Next Door Neuro

We often think of health as something we build by ourselves. We exercise. We eat well. We prioritize sleep. We meditate. But neuroscience suggests we may be overlooking one of the most important ingredients for a healthy brain: Other people. In this episode of Next Door Neuro, I explore why social connection isn’t simply a nice addition to life, it’s one of the conditions the human brain evolved w...

One of the best things you can do for your brain… is absolutely nothing. We’ve become incredibly good at filling every spare moment. Podcasts. Music. Scrolling. Email. Productivity. But our brains actually need periods of quiet, every day.  In this episode of Next Door Neuro, I explore why simply sitting outside (without an agenda, to dos, or your phone) may be one of the most restorative things y...

Most of us think about morning sunlight as something that helps us wake up. But it does so much more than that. Morning light helps set your brain’s internal clock, shaping everything from your mood and energy to your sleep, metabolism, and hormone rhythms later that day. And what I love about this habit is that it isn’t complicated: No cold plunge. No elaborate morning routine. No expensive gadge...

Summer makes some things easier.   Last week, we talked about the opportunities that longer days provide. This week, I wanted to dive deeper into one of the simplest (and most human) forms of movement: walking .   Walking isn’t just exercise. It’s how we evolved.   And modern neuroscience is revealing just how profoundly something as simple as walking can influence our metabolism, creativity, stre...

Your brain knows it’s summer. The question is: are you working with the season, or ignoring it? As we approach the summer solstice and the longest days of the year, I’ve found myself wrestling with a simple question: What am I supposed to do with all this extra daylight? Modern life makes it possible to live almost exactly the same way in June that we do in January. But our brains evolved in a wor...

Over the last few months, I’ve had conversations with neuroscientists, addiction specialists, leadership coaches, outdoor educators, adventurers, and podcasters. On the surface, they were all talking about different things. But the more I reflected on those conversations, the more I realized they were all pointing toward the same idea: The quality of our lives is shaped less by our intentions than...

Why do some of our best ideas happen in the shower? Or on a walk? Or during a drive? Or while we're doing something completely unrelated to the problem we're trying to solve? In this episode of Next Door Neuro - Lab Notes, I explore a fascinating creativity study from researchers at UC Santa Barbara that challenged a common assumption: When we're stuck, most of us instinctively try to work harder....

Why do so many of us feel like we're constantly falling behind? Why does slowing down feel uncomfortable? And why do we often judge ourselves for needing rest, recovery, or space? In this episode of Next Door Neuro - Lab Notes, I explore an idea that has been sticking with me since my conversation with productivity coach Emily Guerra: Many of us are treating ourselves like machines. And increasing...

Why does slowing down sometimes feel uncomfortable… even when we know we need it?  Why do so many of us feel guilty resting? And why do moments that should feel restorative feel like we’re falling behind? In this episode of Next Door Neuro - Lab Notes, I explore something I’m still actively working on myself: I don’t rest well. Despite spending years studying neuroscience, stress, recovery, burnou...

Why does it feel harder than ever to focus deeply? Why do so many of us reach for our phones without consciously deciding to? And why does stillness sometimes feel strangely uncomfortable? In this episode of Next Door Neuro – Lab Notes, I explore a realization I’ve been having lately: I’m slowly losing the ability to direct my own attention. And I don’t think I’m alone... Humans evolved in environ...

What if the problem isn’t that we’re lazy, distracted, or undisciplined… …but that many of the ways we’ve been taught to work are fundamentally misaligned with how the brain actually functions? For a long time, productivity has meant: - Doing more. - Working longer. - Checking more boxes. - Pushing harder. And honestly, for much of college and graduate school, I wore overworking like a badge of ho...

Why do the things we use to reduce stress, boredom, discomfort, or exhaustion so often end up creating more of those exact feelings over time? In this episode of Next Door Neuro - Lab Notes, I explore one of the most important principles in neuroscience and addiction: The brain creates the opposite of what you repeatedly use to change your emotional or physiological state. Using caffeine as a pers...

Why does addiction still feel like it’s getting worse… despite decades of neuroscience research, treatment programs, and greater awareness than ever before? In this episode of Next Door Neuro – Lab Notes, I explore one of the most important ideas from my recent conversation with neuroscientist and bestselling author Judy Grisel: Addiction isn’t getting worse because humans suddenly became weak. It...

Why do the things we use to feel better so often end up making us feel worse over time? In this episode of Next Door Neuro – Lab Notes, I unpack one of the most powerful ideas from my recent conversation with neuroscientist and bestselling author Judy Grisel: The most important thing we can teach our kids about drugs may not actually be about drugs at all. It’s about understanding how the brain re...

Why do the things we turn to to feel better so often end up making us feel worse? In this episode of Next Door Neuro, I sit down with Judy Grisel - a behavioral neuroscientist, professor at Bucknell University, and nationally bestselling author who has spent decades studying addiction… while also living through it herself. At 12 years old, Judy describes alcohol as: “the solution to a problem I di...

Most people think they’re not starting because they don’t have enough time, clarity, or confidence… but that’s not the real reason. It’s that starting feels risky. And your brain is wired to treat that risk (especially rejection) as a threat. In this Lab Notes episode of Next Door Neuro, I break down why something as simple as asking for a free coffee can feel so uncomfortable, and what that revea...

Why is it so hard to start something new… even when you know it would be good for you? In this episode of Next Door Neuro , I sit down with Mark Heckmann - multi-business founder and entrepreneurial coach - to explore what actually gets in the way when we try to start. Mark has built companies across industries ranging from robotics and agriculture to AI and consulting. But what makes him especial...

Most of us think that just getting outside is enough. But if your attention is on your phone, your brain is still operating like you’re indoors… and you’re missing a lot of what nature is actually doing for you. In this Lab Notes episode of Next Door Neuro , I break down how your phone may be undermining the benefits of being outside - and why presence, not just location, is what actually matters....

What if the reason you still feel stressed, scattered, or disconnected isn’t because you’re not spending enough time outside… but because you’re not actually experiencing it? In this episode of Next Door Neuro , I sit down with Sarah Nielsen, M.Ed, NBC-HWC, a health and outdoor educator and board-certified wellness coach, to explore why simply being outside isn’t always enough, and what it actuall...

Most of us are using AI the same way: Ask a question. Get a great answer. Maybe go a little deeper… And in the moment, it feels incredibly productive. Clear. Insightful. Like you’ve really learned something. And then a few hours later… it’s gone. Why does this happen? In this Lab Notes episode, I break down the brain science behind why learning with AI often doesn’t stick, even when it feels like...

What happens when the way we get answers starts to change how we think? In this episode of Next Door Neuro , I sit down with Lori Robbins, Head of AI Strategy at Denison University and founder of Herizon AI, to explore how AI is reshaping not just how we work, but how we learn, reflect, and relate to other people. We start with Lori’s experiment stepping away from AI for a week, and what it reveal...

Most of us start our day the same way:   Phone. Notifications. A quick scroll.   Within minutes, we’ve had dozens of tiny dopamine hits… And somehow, the rest of the morning feels flat.   Why?   In this Lab Notes episode, I break down the neuroscience of dopamine - and why not all dopamine is created equal.   There’s a critical difference between earned dopamine and unearned dopamine , and underst...

What if the reason so many of us feel off is because life has become too comfortable, too controlled, and too disconnected from what our brains actually need? In this episode of Next Door Neuro , I sit down with Richard Campbell, founder of 10Adventures, to explore why so many people are drawn to adventure, nature, and challenge - and why these experiences may be far more important for our mental...

Most of us have a constant voice in our head: questioning, criticizing, and second-guessing everything we do.   What if you could change your relationship with that voice, and see it for what it really is?   In this Lab Notes episode, I reflect on my conversation with Dawn Wecker (from the Dawnversations Podcast) and break down the neuroscience behind negative self-talk, rumination, and the identi...

We’re more connected than ever… so why does it feel like something’s missing?   We talk more than ever. We’re surrounded by people. We have endless ways to communicate.   And yet, so many of us don’t feel truly heard or connected.   In this episode of Next Door Neuro , I sit down with Dawn Wecker to explore why real connection feels harder than it should, and what’s actually getting in the way.  ...