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Dr Rangan ChatterjeeDr Rangan Chatterjee

Brain Expert: 'If You Have Brain Fog, Fatigue or Burnout — It Might Be Your Eyes!' | Bryce Appelbaum

This episode is brought to you by: TIMELINE: Get 25% off your order of Mitopure https://timeline.com/livemore Download my FREE Habit Change Guide HERE: https://links.drchatterjee.com/46vqn9t When we think about improving our health, we often think about changing our diet, increasing how much we move, improving the quality of our sleep and lowering stress, but how many of us think about ‘working’ on our vision? Every day, many of us experience symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, headaches or poor concentration - and never realise that our eyes might be playing a central role . This week, I’m delighted to welcome Dr Bryce Appelbaum, a pioneering neuro-optometrist who believes that vision is our most overlooked and underutilised tool for improving how we feel, think and function. Bryce is a board-certified Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and founder of MyVisionFirst , where he and his team combine vision therapy with principles from occupational therapy, physical therapy and holistic wellness. Bryce’s expertise includes reorganising the visual brain after concussion, correcting developmental visual delays that interfere with reading and learning and enhancing visual skills to elevate athletic performance. In this incredible conversation, we discuss: - Why eyesight and vision are not the same, and why most eye tests are missing a vital part of the picture - How visual processing affects everything from focus and mood to movement, memory and resilience - The hidden visual problems that are often left undiagnosed in both children and adults, and how these can impact learning, behaviour and emotional regulation - The neurological impact of concussion and trauma on the visual system, and how it can be rehabilitated - Why our screen habits are damaging not just our eyes but our brains - and how to reverse the effects - The power of “vision therapy” to rewire the brain and transform quality of life - Practical strategies to reduce digital eye strain and support visual health, even if you only have a few minutes a day Many of us don’t realise just how much our vision influences how we think, feel and perform. In a screen-heavy world, Bryce’s insights show that with the right tools, we can train our eyes and brain to support better health, learning and quality of life at any age. #feelbetterlivemore ---- Connect with Bryce Appelbaum: Website https://www.myvisionfirst.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/myvisionfirstoptometry Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drbryceappelbaum/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drbryceappelbaum MyVisionFirst Resources: Take the FREE Vision Assessment: https://bit.ly/3HWdrQA Get the FREE Vision Health Guide: https://bit.ly/3JEeoNZ Get $200 off ScreenFit using code: LIVEMORE at https://www.screenfit.com/livemore #feelbetterlivemore #feelbetterlivemorepodcast ------- Order MAKE CHANGE THAT LASTS. US & Canada version https://amzn.to/3RyO3SL, UK version https://amzn.to/3Kt5rUK ----- Follow Dr Chatterjee at: Website: https://drchatterjee.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drchatterjee Twitter: https://twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchatterjee/ Newsletter: https://drchatterjee.com/subscription DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjeehost
Sep 9, 20251h 48mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

How functional vision drives brain health, focus, and daily performance

  1. The conversation distinguishes eyesight (clarity on a chart) from vision (how eyes and brain coordinate to focus, track, converge, and process meaning), arguing many “eye problems” are actually brain-function problems expressed through the eyes.
  2. Functional vision issues may show up as reading avoidance, losing place, skipping lines, headaches, dry/tired eyes, fatigue, brain fog, and even motion sickness due to mismatch between visual and vestibular signals.
  3. They claim modern screen-heavy living drives an evolutionary mismatch that increases myopia and keeps people in a chronic “visual fight-or-flight” state via tunnel vision, dilated pupils, and narrowed attention.
  4. Dr. Chatterjee describes a five-day “vision performance training” intensive that improved his uncorrected acuity from about 20/400 to ~20/70–20/60 and improved binocular performance with under-corrected contacts, which they attribute to better depth perception, peripheral processing, and accommodative flexibility.
  5. The episode offers actionable, low-barrier habits (20/20/20 breaks, near–far focusing, eye stretches, peripheral expansion drills) and critiques reactive eye care and screen-first schooling for ignoring root causes and long-term development.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Eyesight is a measurement; vision is a coordinated brain skillset.

They frame 20/20 as only one output, while real-world performance depends on tracking, convergence, focusing flexibility, depth perception, and processing—functions that can be trained rather than only “corrected.”

Reading difficulty often signals eye-teamwork problems, not laziness or low attention.

Losing place, skipping words/lines, rereading for comprehension, and reading-induced fatigue can reflect tracking and focusing instability; people may switch to audiobooks simply because vision is taxing.

Brain fog, fatigue, and burnout can be downstream of visual overwork.

If the visual system is inefficient (especially during prolonged near work), the brain expends extra effort to maintain clarity and single vision, reducing cognitive stamina and productivity across the day.

Motion sickness frequently has a treatable visual component.

When visual input suggests “static” (e.g., staring at a screen as a passenger) while the vestibular system signals motion, the brain struggles to reconcile signals; driving often helps because visual-motor planning and focal/peripheral balance improve.

Screen environments can lock people into chronic tunnel vision and stress physiology.

They connect near-focused screen time to sympathetic activation (pupil dilation and narrowed peripheral awareness), arguing this reduces patience, empathy, and decision quality—effects that may extend beyond eye symptoms into behavior and relationships.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Vision is the new microbiome. We're gonna look back on this in a few years and realize vision is responsible or at least influences so many aspects of longevity, consciousness, happiness, productivity, critical decision-making, even interpersonal connection, and none of us even had a file on it.

— Dr. Bryce Appelbaum

Eyesight is a symptom. Eyesight is glasses or contacts. Vision is brain, and vision problems are brain problems, and there are so many solutions and fixes out there for vision problems that extend way beyond just getting new glasses or new contacts.

— Dr. Bryce Appelbaum

When we're on screens, our vision, our thinking, our attention become tunneled.

— Dr. Bryce Appelbaum

The human visual system under stress, when the autonomic nervous system is in that fight or flight response, our pupils widen, and we lock in with this tunnel vision.

— Dr. Bryce Appelbaum

Grabbing the over-the-counter readers the first chance you get is the equivalent of your knee hurting and jumping into a wheelchair.

— Dr. Bryce Appelbaum

Eyesight vs vision (brain-based visual function)Reading and screen symptoms as vision red flagsMyopia rise, environment, and “visual stress”Motion sickness and vestibular–visual mismatchADD/ADHD, dyslexia, learning labels and vision overlapVision performance training, neuroplasticity, depth perceptionPractical drills: 20/20/20, near–far focus, stretches, peripheral pointing

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