Mathilde’s Musings #3
My weekly digest of discoveries during quarantine.
Hi friends! I hope you’re keeping safe, sane, and getting mentally ready for moving out of lockdown. For Week #3 of Mathilde’s Musings, I’m sharing a few interesting findings from the world of focus, neuroscience and psychology.
🥤Is sugar good for the brain?
We all know that we should cut down sugar –– at least if we want to decrease risks of obesity, heart attack and dementia. When it comes to the brain, however, several studies demonstrate the benefits of sugar.
In particular, glucose has been shown to fuel self-control. That is, the level of glucose in your blood is directly correlated with executive abilities in your brain. Without adequate amounts, your ability to focus is compromised. I first came across this finding in 2018, when I first researched ways to manage my ADHD — a lifelong cocktail of distractibility, inner frenzy and impulsiveness.
I remember being surprised when hearing Dr Russel Barkley recommend sipping on a sugary drink as a way to replenish your executive tank –– it wasn’t long after that I started a new habit that would make my intermittent fasting friends cringe: downing a huge glass of orange juice first thing in the morning.
The connection between glucose levels and focus has to do with how the prefrontal cortex works. It’s the part of the brain involved with long-term planning, impulse control and emotional regulation. It needs a lot of energy to do its (demanding) job well! In Behave, Robert Sapolsky explains:
During frontally demanding tasks, blood glucose levels drop, and frontal functional improves if subjects are given a sugary drink (…) The amount of energy reaching the brain and the amount of energy the frontal cortex needs have something to do with whether the harder, more correct thing happens.
Is this a free pass to gulp soda? I don’t think so! For attention-demanding tasks, however, sipping on a sugary drink might help you stay focused.
Speaking of drinking, I was slightly horrified to learn that the prefrontal cortex develops until age 25. As the last part of the brain to mature, it’s also the part most sculpted by environment and experience, as opposed to genes. I got a flashback of all the binge-drinking that happened in my teenage years. How ironic is that adolescence is the time when we’re most likely to do stupid things… and precisely when the “adult” part of our brain is encoded. Aka what you do aged 18 will shape who you are and how you behave aged 28.
If I could go back in time, I’d tell teenage Mathilde to go easy on the vodka shots. 😅 Perhaps I wouldn’t need to drink sugar to stay focused these days! Joke aside, this is a gentle reminder that regardless of age, taking care of your brain through sleep, exercise and diet is a real present to your future self.
Other Musings
🧠 THE BRAIN
Today, lacking focus is the new norm. As cognitive neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley explains in the Distracted Mind, we’re ancients brains in a high-tech world. Here are some research-backed remedies to regain control over your attention.
👁 THE SELF
I’ve been learning a lot about Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) during quarantine. It’s a behavioural model that encourages you to simultaneously embrace and distance yourself from difficult thoughts, feelings and emotions. If you’re familiar with cognitive behavioural therapy, you know that what you think and how you feel are closely intertwined. At its core, ACT isn’t about challenging the veracity of your thoughts or trying to replace them. It’s about changing your relationship to these private experiences, so they have much less impact over you. This then gives you space to live life according to your values.
Whatever you might be struggling with right now, it’s okay to feel this way. You’ve probably heard this many times. Now what? If you’re looking for practical ways to deal with any sort of anxiety, I highly recommend the work of Steven C. Hayes, the founder of the model.
His latest book, A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters, is packed with research, exercises and examples to help you overcome negative thoughts and emotions.
Diving into ACT brought me perspective. It got me thinking that change is possible — even (or especially) in times of crisis. Speaking of which, Dr. Russ Harris explains how the core principles of ACT can be applied to face COVID in this brief video. Two acronyms, one objective: living a more meaningful life, despite the many internal and external struggles we all have to deal with.
🌎 THE WORLD
Ok, enough brain stuff. What will the world be like after the coronavirus ? Not the same, that’s for sure. The Atlantic predicts the pandemic will change retail forever, while making cities cheaper and safer:
The American cities waiting on the other side of this crisis will not be the same. They will be “safer” in almost every respect — healthier, blander, and more boring, with fewer tourists, less exciting food, and a desiccated nightlife. The urban obsession with well-being will extend from cycling and salads to mask design and social distancing.
Take care of yourself, your loved ones and your brain!
See you next week!
Mathilde
