Hacking Dopamine & Simple Ways to Improve Your Brain Health

Mel Robbins: Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to a mind-altering episode of the Mel Robbins Podcast. Today, I'm going to introduce you to someone who has had a profound impact on my life, on my husband's life. Who am I talking about? His name is Dr. Daniel Amen. He is one of the world's leading experts on the brain. He is a psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist, and his 10 brain clinics around the world treat over 4,000 patients a month, including treating more than 100 former NFL players with concussion trauma. And I not only love this guy because of the difference he's made in my life, I love him because he is so focused on teaching us all how to improve the physical health of our brains through very simple, accessible, often free little changes that you can do that based on his research can change and improve the health of your physical brain. And what I learned from Dr. Amen is that when you start to improve the physical health and the structure of your brain, when you learn how to increase blood flow and take better care of your brain, it improves your mental health. It impacts your happiness, your energy, your vitality, all of it. And so I'm going to tell you the difference that he made in my life. I first met Dr. Amen because he has these clinics all over the world. And I went to one and I got a brain scan and it really revealed on a physical level, all kinds of things about the type of ADHD that I struggle with. And when I went over the brain scans with Dr. Amen, he explained to me that one of the reasons why I respond so profoundly to medication is because the medication, when working correctly for somebody like me, it shows in the brain scan, how certain parts of my brain light up, how blood flow increases. I learned so much about my old coping behaviors. It was like, it was almost like somebody had pulled back the curtain and explained so much simply based on the physical structure of my brain. He was even able to show me a part of the brain where I have damage from a car accident that I experienced when I was little. And he told me simple things that I could do to even start to heal that part of my brain. And so you're going to learn today, even if you don't get a brain scan, I'm going to give you all kinds of tools and tactics. You're going to learn simple things you can do in order to improve the health and structure of your brain to actually heal it. And what happened next is he said, you know, I would love to scan your husband's brain. And at this point in time, it had become very clear that my husband, Chris, who's very stoic, he's a very centered, mindful guy, but he was really struggling. He just seemed down and sad. And so we go and we see Dr. Amen and they scan Chris's brain. And when we went over the results of Chris's scan, it was one of those medical conversations that is very sobering. Because Dr. Amen looked at the two of us over a Zoom call and said, normally when I see a brain that physically looks like this, it's on an autopsy. And he not only pointed out that Chris had had lots of concussion damage due to being a ski racer growing up, but he also pointed out that Chris was clearly struggling with dysthymia, which I had never heard of that term, but it's a term that they use to describe long-term treatment-resistant depression. He also pointed out that there was damage based on addiction. And it was Dr. Amon's diagnosis that made Chris truly accept the fact that he wasn't just sad, he wasn't weak, he was dealing with depression. It's what led him to go see a psychiatrist. It would led him to lose the shame and the stigma associated with seeking treatment and to take an antidepressant and using simple protocol from Dr. Amen over the course of a year. Chris has not only improved the structure of his brain and the simple habits that you're going to learn today are the simple things that Chris did. And you can do them too. After a year of taking medication, Chris is now no longer on an antidepressant. He doesn't drink. He doesn't smoke weed daily. His physical brain has changed. I feel like I have the guy that I met 27 years ago back. Like it's, this is really big stuff, you guys. And, you know, I think a lot when it comes to mental health, we think about your thoughts and we think about your nervous system. But Dr. Amen is the first person that made me really stop and think, oh, I've never really thought about the physical health of my brain. Never really thought about the fact that if I increase blood flow up there, it's going to make a big difference. I never really thought about the fact that you could heal your brain. And that's what Dr. Amon's mission is. To teach all of us how to take better care of our brains, to teach all of us simple daily habits that you can use to heal damage that's been done by life, and to teach you how to be smarter about your health overall by focusing on that. I don't even know what it is. I always think about the brain like a giant bowl of macaroni because that's what it looks like, but to get serious about it. And you don't need to go to his clinic. You don't need to spend a lot of money because he is going to give you things you can do today. Things that I do, things that Chris does, and things that people around the world are doing to heal their brains and to become happier human beings. And so I am so excited for you to hear Dr. Amen today. I mean, this dude is a double board certified psychiatrist. I don't even know what a double board certified psychiatrist is, but it sounds like he's got a lot of degrees and a lot of education. And more importantly, he is on a mission. He's on a mission to help end mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health that is accessible to you and me. He is the author of 12. Did you hear that? 12 New York Times bestselling books, including a new book called Change Your Brain Every Day that's going to be released in 2023. He has clinics around the world that see over 4,000 patients a month, and he is constantly sharing video content for free all over social media. I mean, this guy is 68 years old. He's bald. He wears a lab coat, and he is going viral almost every single week on TikTok because of the video content that he shares online about ADHD, depression, brain health. This guy is a genius. And today he's your doctor. He is joining us to help you learn simple ways to improve the health of your brain. That yes, you can boost your mood. You can increase dopamine and serotonin. You can lower cortisol levels, all of which make you happier and healthier human being. And so without further ado, please meet my friend and a complete brainiac, Dr. Daniel Amen. Thank you so much for being with us.

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, I love being with you. So thank you for having me.

Mel Robbins: Oh, you're the best. You know, one of the reasons why I love you is you have been a expert on the brain and a psychiatrist for 40 years, and you do not focus on what's wrong with us. You literally teach us how to bring out more awesomeness through brain health. You call it elite brain training. What is that?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, a long time ago, I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing. And it's wrong. There are brain health issues. And if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. People often don't understand that. Your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. Everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet is to end the whole concept of mental illness and create this revolution in brain health, which is why I'm so grateful to hang out with you today.

Mel Robbins: Oh, I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I just was struck by the fact that you distinguished between the brain and the mind. What's the difference between your brain and your mind?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And people get this mixed up all the time, but you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. And if you saw the scans of people with Alzheimer's disease, you see that they're wildly damaged. And then that person is no longer fully that person because their brain has been damaged. People really need to know if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain. And so are you saying that absolutely anybody can improve the physical health of their brain and that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health? Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight, your mind will be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow. And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

Mel Robbins: Like, you know, it's interesting because you're right. There is so much information and so many conversations out there about mental health, but you have this revolutionary approach of teaching all of us how to take better care of our brain and how to improve our brain itself and how that has a direct impact. So I want to start at the very beginning because, you know, you've been doing this for 40 years. You are, in my opinion, the world's leading expert on the brain. And can you give us just a 101 on the brain and what you want anybody and everybody to know about the brain? And I want you to speak directly, Dr. Amen, to somebody who may be listening, who's never thought about this topic before.

Dr. Daniel Amen: Your brain is involved in everything you do, how you think, how you feel, how you act, how you get along with other people. It's the organ of intelligence, character and every single decision you make. And when your brain works right, you work right. And when your brain is troubled for whatever reason, you're sadder, sicker, poorer, because your decisions aren't as good. Today, I'm in Miami, but I usually live in Newport Beach where we have more plastic surgeons than almost anywhere in the world. Because people care more about their faces, their breasts, their bellies and their butts than they do their brain. And that's insane because it's your brain that makes you attractive. It's your brain that makes you happy. It's your brain that keeps you purposeful or it's your brain that is the organ of rage. And so getting your brain right is critical. And these three steps: Brain envy, avoid anything that hurts it, know the list. And quite frankly, most second graders would get a 90% if you gave them 100 things that hurt their brain. And then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. and I worked with BJ Fogg for six months. He runs a persuasive tech lab at Stanford on how people change. And we develop tiny habits. You know, what's the smallest thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference? And the mother tiny habit is whenever you go to do something today, ask yourself, is this good for my brain or bad for it? And if you can answer that with information and love, love of yourself, love of your family, love of your mission, you're going to just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you, you.

Mel Robbins: All right. Let me unpack this. So number one, brain envy is this idea of actually caring about the health of your brain. And so do you recommend that you have somebody in mind that you envy? Like clearly I envy you because you take incredible care of your brain. But is it just this concept that you just actually have to wake up and realize that what's in between your ears is the most important aspect of your health and wellness period? Is that what you're saying?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Yes. And number two, you then said that there are these micro habits that you have developed. What are three micro habits that have the biggest impact on the health of your brain other than asking yourself, is this good or bad for my brain?

Dr. Daniel Amen: I start every day with today is going to be a great day. Because once you get the physical functioning of your brain healthy, you then have to program it. So I start every day. So why is today going to be a great day for you? Directing your mind, it puts your brain in a positive state. And then my favorite of all the habits I do is when I go to bed at night, I say a prayer and then I go, what went well today? And I go on a treasure hunt. And I actually start from the very moment I woke up looking for what was right about the day. And I've done this now seven or eight years. And even the night my dad died, about two and a half years ago, and it was an awful, awful day. I did it because it was my habit, right? The brain is lazy. It does what you nudge it to do. And so it really helped me, even in a really hard time. But it's almost my favorite time of the day because like you, I'm busy and great things will happen. And I'll just not really focus on it. Let's take a short pause to hear from our sponsors and we'll be right back with Dr. Raymond.

[Break]

Dr. Daniel Amen: So I love being with you. So thank you for having me.

Mel Robbins: Oh, you're the best. You know, one of the reasons why I love you is you have been a expert on the brain and a psychiatrist for 40 years, and you do not focus on what's wrong with us. You literally teach us how to bring out more awesomeness through brain health. You call it elite brain training. What is that?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, a long time ago, I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing. And it's wrong. There are brain health issues. And if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. People often don't understand that. Your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. Everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet is to end the whole concept of mental illness and create this revolution in brain health, which is why I'm so grateful to hang out with you today.

Mel Robbins: Oh, I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I just was struck by the fact that you distinguished between the brain and the mind. What's the difference between your brain and your mind?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And people get this mixed up all the time, but you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. And if you saw the scans of people with Alzheimer's disease, you see that they're wildly damaged. And then that person is no longer fully that person because their brain has been damaged. People really need to know if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain. And so are you saying that absolutely anybody can improve the physical health of their brain and that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health? Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight, your mind will be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow. And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

Mel Robbins: Like, you know, it's interesting because you're right. There is so much information and so many conversations out there about mental health, but you have this revolutionary approach of teaching all of us how to take better care of our brain and how to improve our brain itself and how that has a direct impact. So I want to start at the very beginning because, you know, you've been doing this for 40 years. You are, in my opinion, the world's leading expert on the brain. And can you give us just a 101 on the brain and what you want anybody and everybody to know about the brain? And I want you to speak directly, Dr. Amen, to somebody who may be listening, who's never thought about this topic before.

Dr. Daniel Amen: Your brain is involved in everything you do, how you think, how you feel, how you act, how you get along with other people. It's the organ of intelligence, character and every single decision you make. And when your brain works right, you work right. And when your brain is troubled for whatever reason, you're sadder, sicker, poorer, because your decisions aren't as good. Today, I'm in Miami, but I usually live in Newport Beach where we have more plastic surgeons than almost anywhere in the world. Because people care more about their faces, their breasts, their bellies and their butts than they do their brain. And that's insane because it's your brain that makes you attractive. It's your brain that makes you happy. It's your brain that keeps you purposeful or it's your brain that is the organ of rage. And so getting your brain right is critical. And these three steps: Brain envy, avoid anything that hurts it, know the list. And quite frankly, most second graders would get a 90% if you gave them 100 things that hurt their brain. And then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. And I worked with BJ Fogg for six months. He runs a persuasive tech lab at Stanford on how people change. And we develop tiny habits. You know, what's the smallest thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference? And the mother tiny habit is whenever you go to do something today, ask yourself, is this good for my brain or bad for it? And if you can answer that with information and love, love of yourself, love of your family, love of your mission, you're going to just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you, you.

Mel Robbins: All right. Let me unpack this. So number one, brain envy is this idea of actually caring about the health of your brain. And so do you recommend that you have somebody in mind that you envy? Like clearly I envy you because you take incredible care of your brain. But is it just this concept that you just actually have to wake up and realize that what's in between your ears is the most important aspect of your health and wellness period? Is that what you're saying?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Yes. And number two, you then said that there are these micro habits that you have developed. What are three micro habits that have the biggest impact on the health of your brain other than asking yourself, is this good or bad for my brain?

Dr. Daniel Amen: I start every day with today is going to be a great day. Because once you get the physical functioning of your brain healthy, you then have to program it. So I start every day. So why is today going to be a great day for you? Directing your mind, it puts your brain in a positive state. And then my favorite of all the habits I do is when I go to bed at night, I say a prayer and then I go, what went well today? And I go on a treasure hunt. And I actually start from the very moment I woke up looking for what was right about the day. And I've done this now seven or eight years. And even the night my dad died, about two and a half years ago, and it was an awful, awful day. I did it because it was my habit, right? The brain is lazy. It does what you nudge it to do. And so it really helped me, even in a really hard time. But it's almost my favorite time of the day because like you, I'm busy and great things will happen. And I'll just not really focus on it. Let's take a short pause to hear from our sponsors and we'll be right back with Dr. Raymond.

[Break]

Dr. Daniel Amen: So I love being with you. So thank you for having me.

Mel Robbins: Oh, you're the best. You know, one of the reasons why I love you is you have been a expert on the brain and a psychiatrist for 40 years, and you do not focus on what's wrong with us. You literally teach us how to bring out more awesomeness through brain health. You call it elite brain training. What is that?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, a long time ago, I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing. And it's wrong. There are brain health issues. And if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. People often don't understand that. Your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. Everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet is to end the whole concept of mental illness and create this revolution in brain health, which is why I'm so grateful to hang out with you today.

Mel Robbins: Oh, I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I just was struck by the fact that you distinguished between the brain and the mind. What's the difference between your brain and your mind?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And people get this mixed up all the time, but you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. And if you saw the scans of people with Alzheimer's disease, you see that they're wildly damaged. And then that person is no longer fully that person because their brain has been damaged. People really need to know if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain. And so are you saying that absolutely anybody can improve the physical health of their brain and that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health? Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight, your mind will be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow. And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

Mel Robbins: Like, you know, it's interesting because you're right. There is so much information and so many conversations out there about mental health, but you have this revolutionary approach of teaching all of us how to take better care of our brain and how to improve our brain itself and how that has a direct impact. So I want to start at the very beginning because, you know, you've been doing this for 40 years. You are, in my opinion, the world's leading expert on the brain. And can you give us just a 101 on the brain and what you want anybody and everybody to know about the brain? And I want you to speak directly, Dr. Amen, to somebody who may be listening, who's never thought about this topic before.

Dr. Daniel Amen: Your brain is involved in everything you do, how you think, how you feel, how you act, how you get along with other people. It's the organ of intelligence, character and every single decision you make. And when your brain works right, you work right. And when your brain is troubled for whatever reason, you're sadder, sicker, poorer, because your decisions aren't as good. Today, I'm in Miami, but I usually live in Newport Beach where we have more plastic surgeons than almost anywhere in the world. Because people care more about their faces, their breasts, their bellies and their butts than they do their brain. And that's insane because it's your brain that makes you attractive. It's your brain that makes you happy. It's your brain that keeps you purposeful or it's your brain that is the organ of rage. And so getting your brain right is critical. And these three steps: Brain envy, avoid anything that hurts it, know the list. And quite frankly, most second graders would get a 90% if you gave them 100 things that hurt their brain. And then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. And I worked with BJ Fogg for six months. He runs a persuasive tech lab at Stanford on how people change. And we develop tiny habits. You know, what's the smallest thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference? And the mother tiny habit is whenever you go to do something today, ask yourself, is this good for my brain or bad for it? And if you can answer that with information and love, love of yourself, love of your family, love of your mission, you're going to just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you, you.

Mel Robbins: All right. Let me unpack this. So number one, brain envy is this idea of actually caring about the health of your brain. And so do you recommend that you have somebody in mind that you envy? Like clearly I envy you because you take incredible care of your brain. But is it just this concept that you just actually have to wake up and realize that what's in between your ears is the most important aspect of your health and wellness period? Is that what you're saying?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Yes. And number two, you then said that there are these micro habits that you have developed. What are three micro habits that have the biggest impact on the health of your brain other than asking yourself, is this good or bad for my brain?

Dr. Daniel Amen: I start every day with today is going to be a great day. Because once you get the physical functioning of your brain healthy, you then have to program it. So I start every day. So why is today going to be a great day for you? Directing your mind, it puts your brain in a positive state. And then my favorite of all the habits I do is when I go to bed at night, I say a prayer and then I go, what went well today? And I go on a treasure hunt. And I actually start from the very moment I woke up looking for what was right about the day. And I've done this now seven or eight years. And even the night my dad died, about two and a half years ago, and it was an awful, awful day. I did it because it was my habit, right? The brain is lazy. It does what you nudge it to do. And so it really helped me, even in a really hard time. But it's almost my favorite time of the day because like you, I'm busy and great things will happen. And I'll just not really focus on it. Let's take a short pause to hear from our sponsors and we'll be right back with Dr. Raymond.

[Break]

Dr. Daniel Amen: So I love being with you. So thank you for having me.

Mel Robbins: Oh, you're the best. You know, one of the reasons why I love you is you have been a expert on the brain and a psychiatrist for 40 years, and you do not focus on what's wrong with us. You literally teach us how to bring out more awesomeness through brain health. You call it elite brain training. What is that?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, a long time ago, I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing. And it's wrong. There are brain health issues. And if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. People often don't understand that. Your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. Everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet is to end the whole concept of mental illness and create this revolution in brain health, which is why I'm so grateful to hang out with you today.

Mel Robbins: Oh, I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I just was struck by the fact that you distinguished between the brain and the mind. What's the difference between your brain and your mind?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And people get this mixed up all the time, but you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. And if you saw the scans of people with Alzheimer's disease, you see that they're wildly damaged. And then that person is no longer fully that person because their brain has been damaged. People really need to know if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain. And so are you saying that absolutely anybody can improve the physical health of their brain and that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health? Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight, your mind will be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow. And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

Mel Robbins: Like, you know, it's interesting because you're right. There is so much information and so many conversations out there about mental health, but you have this revolutionary approach of teaching all of us how to take better care of our brain and how to improve our brain itself and how that has a direct impact. So I want to start at the very beginning because, you know, you've been doing this for 40 years. You are, in my opinion, the world's leading expert on the brain. And can you give us just a 101 on the brain and what you want anybody and everybody to know about the brain? And I want you to speak directly, Dr. Amen, to somebody who may be listening, who's never thought about this topic before.

Dr. Daniel Amen: Your brain is involved in everything you do, how you think, how you feel, how you act, how you get along with other people. It's the organ of intelligence, character and every single decision you make. And when your brain works right, you work right. And when your brain is troubled for whatever reason, you're sadder, sicker, poorer, because your decisions aren't as good. Today, I'm in Miami, but I usually live in Newport Beach where we have more plastic surgeons than almost anywhere in the world. Because people care more about their faces, their breasts, their bellies and their butts than they do their brain. And that's insane because it's your brain that makes you attractive. It's your brain that makes you happy. It's your brain that keeps you purposeful or it's your brain that is the organ of rage. And so getting your brain right is critical. And these three steps: Brain envy, avoid anything that hurts it, know the list. And quite frankly, most second graders would get a 90% if you gave them 100 things that hurt their brain. And then the third thing is regularly do things that help it. And I worked with BJ Fogg for six months. He runs a persuasive tech lab at Stanford on how people change. And we develop tiny habits. You know, what's the smallest thing you can do today that will make the biggest difference? And the mother tiny habit is whenever you go to do something today, ask yourself, is this good for my brain or bad for it? And if you can answer that with information and love, love of yourself, love of your family, love of your mission, you're going to just start making better decisions because you care about the organ that makes you, you.

Mel Robbins: All right. Let me unpack this. So number one, brain envy is this idea of actually caring about the health of your brain. And so do you recommend that you have somebody in mind that you envy? Like clearly I envy you because you take incredible care of your brain. But is it just this concept that you just actually have to wake up and realize that what's in between your ears is the most important aspect of your health and wellness period? Is that what you're saying?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Yes. And number two, you then said that there are these micro habits that you have developed. What are three micro habits that have the biggest impact on the health of your brain other than asking yourself, is this good or bad for my brain?

Dr. Daniel Amen: I start every day with today is going to be a great day. Because once you get the physical functioning of your brain healthy, you then have to program it. So I start every day. So why is today going to be a great day for you? Directing your mind, it puts your brain in a positive state. And then my favorite of all the habits I do is when I go to bed at night, I say a prayer and then I go, what went well today? And I go on a treasure hunt. And I actually start from the very moment I woke up looking for what was right about the day. And I've done this now seven or eight years. And even the night my dad died, about two and a half years ago, and it was an awful, awful day. I did it because it was my habit, right? The brain is lazy. It does what you nudge it to do. And so it really helped me, even in a really hard time. But it's almost my favorite time of the day because like you, I'm busy and great things will happen. And I'll just not really focus on it. Let's take a short pause to hear from our sponsors and we'll be right back with Dr. Raymond.

[Break]

Dr. Daniel Amen: So I love being with you. So thank you for having me.

Mel Robbins: Oh, you're the best. You know, one of the reasons why I love you is you have been a expert on the brain and a psychiatrist for 40 years, and you do not focus on what's wrong with us. You literally teach us how to bring out more awesomeness through brain health. You call it elite brain training. What is that?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, a long time ago, I realized I hated the term mental illness. It shames people. It's stigmatizing. And it's wrong. There are brain health issues. And if I can teach you to get your brain healthy, well, your mind is better. People often don't understand that. Your brain, physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. Everybody wants to be better. Nobody wants to be told they're mental. And so the mission I have on the planet is to end the whole concept of mental illness and create this revolution in brain health, which is why I'm so grateful to hang out with you today.

Mel Robbins: Oh, I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I just was struck by the fact that you distinguished between the brain and the mind. What's the difference between your brain and your mind?

Dr. Daniel Amen: Well, your brain, the physical functioning of your brain creates your mind. And people get this mixed up all the time, but you just have to think of someone who has Alzheimer's disease. And if you saw the scans of people with Alzheimer's disease, you see that they're wildly damaged. And then that person is no longer fully that person because their brain has been damaged. People really need to know if you want a healthy mind, the first thing to have is a healthy brain. And so are you saying that absolutely anybody can improve the physical health of their brain and that will have an impact on your happiness, your performance, and your mental health? Everything. And it happens quickly. So for example, if you get better sleep tonight, your mind will be better tomorrow. If you get drunk tonight, your mind's going to be worse tomorrow. And because those both have a direct impact on the physical functioning of your brain.

Mel Robbins: Like, you know, it's interesting because you're right. There is so much information and so many conversations out there about mental health,