Health Podcast: The 20-20-20 Rule for your Eyes; Dancing Brain Boost; 3% Rule for Exercise

In this episode we feature:

An interview with positive psychology coach Dr. Craig Dowden.

Drink Rosemary Tea for your brain.

Yawns wake you up.

Check your Lip Balm Ingredients

And more ways you can improve your health today!

Stream the John Tesh Sports Album now. Available on all platforms.

For more information, and to sign up for our private coaching, visit tesh.com

Our Hosts:
John Tesh: Instagram: @johntesh_ifyl facebook.com/JohnTesh
Gib Gerard: Instagram: @GibGerard facebook.com/GibGerard X: @GibGerard

Transcript

Unknown: 0:46

Gib, hello and welcome to another episode of the podcast. I'm Gib Gerard here with another one of our special intelligence for your health with Connie Celica. Editions of the podcast, love bringing these to you, it's all kinds of information that you can use right away to live your life a whole lot better, to make yourself a whole lot healthier. Today, this week, Connie's guest is Dr Craig Dowden. He is a positive psychology coach, so I think we can all use a little bit of that right now. Anyway, here, without further ado, is intelligence for your health with Connie Celica blink. Chances are you haven't done that in a while. Now focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. If you do that every 20 minutes, you're following what eye doctors call the 2020, 20 rule. And it matters because we spend a significant portion of our lives staring at screens, and that's not great news for our eyes, because when we stare at a screen, we blink less, and our eyes dry out, and the older we get, the amount of tears we produce decreases, so we need to blink more often. And the American Academy of Ophthalmology says the 2020, 20 rule briefly relaxes eye muscles and encourages more blinking. Get ready to boost your brain power by releasing more BDNF. That's a protein that's like Miracle Grow for brain cells, and studies have shown a link between an increase in BDNF production and a better mood, stronger memory and a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. So here are two ways to increase your BDNF levels, according to Boston University, sip some rosemary tea, hot or iced. People who drank just a half cup of rosemary tea every day boosted their BDNF levels in just 10 days. That's because the active compound in Rosemary switches on genes that increase the production of the BDNF protein. Another way to raise your BDNF levels and protect your brain. Dance. Do that for 30 minutes, and you'll enhance BDNF production. In fact, people who danced for 90 minutes a week had higher levels of BDNF than people who worked out with weights or on a stationary bike. That's because coordinating your movements to music amplifies the effects of being active coming up. We'll talk to positive psychologist Dr Craig Dowden, he'll explain why. It's almost impossible to make effective decisions unless we take control of our negative emotions. But first, our lips are more likely to get chapped in cold, dry, windy weather, and your lip balm could be making things worse. Dermatologist, Dr Leslie Bauman says, bombs that contain camphor and menthol, ingredients that make lips feel tingly, suck moisture from your already dry lips and evaporated it away so they actually make your lips drier. Those ingredients only work if they're counter balanced by moisturizing ingredients like beeswax, shea butter, or coconut or Argan oils, which block moisture loss. So check the ingredients on your lip balm and make sure if it includes camphor or menthol, it also has something like beeswax or shea butter. Do this for 3% of your day, and you'll live longer and be healthier exercise that's according to physiologist Nathan Labra, Director of the Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic, that works out to about 30 minutes a day out of the 16 hours you're awake. Dr lebrazer says the greatest threats to human health today are lifestyle related conditions like cardiovascular and lung diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer's and cancer, they account for three quarters of deaths worldwide, but dedicating 3% of your day to exercise can help prevent or delay those conditions. Dr labrazo says it's a minimal investment that can have a profound impact on your overall health. So what kind of exercise does he recommend? Dr labraiser says we should do a mixture of resistant and aerobic exercise. He also recommends functional training like squats, lunges and pulling, pushing exercises, because those work the muscles we'll need for mobility in old age. Okay, listen to this. We yawn more in winter, not because we're more exhausted, it's because the air is cooler. According to the journal frontiers in evolutionary neuroscience, we yawn to keep our brain at the top of its game, because when we inhale deeply, we're replacing the hot, stagnant. Air in our lungs with the cool fresh air around us, and the brain operates best when it's cool, so yawning draws in cool air and makes us more alert and quicker thinkers. So we yawn more in winter than summer because the air is cooler and don't stifle a yawn. It's your body's way of waking up your brain so you can think better. Today, our guest is Dr Craig Dowden. He's a certified positive psychology coach and best selling author whose latest book is called a time to lead and whether you're trying to manage your family at home or a team at work. Dr Dowden says you can't make effective decisions until you take control of your emotions, because negative emotions specifically have been shown to raise our stress and hijack the part of the brain that controls problem solving and deep thinking. So I asked Dr Dowden to give us an example of how negativity works against us. Well, when we're approaching things from a place of fear, there's a lot of research that shows us that we do not make high quality decisions, because when I'm fearful, I'm in a self protective state. When I'm looking at the world, I see it as full of risks and threats as opposed to opportunities. And what that does is really limit the choices that I consider, and so recognizing when we are in a fearful state and the impact that it has on our decision making that's really important for us, and one of my favorite acronyms for fear is false evidence appearing real. So when we're in a fearful state, a critical self reflection question to ask is, what is the evidence that I have to support my fear? And if a friend of mine or a family member came in and shared their fear with me, and I wasn't convinced by the evidence, what would I say to them in that circumstance? And I find that that question is really powerful in terms of how we can orient our own lives today. We're talking to positive psychologist, Dr Craig Dowden, and he was just saying that if we approach life from a place of fear and negativity, our brain goes into self protective mode, which means it is harder to make high quality decisions. So I asked Dr Dowden what he recommends to help us cope with negative emotions, a terrible strategy is to avoid or minimize the negative emotion. Essentially, our emotions are data points, and negative emotions are trying to tell us when something is not in alignment, it's important and to acknowledge and accept this. Otherwise the issue can build and build and build. Now, a terrific strategy that we can use is to label those emotions and be as specific as possible. And there's a lot of wonderful, thought provoking research around this. So as an example, many of us say things like, I feel awful. Well, the challenge with that is there's a whole bunch of reasons I can feel awful. Maybe I had pizza too late at night, maybe I stayed up too late, and I'm not really sure what's underlying this feeling of awfulness. Now, if I get more specific and I say I feel lonely, what's powerful about this is that this provides us clues with how to address it. So maybe I can reach out to someone on Facebook or give a friend of mine a call or organize a dinner with a family member by being more specific in how we label our emotions, we're more effective and more resilient with dealing with them. And there's also neuro scientific evidence that shows us by being more specific with our labels, we process the emotions more effectively. To make it easier to fall asleep on chilly nights, put a blanket in the dryer for five minutes and wrap yourself in it right before bed. University of Texas researchers found feeling warm and cozy prompts the brain to release calming theta waves, and it will help you fall asleep 20 minutes sooner. And since the heat of the blanket wears off quickly, it won't raise your body temperature enough to disrupt the production of melatonin, which happens as your body temperature drops at night. So on chilly nights, when you find it hard to sleep, wrap yourself in toasty warmth for five minutes and you should nod off a lot faster. Today's medical term more sacashio baccarum, that refers to irritation in the mouth caused by chronic cheek biting. And while most of us have bitten the inside of our cheeks at least once, an estimated one in 800 adults do it often enough to cause a problem. In fact, dentists can tell right away if you have an issue, because over time, cheek biting causes lesions inside the cheek which line up perfectly with your teeth. So when you open your mouth for a cleaning, your dentist will see a ridge along the inside of your cheek. The good news is that most cheek Biting is harmless, and as long as the biting isn't serious enough to cause an infection, it's no big deal. But definitely talk to your dentist if you ever exist. Experience pain or bleeding after biting inside your cheek, they can fit you with a special prosthesis that covers the biting surfaces of the teeth and protects the cheek, or in extreme cases, they can refer you to a therapist who can help you get to the root of any psychological issue causing your cheek biting habit, including chronic stress, and that's today's medical term. More sacashio baccaram coming up. We'll hear more from positive psychologist Dr Craig Dowden. He'll explain why doing good deeds for others almost always makes us feel more positive about our own lives. But first, if you have asthma, pay attention to the weather channel, because you're more likely to have an asthma attack after a thunderstorm. That's according to research from the University of Georgia. They say that the electrical currents caused by rain and lightning break up pollen into extra tiny particles, and the smaller they are, the farther they'll travel on the wind. So if you have asthma and a storm is coming, stay indoors even afterwards. Do you find that you feel less stressed and maybe even more creative when you're in a round room, anything from a gazebo at the park to a circular tent on a camping trip to the rotunda is found in many churches and public buildings. Well, it's not your imagination, because New research from Bond University in Australia shows that round rooms have a more positive influence on our psychological well being than rectangular or square rooms. And in an experiment where people were asked to perform creative tasks in a variety of different shaped rooms, those in round rooms often produced the most creative results. The reason, according to cognitive neuroscientist Dr Oliver Bauman, there is the simple fact that you can't be backed into a corner in a round room, which explains why people observed in circular rooms almost always had lower heart rates and felt less stressed compared to when they were in rectangular rooms. And on a primal level, there's evidence that rounder environments remind us of being in our mother's womb, because people tend to feel safer and happier and get better quality sleep when they're in round rooms. Okay, listen to this. Which is better roasted chestnuts or salted pistachios, even if they're not roasting over an open fire, you should still choose the chestnuts a handful of pistachios has twice as many calories as a handful of chestnuts. But if you're basing your decision on more than calories, both nuts are good for you. Chestnuts are a good source of vitamin C, which will help keep your immune system strong, and pistachios absorb bad cholesterol. In fact, when volunteers at Penn State University ate pistachios every day for four weeks, they saw their bad cholesterol drop almost 12% back with more health intelligence from positive psychology coach, Dr Craig Dowden. And if you're convinced we live in a scary and crazy world, one that's getting crazier every day, the US military has an acronym for that, they describe what we see in the news as VUCA, which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, and surprisingly, Dr Dowden says one of the best ways to stay positive in an increasingly VUCA world is to embrace the uncertainty In our own life, our world is becoming more vukified Every single day. And what's important about this two key elements, the uncertainty and ambiguity. Ambiguity and uncertainty drives stress, so a critical skill that all of us can develop, and this is really important, because these are skills is for us to recognize and to accept that uncertainty is a part of life, and to reframe how we view that uncertainty. So as an example for many of us in uncertain and ambiguous situations, we've had our greatest breakthroughs, our extraordinary successes, it's in those moments where we're unsure of what's going to happen that we can take bold and courageous steps. So rather than seeing uncertainty as scary, let's look at it as an opportunity, as an arena of endless possibility. We can experiment. We can challenge ourselves. We can stretch ourselves, we have the chance to learn, which provides us with an opportunity to grow and exceed what we have right now. And what's crucial around this. How can we build this skill of dealing with uncertainty? Is to put ourselves in as many uncertain and ambiguous situations as possible, smaller ones. All of them, just like going to the gym, help exercise that muscle, and as the world is going to continue to go in that direction, this equips us with one of the most essential life skills for both our personal and professional lives, back with more health intelligence from positive psychologist Dr Craig Dowden. And on this show, we're always talking about the benefits of doing good deeds for others and spreading intelligent kindness. So I asked Dr Dowden to explain why it's more important than ever to do good deeds for others whenever possible. Well, in today's environment, people are looking to connect with individuals who act with integrity, who act with bigger than self goals. They're looking to make a positive difference in their organizations, in their communities, in their families. And there's a lot of great research around this. Kim Cameron is the co founder of the Center for positive organizations out of the University of Michigan, and he talks about the heliotropic effect. And essentially what that means is that human beings are attracted to positive energy and repelled by negative energy. We flourish when we're exposed to positive energy, and we really struggle when we are exposed to negative energy. And this also applies. There's a lot of complementary evidence as well when it comes to emotions, when we're in positive moods, positive states, then we can maximize our potential when we're in more negative emotional states. Well, this tends to undermine our performance. And it's not surprising that time and time again, research shows us that when we do good when we make a positive difference in someone's lives, then that really elevates our level of happiness. It elevates our level of life satisfaction, and we love to support the people around us. If you frequently have indigestion and gas pain, eat more apples. That's because apples are rich in buterate, a compound that soothes the gastrointestinal inflammation that triggers gas and bloating. According to scientists, eating three apples a week will prevent indigestion and belly pain for 60% of us. For the best results, stick with cooked apples, like applesauce or oven baked apples. That's because heat breaks down the simple sugars also known as fructose in apples, which helps prevent the growth of gas producing gut bacteria more intelligence for your health. From positive psychology coach and best selling author, Dr Craig Dowden, and if someone asked you, what do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news? What would you say? Well, most people have a bad news bias, which makes us prefer to hear negative information first. So I asked Dr Dowden where this bias comes from. The reason why we prefer to get the worst news today is because now, okay, I know that I'm what I'm dealing with, and so when I know the worst case scenario, now I can take action. It's also important to recall that from a evolutionary perspective, we are hardwired to scan our environment for threats, and there are decades of research showing that bad is stronger than good. If I lose $20 it hurts a lot more than winning$20 now, when it comes to dealing with other people and how do I break bad news to them, the best thing that we can possibly do is ask the most important people in our lives how they want to engage in difficult conversation with us, such as when I have to give bad news or share something that I'm unhappy about. As an example, I can say, hey, Craig, sometimes there may be some tough things for us to talk about. Maybe I've got some disappointing news to share with you. How would you like for me to approach that conversation with you? What's great is, is that it takes the guesswork out of that conversation, and now both of us are engaged in a collaborative discussion about how we can navigate the trickiest situations in our relationship. What can make a man take more risks while driving if their GPS speaks in a woman's voice. In a study, men were put in driving simulators and given directions by either a female or a male pre recorded voice, and the men who heard a female voice were 40% more likely to accelerate when a stop light turned from green to yellow instead of slowing down and stopping. The researchers believe that men are inclined to show off and take risks when listening to female voices, and the study concluded with advice to car manufacturers to make female GPS voices sound less feminine, to make driving. Safer. Here's an email I received at Connie at intelligence for your health.com. It comes from Brandon Mikulski, who writes, I've been having bad morning breath lately, and I'm wondering what's causing it. Brandon, when you wake up, take a look at your tongue. If it looks like someone painted it white, yellow or orange, you could have acid reflux that's acting up when you sleep. This happens when a valve in the bottom of your esophagus opens spontaneously, sending the contents of your stomach back up. It leaves your tongue coated in digestive acids, and it gives you severe dragon breath. Most acid reflux can be treated with over the counter medication and by avoiding acidic foods like citrus coffee and spicy foods. If that doesn't do the trick, see your doctor, because chronic acid reflux can lead to esophageal cancer. Thank you for your email. Brandon, I hope this helps. Okay, listen to this, the average person hasn't written by hand for over 40 days, and according to a new survey, most of us say that when we do write by hand, it's just a sloppy note to ourselves like a grocery list. Experts say we're writing less because we're sending more messages by text, but studies show that writing by hand is one of the easiest ways to boost memory and creativity. That's because it reinforces information we've learned and stimulates the part of our brain that processes thoughts. Sales of non alcoholic beverages have surged over 400% so are they safe for kids to drink? Dr Molly Bowring is an instructor at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, and she is not in favor of kids drinking non alcoholic beers or other mocktails. It's not for fear of intoxication. It's because it can turn into a form of unconscious role playing. The drinks contain a lot of the same cues as alcohol, like flavor, look, smell, and sometimes even have the same brand as alcoholic beverages, and non alcoholic beverages can prime kids to drink the real thing. Surveys of elementary, middle and high school students in Japan found that about 25% said they were drinking non alcoholic beverages. And students who drank non alcoholic drinks were more interested in drinking alcohol than those who did not drink them. And in Australia, a study looked at teens between the ages of 15 and 17, more than a third had tried zero alcohol drinks, and those who had were more than twice as likely to have also drunk alcohol compared with those who'd never had them. So even though it may seem harmless, keep kids away from non alcoholic beverages. More intelligence for your help from certified positive psychology coach, Dr Craig Dowden, if you'd like to know more about him, check out craigdoughton.com and in his latest book, a time to lead, he talks about the importance of using active listening to build stronger relationships with others. But Dr Dowden says active listening isn't just about paying attention to the words others are using. It's also about paying attention to their body language. So I asked him for some key body language signs to look for. Body language is a powerful interpretational tool, and is an essential element of active listening. So if someone leans back from the table, if we're meeting at a coffee table, and someone's lean back, push back, or another classic one, perhaps folding their arms, furrowing their brow, perhaps their face gets flushed. These are all important signals to recognize in terms of perhaps I've triggered something, and what's important is we can check in on that and ask a question. So as an example, I can say, Craig, I noticed you folded your arms or pushed back. Was there something that I shared or the question that I asked that didn't land well, and now the person has the opportunity to clarify that non verbal signal that they've just sent to you. And they may say, oh, no, I'm I was a little cold and I and I was just folding my arms to keep warm thin. Or they may say, Well, I didn't like how you said x, and now, once again, by asking that question, we have a chance to deepen the relationship, clarify any misunderstandings that may have happened, and I can understand better where the other person is coming from. That's it for our show today, our special intelligence for your health with Connie Selig. Edition of the podcast, I'm Gib Gerard. Don't forget to rate comment and subscribe on Apple podcast. Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. It helps us out a lot. And also, you can reach out to us on social media. All of our links are listed down in the show notes. We try to respond to every DM, every mention of the show, because ultimately, we do the show for you guys. So thank you so much for listening. You.