In this episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, Dr. Aditi Narukar explores stress management strategies and the mind-body connection. She distinguishes between healthy, motivating stress and unhealthy chronic stress that can negatively impact mental and physical well-being.
Narukar delves into the role of the amygdala, the brain's control center for the fight-or-flight response, and offers practical techniques to rewire stress reactivity. From implementing digital boundaries and incorporating movement, to practicing mindfulness and nurturing gut health, she provides actionable tools to cultivate a more resilient, balanced state. Narukar also highlights the importance of self-compassion and gratitude in managing life's challenges with greater ease.
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Dr. Aditi Narukar differentiates between healthy, adaptive stress that motivates growth, and unhealthy, maladaptive chronic stress that can lead to negative mental and physical effects. She says monitoring changes in sleep, mood, energy, and productivity can indicate prolonged unhealthy stress.
Narukar explains the amygdala controls the fight-or-flight response, becoming overactive in chronic stress. Under stress, the amygdala seeks self-preservation, leading to cravings for comfort food or doomscrolling. Incremental changes can rewire the brain to be less stress-reactive.
Narukar advises avoiding "popcorn brain" hyperstimulation from screens by limiting phone usage, keeping phones away from bedrooms, and avoiding screens before bedtime for better sleep.
She emphasizes even brief daily movement like walks can significantly reduce stress by prompting positive biological changes. Consistent gentle exercise combats stress.
Narukar details techniques like her "stop, breathe, be" method of deep breathing to quickly reset the mind-body connection when the amygdala is triggered.
Narukar highlights the gut microbiome's impact on mood regulation, referring to the gut as a "second brain" communicating with the first through neurotransmitters like serotonin. Good gut health supports emotional well-being.
She advises a daily gratitude practice to shift focus from negativity and quiet the inner critic. Self-compassion and giving oneself grace during challenges are vital for managing stress effectively.
1-Page Summary
Dr. Aditi Narukar explains stress and its varied impacts on the body and the brain, differentiating between healthy, adaptive stress that motivates growth, and unhealthy, maladaptive stress that can lead to negative outcomes.
Narukar clarifies that not all stress is negative.
Healthy stress is described as productive and energizing, leading to excitement or nervousness before new experiences that ultimately push individuals outside of their comfort zones. This kind of stress is part of life and fuels growth, motivation, and progress, such as when getting a new job, falling in love, getting promoted, or having a child.
Unhealthy stress, on the other hand, can manifest through symptoms such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, mood disorders, and physical symptoms like headaches and gastrointestinal issues. This is the kind of stress people usually refer to when they mention being stressed out. Aditi argues that the key is not to eliminate stress—which is biologically impossible—but to ensure it stays healthy and manageable to maintain productivity and forward momentum.
Nerurkar highlights that when stress becomes unmanageable, it devolves into unhealthy stress, impacting various aspects of life. She suggests monitoring changes in baseline behavior such as sleep patterns, socialization, mood, and energy. When stress becomes chronic, it can cause people to perpetually function in a "cave person mode," or fight-or-flight, primarily governed by the amygdala.
A study showed that 60% of individuals suffering from burnout could not disconnect from work, leading to stress and burnout symptoms such as apathy and lack of motivation.
Understanding stress and its effects on the mind and body
Dr. Aditi Narukar has developed a range of stress management strategies, covering everything from managing our relationship with digital devices to incorporating movement into our daily routines and practicing mindfulness.
Popcorn brain is a state of hyperstimulation from being constantly engaged with screens. A test for popcorn brain is to note the urge to check your phone. To counteract this, digital boundaries are necessary. This includes keeping phones out of sight during work, using an alarm clock instead of the phone on the nightstand, checking the phone after completing a morning routine, and keeping the phone away from the bedroom at night. Dr. Aditi Narukar and Mel Robbins suggest these strategies to mitigate stress and improve sleep.
Offline life moves much slower, and to mitigate the dissonance from fast-paced digital interactions, it’s advised that one limits screen time before bed to deactivate the amygdala, which keeps the body alert. Limiting screens two hours before bedtime can improve sleep quality. Dr. Aditi underscores the importance of being mindful in the hours before sleep, particularly avoiding screen time, to alleviate revenge bedtime procrastination and its detrimental effects on sleep.
Dr. Aditi advises keeping phones off the nightstand and investing in a traditional alarm clock to reduce screen exposure. By limiting this screen time two hours before bedtime and stopping doom scrolling, individuals can expect improvements in well-being within a week.
Dr. Aditi emphasizes movement and exercise as crucial components of managing stress. She reminisces about her stressful days as a medical resident and how yoga and walking helped her. She stresses that even a 10-minute daily walk can significantly reduce stress levels. Sitting for prolonged periods, she notes, increases feelings of anxiety and stress, while movement prompts positive biological changes in the brain and body. Dr. Aditi advises integrating gentle yoga, resistance training, and various other forms of movement into daily routines to combat stress.
Consistency in dail ...
Strategies and techniques for managing stress
Aditi Nerurkar and Mel Robbins emphasize the critical connection between mind and body health, advocating for a comprehensive self-care approach to manage stress and promote wellness.
The intricate dialogue between the gut and brain plays a pivotal role in mood regulation and stress management. Nerurkar explains how the gut, often considered a second brain due to its multitude of serotonin receptors, participates in an ongoing conversation with the brain through the microbiome. This bidirectional highway of information is so profound that even SSRIs, medications for depression and anxiety, primarily act on receptors located within the gut. With this understanding, research on the psychobiome aims to specifically understand mood regulation, emphasizing the need for good gut health as a foundation for emotional well-being.
According to Dr. Nerurkar, practicing daily gratitude can quiet the internal critic and alleviate stress and burnout by cognitively reframing one's mindset. By shifting focus from the brain's tendency to latch onto negative experiences to appreciating the positives—therefore reducing the amygdala's influence—a consistent gratitude practice can lead to enhanced mood, reduced stress, and better sleep. She suggests jotting down grateful moments to cultivate a resilient, Teflon-like mind that allows negativity to easily slip away.
Aditi Nerurkar discusses the importance of self-com ...
The mind-body connection and the importance of self-care
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