Check out our Sponsors BLUblox: Go to blublox.com/impacttheory for 15% off your order or use discount code ImpactTheory at checkout. Helix Sleep: Go to HelixSleep.com/impact for up to $200 off your mattress and 2 free pillows. Skillshare: Explore your creativity at skillshare.com/impacttheory for a free trial of Premium Membership. BackCountry: Get 15% OFF at backcountry.com/THEORY and enter promo code THEORY How well are you controlling your impulsive nature and tendencies to choose instant gratification over the long term consequences? A little ice cream now won’t make a difference, checking your phone after a notification is no harm, afterall you just want to see who liked your post. These are some of the things you may be doing that exhibits impulsive behavior. Of course there are varying degrees of impulsive behavior in relation to the level of consequences, but why are we even acting so impulsively to begin with? In this episode, Dr. David Perlmutter explains the depths of our abilities to control our impulses, and how the health of our brain is really key to making better decisions. It comes up over and over in so many topics of illness, but inflammation and diet are again at the center of another area that is directly impacting your productivity and optimal cognitive function.   Order Dr. Permutter’s latest book, Brain Wash: https://www.drperlmutter.com/brain-wash/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=homepage_widget   SHOW NOTES:   The Disconnect | David explains why health and happiness are elusive? [1:46] Cognitive Empathy | Our ability to embrace another perspective [2:39] Disconnection | David defines disconnection in the brain and its importance [4:37] Disconnection Syndrome | What factors threaten connection and cause disconnection [7:13] Impulsivity Factors | David explains what factors threaten to lock in impulsive behaviors [7:44] Control Impulse | David reveals new side of Phineas Gage story and controlling impulse [9:16] Impulse Behavior | David lists factors threatening to disconnect the prefrontal cortex [11:31] Body Fat | David explains how body fat ties to the impulsive amygdala [14:40] Restorative sleep | David reveals the connection between quality sleep and impulse [15:40] Sleep & Body Fat | Connecting lack of restorative sleep to 1lb of body fat in 10 days [16:19] Bad Decision Loop | David explains the cycle of poor decision leading to more [17:31] Inflammation’s Role | David breaks down how inflammation compromises brain function [19:33] Serotonin Compromised | How inflammation is vital to production of serotonin  [21:15] Better Decisions | David reveals the on-ramp to making better decisions [27:08] On-Ramps | David shares a few of the on-ramps to making better decisions [32:15] Rewire Your Brain | David shares the simplicity of thought to rewire your brain [37:17] Gratification Myth | How instant gratification is blocking enlightenment and connections [38:25] Online Effects | David reveals the effect screen time has in relation to poor decisions [43:05] Optimal Cognition | David shares the biggest issue crippling cognition [46:06] Uric Acid | David links uric acid to inflammation and the role of fructose [47:25] Insulin Resistance | Why knowing your blood sugar and how your body handles glucose [49:37] Blood Sugar Response | Response to various lifestyle choices and inflammation [50:35] Brain Health Diet | A diet that keeps blood sugar in check is best for brain health [51:21]     QUOTES:   “Our day to day lives right now threaten our prefrontal cortex and threaten the connection of the prefrontal cortex down to the amygdala and therefore threaten to disconnect us.”  [11:17]   “We make more impulsive food decisionsThe fatter people get the less able they able are to reign in their appetites and to make good choices as it relates to the food they eat […] eating the wrong foods tends to begets further eating of the wrong foods”  [14:55]   “People who don’t get a restorative night sleep have a 60% higher activation of their amygdala, so the amygdala takes charges [15:39]   “You can just understand that your decision making is threatened or enhanced by whether or not you get a good night sleep [26:10]   “You want to be more productive, sleep more and sleep better in terms of the quality” [32:29]   “The average American spends 42% of his or her day in front of one form of screen or another [...] and that has an effect because there’s a lot of inputs to your brain that are happening during that experience, a, and b, when you’re doing one thing you’re not doing another”  [43:05]   “What we have to emphasize is the limitation of fructose in its raw form…” [49:13]   FOLLOW DAVID PERLMUTTER: Website: https://www.drperlmutter.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDRl_UAXxbHyOOjklnA0dxQ Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidperlmutter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidPerlmutterMd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidperlmutter/