Feeling stuck in low moods, negativity, or the never-ending “blahs”? It’s not just in your head—it’s in your brain. Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen expose the hidden biological, psychological, social, and spiritual mood stealers that quietly hijack your happiness. Tana opens up about how a cancer diagnosis—and the wrong antidepressant—sent her spiraling into darkness, and the life-saving strategies that helped her fight her way back. Plus, find out how an everyday spice—saffron—could work as well as antidepressant medication, backed by decades of research.

00:00 Intro

00:57 Mood is a Brain Function

02:45 Your Physical Brain Function Affects Your Mood

05:48 The Physical Causes of Mood Disorders

09:00 Taking the Wrong Medication

11:50 Psychological/Social/Spiritual Factors

13:46 Mood Robbers

17:49 Sponsor

18:30 Mood Enhancing Fakers

24:53 Saffron

31:53 TMG/SAMe

35:16 Wrap Up

https://brainmd.com

If you’re tired of being tired, this episode is for you. Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen break down the three biggest categories that affect your energy: what steals it, what fakes it, and what truly enhances it. From toxic people (known as “energy vampires”) to tech overload, caffeine crashes to clean supplements, you’ll learn what’s draining your spark and the best ways to boost lasting energy—without burning out.

00:00 Intro

00:58 Energy Robbers, Fakers, & Enhancers

03:11 Uncontrolled Thoughts

04:29 Energy Vampires

07:43 Poor Sleep Habits

10:00 Processed Foods & Sugar

13:43 Decision Fatigue

16:09 Sponsor

16:56 Caffeine

18:57 Adrenaline Addiction

19:51 Social Media

20:08 Breakfast/Nutrition

25:08 Sunlight/Movement

25:39 Cold Plunges/Boundaries

27:05 Peak Energy

32:28 Wrap Up

Peak Energy and other brain-healthy supplements: https://brainmd.com

In this mind-expanding episode, Dr. Daniel Amen sits down with biohacker and Heavily Meditated author Dave Asprey to explore how meditation—and a few unexpected brain hacks—can rewire your nervous system in real time. You’ll learn Dave’s go-to “reset process” to calm your brain and body within seconds of being triggered, why most relationship conflicts have nothing to do with your partner, and the two emotional concepts adults dread most. Plus, discover a rapid-fire breathing technique to instantly destress, a controversial one-minute trick to reset your dopamine, and how intimacy can become one of the most transformative meditations of all.

https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated/

00:00 Intro

00:38 Sponsor

02:03 The Father of Biohacking

05:08 Training Your Brain for Meditation

07:40 Our Inner States Don’t Have Words

10:40 Managing Alerts

12:21 What Meditation Does to the Brain

14:06 The Reset Process

19:19 Compassion

22:24 Joe Rogan Incident

24:52 Building Resilience

27:36 Connections/Removing Friction

32:08 Creating a Meditation Practice

33:47 Breathwork

36:18 Entrainment Methods

38:40 Gaining Control Over Your Nervous System

42:48 Conscious Loving Intimacy

45:21 Sponsor

46:35 Wrap Up