Marquett & Neuroscientist Reveal What Most Doctors Never Explain

[00:00:00]We're going to get pretty scientific, so be ready for that, folks. And I'll often be saying, "Hey, you know, what does that mean? Please elaborate, define, illuminate." Um, but there are a couple terms that you have mentioned before, and I usually try not to talk to people before the interview, but in your case, I'm particularly interested, so I couldn't help it. But would you, you mentioned central executive network.

[00:00:22]That's one term I want to go through.

[00:00:24]Okay.

[00:00:24]>> And then you also mentioned inhibitory control.

[00:00:28]>> So, let's start there. I got a number of questions for the gentlemen and oh by the way as we go through if you guys have any questions comments ties tuition feel free to use the information below to send them in um and we'll go ahead and get after it. So first one talk to me.

[00:00:42]>> Okay so central executive network uh let's think about it this way. Um it's your ability to say no >> to things you know you have to say no to >> but part of your biology is asking you to say the exact opposite.

[00:00:59]>> Okay.

[00:00:59]>> So the way I explain this in simple terms is we have to think about this through like the lens of evolutionary biology. Okay. So we have studies about that we can share um with everybody.

[00:01:12]There two studies published in science.

[00:01:15]When you look at the brain, okay, the brain that we you currently have, I currently have right now.

[00:01:20]>> You compare that and that study goes back to I think 30,000 years. We don't even have to go that far.

[00:01:26]>> But if you go back five or 10,000 years and compare the structure, I'm not talking about the software, okay?

[00:01:31]Talking about the hardware, the structure, the anatomy of the brain that we had 5,000 years or 10,000 years ago and right now, >> almost nothing has changed.

[00:01:41]>> Okay? So we need to remember that because that matters. I know because of culture, language, uh music, the software has improved and you have a very powerful prefrontal cortex that can adapt to things and that's why you see little kids, you know, learning how to play on their tablets in seconds. Sure.

[00:02:00]>> Right. So you adapt fast, >> but there's still parts of your brain that will react the same way >> we used to react 5,000 years ago.

[00:02:09]>> And that's a problem.

[00:02:10]>> Okay. Right? So when we think about inhibitory control, they're directly connected because you get a stress response for example from an email, right?

[00:02:24]>> Not at this stage, but I used to. Bro, I used to. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Yeah. I used to hate >> or a conversation >> or or or something that's coming from your phone.

[00:02:33]>> And then you can understand that like, okay, there's like I'm When you have a stress response, you have a stressor.

[00:02:39]You have an object, a person, a memory, an environmental factor. Something is causing that response when you don't have the stressor. Then it's something else. Could be anxiety. But anyway, you have something that's causing that response.

[00:02:51]>> External factor.

[00:02:52]>> Correct? Could be internal. Okay?

[00:02:54]>> Like something's bothering your knee, for example, and then it's you're you're getting stressed because of that. Mhm.

[00:03:00]>> Um, so now you have this piece of plastic that's causing you to have pretty much the same reaction, >> constantly, >> right?

[00:03:09]>> Yeah.

[00:03:09]>> Compared and and it's difficult for some parts of your brain to make sense of that.

[00:03:14]>> Okay.

[00:03:15]>> Because how would you solve your problems 5,000 years ago?

[00:03:20]>> And that's usually through what we call physical expression.

[00:03:23]>> Yes. Okay.

[00:03:24]>> You would fix a tool. You would uh fight with somebody. you would run away from something.

[00:03:29]>> That was my go-to was violence.

[00:03:30][laughter] My go-to was like, "Kill it." Okay.

[00:03:32]Yeah.

[00:03:33]>> It helps. You can solve problems with that. And that makes perfect sense in your brain. You don't have to explain.

[00:03:38]>> That's natural human instinct.

[00:03:40]>> Completely natural, right?

[00:03:42]>> So now we have this smartphone that's causing you to experience the same reactions pretty much.

[00:03:47]>> Okay?

[00:03:48]>> And you can punch it, but it's not going to go away.

[00:03:51]>> Might make you more stressed.

[00:03:52]>> Might make you more stressed because now you have two problems, >> right? And so that is a problem >> because now you cannot solve your problems the same way and so the stress hormones will accumulate >> and then your inhibitory control can be compromised and then there's like again a domino reaction that will lead to all of this problems that we have and that's our theory.

[00:04:16]>> Interesting. Okay. So in summary, the the human brain we what you said about we 10,000 year old hardware >> uh trying to survive in the new environment that has all kinds of stimulants most of which are causing stress >> and we're not reacting to the stress in ways that are natural based on our hardware and biology.

[00:04:38]>> Right. Yeah. And then again it's a systemic issue. Mhm.

[00:04:43]>> And then when we look at the stress cycle and that's why we need people to exercise.

[00:04:48]>> M yes. Okay.

[00:04:50]>> Because well when you have a stressor first thing you have to do is identify the stressor cuz sometimes you're not completely aware of that.

[00:04:58]>> Absolutely.

[00:04:58]>> Right. So you something is bugging you and you don't know from where it's coming to where it's going. So if you find it, you name it, you identify now at least you can take action. You can come up with what we call a cognitive plan of action to solve it. Sometimes it's impossible to solve it right now.

[00:05:13]Like we have PhD students and they're, you know, stressed about their dissertation. So like 500 pages, you're not going to solve that today.

[00:05:21]>> But if you write a couple pages today, you're going to feel better about yourself.

[00:05:25]>> Mhm.

[00:05:25]>> And so you're working toward the resolution of that problem. So So that that's part of the stress cycle. And then you have a third step which is you have to express your physicality.

[00:05:37]>> Yes.

[00:05:38]>> Can't skip that.

[00:05:39]>> Mhm. Because the stress hormones are not going to go away just because you're solving the problem that you have. You express your physicality and that's usually through something that again the scientific community is not going to like that very much.

[00:05:52]>> That's usually through a lot of physical stress, a high intensity.

[00:05:57]>> Okay. So now you know, so you're saying you're experiencing the psychological stress and you actually combat the psychological stress by putting physical stress on your body, also known as the exercise. M okay. All right. That's interesting. And you know often I don't think that the term at least for lay people we're not calling exercise physical stress on the body.

[00:06:22]>> So So this is primarily something that's in academia and >> sports science med. Okay. All right.

[00:06:28]Interesting. Now, let me ask you this one because a lot of folks are probably thinking in in very practical terms and if we're starting from the beginning, it's well, we all know we need it. We might not have known as well as you know, >> but how do we get started when we don't feel motivated or we lack the discipline or there's something there that that's not getting us over the edge?

[00:06:54]Why is that the case?

[00:06:56]>> Okay, that's a good one. Because there's a common misconception especially in social media >> Mhm.

[00:07:01]>> about motivation.

[00:07:02]>> Okay.

[00:07:03]>> And discipline. So narobiologically speaking >> that's what's happening in your brain.

[00:07:09]There's no action that you take >> that's not supported by a motivational signal.

[00:07:17]>> Okay.

[00:07:17]>> Okay. So you might not be completely aware of that and that's absolutely fine. Maybe it's something somebody told you when you're four years old and you can't even remember.

[00:07:25]>> Absolutely. But there's always a reason.

[00:07:27]Usually many reasons.

[00:07:29]>> They're supporting every single action that you take. Every decision that you make. There's a reason we're here right now.

[00:07:34]>> Yes.

[00:07:35]>> There are many reasons.

[00:07:36]>> Some of them you're aware of like, oh, it's because of whatever.

[00:07:40]>> Yeah.

[00:07:41]>> And some of them you're completely unaware. Maybe you're trying to or I'm trying to prove something to somebody.

[00:07:46]Maybe it's, you know, um there there's a million possibilities, but there's usually something supporting your action. So, when you go to the gym, and I'm sure you experienced this many times, you've been exercising for a long period of time. You're going to say, "I'm extremely exhausted.

[00:08:02]>> I feel absolutely no reason to go to the gym."

[00:08:05]>> You're saying before you go or >> before you go, right? How many times I I've been training for 22 years non-stop.

[00:08:11]>> Mhm.

[00:08:12]>> Almost every single day I feel and I think this things I'm like, you know, I deserve a break today. Like, this is this is too much. My body is literally breaking.

[00:08:23]>> I have no reason to go. But you still go and then people are going to say, "Oh, it's discipline."

[00:08:28]>> It is discipline, but it's supported by motivational signals. There is still a reason. There's still other parts of your brain that are going to say, "Yes, everything hurts, but we're going to do that anyway." And that could be for all kinds of reasons. Again, could be because you don't want to lose what you accomplished.

[00:08:45]>> Absolutely.

[00:08:46]>> Absolutely.

[00:08:46]>> Maybe you don't want to get fat. And that's a that's a fair reason. It's okay.

[00:08:51]>> And you're going to use that to counteract all the detrimental effects of what we call laziness.

[00:08:59]>> Mhm.

[00:09:00]>> Right. So that action is usually supported by motivation. Now this inhibitory control system >> that supports this action is very fragile. And that's a problem. It's a biological problem. It's very fragile.

[00:09:17]You exercise for seven days, you stop for two, and then the system starts to get used to the lack of >> activity.

[00:09:27]>> So, is it easier to for this inhibitory system to adjust to the break as opposed to adjust to the >> Absolutely.

[00:09:34]>> That's a damn shame.

[00:09:36]>> Yeah. Because all the passive behaviors although they're equally they're not less, they're maybe not more, but they're equally important to active behaviors. So, it's not something that needs to be frowned upon. Like, for example, watching a documentary, doing things that we call completely unproductive. They're extremely important, equally important, but they're easy.

[00:09:58]>> Yes.

[00:09:58]>> And so, that's why we tend to prioritize the active behaviors. But again, you stop for three, four days and now you have to get back on track and things will hurt psychologically >> and sometimes physically.

[00:10:12]>> And physically, you usually pay for that, right? So, so that's why when we say how do we start an exercise routine?

[00:10:19]You've been sedentary for six years. How do you start that? And it's usually not by doing like 30 minutes walking or whatever the current recommendation is.

[00:10:29]It's by doing something that's relatively, that's a very important word, relative performance, relatively difficult for you. Maybe not to me.

[00:10:38]>> Mhm.

[00:10:39]>> Maybe like you can lift 500 lb and I can only do five. That's okay.

[00:10:43]>> Yes. But what I can do, I'm going to push a little bit beyond the threshold.

[00:10:49]>> And the main goal is I'm going to try to create what we call a sense of selfaccomplishment.

[00:10:54]And that is everything.

[00:10:56]>> Mhm.

[00:10:57]>> Because I'm going to surprise I'm going to try to surprise myself with my performance >> every time.

[00:11:02]>> Every single time.

[00:11:04]>> Every single time. And and and there will be times when your body's like needs recovery and and and it needs a break. And that's absolutely part of normal and part of the process. Um, but usually you have to try to push it a little. It could be one extra rep, could be one extra pound.

[00:11:22]Although you still have to accept the reality that performance varies over time and fluctuates up and down.

[00:11:30]>> So not every day you're going to be able to perform at your best. But when you zoom out, you take a step back and you look at the rate of change along the regression line, you see, oh, it's going up.

[00:11:40]>> Yes, >> I'm getting better.

[00:11:42]>> Although yesterday I couldn't do 50% of what I usually do. That's okay.

[00:11:46]>> But then I come back. I come back again.

[00:11:48]Right. So, >> and what's the psych? Is it just a psychological payoff when you do that or um is it meaning is it I feel good after I did it or this actually helps me reinforce getting in the gym and doing the work?

[00:12:04]>> Well, it's everything. Um so you're training your central executive network to deal with stressor >> stressors in this case >> physical only >> physical and psychological and social.

[00:12:16]>> Okay.

[00:12:16]>> Right. So you're exposing yourself. You go to the gym. There's so many things your brain is dealing with when you go through this process. It's sometimes humiliating.

[00:12:26]>> Like it is and and that's fine to put yourself in that situation. Yeah. Right.

[00:12:31]>> So I like two months ago I have a a seven-year-old son and and congratulations.

[00:12:36]>> And he wanted to start climbing and >> I'm 56, 185 lbs. I'm stocky and heavy like I'm not supposed to be climbing.

[00:12:47]>> Not Optimox. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah, >> but I went there >> and I've been doing this with him >> and I'm terrible at climbing. I get it.

[00:12:56]>> Yeah.

[00:12:57]>> But you have the problem solving skills.

[00:12:59]You you train your flexibility, your balance, your grip strength, which is not your grip. It's actually your finger strength.

[00:13:06]>> Mh.

[00:13:07]>> And and that's what matters. Everything else is just an illusion.

[00:13:12]>> The weight, how much you're doing. And this is just an illusion. What you have to do is challenge your central executive network.

[00:13:21]>> Do difficult things that you're not used to. It's going to make you suffer and and and then you deal with that >> and that's how you develop your inhibitory control system. So now when something else happens, yes, most of these are transferable skills.

[00:13:36]>> So you're going to have I think was Brian Tracy who said life is a series of crisis, right?

[00:13:41]>> Sure.

[00:13:42]>> So you're either in a crisis right now, you just left one, or you're about to start a new one. So, and that's also associated with the concept of anti-fragility.

[00:13:50]So, I'm part I'm on the advisory uh board for a company called the anti-fragile academy which is exactly uh not necessarily resilient but it's developing anti-fragility which is I know that something is going to happen.

[00:14:04]>> Mhm.

[00:14:04]>> It could be a major psychological stress, a stressor. Uh it could be a physical it could be an accident. It could be some kind of disease. something's going to happen.

[00:14:15]>> And that's just because if you look at history of every single person on the planet, >> that's exactly, you know, you you can very easily calculate that, you know, that something's going to happen. So, how do you prepare for that?

[00:14:26]>> And then you go back to Jordan Peterson.

[00:14:28]What did he say?

[00:14:30]>> The same thing. It's better for you to be stronger, >> right? See, well, you know, Jordan's a funny guy because I'm challenged with figures like Jordan because he says the right thing but seems to have trouble doing the right thing. Oh, yeah. you know, the performance level.

[00:14:46]>> But I think that you're you're right in as much as >> um a lot of the folks, >> whether it's a Brian Tracy, which classic right there, uh Tony Robbins, and >> I think this research has probably been out for a while, but my guess is that today it's really way more scientific than it used to be >> in terms of that connection to, >> you know, the the body and the mind >> reinforcing one another. I feel like that's a lot of what you're talking about. And >> I think that they're they're often disconnected even when you're talking about going through >> primary school and they call it physical education when in actual fact it's not physical education. It's also training your ability to adapt to have grit or as you said anti-fragility. Uh so I agree with you there. Um let me share some questions um that folks may have sent in.

[00:15:42]>> Okay.

[00:15:42]>> All right. And by the way, shout out to Albatar and Gary supporting the work.

[00:15:46]May I also acknowledge Caleb. He writes support for this great knowledge. Oh, absolutely. And you know what? Let me compliment you too before I get into this because unfortunately I've gone to more school than I would have liked. It was mostly boring. You know, you're really good at explaining because there are a lot of folks who have knowledge, but it's a different thing to impart the knowledge, right? A lot of academics are are great researchers, but not great teachers. So, I appreciate you being able to articulate this. Absolutely. Um, shout out to Caleb, he writes tuition.

[00:16:13]Thank you for this live. Very informative. Oh, indeed. Also acknowledge via super chat. Shout out to Elevate writes, "Peace of Saints tuition." Shout out to Btype guy writes, "Great information." Jabrezy writes, "Since the human brain never evolved to deal with phone screens. Such things as fake or real aren't things the brain actually experiences. And safe and not safe are better descriptors." 21 years as a magician. I noticed this would I noticed this would love your thoughts in depth.

[00:16:46]>> Yeah, that's true. Um there's some research in the field of mental imagery uh that actually proves that point. It's not something I study. Um but when you compare things that you're imagining, >> thinking about and and things are actually happening in real life and you look at the patterns of brain activity, connectivity, physiolog I'm talking about peripheral physiological reactions, everything your body is expressing, >> it's pretty much no difference.

[00:17:13]>> And so it's scary [laughter] because you have to we have to develop something we call metacognition, which is your ability >> to think about your thinking.

[00:17:24]>> Yes. Once you develop that you're good for life probably because then you start to be more critical about everything that go going through your head and reason for that is because yeah if there is a similar pattern of activity connectivity physical reactions then likelihood is it will have a subsequent effect on my life.

[00:17:43]>> Yes. So that's when you know when you look at Tony Robin Robbins and etc. why they're talking so much about mindset.

[00:17:51]>> It's because there is a natural consequence to it. It's going to influence your your life.

[00:17:56]>> And you know I would say Tony Robbins probably is chief among all the guys we can mention in the self-help space who's about like the the motion, right? He says motion creates emotion, >> right?

[00:18:07]>> So I I feel like now obviously he doesn't ever get as deep as you do, right? You're a PhD in neuroscience. I mean that's a different level. I got a couple questions for you. Um, and this is really interesting stuff to me because I can't even get to my question.

[00:18:20]I have so many thoughts, but you know, because boxing has been my thing, and I know you said you've been doing BJJ for how long?

[00:18:27]>> 16 years.

[00:18:28]>> 16 years. I I asked him to. I said, you know, you're in Brazil. Born and raised in Brazil. How popular is BJJ? You say it's right up there with soccer.

[00:18:35]>> Yes.

[00:18:35]>> Which is madness. Which is utter madness. Now, in boxers, we make fun of the BJJ guys a lot. You guys like to hump each other, right? You know what I'm saying? like each other.

[00:18:43]>> Well, it happens.

[00:18:45]>> If I was bisexual, I'd try it out. But, um, you know, with with boxing and of course there's a lot of running, I discovered the the second wind, but I was always suspicious of the second win.

[00:18:57]Like, >> what the hell is this? Is this a real biological reality? Is this my psyche saying fight harder?

[00:19:05]>> And then sometimes the second wind doesn't come. You know, you're like, what in the hell? I was waiting for the recharge. Mhm.

[00:19:11]>> Do you have any sense of what this concept of the second wind is? And whether you do or don't scientifically, >> is there a way to create it or drive it when I need it?

[00:19:21]>> What do you mean by second wind?

[00:19:23]>> Second wind, which is so like say you're >> second wind.

[00:19:26]>> Wind. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry.

[00:19:28]African-American accent.

[00:19:28]>> No. No. I got it. I got it. [laughter] >> Yes.

[00:19:32]>> So, what do you mean by second wind?

[00:19:33]>> Second wind. So, this is the concept when you're you're maybe on a a long distance run and you you're supposed to be running 15 miles. You get to mile eight. Man, I'm done. I don't I don't think I got anything left. And then you get a burst of energy that'll carry you through. Or you're boxing. you're in the eighth round and you you feel like you're worn out, but somewhere halfway through the ninth round, you get a burst of energy.

[00:20:00]>> Mhm.

[00:20:00]>> And you're able to perform at a higher level and recover during a time which theoretically performance should be trending downward.

[00:20:08]>> Okay. Okay. So, um there are many research studies in the field of mental fatigue, okay, that look at like similar concepts and some of the mechanisms associated with that. Um there like studies they conducted with people like cyclists and they exercise all the way to the point of voluitional exhaustion >> of what exa like you can no longer exercise >> exhaustion like you're done >> but you decide that you're done >> mentally.

[00:20:36]>> Yeah. So you stop right. So we say like we're going to do an incremental exercise test >> to the point of ex to the point of exhaustion and then when you can no longer exercise just stop. And so that's the protocol. So that's what the researchers tell the participants. So they exercise. So they start to increase the exercise intensity uh or they increase the uh they change the incline of the treadmill, whatever that is, until people get really fatigued, heart rates through the roof. We're talking like 195 BPM.

[00:21:08]>> Okay.

[00:21:08]>> And then they're like, I'm done.

[00:21:10]>> Mhm.

[00:21:10]>> So Okay. So they stop the treadmill or the cycometer, the exercise bike, and they say, well, now you're going to do a sprint.

[00:21:18]>> Yeah. for 30 seconds like a wind gate test. Yes. Where basically people like throw up doing that. So right after you think that you're done, >> we're gonna do a maximal test >> and they do it, >> right? And so there are many experiments about that and then looking at the patterns of brain activity and then there are many theories about that's very controversial. Um so there are people fighting really hard for at least 20 years like trying to understand the mechanisms behind this but apparently it's part of the decision making process. You make the decision based on what we call reference points.

[00:21:54]>> Yes.

[00:21:55]>> So reference points matter >> because if I tell you that you have to run a marathon >> and all you've done in the past is run for five minutes.

[00:22:04]>> Even if your body could >> Yes.

[00:22:06]>> you wouldn't.

[00:22:07]>> You don't believe it. Even if you believed in yourself, you wouldn't because you don't have the neurological structure to support that action.

[00:22:16]>> So you're saying real reference points in your experience.

[00:22:19]>> In your experience. Yeah.

[00:22:20]>> Interesting.

[00:22:21]>> So now if you run a marathon, you're like, "Oh, next week there's a half marathon." Yeah.

[00:22:26]>> Right.

[00:22:26]>> And maybe that would be a maximal test, >> but your reference point is I've done this before.

[00:22:32]>> I can do that again. And maybe you're going to disappoint yourself, get frustrated, like you're going to fail.

[00:22:37]But you having that reference point matters. And that's why we say you have to always that one of the principles of exercise training is the principle of progression >> and that applies to your neurological capacity that applies to your physiological capacity and your your ability to deal with psychological stress.

[00:22:58]>> Because I've lift I lifted this weight before. M >> now I'm going to do this again and I know that my body can handle it and then the less the likelihood of uh getting injured drops and that's all because you created that situation. You're exposed to that. How do you get exposed to that?

[00:23:17]You have to do it right. And so that's why you keep saying like push a little bit further.

[00:23:22]>> Mhm.

[00:23:24]respecting the limits of physical capacity, respecting your biomechanical capacity, and respecting your self-efficacy.

[00:23:34]>> And that's your ability to think about what you can do.

[00:23:38]>> Because what we don't want people to do is to fail miserably every single time >> and then what's going to happen? They're going to just disengage from that activity, right? So, what we want is for you to surprise yourself with with a new performance. So, I say, "Let's lift five pounds." And you're like, "I can't do that." Okay? So, we're going to do it.

[00:24:00]>> Okay?

[00:24:00]>> And then you do it.

[00:24:01]>> You're like, "Now, we're going to lift six pounds." But I can't come I can't bring you to the gym on the first day and say, "You're going to lift 500 lb on the deadlift." And then what's going to happen? You've never done this. You're going to fail. And then you're going to fail. And then you're going to fail. So, what are you going to think about yourself >> that you're a failure? No. is just because the program was not designed in a way that allowed you to improve progressively, right? So, um, and then by creating this new reference point, we'll get to a point when you're lifting, when you're running, when you're boxing that you can use that motivation >> that you create that system that you created to support your action, right?

[00:24:41]because you know >> in that and other things >> in other things too it's again it's a transferable skill >> like I can push a little bit harder I know I feel I'm about to die >> true >> but in reality I've done this before >> so and then the other thing that happens neurologically you have this area in your brain called the dorsalateral prefrontal cortex and what it does >> one more time hit us with [laughter] that word hit us with that word you said the dorsalateral prefrontal cortex Right? So this is part of the central executive network and it's protecting you.

[00:25:14]>> So when you're exercising, >> if you don't have a a strong well-developed central executive network, the likelihood is you're going to stop.

[00:25:22]>> Okay.

[00:25:23]>> At like earlier than you should.

[00:25:25]>> Yes.

[00:25:26]>> So you have to train that >> path too.

[00:25:29]>> And how you train that stress, >> right?

[00:25:32]>> So when you're exercising, you have areas in your brain, very subcortical regions like very deep in your brain.

[00:25:39]They're sending motivational signals every time there is a reason for action.

[00:25:46]>> If you feel there's no reason to act and you will get to a point during the exercise that your brain will be will get very creative >> and tell you like why why you're doing this like >> oh you're hungry.

[00:25:56]>> You're hungry. That's that's enough for today. You're sleepy. You're hungry.

[00:25:59]Like let's just go home.

[00:26:01]>> Everything hurts. Your brain gets very creative. And that's >> your brain trying to slow you down. When you measure EEG, so that's the electrical activity in your brain.

[00:26:12]>> Okay?

[00:26:12]>> What we see is that low frequency components of your EEG, >> there are low frequency waves, they upregulate. That means they're trying to slow your body down.

[00:26:25]>> We see this when people are fatigued, when they're exercising, when they're working too much.

[00:26:29]>> We see that low frequency waves getting upregulated.

[00:26:34]>> So, how do you counteract the effect of that? by increasing high frequency waves and that's beta waves for example. So they're high frequency waves. Now it's only a matter of time until you stop exercising anyway because >> low frequency waves have a much more pronounced effect on your brain activity in general than high frequency waves.

[00:26:53]But for a short period of time, >> are you saying that negativity is more powerful than positivity?

[00:26:57]>> It is. There is there's a brain a brain sorry a study in psychology that says bad stronger than good or something like this. the title >> and that that again there's an evolutionary reason for that, right? So like you you're trying to protect yourself. Something bad happened when you're a kid, then in the future you're going to remember that. There's a reason for that.

[00:27:20]>> The cost of not being scared of a lion or a large predator. It's too high >> exactly to not be scared.

[00:27:26]>> So you're going to have to remember that. That has to have like a an effective memory associated with that.

[00:27:32]And it needs to be crystal clear to you at all times. So when something happens or it's related to that event, >> then you're going to act accordingly to protect yourself. So there is a reason for that. So going back to the exercise when these things are happening, you need again that area, the central executive network, but mainly the dorsal prefrontal cortex to protect you. And so what does it do?

[00:27:57]>> It tries to reduce the amount of cortisol. It tries to control the stress response for a short period of time. But how do you do that? Only if there is motivational signals feeding that area.

[00:28:13]>> Okay?

[00:28:13]>> Right? So when that stops and you get creative and you come up with reasons to stop, you stop, >> right?

[00:28:19]>> Because fighting against those sensations, it's just too much in terms of energy costs for your brain is just too much. It's better to stop, recover, and do that again. And the way you create new reference points is by pushing a little bit harder every single day.

[00:28:35]>> So, so there is no substitute for preparation.

[00:28:39]>> No.

[00:28:40]>> Whatever you're going to do, you must be practiced and prepared. The the the idea that you're just going to show up and and do the thing is mostly not real unless you have a legitimate >> parallel experience that you can reference.

[00:28:55]>> Yeah.

[00:28:55]>> Okay. Fair enough.

[00:28:57]>> Okay.

[00:29:01]So, one thing I wonder, and I've not done a ton of research on this, but I think it's psychological, similar to yourself. I'm more so into the like I need to exercise seven days a week.

[00:29:15]>> Now, maybe two of the days might be a little less rigorous, very >> the muscle groups, but when I was training for boxing, they make you train every day. And so when I stopped competing, I always felt like, oh man, if I don't train every day, I'm be out of shape. I'm not going to be ready to be ready to go, >> which is probably not true because, you know, boxing trainers are psychopaths.

[00:29:40]>> Um, so >> when I take that two those two days off and I start running again, I don't take two days. So this is when I like my like some issue in life or something like that.

[00:29:51]>> But when I come back, I'm I'm running.

[00:29:53]I'm like, oh man, like I can feel it.

[00:29:56]when I'm like really though have my muscles and my cardiovascular capacity changed significantly or is that primarily that system that you're talking about weighing against me performing >> primar is primarily psychological um um probably u the recovery matters so much >> right so I think we understand that and when we say it's like exercising every single day it's not that you have to be exercising maximum intensity is going for PR or whatever that is every single day >> because then again likelihood is you're going to get injured and then you have to stop for 6 months and then getting back on track is a much more difficult job and that's not what we want.

[00:30:40]>> There is a way of designing a micro cycle that's like what you're going to do in the week >> a macro cycle for months what what is the plan for the next two years. So everything needs to be perfectly designed >> and we also need what we call an adaptive training system that will take into account everything that's happening in your body in your life >> that will naturally influence your exercise performance and then adapt the system almost in real time. We have research about that. We're creating that system now.

[00:31:12]>> So you need recovery days.

[00:31:15]>> You need days that you're just going to go for a walk for 30 minutes. You need you need days that you're not going to do absolutely anything and just go to the sauna, the jacuzzi, and to the swimming pool and try to rest.

[00:31:24]>> And that's part of the training protocol. And then you also have to train your system to avoid exercise addiction, [laughter] >> right?

[00:31:33]>> This man said exercise addiction. That's a new one. That's a new one.

[00:31:37]>> A lot of people suffer from that.

[00:31:39]>> What are we talking about here?

[00:31:40]>> Yeah. So like you you you're not exercising for a day and then you're punishing yourself. Oh, that that becomes an issue, >> right? That becomes an issue because it's absolutely normal, recommended, natural for you to train your system for recovery, >> right? So, you need that and then you get stronger as a consequence.

[00:32:00]>> So, two days off, one day off and sometimes you shouldn't take any days off and that's okay if that's part of the mac micro cycle. That's how it was designed. respecting your internal load and understanding like when you look at how you're progressing, we can actually see in the data that it's supposed to be like that that week. It's called like a shock week um and then you recover for two weeks. So, so there is a way to standardize that um to facilitate your your progress, right? So, so it's all part of that. So, you're not not everybody's supposed to exercise every single day. And then again if if that was the case then you could actually create some issues that you didn't have before.

[00:32:42]>> So again recovery extremely important if not equally important or more important.

[00:32:47]>> So recovery is truly a part of the exercise process. You know, one of my biggest challenges and it's goes back to and I'm glad you you really have been harping on experience and practice because the hardest thing for me to do is a cool down stretch >> cuz and I've done damn near every sport cuz I'm black. That's what we do. Um and >> there was never a coach that was like, "Okay, we went hard.

[00:33:16]>> Now, let's stretch and and cool down after this extremely rigorous work." And >> so I'm in, you know, we'll go do some insane workout and then shower up and just go straight back to being sedentary or whatever life is. And then you wake up and you can barely move because you didn't stretch out your mess, your muscles.

[00:33:33]>> My biggest issue.

[00:33:36]>> Couple questions for you. Let's see.

[00:33:37]Okay. And I think some more folks came in. Shout comes back in. He's at a bowler alert. He writes, "What are your thoughts on mind and body going through high entropy task versus low entropy task over a duration of time and how they develop?" I'm not even going to allow I don't even understand that. Uh hopefully you do. Uh he writes uh so a person who takes the easy route versus the complex route uh the effects on the mind body separately.

[00:34:07]>> Yeah. So uh my field is called psychopysiology.

[00:34:10]So psychophys psychophysiology >> psychophysiology. So that's the connection. It's the bridge between psychology and physiology. So we always say you have physiological responses, right? Everything that's happening externally or in your uh nervous system for example interpretation of that situation.

[00:34:32]>> And then you have a third element which is the connection between the two. So everything that's happening in the periphery of your body. Mhm.

[00:34:40]>> Let's say you know you something happens to your foot. I don't know you got injured for example.

[00:34:47]>> There is an emotion react associated with that. Yes, >> there are many emotions. In fact, there are many thoughts, emotions and cognitive functions that are going to change in reaction to something that's happening to your foot.

[00:34:57]>> Okay.

[00:34:58]>> The other way is also true. When you have an emotion and you're experiencing stress, for example, chronic stress for a week, your body will react to that.

[00:35:08]You could experience low back pain. You could experience muscle tension around the neck. You could experience uh uh changes in your blood pressure that are not necessarily positive in your heart rate. Uh all kinds of physical reactions as a consequent as a function of what you're feeling and thinking.

[00:35:26]>> So this is a psychossematic >> it's a psychossematic response. It's a very good term. It's a field of psychosmatic medicine.

[00:35:33]>> So these things are directly connected to one another. Mhm.

[00:35:37]>> It's pretty much impossible to disentangle these mechanisms. They're connected. It's It's one thing.

[00:35:43]>> I wish it was. I wish we could. Yeah. We pretend.

[00:35:46]>> We pretend. We pretend.

[00:35:48]>> But then when you say like, "Oh, I have a I have a a headache. It's It's probably not, but there's always something. It's coming from somewhere."

[00:35:56]>> I almost I never get headaches.

[00:35:58]>> So, I know if I get one, >> there's a problem.

[00:36:00]>> There should be a reason.

[00:36:01]>> There's a problem. [laughter] If I get one, there's a I never get headaches.

[00:36:04]Now, you notice women, they >> [laughter] >> You ever noticed that? That's just me.

[00:36:09]Okay, go ahead. Go ahead.

[00:36:10]>> So that again could be like hydration or it could be could be stress. We already know that you know and so it's very difficult to separate the mechanisms >> and so taking the easy route will have psychological, physiological, cognitive, behavioral effects associated with that.

[00:36:29]Um the difficult like the the more complex things that you do the challenges and etc. we will have usually a more positive effect. Now there must be balance going back to the stress cycle. There are four steps. So we identify the stressor then you solve the problem that you have. That's called a resolution. You exercise. So you express your physical uh capacity.

[00:36:55]>> Oh. So so you identify the issue >> and you can put it back in the proper language but identify the issue.

[00:37:01]>> You said solve the issue and then exercise >> you need. Yeah. And then there's a a fourth step which is recovery >> and that is when you do something that's completely unproductive. It could be meditation for some people.

[00:37:14]>> It's unproductive but it is productive because it's necessary for the cycle.

[00:37:18]>> Exactly. Exactly. So we call unproductive because in theory in theory there are no direct benefits from that activity but there are direct benefits from that activity which is part of the recovery process and then you can start the cycle again.

[00:37:33]>> Mhm. Now looking at the the stress cycle we also have to remember something called psychopysiological states or profiles.

[00:37:43]>> Okay.

[00:37:43]>> And that is everything that you go through >> or I go through >> has an idiosyncratic pattern. What does that mean? Everything is individualized.

[00:37:54]>> I don't know what's good for you. I don't know what you like. I don't know how you're going to react to the same intervention. If I ask you to do breathing meditation, >> some people are going to get more anxious.

[00:38:04]>> Sure.

[00:38:04]>> And then they're going to perform worse.

[00:38:06]>> And that happens.

[00:38:08]>> Oh, but for 60 or 70% of the population when they do breathing meditation, they feel better. They perform better. They feel more relaxed. I get it. Yes.

[00:38:16]>> But there's people who are going to react the opposite way.

[00:38:19]>> So you never know what's the best strategy for each individual. And that's why working with data science, we create what we call individual machine learning models, which is like a research study for you.

[00:38:32]>> Got it.

[00:38:33]>> And then over time, after a like getting a lot of data for a relatively long period of time, we can start to understand what helps you as a person, what helps you as an athlete, what helps you recover? Because it might be something that's extremely counterintuitive, and that's okay. I think this is really the future of medicine. Obviously, sports science and I my guess is probably elite athletes are first going to get access to this, but it's the idea that >> I may be lactose intolerant. You're not lactose intolerant. And so, we need something that's going to respect the uniqueness so that we can get the performance that we want. Okay. And one thing I did want to ask you about is for an everyday person who might not have a team or scientists around them.

[00:39:20]>> If there were, you know, one or two tips you could give for them to drive their psychology or drive their performance or ease the psychological load of achieving at a high level, what would you recommend?

[00:39:32]>> Um, there two very important cognitive skills that I think everybody should uh develop. Well, inhibitory control matters obviously, but there well maybe three things and that's metacognition.

[00:39:44]So, think about your thinking and there's very simple recommendations how to do that. Just like sit for five minutes >> and then really like think in a nonjudgmental way why you're thinking that way.

[00:39:55]>> Like just just you don't have to judge.

[00:39:57]Try to get rid of your you know preconceived ideas like why you're think why you're acting this way. Mhm.

[00:40:03]>> Like just just think about that and that's a good way of developing metacognition.

[00:40:07]>> The other two things are about awareness. So one is intraceptive awareness.

[00:40:12]>> Intraceptive.

[00:40:14]>> That's everything that's happening in your body.

[00:40:15]>> I've I've learned four new words today, ladies and saints. Okay. Intraceptive awareness. Okay.

[00:40:20]>> Yeah. So that's what's happening in your body. Like just just think like, oh, does something hurt?

[00:40:24]>> Mhm.

[00:40:24]>> Um is something like uncomfortable?

[00:40:27]>> Um you had like maybe a little bit of pain here and there or maybe it's not pain. is just like some kind of discomfort.

[00:40:35]>> Just just think about that or or you eat something >> and you're like, you know, something's hurting like why is that supposed to be happening? Again, it's all about thinking about that for 5 minutes.

[00:40:45]>> Yeah.

[00:40:46]>> Because every time you eat or drink something or you do there will be a physical reaction >> consequence. Yeah.

[00:40:52]>> So, so just you know my my my belly is hurting. Why >> there is something? And then developing that helps because also helps with your exercise routine. you exercise, there is a physical consequence usually during the session or tomorrow or the day after whatever that is, but there will be a consequence. How your body is reacting to that. Is it just muscle soreness? Is it a process of adaptation or is just hurting you in a way that's not positive? And that's all you can fix all of that if you pay attention to your body. knowing the difference between exhaustion or and recovering muscles versus injury, >> which historically I feel like especially in the combat sports, you're not good at pulling it apart. And there's not people around you who are there to actually help you pull that apart. It's like >> your nose is broken. It's okay. Breathe out of your mouth.

[00:41:44]>> Yeah.

[00:41:44]>> And at the end of the day, you're responsible for your body, >> right?

[00:41:48]>> Yes. You are.

[00:41:49]>> You are. And then you you might have someone or even like a training protocol that's dictating what you have to do, >> but you feel like there's something wrong. And you feel like today you're supposed to lift this much weight, >> but I feel something >> that that goes through this process of intraceptive awareness. I feel something in my low back. Maybe today I'll do something else. I can still do something hard with a different muscle group or whatever. Um so so that helps a lot >> and and it helps with the longevity of this as well because we want people to be doing hard things for hopefully 100 years. Yes.

[00:42:24]>> You know instead of just you know exercising really hard for 20 and then being sedentary for the rest of their lives. That's not what we want. So intraceptive awareness and I I would say the third thing would be emotional awareness.

[00:42:36]>> Okay, >> which is very obvious. Think about what you're feeling.

[00:42:41]>> Why you're thinking that way. is metacognition. But why you're feeling this way? Why you're so bothered that someone said something to you?

[00:42:49]>> Why you're thinking like this just because you saw a person dressing in whatever. Why? And and sometimes it makes perfect sense and that's okay. But it's good to have that conversation with yourself like, okay, now I understand from where it's coming to where it's going, why I'm feeling this way.

[00:43:05]Sometimes it makes sense. I'm going to support myself and that's good. Or I say like be your best friend. be kind to yourself >> because at the end of the day you you have to protect yourself at all times, right? So you have family and friends and all of that, but I I think we have to hold ourselves accountable for everything that's happening to us. And the way you do it by protect yourself like being your best friend matters.

[00:43:30]>> You know, you're sharing a lot of concepts that that I've definitely shared with the audience. Uh so you said be kind to yourself. I got a three sentence Bible. Be yourself, be good to yourself, be good to good people. was that be good to yourself piece which is the exercises the recovery and for all of my combat sport athletes um the intraceptive awareness that you spoke about I think is so important because your cut man your trainer your coach is not in your body >> so you have to be able to tell like >> bro like I have something here it's not me being lazy or or tired it's like I have something like I have something wrong in my body >> I need to take a step back >> in today's session or I need to end today's session. That's an important thing to to know, but also to similarly when you were talking about when your mind's playing tricks on you >> to be able to try to counter that as best as possible. Then there's another thing you mentioned I want to highlight for the folks in Boss University. I call it um I think I think something like man's productivity cycle or something like that. But it's essentially you know there's those activities that are overtly productive. Uh but there's also coming around the cycle to where you have to relax so that you can get back to productivity.

[00:44:41]>> Correct.

[00:44:42]>> It's a necessary piece. Uh so make sure you remember that intraceptive >> awareness.

[00:44:47]>> Awareness. Intraceptive awareness.

[00:44:49]That's a hell of a term. I know you've gotten me. And this is the importance of >> and and I think our America in popular culture, I think historically has been anti-intellectual.

[00:45:00]Um, with our current president, I think we're even more anti-intellectual. Um, so the just even bringing neuroscience into popular media, I think, is a beautiful thing, especially as it relates to sports because from the outside, people look at a LeBron James and like he's just a natural athlete.

[00:45:19]He's just big and strong. He was born that way. It's like, yes, but at this stage in sports medicine, >> this man has so many experts and professionals around him to get him to and keep him at an elite level that I mean, it's just unbelievable. And we don't know about guys like you. I think the guy around Jordan was at Grover something some dude that he had as like essentially a sports therapist. And I think we're so often we think like no no no you just you know he's been dribbling the ball for a long time and that's the whole story. Uh what insights can you give us into like the science as it relates to modern sports at the elite level?

[00:46:03]>> Yeah, I think where we're trying to go now is to again have this individual like neuronet network model so we understand everything that's you know that helps that individual. Uh it's a lot of work. We had a paper published with professional cricket athletes.

[00:46:22]>> Cricket cricket.

[00:46:23]>> Is this when you were in London?

[00:46:24]>> No, I know absolutely nothing about cricket. I had a PhD uh from Trinidad in Tobago and she was working for the cricket team. There were like champions um the West Indies uh indie champions last year like top top athlete. I know nothing about the modality by the way.

[00:46:42]Um >> but she was collecting the data. I was working uh with the statistical models.

[00:46:47]Uh we did the same thing with basketball players now. Um uh with Neurosmart, we do a lot of with uh law enforcement. And so what we realized that you have a group of people like you're collecting data, let's say from in that case with cricket athletes, we had 30 39 or 36 athletes, all professional elite players.

[00:47:07]>> Yes.

[00:47:08]>> And then you do something called a cluster analysis. So within that sample, you actually see different people, which is pretty obvious, right? But in theory, you're going to think like they come from the same country, they speak the same language, they have the same culture, they're the same. Like no, there's no relationship in terms of psychophysiological profiles among all of the players pretty much. So you have different clusters. I have like people who are going to perform optimally when they're feeling depressed. And you're like, "No, no, that's not supposed to happen." No, no, they're supposed to feel good. Yes, >> they're supposed to feel dominant.

[00:47:41]They're supposed to feel relaxed.

[00:47:43]>> Absolutely.

[00:47:43]>> Well, it doesn't work for that guy. And we collected data from that person for like 6 months.

[00:47:48]>> And it was just like it's very consistent.

[00:47:51]>> I understand that's not what science wants to hear.

[00:47:54]>> Mhm.

[00:47:55]>> And I have like no word. Like it's difficult for me to describe why it's happening, but there's a perfect relationship. You know, >> when you go to the arcade, there's a game called Plinko. I think that's how you pronounce it. It's just like a when you drop that little ball and then it hits like some >> and then it lands somewhere.

[00:48:12]>> There's always a perfect relationship between if you could control all the variables, which is the contact with the sticks and blah blah blah. If you could control all the variables, every time you dropped that little ball in the same spot, >> Yes.

[00:48:24]>> controlling all the variables, it would always land in the same spot.

[00:48:28]>> Correct. Yes.

[00:48:29]>> But that relationship is what we call nonlinear.

[00:48:32]>> Absolutely.

[00:48:33]>> So it's difficult to predict. Mhm.

[00:48:35]>> It doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

[00:48:38]>> Mhm.

[00:48:39]>> It is there. It is crystal clear, but it only works for that person. And that's a problem.

[00:48:45]>> Yes. And the ball can end up in the same place if you drop it from different places as well, right?

[00:48:52]>> Yeah. That that's an interesting concept actually because you could have different interventions helping that person get into that state >> that is optimal for her or for him. Mhm.

[00:49:03]>> Um and so how do you go about that? We work with individual like players or professionals whatever that is. We collect a lot of data and that's everything.

[00:49:15]>> So heart rate variability, we collect electroderm that's the sweat on your skin, uh brain activity, psychological reports, behavior analysis for months >> and then we get to a psychophysiological profile. So that's like if you're going to do this task as an athlete, that's how you're supposed to feel and that's empowering because they probably don't know.

[00:49:38]>> You're saying in terms of the the physical data?

[00:49:41]>> Everything.

[00:49:42]>> Okay.

[00:49:42]>> It's everything cuz >> Oh, you're saying on an individual basis?

[00:49:45]>> Yeah.

[00:49:45]>> Got it. Okay.

[00:49:46]>> Yeah. Because then we can come to the professional athletes and say look you've been playing for this past six months and every time you performed like exceptionally you're feeling this way psychologically physiologically this is your ideal optimal profile.

[00:50:03]>> So we need to get you into that state.

[00:50:05]How do you do that? I also have absolutely no idea cuz then for each person it could be a completely different crazy intervention. That's okay. You works for you. we're going to stick to that and get into that state.

[00:50:16]So, likelihood of performing optimally will also increase.

[00:50:20]>> You know, it's funny you say that because I was watching a clip a while back and and it made me crack up because uh it was DJ Khaled and he was talking to his wife. She was working out and he was like, "You you important, you special, you got this. You everything."

[00:50:36]And he he was saying all this motivational stuff and then she's like, "Can you just shut up?"

[00:50:41]>> Right? [laughter] cuz it doesn't work for everybody, right?

[00:50:43]>> Exactly. Right. Whereas, you know, some people that have been just been, you know, that have been uh pumping them up and [laughter] >> I just thought that was >> could just backfire.

[00:50:53]>> 100%. 100%. And you know, my instinct is to judge her like, hey, he's giving you positive motivation. Why aren't you receiving it positively? But the truth is, you know, my instinct to criticize her is just that she's not like me, >> you know, and, you know, sometimes we want to, >> you know, disparage that which is different. We don't want, we'd much rather a neat category so that we can project or we can generalize and it makes the world easier to understand.

[00:51:20]And what you're talking about is really the science of, you know, understanding the individual holistically so we can get them as an individual to their best, their peak performance. Yeah.

[00:51:32]>> Yeah. That that's um >> that's really interesting. I think fortunately with AI, it allows us maybe to get there a little faster because we have these tools that can look at the data for us and, >> you know, provide us some outcomes. I know you're doing some work in that.

[00:51:48]>> Yeah. Yeah. AI is a big part of our work creating like this statistical models >> that allow us to understand like the person uh so working with neuronet networks for example we have all of this data that we collect could be >> for example people are used to variables like whoop or neurosmart all of these variable they're collecting data right >> and they're collecting data in real time and then we also collect data about the context what's happening around you what's happening in your life okay >> right So, >> so literal physical context.

[00:52:21]>> Yes. Yeah.

[00:52:22]>> And in psychological and circumstantial >> because the complexity of this is >> you always perform up to and we had like professional athletes from Baylor University. That's a good example >> and that guy was performing like great every single time and then one day he just you know dropped the ball. Um, and they were like, we went back to that date. I was like, what happened that day?

[00:52:48]>> Girlfriends found out about each other.

[00:52:49]>> Except it was like a girlfriend situation. Like she he got a message.

[00:52:53][laughter] He got a message like 10 minutes before the match.

[00:52:57]>> Wow.

[00:52:58]>> And then he felt like a sense of like dominance that was just dropping >> and then everything fell apart. It's like, okay, but that's a problem because you don't have an emotional shield. M yeah >> and that doesn't mean that you should be suppressing your feelings but it should mean that not everything that's happened in your life should affect your performance like that that's a problem >> right so we have to develop that and it's not only physical we have to develop that emotional shield because bad things are going to continue happening >> and then we don't if you're going to become a professional player >> that that's not allowed one thing that we're very interested in is performance variability >> you know how many examples you have of like people people who are like geniuses they they perform perform optimally.

[00:53:39]They perform at 100% and then the next day is like 10% of what they can >> that they're not reliable. They're not good for a team.

[00:53:45]>> Not professional.

[00:53:46]>> They're not. Exactly. That's unprofessional behavior. And so what do you what do you do about that? Well, you it's better to perform at 60% every single time or around 60% than doing this if you're a professional player.

[00:54:01]Like if I'm a lecturer, if I'm a researcher, like imagine I come here and I don't know how to say anything. It's just like well that's bad because that's a moment of high performance. You have to perform optimally now >> and then tomorrow again and then between today and tomorrow things are going to happen right. So uh performance variability is also something that we're very concerned >> about and and and trying to to help the athletes.

[00:54:26]>> And let me see what else we got here. I know folks have sent in some comments. I don't want to miss them.

[00:54:32]Uh, seven writes, "Are there any foods we should be considering on a consistent basis to nourish our neurological systems and brain?" That's a good question. Brain food.

[00:54:44]>> Yeah. Uh, I don't do nutrition sciences.

[00:54:48]Um, [laughter] one thing I'm going to say about that is and and um >> there's so much going on in terms of like, you know, nutritional recommendations, so many diets.

[00:54:59]>> Absolutely. Always a new one. always a new one. And and then sometimes I think like it's so confusing for not only the scientific community but like you know general population >> nobody knows what to do.

[00:55:14]>> Everything causes cancer. So you know um >> I I usually you know in Brazil we were used to saying something like we always stick to rice and beans and it's it's not not literally but like the fundamentals lifting weights the same thing like we already know. We already know. I know people are not gonna like it because there's a bunch of researchers doing that now.

[00:55:34]>> We already know what works >> in the gym.

[00:55:37]>> Yeah, >> we already know. It's deadlift. It's squats. It's bench press and overhead press. That's it.

[00:55:44]>> That's it.

[00:55:44]>> Yeah.

[00:55:45]>> Like, okay. So, and then we put more plates and we lift heavier weights and do more reps.

[00:55:50]>> How do you manipulate intensity? You rest for a shorter period of periods of time. You do more reps. You do more sets. You you lift heavier weights. It's very simple. It's a very simple equation. I I think keeping things extremely simple when it comes to nutrition helps. That's what I do personally.

[00:56:08]>> I don't do research in that field. So, let me just make that clear. Uh >> but the diet for me is vegetables, carbs, and protein >> and that's it.

[00:56:17]>> And carbs give energy.

[00:56:19]>> Of course. Yeah.

[00:56:20]>> Okay. D of course. You know, we [laughter] we went to public school. We went to public school. What are some good No, I'm just teasing you. What are some good carbs that folks can use?

[00:56:31]Easy, accessible carbs. Don't name any >> rice, potatoes.

[00:56:35]>> Okay.

[00:56:35]>> Um, you know, sourdough bread. I heard great things about that. Again, personal opinion. This is not coming from my scientific work.

[00:56:43]>> Um, yeah, like roots and and and grains, >> rice, >> at least to me, I don't have any kind of negative physical reaction to any of that. So when I'm aware of my intraceptive reactions, I don't have any kind of negative reaction to these foods.

[00:57:00]>> Um, eating a little bit of candy will cause a negative [laughter] reaction. So I can feel it. I'm like, I shouldn't have done that. So I try to stay away from it as much as possible. Um, but just keeping things extremely simple.

[00:57:15]>> And that's one important concept actually that relates to our scientific work. Um, if you list, if you write every little responsibility that you have, every single thing, like an email, you have to write, a message, you have to send, >> write it out.

[00:57:30]>> If you write that, >> if you, if you put that on a list, >> Mhm.

[00:57:35]>> you're going to realize it would probably take like 10 or 12 people to do that work.

[00:57:39]>> Sure.

[00:57:40]>> And because of, you know, access to technology and all of that, we're doing everything ourselves >> because we think we can always do more.

[00:57:47]>> Yeah.

[00:57:47]>> And that's okay. But there is something called cognitive overload. There's a limit to what you can do, >> right? And so when it comes to diet, >> you know, you go to a nutritionist >> and you know, for to them, nutrition is everything. So they're going to tell you it's literally everything. It's everything. So they're going to tell you like you have to eat this, this amount, this many protein.

[00:58:11]>> It's okay. So now you have this additional responsibilities. Now you go to a personal trainer and they're going to tell you have to do this and that that's everything right >> and then you go to dentist and okay but you can't do everything.

[00:58:23]>> That's right.

[00:58:24]>> So what we do I think that's a general recommendation that's coming actually from our research is that you have to prioritize a couple things >> because that's all you can actually pay attention to and then for a lot of people like me for example it's uh family work um my recovery and that's it.

[00:58:42]>> Yeah.

[00:58:43]>> And that's it. It's like everything else is everything else. So like if people criticize you, if if this conversation doesn't go well and people are going to that's okay. I did the best I could >> with the resources I had that day.

[00:58:57]>> Yes.

[00:58:57]>> And a lot of people are not going to be happy about it and that's okay.

[00:59:01]>> And and then I'm just going to focus on what I can because I have a limit to my cognitive capacity >> and hopefully I'll live life like this.

[00:59:10]Right. So but but again going back to the nutrition questions like what I can do is keeping it simple.

[00:59:17]>> Yes.

[00:59:17]>> Because I don't have the you know cognitive capacity to process all of that in real time and something's going to you know fall through the cracks and so keeping think keeping things simple help >> and you have to plan for things to fall through the cracks. Yeah.

[00:59:32]>> Yeah. No I agree. I call it simplicity and oneness which is the idea like you know I'm going to keep it simple and and oneness. So, what's the one thing I can do in this area? What's the one thing?

[00:59:43]What's my one big win? If I get it right, it'll it'll pay me a multiplier cuz >> I'm probably not going to make five different adjustments to my diet.

[00:59:50]Realistically, I agree with you. And I stopped eating oats. Oats like to your intraceptive awareness was intraceptive awareness.

[00:59:58]Yeah.

[00:59:58]>> I realized like oats just were not doing well for me and it was a major part of my diet. And then I I started thinking about how I'm feeling and I was like, it's it's the oats, the oats. I got to go.

[01:00:08]>> Yeah. just fix it. Yeah.

[01:00:10]>> Um let's see. Uh shout to Adan writes a conversation most will skip piece of saints. Yeah. I mean people don't like thinking is challenging. Uh shout to trying to beat writes very fruitful discussion. Shout out to the saint for his humility in bringing this conversation to the forefront.

[01:00:25]Absolutely. It's always a pleasure to be able to learn something. Jamila writes thank you for exercising my brain. There you go. I also acknowledge seven comes back. He writes, "What are some habits humans willfully engage in that may be destructive for their neurological development/halth?

[01:00:41]For example, screen time on phones. I can definitely feel it impact my attention span and ability to be quick or remember what I was doing. You ever start doing something, you're like, >> "What was I doing? Was I supposed to be doing what I mean to be doing?"

[01:00:58]>> Are you to you?

[01:00:59]>> Yeah. I think I think mainly with AI. I think AI is a revolution. So we have to accept that just like the internet and home computers and all of that. So things are changing and they're changing drastically. Uh now because of AI there will be more revolutions. So I think I think this is the one we're going through right now. Um and things are changing and when we I think like there's some studies about like using chat PT and brain activity and all of that. One thing that we have to remember is that when we look at cognitive function there are many many different cognitive functions. So yes some of the cognitive functions will be completely or possibly partially compromised by AI.

[01:01:44]>> Okay.

[01:01:45]>> Some other cognitive functions will probably be improved by AI.

[01:01:51]>> Okay. Tell me about that. So, so you not everything will be compromised, right?

[01:01:56]So, >> working with AI, if you if you actually talk to somebody who is working with AI on a daily basis, they're probably working more.

[01:02:05]>> They're not necessarily working less.

[01:02:08]>> It's a lot of work, right? We we do a lot of stuff with AI. It's it's nobody's working less.

[01:02:14]>> And I think having the foundational skills of everything we do still matters, probably matters more than before.

[01:02:22]But I think it's just amplifying and multiplying the quality of the work that we had before. Now we don't have to execute the same cognitive tasks, >> right?

[01:02:34]>> We're doing things are different.

[01:02:36]Hopefully getting something that's more comprehensive than before. Uh the quality is better, but some of the cognitive skills that are used for that purpose are not the same. And so that's why the scientific community, professors, entrepreneurs are sometimes complaining about that because they say, well, but you're not, you know, when you look at cognitive function for maybe this tasks, it's compromised by the use of AI. That's true, >> but you have to look at all the cognitive functions, >> right? Some things are going to improve as a consequence. So now you know developers used to do everything manually and as a consequence they would develop several different mathematical skills and other cognitive skills uh that are now compromised by AI. But now they have to have a better understanding of AI and a better understanding of the overall structure of the code to be able to create code that's better, that's more comprehensive, that's more sophisticated, that's more original. And so that maybe was something that they didn't have to have not at the same level compared to the era before AI. So so these things are going to change and just like the job market there's no way to fight against that. It's it's here it stay.

[01:03:51]>> Yes. it's it's going to stay and it's going to be part of every single piece of software we have and and then the best thing I believe is to leverage that and and learn about that and learn about its limitations and then you know um take advantage of that I guess.

[01:04:08]>> Yes. As opposed to complain about something you can't stop.

[01:04:11]>> [laughter] >> Ser.