Mayo Clinic On Human Optimization – Episode 56

"How to Get More Mileage from Your Brain"

Host: Christopher Camp, MD
Guest: Dr. Amit Sood
Date: March 25, 2026

Episode Overview

This engaging episode addresses a core modern dilemma: striving for higher personal performance while simultaneously valuing wellness, rest, and recovery. Dr. Amit Sood, a global authority on resilience and well-being, joins Dr. Christopher Camp to unpack the concept of "getting more mileage from your brain"—using our cognitive and emotional resources more intentionally to achieve both personal fulfillment and greater impact. They discuss why our brains often default to distraction and negativity, the toll this takes on our lives, and propose practical, actionable strategies for shifting into a more focused and enriching mode.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining "Mileage" for the Brain

• [02:20] Dr. Sood: Mileage isn’t about raw intelligence or memory, but about accumulating meaningful experiences and wisdom.
  • “This is like growing in love, growing in wisdom, growing in grace... to add more life to your years instead of just adding years to your life.”

2. The Challenge: Inefficiency and Distraction

• Default brain operation makes us inefficient by letting external and internal stressors guide our attention.
  • [04:34] Dr. Sood: “The biggest challenge is our inability to choose or our lack of awareness and lack of influence over our attention and emotions... lack of awareness is very expensive.”
• Our brains inherit a negativity bias, focusing on threats rather than positivity or progress, a legacy from evolutionary survival.
  • [19:19] Dr. Sood: “Uncle O was optimistic, Uncle P was pessimistic... The ‘pessimists’ survived more and passed on their genes.”

3. Brain Operating Modes: Automatic vs. Focused

• Automatic (Default) Mode:
  • Default, reactive, and often negative or distracted.
  • Most people spend 60-80% of their time here.
  • [10:10] Dr. Sood: “The more you are in default mode, the less happy you are and the greater your predisposition to anxiety, depression, attention deficit, and dementia.”
• Focused (Intentional) Mode:
  • Deliberate, present, purpose-driven attention.
  • True human flourishing occurs here.
  • [07:06] Dr. Sood: “When you are fully human is when your focus mode or intentional mode is active.”

4. Why It's So Hard to Stay Focused

• Biological constraints: Our brains evolved to scan for danger, and modern life amplifies internal threats and distractions.
  • [16:47] Dr. Sood: “It is challenging to be in the focused mode first because it's upstream. It is expensive… Our ancestors survived with wandering attention.”
• Cultural and environmental overload increases the number of “open files” in our minds, making focus even harder.

5. The Real Cost: Emotional & Metabolic

• Emotional:
  • Default mode increases stress, anxiety, and emotional suffering; humans struggle with negativity far more than other animals.
  • [11:50] Dr. Sood: “We are a species that suffers the most emotionally… Most humans struggle with low self-worth.”
• Physical:
  • Mind wandering and rumination are metabolically taxing and can drive unhealthy behaviors like overeating.
  • [13:46] Dr. Sood: “Cognitive and emotional fatigue predispose us to excessive caloric intake subconsciously.”

6. The Role of Rest and Recovery

• The default mode is necessary (for imagination and connecting past/future) but should not dominate; balance is key.
  • [15:03] Dr. Sood: “No default is absolutely needed. In the right dose. And off late, that dose has increased.”

7. Foundations: Values, Lifestyle, and Synergy

• Lifestyle Factors: Nutrition, sleep, and exercise directly impact mental control and focus by fueling “willpower.”
  • [21:45] Dr. Sood: “All of the unhealthy lifestyles predispose to willpower depletion... inhibitory control is a core executive function.”
• Improvements in one domain (e.g., exercise) can synergistically boost others (e.g., focus).
• Purpose as a North Star enhances resilience against distraction and overthinking.

8. Overthinking: Focused or Default?

• [26:42] Dr. Sood: “Am I choosing my thoughts or is thinking happening to me? ... When you are choosing your thoughts, then you are in the focused mode. When thinking is happening to you that you’re struggling with, that is your default mode.”

Solutions: How to Get More Mileage from Your Brain

A. Three-Step Framework

[29:34] Dr. Sood brings a simple, universal system:

1. Awareness

   • Know yourself, your brain, and your context in the world
   • Convert knowledge into wisdom (“Where your eyes are wide open”)

2. Attention

   • Intentionality in focus: What’s on your “table” vs. what’s “on the menu”
   • Practice letting go of distractions and choosing nurturing experiences

3. Attitude (Mindset)

   • Apply core values:
     • Gratitude
     • Compassion
     • Acceptance
     • Purpose
     • Forgiveness
   • “With these principles, 98% of life’s challenges can soften a little bit. The tea is bitter, this puts honey in the tea.” [31:46]

B. Daily Practice: The RUM Model

[36:55] Dr. Sood introduces “RUM” moments:

• R: Rest
  • Practice mental and cognitive rest, not just physical.
  • E.g., Start the day with gratitude before checking your phone/news. “Rest is an act of self-compassion.”
• U: Uplifting Emotions
  • Seek both dopamine (novelty, excitement) and oxytocin (connection, compassion).
  • E.g., Appreciate music and novelty + practice forgiveness and purpose.
• M: Motivation
  • Find intrinsic purpose-driven motivation, often through service to others.

C. Mindset for Change

• Progress is slow and incremental; years rather than instant transformation.
  • [32:33] Dr. Sood: “It has been 20 years. …It is a process.”
• Shift from fighting your brain to befriending it.
  • [33:23] Dr. Sood: “If you fight with your own mind, who is going to win?... It is about befriending your brain.”

D. Impact Beyond Self

• True happiness is a byproduct of helping and connecting with others.
  • [41:27] Dr. Sood: “Let happiness find you while you're striving to make others happy… Happiness is something you want to stumble on, not something you obsessively seek.”

E. Self-Assessment

• Track "mileage" not by metrics like weight, but by:
  • Increased positive emotions and laughter
  • Reduced cynicism and irritation
  • Deeper connections, patience, and engagement
  • [45:12] Dr. Sood: “When you experience greater proportion of positive emotions, when you find you’re feeling lighter, you laugh more… you’re doing the right thing.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Add more life to your years instead of just adding years to your life.” — Dr. Sood [02:20]
• “Am I choosing my thoughts or is thinking happening to me?” — Dr. Sood [26:42]
• “The more you are in default mode, the less happy you are...” — Dr. Sood [10:10]
• “Let happiness find you as you’re striving to make others happy.” — Dr. Sood [41:27]
• “If you fight with your own mind, who is going to win?” — Dr. Sood [33:23]
• “Rest is an act of self-compassion.” — Dr. Sood [37:31]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Defining Brain Mileage: [02:20–03:48]
• Why We’re Inefficient & Distracted: [04:34–06:49]
• Automatic vs. Focused Modes: [07:06–09:58]
• Percentage in Default Mode: [10:10]
• Negativity Bias: [19:19–21:17]
• Connections to Lifestyle (Sleep/Nutrition/Exercise): [21:45–24:45]
• The 3-Step Framework: [29:34–32:13]
• RUM Model for Daily Practice: [36:55–41:00]
• Practicing Kindness to Yourself: [34:40]
• Tracking Progress/Internal Metrics: [45:12]

Call to Action / Weekly Challenge

• Reflect Daily: Once a day for the next week, pause and ask,
  “Am I choosing my thoughts or is thinking happening to me?”
  Use your answer to guide you toward more intentional focus and presence. [52:00]

Episode Tone & Language

Dr. Sood’s approach is compassionate, wise, and practical—he blends scientific insight with relatable analogies (e.g., “ordering off the menu” and “putting honey in bitter tea”) and encourages a shift from self-criticism to self-kindness. Both speakers strike a supportive, motivational tone, aiming less for perfection and more for ongoing, meaningful improvement—always in the service of a broader purpose.

For Further Exploration

• Dr. Amit Sood’s books: The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living, The Mayo Clinic Handbook for Happiness
• Learn more or contact: optimize@mayo.edu

Summary prepared for those who want actionable insights into how to use attention, intention, and mindset to optimize their cognitive well-being and overall life satisfaction—using both science and humanity as guideposts.