Brian Johnson discusses Chris Palmer's Brain Energy, arguing mental disorders stem from metabolic dysfunction. Sleep, fasting, good nutrition, and movement help restore brain energy, but purpose matters just as much: relationships, meaningful work, and responsibilities are metabolic necessities for mental health.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. Today we're going to wrap up our tour through Chris Palmer's brilliant book, Brain Energy. Did I mention it's my number one all time favorite book a few times? Huh. I hope the memo landed. This is the book to read and share with any and everyone in your life who has ever or is struggling with psychological issues. Now here's the quick recap for the Learning 101 spaced repetition win. Chris tells us that mental disorders, all of them are metabolic disorders of the brain. He also tells us that metabolism is the process of turning food into energy or building blocks for growing and maintaining cells, as well as the appropriate and efficient management of waste products. Metabolism is how our cells work. Then he gives us a bunch of practical tips on how to optimize our metabolism so we can conquer psychological issues. Note in our chat, he basically completely affirmed our obsession with eating, moving and sleeping as the most powerful way to get our energy dialed in so we can show up powerfully in our work and in our love. And know this. Quoting Chris as we embrace the idea that mental disorders are no longer syndromes but metabolic disorders of the brain, that new solutions become obvious. We need to restore brain energy by normalizing metabolism and the function of mitochondria. Once we do this, the symptoms of mental illness will begin to resolve. Don't believe me? Just test it out. Now we talked about sleep and fasting as two powerful ways to boost our metabolism. Here's the third. Chris tells us, and I quote, humans are driven to have a sense of purpose. I believe this is hardwired into our brains, given that this single construct has been highly associated with both metabolic and mental health. When people lack a sense of purpose, it appears to induce a chronic stress response and can lead to many poor health outcomes. Purpose in life is multifaceted. However, it usually includes many things, not just one. The stress inventory I just mentioned highlights three possibilities. Relationships, taking care of yourself and staying healthy and having a job. End quote. Now that's from the final practical chapter, all about love, adversity and purpose in life. Pop quiz. Did you notice the big three of purpose? Yep, there they are. Energy, taking care of yourself and staying healthy when you work, having a job, and love relationships. Dr. Palmer talks about the research that shows just how important it is to have a clear sense of purpose in life and how that purpose fuels our metabolism at the mitochondrial level. One of the researchers he references in this section is Lisa Miller. We recently featured her great book called the Awakened. Check out those notes. Which is all about the new science of spirituality and our quest for an inspired life. And he also tells us, and I quote him again, it's important to point out a general rule of thumb for human health. People need to develop and maintain full lives, ones that include what I call the four R's close relationships, meaningful roles in which they contribute to society in some way, adherence to responsibilities and obligations and not just to the people in one's life, but to society as a whole, such as not breaking laws and having adequate resources, money, food, shelter, etc. And he goes on to say that we need to continue to do the work at the individual and societal levels to help create a world in which everyone has access to those fundamental things. And with all this wisdom in mind, I say here's to playing our roles as humbly as yet heroically well as we can to help create a world in which 51% of humanity is flourishing by 2051. As always, day one all in. Let's go.
