Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Where is your attention right now? Hopefully it’s on these words – but if you’re getting distracted and are contemplating what you’ll have for dinner or running through your to-do list, please know that you are not alone. Today’s guest shares research which shows that most of us are missing up to 50% of our lives. But if you’d like to change that for the better, you’re in the right place. Dr Amishi Jha is a neuroscientist, professor of psychology at the University of Miami and author of the brilliant new book Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes A Day, which looks at the science of attention. She wants to help us all harness the power of our attention to better meet life’s demands. And I know you’re going to find her advice useful whether it’s at work, at leisure or in your relationships. Amishi describes the three different types of attention: the Flashlight, the Floodlight and the Juggler. She explains how they all work together to keep us not just focused but also safe, productive and agile. What’s most important, she explains, is developing the awareness to know what type of attention, or distraction, you’re experiencing at any one time. We talk about factors which have a negative influence on our attention, namely stress, fear and lack of sleep. And how an inability to focus can not only be a consequence of poor mental health, but a cause as well. Often rumination, focusing too intently on our problems, can keep us in them. So how can we break free? This episode is packed with practical advice on optimising attention for all-round wellbeing and performance. Amishi’s research has shown that, just as we might train our bodies in the gym, so too can we train our brains to direct our focus where we’ll most benefit. And the good news is, we can experience incredible benefits in as little as 12 minutes a day. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too.   Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/218   Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3oAKmxi. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com. Follow me on https://www.instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on https://www.facebook.com/DrChatterjee DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

17 Marras 20211h 56min

We all know what to do to maintain our physical fitness, but we often don’t think about our mental fitness.   Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.   Today’s clip is from episode 57 of the podcast with body image and mental health campaigner Natasha Devon MBE.   In this clip, she explains why it’s so important to keep our mind fit and healthy and gives some great tips for maintaining mental fitness. Thanks to our sponsor http://www.athleticgreens.com/livemore Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3oAKmxi. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.   Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com//57   Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk   DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

12 Marras 202112min

Human beings were born to run. No sooner have we learned to walk than we’re breaking into a run – it’s just another gear. So why do so many of us struggle with running as adults? Today’s guest, Helen Hall, is the running coach I’ve been working with for the past 18 months and who trained me for my recent marathon. As founder of Perpetual Forward Motion Efficient Running Coaching her clients range from elite athletes to ordinary amateurs who want to run or walk pain-free, with greater efficiency and, most importantly, with greater enjoyment. It’s no exaggeration to say Helen has had a profound effect on my life. So I’m delighted to be able to share her wisdom with you in this conversation, which is relevant whether you’re an experienced runner, a novice, or even if running doesn’t appeal at all. We begin our chat by looking at the core principles to Helen’s approach. Awareness is everything and she teaches clients to really notice what their body is doing. Where is your head sitting? How are you using your arms? It’s only when you’ve noticed that you can begin to change. And changing means becoming more efficient – learning the adjustments that help you to move with freedom. Movement, Helen points out, is a ‘job share’. We need to be able to recruit as much of our bodies as we can to do it well. I can testify to this holistic approach. Working with Helen hasn’t just changed my running, it’s helped me to walk faster, breathe better and stand more comfortably. It’s made me aware of how past injuries and trauma can affect you for decades. I’ve even learned how the surgery I had for appendicitis as a child played a huge part in my experience running the London Marathon this autumn. And, this conversation contains my first real deep dive into that recent marathon experience, which many of you have been asking about. It wasn’t the race I’d planned, but it turned out to be the race I needed. Helen helps me unpack why I found it so emotional and explains why my physical struggles were a sign of progress not limitation. I hope this conversation conveys just how valuable I think Helen’s approach is. Whether running is for you or not, I know it’ll get you thinking about how you’re sitting or standing right now, and noticing how you use your body for the rest of the day. Find Helen's video series here https://www.helen-hall.co.uk/product/the-pfm-wujwum-series/   Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/216 DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

10 Marras 20212h 6min

The brain is our most vital and complex organ, and there are simple things we can all do to keep it healthy and improve its performance.   Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.   Today’s clip is from episode 76 of the podcast with neuroscientist and brain surgeon Dr Rahul Jandial.   In this clip he draws on his knowledge and years of experience as a brain surgeon to share some practical tips that can help us all optimise our brain health and get the best out of our mind at any age. Thanks to our sponsor http://www.athleticgreens.com/livemore Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3oAKmxi. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.   Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/76   Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk   DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

5 Marras 202111min

This week’s episode is a special compilation episode all about stress: what it is, where it comes from, and what we can do to manage it better in our lives. Even before the events of the past 20 months, we were living in the middle of a stress epidemic. For many years now, the World Health Organization has been calling stress, the health epidemic of the 21st century. Many of us think that we can get away with burning the candle at both ends forever. But the reality is very, very different. Stress impacts every single organ of the body and chronic stress is at the root of many modern chronic diseases. On my podcast, I have had the great pleasure of talking to some of the leading thinkers and scientists across the globe and this week my team and I have put together some of the very best bits from previous episodes to give you actionable tips that I hope help you live a happier, more fulfilling, and stress-free life. This episode includes clips from: Episode 41 – Dr Rangan Chatterjee and Dr Ayan Panja Episode 28 - Rich Roll Episode 183 - Greg McKeown Episode 95 - Claudia Hammond Episode 113 - Brian MacKenzie Episode 124 - James Nestor Episode 109 - Kelly McGonigal Episode 2 - Michael Acton-Smith Episode 80 - Dhru Purohit Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/214   Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3oAKmxi. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com. Follow me on https://www.instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on https://www.facebook.com/DrChatterjee Follow me on https://twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

3 Marras 20211h 8min

Fear can hold us back in all aspects of our life and stop us from living a life filled with passion and deep fulfilment.   Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.   Today’s clip is from episode 126 of the podcast with psychologist Dr Pippa Grange.   Pippa believes most of us are performing at life, not living it - and in this clip, she explains why we should stop holding back, put fear aside and allow ourselves to live the life we want to live. Thanks to our sponsor http://www.athleticgreens.com/livemore Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3oAKmxi. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.   Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/126   Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk   DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

28 Loka 202111min

We know how vital what we eat is for our physical health. What’s less widely appreciated, despite a wealth of evidence, is just how important the right foods are for our brain and mental health. But my guest today is here to turn the science into easy steps we can all put into action. Dr Drew Ramsay is a psychiatrist and a leader in the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry. He’s assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Colombia University and founded The Brain Food Clinic in New York. Drew’s book, Eat To Beat Depression And Anxiety: Nourish Your Way To Better Mental Health In Six Weeks is a powerful prescription for optimising your mental health through diet. His clinic incorporates evidence-based nutrition and integrative psychiatry treatments with psychotherapy, coaching, and responsible medication management. He believes everyone working in the field of mental health should be talking about nutrition – and I couldn’t agree more. Over his 20 years as a practising doctor, Drew became frustrated that the robust data confirming a relationship between food and mental health wasn’t making it through to doctors, let alone patients. With depression being the most disabling illness in the world, he’s made it his mission to bring the evidence on nutritional prevention and cure to the masses. The trick, he says, is to find foods that do one of two things. They either feed your gut microbes and fight inflammation (linked to both depression and dementia) or they put your brain in ‘grow mode’. And which foods do these things? Drew reveals his ‘power players’ in our conversation, giving specifics on different nutrients and how they work in the body. He simplifies the research on foods that can treat depression – such as the famous SMILEs trial. And he provides a super-helpful, realistic guide to changes you can make right now (that don’t have to be expensive). Mental well-being is such an important topic and Drew’s work is so valuable. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to do the best by their brain.   Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/212 Follow me on https://www.instagram.com/drchatterjee Follow me on https://www.facebook.com/DrChatterjee DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

26 Loka 20211h 38min

I’m excited to announce I’ve just launched a brand new daily podcast called Built to Thrive, exclusively on Amazon Music. Instead of today’s usual Bitesize episode, I’ve decided to share episode 1 of the new podcast for you to enjoy.   In just five minutes, Monday to Friday, Built to Thrive offers simple tips, hacks, motivation and advice aimed at helping you feel your best, mentally and physically. There's a new theme each week, with every day offering a new opportunity to improve the way you feel, whatever your starting point.   If you enjoyed listening you can listen for free every day, Monday to Friday, by clicking here https://amazon.co.uk/BuiltToThrive   Thanks to our sponsor http://www.athleticgreens.com/livemore   Follow me on https://www.instagram.com/drchatterjee/ Follow me on https://www.facebook.com/drchatterjee Follow me on https://twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk   DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

21 Loka 202113min