The Fasting Mind: How Silence Heals The Brain

In the world of physical wellness, we know that giving the body a break from digesting food allows it to perform a miracle called autophagy—a state where it literally cleans out cellular waste and repairs itself. But while we have learned to rest our stomachs, we almost never rest our minds. We feed our brains a twenty-four-hour diet of news, notifications, and endless problem-solving. In this episode, we are going to explore the concept of 'Mental Fasting,' and discover how creating windows of absolute silence is the only way the mind can clear out emotional waste and return to a baseline of deep peace.

• Music by Aonescape from Pixabay

Transcript

Welcome to the Happiness Podcast. I'm Dr. Robert Puff. I remember once when I was in Monaco, France, And I was eating at a restaurant with a friend of mine, And there were a group of four Italian men, Young men, Probably in their 20s, And it was dinner time, And they had been at the beach all day long. All four of them were pretty thin guys, But something they did shocked me. They ordered one plate, After another plate, After another plate, After another plate, Ad infinitum of food, Just on and on and on, And then they proceeded to eat it all. When they were finally done, I'm not joking, All four of them, Their stomachs were extended like they were in the early stages of pregnancy. When I was asking them about how they could possibly eat so much, They told me that they had been swimming all day long and hadn't eaten anything at all. And they had promised their mothers that when they came to France, They would have a very big meal and make sure they didn't go hungry. Well, They definitely weren't going hungry. I actually didn't know that was possible, That your stomach could extend because of so much food. Here in the US, We have a holiday called Thanksgiving. And though it probably can't compete with what those four Italian boys did, It looks quite similar. And what you find at Thanksgiving is, After a big meal like that, My relatives are sluggish, Inflamed, And exhausted because their bodies are using all that energy just to process what they consumed. But like these Italian boys and my relatives at Thanksgiving, We do the same thing almost every day. But it's with our minds. From the moment we wake up and check our phones, To the audiobooks we listen to in our car, To the television shows we watch before bed, Our brains are constantly chewing. But when our minds are constantly consuming There's absolutely zero energy left for healing. In order for us to develop true emotional resilience, It requires intentional starvation from input. By taking a mental fast, Our silence heals our brain. Have you ever heard of the miracle of autophagy or intermittent fasting? When our bodies take a break from eating and aren't busy digesting the meal, It triggers autophagy. And the longer we wait to eat again, The better. Once we start our fast, Our bodies literally start eating its own dead damaged cells and clearing out inflammation. Think of it like the ultimate biological reset. I've been doing intermittent fasting for quite a while now. Between seven and eight hours every day, I eat. And then I don't consume any calories for about 17 to 18 hours before I eat again. People often think that fasting is very hard and initially it can seem challenging but with time your body gets very used to it. You may be wondering, Well, Why do I do this? Because it gives my digestive system a time to be still. And if you think about how we evolved, This is how our early ancestors ate. They didn't have a fridge or a local supermarket to go to. They would hunt and then gather and then eat. So their bodies really got adapted to intermittent fasting. And I just personally really liked the way my body feels when I give it a time to fast every day. And think about the various religious traditions around the world that see fasting as part of their spiritual journey. If you've heard about or familiar with Ramadan, People of the Islamic faith do not eat for a month during the daytime and then they eat after the sun sets. So they're doing intermittent fasting every day for a month. And they see it as a very essential part of their faith. But most religious traditions include some form of fasting in their spiritual journey. But how does all this autophagy translate to how our minds work? Just like our body accumulates damaged cells, The mind accumulates emotional waste. The lingering frustrations from a rude email, A low-grade anxiety from a news headline, Or the subconscious comparison from scrolling through social media. As long as we're listening to something, Talking to someone, Reading, Or just engaging in internal thought dialogue, Our brain is in digestion mode. All this mental activity precludes us from processing the emotional waste in our hearts and our brains. But what happens is, When we finally give our brains a zero input window, Mental autophagy begins. Our minds finally have the bandwidth to process that lingering frustration. File it away, And clear the emotional information. This is why so often our best, Most peaceful ideas often come in the shower or right before we fall asleep because there are so few times when we stop feeding the brain. Though I learned the wisdom for me of intermittent fasting several years ago, I learned the wisdom of giving my mind fasting time decades ago. And since I discovered how important it was for my mind to have a break. I meditate twice a day, Every day. As a way to give my mind that time to be still. You probably heard of Carl Jung. In the 1920s, He was one of the busiest, Most sought-after clinical psychologists in the world. But thankfully he realized his mind was completely overfed and emotionally exhausted to survive He built a beautiful stone castle on the shores of Lake Zurich just so he could have time to give his mind the rest it needed so desperately. He intentionally built it without electricity, Running water, Or a telephone. For months at a time, He would retreat there and do absolutely nothing but chop wood, Fetch water, And sit in total silence. He didn't bring books or entertain guests. By completely starving his brain of modern inputs, He allowed his mind to perform deep mental autophagy. And do you know what happened? His most brilliant theories were born in this absolute silence at Lake Geneva. In the 1600s, There was a brilliant mathematician and philosopher named Blaise Pascal who made a profound observation about human nature. He wrote. All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. Is clear, Brilliant, And completely at peace. You may be asking, But Dr. Puff, How do I know if I'm having symptoms of a stuffed mind? When our minds are overfed, We have no buffers. A minor inconvenience, Like a delayed flight, Or a misinterpretation of what our partner just said can cause a massive emotional reaction because our brain is already full to the brim. I see this so often when I work with couples that are struggling in marriage counseling. They often get into fights that are rather silly because their brains are just so exhausted that they quickly misinterpret the other person is saying or doing and it causes and leads to so much pain and suffering that is truly unnecessary. When our brains are constantly stimulated by high dopamine inputs, Our minds lose their ability to feel the awe in the ordinary. That curative boredom isn't more input. It's a fast. Which then will reset our sensitivity to the simple, Beautiful things in life. When couples are fighting because they're exhausted, Do they pause and look at the beautiful flowers sitting on the kitchen table that were given as a gift the previous day? No. We see the beauty, The simple things in life. When our minds. Are opened. Through fasting. So if perchance this is making sense. How do we design a mental fast? Can begin in the morning with a golden morning hour. For the first hour after waking up, Consume nothing, No emails, No news, No social media. This quiet time protects our brain when it's most sensitive. We can use this time to do our yoga, Meditation, Or simply brewing a cup of high-grade green tea in complete silence. I remember once years ago hearing a story from Zig Ziglar. He was a very famous motivational speaker. He told the story how one Christmas he gave his daughter a radio where she could listen to music when she wakes up in the morning. Well, The sweet little girl stopped being sweet in the morning and he and his wife figure it out until they realized the music that she was listening to when she woke up was very caustic, Very biting, And had words in it that weren't good for her soul. So they took the radio away and now in the mornings she was her sweet little girl again. The second thing we can do, Because most of us still commute, Is what's called the zero input commute. When we go to work or run an errand, Do it in absolute silence. No radio, No audiobooks, No calls. At first it will feel uncomfortable, But that discomfort is the mind begging for junk food. Push through it because the silence with time will feel spacious. Remember how I said when I started fasting years ago, It was hard at first. But we get very used to things. Even good things. Initially, It can be hard. But I promise you with time, You'll love it. And then the third thing we could try is taking a 20-minute walk without our phone. The goal isn't to get steps in. The goal is to let our eyes drift across the horizon and let our brain stop actively focusing on the screen. This naturally lowers our cortisone and triggers psychological repair. And then there's always beautiful, Wonderful meditation. I know it can be scary to try something like that. Because it sounds so hard. But again what you may find. If you develop a meditation practice. It becomes a favorite part of your day. In conclusion, We really have the power to heal our anxiety or emotional exhaustions simply by giving our brains a break. When we fast physically, Our bodies automatically start removing their own dead damaged cells and clearing out inflammation. When we give our minds time to fast, Healing occurs. Automatically and beautifully. If we want to experience more peace. And joy in our lives. It isn't by consuming more information to find it. It's there. Gently waiting for us. When we slow down. And just be. Thank you for joining me on the Happiness Podcast. Until next time. Accept what is, Love what is.

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