SYSK TRENDING – How to Make Yourself Smarter

Summary

Podcast Summary: Something You Should Know – SYSK TRENDING: How to Make Yourself Smarter
Host: Mike Carruthers
Guest: Dr. David Bardsley, Author of Smarter Next: The Revolutionary Science for a Smarter, Happier You
Release Date: June 16, 2026

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Overview

This episode explores the science-backed habits and choices that enhance cognitive performance and make people “smarter,” with insights from Dr. David Bardsley. Drawing from his personal journey overcoming learning disabilities and his expertise as an oral surgeon and cognitive performance researcher, Dr. Bardsley discusses practical, everyday strategies to sharpen mental ability at any age—not just for older adults. The episode covers lifestyle factors (sleep, medication, exercise, diet, stress, alcohol) and common misconceptions about intelligence and brain training techniques.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Reality of Cognitive Improvement

• Is it really worth the effort?
  Dr. Bardsley emphasizes that improvements depend on your starting habits. For many, significant gains are possible:
  • “If you’re not already doing any of these things, you can have a very, very significant increase in that cognitive ability.” (04:50, Dr. Bardsley)
  • Those already practicing these behaviors can still improve with increased intensity or discipline (04:43).

Cognitive Decline: Not Just for Seniors

• Mild Cognitive Impairment starts earlier than people think:
  • 50% of people begin to show signs by age 44 (05:20).
  • All dementia and Alzheimer’s cases begin with earlier, milder impairments.
• Examples of mild cognitive impairment:
  • Trouble recalling familiar information (“tip of the tongue” moments) (06:24)
  • Feeling overwhelmed making decisions, procrastination (06:42)

Top Factors That Influence Cognitive Performance

1. Sleep Deprivation

• Seven to nine hours of sleep are vital.
  • Even one night of poor sleep leads to measurable declines (07:07).
  • Military studies:
    • 24 hours without sleep: 30% lower cognitive test scores
    • Six or less hours for five nights: 60% lower scores (07:26)
  • “It’s one of the simplest things that we can do to make sure that we’re functioning at 100% of our cognitive ability…” (08:58, Dr. Bardsley)

2. Medication Side Effects

• Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs negatively impact cognition.
  • Statins (1 in 4 American adults), anticoagulants, antidepressants called out (09:10)
• Aim for medication-free living or reducing to minimal necessary doses (09:10–10:17).

3. Alcohol Consumption

• Any alcohol that produces a “buzz” is already impairing your brain:
  • “If you feel the buzz, you know…that alcohol has gotten into your brain and it’s not doing you any favor, believe me.” (11:35)
• A moderate intake is considered safe for most:
  • 1 drink/day (2 oz hard liquor, 6 oz wine, or a beer) may be harmless or even beneficial for some, but tolerance varies by body size (14:12–14:56)

4. Stress

• Chronic stress releases cortisol and adrenaline, damaging to cognition (15:04).
• Professional help advised for significant anxiety or depression (15:23).

5. Physical Exercise

• The most important factor: Vigorous activity, not just “walking the dog.”
  • “Physical activity, vigorous physical activity, is truly the rifle shot to improving your cognitive ability.” (15:48)
  • Exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells (neurogenesis), contrary to older scientific beliefs (16:09–16:38).
• Repeated emphasis:
  • “If I had to say one single thing, it’s physical movement, vigorous physical activity, and it has to be vigorous.” (22:02)

6. Diet and Nutrition

• Old belief: Fat was the villain; now, sugar and high blood glucose are the real risk for cognitive issues (16:53).
  • High sugar → inflammation & “Type 3 diabetes” (Alzheimer’s as insulin resistance in the brain) (17:17–17:29)
• Favor vegetables, but limit high-fructose fruit and processed sugars (18:04–18:24).

7. Brain Training: Use It or Lose It?

• Evidence shows minimal, if any, lasting cognitive improvement from brain games (crosswords, Sudoku, apps like Lumosity) (19:01–19:42).
  • “…they just don’t make a significant difference overall.” (19:41, Dr. Bardsley)
• These activities aren’t harmful and shouldn’t be discouraged—just don’t rely on them exclusively.

Attention vs. Intention (Keys, Names, etc.)

• Memory lapses are often about inattention, not inability (20:28–21:08).
  • “We tend to remember things that are important to us, and we tend not to remember things that aren’t important.” (20:28)
  • Not remembering where keys are usually means it wasn’t important in the moment, not a true cognitive failure.

What’s Worrisome and What’s Not

• “If you were good at something and now you’re not, that’s the change that becomes worrisome. If you were never good at it in the first place and you’re still no good at it, then don’t worry about it.” (21:08)
• Normal to have lifelong weaknesses (e.g., remembering names, math skills) if they haven’t changed.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the opportunity for improvement:
  “If you’re not already doing any of these things, you can have a very, very significant increase in that cognitive ability.” – Dr. David Bardsley (04:50)

• On sleep deprivation:
  “If you have just one night of disturbed sleep, you will have a measurable decrease in your cognitive ability the next day.” – Dr. Bardsley (07:26)

• On alcohol and the brain:
  “If you feel the buzz, you know that you’ve exceeded your liver's capacity to detoxify that alcohol and that alcohol has gotten into your brain and it’s not doing you any favors, believe me.” – Dr. Bardsley (11:35)

• On exercise as the #1 cognitive booster:
  “Physical activity, vigorous physical activity, is truly the rifle shot to improving your cognitive ability.” – Dr. Bardsley (15:48)

• On attention and memory:
  “We tend to remember things that are important to us, and we tend not to remember things that aren’t important.” – Dr. Bardsley (20:28)

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Key Timestamps for Segments

• [03:34] – Introducing Dr. Bardsley and the value of cognitive improvement
• [05:20] – Cognitive decline starts in midlife; what is mild cognitive impairment?
• [07:07–08:58] – Sleep deprivation’s dramatic impact on mental function
• [09:10–10:17] – Medications and their unexpected cognitive side effects
• [10:18–11:40] – Alcohol’s effect on the brain; what is a “safe” amount?
• [15:04–15:23] – The toll of stress and the need for intervention
• [15:28–16:38] – Vigorous physical exercise is essential for neurogenesis and cognitive health
• [16:53–18:24] – How diet shapes the brain: sugar, fat, and “Type 3 diabetes”
• [19:01–19:42] – Debunking brain games and “use it or lose it”
• [20:28–21:08] – Attention, intention, and why you really lose your keys
• [22:02–22:25] – The #1 actionable takeaway: get vigorous exercise

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Conclusion

Mike Carruthers and Dr. David Bardsley demystify what it really takes to “get smarter”—and debunk common myths along the way. The science is clear: Sleep well, move vigorously, manage stress, watch your medications, mind your diet, and be mindful about what's worth remembering. Habits matter as much, or more, than raw talent, and we all have room to improve our cognitive edge—starting today.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Who wouldn't want to be smarter? Imagine if you could think better, make decisions better, and just get through life with more brainpower to navigate all you have to do in a smarter, more thoughtful way. Well, Meet David Bardsley. David became a dentist and oral surgeon after overcoming some serious learning disabilities when he was younger. When he retired from surgery, he began researching and lecturing on the topic of cognitive performance. And he is the author of a book called Smarter Next the Revolutionary Science for a Smarter Happier you. Hey, David, welcome to something you should know.

[C]

It's my pleasure, Mike.

[B]

So before we begin about making people better, cognitively speaking, if I do all the things you're about to tell me, how much smart, I mean, how much is it worth the effort? Are we just going to move the needle in the laboratory or am I going to go, gee, I feel like my brain is really functioning better?

[C]

Well, that depends on where you are. Now, if you're already doing these things,

[D]

then doing them with a little more

[C]

gusto will move the needle a little bit. But if you're not already doing any of these things, you can have a

[D]

very, very significant increase in that cognitive ability.

[C]

And most people that I find that

[D]

I know of are not doing these things or they're not doing them to

[C]

the degree that's necessary if you want that cognitive improvement.

[B]

When people hear conversations about cognitive ability and brain function, I think there's a tendency to think, well, this only applies to older people as they're getting on in years, and maybe their brain starts to decline. Is this an older person problem?

[C]

The center for Disease Control in the United States estimates that by age 44. 0 that 50% of the population start

[D]

to show some signs of what's called mild cognitive impairment.

[C]

Mild cognitive impairment is they're the first

[D]

steps toward more severe cognitive impairment and

[C]

ultimately with dementia and Alzheimer's. Now, not everyone who has mild cognitive

[D]

impairment by any means, will progress into more serious forms of dementia and Alzheimer's. But what we do know is that

[C]

100% of the people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia started way back

[D]

here with mild cognitive impairment.

[C]

And that's why it's so important to

[D]

either prevent it or deal with it

[C]

at that very early stage.

[B]

So, but what does that mean, mild cognitive impairment? Does that mean I forgot where I put my keys? Or does that mean I can't do math? Or what is. Give me an example of mild cognitive impairment.

[C]

You know, if you notice a song comes on and oh, yeah, this is, oh, I recognize this song. This is, oh, don't tell me, I

[D]

know who it is. It's on the tip of my tongue. And you find you just can't make that connection to that information. It's a sign of cognitive impairment.

[C]

Or you might feel overwhelmed. You know, perhaps someone is pressing you to make a decision on something and you're not quite sure. And, you know, it just seems like there are so many facts and information to try to make that decision, and it just seems overwhelming and you procrastinate, so you don't make decisions as quickly and you're not nearly as confident in those decisions.

[B]

Again, a lot of what you just described we tend to associate with decline in brain function as you get older. So if it's happening in younger and younger people, what's causing it?

[D]

Well, sleep deprivation is huge, absolutely huge. We are a sleep deprived nation, and

[C]

adults, with rare exception, need seven to nine hours sleep a night. And I know all kinds of people, I'm sure you do as well, that say they get by just fine on five or six hours sleep. And they're absolutely correct. That's what they're doing. They're getting by. They are not performing at their cognitive best. One of the simplest things there is to do in psychology is to test that cognitive decrease that occurs with sleep deprivation. If you have just one night of disturbed sleep, you will have a measurable decrease in your cognitive ability the next day. And the military have done the best studies I've ever seen. The military studies are fantastic. Then they show that if you take a group of military personnel of mixed ages and you deprive them of sleep, first of all, you give them a cognitive test, and then you deprive them of sleep for 24 hours, and then you retest them, they will have a decrease of 30% in those test scores. Now, most of us are never deprived of sleep for 24 hours straight. But those same military studies show if you take that same group of personnel of mixed ages, you administer the cognitive test, and now you deprive them of sleep so that they get six or less hours sleep for five consecutive nights, and then you retest them now, they have a decrease of 60% in those test scores. It's one of the simplest things that we can do to make sure that we're functioning at 100% of our cognitive ability is to get that seven to nine hours sleep every night.

[B]

I think everybody can relate to that. I know I can relate to that. If I don't get a good night's sleep, I know, I just know I don't perform as well the next day.

[A]

So what else?

[B]

What else besides getting more and better sleep?

[C]

One of the big factors is side effects of medication. And not just over the counter medication, but prescription medications as well. So many prescription medications have cognitive slowing as a side effect. And some of the extremely, extremely common ones like statins, drugs that are used to lower blood cholesterol. And one out of four adult Americans, 25% of the adult population in the United States takes a statin on a daily basis. A lot of anticoagulants, antidepressants, have a negative cognitive side effect to them. So, you know, our goal, everybody's goal should be to be medication free. And that's, look, it's not possible for everybody, but for the majority of people it is possible. And if you can't be medication free, you want to at least be able to reduce that medication, you know, to a minimal level to get the desired effect. And that's. So many of the medications are due to our poor lifestyle choices. That's why we're on them to begin with.

[A]

Okay, what else?

[C]

Well, you're not going to want to hear this.

[D]

Most people don't. Alcohol is not a friend of your brain and your cognitive ability.

[C]

We can grow human brain cells, human neurons in a petri dish in a lab, and add just one little drop of alcohol and instantaneously, 100% of those brain cells will shrivel up and die. Now, we can't say that that happens in a living brain because we have no means yet of putting a miniature imaging device into a living brain.

[D]

So we that interaction take place.

[C]

But you can drink a certain amount of alcohol and it will never get into your brain. All the alcohol that you consume will

[D]

first go to your liver.

[C]

And your liver has an enzyme which breaks down the alcohol into two substrates, A and B, that get excreted in your urine. If you present too much alcohol to

[D]

your liver, then the alcohol, the liver

[C]

doesn't have the capacity to break down

[D]

that volume of alcohol.

[C]

Some of it will be broken down, some of it will pass through unchanged. It gets into your bloodstream. And in 30 seconds, it's crossed that blood brain barrier and it's in your brain and you will feel the buzz. So if you feel the buzz, you know that you've exceeded your liver's capacity

[D]

to detoxify, that alcohol and that alcohol has gotten into your brain and it's

[C]

not doing you any favor, believe me. And let's face it, you know, people will often say, oh they love glass of wine because it tastes so good.

[D]

Most people drink because they want the buzz.

[A]

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[B]

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[B]

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[B]

So David, because people like the buzz, is there an acceptable level of drinking where it doesn't affect your brain?

[D]

Yes there is.

[C]

And that depends on the individual. So generally people who would have one drink a day and a drink is

[D]

considered like 2 ounces of hard liquor or 6 ounces of wine or one

[C]

beer that that doesn't have any negative effect whatsoever.

[D]

In fact, there are some studies that

[C]

show that it actually has a positive effect, but it's different. You can't just take those exact numbers because it's different. 105 pound woman can't break down the same amount of alcohol as a 250 pound man. So that 250 pound man can consume more alcohol without it ever getting to his brain than a 105 pound woman can.

[A]

What else?

[B]

I'm gonna imagine that stress has a lot to do with this huge, absolutely huge.

[D]

Floods your body with two primary stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, and they have a negative effect on your cognitive ability.

[C]

So anything you can do to reduce

[D]

the amount of stress, stress is good. Anything that you can do.

[C]

And I tell people if they have

[D]

significant stress or anxiety of depression, the

[C]

best thing to do is to get some professional help.

[B]

Okay, what else?

[D]

Well, one of the very biggest ones is exercise. And I shouldn't say exercise. It's the lack of exercise that leads to the cognitive impairment, the lack of movement. So physical activity, vigorous physical activity, is truly the rifle shot to improving your cognitive ability.

[C]

There are now thousands of studies, not hundreds, but thousands. I've read over 500 myself, studies that

[D]

show the improvement in cognition that occurs with vigorous physical activity.

[C]

And it has to be vigorous.

[D]

Unfortunately, a walk around the block with your dog isn't considered vigorous physical activity.

[C]

And that physical activity does two things. It stimulates the growth of new brain cells, which we only discovered 20 years

[D]

ago could occur for 100 years. Before that, neuroscience taught that when a

[C]

brain cell dies, that's it, it's gone forever. You don't grow new brain cells.

[D]

But 20 years ago they discovered for

[C]

the first time that in fact we can grow new brain cells and we can stimulate the growth of those new brain cells. And the single best way of doing

[D]

it is vigorous physical activity.

[B]

So if I vigorously run to the liquor store and

[C]

you vigorously run back, what else?

[B]

Does diet matter much in terms of what you eat or don't eat? And is it more what you eat or what you don't eat?

[D]

You know, 30 years ago it was fat.

[C]

Fat was the enemy.

[D]

So anything you could do to lower the fat content of your diet, we thought was better. And now the science showing that that's not true, that it's really hyperglycemia, it's really high blood sugar that will have that negative effect because that sets up inflammation. The end products of the sugar metabolism

[C]

will set up inflammation everywhere in Your body, including your brain, and actually now, and it produces this insulin resistance.

[D]

And now in the science, they're referring to Alzheimer's really as type 3 diabetes.

[C]

Your brain normally uses sugar as its

[D]

primary sort of fuel. But if you give your body so little sugar that there's not enough, then your body will selectively start to use fats which are known as ketones or ketone bodies, and it will start to metabolize those fats. And a lot of people find their brain works much, much better if it uses these ketones or fat as a fuel rather than sugar.

[A]

So generally, a healthy diet is what

[B]

we consider lots of fruits and vegetables, not a lot of sugar. That kind of thing is a good brain diet as well.

[D]

Half of what you said I would agree with lots of vegetables, not lots of fruits. Fruits are very, very high in fructose, which is a simple sugar that raises your blood sugar dramatically.

[C]

Our grandparents and our great grandparents didn't

[D]

have access to fruit 365 days a year. They only had fruit when it was available in season.

[B]

Often in these discussions about mental decline and cognitive ability, particularly when it comes to older people, you hear the phrase

[A]

use it or lose it, that older

[B]

people need to exercise their brain by doing crossword puzzles and other mental exercises

[A]

that that will help.

[B]

What do you say?

[A]

What's the science say?

[C]

Well, there have been a tremendous number of studies done and they haven't for the most part.

[D]

Some have some show positive benefits, but most show that there's no significant increase if you purposely stimulate your brain doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku or some of the commercially available ones like luminosity and whatnot.

[C]

And so those things are absolutely not detrimental.

[D]

And I would never discourage people from doing those.

[C]

But you don't want to hang your

[D]

hat on that as being the salvation for your mental acuity for the rest of your life, because the studies show that they just don't make a significant difference overall.

[B]

I wonder how much of this has to do with attention and intention.

[A]

In other words, if I put my

[B]

keys down and go back and look for them later and I can't find them, I don't know that that's necessarily a cognitive problem as much as it was an attention problem. When I put the keys down, I probably wasn't paying attention to where I put them. I wasn't real intentional about it. So when I go look for my keys, I can't find them. But the next time, when I'm careful where I put my keys, the next time I know exactly where they are, and I find them easily. So I wonder if in this discussion about cognitive function, that a lot of cognitive function has to do with what you pay attention to.

[C]

Oh, that's a big part of it. We tend to remember things that are important to us, and we tend not to remember things that aren't important. So if you just walked in the house and you flipped your keys on the nearest table and you start talking to someone, you may not remember where you left those keys. It wasn't important.

[D]

You just flipped it them somewhere.

[C]

But if you walked in and said, okay, I've got to be out of here in exactly 15 minutes, I'm going

[D]

to put my keys right over here. And you make a conscious effort, I'm going to put them right here, you'll probably remember where those keys are. We remember things that are important to us.

[C]

So because little. You know, because you misplace something, you

[D]

know, I tell people, don't, you know, don't. Don't get all bent out of shape over that. That's not critical at all.

[C]

And people will often say to me, well, you know, I have a terrible. I can't remember names. It's so embarrassing. And I'm worried about it. And I asked them, well, could you ever remember names? Could you remember names 20 years ago or 30 years ago? And they say, no, I've been terrible all my life at remembering names. Well, there's no change. So what we're looking for is a change. If you were good at something and now you're not, that's the change that becomes worrisome. If you were never good at it in the first place and you're still no good at it, then don't worry about it. There's been no significant decrease.

[B]

That's good to hear. I've never been good at math. I'm still not good at math, but I've never been good at math, so I'm not going to worry about that.

[C]

I'm in the same boat as you, Mike. It's never been my forte.

[B]

So what's the big thing? And I think I know what you're

[A]

going to say, but so what's the big thing?

[B]

If you want your brain to work better, what's the one thing you should do right now, today to make it better?

[C]

If I had to say one single

[D]

thing, it's physical movement, vigorous physical activity, and it has to be vigorous.

[C]

It's the only known thing that stimulates the growth of new brain cells. It stimulates the interconnection between existing brain cells and it increases and balances the

[D]

what are called neurotransmitters, which are the chemicals that let the electrical impulse travel from one brain cell to another.

[B]

It does seem that so much of the conversation about brain function and your cognitive ability is focused around people in their later years. And yet from what you're saying, it seems that if people paid attention to this and implemented this stuff earlier in life and in midlife that it would go a long way to help prevent some of the problems rather than trying to fix problems that show up later in life. David Bardsley's been my guest. The name of his book is Smarter Next the Revolutionary Science for a Smarter Happier you. And you'll find a link to his book in the show notes.

[A]

Thank you, David.

[B]

Thanks for being here.

[C]

My pleasure indeed.

[D]

Mike. Thank you so much.

[A]

And that's this Sysk trending episode. I'm Mike Carruthers. Thanks for listening to something you should know.