How To Focus To Change Your Brain

At a Glance

• Importance of Neural Plasticity - “your natural right early in life, but after about age 25, you have to do some work in order to access it.” The speaker emphasizes that neural plasticity is crucial for learning and development, especially after the age of 25.

• Different Types of Plasticity - “There’s another entire category of plasticity…that involves a lot of repetition. So there’s another entire category of plasticity that doesn’t involve intense focus and emotionality” The speaker highlights two distinct types of neural plasticity: one related to intense focus and emotion, and the other involving repetition.

• Positive vs. Negative Experiences - “You can get incredible plasticity of positive experiences of things that you want by engaging this high-focus regime” The speaker notes that while negative experiences (e.g., touching a hot stove) can lead to rapid learning, positive experiences can also induce neural plasticity with the right approach.

• Repetition and Reward - “And they are used for a distinctly different category of behavioral change, more of which relate to habits” The speaker emphasizes that repetition and reward-based approaches are crucial for developing habits and neural plasticity in certain contexts.

• The Role of Sleep and Rest - “Deep sleep. And so what we can start to see is that plasticity is your natural right early in life, but after about age 25, you have to do some work in order to access it” The speaker highlights the importance of sleep and rest for neural plasticity.

What to Do

• Access neural plasticity after age 25: Do some work to access it - The speaker mentions that deep sleep and certain experiments have shown that plasticity is a natural right early in life. However, after about age 25, you need to do some work to access it.

• Practice repetition-based plasticity for habits - The speaker suggests that there’s another aspect of behavioral practices that allows us to engage in plasticity without intense focus and emotionality. This involves a lot of repetition and incorporating the reward system that involves dopamine.

• Use high-focus regime and rest, non-sleep, deep rest, and sleep for positive experiences - The speaker advises using a high-focus regime followed by rest, non-sleep, deep rest, and sleep to achieve incredible plasticity of positive experiences.

• Explore movement-based practices for enhancing plasticity - The speaker mentions that movement-based practices will be explored in the next episode as another way to enhance plasticity.

What to Get

• The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Sciene by Norman Doidge M.D. - Amazon

Summary

Episode Summary

In this engaging conversation on Neural Plasticity, the speaker explores the fascinating world of brain development and its potential for transformation. The discussion delves into the concept of plasticity, which is our natural ability to reorganize and adapt our brains throughout life. However, as we age, this capacity becomes less accessible, and we need to put in effort to access it.

The speaker highlights the importance of deep sleep and rest in facilitating neural plasticity, alongside intense focus and emotionality. This type of focus can be achieved through challenging experiences that trigger a strong emotional response, like learning from mistakes or facing difficult situations. However, there’s another category of plasticity that involves repetition and reward, which enables us to develop habits and improve our physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being.

The conversation emphasizes the significance of understanding neurochemicals and circuits in achieving neural plasticity. The speaker explains how certain behavioral protocols can help us tap into this potential, particularly those involving repetition and reward systems that activate dopamine release. This knowledge is crucial for individuals seeking to enhance their learning capacity, physical performance, or emotional regulation.

Neural plasticity is our natural ability to reorganize and adapt our brains throughout life, but it becomes less accessible after the age of 25.Deep sleep and rest are essential for facilitating neural plasticity alongside intense focus and emotionality. There’s a separate category of plasticity that involves repetition and reward systems, which enables us to develop habits and improve our physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being. Understanding neurochemicals and circuits is crucial for achieving neural plasticity. Behavioral protocols involving repetition and reward can help us tap into this potential.

Overall, this conversation provides a comprehensive introduction to the concept of neural plasticity, its importance, and the various factors that influence it. The speaker’s enthusiasm and expertise make complex ideas engaging and accessible, making this episode an excellent resource for students and anyone interested in brain development and transformation.