Top 3 Brain Drains

1. Screens in your bedroom

If you’ve been around for a while you know that I am OBSESSED with sleep. It is truly one of the most powerful brain enhancers we have. Screens of all types (phone, ipad, tv) negatively impact sleep in several ways.

BRAIN DRAINS

• Light. They emit glowing lights even when they’re off that disrupt sleep. Your brain, specifically the superchiasmatic nucleus, is VERY sensitive to light.
• Staying up late. It’s easy to doom scroll or binge watch well past bedtime. It requires a lot of will power to turn them off, so it’s easier if they’re not there to tempt you.
• Content. Work emails, negative news, social media, or drama/violence/scary content stimulates your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) which KEEPS YOU AWAKE.
• EMFs. More electronics = more EMFs (electric and magnetic fields) that can interfere with sleep.

BRAIN GAINS

• Remove all screens from your bedroom.
• Get an old school alarm clock and charge your phone in another room.
• The goal is to train your brain that when you’re in bed you’re sleeping (as opposed to being awake watching tv or on your phone or doing anything else for that matter, even reading).

2. Multitasking

Do you pride yourself on being good at multitasking?

I hate to break it to you but this is a BRAIN DRAIN.

First, let’s get on the same page about what true multitasking is. It’s doing two cognitively demanding tasks simultaneously. Your brain can’t. It rapidly switches back and forth and this increases stress and decreases mental energy. Studies have shown you make more errors and it takes longer to complete the tasks when you multitask.

Examples of multitasking:

• Reading/responding to an email at the same time you are on a zoom call.
• Watching tv and talking on the phone.
• Texting and driving.

BRAIN GAINS:

• ONE thing at a time. This can be hard at first because we have built distracted brains that seek out interruptions.
• You can retrain your brain - start small, set a timer for 5 minutes and focus on one thing. Increase time but a few minutes each day or week to work your way up to longer periods of focus.

3. Alcohol

BRAIN DRAINS

• Sleep. Decreases sleep quality and delays REM sleep.
• Focus. Impairs critical thinking skills, judgement, focus, planning, decision making, and problem solving.
• Mood. Increases risk for anxiety and depression and hinders your brain’s ability to cope with stress.
• Memory. Alcohol impairs the brain’s ability to form new long-term memories and the ability to keep new information active in working memory.
• Brain fog. Drinking alcohol dehydrates the body and increases oxidative stress - two main culprits of brain fog.

BRAIN GAINS

• Swap a cocktail for a mocktail.
• Hydrate! Drink a minimum of 64 oz of water a day. Your brain will thank you.

What are your biggest brain drains? Tell me in the comments.

-Julie

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