Podcast Notes Key Takeaways

• The ability to differentiate between seemingly similar emotions helps us identify the best actions we can take
  • If you feel “bad”, you might not know what to do next to improve how you feel
  • But if you know you are feeling angry, sad, or afraid, it will be easier to decide what you should do
• “When people say ‘don’t be sad, don’t be angry’, really, what they’re saying is, ‘I don’t want to deal with you being angry or sad, and I don’t want to feel that way so I want you to calm down'” Lisa Feldman Barrett
• Our brain runs the metabolic budget of our bodies
  • When running a deficit, the brain stops spending
    • You feel tired
    • You don’t learn as much
    • Eventually, it starts cutting the budget by letting neurons die
  • The most important things to replenish our brain’s budget are:
    • Adequate sleep
    • Healthy food
    • Exercise
    • Sex
    • Physical and social connections
• If there was only one thing you could do in your life
  • Sleep a decent amount every day (7-8 hours for most adults)
• The idea that we make bad decisions when we are emotional is not supported by evidence
  • We can make very good decisions when we are emotional
• “Breathing is really the only way that we know of, biologically speaking, to deliberately get a handle on your nervous system” – Lisa Feldman Barrett

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

Neuroscientist, psychologist and author, Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses the complexities of the brain, our emotions, improving ourselves and our relationship with others, making good decisions and giving yourself an existential break.

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