BBR #179: The Influence of Media on Our Minds

Today's episode I strip away the noise of constant media consumption to uncover the profound effects on our brains and well-being. My own venture into a TV-free week revealed a trove of benefits, from deeper sleep to a mind free of clutter. 

I'll cover how everything we consume shapes our perceptions, subtly influencing everything from our beliefs to those pesky song lyrics stuck on repeat. As I reflect on the wisdom of the iconic Prince regarding content censorship, we'll also confront the captivating designs of technology that often monopolize our attention. 

This episode is a reminder of the crucial role of self-care and mindfulness in the contemporary whirlwind of life. 

I share intimate moments of rest found in the simplicity of watching a candle dance or simply being in one place and paying attention to that opportunity to mend, rejuvenate, and forge a deeper connection with self.  Take this invitation to explore the art of subtraction in your daily life—finding beauty in pausing, breathing, and simply being. 

Get in there and give it a listen for more! 

Transcript

Limiting Screen Time Impact on Brain

Speaker 1 0:07

what is up ? Hello there , my name is jessica patching bunch , you can call me jpb , and this is brain body resilience . This is a podcast dedicated to growth , human development and stressing a little bit less so you can go ahead and live a little bit more .

Speaker 2 0:27

Hello , my friends , and welcome back to the Brain Body Resilience Podcast . I'm your host , jpb , and this is episode number 179 . Today we're talking no TV , because your brain is always collecting information , creating your perception , and it becomes part of you . So a little background . Today's episode comes from a thing that I saw on the interwebs because where else do we see things anymore and from my own experiment in my life .

Speaker 2 0:59

Currently , my husband and I decided to take last week and not watch TV at all , and we usually eat in the living room and watch a little something before bed , and I'd been feeling like we needed a better sleep routine for a while . But it's easier just to sit down and look at the TV after doing all of the other things in the day , so we ended up watching TV until we go to sleep and that is not great for sleep quality and I know that , and it's so much easier to just continue doing that . The other thing is that we have been watching a great show , but real high anxiety , very stressful and violent , and getting the sympathetic nervous system riled up is the opposite of what we want . Going to bed . The other thing that I've noticed is that we wake up , not we I have . The thing that I have noticed is that I wake up with like song lyrics just on repeat in my head . They just are stuck there . Then I just wake up immediately singing these songs to myself in my head , which tells me my head is just full , singing these songs to myself in my head , which tells me my head is just full , it's at capacity , full of all the things that I am consuming and I need to create some space .

Speaker 2 2:18

And so we decided to go for a week without TV and I thought it would be kind of difficult because I don't know , that's because we watch a lot of TV . A lot is relative , but it's frequent . Because we watch a lot of TV , a lot is relative but it's frequent . So I thought maybe I would miss it . But it was great and I didn't miss it at all . It was a lovely unplug and I'm going to keep going in that direction . Not forever , and it's not like a strict no TV rule of any kind , but just much less of that . For sure , we'd like to use screen time to start winding down , to cope from boredom and discomfort , to distract ourselves , and it works for all of that . And all of that is still there when we turn off the TV and to add to it , then we're just overstimulated .

Speaker 2 3:04

The other thing that made me decide to push pause on the screens and add much more intention was a clip of Prince the other day talking about the need for censorship of content . Obviously , I saw it the other day . Prince is no longer with us , so he was not saying this the other day and it is still very relevant now . He was talking about the need for censorship of content available . He said with this point what you watch becomes a part of you , like scary movies or those serial killer shows and podcasts everybody loves . Maybe you like them , maybe they don't affect you and you're not scared by them , maybe they're interesting , but that thing is now part of you . Do you remember what they said ? Do you remember what they looked like ? That now lives in you as a memory , as part of you , and I don't know about censorship , but I do know that the people who make those shows and apps and all of the brilliant smart technology that we have do so with one goal , and that's to keep you engaged , and not engaged in your life , but engaged with that thing , that screen . There are neuropsychologists and neuroscientists who help inform the building of these things , people who understand how the brain works and how it becomes attached and engaged with things , and how addiction works in the brain . And their whole job is to make sure that these things are good not good for us , but to make sure that the product they have for you is so stimulating that you stay engaged . And that's a little detour to my thoughts on that . And that's a little detour to my thoughts on that . And at the same time , we are all responsible for ourselves . As grown people , it is our own responsibility to make decisions and care for ourselves . But , yes , the content you consume movies , music , tv , books , this podcast , the people you surround yourself with these all become a part of you . They help shape your perspective on life , how to live it , where you exist in it , how you exist in it , how you feel your beliefs about it and I've done episodes on this before and I've talked about this . Your diet is not just what you eat . Everything that you consume with all of your senses helps create you and your experience in this life , and all of that contributes to the ways you choose to care for yourself and the ways that you live in the world .

Speaker 2 5:52

I have this song stuck in my head one of the songs I had mentioned previously that I really like and it talks about having a shit boss who doesn't pay you and how we are taught to go to school so that we could get a good job , and so we did , and that doesn't seem to really matter at all . And writing out these notes , I realized that it sounds like this is a terrible song , but it's super catchy and I love it . And I started paying attention to how much I repeat the lyrics in my head . The words just get stuck on repeat and I kept saying over and over again I've got a shitty boss who doesn't pay me . I don't love my job , but those things aren't true . Who doesn't pay me ? I don't love my job , but those things aren't true . And if that's what I'm focused on , that's what I can see , so all of those things can exist . I don't . I don't love my day job , but , um , it's a good job . And when my energy and attention are spent on how much I don't love my job and not on solutions like , okay , what can I do about this , do I want to do something about this ? How can I make this better If I can change my job right now . If I can't change my job right now , how do I make it feel better ? I cannot do those things . If I'm focused on how much it sucks , I'm not thinking about how to do any of that , or even appreciating the really good parts of it . And so all of that to say .

Speaker 2 7:23

Your brain is a collector of information and the information it looks for is dependent on what you pay attention to , the information you react to , the information that you spend your energy on . This is all telling your brain that this is relevant information and to seek out more of that . So , when we're watching a bunch of shit that scares us , or social media that makes us feel like our life isn't good enough , or we're listening to music that talks about how everything sucks , these are the things creating our perspective and contributing to our experience . These are the things that we are feeding ourselves to grow with , and so my challenge to you is to pay attention to what you are watching , reading , listening to things that you are consuming that are helping create you , and then ask yourself if these things are helping you feel safe and secure and confident , or insert other desirable contribution that you would like it to make , or if these things are that you are taking in are adding fear , worry , feelings of lack . And even if it's neither of those , are these activities helping you get where you want to be ? That's kind of where I the question I had with the TV experiment are they helping you get the shit you want to do done ? Because you are the only person who can change where your attention and focus are directed .

Speaker 2 8:57

And so far I'm super happy with my experiment to focus on the things outside of screens .

Prioritizing Self-Care and Mindfulness

Speaker 2 9:04

And suddenly I have so much more time to dedicate to my nervous system hygiene and my sleep hygiene and reading all the articles I save to read and all of the other things on a very long to do list .

Speaker 2 9:17

And also , with that , I want to be very clear and sure to say that this is not a tool to be more productive and squeeze something into every moment . I have also spent this time , these beautiful little , precious moments , staring at candle flames , listening to music and spacing out , just laying there , resting and giving my system a chance to repair and restore , creating space , pressing pause , and so I encourage you to look at where maybe you can subtract something and then not fill that space up immediately , but just leave . Leave a little space just to be , just to press pause , just to breathe , just to notice . All right , that is all I've got for today . Thank you so much for being here . If you enjoyed this episode , please do share it with a friend so that they also might enjoy or find it useful . Until next time , I am wishing you a beautiful week , peace .