0:00:01 – Announcer

You are listening to the National University Podcast.

0:00:09 – Kimberly King

Hello, I’m Kimberly King. Welcome to the National University Podcast, where we offer a holistic approach to student support, well-being and success: the Whole Human education. We put passion into practice by offering accessible, achievable higher education to lifelong learners. Thanks for joining us.

Today we are talking about the science of happiness. Such an interesting and relevant conversation topic and, according to a recent article in the Harvard Health Publishing, much has been written about the benefits of mindfulness. There is research suggesting that it can counter stress, relieve chronic pain, and even improve aspects of mood, thinking, and memory. But how does it actually work? We’re going to discuss that on today’s show. Stay with us.

On today’s episode, we’re discussing the neuroscience of happiness. I love it, and joining us is Dr. Aurelia Bickler. Dr. Bickler is a licensed marriage and family therapist, AAMFT approved supervisor, and the director of National University’s Whole Person Center. Drawing on nearly a decade as a faculty member, she now designs and leads wellness webinars, trainings, courses, and podcasts that foster emotional well-being, strengthen student success, and build resilient communities. Fluent, get this in French, English, conversational Spanish, and Hebrew, she brings a multicultural, mindfulness-based and trauma-informed perspective to her work with individuals, couples, families and organizations. Outside the office, Aurelia enjoys music, travel, puzzles and the creative arts she shares with her husband, Marcus and their three children, alongside two dogs, a bird, and a small aquarium of fish. We welcome you to the podcast, Dr Bickler. How are you? I love this intro. I love what you’re doing.

0:02:02 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Thank you so much. I feel like that was- It was just a lot. I feel like I told you my whole life in there.

0:02:09 – Kimberly King

Exactly, and thank you for joining us. Bye-bye. No, I’m just kidding.

0:02:13 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited about today’s topic and chatting all about these things.

0:02:18 – Kimberly King

You know, and in today’s world it’s something we’re talking about happiness. We can’t get enough of it right, and so why don’t you fill our audience in a little bit on your mission and your work before we get to today’s show?

0:02:32 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

So I take pride in doing everything I do with my soul. For me, it’s about connecting to other humans. So I’m trained as a therapist, like you said, I was faculty for many years, and I’m the director of the Whole Person Center and through all these different roles, my mission is to connect people to themselves and to connect people to each other, to help them thrive both emotionally and physically, and all that’s in between right and all that’s in between, right. And particularly in today’s world where everything is so chaotic and so overwhelming and so many distractions are all over the place, that mission feels more and more important to me and I try in every way possible to incorporate it in any and every aspect of my life.

0:03:23 – Kimberly King

You know what, and what perfect timing, of course, after the pandemic, I’m sure things in your world hopefully it sounds like as you’re connecting with these students you know who’ve been remote, trying to get back and find that happiness. I love it. I have a PR firm and I just I really want to champion you and cheerlead for you because I think it’s really great. When you imagine a joyful brain, what kinds of things are happening in there? And paint us a picture that we can visualize.

0:03:53 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, so the way that I think of it is like a well-lit city, maybe at dusk, the neural pathways are glowing and there’s activity and communicating smoothly. You see, you know, dopamine sparking in the reward centers and serotonin flowing to regulate the mood, and the prefrontal cortex would be calmly in charge, helping us stay in the moment and optimistic. It’s like a symphony of connection with maybe- stress signals are low and the social and emotional circuits are wide open.

0:04:32 – Kimberly King

Wow. I’m already there. I’m imagining that, that sounds beautiful. So some people seem naturally upbeat. And then, in your experience, how much of that is just how their brain became wired or we were born that way and how much can anyone learn or train to be happy?

0:04:48 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, so you mentioned I have three kids- and all three came out very differently. Not only did they come out differently, but they’re different people, and so I think it’s important to note that we’re genetically made differently and we have different temperaments, right, and research says that about 50% of our quote-unquote happiness is the way we’re built. Some brains are more sensitive to pleasure or stress and some brains are less sensitive, but it’s really only part of the story, so there’s so much more, right. Neuroplasticity means that we can train our brains through different habits or different patterns or even the environment. So gratitude, reframing negative thoughts and consistent sleep and exercise routines- all of these different things help rewire us and our brains towards greater resilience and more positivity. So it’s about 50-50.

0:05:54 – Kimberly King

Yeah, and I’m glad you brought up sleep. I think that is huge and I think we’re learning so much more about just how that relieves our stress. And then being grateful. We hear about the grateful journals and I know my kids are in their twenties, early twenties now and you know going through the ups and downs of having a new career and boyfriend, girlfriend issues and everything and I’m like keep a grateful journal, like that’s like, and then refer back to it. I love that. Think about- go ahead.

0:06:25 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

I was going to say- I do want to mention the sleep and I encourage anyone listening to really pay attention to what they’re saying about sleep for women versus men, because there’s a lot of new studies about the needs being different for men versus women, based on just how we’re built. So that goes back to the nature versus nurture piece. That is really, really important. Women need about an hour or two hours more night than men just to stay sort of afloat.

0:06:53 – Kimberly King

Especially when you have kids and you lose all that sleep right? In the early days, right. When we think about a regular day, what small brain friendly habits like stepping outside or laughing, like you said, exercising, listening to music- what gives instant lift for our happiness quotient?

0:07:14 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, I love that question because I think it gives us an opportunity to really like get into action right away, right, so taking a walk in natural light- not on your treadmill while you’re working- but in natural light for even maybe 10 minutes, can actually reset your brain’s mood centers. Laughter releases endorphins. So comedy shows go like, take- buy those tickets. Right, give yourself that that that love. Listening to familiar music also boosts dopamine. But there’s like even simpler things, and I don’t know if you can think of like a moment in in your daily life, but like making eye contact with somebody that actually that actually gives you an instantaneous response. Your brain instantaneously sees a calming aspect, right, like a sort of like a reward, a feeling of reward. Petting a dog- that’s why I have two. Right, because when one goes the other way. I’m like hey, you over here, come over this way right, petting a dog really does- that has the same effect.

And of course there’s things that are a little bit more elaborate, like which is not really that elaborate at all but you know breathing exercise, and it can be a five-second breathing exercise, but that re-centers both you on a physiological level but an emotional level, and it immediately rewires your brain. So I think when you combine these little things together and it sounds so little and so sometimes, they feel unimportant, right, and just like, oh, I’m just making eye contact with somebody, what’s the big deal?

But these tiny little things, they’re super powerful and they shift the brain chemistry, and they add up right, and so it’s like a savings account. If we’re like, well, I’m not going to put anything in there because I don’t have anything significant to put in there, well then you end up with nothing. But if you put a couple of dollars here and there, then eventually like, wow, I saved this much money. It’s the same thing with these tiny little habits. If you can walk for three minutes, walk for three minutes.

0:09:23 – Kimberly King

Love that. I think, and you know what, when you say even make eye contact with people, even a smile. The other day my daughter and I were in the desert and we both were wondering, she looked adorable, so people were smiling at her and I’m like, isn’t that nice? People are recognizing you, you’re being seen, and you’re right, that dopamine level, it feeds us, I think. So little things, I love that. Yeah. We all feel pulled between worry and peace and what have you noticed that helps calm- the calm side win more often? And I do know that you just mentioned even breathing, just having that oxygen sometimes when we’re stressed out or whatever. I love that you said that.

0:10:01 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah. So there’s two things, right? There’s awareness and then there’s repetition. So I’ll speak for myself. But I know, I think many of us suffer from this. We sort of get into like a whirlwind of anxiety sometimes and worry right. Naming that can pull you out of the spin. So you know, something like, this is my anxiety talking. This is just anxiety talking. This isn’t like who I am or anything more than just my anxiety talking. That separates you from what you’re experiencing and it doesn’t become your identity.

0:10:40 – Kimberly King

Oh gosh, I love that. I love that.

0:10:42 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

It’s a huge piece because and especially with my therapy background- and I do practice as well- I see people just sort of becoming the identity that is what they’re what they’re bothered by, and that -when you combine it together that creates a really difficult really challenging way to get out of it because you become one with the problem, whereas if you name it and you just sort of understand like, there’s a lot going on in my life and my anxiety, or this anxiety even better, separating and beyond, and it’s not yours to own right, this anxiety is talking and let me just internalize what I’m understanding about it being a separate thing from myself.

But then when you shift that and you add it to a grounding ritual like stretching or sipping tea or you know, something that I do and I might have already done it while we were talking, but I do it often it’s like putting your hand on your heart. Right, something happens between the parts of your body that are touching- my hand is feeling my chest and my chest is feeling my hand- and my breathing is shifting just because of that touch and because of the awareness that I bring to that. So it allows for a sort of a recentering to take place.

0:12:11 – Kimberly King

You know, when you said name that stress or that anxiety it reminds me of you know, almost dealing with the child that’s acting up. But you know, we’re not defined by our children. But you know, you see that child or you see that anxiety building up and almost having like an out of body experience where you’re like, okay, separate, that’s not who I am, that is just what I’m going through. So I really love that and I love the hand on the heart too. Just again, just being in the moment and then in real time. Neuroplasticity suggests that our brain can change throughout life, but what are some of the most compelling studies showing that people can train their brains toward greater well-being?

0:12:52 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah. So there’s a Harvard study that show, it’s called, Mindfulness Practice Leads to Increases in. What’s it called? Am I saying the name? I have to follow it. Yeah, leads to Increases in Regional Brain Gray Matter Density, and it talks about how just eight weeks of mindfulness training increased gray matter in the areas tied to empathy and memory. (Wow, really.) And yeah, it’s super powerful, right?

I think people sometimes get very overwhelmed with the idea of mindfulness. Like what does this mean? What do I have to commit to? Like what is-? Oh no, what am I getting myself into? But mindfulness is such a simple and it doesn’t have to be time consuming, but something that you can really bring into your life as a ritual, and it can literally change the way your brain is wired. So powerful.

0:13:47 – Kimberly King

Really? It is powerful and again, you know, we talked about it in the very, very beginning we are. We can be born a certain way, but it’s just a really training that and just knowing that we don’t have to, you know, continue to be- you know, in San Diego we have our weather during May and June it’s May gray, June gloom, and it’s like the weather can kind of alter your, you know your outlook too. So but to train that from that mindfulness, I love it. I dig that. Talk a little bit about- Ok, so our phones promise quick hits of pleasure and yet many of us end up drained or doom scrolling. And what is happening in our brains during that scroll? And how can we scroll smarter or just put it aside?

0:14:30 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, I think this is such an important piece. We live in a time where I’m guessing that your phone’s right next to you, my phone’s right next to me, yep, and I’m guessing that anybody around us, the people we love, the people we’re acquainted with, also have their phones right next to them, if it’s not actually right now, touching their bodies right? In their pocket or in their hand or whatever it is. We are- It’s become like part of us in so many different ways, and the endless scrolling is- it floods the brain. It floods the brain with dopamine, but, in short, an unfulfilling burst. So think about it for a second this way.

Think about the last time you were sitting at the beach listening to the waves and feeling the sand, you know, touch your body, and the wind through your skin and your hair, right, and they’re like, just as you close your eyes, you can feel that a certain way. Right, the scrolling is like we’re going to watch somebody at the beach enjoying the sand and the waves, but we’re actually not experiencing any of the real pleasures that would actually help us release real, real endorphins, and like it’s almost like a manufactured version of pleasure.

Right, it’s as if I tell you like, well, it’s the same thing as eating sugar all day, right? So you eat sugar all day and you have these momentary highs, but they’re followed by what crashes, right, right. So, whereas if you’re, if you’re more mindful, like I’m going to eat the right thing, then once in a while, I’m going to splurge, you’re going to enjoy what you splurge on, but you’re also going to feel more aligned with what it is that you’re putting in your body. So the, the level of true happiness and fulfillment in your life is so much higher. Right, there’s more to that.

The other piece is we’re scrolling, we’re scrolling, we’re scrolling, and we’re, you know, comparing ourselves to other people. We’re triggered- Whether our insecurities are triggered, our stress is just through the roof. And this person’s in Brazil. Why am I not traveling this week? You know, Tuesday? What are they doing in Jamaica this weekend? It’s, this week, it’s- We just compare ourselves and try to understand why we’re possibly less than, right. Um, as a therapist, I will tell you true stories. I’ve had people sit in my office and say to me, my social media life is so beautiful, I would like my real life to match it. (Kim: Wow, hmm, yeah, so that makes me sad to think that or to hear that.)

It is heartbreaking, and like I want to sit with that for a second, because this is not something I’ve heard once or twice. This is very, very real and it is a pattern that is happening in our society. Additionally, I’ve heard people come into my office and say, I went to school with these particular people 30 years ago and here’s where their life is, and here’s where my life is. I’m a failure.

0:17:35 – Kimberly King

That’s sad too. 

0:17:40 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Scrolling- watching all of everybody’s highlights (Right. The highlight reel yeah.) On social media, which is not true. It’s not real life! It’s nobody’s real life. Gives a false sense of reality to any and all of us, even the ones who are posting, right, like the ones who are posting. I want to prevent, like, getting into too many little anecdotes, but there are people who will say ,I’m going to befriend somebody with a jet so that I can have a photo in front of a private jet. And this is real life, these are, this is happening to real people, right, and so it’s- It’s really, it’s really sad and it prevents us from enjoying the beauty of life, right, like the texture of grass, right, or the feeling of wind in our, in our hair, these really simple, really powerful ways to to feel that level of happiness.

I want to finish answering your question about, like, what can we do to make this, you know, scrolling smarter or better? I think it’s unrealistic to say to everybody put your phone away, because none of us are going to do that, right? So I’m certainly not going to say that. However, I think setting a time limit, saying to ourselves what is an acceptable amount of time, right? There’s new research that says, if you have teenagers and they spend less than an hour on the phone a day, they’re fine. If they spend three to five, their percent of suicidal ideation goes up, I think, to like 30-something percent. But if they go like five to seven hours, their percentage of suicide ideation and depression goes to 70%, and the national average is like around nine hours a day, just to give you an idea. Right? So I don’t want to deviate too much from our topic.

But if you say to yourself, I’ll give myself two hours a day, two hours a day, I’m allowed to like nonsensically- or one hour a day, whatever it is. There is a way on your phone that you can say I’m going to set an alert and at the end of that alert it will shut off. You can also set it to say it’ll shut off, but I’m allowed to ask for more. Or you could just have it shut off. You choose what’s okay with you, and you can gradually move down, like I used to take four sugars in my coffee. I am not proud of that. Now, I don’t take a full one, I don’t take one, I take like three quarters of one.

Took me about a year and a half to get there because I only did it very gradually. I have the same suggestion for the phone. Do something gradually that you don’t feel so drastic but that you can sustain, because it will create balance and, at the end of the day, the best way for your brain to feel happiness is to feel balanced.

0:20:22 – Kimberly King

And you know I like that you’re saying it’s gradual because nothing in life should happen so quickly anyway, like give it time, and I think that’s you know, that instant gratification on our phones. We’re now, we’re training this generation that you’ve got to have it fast, but I think everything happens gradually, in a good way. But I love that and those numbers are staggering, the amount of time our kids are on their phones and just I mean it really. I have to tell you a really quick story. When you’re talking about being in that moment and you like smell the grass, I love the smell of fresh cut grass.

But I went to church the other day and just smelling that incense and just being in the moment, and I put everything away. I was journaling for a moment and I was like oh my gosh, and I texted my kids. I was like go to church and just sit there and be in the moment or wherever, go to the beach, like you said, or to the park and just enjoy that time. But it really fed my soul. It was so good, you know, for everything that’s going on in this world. So I’m glad you brought that up.

0:21:21 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Being in the moment is a very hard thing today. It’s a very difficult thing. People can’t even listen to music without doing something else. When, like I don’t know about you, but for me, like hearing a beautiful song or a song that really brings a lot of emotions out, it’s like if I just focus on that song, I finished that song a different person than before it started. But if I’m listening to that song because I like it, but I’m also finishing my emails, I didn’t really hear the song, I didn’t really let it- I heard the song, I didn’t let it sink into my soul. It didn’t let it impact my, my wellbeing.

0:21:52 – Kimberly King

Right, that’s true. There’s a song by Natalie Cole, This Will Be. It’s the funnest song and it always reminds me of my mom, who I lost a couple years ago. But every time I hear it I’m like, oh, there she is, so I will always play it, no matter what I’m up to. (That’s beautiful music does. Sorry for your loss.) Thank you, thank you. So why does a genuine hug or face-to-face chat often leave us lighter than a flurry of likes online, which, you know, that seems to be the way our kids are being raised as oh, my gosh, I got so many likes right?

0:22:28 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yes, drives me crazy, but the reason is because, really, the real human connection releases oxytocin, and oxytocin is also known as the bonding hormone. It calms the nervous system, it boosts feeling of safety, which is why babies and children want to feel hugged and held, and all of that it makes them feel safe, it makes them feel at peace. Right, a hug also slows down your heart rate.

So there’s a there’s a famous marriage and family therapist, John Gottman. Dr. John Gottman. He says like a six second kiss or 20 second hug significantly impacts your emotional and physiological well-being. Really, yes, it releases your stress hormone, cortisol, and it releases oxytocin hormone. So, um, you know, I think it’s wonderful that we have the ability to reach each other on different parts of the country, different parts of the world. My family is all in France, so I feel incredibly grateful that I can just get on a call and see my nieces and my nephews and all of the different, you know, changes that are happening in our rituals and our day to day. But we have to be very mindful that it does not replace physical touch and physical connection. It can be in addition to it, but it’s not instead of.

0:24:02 – Kimberly King

Yeah, I love that and it’s true, like you even talked about a baby, you know what it does for us, even connecting with the baby, but for the baby- you know, that’s that human element. So you talk about mindfulness a lot and can sound abstract. What’s a simple real-world example of pressing pause during the day and what does that do for our headspace? That’s an interesting thought, I think.

0:24:29 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, so you know, I was mentioning a little bit earlier that, just mindfulness. A lot of people are like I don’t know how to be mindful. What does that mean? Right, like, what are you talking about? And it is- it is a word that is a little abstract and ambiguous, and, I think a lot of people are overwhelmed with the idea. They don’t really know how to define it, and so I’ll say this like, imagine that you’re making a cup of coffee, but instead of checking your phone at the same time which I’ve totally been guilty of many times. Instead, you just notice the smell of it, or the warmth of the mug that it’s in, or the sound of the pour.

That’s my favorite part. I love sounds. I love sounds. [Laughter.] So as you pay attention to these things and as you slow down the rest of the things around it, that’s mindfulness. That’s you literally tuning out all the distractors, and being in the moment, and really pausing. Right, you’re making a cup of coffee, but what you’re doing is you’re also pausing away from all the other things. That brings your nervous system not only in the present moment, but it also interrupts the automatic stress loops, right?

So if you’re simultaneously using your phone, like your stress loops are just going and going and going and going and instead you sort of slow down, stay in the moment, bring yourself to a uh, to a, a relaxed state that lets you really tackle anything that comes to you that day, right. And so what it does is it strengthens your ability, your brain’s ability, to focus and to regulate emotion.

So again, mother of three, there are many times where they trigger me, and it’s like the things that come out of my ears right, like you just get in this state and you just want to say all these different things, and you just- and there are moments where you’re not as regulated and you might say things that you regret and, unfortunately for myself, like I’ve been guilty of that, and then I don’t sleep for the next three days. Like oh, my God, I ruined my child.

But actually, if we take the time to regulate which, again, you saw that a cup of coffee might’ve taken, I don’t know 30 seconds, right, and actually just take a moment and then your child comes out and says something that triggers you and you could just either say nothing, which actually, uh, Dr., Dr. Becky- who’s this guru that’s all over the place right now- talks about how something doing nothing is the best thing you can do, um, so you can do nothing, but also you can respond in a very benign way and letting the situation dissipate, right.

So, either way, it prepares you to regulate yourself. And I don’t want to speak only as a parent, because that’s not my intention, but when we regulate ourselves, we are examples to our children to learn how to regulate themselves. So if it’s not with our children and it’s only with our peers, or it’s only with our parents or with our friends, whoever it is that’s around us that’s watching us self-regulate, is taking in a little bit of that and choosing how to self-regulate themselves. So I always think about, we are always a representation of what we want to put in the world, and so, as we are mindful, as we are putting the energy into this very moment to be present and to be ourselves and to be regulated, most important skill that we can teach each other and ourselves. We spread that into the world for it to continue being the norm quote unquote I don’t like that word, but norm.

0:28:09 – Kimberly King

Right. But you know, and really, as you said, maybe mindfulness sounds a little bit, you know, out there, people don’t understand. But what you just did is really simplify it and kind of went back to the way it was before we all had cell phones. And my husband and I were just in Austin, Texas, for a conference and we went to a little bar down in Austin- I don’t know if you’ve been there, it’s a great town, but they collect your phones when you come in and they’re like you’re going to have a face-to-face- and I wish there were more places that were doing that. And fortunately, my husband and I don’t have, you know, we both are chit-chatty all the time anyway, but you know what? It was a real moment and, like you said, it was a mindful moment, and I’d like to see more places doing that, I think, especially, you know, for our kids, as an example of what it used to be like.

0:29:06 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

I actually have a lockbox in my house so when my kids come in they have to put their phone and there’s a timer- Like we decide how much time so they get to go do their homework.

0:29:09 – Kimberly King

Oh, I love that.

0:29:10 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

But also like, it’s dinner time. Everybody’s phone goes in the box, and it has been life changing for us.

0:29:18 – Kimberly King

Oh, I love that. Good for you, yeah, yeah, I think that should be the norm now. You know like and and hopefully people have. We’ve swung the pendulum, it’s hopefully it will go a little bit of the other way now. Um, I love that. So everyone feels down now and then of course we’re human. But at what point does the brain need extra help from friends, professionals or new habits to climb back up?

0:29:43 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, so you know, if we’re a little bit sad for longer than say longer than maybe like two weeks, right, and if it’s interfering with our sleep or our appetite or our sex drive or our motivation, or if it makes daily life really difficult and I don’t want to say unbearable, but really really difficult- it’s typically a sign that our brain needs support. Talking to a friend is great. Therapy is probably something really worth considering by that time, as well as maybe a medical evaluation. Sometimes there’s hormonal things, there’s there’s a lot of different things that can happen when we feel particularly sad.

Of course, we have to take into consideration, like what’s happening in our lives? If we just had a significant loss, or if our spouse lost his job, whatever it is right? Like there are things to consider as far as the potential changes that have happened and sometimes it’s circumstantial, but even circumstantial can quickly linger into something more damaging if we don’t seek the help.

So you know, there’s one thing that I would like to put out there and I’m a therapist so I’m biased, but like therapy is just talking. Therapy is just talking about all of the different things that you have on your heart in a place that is safe, that helps you really face them, face those things and deal with them. Sometimes, if it wears a little down for a couple weeks and we don’t understand why and we’re just don’t know how to get out of it, go talk to somebody. Go talk to somebody. It might change your life quicker than you realize.

0:31:21 – Kimberly King

And that’s such great advice. And I think there was a moment in time. My family is all in law enforcement and so, whether it’s military, law enforcement, there was a stigma for a little while wasn’t there? And I think that pendulum has swung back the other way and I think you know, no matter what you’re doing and I think that’s the most important when you’re really struggling, and that it’s normal, and you know, you’ve taken that mystery away where it’s like you’re just talking to somebody but that has been trained and that is professional. It can lead you down a different path. So that’s good.

We hear that what we eat- this is something that I know, it keeps changing and you know, you said something in the beginning, even about the sleep between the difference between men and women. I was been reading these articles about, uh, the way you know fasting, um, but men and women are different, so the way we eat affects how we feel. What simple swap can we use to give our brain a happier boost?

0:32:18 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, yeah, so I’m in no way a nutritionist, but I do a lot of research on this topic because, you know, everything’s connected, right. Our brain, our body, everything is connected. The way what we put in our body, what we put on our body, what we, it all matters, right? Simply, I’ve been- I’ve learned that anything in the center of the grocery store is not typically good for you. Anything outside only outside of the, you know, like aisles on the, on the walls of the grocery store is really what’s best for you. Anything that’s perishable, really right? [Laughter.] If you’re buying a packet that’s good till February 2028, chances are it’s not gonna be good for your body.

0:33:01 – Kimberly King

Preservatives are not our friend. [Laughter].

0:33:02 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, exactly. Right? But here’s some really easy things to switch that for most of us shouldn’t be too difficult to swap. It’s, you know, shift switching your sugary snacks for walnuts and maybe berries, right? So you have omega-3s in walnuts and you have antioxidants in berries. Particularly blueberries, are very high in antioxidants. Those help reduce brain inflammation and they also support mood regulation. So it’s a simple thing, right?

I always think about, like, whatever is in your home is what you’ll go for. If I put a bunch of chocolate in my home, I’m going to eat it. I do not have the power to, but if I have berries in my fridge, I will eat those and you’re so happy that they’re there, right. And so it’s a small, tiny little swap, but it shifts a few different things our brain, but also what we end up craving, right, Because habits are also something that you can change, based on how much, you know, like on a short time, you do something for I don’t remember, I don’t want to say the wrong time, but like several days and then it’s a new habit and that’s it, that’s your new habit. So it’s a triple win as far as I’m concerned.

0:34:24 – Kimberly King

Yeah, that is true, we eat kind of whatever’s in front of us. And then the way we were raised too, my mom brought sugary cereals into the house all the time, so for a long time I thought that was okay and it’s not. So, yeah, you got to make those switches.

0:34:39 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, it’s not easy, though, because everything is sort of put out there as if all these types of food are normal to eat and they’re really not.

0:34:50 – Kimberly King

Right, right. That’s good advice. So if you could give every listener one easy experiment to try this week for a happier brain, what would it be and how might they notice the difference?

0:35:01 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Yeah, you actually touched upon it at the beginning of our time today Journaling, but journaling with a very specific intent, right? So I keep my journal right next to my bed and I don’t always write in it, but I keep it there so I see it, so I’m more inspired to go to it. If you try to write down three good things per day for seven days, you will feel a difference. Most people report feeling more hopeful, less anxious, more attuned to the positives in their day. And and to be clear, the positives can be microscopic. It doesn’t need to be. I won the lottery today, right?

I was able to make eye contact with somebody and have a moment of connection with somebody that I didn’t- I’ve never met, right. Or I received a really meaningful compliment. I’ve been working really hard on a particular skill and I received a compliment on it. Or- it doesn’t, it doesn’t really. The smaller they are, the more impactful the journaling will be, and the reason why is because it shifts the focus of your brain. Your brain is no longer focused on all the chaos that’s in your life. That is in many lives, right? Like we all have so many different balls to juggle. Sometimes there are fireballs that we’re juggling with. We don’t even want to touch them, right? If we focus on that, then our brain goes to that. If we focus on the tiny, microscopic but really powerful beautiful things, maybe it goes back to touching the grass, right. Maybe it goes back to just sitting up. That’s enough to change the way your brain is programmed. So it really rewires the brain for joy.

0:36:51 – Kimberly King

Aw, you know it’s funny that you said that about just you know, put down the grateful things, the positive things. When I, when my kids, were young, I would always drive them crazy because around the dinner table I’d be like, all right, tell me the your favorite thing, the three things that happened today. And so I think I’m going to bring that back now that they’re in their mid-20s and see if that boosts their confidence and their happiness quotient. But it’s important to keep tabs of that and to know. And it is those little things. So I really love what you’re doing and thank you for sharing all of that with us today. I’m going to share this episode with all my friends and family. I really appreciate what you do for others. You’re very impactful. If you want more information, you can visit National University’s website at nu.edu, and thank you so much, Dr. Bickler, for your time today and for making us all happy.

0:37:48 – Doctor Aurelia Bickler

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and thank you so much for having this wonderful conversation with me. I appreciate it.

0:37:59 – Kimberly King

Absolutely.

You’ve been listening to the National University Podcast. For updates on future or past guests, visit us at nu.edu. You can also follow us on social media. Thanks for listening.