popping in your mind. Is there some other way to help someone kick the door open? Because this is a revolutionary and life changing concept. When somebody first entertains the notion, Dr. Amen. That you can direct what you're Thinking about. And you can dismiss some of the crap that you torture yourself with as untrue. How do you begin this mental training and reprogramming?

So I don't have any tattoos, but if I got one, one of the first tattoos I would get is, is it true? It's just start carrying that question, is it true? Around in your head. And so when you get a thought, my wife never listens to me, I've had that thought. If you have that question, then you don't automatically have to attach to it. You can talk back to it. We don't have to believe the nonsense that's going on in our head. Just begin to think about it like the weather and then go, does this thought serve me? Does it help me? Is it even true? And it's so often the lies we tell ourselves that keep us overweight, depressed, and feeble minded.

Yeah, I can give everybody an example for my own life. When I was super sick, I started to tell myself this story that my husband Chris was mad at me, that he was annoyed that he was taking care of me. I was telling myself this story that people were mad that I had to cancel things. And all of those thoughts made me feel terrible and none of them were true. And so you're right, I didn't interrupt them last week. I just sort of marinated in them. But I'm realizing, sitting here listening to you, that I allowed those negative thoughts that were not even true to make me feel bad. What advice do you have for people who are chronically tired, doctor? Amen.

Well, the first thing is get your thyroid checked.

Get your thyroid checked. Okay.

Chronic tiredness can go with low thyroid. It can go with you being anemic, can go with you having low iron. So I always think of people in four big circles, biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. And so I'm always going to. So what's the biology of tiredness? Got an infection? How's your gut health? What's going on in your hormones? You can also be chronically tired because you're filled with automatic negative thoughts. So that negativity can drive higher cortisol production and you just feel wiped out. You also might not be sleeping well. And getting checked for sleep apnea is critical because that goes with chronic tiredness. So if you snore loudly, if you stop breathing at night, chronically tired during the day should get sleep apnea checked. If you're in a conflict with a loved one that so drains your energy, or if you're holding on to hurts, I'm a Huge fan of forgiveness. You know, not holding on to hurts where you're drinking the poison and hoping someone else is going to die. And then tiredness and spirituality. I think of purpose. The more purposeful someone is, the more dopamine they have. And so really focusing in on why you're on the planet I think is a critical piece to energy as well.

I want to come back to some tips and some tools that people can use to start boosting brain health. What are the five best foods that you can eat for brain health?

Salmon, especially wild salmon. For the omega 3 fatty acids. Berries, Blueberries. I often call them brain berries. So people take. Blueberry extract has been shown to improve memory. Okay, Nuts and seeds. People who eat nuts and seeds on a regular basis have a lower incidence of depression and dementia. Leafy greens for the fiber and the magnesium. But my favorite one is raw cacao, or the main ingredient in chocolate. Wow. I want you to try this. I make brain healthy hot chocolate virtually every day.

How do you make it?

I get raw cacao. So for each serving, say the serving is 12 ounces heaping teaspoon of raw cacao. Unsweetened organic almond milk. And you could do with other nut milks, but I like almond milk. There's a company called so Sweet Leaf that makes liquid chocolate stevia. And so I heat up the milk, I mix in the raw cacao, I put a couple of dropper fulls of chocolate stevia and put it in a blender. It tastes amazing.

See, I love that. There was an ambulance driving by in the background as you as my and our brain doctor were telling us to make hot chocolate. That was just a beautiful thing. I think that was the universe telling us all we need to have our brain healthy cacao with the stevia chocolate sweetener. I'm actually going to make one. When we are done with this, what can we do to improve our memory? Dr. Avenue?

Think about this, Mel. 50% of people 85 and older will be diagnosed with dementia. Those are odds I am not okay with. If you want to keep your brain healthy or rescue it, you have to prevent or treat the 11 major risk factors that steal your mind. And I know we don't have time to go in it, but the mnemonic I have is Bright mind. So, for example, maybe the most important thing B is for blood flow. Whatever you can do to increase blood flow to your brain, you're going to be happier, your memory is going to be better, and you're going to be more sexual.

So is that the brisk Walking.

So you want to avoid things that steal blood flow. Caffeine, nicotine, being sedentary, having any form of heart disease, and then you want to do things that enhance blood flow. So walking, raw cacao, beets, the supplement ginkgo. These things all increase blood flow. Cinnamon, oregano.

Cinnamon oregano. Wow. This is starting to sound like a cooking show. But don't worry, everybody. We're going to put Dr. Amen's information, including the information on bright minds, in the show notes, because there are 11 of them, and I don't know about you, but I definitely cannot keep track of 11 things right now. So, Dr. Amen, you've been a psychiatrist for 40 years. What are five things that you would never do because it's bad for your mental health and your brain health?

I would never say everything. I think some people come to me and say, oh, Dr. Amen, I'm brutally honest. And I'm like, well, that's usually not helpful. I would never purposely stay up late and screw up my sleep. I would never eat everything I want, and I would never take medicine just based on symptom clusters. I always want to look at the brain and then target whatever treatment I need to. How somebody's brain is functioning.

Yeah, the one thing I forgot to ask you. This time of year, when it gets darker earlier and it's colder, I notice my mood drops and I feel sad. What do you do? Whether it's because of the time of year or because of chronic stress, you feel this sort of languishing or heaviness set in. What are three things that you would recommend that somebody do to boost their mood?

Morning, bright light, exercise. Don't overdo the caffeine. It's really important. We haven't talked about this yet. Turn off blue light. When the sun goes down, what is blue light? Constantly flooded with blue light. In the morning it's fine, but after dark it's not, because it decreases the production of melatonin. You get it from your laptop or you get it from your phone, or you get it from whatever gadgets you might be looking at. And so after dark, either put blue light blockers on your gadgets or just turn them off and go read a book.

If you could leave everyone with just one thing to start doing today to create better brain health, what would it be?

Whenever you come to a decision point in your day, just ask yourself, am what I'm doing good for my brain or bad for it? And if you can answer that with information and love, I'm serious about this love of yourself, love of your family, love of the reason you're on Earth, you're going to start making good decisions for your brain, and then everything in your life will be better.

Dr. Amen, you're so awesome. Thank you for giving us very tactical and doable strategies based on research that help us improve not only the physical and functioning aspect of our brains, but also tools and strategies to help us to start to reprogram the brain and the thinking patterns in it. Dr. Amen, you are a gift. We so appreciate you. I love you. Thank you for spending the time with us. Thanks, Dr. Amen.

Thank you, my friend. What a joy.

What a joy is right. And there is so much that Dr. Amen threw at us today in terms of resources and things to do. And there's a particular resource that he has for free that I want to make sure you know about. He has a website called brainhealthassessment.com. i want you to check it out. And here's why. There are 16 different brain types, and based on 200,000 brain scans, Dr. Amen has a free assessment that you can take online that based on these 200,000 brain scans that measure blood flow and activity in the brain, he literally can help predict what your brain might look like if it was scanned in one of his clinics based based on the most common symptoms that you experience. So in less than five minutes, you can discover a comprehensive approach to optimal brain health. Based on your brain, you can know your brain's risk factors. Why? So that you can actually address it, starting today. And so I want you to go to brainhealthassessment.com if you wanna learn more, if you wanna know what specifically you should do for free, and you will get a personalized email report. And I believe so much in this, obviously, because Dr. Amen's work has helped my husband, it has helped me, and I know it will help you. We'll put this all in the show notes. You can peruse it at your leisure, your desire, whenever the heck you want, but it's there for you. Because, as you know, the Mel Robbins podcast, we're not just here to listen, we're here to do something about it. And one final thing, in case nobody else tells you, I want to be the one to tell you that I love you. I believe in you. I believe in your ability to create a better life. And what we both learned today is it does begin with you starting to take better care of your brain. That bowl of macaroni, that's between your two ears. You and I, we need to start to really pay attention to it. And I hope that you now feel better equipped. I know I do. To be able to do that. All right, I'll see you in a few days. So are you ready, Jesse? Okay, great. Here we go. Sorry, I'm eating Indian food that I made a month ago and put in the freezer. Okay. Do you guys ever get dry mouth? Like, I just feel like I'm having a dry mouth day, you know, it doesn't matter how much water I'm drinking. It's like dry. I hate that sound. Hate that. Don't you hate that sound? With. What did I say? Oh, and one more thing. And no, this is not a blooper. This is the legal language. You know what the lawyers write and what I need to read to you. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. I'm just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist. And this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I'll see you in the next episode. Stitcher. I'm a high note hitting songbird, but I'm also a bird watching backpacker.

Wood thrush, three o'. Clock.

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