When it comes to enhancing mental performance, we’re all looking for an edge. And while a healthy diet, regular exercise, and ample rest support healthy brain function, they can only get us so far.

What really matters when it comes to improving our focus, regulating our emotions, or planning for our future, is taking a moment to think before we think. And to do that, we need to understand how our brains do these things, and what they need to do them well.

Adrian Owen is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging at the University of Western Ontario. He’s spent his career studying how we’re able to do the amazing things associated with our brain’s executive function, things he shares in his latest book, Think Before You Think: Understanding and Mastering Executive Function. This was a fascinating conversation.

Episode Links

Why Everyone Should Be Thinking More about Thinking

Episode 191 with Lisa Feldman Barrett

The Team

Learn more about host, Gayle Allen, and producer, Rob Mancabelli, here.

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