LEIGH RICHARDSON JOINS DAWN LIVE!
LEIGH EXPANDS ON THE LATEST REPORTS AND THE IMPACTS ON YOUR BRAIN AND MENTAL HEALTH
Her take on the SEPTA Shootings and dealing with Trauma...
SPRING AHEAD - HOW CAN YOU PREPARE YOUR BODY AND INNER CLOCKS ADJUST TO THE TIME CHANGE?
47% OF US RESIDENTS REPORT "HIGH SATISFACTION" WITH THE STATE OF THEIR LIVES - ONLY ONE POINT HIGHER THAN THE RECORD LOW - HOW CAN WE PIVOT?
POPCORN BRAIN REPORTS - THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR ATTENTION SPAN ON A DAILY BASIS AS A WHOLE...
SECRET TO CURING YOUR DEPRESSION IS "RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE"? WHAT SCENTS HELP TREAT DEPRESSION?
(Axios)
On Sunday, we "spring ahead" to daylight saving time, even though many sleep experts wish we wouldn't.
Why it matters: Members of health groups favor standard time over daylight saving time because they say it's more aligned with our body clocks...
What they're saying: "Research shows that the abrupt seasonal shift in time disrupts circadian rhythms, leading to sleep disturbances, increased fatigue and even a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes," says James Rowley, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
He adds that right after the clocks shift in March, there's "a spike in workplace accidents, road accidents and medical errors due to sleep deprivation and cognitive impairment."
Zoom in: Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, when clocks are set forward one hour.
How can we help our inner body clocks adjust to the time change?
Brain Health Coach and Consultant Leigh Richardson, PhD, can weigh in on this. Her initial focus was on organizational behavior. She shifted to human behavior in 2003 after her son suffered a traumatic brain injury. Leigh has also been in ICU twice with brain injury. All of this fueled her need to understand how the brain works or why it doesn’t work.
(Gallup)
For just the third time in more than two decades, less than half of Americans say they are “very satisfied” with the way things are going in their personal lives. The 47% of U.S. adults expressing high satisfaction with their lives has edged down three percentage points over the past year and is only one point higher than the 2011 record low for the trend...
However, some groups of U.S. adults are still registering majority-level high satisfaction with their lives, including higher-income, married, more religious, college educated, older Americans and Democrats...
(This data comes from) Gallup's Jan. 2-22, 2024, Mood of the Nation poll. Read more.
What is driving this trend - and what can we do to improve our outlook? Is it as simple as counting our blessings?
For perspective, turn to someone who devotes her life to studying the brain and its impact on our behavior.
Brain Health Coach and Consultant Leigh Richardson, PhD, says her initial focus was on organizational behavior. She shifted to human behavior in 2003 after her son suffered a traumatic brain injury. Leigh has also been in ICU twice with brain injury. All of this fueled her need to understand how the brain works or why it doesn’t work.
A licensed professional counselor, Leigh is founder of The Brain Performance Center in Dallas. She is also the author of Turn Your Brain On to Get Your Game On: The How, What, Why to Peak Performance. You are welcome to contact Leigh directly:
Brain Health Coach and Consultant Leigh Richardson, PhD
Licensed Professional Counselor;
Founder, The Brain Performance Center
(New York Post)
This may seem corny — but if you are feeling overwhelmed by the non-stop pace of digital media and find yourself struggling to concentrate on a single task or thought, you may have “popcorn brain.”
“Popcorn brain refers to the tendency for our attention and focus to jump quickly from one thing to another, like popping corn kernels,” clinical psychologist Dr. Daniel Glazer told Metro UK last week...
Psychologist Dannielle Haig told Glamour UK last week that excessively scrolling and browsing through new posts, alerts, engagements, and advertisements triggers a small dopamine release that rewards the brain and fuels the cycle.
“Over time, this constant demand for attention and the rapid switching between tasks can lead to a feeling of mental restlessness or the brain ‘bouncing around’ as it struggles to maintain focus on any one task for an extended period,” Haig explained.
Research by the University of California at Irvine determined that the average attention span on any screen before switching to something else decreased from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to 75 seconds in 2012 to 47 seconds nowadays...
The constant digital stimulation appears to be affecting brain performance.
Research suggests that neural pathways in the brain “are being rerouted or adapted to accommodate the demands of multitasking and rapid information processing,” Haig says, which may come at the expense of being able to “engage deeply and thoughtfully with content, potentially impacting learning, memory, and emotional regulation over time.”
She warns that “popcorn brain” can negatively affect social interactions, patience, emotional well-being, and productivity while increasing anxiety and the potential for burnout. Read more.
For advice on how you can ease the impact of "popcorn brain," turn to someone whose mission in life is "Enhancing your brain daily."
Brain Health Coach and Consultant Leigh Richardson, PhD, says her initial focus was on organizational behavior. She shifted to human behavior in 2003 after her son suffered a traumatic brain injury. Leigh has also been in ICU twice with brain injury. All of this fueled her need to understand how the brain works or why it doesn’t work.
(New York Post)
The secret to curing depression is right under your nose, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh learned that smells are more effective than words in evoking positive memories, which could help people with depression get out of negative thought patterns. Read more.
NBC News: The study included 32 adults with clinical depression. Participants were asked to sniff 24 odor samples from glass jars, which could be pleasant, neutral or unpleasant. The scents included orange, lavender, vanilla extract, cumin, whiskey, red wine, ketchup, cough syrup, disinfectant and shoe polish.
Participants were then asked to share a specific memory from their life in response to those cues. The researchers conducted the same exercise using 24 words that described each smell.
Around 68% of the participants could recall specific memories in response to the odors, whereas only 52% could recall specific memories after hearing words out loud. Memories triggered by smells were also more vivid than memories triggered by words.
How could this impact treating people who suffer from depression?
Brain Health Coach and Consultant Leigh Richardson, PhD, expands on all of this. Her initial focus was on organizational behavior. She shifted to human behavior in 2003 after her son suffered a traumatic brain injury. Leigh has also been in ICU twice with brain injury. All of this fueled her need to understand how the brain works or why it doesn’t work.
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