Are YOU guilty of these bad habits? Neuroscientist reveals the three things she AVOID at all costs to keep her brain healthy
- Emily McDonald, from Arizona, is a neuroscience consultant and mindset coach
- She went viral on TikTok after sharing three things she avoids as a neuroscientist
- McDonald never uses her phone in the morning or talks negatively to herself
A neuroscientist has lifted the lid on the three things she avoids to protect her brain, from using her smartphone first thing in the morning to eating highly processed foods.
Emily McDonald, from Arizona, is known as @emonthebrain on TikTok, where she has over 150,000 followers. She went viral this week after sharing her evidence-based approach to keeping her brain healthy.
The neuroscientist and mindset coach kicked off her video by sharing why she never reaches for her smartphone when she wakes up – a seemingly harmless habit linked to stress.
“When you wake up in the morning, your brain waves transition from theta to alpha. This means your subconscious mind is in a more programmable state,” she told viewers. “The content you consume during this time will have a greater impact on your mindset.”
Emily McDonald, a neuroscientist and mindset coach from Arizona, went viral on TikTok after sharing the three things she never does to protect her brain health
McDonald shared that she never reaches for her smartphone first thing in the morning because it can cause stress and “mess up our dopamine”
McDonald noted that cell phone use in the morning also “whacks our dopamine” and leads us to “keep checking our phones” for pleasures throughout the day.
According to a IDC research report80 percent of smartphone users check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up.
The expert explained in a previous clip that this causes your brain waves to skip the crucial theta and alpha phases and instantly wake up in the beta state, leaving you “stressed and distracted throughout the day.”
Instead of reaching for her phone, she uses this time in the morning to listen to or say affirmations and set her intentions for the day.
McDonald said the second thing she steers clear of is negative self-talk.
Listening to your inner critic has been proven cause stress, anxiety and a decrease in self-confidence. Studies show that too self-criticism affects the ability to achieve goals.
“What you say to yourself matters, and the more you put that into your brain, the more it becomes embedded, and what’s in it is what we manifest,” she explained.
McDonald concluded her video by saying that she also avoids eating highly processed foods due to its negative impact on the brain.
Instead of reaching for her phone, McDonald uses this time in the morning to listen to or say affirmations and set her intentions for the day
The expert explained in a previous clip that using your phone in the morning causes your brain waves to skip the theta and alpha phase and instantly wake up in the beta state
McDonald also shared that she avoids engaging in negative self-talk and eating highly processed foods, both of which can negatively affect the brain.
Studies show that eating too much ultra-processed food dramatically increases the risk of premature death, dementia and heart disease. Experts say a good rule of thumb is to aim for foods with no more than five ingredients.
“There is now enough scientific evidence that what you eat affects your brain,” she told viewers. “Highly processed food leads to brain aging – and we don’t want that.”
The McDonald’s video has been viewed more than 1.1 million times in less than 24 hours.
Hundreds of people have also commented on the clip, with many admitting they are guilty of doing these three things.
“I look at this in the morning, talk negatively about myself, eat a Snickers,” one person replied.
Literally about to go to sleep and glad I saw this. No phone in the morning,” someone else vowed.
“The first moves for the day set the setting for the day,” added another.