Busy Brain — How to Tame Stress, Find Focus, and Sleep Again with Dr. Romie Mushtaq

This episode dropped the day Dr. Romie's book was released. We did not plan that. We are thrilled.

Dr. Romie Mushtaq is a neurologist, chief wellness officer, keynote speaker, and creator of the Brain Shift Protocol. Her book — The Busy Brain Cure: The Eight-Week Plan to Find Focus, Tame Anxiety, and Sleep Again — is out now. She was born to be a doctor (literally — her first toy was a Fisher-Price stethoscope), survived a health crisis brought on by her own unaddressed burnout, and has since spent over a decade building a protocol that has been tested on 17,000 adults and inside Fortune 500 companies.

She also identifies as a feminist in stilettos. We are big fans.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

- Dr. Romie's origin story: entering neurology when less than 5% of neurologists were women, pushing herself to burnout without the language to name it, and ending up in life-saving surgery in 2010 — the moment that started everything - What "busy brain" actually is: a triad of adult-onset ADD/ADHD, anxiety, and insomnia — not three separate diseases but one pattern of neuro-inflammation caused by chronic stress - How 82% of 17,000 adults scored above 30 on the Busy Brain Test (indicating chronic stress effects in the brain) — and how to take the test yourself - Why real estate agents are particularly vulnerable — the constant availability, the reactive nature of the work, the dopamine hit of the next sale, no off switch - The "before" and "after" of having boundaries — Alissa's story of having her daughter in February 2017 and still having her best year, because having to shut off at a certain time made her more focused - What a busy brain looks like in practice: everything feels like an emergency, 25 browser tabs open in your brain, can't fall asleep because of racing thoughts, waking at 2am, imposter syndrome, chasing shiny objects - The SHIFT acronym — the Brain Shift Protocol: S — Sleep and circadian rhythm H — Hormones that need to be assessed and corrected I — Inflammation markers (like Vitamin D3) F — Fuel (food, without going on a diet) T — Technology and digital detox - Why micro habits are the foundation — and how Katy's daily lemon water habit connected to ancient Ayurvedic medicine and has never been broken - The hot lemon water streak: Katy nearly lost it in California because the cafe didn't have it fast enough - The shiny entrepreneurial project syndrome and why a busy brain makes you chase the next thing instead of going deep on what you do well - Why social isolation is one of the top root causes of women's health crises — and why community matters more than any productivity tool - The thyroid revelation: 1 in 8 women has subclinical thyroid disease, 1 in 4 for women of color — often missed by traditional primary care — and the connection to postpartum health, chronic fatigue, and weight struggles - Why a functional wellness doctor and full labs can tell you more than a standard checkup — and how most of these labs are covered by insurance - The 8-week Brain Shift Protocol: week by week micro habits, stacked like dominoes, starting with sleep and building to hormones, inflammation, food, and tech - Digital detox: scheduling social media and news breaks instead of reacting to the pull all day - What hope means: Dr. Romie asked Katy and Alissa to name what they hoped for in 2024 — and committed to holding that hope for them - Dr. Romie's personal hope: finding her life partner while scaling her mission globally (her dating life is just her and her dog Raja right now) - The importance of being your own hope holder — and finding a community to hold it with you - Where to find the Busy Brain Test and the book

Resources:

- The Busy Brain Cure by Dr. Romie Mushtaq — available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and Audible (Dr. Romie reads the audiobook herself, including all her Indian auntie voices) - Busy Brain Test: drromie.com (link to come in show notes) - Brain Shift Institute: drromie.com

Toast of the week: Dr. Romie toasted all the teachers from preschool through high school in Danville, Illinois who helped launch her on her STEM path. Cheers to every teacher who has no idea of the impact they're making!

Want to toast someone on the show? Email [email protected].

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Music: Straight A's by Connor Price → https://connorprice.shop/ The Good Life by Summer Kennedy → https://soundcloud.com/summerkennedy/the-good-life Be The One by Matrika → https://uppbeat.io/t/matrika/be-the-one