Ryann Ferrara
Introductory Psychology D02
September 6, 2024
Ted Talks: Psychology Topics
“How stress drains your brain- and what to do about it”
Nicole Byers
April 2023
https://www.ted.com/talks/
nicole_byers_how_stress_drains_your_brain_and_what_to_do_about_it?subtitle=en
Nicole Byer’s Ted Talk is primarily focused on how the brain works and the reasons our
memory becomes clouded from time to time. She explains that our brain has an incredible
capacity to store memory, the human brain can store 2.5 million gigabytes of data. However, it is
not able to be easily accessed all the time. Our memory is not just made of one system, it is
composed of many systems that all have limits. There are several factors in our lives that can
impact our memory efficiency. You may find that some memories come to mind automatically
however some take more brain power and are more prone to interference. The problem is that
the modern world is very distracting, we have many lists in our mind of things we need to get
done and it can become stressful. If you just ignore all those distractions and prioritizes you will
end up taking out a lot of energy. Daily stresses drain brain resources. All the small stressors in
your life can eventually pile up in your brain and lead you to have memory loss. There is a study
that says we have about 6,200 thoughts each day which results in a lot of distractions. Stress
impacts our memory retrieval as well as allowing us to problem solve on a day-to-day basis.
There are many ways to solve this problem. Many people believe that it is better to work
faster or think harder, however this is not the solution. By doing this we are more prone to
stress and our brains will burn out. The most important question is, how do we boost our
memory in situations and recharge brain cells? The answer to this question is quite easy, it is as
simple as resetting. Thinking about something else for a few minutes allows your brain to reset.
By focusing your attention on something else you are now activating another part of your brain
giving memory centers a chance to recharge and reset. It would be beneficial for you to take
breaks, go on a walk, scroll on your phone for a bit. These micro breaks will allow you to refresh
your mental resources and improve your stress levels and memory.
This Ted Talk was very important to me, because each day I deal with a lot of stress. I am
a division 1 athlete who is enrolled in many hard classes. I sometimes have trouble
remembering all my schoolwork and all the things I need to know for practice. My brain
becomes tired, and I end up doing poorly in whatever I need to get done. I have learned that I
cannot put a ton of pressure on myself and try to get everything done in one day. I need time to
breathe exercise and even read a book. This allows me to refresh and relax which then helps me
to be more productive. When watching this Ted Talk, I agreed a lot with what she said and am
going to try to implement all her solutions in my everyday life.
