TRASCRIZIONE 🔗
WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:04.559
Every episode if It's been a minute, MPR's What's Happening
2
00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:09.119
in Culture podcast starts by asking three questions, Who, how, why?
3
00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:09.480
Now?
4
00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.919
If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it. At MPR,
5
00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:15.599
we stand for your right to be curious and indulge
6
00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.679
your cultural curiosity. Follow it's been a minute wherever you
7
00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:21.399
get your podcasts, and we'll break down the zeitgeisty topics
8
00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:22.440
that are feeling your feed.
9
00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:27.440
You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
10
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:32.079
Hey, everybody, it's maryel.
11
00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:35.920
We all get stressed, right And one thing I've learned
12
00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:38.359
through our reporting it Life Kit is that while it's
13
00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:41.759
really important to ground yourself in these moments, that's not
14
00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.079
where the work ends. Because if you're constantly having these
15
00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:48.079
days where your fight or flight response is triggered, there's
16
00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:51.520
probably a reason, some underlying cause of your stress. It
17
00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:53.719
could be your health or the health of someone you love.
18
00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.479
It could be a relationship that's falling apart, or the
19
00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:58.320
fact that you can't pay rent, or a.
20
00:00:58.320 --> 00:00:59.359
Fear for your safety.
21
00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.960
These are things that never quite go away, so that
22
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.200
fight or flight response is always on at a slow
23
00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:07.760
hum in the background.
24
00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:12.079
That's doctor ADT. Narucar She's an internal medicine physician at Harvard,
25
00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:14.439
and she wrote a book called The Five Resets.
26
00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:18.319
The Five Resets has been laid out to be a roadmap, a.
27
00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:22.200
Roadmap to recovering from chronic stress. Because stress doesn't just
28
00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:24.640
make us feel terrible in the moment. It can also
29
00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.400
have ongoing effects on our bodies. It puts us at
30
00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:30.480
higher risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes.
31
00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:33.640
And it can also increase inflammation in our bodies and
32
00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:37.799
weaken our immune systems. NPR Health correspondent Retoo chatter Gy
33
00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:41.040
talk to doctor Narucar and on today's episode, they're going
34
00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.560
to walk us through these five resets and how they
35
00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:53.040
can help you live a healthier, less stressful life.
36
00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.079
It's June and another big week in the run up
37
00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:02.359
to the midterms primaries and a dozen states, including California,
38
00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:05.560
where new congressional maps are in place and a chaotic
39
00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.560
rice for governor is wide open. We're also following gas
40
00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.680
prices and Iran. So far, talk of a peace deal
41
00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:15.240
is just talk. We'll keep you posted. Listen every morning
42
00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:18.599
up first on the NPR app or wherever you get your.
43
00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:23.639
Podcasts Aditi says a key part of lowering one's stress
44
00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:26.080
is finding ways to rest and recover.
45
00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:30.319
Rest and recovery are not just nice to have luxuries.
46
00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:33.639
They are essential for our brains and bodies, and particularly
47
00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:37.360
for the biological features of our brains and bodies to thrive.
48
00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:41.719
Now, if you're already stressed and overwhelmed, you might be thinking,
49
00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:45.280
I have no time for rest and recovery, or the
50
00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:48.280
idea of adding one more thing on my plate, even
51
00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.560
if it's to ultimately lower stress, makes me feel even
52
00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:55.800
more overwhelmed. Well, that's exactly how most of Aditi's former
53
00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.639
patients felt when they came to see her. Take, for example,
54
00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:01.639
a patient she called Wes.
55
00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:06.360
Wes is a single dad of three. He works two jobs,
56
00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:10.199
and his doctors had told him that it's important for
57
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:13.599
him to lose weight because he has high blood pressure,
58
00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:18.560
is slowly starting to develop high cholesterol, and may develop
59
00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:19.840
diabetes down the road.
60
00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:23.199
She says, Wes knew he had to change his diet,
61
00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:25.719
but he just couldn't do it because he was living
62
00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:26.840
in survival mode.
63
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:30.319
He would wake up early in the morning take care
64
00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.800
of his children, which was his first priority. He would
65
00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.680
rush out the door. He would get to his first job,
66
00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:39.439
then between jobs, he needed.
67
00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:41.960
To eat, and so he'd swing by a drive through
68
00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:43.960
on his way to his second job and grab a
69
00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:45.400
burger and fries, and.
70
00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:48.000
It was easy, fast and cheap. That he would go
71
00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:50.639
on to his next job and he would finish that,
72
00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:55.439
and he would come home, exhausted, fatigued,
Load full transcript
having done the
73
00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:58.400
best he possibly could. He would go to sleep, he
74
00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:00.199
would wake up, and he would do it all all
75
00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:01.080
over again.
76
00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.919
Wes is like a lot of people. His circumstances were tough.
77
00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.439
He didn't have the money or the time to join
78
00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:09.879
a gym or take a long vacation, although I'm sure
79
00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:14.879
he'd have enjoyed that. But Aditi's resets are small adjustments
80
00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:17.639
to people's daily lives that have been shown to lower
81
00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:22.000
stress levels. So she began helping Wes with her first reset,
82
00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.959
which is also our first takeaway. It's called finding your
83
00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:26.639
most goal.
84
00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:32.199
Most is an acronym most and for motivating or for objective,
85
00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.920
and measurable, s for small and tea for timely, something
86
00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:38.240
you can accomplish within a couple of months.
87
00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:42.199
So start thinking about what it is about your stressed, out,
88
00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:46.199
overwhelmed life you want to change, and why is there
89
00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.560
something you can look forward to. When you make that
90
00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.399
change and are feeling less overwhelmed.
91
00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.920
Ask yourself what matters to me? Most studies have found
92
00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:59.360
that when you focus on what matters to you most,
93
00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:02.839
it can help help you increase your sense of self efficacy.
94
00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:07.839
And self efficacy is your sense and ability to feel like, hey,
95
00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:08.480
I can do that.
96
00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.959
Aditi says, Wes wanted to get healthy so he could
97
00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.759
be around for his kids for the long haul. That
98
00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.560
was his m the motivation for his goal. So Aditi
99
00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:21.319
helped him find ways to make little tweaks to his
100
00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.399
daily routines. The stuff that makes up the rest of
101
00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.720
the most acronym the objective, small and timely things that
102
00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.920
Wes could do right away, things that could lighten his
103
00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:34.199
load within a short period of time, like buying healthier
104
00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:35.879
foods at the grocery store.
105
00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:38.600
And when he was packing his three children's lunch the
106
00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.000
night before, he would do the same for himself.
107
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:43.920
Once he started to do that, he stopped eating fast
108
00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:46.600
food for lunch, and he started to use those twenty
109
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.079
minutes between his two jobs to take a walk at
110
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:50.720
a nearby industrial park.
111
00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.399
That twenty minute walk helped him so much in terms
112
00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:58.279
of creating a habit of daily movement, he was able
113
00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:01.839
to decrease his stress. It created a stopgap measure for
114
00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.680
him because it helped him create a bookend between one
115
00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:06.279
job and the other, all.
116
00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.959
Of which began to lower his daily stress levels and exhaustion.
117
00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:13.879
So when you're thinking about your most goal, try to
118
00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:17.600
think hard about why you want to have less stress. Maybe,
119
00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:19.800
like Wes, you want to have more time for your
120
00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:23.360
kids or other family or friends, or perhaps you want
121
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.399
to make room in your life for something else that
122
00:06:25.399 --> 00:06:28.800
brings you joy. If you figure out that why, it
123
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.839
will make it easier for your already exhausted, overwhelmed brain
124
00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.879
to start thinking about those other little changes you can
125
00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.480
make in your daily life to get to your goal.
126
00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:43.600
Our second takeaway, the second reset, is all about finding
127
00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:47.879
quiet in a noisy world by changing your relationship with technology.
128
00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:50.759
Because most of our lives these days are filled with
129
00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.920
so much noise and information coming at us all the
130
00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:58.319
time from our devices, especially our smartphones. Studies showed that
131
00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.680
on average, people spend more than four hours on their
132
00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.319
phone each day. That's more than twenty eight hours a week.
133
00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:09.920
Surveys also show that over fifty percent of respondents grab
134
00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:13.360
their phones within fifteen minutes of waking up, about fifteen
135
00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:14.279
percent doing this.
136
00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:17.319
As soon as they wake up, they are scrolling through
137
00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:21.040
the headlines or social media or their email. Think about
138
00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:22.959
what that is doing to your brain and your body.
139
00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:24.839
Think about what that's doing to your stress.
140
00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.480
Aditi also writes about a phenomenon that researcher David Levy
141
00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:32.040
called popcorn brain. Think about what happens when you sit
142
00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:34.079
down to read a book and then grab your phone
143
00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.519
to look up a word, and
then check messages and
144
00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:40.839
social media updates that urge to constantly bounce from task
145
00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:43.800
to task when we're online. That's popcorn brain.
146
00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:48.639
Our brain circuitry starts to pop from that extended time
147
00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:53.800
spent online, and it makes it increasingly difficult to live offline.
148
00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.639
Because the pace of life offline is much slower than
149
00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:01.800
the online one and needs more time and attention. A
150
00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:05.439
good way to counter that sensation of a popping brain circuitry,
151
00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:08.920
at Ititi says is by setting boundaries with your phone,
152
00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:12.319
limit scrolling to twenty minutes a day. One thing that
153
00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:14.959
can help you get there is by limiting the push
154
00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.720
notifications and alerts on your phone during the day. She
155
00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.399
suggests putting your phone away in a drawer or, if possible,
156
00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:24.680
ten feet away, so it's easy to resist that urge
157
00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.920
to grab it all the time at night. She suggests
158
00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:30.480
keeping the phone far enough so you can't reach for
159
00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:31.800
it first thing in the morning.
160
00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:35.200
So when you open your eye, give your body and
161
00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:38.279
brain the ability to open the other eye and just
162
00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:42.519
rest in the moment for thirty seconds, for one minute,
163
00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:45.240
doesn't have to be long, but just acho me to
164
00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:48.480
the morning, the light, and then you can check your phone.
165
00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:53.240
But giving yourself that little moment of pause, of grounding
166
00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.639
at the start of your day can be a game changer.
167
00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:58.960
We'll have more life kit after the break.
168
00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.320
The surreal horror film back Rooms is a smash. The
169
00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.919
director is a twenty year old YouTuber, and it's based
170
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.720
on his popular web series Why is this online Phenomenon
171
00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:16.120
taking off at the box office? We get into it
172
00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:19.679
on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Listen via the NPR
173
00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.720
app or wherever you get your podcasts.
174
00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:29.840
Our third takeaway, Aditi's third reset is about ways to
175
00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:33.480
tap into the mind body connection to lower stress.
176
00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:36.080
The mind body connection it might be a new phrase
177
00:09:36.120 --> 00:09:39.000
to you, but you have been operating with the mind
178
00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.519
body connection in the background your whole life.
179
00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:44.440
Butterflies in your stomach when you fall in love, You're
180
00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:47.840
heart racing before a big interview. Are your muscles feeling
181
00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:50.679
tight and achy after a long, stressful day at work?
182
00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:53.759
All examples of the mind body connection.
183
00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:58.240
Your mind and your body are in constant communication and
184
00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.080
inextricably linked. What's good for your body is good for
185
00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:02.840
your brain, and vice versa.
186
00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.360
And she has a number of ways to harness this
187
00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:09.559
connection to our benefit. For example, regular deep breathing exercises
188
00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:14.279
like one exercise called stop Breathe, Be that cheese used
189
00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:15.519
for many years.
190
00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.720
When I had a busy clinical practice and I was
191
00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:19.799
a medical resident in training, and I would see thirty
192
00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:23.480
patients a day, and so my task was as I
193
00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:27.039
would knock on the patient door before entering the next room,
194
00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:32.720
and I would stop breathe and center myself and just be.
195
00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.039
It's three seconds, and I would say this to myself
196
00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:36.879
under my breath, stop breathe and be.
197
00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:40.759
Aditi says this technique can be particularly useful before you
198
00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:44.039
do something stressful, say a work meeting that you've been dreading.
199
00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:47.559
It only takes a few seconds, but when repeated many
200
00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:50.159
times over the course of the day can have a
201
00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:54.679
dramatic effect on stress levels. Daily movement can also help
202
00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:55.039
with that.
203
00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:59.960
Not only is movement good for the brain and the body,
204
00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:04.240
but in fact not enough movement, or rather no movement.
205
00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.960
Being sedentary is in fact bad for the brain and body.
206
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.200
And so try finding ways to sit less and move more.
207
00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:14.960
Maybe you take five minute walks a few times a day,
208
00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:19.559
or maybe, like Aditi's patient Wes, you do one twenty
209
00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:24.120
minute walk every day. Our next takeaway, the fourth ree
210
00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:27.159
set in Aditi's book, is about the benefits of doing
211
00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:31.519
tasks one at a time and taking regular work breaks,
212
00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.360
because most people these days don't take breaks at work,
213
00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:38.240
and multitasking
has become the norm.
214
00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.360
The slack Channel, the emails, everything going at once. Multitasking
215
00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:44.519
it is something that all of us do because it's
216
00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:47.840
part of modern working life and we are required to multitask.
217
00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:50.639
But she cautions that even if we think we're good
218
00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:54.799
at multitasking, studies show that only about two percent of
219
00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:56.679
people can effectively do it.
220
00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:00.600
We know that multitasking is a scientific misnomer. There's no
221
00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:04.039
such thing. When we are multitasking, what we are actually
222
00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:09.559
doing is task switching, doing two separate tasks in rapid secession.
223
00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:12.720
Aditi says that's taxing on the brain.
224
00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:18.240
Multitasking, or rather task switching weekends are prefrontal cortex. Weekends
225
00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:24.039
are cognition, our memory, our attention, and ironically, our ability
226
00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:24.759
to be productive.
227
00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.919
What can help, she says, is a technique called time blocking.
228
00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:32.120
Essentially, it means doing one task for you know, you
229
00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:34.039
start at five or ten minutes, and then you take
230
00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:37.360
a short break, and then you do another task for five,
231
00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:39.639
ten twenty minutes and take a short break and then
232
00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:40.679
do the next task.
233
00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:43.519
She says doing just one task at a time is
234
00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.440
better for the brain, and so are regular breaks throughout
235
00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.440
the day. Aditi says the breaks don't need to be
236
00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.679
very long, anywhere between three and ten minutes, but she
237
00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:56.840
says be intentional about those breaks and do something to
238
00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:57.559
de stress.
239
00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:00.919
Whether it means getting up and stretching, making a walk,
240
00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:05.799
going outside, doing something where you are intentionally creating a
241
00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:09.200
little bit of spaciousness in your brain can have an
242
00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.600
impact not just on feeling good, but actually changing the
243
00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.279
biology of your stress in your brain and your body.
244
00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:19.320
In fact, when you take a break, you are enhancing
245
00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:20.320
your productivity.
246
00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:25.279
Her fifth three set and Our last takeaway can help
247
00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:28.279
you counter one of the most common impacts of stress
248
00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.759
on people's psyches by quieting the inner critic.
249
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.600
So when there is a negative experience, it becomes sticky
250
00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:39.519
in your brain like velcro. The same amount of good
251
00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:41.679
and bad may be happening to you at the same time,
252
00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.519
but when you're feeling a sense of stress, you hold
253
00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:48.320
onto those negative experiences and there's a heightened sense of negativity.
254
00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.399
She says, when you stress, the brain uses a part
255
00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:53.080
of it called the amygdala.
256
00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:57.840
Your amygdala is focused on survival and self preservation, and
257
00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:02.240
your inner critic has a megaphone during periods of stress
258
00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:05.759
because ironically, it's trying to keep you safe and out
259
00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:09.120
of harm's way. And so when you are trying something
260
00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.120
new or when you're learning something new, that inner critic
261
00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.799
is holding that megaphone and shouting from the rooftops. You're
262
00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:20.320
not good enough, You're going to fail, you'll never get there.
263
00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:24.039
One proven way to hush that negative in a critic
264
00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:28.559
is with the daily exercise of gratitude journaling. Aditi says,
265
00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.840
every night, before you go to bed, write down five
266
00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.039
things you're grateful for that happen that day. There will
267
00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:37.519
be days when you'll have plenty to write about, and
268
00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:39.759
on some days it might be hard to find things
269
00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:43.039
that you're grateful for. But still, she says, stick to
270
00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:46.440
the exercise, even if it's to acknowledge the basic things
271
00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:46.799
you have.
272
00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:49.159
One of those things could be I have a roof
273
00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:51.360
over my head, I have food in my fridge and
274
00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:52.639
my pantry.
275
00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:56.039
Over time, she says, the practice makes the brain less
276
00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.879
like velcrow and more like teflon to negative stressful experience,
277
00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:04.360
and it does this through a process called cognitive reframing.
278
00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:08.360
Shift your focus to focusing on those good things, and
279
00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.000
that in turn will change your brain. It'll change your
280
00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:14.200
brain circuitry, and it will silence that inner critic and
281
00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.440
quiet down, decrease the volume of your amygdala.
282
00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:24.320
And now it's time for a recap. Our first takeaway
283
00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:27.440
is figuring
out your most goal. Most is an acronym
284
00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:32.000
and for motivating or for objective, and measurables for small,
285
00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:35.320
and T for timely. This will help your already stressed
286
00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:38.960
in overwhelmed brain feel motivated to make changes and figure
287
00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:42.399
out where to start. Take Away number two. Set boundaries
288
00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:45.120
with your phone and other devices. Keep your phone out
289
00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.000
of reach at night so you don't reach for it
290
00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.600
first thing in the morning, and limit scrolling to twenty
291
00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:53.039
minutes a day. Take Away number three. Tap into your
292
00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:56.639
mind body connection to lower stress throughout the day. Deep
293
00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.840
breathing exercises and daily movement are a great way to
294
00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:04.240
do that. Take Away number four. Stop trying to multitask,
295
00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:07.759
focus on one task at a time, and take regular
296
00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:12.360
breaks at work. Take Away number five practice daily gratitude journaling.
297
00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:16.159
It only takes about five minutes but can dramatically rewire
298
00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:19.159
your brain to be less stressed and more open to
299
00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.759
positive experiences and parts. But regardless of which of these
300
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.440
resets you use, are the advisors starting with just two things.
301
00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:29.759
She calls this the resilience rule of two.
302
00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:34.679
The resilience rule of two is how your brain responds
303
00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:39.639
to change. Change is a stressor for your brain. Even
304
00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:44.039
positive changes in your life can be a stress for
305
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:47.799
your brain. This is why New Year's resolutions don't stick,
306
00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.679
because we often have the everything but the kitchen sink
307
00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.960
approach and we try to do everything all at once.
308
00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:55.919
Nothing sticks, and so we throw on the towel and
309
00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:57.159
we say, oh, well, didn't work.
310
00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:00.279
But starting with just two changes at a time, says,
311
00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.679
we'll make it more likely for you to succeed in
312
00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:06.279
your efforts and for those strategies to become daily habits,
313
00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:08.799
and once they are part of your daily life, she says,
314
00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.079
then you can go ahead and try two more changes.
315
00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:14.799
That is how we work with our biology rather than
316
00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:15.480
against it.
317
00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:22.319
That was doctor Adetinarukar in conversation with NPR Health correspondent
318
00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:26.920
Retoo chatter Ge. All right, that's our show. For more
319
00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.079
Life Kit, check out our other episodes. We have one
320
00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:31.480
on how to Get it to strength training and another
321
00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:34.759
uncommon sleep myths. Also, we love hearing from you, so
322
00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.400
if you have episode ideas or feedback you want to share,
323
00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:41.279
email us at life Kit at NPR dot org. This
324
00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.039
episode of Life Kit was produced by Claire Marie Schneider.
325
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:48.640
Our digital editor is Malica garib Our visuals editor is c. J. Rikalon.
326
00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.119
Megan Kane is our senior supervising editor, and Beth Donovan
327
00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:56.079
is our executive producer. Our production team also includes Andy Tagle,
328
00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:00.519
Margaret Serino, and Sylvie Douglas. Engineering support comes from Meg Luthor.
329
00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:03.759
I'm Mary el Segarta, Thanks for listening.
330
00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:17.119
Richard Reeves is unimpressed by online influencers who pedal ideas
331
00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:19.160
about hyper masculinity.
332
00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:22.279
You're talking about boys and men. Where's your policy agenda.
333
00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:24.880
You're good on podcasts, but we've actually done a bunch
334
00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:26.839
of stuff for boys and men. Sorry, what have you done?
335
00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:30.880
Ideas about the next era of manhood? That's on the
336
00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:34.559
Ted Radio Hour podcast. Listen on the NPR app or
337
00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:36.319
wherever you get your podcasts.