Is your brain getting lazy?

When I got my drivers licence, my driving instructor told me, in a very serious manner, to make sure that my first car had a manual gearbox (stick) and to avoid getting a GPS for as long as I possibly could. ‘Your brain will get lazy!’ were his words. I was 18 years old at the time, so just smiled and didn’t think much more of it. But recently the memory came up and I now find myself thinking about him and his words often.

I am a huge fan of technology and all the things it has to offer. To name but a few examples, it can break down boarders and allow for me to have clients anywhere in the world - something I am hugely grateful for. I can also have daily contact with loved ones in Denmark and the USA - something I would never want to be without. But, reality is, that it really is causing a huge amount of laziness and inactivity too.

There’s the obvious kind of inactivity, where children (and adults, for that matter) are stuck behind their screens instead of playing or socialising with their friends. And then there’s the laziness that we might not consider such; That we no longer need the ability to read maps - we can just plot in an address and a robotic voice will provide directions. In fact, if all goes to plan, soon it will no longer be a matter of stick or automatic either; we won’t have to spend any energy at all on driving or navigating traffic - driverless cars will take over. Struggling to apologise to your life partner? No worries - ChatGPT will sort it out for you. If you ask it, it can even write a highly scientific book in your name, so there’s no need to sharpen your creative writing skills or even know anything about the subject! Modern lifestyle is setting us up for laziness in so many ways, and this laziness is having an impact on everything in our lives. Not least our brains.

Your brain is the most complex organ in your body. It has 100 billion neurons and more connections than there are stars in the universe! What’s more is, it is involved in EVERYTHING you do. So if your brain isn’t working, you aren’t working.

It really is that simple. If you want a strong, resilient and healthy brain, you need to protect, feed and train it - just like you would a muscle. If you don’t use your muscles they become weak - your brain works the same way.

Problem solving, analysing, reading, exercising, driving and writing are all crucial to keeping our brains active and healthy. Every time we do these things, we train different areas of our brains. So along with a whole range of important lifestyle choices that will make a huge impact on brain health (stay tuned for more on this).

I urge you to consider how you use technology in your daily life - and whether it is worth it. Is your brain paying the price? Could some of the ways you currently use technology be done in other, more brain healthy, ways?

Consider giving your brain some challenges:

• Instead of going for an electric bike, go for an old fashioned one.

• Next time you rent a car, choose stick instead of automatic.

• Need to find your way to someone’s house? Opt out of robotic directions and read as you go instead!

• Need to write an apology? A complaint? A book? A blog post? Do it yourself.

• Have a question? Instead of going straight to ChatGPT (which is currently also horrible for the environment, so avoiding that is a win-win), ask a parent, a neighbour, a friend or an expert within your field. Who knows, you might learn more than you asked for, it could create a sense of community and you will make someone feel useful.

In a few weeks time I will receive my Brain Health Coach certification and so I will be implementing my knowledge into my 1:1 sessions and doing talks in the London area (and eventually Denmark too - Aarhus and Copenhagen) on brain health. If 1:1 sessions or any of these talks/locations are of interest to you, please reach out.

In the mean time: Use your brain. Don’t take it for granted. If your brain doesn’t work, you won’t work.