Achieve your optimal state of mind for peak performance as a leader.

By Romie Mushtaq

How do you feel at this moment? Pause. Did your brain start running through your to-do list or replaying a point of conflict from your day? You are not alone; as a brain doctor and chief wellness officer, I work with high-achieving professionals who can’t shut down their busy brains. Mindfulness and mindful leadership exercises can feel unattainable beyond a morning meditation practice or a few quiet minutes in nature. 

I spent the last five years studying the impact of chronic stress, burnout, and busy brains on professionals. I wanted to help find answers to improve workplace cultures. The answer is not in a wellness app or another health perk; it starts with a leader’s state of mind.

Take Responsibility for Your Energy

When daily tasks and overfilled calendars control our day, we can quickly lose sight of our mood. However, not processing our emotions depletes our energy and can send a subtle or overt negative signal to others through our speech, tone of voice, and body language.

After years of teaching mindfulness and mindful leadership in workplaces, I still hear, “Dr. Romie, I feel like something is still wrong with my brain; I can’t shut down my worrying and racing thoughts.”

You are in control of your mind. When we control our minds, we can then control our energy and our schedules.

Busy Brain in a Busy World

Do you also feel like the usual stress-relief techniques have failed you? Do you have difficulty shutting down your racing thoughts at bedtime? Perhaps you wake up needing an extra-large latte to connect with your personality, only to feel depleted in your energy by mid-morning. You might have multiple browser windows open all day on your computer — and what feels like just as many tabs open in your brain — and feel the need to consume additional caffeine or stimulant medications to get through the day. By the end of your workday, if there is one, you might need alcohol or an anti-anxiety pill to take the edge off. That’s how many of us get stuck on the stimulant-sedative cycle: We work all day with faux energy dependent on stimulants and arrive at home in need of a soothing drink or medication to remain calm with our loved ones. 

In my experience studying over 17,000 individuals, a pattern emerged showing that chronic stress causes a particular pattern of inflammation in the brain. The end result is a myriad of symptoms that include difficulty focusing and reduced attention span (adult-onset ADHD), ruminating anxiety with intrusive worrying thoughts occupying your mind (anxiety), and difficulty falling and staying asleep (insomnia busy brain).

Living under chronic stress with a busy brain can lead to burnout, and the result is not only loss of productivity but also can be physical illness. We should not wear stress as a badge of honor or live at the edge of burnout to maximize business profits.

In my book, The Busy Brain Cure, I break down the eight-week process for reducing inflammation in the brain, healing burnout, finding focus, taming anxiety, and finally sleeping again. Each week introduces simple micro habits I call brainSHIFTs.

Giving Your Team a Brain Break

Once we restore our energy by healing our busy brain, it is imperative for us as leaders to help our teams.

Microsoft’s Human Factors Lab has the largest body of research assessing productivity and attention span in the workplace. Sitting down at a computer for more than one hour for back-to-back meetings reduces productivity by raising stress hormones in our brains. Taking a 5-minute break every hour significantly lowers stress levels in the brain and allows us to arrive at our next meeting or home life more relaxed.

In place of another virtual workplace wellness activity, shorten meetings and create meeting-free days at least once a month. End each day by checking in again: How am I feeling? And then ask yourself: What can I do to reset my energy and change the channel of my brain to calm? You are responsible for the energy you bring into the room. Choose calm. 

Tips to Heal Burnout

These key elements surprise most professionals. (It’s always suggested to consult with your doctor.)

• Use 125–250 milligrams of magnesium glycinate at bedtime to regulate your sleep-wake cycle and reduce anxiety.
• Combining sugar (or any high-glycemic food) with caffeine can reduce the ability to focus. Instead, pick one or the other — caffeine or a high-glycemic carbohydrate at 
• each meal.
• Check your lab work, which can reflect chronic burnout and a busy brain. A low vitamin D3 level is a consistent problem. Vitamin D3 is crucial for brain and hormonal health, promoting sleep, focus, and memory.

Know Your Brain Score: Take The Busy Brain Test for free at drromie.com/busy-brain-test. A score above 30 indicates neuroinflammation and a pattern of a busy brain.