A short podcast mini-chapter by Brian Johnson, adapted from his book A Philosopher's Notes, advising listeners to reduce stress through brief daily meditation (12–15 minutes) to shift brainwave states from high-beta (stress) to alpha (relaxation) and trigger the relaxation response, which supports immune function and overall vitality. The episode frames stress as "gremlin poop" that meditation helps "clean up."
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson More Wisdom in Less Time this is a mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. You can find it on Amazon.
Cleaning up the Gremlin Poop Quick science lesson. Your brain has four primary states beta, alpha, mellow, chillaxing, theta, and delta. When you're super stressed, you're hanging out in high beta with cortisol and adrenaline and all the other stress gremlins out in force, weakening your immune system and overall mojo. Unfortunately, with the busyness of our modern lives, we spend way too much time in this fight or flight stress mode, and our minds and bodies take a beating because of it. Research unequivocally shows that simple meditation practices for as little as 12 to 15 minutes a day can have huge positive results for us. As we close our eyes, breathe deeply, and allow our minds to chillax, we go from beta to alpha while triggering what Herbert Benson, the preeminent Harvard MD and researcher, calls the relaxation response. When we hang out there, all the gremlin poop can be cleaned up and our health and vitality nurtured. So are you taking the time to scoop the gremlin poop? If not, get on that.
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