5 Tools For a Better Brain & 3 Daylight Savings Hacks from Dr. Amen | The Mel Robbins Podcast

1. 0:00 – 0:39

   Intro

   1. MRMel Robbins0:03

      The days are dark. The weather's getting colder, and I am feeling my mood, my energy, all of it plummet. I decided that I wanted simple strategies to help me boost my mood, and so I picked up the phone and I called my friend, Dr. Amen. I mean, when it comes to the brain, this man is the person that you wanna talk to. Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. So here

2. 0:39 – 8:53

   Introduction to Dr. Amen

   1. MRMel Robbins0:39

      in Southern Vermont, the clocks have been turned back. The days are dark. The weather's getting colder, and I am feeling my mood, my energy, all of it plummet. I hate this time of year. I hate this time of year because it feels like winter is coming, and I love the snow and I love the winter. There's something about this time of year where I feel depressed. I feel bummed out. And look, you may not be going through this right now. If you're listening in Australia where it's summer, you're like, "What are you talking about, Mel? It's beach days for days, woman. The sun is out. The sun is shining." But maybe there's something going on in your life where you are feeling low in your mood. Maybe you got something stressful happening. Maybe you're grieving something. Maybe there's something ha- happening in your life that just, like, is bringing you down. And so I decided that I wanted simple strategies to help me boost my mood. I wanted to know what can I do at a moment in my life where I wake up in the morning and I feel heavy, or I feel my mood dipping, or I feel... I don't know if it's depression, but just like some, like, ugh, low energy creeping in. And so I picked up the phone and I called my friend Dr. Amen. Now, if you don't know who Dr. Amen is, boy, are you in for a treat. Dr. Daniel Amen is the world's leading expert on the brain. This dude is a double board-certified psychiatrist. I don't even know what a double board-certified psychiatrist is. What that means to me is he's got lots of degrees and tons of education, and more importantly, Dr. Amen is on a mission to end mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health. This guy has done like 50,000 scans of people's brains. He was involved with the NFL. In fact, they had him on speed dial when all the stuff was going on with the conti- the concussions and brain scans. He has treated everybody from Mike Tyson to Justin Bieber. He sees 4,000 patients a month in his clinics around the world. He has 12 New York Times best-selling books. I mean, when it comes to the brain and how you can change your brain, how you can create a healthier brain, this man is the person that you wanna talk to. And by the way, even though he's 68 years old and bald and wears a lab coat, he goes viral almost every week on TikTok because he is sharing zero-cost video content that is helping people around the world. And today, he is joining us to help us learn simple ways that we can improve the health of our brain, we can boost our moods, we can increase dopamine and serotonin, we can lower our cortisol levels, all of which will make us happier and healthier human beings. So without further ado, meet my friend and a complete brainiac, Dr. Amen. So Dr. Amen, thank you so much for being with us.

   2. DADr. Daniel Amen4:14

      Well, I love being with you, so thank you for having me.

   3. MRMel Robbins4:17

      Oh, you're the best. You know, 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, like, more awesomeness through brain health. You call it, um, elite brain training. What is that?

   4. DADr. Daniel Amen4:43

      Well, a, 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. People often don't understand that. Your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind, and so if you want to be elite, you're already elite. But the people I work with, um, they... 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.

   5. MRMel Robbins5:42

      (laughs) Oh. W- 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?

   6. DADr. Daniel Amen6:00

      ... where 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.

   7. MRMel Robbins6:33

      Mm-hmm.

   8. DADr. Daniel Amen6:34

      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 Kardashians show recently and Kendall came to see me, and she's like, "After I got COVID, I'm so anxious." But if you watch... 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.

   9. MRMel Robbins7:15

      And when you say a healthy brain, so that makes sense to me, Dr. Amen, first of all, especially the Alzheimer's example. It makes sense to me that when you... 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 ha-... that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health?

   10. DADr. Daniel Amen7:47

       Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight-

   11. MRMel Robbins7:55

       Yeah.

   12. DADr. Daniel Amen7:56

       ... your mind will be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's gonna be worse tomorrow (laughs) . And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

   13. MRMel Robbins8:14

       Wow. Like, I... You know, it's interesting 'cause you're 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 wanna start at the very beginning because, you know, 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 101

3. 8:53 – 10:49

   Brain 101 - Everything you need to know about your brain health

   1. MRMel Robbins8:54

      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.

   2. DADr. Daniel Amen9:09

      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.

   3. MRMel Robbins9:58

      (laughs)

   4. DADr. Daniel Amen9:58

      It's brain envy is what you want. You want to love the three pounds of fat between your ears. You know, 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.

4. 10:49 – 11:28

   3 ways to get your brain health on track

   1. DADr. Daniel Amen10:49

      Brain envy, gotta care, avoid anything that hurts it, know the list, and quite frankly most second graders would get a 90% if you gave them 100 things that hurt their brain. Um, and then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. And I worked with BJ Fogg for six months, he runs a persuasive tech lab at Stanford on how people change, and we developed tiny habits, you know, what's the smallest thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference? And the mother

5. 11:28 – 16:08

   Key Concept: The most important habit Dr.Amen wants you to start TODAY for better brain health

   1. DADr. Daniel Amen11:28

      tiny habit is whenever you go to do something today-

   2. MRMel Robbins11:32

      Mm-hmm.

   3. DADr. Daniel Amen11:32

      ... 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, gonna just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you you.

   4. MRMel Robbins12:00

      Wow. All right, 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 th- what's in between your ears is the most important aspect of your health and wellness, period? Is that what you're saying?

   5. DADr. Daniel Amen12:31

      Yes.

   6. MRMel Robbins12:32

      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's- let me just role play that one real quick because you said that what? Like 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? Like, do you literally go, "Okay, am I having a cup of coffee or a glass of water? Am I eating, like, a big piece of toast with tons of butter and all this crap on it? Am I taking my supplements?" Like, how does this play out in somebody's day-to-day life, Dr. Amen?

   7. DADr. Daniel Amen13:19

      So I used to play a game with my daughter when she was little. Um, 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." Then I would say, "Frosted Flakes." She'd go, "Way too much sugar." Or "Avocados." "Two thumbs up, God's butter." Or hitting a f- soccer ball with your head.

   8. MRMel Robbins13:50

      Right.

   9. DADr. Daniel Amen13:50

      And she'd just roll her eyes, like, "Brain is soft. Skull is hard. That would be so stupid." (laughs) And- 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's no, those things are not great for the health of- of your brain. But if you did intermittent fasting and you sort of skipped breakfast, well, that's good for your brain because-

   10. MRMel Robbins14:30

       Why is i- why is intermittent fasting good for the brain?

   11. DADr. Daniel Amen14:33

       Because it helps your brain clean up the trash that builds up from the day before. There's a term called autophagy which is cells start to eat the extra trash that built up the day before. And so if you don't sleep, um, 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 marketed and it's- 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 ADD, 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's 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 they got wrong was orange juice, which they put in the good category, but it's clearly in the bad category. 'Cause when is it rational to have the sugar from four oranges? It's not rational.

   12. MRMel Robbins16:05

       That's true. It makes a lot of sense. What

6. 16:08 – 18:27

   3 micro habits that have the biggest impact on your brain

   1. MRMel Robbins16:08

      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?"

   2. DADr. Daniel Amen16:18

      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 gonna talk too. It was 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. Is, so why is today gonna be a great day for you? Directing your mind which, for many people, because of evolution, um, they wake up in a negative state. It puts your brain in a positive state.

   3. MRMel Robbins17:01

      Mm.

   4. DADr. Daniel Amen17:02

      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, it- it was an awful, awful day. Uh, 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.

   5. MRMel Robbins18:00

      Mm.

   6. DADr. Daniel Amen18:00

      But it's that treasure hunt that-... is, is just so good. And then I take my supplements every day because we live in a nutrient-deficient society and I always wanna give my brain the nutrition it needs so it can serve me rather than derail me.

   7. MRMel Robbins18:24

      Is there one supplement

7. 18:27 – 24:47

   Top vitamins to take to help your brain health and how each can improve your health

   1. MRMel Robbins18:27

      that you believe everybody should take for better brain health?

   2. DADr. Daniel Amen18:33

      Well, a cou- a couple, uh, multiple vitamin, a really high-quality multiple vitamin. I make one called NeuroVite Plus. Brand new study showed people with memory problems, um, who are headed to darkness, when they took a high-quality multiple vitamin, within a matter of months, their memory was better. So-

   3. MRMel Robbins18:56

      What?

   4. DADr. Daniel Amen18:57

      Yes.

   5. MRMel Robbins18:57

      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?

   6. DADr. Daniel Amen19:18

      Yes. Brand-new research just came out. They're actually comparing it to placebo and cocoa extract, chocolate, and they were hoping the chocolate would do it. It wasn't the chocolate, it was the multiple vitamin. And why I developed NeuroVite like I did, it has the same dosages of B6, 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 B6, B12, and folate did that, I'm gonna put those levels in our supplements.

   7. MRMel Robbins20:06

      Wow. I'm gonna start popping it like candy is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make sure that we link to that study and that 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.

   8. DADr. Daniel Amen20:22

      And that would be number two. I did a study at Amen Clinics and we found 98% of people had suboptimal levels of omega-3 fatty acids unless they were supplementing 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 am today, they looked at bone fish off the coast of Florida.

   9. MRMel Robbins20:54

      Mm-hmm.

   10. DADr. Daniel Amen20:54

       On average, they had seven pharmaceutical medications in their tissues. And I'm like, "No way." (laughs) And the most common were antidepressants. So as humans, you know, excrete the medications they take into, you know, waste plants, that gets out into the ocean and then the fish we eat are impacted by them in a negative way.

   11. MRMel Robbins21:26

       Whoa.

   12. DADr. Daniel Amen21:26

       So one reason I like high-quality fish oil because it's purified, um, especially ours, but also omega-3 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, good for-

   13. MRMel Robbins21:45

       Why is it good for the brain?

   14. DADr. Daniel Amen21:47

       Um, 25% of the nerve cell membranes in your brain are made up of omega-3 fatty acids. So if you're-

   15. MRMel Robbins21:59

       Wow.

   16. DADr. Daniel Amen21:59

       ... deficient, your brain is not gonna 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 ADHD.

   17. MRMel Robbins22:17

       I'm gonna sprint out of this interview (laughs) and go get this, these, these supplements. I mean, I've been really... I'm, 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, um, really dropping the ball here on my own brain. And so I'm gonna 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 wanna 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?

   18. DADr. Daniel Amen23:07

       Serotonin's hugely important, uh, for many different functions in the brain, um, but for happiness, for flexibility, and respect. And respect's the ones that fools people, but when your serotonin levels are low, you more easily feel disrespected. And if you have, um, it's a social fight or you feel diminished in some way, your serotonin levels drop. And when serotonin levels go low, people tend to worry, um, 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-

   19. MRMel Robbins24:12

       Hmm.

   20. DADr. Daniel Amen24:12

       ... boosting serotonin with, like, bright light therapy, which is why it's so important to get sunshine and while, you know, as we go into the holidays, um, time change happens just at the wrong time, right? As we get less sunlight and it gets colder outside, we just, you know, then got a bomb dropped on us. Like, all of a sudden-

   21. MRMel Robbins24:38

       Oh.

   22. DADr. Daniel Amen24:38

       ... you lose an hour day of, uh, light. And light is so important.

   23. MRMel Robbins24:46

       Let me back us up

8. 24:47 – 41:38

   Key Concept: How Serotonin, Dopamine, and Cortisol impact your brain and how they impact your mental health

   1. MRMel Robbins24:47

      a second. So does your brain create serotonin? Is that like... What is, like, what is the function of serotonin in the brain?

   2. DADr. Daniel Amen24:56

      So your gut makes about 90% of the serotonin in your body.

   3. MRMel Robbins25:03

      Hmm.

   4. DADr. Daniel Amen25:03

      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 tryptophan rich foods-

   5. MRMel Robbins25:20

      Like turkey. (laughs)

   6. DADr. Daniel Amen25:23

      ... um, can be helpful, but not in a ketogenic way. You have to eat tryptophan rich foods with a carbohydrate 'cause you need an insulin response to drive tryptophan into the brain. So turkey and sweet potatoes together is a great combination to boost your mood.

   7. MRMel Robbins25:46

      So when you have high levels of serotonin, how does that impact you?

   8. DADr. Daniel Amen25:51

      We tend to be happy. Um, you're a little bit less motivated. You sort of don't care that much. I remember when Prozac first came onto the market and, you know, 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, um, 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 gonna be a problem." So I had to rebalance his medication.

   9. MRMel Robbins27:03

      So is serotonin sort of the happiness one and dopamine is the motivation and drive one? Is that their relationship?

   10. DADr. Daniel Amen27:12

       Well, they're both. Think of both of them involved in happiness. And dopamine is the molecule of more. It's 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 non-stop video games and texting. It's, uh, 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. Um, so-

   11. MRMel Robbins28:08

       What does that mean, drip dopamine, don't dump it?

   12. DADr. Daniel Amen28:12

       So you want little tiny piece, you know, little tiny, um, 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 left and then you get depressed-

   13. MRMel Robbins28:31

       Hmm.

   14. DADr. Daniel Amen28:31

       ... which you then start using. Alcohol's the same way. Alcohol dumps dopamine. Nicotine, vaping dumps dopamine. Scary movies dump dopamine. Falling in love dumps dopamine. You wanna drip it, you know, um, holding down his hand, getting eye contact, looking for what I call the micro moments of happiness.

   15. MRMel Robbins29:00

       Hmm.

   16. DADr. Daniel Amen29:00

       Uh, so much more important. And new love is totally dumping dopamine. So you're always, when- 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."

   17. MRMel Robbins29:17

       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 gonna make it a great day. How am I gonna do that?" And also at the end of the day, going on that treasure hunt for what went right?

   18. DADr. Daniel Amen29:32

       Yes.

   19. MRMel Robbins29:34

       Excellent. How can you tell if you have low dopamine?

   20. DADr. Daniel Amen29:37

       If you're tired, if you find that you're unmotivated, um, if you're sad and you just don't have the motivation to get done what you wanna get done. And, you know, I'm in Justin Bieber's docuseries Seasons, and you know, I've been his doctor for a, a long time and they just wore that boy's dopamine centers out.

   21. MRMel Robbins30:06

       Hmm.

   22. DADr. Daniel Amen30:06

       And then, you know, when you become famous like that, you have access to women, to drugs, to video games, and just completely, you know, 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, you know, we call it neuroplastic, is it can be better, even in a matter of months.

   23. MRMel Robbins30:39

       Wow. We've talked about supplements. We've talked about some micro habits. What are three simple ways to increase dopamine?

   24. DADr. Daniel Amen30:48

       Cold showers will do it. So I just took a shower before I did it, and I always finish with, like, two minutes, I turn it all the way cold because, um, cold therapy has been shown to increase both norepinephrine, uh, 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, uh, dark chocolate. But you don't wanna do that with an insulin response or with a carbohydrate. And so this is where a higher protein, lower carbohydrate diet can be helpful. Um, exercise also does it and certain supplements like tyrosine. So tyrosine is a supplement, and it's the amino a- amino acid building block for dopamine.

   25. MRMel Robbins31:58

       So is there any, like, certain times of day where your dopamine is higher or lower just naturally?

   26. DADr. Daniel Amen32:05

       In the morning.

   27. MRMel Robbins32:06

       And is the same true with serotonin?

   28. DADr. Daniel Amen32:09

       In the evening.

   29. MRMel Robbins32:11

       Okay. So to... Explain that to us and then how we can use something natural to boost it.

   30. DADr. Daniel Amen32:19

       So e- everybody's circadian rhythm or-
9. 41:38 – 50:27

   Tool:15-Second breath exercise that will improve your mental health and how you can calm a busy mind

   1. MRMel Robbins41:38

   2. DADr. Daniel Amen41:38

      I love it so much. Uh, it's the 15-second breath. So if you're having a panic attack, this is gonna 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, um, it's four seconds in.

   3. MRMel Robbins42:12

      Okay.

   4. DADr. Daniel Amen42:12

      Hold it for a second and a half. Eight seconds out, hold it for a second and a half.

   5. MRMel Robbins42:20

      Will you walk us through it?

   6. DADr. Daniel Amen42:22

      So four seconds in, (inhales) hold it-... eight seconds out. (exhales) Hold it out. And then repeat. And I have an app called Hapi Brain, H-A-P-I Brain.

   7. MRMel Robbins42:48

      Mm-hmm.

   8. DADr. Daniel Amen42:48

      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 gonna get flooded with a feeling of calmness and relaxation. Now, you gotta practice. You have to create a pathway in your brain of relaxation. And-

   9. MRMel Robbins43:43

      Why does this 15-second breath work?

   10. DADr. Daniel Amen43:48

       Because it stimulates, encourages your brain to go into a parasympathetic state. So there's a difference between stress, what scientists call sympathetic state, n- has nothing to do with sympathy, it's a bad word.

   11. MRMel Robbins44:06

       (laughs)

   12. DADr. Daniel Amen44:06

       But a sympathetic state is where... I was on the beach at Corona del Mar, walking my dog, and I saw two pit bulls running toward me.

   13. MRMel Robbins44:19

       Oh my god.

   14. DADr. Daniel Amen44:21

       Oh my god, right? So my heart went fast. I mean, it was panic. And, um, ended up turning out okay, but-

   15. MRMel Robbins44:30

       Well, what happened? Now I'm on the edge of my seat. Did you pick up your dog? Did, did they just jump up and greet you?

   16. DADr. Daniel Amen44:35

       Oh, no, he's a big white shepherd.

   17. MRMel Robbins44:38

       Oh.

   18. DADr. Daniel Amen44:38

       And I got bit, he ended up in the ocean, um... Yeah, it was sort of a disaster. I still get (laughs) triggered sometimes. Which we should talk about a little bit, because in my elite brain training program-

   19. MRMel Robbins44:54

       Yeah.

   20. DADr. Daniel Amen44:54

       ... it is critical to eliminate trauma, or at least to learn how to dissipate trauma. 'Cause I, I love walking on that beach so much, so I actually did a session of EMDR. I don't know if you and I talked about EMDR.

   21. MRMel Robbins45:10

       Yep.

   22. DADr. Daniel Amen45:11

       It's s- specific psychological treatment for trauma. It's actually really cool. It is, you know, 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 instead-

   23. MRMel Robbins45:46

       And what you're doing is rubbing your hands back and forth.

   24. DADr. Daniel Amen45:49

       Right, and it's bilateral hemisphere stimulation in my brain, right? 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.

   25. MRMel Robbins46:07

       Mm-hmm.

   26. DADr. Daniel Amen46:07

       Um, 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."

   27. MRMel Robbins46:29

       Wow. Well, we're gonna have to come back and do a whole nother episode on that for sure. How do you calm a very busy brain?

   28. DADr. Daniel Amen46:40

       S- so the first simple thing to do is the diaphragmatic breathing, the breathing pattern that we just talked about. Th- the second thing that we haven't talked about but it's so important is to direct your thoughts. Um, I was 28 years old before I learned I didn't have to believe every stupid thing I thought. (laughs) 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." 'Cause my mind would fairly torture me. You know, I'm one of seven children, I was pretty much irrelevant, I have, you know, five sisters. There's a lot of chaos (laughs) in my family and, 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. Um, 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, you know, the gossip at work. I need to be the director and, you know, since I want to be happy, connected, purposeful, I often go, "Well, does this thought fit me being happy, connected, and purposeful?" And so m- and, you know, 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, you know, everybody has crazy thoughts. Jerry Seinfeld once said the brain is a sneaky organ. All of us have weird, crazy, stupid, sexual, vile and thoughts that nobody should ever hear. And just because you have a thought, it doesn't say one thing about you. It's the sort of, you know, 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. Yeah, let's stop real quick because I want to ask you a question, because I wanna, 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 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.

10. 50:27 – 53:12

    Key Concept: 3 words that will help you get rid of your negative thoughts

    1. DADr. Daniel Amen50:27

       How do you begin this mental training and reprogramming? So I don't have any tattoos, but if I got one, one of the first question, one of the first tattoos I would get is, "Is it true?" It's just start carrying that question-

    2. MRMel Robbins50:46

       Is it true?

    3. DADr. Daniel Amen50:46

       ... around in your head. And so when you get a thought, my wife never listens to me, I've had that thought.

    4. MRMel Robbins50:57

       (laughs)

    5. DADr. Daniel Amen50:57

       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.

    6. MRMel Robbins51:19

       Mm.

    7. DADr. Daniel Amen51:20

       And so it's, 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. And it's, it's a revolution and I think all second graders, I actually have a children's book called Captain Snout and the Superpower Questions where I teach kids not to believe every stupid thing they think. I call them ANTs, automatic negative thoughts. So you need a little anteater patrolling the streets of your mind.

    8. MRMel Robbins52:11

       Yeah, I can give everybody a, an example, uh, from 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 f- 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 today thanks to what Dr. Amen is telling you. What advice do you have for people who are chronically

11. 53:12 – 55:16

    What to do if you are chronically tired

    1. MRMel Robbins53:12

       tired, Dr. Amen?

    2. DADr. Daniel Amen53:15

       Well, the first thing is get your thyroid checked.

    3. MRMel Robbins53:18

       Get your thyroid checked. Okay.

    4. DADr. Daniel Amen53:20

       Chronic tiredness can go with low thyroid, it can go with you being anemic, it can go with you having low iron or ferritin levels. So, you know, I always think of people in four big circles, biologicals, psychologicals, social and spiritual. And so I'm always going to... so what's the biology of tiredness?

    5. MRMel Robbins53:44

       Okay.

    6. DADr. Daniel Amen53:45

       You know, got 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.

    7. MRMel Robbins54:06

       Mm-hmm.

    8. DADr. Daniel Amen54:06

       You also might not be sleeping well and getting checked, male or female, for sleep apnea is critical 'cause that goes with chronic tiredness. So if you snore loudly, if you stop breathing at night, if you're chronically tired during the day, 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 hurts. I'm a huge fan of forgiveness.

    9. MRMel Robbins54:41

       Mm-hmm.

    10. DADr. Daniel Amen54:41

        (laughs) You know, not holding on to hurts where you're drinking the poison and hoping someone else is gonna die. Um, 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, you know, why you're on the planet, I think, is a critical piece to energy as well.

    11. MRMel Robbins55:10

        Wow. Um, I wanna kinda come back to some

12. 55:16 – 58:57

    The 5 Best foods for your brain health

    1. MRMel Robbins55:16

       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?

    2. DADr. Daniel Amen55:27

       So I have them almost every day, salmon, especially wild salmon for the omega-3 fatty acids, berries, but they have to be organic. That's very important. Uh, so I'm a huge fan of blueberries. I often call them brain berries. Uh, but it's critical that they're organic. So people take, uh, blueberry extract, has been shown to improve memory.

    3. MRMel Robbins55:58

       Okay.

    4. DADr. Daniel Amen56:00

       So nuts and seeds. Uh, people who eat nuts and seeds on a regular basis have a lower incidence of depression and dementia. Um, leafy greens, uh, for the fiber and the magnesium, but my favorite one is raw cacao or, you know, the main ingredient in chocolate. Uh-

    5. MRMel Robbins56:28

       Wow.

    6. DADr. Daniel Amen56:28

       ... 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, I want you to try this. I make brain-healthy hot chocolate virtually every day.

    7. MRMel Robbins56:46

       How do you make it?

    8. DADr. Daniel Amen56:47

       And so I get raw cacao. So for each serving, you know, say the serving's like 12 ounces, a heaping teaspoon of raw cacao, unsweetened organic almond milk, um, and you could do with other nut milks, but I like almond milk. And there's a company called SweetLeaf that makes liquid chocolate stevia.

    9. MRMel Robbins57:12

       Mm.

    10. DADr. Daniel Amen57:13

        And so I heat up the milk. I mix in the raw cacao. I put a couple of dropperfuls of, uh, 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 very, 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.

    11. MRMel Robbins57:50

        (laughs)

    12. DADr. Daniel Amen57:50

        I'm like married to my best friend, and I'm damn sure not doing it with food. I am not gonna be in 'cause 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 like I love my brain-healthy hot chocolate, and it loves me 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 mutually positive relationship, or is it destructive?

    13. MRMel Robbins58:31

        See, I love that there was an ambulance driving by in the background as you, as my and our brain doctor, were telling us to make hot chocolate. That, 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 gonna make one when we are done with this. What can I do to, what can we do to improve

13. 58:57 – 1:02:18

    How to improve your memory

    1. MRMel Robbins58:57

       our memory, Dr. Aven?

    2. DADr. Daniel Amen58:59

       Well, improve your brain. That's like the most important thing. Uh, you know, it's 50%. I mean, think about this, Mel. 50% of people 85 and older will be diagnosed with dementia. Uh, like those are odds I am not okay with. And if you wanna 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.

    3. MRMel Robbins59:39

       Okay.

    4. DADr. Daniel Amen59:39

       Whatever you can do to increase blood flow to your brain, you're gonna be happier, your memory is gonna be better, and you're gonna be more sexual. Because whatever is good-

    5. MRMel Robbins59:54

       Ooh, Dr. Aven.

    6. DADr. Daniel Amen59:54

       ... for your brain, good for your heart, is good for your genitals.

    7. MRMel Robbins59:57

       So is that the brisk walking?

    8. DADr. Daniel Amen1:00:00

       So, so you wanna avoid things that steal blood flow, caffeine, nicotine, being sedentary, having any form of heart disease, and then you wanna do things that enhance blood flow, so walking, um, raw cacao, beets, the supplement ginkgo. These things all increase blood flow, cinnamon, oregano.

    9. MRMel Robbins1:00:28

       Wow. Okay. Um, I wanna hear the R though, BRIGHT MIND. I know that we, that, that there's 11, but give me two or three of them.

    10. DADr. Daniel Amen1:00:37

        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 off 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.

    11. MRMel Robbins1:01:24

        Oh, my God.

    12. DADr. Daniel Amen1:01:25

        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. Um, 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, you know, it's these little lies in our society-

    13. MRMel Robbins1:02:03

        Hmm.

    14. DADr. Daniel Amen1:02:03

        ... that is really promoting the disease we are, um, just flooded with.

    15. MRMel Robbins1:02:11

        So you've been a psychiatrist for 40 years. What are five things you'd never do because it's bad for your mental

14. 1:02:18 – 1:03:55

    Key Concept: 5 Things you should never do for your mental health

    1. MRMel Robbins1:02:18

       health and your brain health?

    2. DADr. Daniel Amen1:02:20

       Uh, I never believe every stupid thing I think. And I think that's really important to know, you know, I'm gonna get these crazy, stupid, awful thoughts and I know how to manage and dismiss them. I would never say everything I think. Some people commit- come to me and say, "Oh, Dr. Amen, I'm brutally honest." And I'm like, "Well, that's usually not helpful."

    3. MRMel Robbins1:02:47

       (laughs)

    4. DADr. Daniel Amen1:02:47

       Relationships require tact. I would never purposefully 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, you know, I'm depressed, I'll take an antidepressant. So I think that's all insane. I always wanna look at the brain and then target whatever treatment I need to, how somebody's brain's functioning.

    5. MRMel Robbins1:03:20

       Yeah, the one thing I forgot to ask you because, um, you know, 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, like, 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?

15. 1:03:55 – 1:08:48

    3 Ways you can easily boost your mood

    1. MRMel Robbins1:03:55

       What are three things that you would recommend that somebody do to boost their mood?

    2. DADr. Daniel Amen1:04:01

       So morning bright light. I think that can be really helpful. So, you know, bright mi- uh, 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, turn off blue light when the sun goes down. So we're-

    3. MRMel Robbins1:04:27

       What is blue light?

    4. DADr. Daniel Amen1:04:28

       ... constantly flooded with blue light. And in the morning it's fine, but after dark it's not 'cause 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.

    5. MRMel Robbins1:04:59

       Okay, great. And, w- you know, I didn't, I also didn't ask you this. How do you know if your dopamine levels are low?

    6. DADr. Daniel Amen1:05:08

       If you're tired, if you're unmotivated, if you can't concentrate and you find yourself more impulsive than is good for you.

    7. MRMel Robbins1:05:19

       Hmm. 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?

    8. DADr. Daniel Amen1:05:44

       It's that mother tiny habit. It's whenever you come to a decision point in your day, just ask yourself, "Am 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-

    9. MRMel Robbins1:06:09

       Mm-hmm.

    10. DADr. Daniel Amen1:06:09

        ... love of the reason you're on Earth, you're gonna start making good decisions for your brain and then everything in your life will be better.

    11. MRMel Robbins1:06:20

        Dr. Amen, you're so awesome. Is there anything else that we didn't get to that you wanna say or talk about before we leave you?

    12. DADr. Daniel Amen1:06:30

        You know, I have a new book coming in March called Change Your Brain Every Day.

    13. MRMel Robbins1:06:36

        Mm-hmm.

    14. DADr. Daniel Amen1:06:36

        It's 366 short essays and something to do. Um, so it's sort of like a devotional to the brain. (laughs) And, uh, mental health, brain health, just like physical health, it's a daily practice. You have to do this every day. And, you know, people, they wanna, 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 care of their brain, their mind, their relationships, and their purpose in life.

    15. MRMel Robbins1:07:26

        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 your new, incredible, I'm sure 13th New York Times best-selling book comes out this March. Thanks, Dr. Amen.

    16. DADr. Daniel Amen1:08:05

        Thank you, my friend. What a joy.

    17. MRMel Robbins1:08:07

        (laughs) You're awesome. (instrumental music) Hey, it's Mel. Thank you so much for being here. If you enjoyed that video, by God, please subscribe 'cause 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. Mwah.

Episode duration: 1:08:48