Gotta Answer That Call? Check That Email? Read That Text?

In the 1970s—and yes, in a galaxy far away—I discovered the addictive power of Space Invaders, one of the first digital precomputer games.

I was at a holiday corporate retreat. One of my coworkers, Rob, and I discovered what was essentially an electronic pinball machine. The screen showed wave after wave of attacking enemy space ships. Our job was to blast them into oblivion.

Space Invaders practically became an addiction. We probably spent every quarter at the resort destroying digital aliens from outer space.

Flash forward. Space Invaders has morphed into email, texting, and twittering. We don’t need huge pinball-like machines anymore, just a cell phone and apps to experience the same dopamine rush and addiction.

Calls, emails, and texts are so addictive that California and a few other states have banned all but hands-free cell phone use when driving a car.

But you can multitask, you say? Think about that painfully slow driver in front of you, yacking on her cell phone and oblivious to the fact that she really can’t multitask. (Hint: you’re probably no better.) There’s the texter who killed a bicyclist. And yes, there’s the pedestrian whose emailing stopped when he was run over crossing the street.

But it’s not just bad habits states are trying to ban. And it’s not just stupidity. It’s addiction.

The New York Times has published several articles in a “driven to distraction” series, focusing on how drivers screw up when they’re making calls, emailing, or texting while driving. Another article focused on the absurdity of the Type n Walk app, which uses the iPhone’s camera to track the sidewalk ahead while you’re looking at your phone.

On one level it’s silly and absurd. On another it’s totally neurotic.

Technology has helped fuel what I call impulse-addictive behavior in my book, The Food-Mood Solution. Think obsessive-compulsive disorder or gambling addiction. You know it’s bad, but you can’t stop.

For many people it’s near impossible to resist the electronic ping. It has to be read and responded to immediately.

We’ve forgotten our basic prerogative: Just because a telephone rings doesn’t mean we have to answer it. That’s what Caller ID is for. Ditto for emails, texts, and twitters.

So why can’t we just ignore the beckoning technology?

A both a social scientist and a nutritionist, I naturally see connections between society, food, and mood. Our brain’s biochemistry ultimately depends on nutrition.

Technology has also changed the way we eat. Faster. Cheaper. Junkier. Yep, fast food is the nutrition equivalent of a twitter.

But junk food doesn’t give the brain the nutrients it needs to function.

So many of us get shortchanged when it comes to B-complex vitamins and omega-3s (fish oils), two of the most important groups of nutrients influencing mood and behavior.

So, if you have impulsive-control problems, I have a couple of suggestions. Consider slowing down enough to eat some real food. And taking a B-complex vitamin formula or one or two fish oil capsules in the morning. And, yeah, being a little more mindful.

You might just find that you’re back in control of your technology. Not the other way around.

‘Tis the Season: Sugar ‘n Stress

It’s baaccccckkkkkkk…

That time of year, that is.

From Halloween through New Year’s Eve, all too many of us find excuses to be gluttons, from nibbling on leftover Halloween candies to all-out binging. I call it, ominously, the “SS” time — for sugar and stress.

There’s no denying that we expose ourselves to way too many holiday stresses, not the least of which are family, traffic, and shopping at the mall. When we’re stressed, our eating habits slide almost immediately. We delay eating or skip meals entirely. Then, when we’re crashing, we overeat, usually on junk foods.

And that’s a perfect prescription for making stress even worse.

Our brain’s biochemistry depends on what we eat. Or don’t eat. Neurotransmitters are built upon nutrients, particularly amino acids (protein building blocks) and B-complex vitamins. Even our genes depend on nutrients to work properly.

When our blood sugar falls and we crash, ancient parts of our brain light up. We become aggressive, irritable, impatient. Eating a sugary or starchy food solves the problem quickly, but starts a new up-and-down blood sugar cycle.

So, what can you eat to stress proof yourself?

A little bit of quality protein, such as fish or chicken, stabilizes blood sugar. So do high-fiber veggies, which include almost anything except potato.

Protein provides the amino acids you need to make serotonin and GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), which are calming neurotransmitters. They also provide the amino acids to make dopamine and adrenaline, two energizing neurotransmitters. Sugar and starches don’t provide any of this, so the more junk food you eat, the more you starve your brain.

We were all taught that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So begin the day with a little protein, and you’ll be more even tempered much of the day. An egg will do the job. So will a bowl of steel-cut (not instant!) oatmeal. Add some high-fiber fruit, such as an apple or some berries. Then be sure to include a little protein at lunch and dinner too.

If you’re taking prescription antidepressants or anxiolytics, better eating habits will help your meds do a better job.

To convert those amino acids to neurotransmitters, your brain needs the B-complex vitamins and vitamin C.

The Bs have been known as anti-stress vitamins since the 1940s. They are nature’s mood lifters and also take the edge off stress-induced anxiety. The B vitamins also play roles in breaking down food for energy, important if the season’s pressures and obligations tend to wear you down.

If you manage your stress and eating habits now, you just might not need to make a resolution about weight loss come January 1. That alone could put you in a better mood.

Copyright 2009 Jack Challem, www.nutritionreporter.com

The Downside of Multitasking

Multitasking – doing two or more activities at once – has become part of the way of doing things.

There’s no way to completely avoid multitasking, but I have often argued against excessive multitasking. My reason is simple: it’s difficult for a person to do two things at the same time equally well. If you doubt me, just think about all the times that slow drivers were yacking on their cell phones in front of you. Their driving suffered because their phone call dominated their attention. You’re no better if you try to multitask.

Recently, researchers at Stanford University in California compared college students who did a lot of multitasking with those who did very little. The researchers figured that students who did the most multitasking would be better at it. They were wrong. It turned out that the students who did the most multitasking weren’t very good at it. The more they multitasked, the worse they were in terms of being easily distracted and filtering out irrelevant information, according to an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Why the surge in multitasking, including texting while driving, in recent years?

I believe there are two reasons. One, many new technologies, such as email, cell phones, and texting have encouraged distracting, impulsive-addictive behavior. Two, poorer eating habits, including excessive amounts of caffeine and junk foods low in B vitamins and omega-3 fats, have altered the biochemistry of millions of brains, leaving many people more susceptible to distractions and uncomfortable simply being alone with their thoughts. The solution? Healthier foods, perhaps some supplements, and learning to be mindful and in the moment.