I’m a neuroscientist and you should never do these things if you want a healthy brain

A neuroscientist has lifted the lid on the three things she avoids doing in order to protect her brain, from using her smartphone first thing in the morning to eating highly-processed foods. 

Emily McDonald, from Arizona, is known as @emonthebrain on TikTok, where she has more than 150,000 followers. She went viral this week after sharing her science-backed approach to keeping her brain healthy. 

The neuroscience consultant and mindset coach kicked off her video by sharing why she never reaches for her smartphone when she wakes up — a seemingly innocent habit that is linked to stress. 

‘Whenever you wake up in the morning, your brain waves transition from theta to alpha. This means your subconscious mind is in a more programable state,’ she told viewers. ‘The content that you consume during this time will have a greater impact on your mindset.’ 

McDonald shared that she never reaches for her smartphone first thing in the morning because it can cause stress and ‘messes up our dopamine’ 

McDonald noted that morning cellphone use also ‘messes up our dopamine’ and leads us to ‘continue to check our phones’ for hits of pleasure throughout the day. 

According to an IDC research report, 80 percent of smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up.

The expert explained in a previous clip that this causes your brain waves to skip the crucial theta and alpha stages and go straight to being wide awake in the beta state, which ‘sets you up to be more stressed and distracted throughout the day.’

Instead of reaching for her phone, she uses this time in the morning to listen to or say affirmations and set her intentions for the day. 

McDonald said the second thing she steers clear of is negative self-talk. 

Heeding to your inner critic has been found to cause stress, anxiety, and a decrease of self-confidence. Studies also show that self-criticism affects the ability to achieve goals. 

‘What you say to yourself matters, and the more you put that into your brain, the more it gets wired in, and what’s wired in, is what we manifest,’ she explained. 

McDonald concluded her video by saying she also avoids eating highly-processed foods because of how they negatively affects the brain. 

Instead of reaching for her phone, McDonald uses this time in the morning to listen to or say affirmations and set her intentions for the day

The expert explained in a previous clip that using your phone in the morning causes your brain waves to skip the theta and alpha stages and go straight to being wide awake in the beta state

McDonald also shared that she avoids engaging in negative self-talk and eating highly-processed foods, which can both have negative effects on the brain 

Studies show eating too much ultra-processed food dramatically raises the risk of early death, dementia, and heart disease. Experts say a good rule of thumb is to aim to eat foods with no more than five ingredients. 

‘There is plenty of science now to support that what you eat impacts your brain,’ she told viewers. ‘High-processed foods lead to brain aging — and we don’t want that.’

McDonald’s video has been viewed more than 1.1 million times in less than 24 hours. 

Hundreds of people have also commented on the clip, with many admitting that they are guilty of doing these three things. 

‘Me watching this in the morning, negative self-talking, eating a Snickers,’ one person responded. 

‘Literally about to go to sleep and glad I saw this. No phone in the morning,’ someone else vowed. 

‘First moves for the day set the setting for the day,’ another added.