The Insomnicat Show

Smashing the 10% myth!

in the early 1900s, psychologist and philosopher William James wrote a book the energies of men. In it, he simply stated, we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. That one sentence has allowed a legend to take hold. But we only use about 10% of our brains. The truth is, this is very, very false. The human brain consists of about 1 billion neurons, each neuron forms about 1000 connections to other neurons. So we're talking trillions of connections. And what we're about to discover is that not only are we using 100% of our brains, but we're also wasting a lot of it on negative thoughts.

Hear from the experts about how much of our brain we actually use and what we spend most of our thoughts on! (Oh, and why are there so many negative thoughts?)

Our Experts:

Puja Aggarwal MD is a Neurologist and received my MD (Medical Doctor) degree at Northeastern Ohio Medical University. I completed my residency in Neurology at Ohio State University and a fellowship at Cornell University New York Presbyterian Hospital in Epilepsy. I currently work as a Principal Investigator for research in clinical trials and practice in Orlando Florida.

I now have found Zen in my life and enjoy enabling the same for other women.

Learn More About Puja: https://www.zenfulbrain.com/

Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D., is a research associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the executive director of the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA). He is a neuroscientist who also works with teachers to create materials to help people learn about the brain.

Learn More: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

Rachel Tenenbaum is a NeuroTransformational Coach who teaches leaders how to defuse stress, catapult collaboration, foster innovation, retrain their brain, and lead others in a process she calls P.E.A.C.E. (Pause Embrace Acknowledge Choose Engage). A regular media contributor, Tenenbaum is published in Forbes, Thrive Global, and her meditations are featured favorites on the global meditation app Insight Timer. Tenenbaum is a sought-after expert on the brain, stress, leadership development, and mindfulness. Learn more at her website: https://www.iamliving.us/

As we learned in part one of this dating special, the practice of dating has changed over time, but ultimately our desire to find love still exists. So, on part two we’re going to share with you some do’s and don’ts and pick up at that phase of a relationship where we’ve now found someone special.

But it’s important to point out this concept of intentional dating, because there’s sweep me off my feet, love at first sight love, and then there’s a set of people who are more intentional about finding that love. And it makes me wonder if that aspect of intentional, or even transactional like it was in the past, ends people up in a better position.

Our guests:

Rik D. Middleton, Visual Listening

With a wide breadth of experience as a Navy veteran, entrepreneur, and an emergency manager and first responder. I am continually looking for the next challenge, the next inspiring project, the next opportunity to serve others, and ensure a safer community to live and thrive. One of my biggest strengths comes from my ability to make complex issues seem simple and understandable. As the author of several books, one of the books written specifically for the unique communication needs of hostage negotiators, I have developed a particular set of skills related to remote nonphysical aspects of communications. These skills have served me well in numerous emergency response situations. My book is required reading in numerous police departments throughout the country.

I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to feed my passion for teaching as a visiting lecturer at both the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC). In this role, I have leveraged my entrepreneurial real-world experience and insights with students in the Schools of Business, Entrepreneurial Studies.

Dr. Holly Battey, Matchmaker & Dating Coach

Dr. Holly helps conscious single men and women find the love of their dreams. With a doctorate in clinical psychology, she founded Find Love At Last in 2014 to empower you to find the love you've been dreaming of and has been a matchmaker, coach, and image consultant for over 9 years. Dr. Holly is a dating expert and inspiring speaker who empowers and advises on dating strategy, online dating, mindset, image, partner suitability, communication, and commitment. She brings more than 15 years of rich personal dating experience before finding the wonderful man with whom she is happily married. She’s based in San Francisco, California and works with clients around the world.

Learn More: https://www.findloveatlast.com/

Throughout history, the practice of courtship often had rules, especially in upper classes. And while we may credit the notion of romantic love to ancient Rome and medieval France, love was not always the basis for dating and marriages. As ideas and expectations about marriage evolved over the centuries, so have the rituals of courtship.

Today we’re in a very different place—online dating apps have risen in importance and a pandemic even halted much in person dating. People marry, they divorce, they marry again, they date later in life. Today we see dating take place among all genders, religions, and races. Love knows less boundaries – or does it? How has dating evolved and in what keyways is it for better or worse?

On this episode of The Insomnicat Show, we’re exploring the idea of dating—how it started… and how it’s going. We’ll give you not only the historical background of this practice, but also modern-day advice – such as what to look for when you’re swiping right in your online dating apps or telltale signs you should run before things get too series. We’ll also clue you in to how to make a relationship work once your courtship phase moves into the more serious zone.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have better survival instincts than others? Is it a learned behavior or is it something you're born with? How does evolution play a role in our will to survive?

On this episode of The Insomnicat Show, we'll hear from three survivors in extreme situations and dive into the brain itself to see what happens when we're faced with extreme situations? Will you fight or flee?

Insomnicat Explores What Makes a Great Leader – Through History and Across Species

Ghandi, Julius Caesar, George Washington, Winston Churchill, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, JFK, Simon Bolivar, Henry VIII, we’re not short on examples of leaders who displayed qualities worth noting – even the nefarious leaders possessed characteristics that made them worth following – or fearing, at least. But leaders through history are not just human leaders – animals are great leaders too. As we mull over the question: what makes a great leader? It’s important to acknowledge the animal kingdom and the various levels and styles of leadership within it.

From elephants to lions to chimpanzees and wolves, animals have a lot to teach us humans about being respected and respectful leaders.

In all social spheres, there are leaders and there are followers.

Some species have a desire for power, some rely heavily on the women to lead, others are very male dominated. IN many species the alpha position brings with it a lot of challenges, critics, and responsibilities (sounds like humans too). So join us as we explore the characteristics of leaders—In many species—and discover just who made them king – or queen.

The average person sleeps about 230,000 hours in a lifetime. That’s based on the average sleep being 8 hours and the average lifespan in the US (based on 2019 data) being about 78.19 years. That’s nearly 26 years of your life! That’s 1/3 of your life! So, it’s not surprising that we’re really interested in figuring out what exactly is going on during that 26 year-period.

And we don’t just close our eyes and suddenly wake up hours later. Sleep is a complex process. It’s powerful, it’s meaningful, and it serves a great purpose. But it’s not always simple—many sleep disorders exist, and doctors and scientists have long tried to understand the way the brain works during this critical time.

On this episode of The Insomnicat Show we'll talk to experts to discover what's really happening inside of our brains and bodies while we're sleeping. We'll even explore dreams and the effects of sleep disorders.

Oh and are you a night owl or an early bird? There may be a genetic reason!

Everything you ever needed to know about sleep starts now.

How do we know we exist? Could we be a simulation? Could we be controlled by some strange god or aliens? How do we know we're living in? Okay, hold on. That's where I'm getting tied up on. Okay. Take three. How do we know we exist? Could we be a simulation? Can we be controlled by some strange god or aliens? How do we know we're living a physical life? Are we living in another realm or plane of existence? There are so many questions around reality. On this episode we're going to cover consciousness, near death experiences, the physical aspects of our brain that affect our consciousness, and even the evidence that suggests we are in fact living, as well as some opportunities for doubt. And even the potential that we're not just living here.

On this episode of The Insomnicat Show, we take a look at man's best friend and most loyal companion. Bryan and Nicolette use the Embark DNA kits on their dogs and chat with experts about the history of dogs and how they evolved into household staples. Is your dog actually a wolf? Who knows?! Learn things you never knew about your dog right here in this episode. Also, find out what you should really be considering when it comes time to get a dog.

Now that we live in this highly digitized world, what happens when we die? What happens to the digital versions of ourselves? Do we live on? Will Artificial Intelligence one day allow us to live on in an even different way?

On this brand new style of The Insomnicat Show (Season 4), Bryan and Nicolette dive into the topic of digital death-- exploring how people were previously remembered after death, the role of technology and social media, and how to better tell your life story now that there are so many footprints we leave here on Earth. We'll also explore the future of death and living on.

On this episode of The Insomnicat Show, we chat with David Richman, Author of Cycle of Lives, about his solo 5,000-mile bike ride to go meet the book participants whom he had been interviewing for a few years. His book explores 15 people’s emotional journeys with cancer (caregivers, patients, loved ones, doctors, etc.) and the various traumas in their lives that affected their experience. 100% of the net proceeds of the book are being donated to various cancer-related charities picked by the book participants (or their survivors) and other cancer-focused charities.

We'll talk about the endurance needed to get through these hurdles, as well as bike 5,000 miles across the country, deeper human connection, and the concept of authenticity.