For me, it’s: coffee, work, unbelievably aggressive Zumba (I think my instructor has a death wish), bad reality TV, sleep.
For you, it could be getting the kids up, driving to work, and somehow feeding everyone at the end of the day (I still have no idea how parents do any of it).
But the point is, we’re all stuck in our routines – and most of us never really wonder how good our day-to-day life is for our long-term brain health.
Thankfully, we have neuroscientist Emily McDonald to do all the thinking for us. She recently posted a TikTok explaining the three everyday habits she avoids to keep her brain healthy – and I happen to feel massively called out.
Here are the day-to-day mistakes us non-neuroscientists keep making.
1. Checking our phones first thing in the morning
Personally, I wasn’t aware it was physically possible to start your morning without immediately panic-scrolling.
But as McDonald explains, a tech-free morning is not only viable – it’s much, much better for your mental health than endless AM scrolling.
“Whenever you wake up in the morning, your brainwaves transition form theta to alpha,” she explains.
This makes us more “programmable,” meaning that the first thing we watch or read in the morning can define our mood for the entire day (OK, that might actually be enough to convince me to uninstall Twitter).
As if all that wasn’t enough, McDonald adds that the dopamine hit we get from staring at our screens in the morning can kick-start a day-long phone addiction – not ideal, really, is it?
2. Indulging in negative self-talk
I’m definitely guilty of saying things about myself I’d never think to utter about someone else. And I’m far from alone.
However, McDonald seems to agree with studies like this one, which show that positive self-talk – even when you’re worrying or ruminating – could well make tough times easier.
“The more you put (negative self-talk) into your brain, the more it gets wired in,” she said.
No wonder the National Institute for Health says that “a growing body of research suggests that having a positive outlook can benefit your physical health”.
3. Eating highly-processed foods
I’ll admit it: I’m the first to reach for a bag of chocolate when I’m feeling sad. Or happy. Or angry... you get the picture.
But study upon study has found that highly-processed foods – which can include everything from crisps to supermarket bread – can be extremely damaging to your brain health (sigh).
McDonald specifically referenced the brain-ageing effects of highly-processed foods, and no wonder, as higher consumption (of ultra-processed food) was associated with higher risk of dementia in a 2022 study.
So basically, the only thing I’m doing right for my brain so far is exercising (though to be fair, that does count for a lot).