Brainwaves

By Nina Valdez

Your doctor tells you one thing, Google says another, and that health influencer you follow swears by something completely different. The result? You're more confused about your own health than when y... more

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FAQs about Brainwaves:

How many episodes does Brainwaves have?

The podcast currently has 52 episodes available.

Brainwaves episodes:

August 15, 2026 The Hidden War Inside Your Mind That's Destroying Your Peace
That critical inner voice telling you you're not good enough? It's actually trying to protect you.
Dr. Richard Schwartz discovered something remarkable while treating eating disorder patients in the 1980s: we all have different "parts" inside our minds, each with its own job. That harsh critic isn't your enemy. It's a protector that learned early on to keep you safe by pointing out potential failures before others could.
Nina breaks down how Internal Family Systems therapy works and why research shows it's so effective for trauma, depression, and anxiety. Turns out your mind isn't one unified thing - it's more like a family with different members who sometimes fight.
What you'll discover:
• How trauma creates protective "parts" that can become problematic later
• The 8 core qualities of your authentic Self (hint: curiosity and compassion are built-in)
• Why that perfectionist voice developed and how to work with it instead of against it
• Simple techniques to access the calm, confident part of you that's always been there
Chapters:
00:00 What are "parts" and how do they form?
02:30 The protector that became your inner critic
04:45 Your authentic Self and its 8 qualities
07:15 How IFS heals trauma at the root
09:30 Practical steps to befriend your parts
The research backing IFS is solid, with studies showing significant improvements in PTSD, depression, and relationship satisfaction. But more than that, it just makes sense when Nina explains it.
Your mind isn't broken. It's actually working exactly as designed - you just need the user manual.
Follow Brainwaves for daily episodes that turn confusing health research into clear, actionable insights. Nina's got 15 years of ER experience cutting through the noise.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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14min
August 15, 2026 The Pet Mistake Every Owner Makes (And How To Fix It)
Your dog isn't being "stubborn" when they ignore you—they're probably just bored out of their mind.
Dr. Karolina Westlund studies animal behavior, and what she's discovered about pet psychology will completely change how you see your furry family members. Turns out, most of us are getting it wrong from day one.
What you'll discover:
• Why your dog has the emotional complexity of a toddler (and what that means for training)
• The real reason cats meow at you but never at other cats
• How 80% of "bad" pet behavior is actually just desperate boredom
• Why rabbits can literally die from loneliness
Nina breaks down the latest research on what pets actually need to be happy. Spoiler: it's not just food, water, and belly rubs. These animals have complex social and emotional needs that we've been overlooking for decades.
You'll learn why that "dominance" training approach is based on debunked science, how to tell if your pet is genuinely stressed versus just being dramatic, and simple changes that can fix most behavioral problems without expensive trainers.
Chapters:
00:00 The biggest pet myth we all believe
02:15 What your dog's brain actually looks like
04:30 Why cats developed a human-only language
06:45 The boredom epidemic in pets
08:30 Signs your pet is mentally understimulated
10:00 Quick fixes that actually work
If you've ever wondered why your perfectly healthy pet acts out, this episode connects the dots between animal psychology and the mistakes we make every single day.
Follow Brainwaves for daily episodes that cut through the noise. Nina drops new medical insights every day that help you make smarter decisions about health—yours and your pets'.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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24min
August 15, 2026 Collagen vs Whey: Scientists Just Revealed the Truth
Your gym buddy swears by collagen for muscle growth, but your trainer insists whey protein is the only way to build strength. Meanwhile, that fitness influencer is pushing creatine like it's some kind of miracle powder.
So which one actually works? Nina breaks down the real science behind these popular supplements, and the results might surprise you.
What you'll discover:
• Why your body's collagen production drops 1% every year after age 25 (and what that actually means for your workouts)
• The shocking absorption difference between whey and collagen proteins
• How creatine can boost your muscle stores by up to 40% (if you're doing it right)
• The weird truth about smelling salts and why they actually work
Chapters:
00:00 The collagen vs whey protein debate
02:15 What happens when you actually digest these supplements
04:30 Creatine: the most researched supplement you're probably taking wrong
07:45 Why smelling salts trigger that instant energy boost
09:20 Bottom line: what Nina actually recommends
Nina spent years watching patients waste money on supplements that don't work. This episode cuts through the marketing hype with actual research data, so you can stop guessing about what's worth your money.
If you're tired of conflicting health advice, hit follow on Brainwaves. Nina drops new episodes every day with the medical facts you need to make smarter health decisions.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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15min
August 15, 2026 Why Doctors Don't Tell You About Your Brain's Built-In Painkiller
Your brain manufactures morphine. Literally. It produces natural opioids more powerful than prescription painkillers, but most people never learn how to activate this built-in pharmacy.
Nina breaks down the fascinating neuroscience behind your brain's pain control system and reveals the specific techniques that can reduce suffering by up to 30% without any medication. This isn't wishful thinking - it's backed by brain imaging studies showing real changes in pain processing regions.
What you'll discover:
• Why mindfulness meditation reduces pain-related brain activity by 27% (and the exact technique that works best)
• How athletes use mental rehearsal to heal from injuries 24% faster than standard recovery
• The science behind why believing a treatment will work actually triggers natural opioid release
• A simple pain education technique that cuts chronic pain intensity by 45% in just two weeks
Chapters:
00:00 Your brain's hidden pharmacy
02:15 The mindfulness-morphine connection
04:30 Mental rehearsal for faster healing
06:45 How expectation changes your brain chemistry
09:00 The 2-week pain education protocol
10:30 Putting it all together
This episode gives you practical tools you can start using today. Nina's seen too many patients suffer unnecessarily when their own brains could be doing most of the heavy lifting.
If you want straight talk about what actually works in medicine, follow Brainwaves. New episodes drop every day with the latest research translated into real-world strategies you can actually use.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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21min
August 15, 2026 Why 73% of ADHD Patients Quit Their Medication (And What Works Instead)
73% of people prescribed ADHD medication stop taking it within two years. The reason isn't what you think.
Dr. John Kruse joins Nina to break down why ADHD treatment fails so often and what actually works. Turns out, your brain structure matters more than most doctors admit, and the fix isn't just popping pills.
What you'll discover:
• Why ADHD brains are physically different (7% less volume in key areas)
• How behavioral tools alone can cut symptoms by 30-40%
• The real success rate of ADHD meds when done right (it's 80-90%)
• Why untreated ADHD means job-hopping every 18 months
Chapters:
00:00 The medication dropout problem
02:30 What ADHD actually does to your brain
05:15 Behavioral interventions that work
07:45 When medication makes sense
10:20 Combining both approaches
Nina breaks down the latest research on focus, attention, and why treating ADHD isn't one-size-fits-all. Whether you're considering medication, already taking it, or looking for alternatives, this episode gives you the science behind what actually improves daily functioning.
The job-switching statistic alone will change how you think about untreated ADHD. And Dr. Kruse's approach to combining behavioral tools with medication? Game-changer for anyone tired of the trial-and-error approach.
If you're done with conflicting health advice, follow Brainwaves. Nina drops new episodes every day with the medical research you actually need.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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24min
August 15, 2026 Why Navy Pilots Have Perfect Vision at 40 (Their 3 Daily Protocols)
Your eyes are basically computers that run 16 hours a day without a reboot. But unlike your laptop, you can't just buy new ones when they start glitching. Navy pilots figured out how to keep their vision razor-sharp well into their 40s while the rest of us squint at our phones. In this episode, Nina Valdez breaks down their three daily protocols that keep fighter pilots seeing clearly at 20,000 feet.
🎯 What You'll Learn:
• The 20-20-20 rule that reduces digital eye strain by 50% (and why most people do it wrong)
• Smooth pursuit exercises that improve visual processing speed by 15% in just two weeks
• Why spending 2+ hours outdoors cuts myopia progression by 40% in kids (and helps adults too)
• Near-far focusing drills that boost accommodation flexibility by 25% after age 40
👤 Perfect for: anyone who stares at screens all day and wants to protect their vision before problems start
📍 Chapters:
[00:00] Nina introduces the Navy pilot vision secret
[01:30] The real 20-20-20 rule (you're probably doing it wrong)
[04:00] Smooth pursuit exercises that sharpen visual tracking
[07:00] Why outdoor time is like vitamins for your eyes
[09:30] Near-far focusing drills for aging eyes
[11:30] The three protocols that actually work
🔔 Never miss an episode:
Follow Brainwaves on your podcast app and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
🔍 Topics: eye health, vision improvement, digital eye strain, myopia prevention, eye exercises
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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...more
22min
August 15, 2026 Why Your Brain Keeps Choosing Addiction (And How to Stop)
Your brain starts rewiring itself after just 10 days of repeated substance use. That's not willpower failing, that's neuroscience.
Ryan Soave breaks down the actual mechanisms behind addiction and the tools that work to break free. Nina digs into why some treatments have 60-70% success rates while others barely move the needle.
What you'll discover:
• How dopamine pathways change within days, not years
• Why behavioral addictions hit the same brain circuits as drugs
• The specific therapy combinations with proven track records
• How social connections literally rewire your recovery odds
This isn't about moral failures or finding more motivation. It's about understanding what's happening in your brain and using that knowledge strategically. Nina walks through the research on everything from medication-assisted treatment to why certain environments make relapse almost inevitable.
You'll learn why some people seem to quit easily while others struggle for decades, and what the data actually shows about long-term recovery success rates.
Chapters:
00:00 Why your brain picks addiction
02:30 The 10-day rewiring process
05:15 CBT success rates breakdown
07:45 Social support multiplies recovery odds
10:20 Behavioral vs substance addictions
If you've been frustrated by oversimplified addiction advice, this episode gives you the real mechanisms. Nina translates complex neuroscience into practical strategies you can actually use.
Hit follow for Brainwaves. New episodes drop daily with medical research that cuts through the wellness noise.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves
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Keywords: recovery protocols, medical facts, workout science, doctor explains, health misinformation, brain science

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21min
August 15, 2026 Why Your Brain Keeps Choosing Addiction (And How to Stop)
Your brain starts rewiring itself after just 10 days of repeated substance use. That's not willpower failing, that's neuroscience.
Ryan Soave breaks down the actual mechanisms behind addiction and the tools that work to break free. Nina digs into why some treatments have 60-70% success rates while others barely move the needle.
What you'll discover:
• How dopamine pathways change within days, not years
• Why behavioral addictions hit the same brain circuits as drugs
• The specific therapy combinations with proven track records
• How social connections literally rewire your recovery odds
This isn't about moral failures or finding more motivation. It's about understanding what's happening in your brain and using that knowledge strategically. Nina walks through the research on everything from medication-assisted treatment to why certain environments make relapse almost inevitable.
You'll learn why some people seem to quit easily while others struggle for decades, and what the data actually shows about long-term recovery success rates.
Chapters:
00:00 Why your brain picks addiction
02:30 The 10-day rewiring process
05:15 CBT success rates breakdown
07:45 Social support multiplies recovery odds
10:20 Behavioral vs substance addictions
If you've been frustrated by oversimplified addiction advice, this episode gives you the real mechanisms. Nina translates complex neuroscience into practical strategies you can actually use.
Hit follow for Brainwaves. New episodes drop daily with medical research that cuts through the wellness noise.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
...more
21min
August 15, 2026 What Elite Athletes Know About Learning That You Don't
Your brain learns skills 3x faster when you make mistakes 15% of the time. Any higher and you get overwhelmed. Any lower and you're not pushing hard enough. In this episode, Nina Valdez breaks down the actual neuroscience behind rapid skill acquisition and why most people are learning completely wrong.
Turns out elite athletes know something the rest of us don't: your brain releases specific chemicals during focused practice that literally rewire neural pathways faster. But there's a catch. You have to trigger these systems the right way, or you're just spinning your wheels.
🎯 What You'll Learn:
• Why your brain needs to fail 15% of the time to learn optimally (and how to hit that sweet spot)
• The neurochemical cocktail that accelerates skill building and how to trigger it naturally
• Why sleeping after practice sessions boosts retention by 20% and what happens in your brain overnight
• The counterintuitive practice method that improves long-term performance by 40%
👤 Perfect for: anyone trying to pick up a new skill, whether it's playing guitar, speaking a language, or mastering a sport.
📍 Chapters:
[00:00] Nina introduces the 15% error rule elite athletes use
[01:45] The brain chemicals that speed up learning and how to activate them
[04:15] Why focused attention beats mindless repetition every time
[06:30] Random vs blocked practice: what the research actually shows
[09:00] Sleep's role in skill consolidation and memory formation
[11:30] Three takeaways you can use starting today
Your next practice session is going to feel completely different once you understand how your brain actually wants to learn.
🔔 Never miss an episode:
Follow Brainwaves on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away.
🔍 Topics: neuroplasticity, skill acquisition, learning techniques, brain training, performance optimization
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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22min
August 15, 2026 Why You're Losing Endurance Gains Every Single Week
Here's why your Sunday long run isn't building the endurance you think it is.
Most people train endurance completely backwards. They go hard when they should go easy, skip the boring stuff that actually works, and wonder why their progress stalls after a few weeks. Nina Valdez breaks down the three energy systems your body uses and why understanding them changes everything about how you should train.
What you'll discover:
• Why 80% of elite athletes train at intensities that feel "too easy"
• The specific heart rate zone that increases your mitochondria by 20% in 8 weeks
• How your lactate threshold determines whether you hit the wall or keep going
• Why most people's "moderate" pace actually sabotages their endurance gains
Your body runs on three distinct energy systems, and each one needs different training to improve. The phosphocreatine system powers those first explosive 10 seconds. The glycolytic system kicks in from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. And your aerobic system handles everything longer than that.
Here's what most people get wrong: they train in that middle zone between easy and hard, which doesn't optimize any of these systems. Zone 2 training feels almost boringly easy, but it's building the cellular machinery that actually makes you faster over distance.
Nina explains how elite endurance athletes structure their training and why your lactate threshold matters more than your max heart rate for real-world performance.
Chapters:
00:00 Why most endurance training fails
02:30 Your body's three energy systems explained
05:15 The 80/20 rule elite athletes follow
08:00 Zone 2 training and mitochondrial adaptation
10:45 How to test and improve your lactate threshold
If you want the real science behind getting stronger and faster, follow Brainwaves. Nina drops new episodes every day with medical research you can actually use.
Subscribe and never miss an episode at Brainwaves

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...more
16min

FAQs about Brainwaves:

How many episodes does Brainwaves have?

The podcast currently has 52 episodes available.