Unshakeable Brain

One breath of cinnamon and butter can turn a crowded kitchen into a time machine. We dig into why scent doesn’t just remind you of moments—it transports you back into them—by following the direct pathway from the nose to the amygdala and hippocampus, the brain’s hubs for emotion and memory. No detours, no filters, just a visceral flash of home, comfort, and belonging that feels like you’re there again.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

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On this special edition of a Tuesday brain bite, since it's the week of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share with you the power of GRIT and what the research says about it. 

For all those seeking to reach goals, how important is GRIT? Inside this brain bite we break down why grit beats talent, how passion and perseverance work together, and how to train your brain for long-term goals. A simple two-question check and one small weekly...

What if your strongest muscle isn’t a muscle at all? We make a bold case that mental fitness—not just physical training—is the real foundation for performance, health, and resilience. You’ll hear why a brain-first routine can protect you from burnout, sharpen focus, and steady your emotions when life gets loud.

We break down the core capacities that mental fitness trains: 

• sustained attention, 
• emotional regulation,
•  cogn...

What if releasing the life you built is the only way to grow the brain you need next? We sit down with Sandy Wesson—ICU nurse turned functional nutrition practitioner and spiritual healer—to trace a courageous arc from clinical certainty to intuitive service, and to map how thoughts, traumas, and toxins shape every step of that journey.

Sandy shares practical reframing tools to loosen the grip of recurring stories, find ne...

One 10 second breath exercise can stimulate the vagus nerve so your clear thinking comes back online when you're perceiving stress. Inside this episode, you get a guided 4‑6 breath, practical ways to train it, and a reminder that breath can lower stress and inflammation.

• the stress cascade: amygdala alarm, cortisol surge, prefrontal dimming
• sympathetic versus parasympathetic: why mode matters
• the vagus n...

Your brain runs the show—energy, mood, gut motility, immune tone—yet many of us chase supplements and diets while missing the real bottleneck: scrambled brain-body communication driven by hidden infections. We pull back the curtain on how a simple CBC with differential can reveal bacterial, viral, and parasitic pressure that inflames the command center and drains your energy budget. Using clear, memorable thresholds—neutrophils nea...

Free snacks, clear jars, and oversized plates were quietly reshaping a tech giant’s waistline—until a few smart tweaks rewired the cafeteria and the choices inside it. We break down how Google used nudge theory to cut millions of calories without killing morale, then show how to use the same environmental design to upgrade your food, focus, and phone habits at home.

We start with the behavioral science: small changes in vi...

We explore how leaky gut and a compromised blood-brain barrier amplify inflammation, behavior changes, and brain fog, then lay out simple steps to protect both barriers and rebuild energy. Practical swaps, light and sleep routines, and paced detox strategies show families a realistic path to calmer brains.

• functional medicine journey from nursing to root-cause care
• why tight junctions fail in the gut and brain
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Grind isn’t grit when your brain is bouncing checks. We explore the “body budget” idea—how your brain manages metabolic deposits and withdrawals—and why chronic sleep debt, stress, and chaotic schedules quietly bankrupt focus, mood, creativity, and decision-making. Instead of hacks or harder coffee, we map the boring, powerful fixes that actually work: regular sleep windows, morning sunlight, fewer early flights, tighter meeting bo...

We trace Dr. Manuela Powell’s journey from Brazilian cancer surgeon to U.S. trainee, mom, coach, and entrepreneur, and show how questioning your thoughts can protect and strengthen brain health. We connect identity shifts, rest, and resilience to create a practical path toward an unshakable mind.

• moving from Brazil to the US to requalify
• caring for a father with a rare cancer during USMLE prep
• landing at Sloa...

A whale shields a seal from an orca, and somewhere in your brain a quiet circuit lights up: protect, connect, help. We follow that instinct from the open ocean to everyday life, unpacking why humpbacks keep rescuing other species and what their behavior suggests about empathy as a shared biological strategy rather than a strictly human trait. Along the way, we translate big neuroscience—mirror neurons, the anterior cingulate cortex...

Brains don’t misbehave—they communicate. We explore five simple brain patterns that reframe “acting out,” perfectionism, slow pace, letter-flips, and worry into clear strengths with practical supports. From busy-with-information to the deeply sensitive what-if brain, we translate complex neuroscience into everyday tools families and educators can use before breakfast: one-step instructions, predictable routines, visual schedules, m...

We share a compact “brain first aid” kit for moments when emotions surge and focus slips. Breathwork, mindful noticing, growth mindset, self‑kindness, and asking for help form a fast sequence you can use to calm and reset.

• breathing as a brain band‑aid using 4‑4‑4 and belly breathing
• mindfulness as soothing cream through simple sensory noticing and short walks
• growth mindset as an ice pack to cool hot thought...

The data is sobering: more teens feel worse on social, and more parents are deeply worried. We’re feeling it too. So we decided to get honest about what constant feeds are doing to our minds, our families, and our definition of success—and how we can take our brains back. With health and wellness coach (and mom of two) Hali Laricey, we trace the shift from closed-door news to 24/7 urgency and finally to algorithms that personalize ...

Brains don’t wait for perfect conditions to change—they change because we give them simple, repeatable cues. Today we explore how small habits can rewire pathways, why consistency beats intensity, and how a playful bathtub ritual helped a quiet 5-year-old unlock hard sounds like “g.” I share the moment our routine clicked, what targeted practice looks like in real life, and how anchoring drills to everyday moments turns strain into...

Ever feel like your mind is carrying too many voices at once? We dig into the hard truth that our brains were never designed to know what everyone thinks about everything—and how that overload quietly erodes calm, focus, and self-worth. With our guest, Trisha McQueen, we share vulnerable stories about parenting against the grain, protecting children’s innocence in a culture of constant exposure, and building simple rituals that mak...

Your brain isn’t fixed—it’s rewiring with every choice you make. We dive into how neurons connect to form powerful networks and share simple, science-backed ways to strengthen those connections using varied learning, movement, and everyday nutrition. From walking on a treadmill while reading aloud to typing quick summaries and self-quizzing, you’ll hear a practical multimodal study routine that transforms passive review into durabl...

What if the dream you built doesn’t feel like your life? We open the door on a painfully honest truth: you can hit seven figures, buy the picture-perfect house, and still carry a quiet ache that the next milestone won’t fix. That’s the hedonic treadmill at work—dopamine-fueled highs that fade fast—plus the social media illusion that tells you scaling is the only story worth telling.

I share how my business mirrored my brai...

Brains get tested last—and feel it first. We kick off Unshakable Brain by tackling a blind spot most people don’t know exists: standard bloodwork can tell you about your heart, hormones, and liver, but it can’t tell you how your brain is performing or what your nervous system is going through day to day. After reading thousands of labs, Dr. Kylie Burton shares the missing piece—a simple cheek-swab Brain DNA test that helps explain ...