Brain Wash summary

It’s 1848 and railroad worker Phineas Gage is in trouble. A disastrous explosion has pushed an iron rod straight through his skull. Amazingly, the accident doesn’t kill him. However, it does damage his brain and change his life.

Before the accident, Gage was affable and friendly. Afterwards, his personality shifted. He was impulsive, mean, and had a fiery temper. For many years, Gage’s behavior made him a social outcast. But, as time went on, his brain began to heal. At the end of his life, he was once again acting gentle and kind.

Imagine life 12,000 years ago: no TV, no smartphones, no strawberry ice cream. The most exciting activities around are foraging for food and running from predators. 

Our bodies evolved in this environment, and that means our minds did, too. Unfortunately, the result is that our brains are mostly ill-prepared for the sensory overload of the modern world. 

You wake up, you check your phone. You make breakfast, you check your email. You drive to work, you check your phone again. 

Sound familiar? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Over the past decade, the internet and social media have become a constant presence for most people. In fact, a recent report found that 16 percent of adolescents feel addicted to their phones. But what are the side effects of all this connectivity?

You’re walking down a busy street. On the road, cars speed by with few gaps in between. At the corner is an old woman trying to cross. She’s struggling with two bags of groceries and could clearly use a hand. What do you do?

If you’re like most people, you stop and help her navigate the intersection. Maybe you even carry her groceries home. Humans are inherently social, and our ability to work together is one reason our species has survived. Sadly, the modern world may be eroding that capacity.

In the early 1900s, English author E. M. Forster wrote a short story called “The Machine Stops.” This disturbing tale describes a dystopian future where humanity lives in complete indoor isolation. The characters rarely see the sun and they only communicate through digital devices.

Today, a bit more than a century after the story's publication, reality has a great deal in common with that bleak fictional world. How much, exactly? Well, one survey found that Americans only spend about 5 percent of their day outdoors. As one journalist put it, most of us suffer from a “nature deficit disorder.”

Take a look around your kitchen. What do you see? Colorful boxes of sugary cereal, a couple cans of soda in the fridge? Maybe a carton or two of leftover takeout from last night?

Thousands of years ago, your options would have looked much different. In fact, the modern menu is full of foods that would be unimaginable to our early ancestors. But are all these new options good for us? The truth is: probably not.

Your eyes are heavy. Your muscles ache. Every step feels labored, like your shoes are full of lead.

This is how it feels to start the day after a night of no sleep. And while your body may feel physically bad, chances are, your brain is doing even worse.

Let’s take a trip to northern Tanzania. Here, we’ll find the Hadza, a modern community of hunter-gatherers. Each day, members of this group spend their time searching the savannah for food – and all that foraging adds up. A typical day includes more than five miles of walking.

Humans were built to move. A traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle is great for our bodies. That’s obvious. However, lately, science has shown us that physical activity is also crucial for our brains.

Whirring, glitching, freezing up – an overstimulated mind can act like a computer with too many programs open.

When the distractions and stress of the modern world overload your central processing unit, it’s best to eliminate the excess noise. Sometimes, a little bit of silence is necessary to reboot your brain.

By now, you understand how the modern world encourages behaviors and habits that negatively affect our brain’s functioning. You know that everything from your sleep schedule to your nutrition to your digital devices play a role in making you feel depressed, drained, and disconnected. 

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to disconnection syndrome. However, you can reclaim your health by sticking to a few fundamentals. Dr. David Perlmutter, along with his son, Dr. Austin Perlmutter, have put together a ten-day Brain Wash program to get you started.