While you might be doing all the “right” things—eating clean, meditating, optimizing your sleep—certain habits act as silent wrecking balls, undoing your progress and draining your mental energy.
Here are the top 5 habits to avoid if you want your brain to thrive:
1. Chronic Multitasking
Modern life glorifies multitasking, but it’s one of the worst things you can do for your brain. Each time you switch between tasks, your brain uses up precious energy reserves. This constant toggling also releases stress hormones, making it harder to focus and think creatively.
Asprey puts it simply: “Deep work is the secret to real productivity. Train your brain to focus on one thing at a time, and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.”
2. Skipping Sleep
Even one bad night of sleep can decrease cognitive performance by up to 30%, according to research Asprey cites. Sleep is when your brain cleans out toxins, repairs itself, and consolidates memories. Without it, brain fog sets in, decision-making falters, and even your emotional resilience takes a hit.
3. Consuming Excess Sugar
High blood sugar doesn’t just harm your body—it inflames your brain. Inflammation disrupts neural communication, slows down processing speed, and blocks neuroplasticity (your brain’s ability to adapt and grow). Sugar also leads to energy crashes, leaving you feeling unfocused and irritable. Asprey calls sugar “a brain killer in disguise.”
4. Sitting for Long Periods
Your brain thrives on movement. Sitting for extended periods suppresses BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), the protein responsible for creating and strengthening neural connections. Without BDNF, your brain’s adaptability and learning capacity take a nosedive.
5. Ignoring Stress
Chronic stress floods your brain with cortisol, shrinking the hippocampus (the part of your brain responsible for memory and learning) and weakening emotional regulation. Stress not only impairs focus but also increases your risk of long-term cognitive decline.
Maybe Neurofeedback is The Ultimate Fix?
Even if you’ve fallen into some of these habits, there’s good news: Neurofeedback can help undo the damage. By retraining your brain’s electrical activity, neurofeedback:
Improves focus and clarity, even after years of multitasking
Enhances sleep quality by promoting restorative brainwave patterns
Supports neuroplasticity to counteract the effects of sugar and inactivity
Rebalances stress responses, reducing cortisol and building resilience
It’s like hitting the reset button for your brain, giving it the tools to recover, adapt, and function at its peak.
Avoiding these habits is the first step to optimizing your brain, but neurofeedback can take you even further. Ready to see what’s possible?