Ep 145: Grounding: Balancing the Nervous System for Better Mental Health

“Our thoughts have frequency, if you think about it from a quantum biology perspective. And fear is one of the lowest frequency states to be in,” says Dr. Rachel Brown, a traditionally trained psychiatrist who joins the Quantum Biology Collective podcast to explain why metabolic health is crucial for mental wellbeing and how light exposure and grounding can dramatically improve our overall health.

Dr. Brown shares her journey from conventional psychiatry to embracing a more holistic approach, including the establishment of the first metabolic psychiatry clinic within the UK’s National Health Service. She discusses the intricate connection between gut health and brain function, emphasizing the role of circadian rhythms in regulating our entire body system.

In this eye-opening episode, Dr. Brown reveals how simple lifestyle changes like proper light exposure and grounding can significantly impact our nervous system, potentially alleviating various mental health symptoms. She challenges the conventional medical paradigm, encouraging listeners to think critically and explore alternative approaches to healing.

Tune in to discover why your morning light exposure might be more crucial than your medication, how eating grounded outside can improve digestion, and why the future of mental health treatment may lie in understanding our quantum nature rather than relying solely on pharmaceutical interventions.

5 Key Takeaways

1. Prioritize morning light exposure, especially sunrise and UVA light 1-1.5 hours after, to regulate circadian rhythms and support gut health.

2. Avoid eating too close to bedtime to allow proper gut repair overnight. Aim to finish your last meal several hours before sleep.

3. Practice grounding, especially while eating meals outdoors, to shift into a parasympathetic nervous system state and support digestion.

4. Be mindful of excessive screen use in the evenings, as blue light can suppress melatonin production and disrupt sleep quality.

5. Don’t rely solely on standard lab tests. If you’re experiencing symptoms despite “normal” results, seek additional opinions and trust your body’s signals.

Memorable Quotes

“I often explain it as a bit like an orchestra. So the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain, the master clock’s like the conductor, and you’ve got all these other orchestra members elsewhere as the peripheral clocks. And they should all be playing in time and keeping rhythm.”

“Our circadian rhythms control our gut microbiome, essentially, and they’re also involved in controlling our gut barrier function. And if we think about inflammation in the brain, you want to build a really robust gut barrier.”

“My philosophy is that we are supposed to be in good health as long as we are putting our body in the right environment and giving it the right exposures and nutrition. And if you have a difficulty, it’s a sign that there is something deeper going on at a cellular level that maybe isn’t necessarily showing up in a blood test.”

Connect with Rachel

Website – www.drrachelsbrown.com

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drrachelsarahbrown/

Resources Mentioned

Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health–and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More by Christopher M. Palmer – https://amzn.to/46gQZef

NHS (National Health Service): https://www.nhs.uk/

Oura Ring: https://ouraring.com/

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