← Change Your Brain Every Day
Change Your Brain Every Day
Journey’s Jonathan Cain Opens Up About Death-Defying Childhood Tragedy
00:46:38
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain shares the deeply personal story of how he survived a deadly fire at his Catholic school that claimed the lives of 93 classmates and three nuns—a trauma that left an...
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A
The neighbors tried to help before the firemen got there, but their ladders couldn't reach because it was a half story high. It wasn't code. That's not code. Sadly, one room perished. The whole, entire room. The sister had a mindset of, well, we're going to pray and the environment will come and we'll be okay. And they all put their heads on their desks and they were burned to ashes. Just nothing left of them. It was so hot. How many people lied that 93 children and three nuns.
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B
Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse.
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C
Stay with us to learn how you.
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B
Can change your brain for the better every day. I am so excited this week to welcome Jonathan Cain to the podcast. Jonathan is the rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for Journey. He has written some of their most iconic songs like Don't Stop Believing. He wants a better brain and it had been traumatized. When he was 8 years old, there was a fire at a school that killed 93 people, including three nuns. He had struggles with his faith. There were then issues of fame and drinking too much. He had a skiing accident when he was 59 and was unconscious. We're going to have a great discussion and just a little preview after our episode. He got wildly healthy. Stay tuned.
- [01:54]
C
Hi, I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. I've experienced firsthand the powerful impact that proper supplementation can have on your brain, your body and your mind. That's why I founded BrainMD. Our formulas are scientifically created from decades of clinical research designed to help you think clearer, feel better and improve every aspect of your health, whether it's brain and body power. Max, the same formula I used in the world's largest study of NFL players to optimize brain performance to happy Saffron to boost mood and memory. And pro Brain biotics. Max to improve the gut brain connection. BrainMD delivers the highest quality science backed solutions to help you think and feel better. Tana and I take many of our products every day and as a special offer just for our listeners, you can save 20% on your next order. Visit brainmd.com and use the code podcast20. With a better brain always comes a better life.
- [03:10]
B
Well, we are here with my friend John Kane from Journey which is why I have the Journey shirt on. Went to the Journey concert was spectacular and when I watched what you did on the piano on the guitars to see the music you've made over the last was your 50th anniversary concert. So special.
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A
Thank you.
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B
And I'm so honored that you are Doing this.
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A
Thank you. I'm honored to be here with you and excited about everything you're doing here. The research has been phenomenal, and the roads to understanding the brain are just getting wider and wider. So it's really cool.
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B
Your brain has done amazing things, but you want to do amazing things for 20 more years.
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A
Sure.
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B
That's it.
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A
As we get older, we slow down, and, you know, I think my. I'm still as productive as I would like to be, you know, like, so I'm still writing a lot of music, which I'm happy about, because I have friends that have stopped, you know, altogether. And one of the things I really love is songwriting, you know, that's my passion. So I continue to do that, you know, and that's a satisfying thing because, you know, you want to have a purpose besides just playing in a rock band, you know, and we play the same songs over and over again that we wrote 40 some years ago, you know, so it's. It's. It's enriching and gratifying to me to create something new, whether it's a piano piece or, you know, a pop song or a worship song.
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B
And so if I can help your brain be a little bit better.
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A
Yes.
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B
Then, yes, you'll be able to do the reason God put you on earth even better.
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A
Even better.
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B
Even better. Let's see. Goals. So I read the history. You did? Thank you. I looked at the checklists that I harassed you about.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Yeah. I looked at the cognitive testing. We'll talk about that. And I've looked at your scans, so I have a really good idea. But tell me your goals. What do you want the most out of this?
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A
You stay vibrant. To stay present for the grandkids, for my wife, Paula, and just, you know, brain healthy. Like, wake up every day, you know, wanting to accomplish things, you know, get things done and just live these last. I mean, I'm in the seventh inning. Yeah. You know, and.
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B
But that's when it gets exciting, you know?
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A
Yeah. And probably, I don't know how long I guess I'm going to be on stage, have to really pray about it and make the right decision for my life, you know, how long am I going to be in the game for? And you got to know when it's time to walk away, you know, for sure. So I think this would help me make those decisions, because everything in life.
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B
Is decisions, you know, which come from your brain.
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A
That's right. And so unless you make, you know, healthy decisions for your life, you're going to be Unhappy. Yeah. So I think it's connected. Very much so.
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B
Some of the big things in the history. I saw many successes. You're incredibly creative. But you do have chronic work stress.
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A
Yeah.
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B
It's been frustrating for you. You have to talk about it here.
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A
Yep.
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B
Alcohol started at 17 and you had a period of 10 years where it was really pretty heavy.
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A
Yeah, it was. Yeah.
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B
And now even now it's half a bottle to a bottle a night.
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A
Right.
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B
And you and I chatted and you're a winemaker.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Right.
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A
Connoisseur.
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B
And you have a masterful palate.
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A
That's right.
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B
But it's not serving.
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A
No.
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B
Your brain.
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A
No.
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B
It's making your brain look older than you are.
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A
Okay.
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B
Which probably not what you want.
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A
That's not what I want.
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B
You use because it relaxes you and sort of because you're bored. It does push Paula's buttons because Paula grew up in an alcoholic home.
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A
Right.
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B
So it's sort of like pushing on a boil. It's like a boils there and it's like boom.
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A
Ouch.
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B
Five or six years ago you got some depression. And significant in your history was when you were eight, there was a fire at your school. And I read your book, don't stop Believing it. It's a great book. I recommend it. Tell us about it.
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A
It was, you know, just almost demonic, I would say because of, you know, the Catholic church left some things open they didn't. For example, in the school we were at, the fire safety code was. It was to code for a grandfathered Claus. The building was older in 35 years. So it didn't need sprinkler system. It didn't need, you know, to have the proper equipment in it. Because it was an older building. It was a two and a half story building. The fire alarm wasn't even connected to any fire station. We come to find out the fire extinguishers were 7ft in the air where no one could get them. Oh no. And so all of these little doors that were open for the enemy to come and just. And then we had a kid, 11 year old pyromaniac who had set an apartment fire in Cicero, the nearby subdivision, who supposedly set these papers on fire in the basement. And he was a new transplant. His mother had gotten him out of that neighborhood because he was on hot water for starting this apartment fire. He burned the whole apartment down and they suspect it was him. He's only 11 and he couldn't help himself. He lit this drum of paper up and what he didn't Realize is there was a cold intake pipe that went to the roof. And so the fire burned really hot, and all the smoke and heat went to the roof. It was cold December 1st, you know, so all the heat rises up into.
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B
This is in Chicago, where you live?
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A
Yeah, Chicago, Illinois, 1958, December 1st. And it went up into the roof, gable area in there. And the smoke started building, and then heat started coming, and then it started burning the ceiling from several classrooms to the point that there was all this tar paper on top of the roof. And it was this black smoke from 50 years of tar paper, whatever it was. And it looked like an atom bomb. I mean, it was dark gray, horrible. And it filled all the hallways. I was on the first floor, able to get out, walk out, actually. And I knew it wasn't a fire drill because I could smell smoke, but it was upstairs. You couldn't see this thing raging. That was the weird part. We went out in single file. We stood there looking at the school, and we didn't have our coat. So we left everything in the room and ran outside with a couple of other classrooms. And we lined up and it was eerie silence, smell of smoke. And then all of a sudden, the roof caves in on room 207 or whatever it was. And the screams happened and the kids started jumping out of the windows. You know, the fire escape that normally would come down during a fire drill wasn't coming down. It was just. And I remember always seeing it come down. They had a little crank, you know, and I was just so worried, what's going on here? There should be. There's 200, 300 kids that are going to come down this fire escape, you know, and it turned out the sister forgot the key for the door, and the janitor and one of the head priests ran in and got the key, crawled up on their knees to the second floor, made a right turn, got into the smoky room, somehow managed to get to the door, opened up the door, and the kids started, you know. And if that hadn't happened, we would have lost a lot more children because the fire department still hadn't come yet because the alarm was hooked to nothing. So somebody had made a call in the rectory to call, you know, the fire department. So it was ironic because when the first truck got to the school, they didn't know where the fire was. They were running around the building looking, where's it at? Where's it at? You know. And then, of course, they saw the drum in basement, so they extinguish it. But the school, the School was already on fire somewhere. And I thought it was interesting because the truck that came from downtown was a snorkel truck. The first fire snorkel truck ever built and the second time they ever used it. And it showed up 20 minutes late, sadly. And I watched the snorkel go up the hose right on top of the roof.
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B
So you're outside.
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A
Yeah, I'm watching.
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B
And you're watching this whole thing, and you're 8 years old.
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A
It's a movie, you know, and the parents start coming to pick their children up. It's now. It's like quarter to 3, 20 to 3. And now they're coming in, they're getting hysterical. They have hysterical parents. And the firemen are there trying to do their job. And kids are jumping out of the windows, you know, and they have these nets, you know, for them to jump. Some couple of kids actually jumped from two and a half stories and lived. I mean, not even one guy, he told me he jumped and he didn't break anything. I'm like, that's impossible. You know. So the neighbors tried to help before the firemen got there, but their ladders couldn't reach. Cause it was a half story high. So that we had a basement that was kind of, you know, down in the ground, halfway. So it wasn't, you know, it wasn't code. That's not code. You know, two stories. So all this stuff happened, and sadly, one room perished. A whole entire room. The sister had a mindset of, well, we're going to pray and the firemen will come and we'll be okay. And they all put their heads on their desk and they were burnt in ashes. Just nothing left of them. It was so hot.
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B
How many people died that day?
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A
93 children and three nuns.
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B
Wow.
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A
But the majority, the 70 some children in one classroom. Can you imagine that? 70 kids. We had standing room only in my first. No, I went to Catholic school standing remotely. I used to have to give my seat up, you know, and stand along the side of the room there, the wall there. I got. I got first dibs. And when after lunch, I had to stand against the wall, you know. But these four kids and some of the teachers were very crafty. They got it done. But that snorkel truck went up and put that fire out in about minutes. In minutes it was gone. And I thought to myself, God, if they had only showed up. So there was a lot of questions about why didn't that call. When the janitor went over to the rectory, they said, call the fire department and The Chicago Fire Department got the call late. And according to the janitor's testimony that he. There was some 10, 15 minutes that were not according to his watch, you know, and they blamed it on him for sloppy housekeeping and all this stuff. And it wasn't until a year later they found out it was arson. And it took an expert, and the Chicago Fire Department was going to find out how it was done, you know, so they were really amazing. They still are. Incredible.
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B
And what kind of imprint do you think this left on you?
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A
I had a sadness about me. For example, my fourth grade books. I was in third grade for the fire, and I bought the books early for fourth grade because they were secondhand books. This guy, Marks the Chura, had perished in the fire. And I went to my mother and I said, what am I going to do? This guy is dead. And she said, you're going to dedicate your school life to him and you're going to do really good. Just turn it into a positive job, you know. So I did. I said, wow, okay. Yeah, Mark. So I remember we had a big kind of a funeral and stuff, and I prayed, but I lost something with my faith. You know, there was like an abandonment issue, like, Jesus, are you there? Where are you? And I kept looking at my Mickey Mouse watch going, surely, Jesus, you're going. The firemen. I kept waiting, Coming, they're coming, they're coming. And they didn't come. And I got despair. I got just so depressed. Oh, no. Oh, no. Because it's really happening. These kids are dying in there, you know. And then the idea that, you know, they told us about what happens when you go to hell and it's, you know, hot and you burn. And I'm like, right next to the house of God, you're gonna. We're gonna let this go down like this. This is how it ends. At 20 minutes to 3, all these kids are gonna be in body bags, you know, so that was tough for me, you know, because I. He was my Superman, Jesus, you know, he really was. I would pray to him. He always made things happen for me. I was a Holy Spirit filled kid. And that knocked the wind out of me. It did. And it wasn't until years later, I'm Talking about my 50s, I found a pastor. I was going to this Lutheran church. I baptized my three kids in there. And I struggled with it. Souls that had been lost. And I said, what do we do? And he said, sometimes God requires great sacrifices for great change. And those children created a huge change for fire safety. In schools around the world, that'll never happen again because it's a model of what could happen. So maybe God needed that to show the world, and those kids happened to be in the way of chaos, you know, which I believe it was chaos to create a safer environment around the world. And the whole world came to Chicago to find out what happened. How did all of this go so wrong? Why? Why, why, why? You know, and so, you know, Mayor Daly quickly acted, and the next year, all schools were required to have sprinklers. Everybody you could there. Anything that was two and a half stories was shut down. You weren't allowed to have school, you know, in those kinds of buildings. The fire alarms had to be tested by the fire department. It was a whole new thing right away. It wasn't like a year later or two. Immediately this was put into effect. So he took massive action.
- [19:42]
B
So those children may have saved a lot of lives.
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A
A lot of lives. And so when my pastor put it that way to me, I went, wow, I get it. I get it. And then he pointed me to a scripture where it says, jesus wept. Shortest scripture in the Bible. Jesus wept. And he said he was there. And we went to the 50th commemorative mass there. And the bishop said, all of you have been in an umbrella of grace. Umbrella of grace for all these years. Anybody that was in that fire, God has put an umbrella of grace in your life, whether you know it or not. When I started thinking all the amazing things that happened to me, I end up in journey. How did that happen? Accordion kid from Chicago ends up in journey. It's a stretch, but there it was. And it hit me all that, you know, sometimes tragedy can create a victory. You know, you can find victory through tragedy. You know, like, sometimes it propels. Like, I just remember running to music as fast as I could, and I wasn't looking back. You know, I wasn't going to look back. And I remember taking those school books in fourth grade and really trying hard for that poor soul that lost his life, Mark, you know, in the fire. And so I believe it. You know, ashes for beauty, I guess. You know, it's like, you know, you gotta take these ashes and make something beautiful. And that's what the Lord did for me.
- [21:32]
B
So I'm gonna go through. I have an acronym I like called Bright Minds.
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A
Okay.
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B
You want to keep your brain healthy.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Or rescue it. You have to prevent or treat the 11 major risk factors that steal your mind. And we know what they are. And headline. Just last week, Alzheimer's is highly preventable. And I'm like, really? I wrote a book in 2005 called Preventing Alzheimer's, and it was based on the idea they talked about in the article. If you want to keep your brain healthy or prevent Alzheimer's, you have to prevent or treat these 11 risk factors.
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A
Okay.
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B
And so B is for blood flow, low blood flow. It's the number one brain imaging predictor of Alzheimer's disease. That's why I do a blood flow study. So spect, which we'll see in a little bit, is a blood flow study. So you have high blood pressure, but you're faithful in keeping that treated.
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A
Yes. Right.
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B
Really important.
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A
Yeah. I'm on top of that.
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B
Yeah. Retirement and aging. So you're 74. The older we get, the more serious we need to be. Right. Because, like, our skin falls off our face as we age, that same process happens in the brain.
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A
Sure.
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B
Inflammation. You have arthritis, so that may be a sign of inflammation. Alcohol doesn't help inflammation. It's pro. Inflammatory, especially at the levels that you're doing. Genetics. Your mom had Ms. Not sure why. Family history of depression and some alcohol issues. Who had alcohol issues in your.
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A
My mother's brothers.
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B
Your mother's brothers?
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A
You were. And my dad really kind of dabbled it. He backed off as he got older and drank, but he still drank a ton of beer. I mean, he was. He was banging it. But they. Back in the 50s and 60s, you know, they were drinking the Heavy Heart. I mean, it was like Manhattans and martinis and all this stuff, you know? Yeah. So it was just common. I remember being 17 years old, just getting my permit, driving my. My two drunk parents home, you know, because they were. They're blasted. And my dad was. You're good. You take the wheel. So, you know, I'll drive another drink. You can take the wheel, John. I've only got my permit. That's okay. You got it. You know, so I was around. My uncles all died before they were 70 years old. All three of them. They all had strokes, you know. Wow. Yeah. And my father's. All my father's workers, his friends, his golf buddies all died before they were 65 for cancer, you know, because of the lead.
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B
So you've already outlived your dad and all of those people.
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A
Yep.
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B
But we're not done yet.
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A
No, no, we gotta go.
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B
The H is head trauma, and you fell off a horse multiple times. And I found out today you got dragged.
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A
Yep.
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B
And then talk about this skiing accident when you were about 59 years old. Yeah.
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A
It was. They. Some snowboarder had created a compression bump, like a little lip, a jump. And I was at one of the really nice mountains, Northstar in, up in Tahoe. Yeah, Tahoe. And you pay a lot of money for grooming there, you know. And yet I happened to be going down to the lift. Some snowboarder had knocked my pole out of my hand. So I was going to fetch my pole and I was looking for a route to go to get the pole instead of looking down, you know. And right then my skis hit this bump and I went about 8ft up in the air, the. This way. And I, I knew it wasn't going to end well. And boom. You know, just no, no helmet. My son was with me. My son saw the whole thing. We argued about who was going to wear the helmet. And then in the end, we left it in the car. It could have been, you know, so the ski patrol came and got me and I spent the, the afternoon trying to feel good. But this intercostal muscle hurts so much. I mean, they do those in baseball and football accidents and there's nothing you can do for them, you know, it's like breaking a rib. And it was so sore. So I got separated. Shoulder, you know, a concussion and all this stuff. And it was all because of this thing that didn't belong on the hill. It was. And I went back to the ski patrol, I said, get rid of that thing. Why is this here? You know, I told. I, you know, I was thinking maybe I should sue these people. This isn't cool, you know, this isn't a snowboard run. And, you know, I didn't know it was there. And yet there it was, you know, went straight up.
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B
Well, I must have made you furious.
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A
I was, I was scared that night because of the concussion. So my son stayed with me and he woke me up every three hours.
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B
Did you lose consciousness at all?
- [27:07]
A
Yes, I was out. I don't know, I think they, they might have hit. I don't know how long I was out. I really don't know. It was pretty bad though. I mean, I just lucky to be alive. I could have broke my neck. I mean, the way I looked at it.
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B
We can see it on your scan.
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A
Yeah, it was bad.
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B
I saw in your history there was some mold exposure. Tell me about that.
- [27:30]
A
I am allergic to it. And, you know, the first time I went to Florida, being a Midwest guy with Journey, right. We were on the road. I came down with a severe bronchitis, like an infection that was, it was allergy induced. And I can get, if I get around, because I wasn't used to, like, whatever hotel we were at had some funky something going on in the H vac, you know, And I got sick as a dog. And the doctor that treated me told me, he said your allergies can flare into, you know, these kinds of horrible infections, you know, And I thought I was going to die. I mean, I didn't know what it was, but it was mold induced.
- [28:26]
B
Wow.
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A
Yeah. And I've had shortness of breath from it. You know, it's scary. So you have to keep it under control, but when it's around you, you don't know. You know, it's always new for me. And this hotel wasn't the best hotel, that's for sure.
- [28:45]
B
So the M in Bright Minds is mental health stuff. Talked about the fire, some depression, work stress. PHQ9 is a measure of depression. You have none, which is great. The one we can't see is called ace. Adverse Childhood Experiences. You have two. And it was mostly about conflict at home.
- [29:10]
A
His mom. Yeah, my mom was just tough. And I think she was starting to experience the ms, you know, attacking her nerves and making her irritable. And she had a rough time with menstrual cycles.
- [29:24]
B
Horrible.
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A
You know, she had very rough ones.
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B
I have five sisters and five daughters.
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A
Yeah.
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B
VMS is real.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And for some people, it's really dangerous.
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A
Yeah. Yeah, it is.
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B
Your hope score, that's from like 30 to 65 is really high, so. I love that.
- [29:44]
A
Yeah.
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B
So whether that's.
- [29:46]
A
Well, I wrote don't stop believing, Doc. I mean, I'm sorry. I wrote don't stop believing.
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B
Your vitamin D level's low. I actually want to get a new set of labs on you, so I'll order them and we'll check your hormones. Your BMI is good. Your body mass index. Sleep is good.
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A
So. All right.
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B
The reason people come to see me is because I look at their brain and we do a study called spect. And SPECT looks at blood flow and activity, looks at how your brain works. And it basically shows us three things. Good activity, too little or too much. And then my job becomes balancing it. So here we look at the outside surface of the brain. Here we're looking underneath the brain, down from the top one side, then the other. And this is very important because I'm going to show you why in a minute. We're looking at the top 45% of brain activity. Anything below that shows up as a hole or a dent. So when you see the holes are dense. You don't have holes or dents in your brain. They're just less active than they should be, than what would be normal for your age. And so it should just be full, even and symmetrical. Color doesn't matter. It's the shape. Now here, the color does matter. Blue is average activity. Red is the top 15%, white is the top 8%.
- [31:17]
A
Right.
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B
Which should be here in the cerebellum. And I'm so interested in yours because you're so coordinated musically. Right. I watched that last night that I'm like, it's got great cerebellum. Except alcohol is directly toxic to the cerebellum. You can play these songs over and over again even if you're demented, because your brain knows how to do it.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Right. Your brain, it's a habit. At that point it's automatic.
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A
Right.
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B
And so that 90 minute show you did, you're going to have to lose a whole bunch of brain tissue before that goes bad. But you don't want to lose any brain tissue.
- [32:04]
A
No.
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B
And so this should be really active. Everything else sort of quiet. Let me look at your scan. It's not as good as I want it to be. I want it to be better. So you have a lot of really good activity. But the accident happened here. And you can actually see this big dent.
- [32:31]
A
Yeah.
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B
And that's on the right side.
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A
But.
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B
And probably affected your frontal lobe. So your brain is the consistency of soft butter tofu custard. Somewhere between egg whites and jello. And it's housed in a really hard skull that has sharp bony ridges. And so I asked God, why didn't you put bumper guards around those?
- [33:00]
A
He said, wouldn't that be nice?
- [33:03]
B
Who knew they'd play football?
- [33:04]
A
Yeah.
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B
So this is probably giving you problems with focus and these guys with memory. So now if I was you, I'd ask the question, can you make it better?
- [33:23]
A
Yeah. Yeah.
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B
That's the big question. So let's go here. And this is the beginning. This is one of the areas that dies in Alzheimer's disease.
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A
Okay.
- [33:37]
B
So we want to get rid of this. I'm worried because these are memory centers. We need to make these things better. If you do what I ask you to do and you come back six months from now, because I want you to come back six months from now. We can make your brain look like this. So none of it's dead, but it's sleepy. This is our goal. We can make it a whole bunch better. Now, if you leave here and I know you Won't. But if you did, some people do, and they go, I don't believe any of the things he said. This is where your brain will be when you're 80. And that's not good. And that's an Alzheimer's pattern.
- [34:30]
A
Right?
- [34:31]
B
So. And the reason I show it to you is I want you to have enough anxiety. When the habit comes in, it's like, oh, it's after a concert, I drink. Or, oh, it's 8:00, I drink. Or it's a habit, right?
- [34:49]
A
Yeah.
- [34:49]
B
I mean, the brain's lazy. The brain just does what you allow.
- [34:53]
A
It to do, Right?
- [34:55]
B
Right. I mean, even sometimes I'll drive by Jack in the Box, and before I got sane, I would, like, get a chicken fajita pita, a Diet Coke. And then Saul's like, oh, I should do that. And then whack. I was like, no, you shouldn't. Stay away from that. So we don't want this. This is not our goal. Our goal is this. You want a big, fat brain, and it can be if we do the right things. And, you know, big picture, three things. Brain envy. You gotta care about it, Right? Nobody cares about their brain because you can't see it.
- [35:38]
A
Right?
- [35:38]
B
Right. You can see the wrinkles in your skin or the fat around your belly. And you do something when you're unhappy with that.
- [35:43]
A
Right?
- [35:45]
B
Because nobody looks at their brain. Nobody cares. So care. Stop doing things that hurt it.
- [35:51]
A
Right.
- [35:52]
B
And I think for you, really, the only thing's alcohol. And I haven't seen many other things that you're doing. You eat really well. You like to cook. You're a good cook. You like some of Tana's recipes. It makes me so happy.
- [36:08]
A
Absolutely.
- [36:09]
B
You're working out. Because, you know, the thing that kills us as we get older is frailty.
- [36:15]
A
Yeah.
- [36:16]
B
So you don't want to be frail. Are you lifting weights?
- [36:20]
A
Yes.
- [36:21]
B
Good.
- [36:21]
A
Yes. 10,000 steps a day.
- [36:24]
B
I'm sorry?
- [36:25]
A
10,000 steps a day.
- [36:27]
B
Love that.
- [36:27]
A
Yep.
- [36:28]
B
Yeah, we were comparing steps last night. That was fun. So avoid things that hurt and then do things that help it. What are you taking as far as supplements?
- [36:40]
A
Not much. Not much? No.
- [36:42]
B
Okay, I'm going to put you on my NFL formula. So I did the first and largest study on active and retired NFL players. 400 players, when I put them on our red box. Two packets a day, multiple vitamin, but not a normal one. It's super one. Fish oil and a brain boost that works in six ways. 80% of our players got better. Like, better mood, better memory Better focus, better sleep, better motivation. You do not need better motivation. I'm going to show you. So when we look at the active scan, your basal ganglia are really busy. And sometimes that go with anxiety. You're not anxious? Sometimes that goes with people who can't stop working.
- [37:33]
A
Yeah.
- [37:34]
B
It's like they're always going. They're always thinking, they're always doing something. But sometimes trauma, too, can be stored here. And I think it might be good for you and I to do a little bit of EMDR and just sort of walk through some of those traumas, see if we can turn that down a little bit. Because that could also be one of the reasons you drank, because you're like, I'm not anxious, but maybe it's because the alcohol is medicating it.
- [38:06]
A
Yeah. Yep. Very nice.
- [38:09]
B
So, and your cerebellum's great, but it's not nearly as busy as your basal ganglia, and I want to change that. Do you do any coordination exercises besides music?
- [38:25]
A
Not really. No.
- [38:26]
B
Have you ever played a rocket sport?
- [38:29]
A
I used to. I used to play. I play golf, you know, so that's pretty. You know, but I.
- [38:37]
B
My mother and I argue about. I worry about. It's not my leg.
- [38:41]
A
My knees. My knees and my hips. And, you know, the running thing. I try to go jogging and.
- [38:48]
B
No, no, running is not extra. Running is not a coordination.
- [38:51]
A
Yeah.
- [38:53]
B
Do you play table tennis?
- [38:55]
A
I have. Yeah. I'm pretty good.
- [38:57]
B
Are you pretty good?
- [38:57]
A
Yeah.
- [38:58]
B
I would play.
- [38:59]
A
Yeah.
- [39:00]
B
I would get a table and just get good at it.
- [39:05]
A
Yeah. Okay.
- [39:07]
B
Like, half an hour, twice a week. And I'd even hire a coach. Like, teach me to be really good because that's going to activate this part of the brain.
- [39:17]
A
Okay.
- [39:17]
B
And you'll find your creativity will even be better.
- [39:21]
A
All right, so. Interesting. Yeah.
- [39:24]
B
So here's the plan. So we talk about bright minds risk factors. We should have bright minds plan blood flow exercise, especially coordination exercise and weight training. So I like that. Be strong.
- [39:38]
A
Oh, yeah, right.
- [39:39]
B
Never hurt yourself, but push yourself.
- [39:41]
A
Oh, I do.
- [39:42]
B
So if you stop touring, you're still going to work.
- [39:47]
A
Yeah.
- [39:48]
B
Right. And I just always want you to think. As long as I want my brain to work, I have to be engaged.
- [39:56]
A
Yeah.
- [39:56]
B
And you're the kind of person.
- [39:58]
A
Yeah.
- [39:59]
B
That's just you, naturally.
- [40:01]
A
Yeah.
- [40:01]
B
Right. When I talk to your kids, I'm like, hey, tell me what I should know.
- [40:05]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [40:06]
B
And they went, he's always engaged. He's always interested, curious.
- [40:12]
A
Yeah, sure. That's me. Yeah.
- [40:14]
B
So you have to keep that how are your gums? Good. You know the dentist regularly?
- [40:22]
A
Yes, I do. I take good care of my teeth. Yeah.
- [40:24]
B
Floss every day.
- [40:25]
A
Oh, yeah. I've got a water pick. I don't. I don't fool around with my teeth. No. But my parents had periodontal. They lost all their teeth. I mean, it was terrible.
- [40:36]
B
That put you at risk for else.
- [40:37]
A
Oh, yeah. I take care of my teeth.
- [40:40]
B
Love that.
- [40:41]
A
Yep.
- [40:41]
B
And then genetics. Just be serious about prevention. I'm going to test you for the APO E4 gene and that'll change. Some of my interventions, if you have that.
- [40:52]
A
Yeah.
- [40:54]
B
Protect your head. So no more skiing without a helmet.
- [40:57]
A
No, I would never do that.
- [40:59]
B
Toxins. So avoid exposure. Limit alcohol. There's an app I like called Think Dirty. It's not what you think it is. It allows you to scan all your personal products. It'll tell you on a scale of 1 to 10 how quickly they're killing you. Because it's not just alcohol. It's also the products that have PAR. Parabens and phthalates and BPAs. The Coca Cola Company is proud that they have BPAs in their cans.
- [41:30]
A
I don't drink that stuff. I don't.
- [41:32]
B
So you want to sweat, which you do. Saunas. Do you have a sauna at home?
- [41:39]
A
I don't like saunas.
- [41:40]
B
You don't like saunas?
- [41:41]
A
They dry me out.
- [41:42]
B
They dry out?
- [41:43]
A
Yeah. I'm not a big fan of them. Okay. I just don't think they.
- [41:48]
B
Well, then the hyperbaric oxygen.
- [41:51]
A
Yeah, I'm interested in that.
- [41:53]
B
Avoid toxic foods and products. The mental health stuff will work on killing the ants. You don't have a big ant infestation in your head. Ant stands for automatic negative thoughts. Make sure your vitamin D is healthy, your hormones are healthy, your diet's already good. Sleep, you don't. Your sleep fine. So don't worry about that. So. And this is how it goes.
- [42:22]
A
Yeah.
- [42:22]
B
When people first come to see me, but you're doing awesome. When most people come to see me, they're doing terrible.
- [42:31]
A
Yeah.
- [42:32]
B
Good days and bad days, but mostly bad. And then we start the program and they get better, but it's not in a straight line. They're better and then not better than not. The point of this slide is when things like, I'm not better, it's. We want to learn from that rather than go, this stuff doesn't work right. So every day we win or we learn. Every day we win or we learn. Awesome. So I work with BJ Fogg. He's A professor at Stanford.
- [43:09]
A
Yeah.
- [43:10]
B
And he created this process on how people change. And he said, you have to make it as small as possible.
- [43:19]
A
Yeah.
- [43:20]
B
Right. And so the mother tiny habit, whenever you go to do something, just go, good for my brain or bad for.
- [43:27]
A
Right.
- [43:28]
B
Good for my brain or bad? So I worked with him like every day for six months and I love him and he loves me. And then we stopped. And then a year later, we're at a conference together and he goes, I have to thank you. I said, okay. He said, I stopped drinking because of you.
- [43:44]
A
Yeah.
- [43:44]
B
He said, I Now wake up 100% every day.
- [43:49]
A
Every day. Yeah.
- [43:49]
B
And that's a good goal.
- [43:51]
A
That's a good goal.
- [43:52]
B
Be 100% every day. When Drew Carey said eating crappy food isn't a reward, it's a punishment, I'm like, oh, he's going to stay healthy because he had the right mindset. Right. It's not deprivation. It's not, oh, I can't have this or I can't have that. It's, well, what do you want more? This huge wine cellar process in your brain or clarity?
- [44:24]
A
Right.
- [44:25]
B
Energy.
- [44:28]
A
Right.
- [44:29]
B
I mean, it's like, what do you want more? And for me, I want energy.
- [44:34]
A
Yeah, sure.
- [44:35]
B
And I want good decisions and I don't want dementia and I never want to have to live with my children.
- [44:41]
A
Yeah.
- [44:43]
B
Love them, don't want to live with them.
- [44:49]
C
Are you excited to optimize your brain? Help the brains of those you love? Do you want to prevent or treat memory problems, anxiety or depression? Do you want to be happier? That's why I created Amen University to take what I've learned over the last 45 years and help you have a better brain, a better mind and a better body. You can take course like our 30 day happiness challenge, which was shown in research to increase happiness by 32% in just 30 days. Or memory rescue or overcoming anxiety, depression, trauma and grief, or healing. Add at home in 30 days and much more. We also have professional course courses and courses for kids, including brain thrived by 25, which was found in independent research to decrease depression and improve self esteem. And as a special offer just for our listeners, you can save 20% on your next course. Visit amen university.com and use the code podcast20.
- [46:13]
B
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Subscribe Leave a review if you have a great story. DM us@docamo on Instagram.