Episode: 90
Optimize Your Brain: 3 Important Habits for Productivity, Memory, and Longevity
with Dr. Daniel Amen, MD
Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, addiction, or stress, this episode will forever change the way you think about your brain.
Dr. Daniel Amen is a medical doctor with 40 years of experience as a psychiatrist, 12 New York Times bestselling books, and he’s conducted over 200,000 brain scans, all of which back up the simple, proven tactics he’s about to share with you.
This is an encore episode with new and exciting insights from Mel at the top of the episode.
Listen on:
The mission I have ... is 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.
Dr. Daniel Amen, MD
Featured Clips
Transcript
Mel Robbins (00:00:03):
I was able to get you an appointment with the world's leading expert on brain health. So I am here with you. I got my pen. 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? 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? 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. 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.
(00:01:02):
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. The reason why you should care is that 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.
(00:02:09):
You can make a huge difference in symptoms of anxiety and depression and A DHD. 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 practicing medicine. He has been a psychiatrist for 40 years. He's one of the world's leading experts on brain health. I'm telling you, he's the og. 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 got to tune up the engine in your car. So of course you've got to take better care of your brain and he's not going to 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.
(00:03:08):
So I 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 are the things I can do, Dr. Amen. 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 got to 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 going to help absolutely everybody.
(00:04:04):
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'm so happy that you were here on the Mel Robbins podcast and for you watching me clapping here like an idiot, I'm clapping because I need you to subscribe right here. I'm not even going to take you to the interview until you subscribe. I'm going to close my arms like this. If you're not subscribed to this channel, you should feel guilty, maybe even a little ashamed of yourself for freeloading off this content. I'm just kidding. I just need your support because we can bring these videos to you every single day because of the support of the ads that roll on these videos. So please hit subscribe That way you'll never miss one because we'll show up in your feed and your friend, Mel, greatly, greatly, greatly loves you and appreciates you. Alright, you ready? You hit subscribe. Fabulous. Let's go learn from Dr. Daniel Amen. So Dr Amen. Thank you so much for being with us.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:05:08):
Well, I love being with you, so thank you for having me.
Mel Robbins (00:05:12):
Oh, you're the best. 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 do 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:05:37):
Well, a long time ago I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing and it's wrong. There are brain health issues, and if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. Often don't understand that your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And so if you want to be elite, you are already elite. But the people I work with, everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet is 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.
Mel Robbins (00:06:38):
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 your mind?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:06:55):
Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And people get this mixed up all the time. But you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. And 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 or just take covid. People who get covid in the next four months have a 25% chance of having a new onset psychiatric illness because covid causes inflammation in the brain. And then I was on the Kardashian show recently,
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:07:46):
And Kendall came to see me and she's like, after I got Covid, I'm so anxious. But if you look at the physical functioning of her brain, her emotional centers are on fire. And so people really need to know if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain.
Mel Robbins (00:08:09):
And when you say a healthy brain, so that makes sense to me, Dr. In first of all, especially the Alzheimer's example, it makes sense to me that when the physical structure and functioning of your brain is impacted, of course it has an impact on the state of your mind. 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,
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:08:42):
Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight, it might be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow. And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain,
Mel Robbins (00:09:08):
Wow, it's interesting, 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 1 0 1 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.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:10:03):
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. And the very first step in getting a healthy brain is developing a concept I call brain envy. I always say Freud was wrong. Penis envy is not the cause of anybody's problem. I haven't seen it once in 40 years. It's brain envy is what you want. You want to love the three pounds of fat between your ears. 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 a hundred things that hurt their brain.
(00:11:58):
And then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. And I worked with BJ Fog 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
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:12:26):
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, just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you you.
Mel Robbins (00:12:54):
Wow. Alright, 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:13:26):
Yes.
Mel Robbins (00:13:26):
And number two, you then said that there are these micro habits that you have developed, one of which is asking yourself literally throughout the day, is this good or bad for my brain? So let me just role play that one real quick because you said that what 90% of second graders can answer the question correctly almost all of the time, but we adults get it terribly wrong. So let's just say it's breakfast time. So how do you use this to start to make better choices that help your brain? Do you literally go, okay, am I having a cup of coffee or glass of water? Am I eating a big piece of toast with tons of butter and all this crap on it? Am I taking my supplements? How does this play out in somebody's day-to-day life? Dr. Amen.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:14:13):
So I used to play a game with my daughter when she was little. Her name is Chloe, and we called it Chloe's game, and I would say blueberries. And she would say two thumbs up, God's candy. And then I would say Frosted flakes. She'd go way too much sugar or avocados, two thumbs up, God's butter or hitting a sucker ball with your head. And she would just roll her eyes like brain is soft, skull is hard. That would be so stupid. And so if you think of the standard American diet, sad, almost everything's bad for your brain from the toast in the morning to the sugar cereals, to the donuts, to the pastries, to the coffee with sugar and milk in it, it is no, those things are not great for the health of your brain. But if you did intermittent fasting and you sort of skip breakfast, well that's good for your brain.
Mel Robbins (00:15:25):
Why is intermittent fasting good for the brain?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:15:27):
Because it helps your brain clean up the trash that builds up from the day before. There's a term called autophagy, which cells start to eat the extra trash that built up the day before. And so if you don't sleep deep, you don't have enough time for the cleaning crew to come and sort of clean up your brain. Intermittent fasting gives you a little bit more time to do that. So breakfast is marketing and it's actually not essential. Now for people who might have hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, then breakfast really is important. And kids who have a DD, for example, if they have protein in the morning, their medication lasts longer throughout the day. And when you and I were growing up, things like sausage and eggs were common for breakfast, where now because everybody's on the run, it is sugar laden cereals, juice. That was the only thing the second graders got wrong when I tested them. So I gave them a list of 20 things and I'm like, good for your brain or bad for it. And the only thing that got wrong was orange juice, which they put in the good category, but it's clearly in the bad category because when is it rational to have the sugar from four oranges? It's not rational.
Mel Robbins (00:16:59):
That's true. It makes a lot of sense. What are three micro habits that have the biggest impact on the health of your brain other than asking yourself, is this good or bad for my brain?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:17:12):
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. And so I knew I was going to talk to you. It's the first thing that came up in my mind. So I start every day. And if you have children, it's really good to do this at breakfast, which is if you have breakfast. So why is today going to be a great day for you directing your mind? Which for many people because of evolution, they wake up in a negative state, it puts your brain in a positive state.
(00:17:57):
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. But it's that treasure hunt that is just so good. And then I take my supplements every day because we live in a nutrient deficient society, and I always want to give my brain the nutrition it needs so it can serve me rather than derail me.
Mel Robbins (00:19:19):
Is there one supplement that you believe everybody should take for better brain health?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:19:28):
Well, a couple multiple vitamin A really high quality multiple vitamin I make one called Neuro 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.
Mel Robbins (00:19:51):
What?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:19:52):
Yes.
Mel Robbins (00:19:52):
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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:20:12):
Yes. Brand new research just came out. They're actually comparing it to placebo and cocoa extract chocolate, and they were hoping that chocolate would do it. It wasn't the chocolate, it was the multiple vitamin. And why I developed nite like I did, it has the same dosages of B six, B12 and folate that decrease the conversion of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. Now, I never make a disease claim with supplements, but if this level of B six, B12 and folate did that, I'm going to put those levels in our supplements.
Mel Robbins (00:21:01):
Wow. I'm going to start popping it like candy is what I'm going to do. I'm going to make sure that we link to that study and then we link to the supplements that you make as well, just so that people can check it out. That's incredible. So a multivitamin has a huge impact. I hear a lot about fish oil too,
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:21:17):
And that would be number two. I did a study at Amen Clinics and we found 98% of people had suboptimal levels of omega fatty acids unless they were supplemented because we don't have the same level of fish consumption we had before. Plus fish is tricky. Brand new study out of Florida International University. So not very far from where I'm today. They looked at bonefish off the coast of Florida. On average they had seven pharmaceutical medications in their tissues. And I'm like, no way. And the most common were antidepressants as humans excrete the medications they take into waste plants that gets out into the ocean and then the fish we eat are impacted by them in a negative way. So one reason I like high quality fish oil because it's purified, especially ours, but also Omega fatty acids have been found to be good for your heart, good for your brain, good for your hair, good for your skin, good for your eyes.
Mel Robbins (00:22:39):
Why is it good for the brain?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:22:43):
25% of the nerve cell membranes in your brain are made up of omega fatty acids. So if you are deficient, your brain is not going to work as fast and efficiently as it could. And low levels have been associated with all sorts of bad things from depression to dementia to A DHD.
Mel Robbins (00:23:11):
I'm going to sprint out of this interview, go get these supplements. I mean 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 going to 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 want to 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:24:01):
Serotonin's hugely important for many different functions in the brain, but for happiness, for flexibility and respect and respects 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, you serotonin levels drop. And 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 bright light therapy, which is why it's so important to get sunshine and wild. As we go into the holidays, time change happens just at the wrong time as we get less sunlight and it gets colder outside, we just 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.
Mel Robbins (00:25:40):
Lemme back us up a second. So does your brain create serotonin? What is the function of serotonin in the brain?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:25:50):
So your gut makes about 90% of the serotonin in your body, but it doesn't go directly into your brain. Your brain creates serotonin from the amino acid precursor called tryptophan. And that's why often eating trytophan rich foods
Mel Robbins (00:26:14):
Like Turkey
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:26:17):
Can be helpful, but not in a ketogenic way. You have to tryptophan rich foods with a carbohydrate because you need an insulin response to drive trytophan into the brain. So Turkey and sweet potatoes together is a great combination to boost your mood.
Mel Robbins (00:26:41):
So when you have high levels of serotonin, how does that impact you?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:26:46):
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, which is why, and this is really interesting for anyone who grew up in an alcoholic home, I studied children and grandchildren of alcoholics, they often have low levels of both serotonin and dopamine. And so if I just raise one, I make them better in some ways, but worse in other ways. So a lot of people who take SSRIs, they go, well, I'm happier, but I don't really care that much. I had one guy tell me he wasn't doing his taxes, and he's like, no, this is going to be a problem. So I had to rebalance his medication.
Mel Robbins (00:27:57):
So is serotonin sort of the happiness one and dopamine is the motivation and drive one is that their relationship?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:28:07):
Well, they're both. You think of both of them involved in happiness and 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 nonstop 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.
Mel Robbins (00:29:03):
What does that mean? Drip dopamine, don't dump it.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:29:06):
So you want little tiny piece, 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 laugh, and then you get depressed, which you then start using you alcohol's the same way. Alcohol dumps dopamine, nicotine, vaping, dumps, dopamine, scary movies, dump dopamine, falling in love, dumps dopamine. You want to drip it, holding Tana's hand, getting eye contact, looking for what I call the micro moments of happiness. So much more important. And new love is totally dumping dopamine. So you always, whenever you just fall in love, you need to like, whoa, this is really awesome. Let me ride this out before I make any big decisions.
Mel Robbins (00:30:11):
So would an example of dripping dopamine include the two micro habits 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:30:27):
Yes.
Mel Robbins (00:30:28):
Excellent. How can you tell if you have low dopamine,
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:30:31):
If you are tired, if you find that you're unmotivated, if you're sad and you just don't have the motivation to get done what you want to get done. And I'm in Justin Bieber's docuseries seasons, and I've been his doctor for a long time, and they just wore that boy's dopamine centers out. And then when you become famous like that, you have access to women, to drugs, to video games, and just completely almost killed that boy. And they deadened his pleasure centers. 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.
Mel Robbins (00:31:33):
Wow. We've talked about supplements. We've talked about some micro habits. What are three simple ways to increase dopamine?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:31:43):
Cold showers? We'll do it. So I just took a shower before I did it, and I always finished with two minutes. I turned all the way cold because cold therapy has been shown to increase both norepinephrine, another neurotransmitter and dopamine eating tyrosine rich food. So we talked about tryptophan. The amino acid building block for serotonin tyrosine is the amino acid building block for dopamine. So things like almonds and eggs and beans and fish and chicken, dark chocolate. But you don't want to do that with an insulin response or with a carbohydrate. And so this is where a higher protein, lower carbohydrate diet can be helpful. Exercise also does it. And certain supplements like tyrosine. So tyrosine is a supplement and it's the amino acid building block for dopamine.
Mel Robbins (00:32:53):
So is there any certain times of day where your dopamine is higher or lower just naturally
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:33:00):
In the morning
Mel Robbins (00:33:01):
And is the same true as serotonin
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:33:04):
In the evening?
Mel Robbins (00:33:05):
Okay, so explain that to us and then how we can use something natural to boost it.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:33:14):
So everybody's circadian rhythm or the rhythm of their energy is different. There are morning larks and night owls and you sort of have to know what you are. A lot of my a, DD patients are night owls and society is sort of biased against 'em because school starts early, work starts early for a lot of people, but you just have to know your rhythm. And if your 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. Serotonin often helps people sleep. And in our supplement put me to sleep, we actually have five HTP, which is the amino acid precursor even closer to serotonin than tryptophan. And for a lot of people it helps decrease worry and promote sleep.
Mel Robbins (00:34:21):
Wow, I'm slightly overwhelmed. I don't even know where to start in terms of how to boost my serotonin naturally, how to boost my dopamine naturally. So is there a way to simplify this? You just kind of talked about your circadian rhythm and understanding if you're a night owl or you're a morning person. So if you are a morning person and you kind of wake up and you're naturally more motivated, are there certain things you should do first thing in the morning to keep your dopamine levels high, to stay focused, to promote your brain health?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:35:00):
So one thing I really like, especially as we start into later fall and winter, is morning bright light. So people who have seasonal affective disorders, so winter blues that morning, bright light therapy, and you can actually get these therapy lamps. I make one called our Bright Minds Therapy lamp, 10,000 luxe. So it's bright,
Mel Robbins (00:35:28):
Put
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:35:29):
It, don't look at it, put it like an arm's length away from you while you're putting on your makeup or having breakfast. If you breakfast 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 late for 45 minutes, four or five times a week. Super simple, bright light exercise.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:36:10):
Just incredibly helpful. And this is very important. 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.
Mel Robbins (00:36:49):
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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:37:02):
You bet. I think it's absolutely critical for men and for women. Your muscles are your protein reserve. So one of my young doctors went to Hawaii on vacation and got this terrible infection that almost killed him.
Mel Robbins (00:37:24):
Oh wow.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:37:24):
The reason he didn't die is he was strong when he went into that illness and had the protein reserve muscle on his body. And yeah, no, I remember the day when in the hospital I expected I was going to get a call. He died in the middle of the night. He just got this wicked infection from jumping into a natural pool in Hawaii. But he survived and he's done great because it is the protein reserve or the brain reserve you bring into an illness or an accident that determines how you're going to do after it. I mean, you've probably seen one person gets into a car accident and 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
Mel Robbins (00:38:42):
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 and everywhere else is that your message is one of optimism and self-empowerment because 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:39:29):
So cortisol is critical. It's made by your adrenal glands and it helps us manage stress and deal with inflammation. When it's really low, people have something called Addison's disease and they can get deathly sick. But 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, which is why when you go through grief, I went through grief about 17 years ago and I just couldn't remember anybody's name and I knew what was happening to me. And so we are under more stress now because of the political divide and the societal unrest and the news figured out if they make us mad and anxious, they sell more underwear because the brain pays attention to negativity way before it pays attention to positivity. So papers like the Washington Post, actually in their newsroom, they have, okay, which articles got the most hits? And if they're negative, they get the most hits. So we're being manipulated to be more negative. So these news organizations make more money. I mean it's really horrifying when you think about it, but they're chronically, if people are not aware of this, people are just sort of pissed off, stressed and anxious, and that's making us fat and wow, very smart.
Mel Robbins (00:41:26):
Are there things you can do? What are three things you can do to start to bring down those cortisol levels? Obviously turn off the news and limit your consumption number, but what are other ones?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:41:41):
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 that worth losing brain cells over?
Mel Robbins (00:42:21):
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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:42:32):
I love it so much. It's the 15 second breath. So if you're having a panic attack, this is going to fix it in two minutes or less. And 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,
Mel Robbins (00:43:15):
Will you walk us through it?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:43:17):
So four seconds in, hold it, eight seconds out, hold it out, and then repeat. And I have an app called Happy Brain, HAPI brain
(00:43:43):
And actually has a pacer that does that for you. And all you have to do is when you see the circle get bigger, breathe in when you see it, get smaller, breathe out and it's so simple and try to breathe more diaphragmatically or more with your belly. 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 in your brain of relaxation.
Mel Robbins (00:44:37):
Why does this 15 second breath work?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:44:42):
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, a Corona del Mar walking my dog, and I saw two pit bulls running toward me.
Mel Robbins (00:45:14):
Oh my god.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:45:15):
Oh my God, right? So my heart went fast. I mean, it was panic and ended up turning out okay, but
Mel Robbins (00:45:25):
Well, what happened? Now I'm on the edge of my seat. Did you pick up your dog? Did they just jump
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:45:30):
Up? No, he is a big white shepherd and I got bit, he ended up in the ocean. Yeah, it was sort of a disaster. I still get triggered sometimes, which we should talk about a little bit because in my elite brain training program, it's critical to eliminate trauma or at least to learn how to dissipate trauma. I love walking on that beach so much. So I actually did a session of EMDR. I don't know if you, I talked about EMDR. It's specific psychological treatment for trauma. It's actually really cool. I have my patients write down 10 of their worst traumas and then through a specific protocol, I'll have their eyes go back and forth while they bring it up and it tends to help dissipate it. It's very powerful. Or when I go on that beach now, I'll often find myself doing this.
Mel Robbins (00:46:40):
And what you're doing is rubbing your hands back and forth
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:46:44):
And it's bilateral hemisphere stimulation in my brain. I feel it on one side, then the other side. And that just takes the anxiety that I might associate to that beach and washes it away, which can be so helpful. So many people they drink to manage their anxiety from past trauma. They're using marijuana now, more magic mushrooms. And I'm like, no, no, no. There are way better ways to do that that are not potentially toxic for your brain.
Mel Robbins (00:47:23):
Wow. We're going to have to come back and do a whole nother episode on that for sure. How do you calm a very busy brain?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:47:34):
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, and 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 fairly torture me. I'm one of seven children. I was pretty much irrelevant. I have five sisters, there's a lot of chaos and 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, it's just so helpful that 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.
(00:49:03):
I need to be the director. And since I want to be happy, connected, purposeful, I often go, well, does this thought fit me being happy, connected and purposeful? And 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 everybody has crazy thoughts. Jerry Seinfeld once said, the brain is a sneaky organ. 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 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. And when you really understand this. So we talked about the physical functioning of your brain. Well now we're talking about programming.
Mel Robbins (00:50:14):
Yeah. Let's stop real quick because 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 and 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:51:28):
So I don't have any tattoos, but if I got one, one of the first tattoos I would get, is it true? It's just start carrying that question is 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. I don't know if you were good at talking back to your parents when you were a teenager, but I was excellent and no one had ever taught me to talk back to myself.
(00:52:15):
And so we don't have to believe the nonsense that's going on in our head. Just sort of 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. It's a revolution. I think all second graders. I actually have a children's book called Captain Sout in the superpower questions where I teach kids not to believe every stupid thing they think I call 'em ants, automatic negative thoughts. So you need a little ante or patrolling the streets of your mind.
Mel Robbins (00:53:05):
Yeah, I can give everybody an example for my own life. Just last week when I was super sick and by day four of me being 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. And so this habit of questioning yourself is, and the thoughts that you're having is a superpower. And you can begin to today, thanks to what Dr. Amen is telling you, what advice do you have for people who are chronically tired? Dr. Amen.
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:54:09):
Well, the first thing is get your thyroid checked.
Mel Robbins (00:54:12):
Get your thyroid checked. Okay?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:54:14):
Chronic tiredness can go with low thyroid. It can go with you. Being anemic can go with you having low iron or ferritin levels. 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? This
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:54:40):
You had 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 what I call ANTS, 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 male or female for sleep apnea is critical. That goes with chronic tiredness. So if you snar loudly, if you stop breathing at night, if you're chronically tired during the day, you 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 hurt some huge fan of forgiveness, not holding onto 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.
Mel Robbins (00:56:05):
Wow. I want to come back to some tips and some tools that people can use to start boosting brain health. So what are the five best foods that you can eat for brain health?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:56:21):
So I have them every day. Salmon, especially wild salmon for the omega fatty acids, berries, but they have to be organic. That's very important. So I'm a huge fan of blueberries. I often call them brain berries, but it's critical that they're organic. So people take blueberry extract. X has been shown to improve memory, 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. I don't say chocolate because chocolate's filled with sugar and dairy and a lot of things that are really bad for you. But as a bonus,
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:57:34):
I want you to try this. I make brain healthy hot chocolate virtually every day.
Mel Robbins (00:57:40):
How do you make it?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:57:42):
And so I get raw cacao. So for each serving, say the serving's like 12 ounces, heaping teaspoon of raw cacao, unsweetened, organic almond milk. And you could do it with other nut milks, but I like almond milk. And there's a company called Sweetleaf that makes liquid chocolate stevia. And so I heat up the milk, I mix in the rock cacao, I put a couple of dropper folds of chocolate stevia and put it in a blender. It tastes amazing. And it's part of the ritual I have for happiness in my life because, and this is a very important point, I only eat things I love that love me back. I mean, I don't know if you've ever been in a bad relationship. I have. I'm not doing it anymore. I'm like, Mary, my best friend, and I'm damn sure not doing it with food I'm not going to be in because people go, I love Rocky Road ice cream. Well, it beats you up. Or I love beer. Well, it shrinks your brain. And I'm like, no, do I love it? I love my brain. Healthy, hot chocolate, and it loves being back. So whatever you eat or whatever you do, I mean, we're in a relationship with what we eat and what we do. And is it a positive relationship or is it destructive?
Mel Robbins (00:59:26):
See, I love that there was an ambulance driving by in the background 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. A?
Dr. Daniel Amen (00:59:54):
Well improve your brain. It's like the most important thing. It's 50%. I mean, think about this, Mel. 50% of people 85 and older will be diagnosed with dementia. Those are odds I am not okay with. And 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 are going to be happier. Your memory is going to be better, and you're going to be more sexual because whatever is good for your brain is good for your heart, is good for your genitals.
Mel Robbins (01:00:51):
So is that the brisk walking?
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:00:56):
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.
Mel Robbins (01:01:23):
Wow. Okay, I want to hear the R though. Bright mind. I know that there's 11, but give me two or three of them.
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:01:32):
The R is retirement and aging. When you stop learning, your brain starts dying. So constantly engage in new learning. The I is inflammation, but the one maybe to talk about more is the T. It's toxins. And we live in a toxic society right here I am in Florida, I just talked about all the fish up the coast in Florida, on average they have seven pharmaceuticals in their tissues, but just the products you put on your body. I have all of my patients download the app, think dirty. It allows you to scan all of your personal products and it'll tell you on a scale of one to 10 how quickly they're killing you. Oh my God. And we saw this year that the FDA took off a number of sunscreens off the market because they were associated with cancer. How horrifying is that, right? You're thinking you're protecting yourself from cancer. The toxic products are giving you cancer. So think dirty. But also we have to stop thinking of alcohol as a health food. It's not, it's toxic to your brain or marijuana is innocuous. It's not. It damages your brain. And it's these little lies in our society that is really promoting the disease we are just flooded
Mel Robbins (01:03:04):
With. So you've been a psychiatrist for 40 years. What are five things you'd never do because it's bad for your mental health and your brain health? Well,
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:03:15):
I never believe every stupid thing, I think, and I think that's really important to know. I'm going to get these crazy, stupid, awful thoughts and I know how to manage and dismiss them. I would never say everything. I think some people come to me and say, oh, Dr. Am, I'm brutally honest. And I'm like, well, that's usually not helpful. Relationships require, 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. Like I'm depressed, I'll take an antidepressant. So I think that's all insane. I always want to look at the brain and then target whatever treatment I need, treatment to treatment, how somebody's brain's functioning.
Mel Robbins (01:04:14):
Yeah. The one thing I forgot to ask you, because right now as you and I are talking, we've just turned the clocks back. But this time of year when it gets darker earlier and it's colder, I notice my mood drops and I feel like 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?
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:04:55):
So morning, bright light. I think that can be really helpful. So bright, a bright light therapy lamp for 20 or 30 minutes in the morning exercise. Don't overdo the caffeine. And it's really important, we haven't talked about this yet.
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:05:16):
Turn off blue light. When the sun goes down.
Mel Robbins (01:05:21):
What is blue light
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:05:22):
Constantly flooded with blue light. And in the morning it's fine, but after dark it's not because it decreases the production of melatonin. So 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.
Mel Robbins (01:05:53):
Okay, great. And I also didn't ask you this. How do you know if your dopamine levels are low?
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:06:02):
If you're tired, if you're unmotivated, if you can't concentrate and you find yourself more impulsive than it's good for you.
Mel Robbins (01:06:16):
And finally, let's bottom line, because you are the master at elite brain training, if you could leave everyone with just one thing that you would like them to start doing today to create better brain health, what would it be?
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:06:39):
It's that mother tiny habit. It is. Whenever you come to a decision point in your day, just ask yourself and what I'm doing good for my brain or bad for it. And if you can answer that with information and love, I mean 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.
Mel Robbins (01:07:14):
Dr. Amen. You're so awesome. Is there anything else that we didn't get to that you want to say or talk about before we leave you?
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:07:24):
I have a new book coming in March called Change Your Brain Every Day.
Mel Robbins (01:07:31):
It's
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:07:31):
366 short essays and something to do. So it's sort of like a devotional to the brain and mental health, brain health, just like physical health, it's a daily practice. You have to do this every day and people, they want to like let me take the medicine and not have to think about it. You are building patterns and habits that serve you, or you're building patterns and habits that hurt you. And I just want people to love themselves by doing the right things to take of their brain, their mind, their relationships, and their purpose in life.
Mel Robbins (01:08:21):
Well, 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, and I cannot wait to have you back when you new incredible. I'm sure 13th, New York Times bestselling book comes out this march. Thanks, Dr. Amen.
Dr. Daniel Amen (01:09:00):
Thank you, my friend. What a joy.
Mel Robbins (01:09:02):
You're awesome. 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 for professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it. Good. I'll see you in the next episode. Hey, it's Mel. Thank you so much for being here. If you enjoyed that video, bye. God, please subscribe because I don't want you to miss a thing. Thank you so much for being here. We've got so much amazing stuff coming. Thank you so much for sending this stuff to your friends and your family. I love you. We create these videos for you, so make sure you subscribe.
Key takeaways
Getting strong isn’t just about your body; your muscles are your protein reserve, and the more physical strength you build, the more resilient your brain becomes.
You can literally train your brain to relax by using the 15-second breath: four in, eight out, and repeat with intention until your mind slows and softens.
Every time you eat something, ask: “Is this good or bad for my brain?” That shift alone turns food into a positive relationship with your brain.
You can’t trust every thought you have. Start asking yourself “Is it true?” to interrupt the automatic negative loops that are sabotaging your peace.
Morning light, regular walking, and cutting caffeine after noon aren't life hacks; they are neuroscience-backed steps that stabilize your mood and protect your brain.
Guests Appearing in this Episode
Dr. Daniel Amen, MD
Dr. Daniel Amen is a psychiatrist, brain health expert, and founder of Amen Clinics, specializing in brain imaging and mental health treatment. Dr. Amen has created the world’s largest database of brain scans for psychiatry totaling more than 225,000 SPECT scans on patients from 155 countries.
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Book: Change Your Brain Every Day
In Change Your Brain Every Day psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist Daniel Amen, MD, draws on over 40 years’ clinical practice with tens of thousands of patients to give you the most effective daily habits he has seen that can help you improve your brain, master your mind, boost your memory, and make you feel happier, healthier, and more connected to those you love.
Resources
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- Brand new study Dr. Amen mentions on multivitamins
- Dr. Daniel Amen: 11 foods you need for a bright mind.
- Benefits of Omega 3's: research literature review
- Brain MD: 5 Ways to Feel Better Fast AND Make It Last
- National Library of Medicine: The Role of Inflammation in Depression and Fatigue
- ScienceDaily: Cynical? You may be hurting your brain health
- Medical Press: Do negative thoughts increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease?
- National Library of Medicine: Neurotransmitters in alcoholism
- Are your personal care products toxic? ThinkDirty App
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