Quiet Your Brain - Part 4 of 6

Your day might look “normal” but your nervous system could be interpreting it like a stress test. From the alarm clock on your phone to emails, headlines, social media, buzzing watches, background TV, and bedtime scrolling, we’re asking our brains to process nonstop information with almost no real pauses. When that input never lets up, it’s no surprise you end the day feeling irritable, overwhelmed, unfocused, or mentally exhausted even if you didn’t do anything physically hard.

We dig into an idea that can change how you rest: scrolling isn’t relaxation, it’s distraction. Relaxation helps your nervous system settle and signals safety to your body, while distraction keeps feeding your brain new noise to process. We talk about why the nervous system often can’t tell the difference between stimulation and stress, and how “always on” living can quietly drive burnout, anxiety, and that wired-but-tired feeling.

You’ll also get simple, realistic ways to reduce overstimulation without disappearing from real life: driving without the radio sometimes, keeping phones away from the dinner table, stepping outside for ten minutes without your device, reading instead of doomscrolling, and building a bedtime routine that turns the phone off at least 30 minutes before sleep. I also share a quick experiment to reveal your phone reflex and a gentle challenge to create five to ten minutes of true quiet each day.

If this resonates, subscribe or follow Spandex and Wine, leave a five-star review, and share this with a friend who could use more calm and less noise. What’s one pocket of your day where you can try five minutes of quiet?

Transcript

Welcome To Spandex And Wine

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Spandex and Wine Podcast. I'm your host, Robin Hackney, and I'm so happy that you're here. This podcast is a place for conversations about balancing a healthy lifestyle and being happy. More specifically, happy hour. Together, we'll explore all things wellness and wine. I hope you learn a little, laugh a lot, and along the way, know you're not alone on this balanced wellness journey. Ready to jump in? Pour something in your glass that makes you happy because it's time for Spandex and Wine.

Nervous System Series Recap

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Spandex and Wine Podcast. If you have been following along, you know that we're in the middle of our series on regulating the nervous system. So in the first episode, we talked all about understanding what the nervous system is and why so many of us feel like we are living in this constant state of being on. And then we talked about breath work and how something as simple as changing the way you breathe can tell your body that it is safe. And then last week we talked about sensory grounding and using your senses intentionally to bring yourself back into the present moment instead of letting your thoughts just race ahead. I've been working on that this weekend. I absolutely love it. Of course, you know that I'm doing it while I'm on my screen porch. Where else would I be? And today I want to talk about something that's probably making more of an impact than you realize or that you might want to admit. That might be the bigger part of it.

How Modern Life Overstimulates You

SPEAKER_00 1:33

And it is too much stimulation. So let's just paint a picture. Your alarm goes off in the morning. Before your feet hit the floor, you probably grab your phone because that's probably the alarm that you're using. And as you look at it, you might see the emails that are coming in or text messages. Maybe you catch a glance of the news. You might click on the Facebook button or Instagram. You could already be answering work messages. I don't know. And then you start making breakfast. Maybe you're listening to a podcast while you're making breakfast, um, or while you're driving to work, you're taking a phone call. Probably you'll have music playing while you're working. A lot of people, that is a big thing for them. And then, oh my gosh, this is a big one. Everyone has almost everyone has like a um, excuse me, a watch that will buzz and let you know when you have text messages so that your watch is constantly buzzing, and then your phone dings, and the television is probably on in the background. And then at the end of the day, you finally crawl into bed and you might scroll for another 20, 30, 45 minutes because your brain won't shut off. Does that sound familiar? I bet it does. And if you think about it, our brains were never designed to process this much information all day long. So 20 years ago, we had built-in pauses in our lives. We waited in line at the grocery store, at any kind of store, without looking at a screen. Maybe we even talked to the person in front of us or behind us, God forbid. Um we were typically, I'm not gonna say typically driving in silence, but maybe we did that more. Or you sat on your back porch and you actually watched the sunset without your phone being right there. And I think we've become a little uncomfortable with empty space, not all of us, but some of us. And we try and fill every quiet moment with more input. And the problem with that is that

Stimulation Feels Like Stress

SPEAKER_00 3:27

your nervous system doesn't always know the difference between stimulation and stress. And you've heard me talk about stress in the past and how that can affect your overall health. So every notification, every headline, every video, every decision, every conversation that you have asks your brain to process one more thing. And eventually your nervous system just starts saying, okay, my gosh, this is enough already. And that's when you begin to feel irritable or overwhelmed, maybe unable to focus. I think just mentally exhausted, even though you haven't done anything physically demanding. It's like when you go on a road trip and you're driving and you stop driving and you're like, why am I so tired? I was just driving. But you are constantly on, you're constantly paying attention. So that makes sense. Um, and one thing that I think people don't realize is that they think that scrolling through social media is a way of

Scrolling Isn’t Rest

SPEAKER_00 4:27

relaxing. But it's not relaxing, it's actually distracting. And there's a big difference between being able to just like sit down in your chair and relax, or sit down in your chair with your phone. Relaxing allows your nervous system to settle down. And again, that tells yourself and your body that you are safe. But distraction keeps feeding it new information. And sometimes when we think we're resting, because we're sitting on the couch, like I said, we're not. Our brain is running a marathon. And you might have to start asking yourself, what is my brain consuming today? Right? So, not just food, but information and noise and opinions and conflict and entertainment. Because our bodies respond to what we eat, minds respond to what we consume also.

Simple Ways To Create Quiet

SPEAKER_00 5:21

So, how we reduce excuse me, stimulation without um oh gosh, okay, like moving into the cabin of the woods. How can we do all this without just totally secluding ourselves? I think there's a few things that we can do um, like driving without the radio on. I do this all the time. I think because I have music on in every fitness class or just in the gym. So when I get in the car, it is nice to have that silence. I also have a playlist, I've mentioned this before, that on Apple Music, it's good, it's Spanish guitar. So I will put that on, and that really helps me. But again, even that is distraction. You might try leaving your phone in another room while you eat dinner. That is a big one. I love it when I hear people that they say that's a rule in their family that there can be no phones at the dinner table. Um, I think it's disrespectful to the people around the table as well. So I mean, I know I'm guilty of that also sometimes, but it you're you're totally being distracted and you're being torn away from that present moment. So I think you could also maybe go outside for 10 minutes without taking your phone. There is something very relaxing about when you leave the house and you forget your phone. Initially, you're like, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? And then you're like, heck, no one can get a hold of me. I'm good. It's like the 80s or 90s, it's fantastic. Um, another option would be to sit on your deck. You know that that's one of my favorite ones. It's I do love to start the day on the screen and porch. In the evening, typically we'll end it on the deck. Um, but oh yeah, you could while you're sitting on the deck, you could watch chickens if you have your chickens. That is very relaxing. We love to do that. I think just listening to the wind and maybe just noticing the clouds or actually reading a book is a great way for you to just tune out some of that over-stimulating um content that's out there, all of that noise, helping create a bedtime routine where your phone stays off for at least 30 minutes before bed. It is going to help you sleep better. It is also going to help your nervous system. There's something that you might

Notice Your Phone Reflex

SPEAKER_00 7:30

want to try. Maybe it's on a Saturday or Sunday, or it could be throughout the day. I don't know. But put your phone kind of out of reach and notice how many times you reach for your phone, how many times you flip it over. I don't know how many times I like will go to text someone and I pick up my phone and I'm like, oh my gosh, I click on the email, I click on Facebook, I do this or that, and I put my phone down, I walk away, and I'm like, oh, yeah, I never texted that person. So we're just so used to having that constant simulation. Um I think the habit of just putting your phone away at different times of the day can really teach you a

Why Boredom Sparks Healing

SPEAKER_00 8:10

lot. I also think that we underestimate the value of boredom. Um, we don't have to fill every minute. Some of our best ideas come when our minds have that room to wander and don't have that stimulation in front of us. And I guarantee that some of your deepest prayers happen in quiet. Uh, all of your, like not all of your creativity, but some of those greatest creative moments show up when you stop consuming and you just simply begin noticing. And I know for me, like my best ideas don't come when I'm staring at a computer. It's when I am out walking or I'm sitting on the screen and porch with a cup of coffee, or maybe I'm watching the sunrise. Our nervous systems crave that margin. And it's not that we're lazy. You're not lazy. It's just human. We need that reset, we need that relaxation.

Five Minutes Of No Input Challenge

SPEAKER_00 9:07

So I'd like to give you a challenge. Like last week, I challenged you to try that 54321, and I hope that you did. I would love to hear from you if you did. Um, but for this week, find a pocket of your day where you can intentionally reduce stimulation. Maybe it's five minutes, maybe it's 10. If you recall when I was telling you about when I did my yoga training, one of them, the one up in Omaha, and that one month that that's all we were assigned to do was to just relax for, you know, 15 minutes a day without all of that stimulation. Um, and I lost five pounds. I think that is something fabulous that we can do. So I'm challenging you to do that, maybe to start with five minutes, see where it goes. No phone, no television, no music, no podcast. And I know that you are listening to the podcast right now, and I appreciate that, but you can even turn me off. I will survive. My goal for you in the end is for you not to spend more time listening to me, but for you to feel better. And sometimes feeling better starts with creating more quiet time.

Next Week And Closing

SPEAKER_00 10:16

All right. So that's all I have for you today. Next week, we are gonna talk about when all of these tools and self-care just aren't enough and how to know when it's time to seek professional help. All right. So sometimes regulating your nervous system means asking someone to walk alongside you, and we will explore a little bit of that as well. So until then, take a deep breath, create a little space, and remember that your nervous system wasn't designed to sprint through every single day. Oh my gosh, do yourself the favor of finding quiet. All right, you guys, thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you next week.

Follow Review Share And Connect

SPEAKER_00 10:57

Thank you for listening. If you're enjoying this podcast, be sure to follow Spandex and Wine so you don't miss an episode. To do this, just go to the podcast and click subscribe or follow wherever you are listening. Look for the plus sign or follow button. This is one of the best things that you can do for the podcast. If you'd also be willing to give a five-star review, that would be amazing and much appreciated. Lastly, please share an episode with a friend or five to keep the love going. And join the Spandex and Wine community in our private Facebook group by searching Spandex and Wine. Feel free to reach out to me at any time by emailing info at spandexandwine.com or text me at 913 392 2877. I appreciate you. Thank you.