Rangan Chatterjee's Blog, page 48
April 10, 2019
Mental Fitness and Body Image with Natasha Devon MBE - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
We all know what to do to keep physically fit, but few of us
think about what we need to do to keep our minds fit and healthy. Writer and
mental-health and body image campaigner, Natasha Devon argues that just as
there is mental illness, there is also mental fitness. She believes that mental
illness is no different to physical illness – the mind and body do not exist in
silos. She talks about her campaign to get parity of treatment for mental
illness and require workplaces to have mental health first aiders – just as
there are physical health first aiders. We talk about body image for both men
and women and the role of social media. We also discuss why debating is
excellent for building resilience in children. Finally, Natasha gives her top
tips for maintaining mental fitness. This is a really informative and
thought-provoking conversation – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Find out more about Natasha:
Campaigning and AwardsSign the petition to support the mental health of British people at work – Where’s Your Head At WebsiteWatch ‘Naked Beach’, the groundbreaking experiment to change the nation’s attitude to body image Thursdays, 8pm on channel 4 (starting 11th April).
Natasha’s books:
A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental, an A-ZLife Honestly: Strong Opinions from Smart WomenPortrait PositiveFundamentals: A Guide for Teachers & Parents on Mental Health and Self-Esteem
Further learning:
www.tes.com – articles by Natasha Devon www.tes.com – Debating empowers pupils – but it needs funding Huffington Post – 7 Things Campaigner Natasha Devon Wants You To Know About ‘Being Mental’Action for Happiness – Natasha Devon on Mental Health TEDx talk – Is Our Society Breaking Children’s Brains?
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
The Guardian – Six ways to raise a resilient childPodcast #41 – Stress – The Health Epidemic of the 21st Century with Dr Rangan Chatterjee Podcast #51 – Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression with Johann Hari PART 1 Podcast #52 –Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression with Johann Hari PART 2Podcast #15 – Treating Anxiety and Depression with Dynamic Running Therapy with William Pullen Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar PlanAvailable in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease DisappearOrder Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.
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April 3, 2019
Becoming Stress Proof with Dr Mithu Storoni - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Although you can’t see it, stress is everywhere. Once pushed aside as something that couldn’t be explained, stress is now a quantifiable, identifiable, solid thing that has real physical effects on our bodies and our long-term health. But what can we do about it? Neuroscientist, researcher and guest on this week’s episode, Dr. Mithu Storoni, has read over 1,000 academic papers to answer that question. Mithu shares the finding of her research and explains just what stress can do to our bodies and how we can measure it using modern technology. She gives some brilliant practical tips on how we can buffer ourselves from the consequences of stress. I hope you enjoy the conversation!
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Find out more about Mithu:
Mithu’s book:
Stress-Proof: The ultimate guide to living a stress-free life
Medical studies:
Stress and catching a cold: Objective and subjective socioeconomic status and susceptibility to the common cold
Association between stressful life events and exacerbation in multiple sclerosis
Stress and insulin resistance (animal): Acute psychological stress results in the rapid development of insulin resistance
Stress and insulin resistance (human): Longitudinal association between chronic psychological stress and metabolic syndrome
Melatonin for pre- and postoperative anxiety in adults
Further learning:
The Guardian – ‘Deep breath, cup of tea, long walk’: nine ways to stay calm in a crisis
The Times – What the neuroscientist does to beat stress
The Guardian – Mind, body and soul: the rise of the holistic wellness makeover
Forbes – Why Sunlight Is Actually Good For You
Evening Standard – This new book could be the answer to a stress-free life
The Times – Playing Tetris puts stress in its place
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
Podcast – Stress – The Health Epidemic of the 21st Century with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Order Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
The post Becoming Stress Proof with Dr Mithu Storoni appeared first on Dr Rangan Chatterjee.
March 27, 2019
Eating for Longevity with Professor Valter Longo - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
What do we need to eat in order to live a long and healthy life? World-leading researcher in longevity, Professor Valter Longo, shares his views on diet and nutrition in this week’s episode. We discuss high protein diets, ketogenic diets and the concept of a low carb diet. Valter believes that we have over-simplified nutrition by looking at macronutrients in isolation – carbohydrates, fats and proteins – but in actual fact, we need all of these in our diets. And just as there are ‘good’ fats and ‘bad’ fats – some that we should be eating more of and others less of, the same is true of carbohydrates.
Finally, Valter talks about fasting and his novel approach to research whereby he takes ancient knowledge and wisdom and marries it up with the latest science. This is the approach he used when formulating the fasting mimicking diet (FMD), a five-day plan that causes the body to go into fasting mode. Valter talks about the amazing benefits the diet – such as reducing visceral fat and abdominal fat. Although it hasn’t been proven in humans yet, it has been shown to reduce fatty liver, insulin resistance and even improve some autoimmune conditions in mice. This is a really eye-opening conversation – I hope you enjoy it!
DISCLAIMER: Dr Chatterjee accepts no responsibility for anyone deciding to undertake the Fasting Mimicking Diet(ProLon). Please read all the disclaimers on the ProLon website – they state that ProLon is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Also, that it should not be used to treat either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes. Finally, please pay close attention to the ‘Is ProLon Right For Me’ section of the ProLon website if you wish to undertake the diet.
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Find out more about Valter:
Valter’s book:
Further learning:
Valter’s Fasting Mimicking Diet
Valter’s Scientific papers
Lancet study – Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis
Clinical trials with The Fasting Mimicking Diet
Nutrition and fasting mimicking diets in the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases and immunosenescence
Fasting-mimicking diet holds promise for people with digestive problem
How to eat for a longer life: Professor Valter Longo’s rules
Can fasting help you lose weight (or maybe live longer)?
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
Podcast – Why When you Eat Matters with Professor Satchin Panda Part 1
Podcast – Why When you Eat Matters with Professor Satchin Panda Part 2
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Order Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
The post Eating for Longevity with Professor Valter Longo appeared first on Dr Rangan Chatterjee.
March 20, 2019
Re-Defining Happiness with Professor Paul Dolan - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature.
What really makes us happy? Is it a big house, lots of money, marriage and children? Not necessarily. Yet so many of us base what we do upon the ‘stories’ we tell ourselves of what we think should make us happy without paying attention to whether these things actually do make us happy day-to-day. Professor of behavioural science and guest on this week’s podcast, Professor Paul Dolan, believes that happiness is subjective in every way and if we free ourselves from the myth of the perfect life we might each find a life that is worth living.
We discuss how happiness lies in the small stuff, not the big life-changing things. It is located in the things we do and the things we pay attention to – and how we feel about those experiences. Paul argues that the right balance of things that you find fun on one hand and fulfilling on the other, lead you to a happy life. He shares lots of practical tips that can help us all find more fulfilment and ultimately more happiness. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Find out more about Paul Dolan
Paul’s books
Happiness by Design: Finding Pleasure and Purpose in Everyday Life
Happy Ever After: Escaping The Myth of The Perfect Life
Further Learning
bbc.com – Is ‘happy ever after just a myth?
theguardian.com – The money, job, marriage myth: are you happy yet?
thetimes.co.uk – Paul Dolan interview
theguardian.com – Happiness expert Paul Dolan: what makes me happy
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
Blog –How to L.I.V.E more
Podcast –The Science of Happiness with Meik Wiking
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Read about Micro Stress Doses in Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
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March 13, 2019
How to Steal Back Some Me-Time - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Are you overwhelmed with jobs to do? Do you feel like you don’t get any time to yourself to do the things that you want to? Whether it is paying bills, sorting childcare, filling in forms, answering emails, paying parking fines, booking appointments or ordering shopping online – the stuff of life never ends! Let me introduce you to the magic of scheduling. Whilst making a schedule might sound like adding one more task to your already busy day, trust me, it will create time for you.
It’s a practice my wife Vidh adopted when she was first at home with our young son. To counter rising anxiety that there weren’t enough hours in the day, she made a detailed daily schedule that accounted for every minute. ‘Wake up: 6.30, Get ready: 6.45–7.05, Breakfast: 7.05–7.25,’ all the way through until bedtime.
The result? Vidh felt more in control of her life. Each day finished with a satisfyingly ticked to-do list and she was able to enjoy the time she had scheduled for herself, guilt free. Whereas she used to think she wasn’t getting anything done, she would now see a long satisfyingly ticked list in her notebook at the end of every day.
As humans, we are wired to get a little dopamine buzz from completing tasks. We love the feeling of ticking even tiny achievements off, reminding ourselves that we’ve done something. That tick alone gives positive information to the brain: we’re in control of the day and life is good. It shifts us from a stress state into a thrive one. Many top CEOs use scheduling for this reason. It helps them be more productive, while ensuring they have time to pursue hobbies as well as spend with their families
But Vidh’s practice of scheduling had an even bigger impact – she quickly started to find that she had even more gaps opening up in her daily diary that hadn’t been there before. If you are one of the many people who feel there aren’t enough hours in the day and that they never get anything done, take a good hard look at how you spend your day – if you did a brutal analysis of your day, you may be shocked to find how much time you’ve whiled away on social media, email or just prevaricating until you have no choice but to get on with things. Scheduling will address this: it will help you prioritise the most important things that you need to do, improve your efficiency and best of all, help you find time to do the things you love.
How to schedule your day
Think about tomorrow and write down all the places you have to be or jobs you have to do at a specific time (that doctor’s appointment at 10:30am, the 4pm conference call). Then note down all the tasks you’d ideally like to get done, in order .
Next, write down a ‘me time’ activity you’d love to spend time doing but don’t anticipate having enough hours left. It could be a yoga class, a phone catch up with an old friend, a soak in the bath.
Now schedule your entire day, from the moment you wake, including meals, travelling time, everything. Put those fixed appointments in first, then your ‘me time’ (yes, this really does come before the other tasks). Finally, schedule the remaining jobs around these, in order of priority. Those you can’t fit in, don’t forget – you can’t achieve the impossible.
If you finish tasks early, don’t automatically grab your smart phone. Have a mini-moment of calm. Take a walk, do a few minutes’ deep breathing or just linger over a cuppa.
People I recommend this practice to nearly always tell me it enabled them to get more things done than they’d imagined. It may seem prescriptive, but I assure you it will unexpectedly give you much more flexibility to enjoy the things you love.
For more on reducing stress and feeling more productive, year round, order my book The Stress Solution: The 4 Steps to Reset Your Body, Mind, Relationships & Purpose, here.
Enjoyed this blog? I discuss scheduling and other lifestyle habits to improve your health and wellbeing in The Feel Better Live More podcast – find out more here.
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How to Do Less, Do it Better and Live More with Elizabeth Emens - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Do life’s mundane tasks like paying bills, answering emails or booking appointments feel like a whole other job? The stuff of life never ends. It piles up in junk drawers, steals our time, weighs on our minds and, if avoided for too long, can have painful consequences. We are all drowning in things to do and it is a major stressor on our bodies – impacting our health, wellbeing and the quality of our relationships. A big part of the problem is that this “life admin” is invisible: we forget it exists, and the people around us don’t value the labour involved. Not only that, but the constant bombardment of unwanted work gets in the way of our big life goals and our self-care. This week, I talk to professor of law and author of ‘The Art of Life Admin’, Elizabeth Emens, about how we can make this work visible, better manageable and fairer. She gives some brilliant tips on how we can all steal back some time to do the things we want to and bring more calm into our lives. I hope you enjoy the conversation!
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Episode Highlights:
What is Life Admin?
What problems does Elizabeth see that life admin is causing?
Hear Elizabeth’s top tips on how she prioritises her to do list.
Why does recognising the things that fall into Life Admin help reduce the stress they cause?
Hear Elizabeth’s thoughts on multi-tasking and how best to schedule tasks in.
How can we get pleasure from completing Life Admin?
Has improved technology made us more efficient or eroded our leisure time?
How has Elizabeth’s career in Law helped her identify where business models can be improved?
What strategies does Elizabeth use to reduce personal and social admin?
What are Elizabeth’s top tips?
Find out more about Elizabeth:
Website Instagram Facebook Twitter
Elizabeth’s book:
The Art of Life Admin: How To Do Less, Do It Better, and Live More
Further learning:
fastcompany.com – This is why you can’t seem to tackle your admin tasks list
thetimes.co.uk – Goodbye admin, hello more free time
theguardian.com – Life admin is boring and ceaseless but these tricks can help
Tara Brach
The Zeigarnik Effect
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
Blog – How to Steal Back Some Me-Time
Podcast – How Social Media Could Be Making You Ill with Cal Newport
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Read about Micro Stress Doses in Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
The post How to Do Less, Do it Better and Live More with Elizabeth Emens appeared first on Dr Rangan Chatterjee.
March 7, 2019
How to L.I.V.E More - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Now that we have a strong foothold in 2019, how are your resolutions coming along? Often by this time of year, people’s good intentions have fallen by the wayside. I’d like to share some advice that will help you stick to your goals, naturally.
When we consider stress, we don’t usually think of meaning and purpose. But living a life devoid of these qualities is inherently stressful. So often, the poor lifestyle decisions people make, such as bad dietary choices or drinking too much alcohol, have their deepest origins in them not being in touch with their true purpose. If you work in a job you hate, with colleagues you don’t like and a commute that drains and enrages you, is it any wonder that, as soon as you’re home on Friday, you seek solace in wine or chocolate?
I could talk to you about alcohol and sugar being bad for you, and it might help you stick to your resolutions for a week or even a month or two. But if drinking too much or eating unhealthily are compensation for the lack of meaning in your life, you’re always going to struggle. Research proves people with a strong sense of purpose enjoy significantly better health, including less likelihood of developing heart disease, strokes and depression. They sleep better, live longer, feel happier.
Finding your purpose is one of the key life skills I describe in my new book The Stress Solution, along with a four-step strategy to help you get there. I call it L.I.V.E., which stands for love, intention, vision and engagement. Once you get started, I believe your life will start brimming with meaning and purpose. You’ll be happier, calmer, less reactive and, crucially, more resilient in the face of those inescapable daily stresses.
LOVE: Find something you love doing, so it becomes your reason for getting up in the morning. Something you want to do, rather than something you need to do. It could be a sport or a subject to study. It could be painting, playing a musical instrument, astronomy or bee keeping! Immersing yourself in what you love – entering what psychologists call the ‘flow state’ – encourages the growth of your rational brain, making it extremely difficult for your emotional brain to take over and trigger negative thoughts.
INTENTION: Most of us live day to day without much thought, on the never-ending treadmill of life. This second element to L.I.V.E. is all about trying to break out of that trance. I want you to do something each day, no matter how small, with real mindful intent. Cook a meal without distraction, have a shower while being mindful of the warm water flowing down your body. Start paying attention to and taking pleasure in the small things in life, and the big things begin looking after themselves.
VISION: This is to do with the long-term roadmap of your life. Your brain is always planning ahead. If you have a specific and clear long-term vision, it will always be helping you get there. When we know the ‘why’ of our lives, we automatically reduce our stress load. Write down a goal that you would like to achieve over the next 12 months. Think about the steps you’ll need to take to get there. Then, most importantly, take that first step.
ENGAGEMENT: This is about engaging with the world around you. I’d like you to do at least one thing every day for someone else. Something extra that you don’t have to do. It could be saying hello to the cashier in the supermarket and asking how they are, picking up some litter in the street, even some voluntary work. These small acts of kindness will boost your self-esteem and help infuse your daily life with purpose. As time goes on, you’ll come to view your existence as profoundly valuable.
Give some of these techniques a go and let me know how you get on. Find out more about the L.I.V.E. framework and how we can use it to reduce stress, order my book The Stress Solution: The 4 Steps to Reset Your Body, Mind, Relationships & Purpose, here.
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March 6, 2019
Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression with Johann Hari PART 2 - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature.
This week, I continue the conversation with the inspirational Johann Hari, who shares insights from his forty-thousand-mile journey across the world to interview the leading experts about what causes depression and anxiety, and what solves them. But it was not those experts that taught Johann the most, it was the incredible people of a Berlin district called Kotti – he shares the heart-warming story of how an unlikely community was borne out of desperation and the unbelievable transformations that occurred for the whole community as a result of it.
We discuss how our isolated lives mean that our basic psychological needs are not being met and how this is impacting suicide rates, particularly for white males. We delve into how a dramatic change in societal ideals is leading to more unhappiness. Also, how people are turning to screens, social media and other addictions to fulfill their unmet needs. Finally, Johann shares some truly inspirational top tips. This really is a captivating and incredibly important conversation – I hope you enjoy it! My new book, ‘The Stress Solution’ contains lots of practical solutions to help you with many of the issues discussed in this podcast. It is available to order on Amazon now.
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Episode Highlights:
Link to PART 1
Johann talks about the German town of Kotti and the social protests that helped a community to come together.
How is our digital culture affecting the way we interact as a society for better or worse?
Hear Johann talk about the reSTART Life facility in Washington, a rehab centre for people addicted to the internet.
Rangan talks about the L.I.V.E. framework he created in his latest book, The Stress Solution.
Rangan & Johann talk about the impact of digital technology, its addictive nature and how in many scenarios technology has replaced real life.
How has Johann researched addiction along his own journey of addiction and depression?
What are Johann’s top tips?
Find out more about Johann:
Website Facebook Instagram Twitter
Johann’s books:
Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope
Chasing the Scream: The Search for the Truth About Addiction
Further learning:
Read about Kotti, Germany here.
Find out about Dr. Hilarie Cash’s reSTART Life facility in Washington.
Link to Professor Bruce Alexander’s work on drug addiction.
Find Andrew Sullivan, writer & journalist’s book – Virtually Normal.
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
Parkrun – A Celebration of Community with Nick Pearson
How Our Childhood Shapes Every Aspect of Our Health with Dr. Gabor Maté
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Order Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
The post Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression with Johann Hari PART 2 appeared first on Dr Rangan Chatterjee.
February 27, 2019
Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression with Johann Hari PART 1 - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature.
For the past few decades, almost every year, levels of depression and anxiety have increased in Britain and across the Western world. But why? One of the most important voices in this area, Johann Hari, went on a forty-thousand-mile journey across the world to interview the leading experts about what causes depression and anxiety, and what solves them. He shares the fascinating findings of his research in this week’s podcast. Johann explains that although we have been told a story that drugs are the solution to depression and anxiety, in many cases, the cause is not in our biology but in the way we live. He argues that being depressed or anxious does not mean that you are crazy, weak or broken, rather, that your natural psychological needs are not being met. And it’s hardly surprising – we are the loneliest society there has ever been. We discuss how loneliness affects us and how social prescribing can transform lives. We delve into the role trauma plays and how shame is both physically and emotionally destructive. Johann believes that societal values have been corrupted and explains the effect that this is having on our health. Finally, we talk about the role of the workplace and how having autonomy and choices can reduce the likelihood of depression and anxiety. This is a gripping conversation and Johann’s anecdotes are truly captivating – I hope you enjoy it!
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Episode Highlights:
How did Johann’s depression lead him to writing Lost Connections?
What has Johann learned about loneliness in today’s society?
Hear about social prescribing and how this has successfully been taken up by the NHS.
Why does Johann think we need social solutions rather than medical ones to tackle depression?
Hear Johann talk about how a study of Dr Vincent Felitti’s on obesity became to be about childhood trauma and the power of shame.
How did Rangan realise kindness and compassion can provide value in his doctor’s surgery?
Johann talks about ‘junk values’ and how marketing and advertising in today’s society seems more important to us than social connection.
Rangan and Johann talk about how we have lost a lot of our common sense through changes in our modern environment.
According to the world health organisation what are the 3 causes of depression?
How does the current work culture with extended working hours impact our mental health?
Hear Johann and Rangan discuss autonomy and depression and anxiety in workplaces.
'We’ve created a society that is not meeting basic psychological needs for most people.'
Click To Tweet
Find out more about Johann:
Website Facebook Instagram Twitter
Johann’s books:
Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope
Chasing the Scream: The Search for the Truth About Addiction
Further learning:
Johann’s quick facts quiz about depression.
More about John Cacioppo.
Read about Dr Sam Everington at the Bromley-by-Bow clinic.
Link to Dr Vincent Felitti’s research – The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study — the largest, most important public health study you never heard of — began in an obesity clinic
Read some of Tim Kasser, American psychologist’s work.
More about James Pennebaker‘s work at the University of Texas at Austin.
British Medical Journal 346 (May 2013): f3509, Dr Derek Summerfield – Global Mental Health Is an Oxymoron and Medical Imperialism.
J Epidemiol Community Health, Michael Marmot et al. – Effects of income and wealth on GHQ depression and poor self rated health in white collar women and men in the Whitehall II study.
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
Parkrun – A Celebration of Community with Nick Pearson
How Our Childhood Shapes Every Aspect of Our Health with Dr. Gabor Maté
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Order Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
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February 8, 2019
How Social Media Could Be Making You Ill with Cal Newport - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
How did this happen? We’re all living ultra-connected lives. In our pockets we have tiny technological miracles through which we can communicate, instantly, with anyone on the planet. Yet we are lonelier than ever before. Research has shown that levels of anxiety and depression have exploded, especially in the younger generation, who push time spent connected to the extreme.
Professor of computer science and author on this subject, Cal Newport, explains why. We have evolved to be part of a mutually supportive human tribe, where being isolated, meant danger. As far as our brains are concerned, digital interactions do not play the same role as real conversations. Instead, they pull our time and attention away from real-world interactions and our brains react as if something is wrong. In addition, constant connection means that downtime is being eroded from our lives and we are losing the ability to just be.
We discuss the concept of digital minimalism and how we all need to spend time doing what Cal calls, ‘high quality leisure activities’. Finally, Cal gives some brilliant tips on decluttering your digital world. This is a thought-provoking conversation – I hope you enjoy it! I cover these issues in my new book, ‘The Stress Solution’ and suggest simple ways in which we can all bring back real-life connection into our lives.
Click here for more information on our sponsor athleticgreens.com/livemore
Episode Highlights:
Hear about Cal’s books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism
Why does Cal think that ‘less is more’ with social media?
How is social media increasing the rate of loneliness?
Why does Cal think we can benefit from solitude and how social media erode this possibility?
How has our work productivity diminished now that we are ultra-connected through technology?
How is our improved digital connection having a negative effect on our personal lives?
Hear how some people are now growing up dependant on their digital existence being available 24 hours a day.
How big a problem does Cal see our addition to social media?
Hear about the digital decluttering experiment Cal did with a group of volunteers and how they learnt ways to cut out various digital aspects from their day to day lives.
How can having regular ‘analog’ leisure activities help replace time spent digitally?
Does Cal have a smart phone and what did Steve Jobs originally envisage for the iphone?
Why are people reverting to listening to music again via CD or vinyl?
Hear about Tristan Harris and the way social media companies have designed apps to be addictive, like slot machines.
What is the impact on your relationships when you reduce your social media use?
Hear how Cal has studied the Amish community and its view on digital technology and social media.
What are Cal’s top tips?
Find out more about Cal:
Ted talk – Why you should quit social media
Cal’s books:
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Digital Minimalism: On Living Better with Less Technology
Further learning:
The New York Times – A Call to Cut Back Online Addictions. Pitted Against Just One More Click
Sophie Leroy – Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes – Why is it so Hard to do My Work? The Challenge of Attention Residue when Switching Between Work Tasks
David Sax – The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter
Tristan Harris – Ted talk: How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds everyday
Robin Dunbar – We can only ever have 150 friends at most…
Dr Chatterjee’s resources:
The Untapped Wellbeing Resource with Stephen Deuchar
Find Dr Chatterjee’s 4 Pillar of Health in The 4 Pillar Plan
Available in the US & Canada with the title How to Make Disease Disappear
Order Dr Chatterjee’s NEW book The Stress Solution.
The post How Social Media Could Be Making You Ill with Cal Newport appeared first on Dr Rangan Chatterjee.
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