Our lifestyle is a poignant reminder of what we have become as a society. We are running on a hedonic treadmill that’s powered by consumerism.
No matter what we do or don’t we can’t get off this treadmill and what’s worse it’s picking up pace after every passing minute.
We live to fulfill our neverending desires that eventually make us feel worse than before.
And this pathetic lifestyle leads to habits that end up damaging your brain health as this fast-paced life will crash and burn your brain.
Here are the top four deadly habits for brain health that we have normalized in everyday life.
1. You wreck your first hour of the morning
The endless desires demand that you make every minute of your day productive. We are trapped in the golden age of productivity that preaches hustle at all costs.
Hard work is essential to live a fulfilling life, but it takes more than just work to make you truly happy. You live this truth every day when you’re buried under a pile of spreadsheets.
So now you work on autopilot from the moment you open your eyes. The first task in the morning is to power up the laptop or scroll on the phone even before we get out of bed.
It’s not just a habit but a reflex, you either check your phone or boot up your laptop as soon as you wake up.
This seemingly silly habit is deadly for your brain health. You dump information on your brain before it can even comprehend anything.
It affects your cognitive function and leads to brain fog, which can affect your work quality and productivity.
Moreover, it’ll distract you and halt a mindful morning routine that you need for better brain health.
It’ll eat away your morning before you even realize how long you’ve been scrolling. It’s the surest way to ensure an unproductive day.
Here’s what you need to do instead:-
A morning routine is hard to form and even harder to follow, but there’s one easy habit that you can do daily for better mental health.
Morning light is essential for maintaining a well-synced circadian rhythm that ensures a good night's sleep.
Ideally, you need to bask in morning light within 10–15 minutes after waking up, so you’ll only have time for a quick washroom visit every morning before you get out in the light.
This simple habit will enhance your sleep quality, mood, and productivity. It releases norepinephrine and epinephrine, the hormones that boost attention, drive, and motivation, all the things you need to do better work.
2. You’re living your life on autopilot
Researchers have created a brain care scorecard that judges your brain health based on the input you give, it contains lifestyle factors and social habits that we can train to improve brain health.
And one integral factor for better brain health is the “purpose of life”. Philosophers are racking their brains to find “the meaning of life”, so don’t burden yourself with it instead find the meaning of “your” life.
Our lives revolve around work from morning to night all day long, you schedule your day according to work, so it should be one of the reasons you get out of bed.
But sadly that’s not the case as most people hate their jobs. They do it to survive. It’s about their capability more than interest and passion.
The purpose of your life should be identifiable in your job. Why you do what you do, is a question you should always be prepared to answer.
Being an expert at Excel is a good skill but it’ll never satiate one’s passion. You need to do the boring tasks in your job, but that should not be the only thing you do. Your work should challenge and excite you, it should tickle your creative muscles.
So, you need to know the motive of your job otherwise you’ll start to treat it like an endless chore.
Here’s what you need to do instead:-
Finding the purpose of one’s life is no mean feat, it takes a lifetime to be sure about it. So, dabble in your hobbies rather than finding a purpose.
The more you work on your hobbies the closer they get to becoming your life’s purpose. So, invest time and energy to evolve your hobby.
It takes time to become good at something, but once you achieve that you’ll create your life’s purpose around that hobby. That’s how I started writing.
So, try out new hobbies that you’ve always wanted to learn, be consistent with them and maybe you’ll end up finding your life’s purpose. If not then you can at least make a few bucks from them.
3. You’re even failing at Escapism
Binge-watching is the most preferred form of escapism as it has a high ROI. You get to stream content from endless options for a nominal price.
It’s easy, cheap, and fun, the perfect combination for everyday escapism. But turns out we are failing at this mind-numbing activity as well.
There’s a new prevailing practice called “second screening” that makes binge-watching even more lethal for your focus. And I'm damn sure you’re guilty of it.
Our attention span is shorter than ever, so we get bored with the episode and distract ourselves with our mobile phones, scrolling through endless content.
That’s how we have been watching television for years now. It’s so common that the writers of the show are told to write content that’s second-screen friendly.
We are so lost in life that we need an escape from our escapism. This behavior weakens your focus and destroys your attention span, but sadly it’s the norm.
According to Stanford Health, digital multitaskers often have less grey matter in their brain that helps control thoughts and emotions.
Here’s what you need to do instead:-
Multi-screening is a more common problem than we care to admit. We do it all the time when we are working, watching television, or even scrolling through reels.
You see something cute and you get the urge to check out the price that instant, and there’s no hope left when it comes to watching television because you’ll be itching to check your phone one last time.
But you can improve it by following a few easy protocols.
- Follow the one window at a time rule when working, you can have multiple tabs but only for the job at hand.
- Use only one screen at a time, if you get bored with what’s playing on the television, then pause it before using the phone. If you spend more than 10 minutes on your phone then you’ll have to shut off the program.
- Avoid binge-watching re-runs as they are perfect for background noise.
- Be more self-aware while working and relaxing by concentrating on one task.
4. You don’t have time to reboot your brain
Your day is filled to the brim with tasks, to-dos, and shallow work. You can’t escape this cycle no matter how hard you try.
And even if you’re able to find some free time in between them, you end up consuming content. So, your brain ends up being overloaded with information, most of which you don’t need.
This hectic schedule of shallow work and excess binge-watching leaves no time to process the information, you consume and then you forget.
You miss an integral component of better brain performance when you are busy checking one box after another or catching up on your show.
Daydreaming is an essential factor for optimal brain function. It’s Einstein's secret weapon for creativity and productivity.Ideal time filled with boredom is a daily requirement for daydreaming, but most of us avoid boredom as it’s so easy to consume content nowadays.
So, we no longer have time to daydream which activates different parts of the brain that help in executive problem-solving.
I am a daydreamer so I can attest to these benefits, I get better ideas when I give myself time and space to think.
It boosts my creativity and productivity. Being a writer was a recurring daydream, that I used to have when I was stuck in my old job.
Here’s what you need to do instead:-
A tight schedule leads little to imagination as you have all the tasks planned out beforehand.
A to-do list on the other hand is a better idea, you know what needs to be done, but you also have the flexibility to do it on your own time.
It gives you freedom throughout the day to think in peace. You daydream your way out of stressful situations to recharge your mental batteries.
Conclusion
Lifestyle affects your health more than you realize, little habits over time add up and wreck your focus.
You are more likely to be distracted if you follow these habits, which are hard not to commit at this time and day.
But awareness can help you reclaim your attention span, so ditch these habits for better productivity and focus.