What if school taught us about ourselves? This is the question we set out to explore through our work at Physiology First. For the past decade we’ve worked alongside families and students to learn about the latest science of the brain and body through experience.
The number one lesson that we’ve learned through the process?
Kids want and need an operating manual for their own physiology!
The other lesson we’ve learned?
The parent who understands physiology is world’s apart from those relying on pop psychology books written before the invention of the smartphone, the birth of social media, and the DNA Revolution.
How the DNA Revolution Changed Everything We Think We Know About Health and Human Potential:
“There are no disorders. Only differences. The abnormal is normal.” - Robert Plomin, author of Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are
Robert Plomin is thé 71st most cited scientist in the world. With over 900 published papers to his name Robert is blazing new trails to health and human potential through his work in behavioral genetics. 99% of our DNA is exactly the same. Less than 1% is what makes us an individual. The mental health assessment models created a century before the sequencing of the human genome and the birth of a scientific revolution in human potential label trait differences as “disorders” as if there is some social norm in which we should all ascribe to meet.
The reality, beyond a shadow of a scientific doubt, is that each individual is comprised of a unique code of genetic information that is singular to them. There are no replicants. Even identical twins who share 100% of the same genes will express these genes differently over time based on lifestyle and behavior. The notion that our differences are “disorders” is a relic from a time long passed.
The parent of the future understands their child’s code of potential.
The Digital Revolution and How to Prevent the Brain Drain of a Generation
The invention of the smartphone placed a super computer in the hands of a generation. The creation of algorithms that dispense content based on what we clicked on last created the most addictive pleasure trap know to our species. With one click we can elicit a chemical cascade that makes us feel good, then not so good, then bad, than really bad…
The brain chemical dopamine is responsible for our feelings of motivation and drive. When we see something exciting on TikTok or Instagram dopamine levels rise. The, they fall below the previous baseline. Before long we enter what Dr. Anne Lembke from Stanford University refers to as a “dopamine deficit state.” This feels like abject depression, and physiologically, it is. Understanding this distinction between physiologically induced depression and a mental health condition is critical information for the modern parent seeking to give their child the skills and tools to thrive in the digital age.
Learn more about dopamine in the podcast episode below where I share strategies for mastering our motivation in the modern age.
https://open.substack.com/pub/physiologyfirst/p/the-science-of-motivation-from-mechanism?r=18xhq3&utm_medium=ios
21st Century Parenting Requires 21st Century Skills: The Physiologically Literate Parent Series
On February 1st, 8th, and 15th I am holding a 3 part webinar series called The Physiologically Literate Parent. I’ll cover three topics at the foundation of modern day parenting.
1.) Navigating the Nervous System: The New Science of Stress and Anxiety Management
2.) Avoiding the Brain Drain: Dosing Our Dopamine in the Digital Age
3.) The Code of Potential: Understand Your DNA. Unlock Your Genius.
TimeTable for the Physiologically Literate Webinar Series:
Saturday, February 1st at 11am UK
Saturday, February 8th at 2pm UK
Saturday, February 15th at 2pm UK
We are looking forward to working with families across the globe to unlock the power within their children and within themselves through this 3 part series to help participants become fluent in the language of their own physiology.
Hope to see you there!
David
David Bidler is the President of Physiology First. David is a speaker, educator, and social entrepreneur dedicated to creating the evolution of education. The future of learning is learning about ourselves. physiologyfirst.org
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