Claudia von Boeselager [00:00:50]:
Hello my friends and welcome back to the Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast where we explore the cutting edge strategies to live better for longer. I'm your host, Claudia von Boeselager Peak Performance Coach, longevity explorer and passionate biohacker. And today we're diving into pillar two of the Brain Optimization Blueprint Solo series, Stress, Resilience and Emotional Regulation. If you missed pillar one on neuroplasticity, I highly recommend that you go back. Because if rewiring the brain is the goal, managing stress is how we protect and accelerate that process. Here's something most people get wrong. Stress isn't the enemy. It's chronic, unprocessed stress that becomes the problem.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:01:28]:
Because the stress isn't just emotional, it's psychological. It literally reshapes your brain and body chemistry. But the good news? You can reshape it back. Let's talk about how I want to share something personal. There was a period when I looked on running my business, supporting my family, chasing high performance. But internally, I was barely hanging on. Sleep was fragmented, my brain felt foggy. I felt like I was living in reactivity.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:01:56]:
Maybe some of you can relate. And what I later learned is that chronic stress rewires your brain. The hippocampus, your memory and learning center shrinks. The amygdala, your fear center grows and you get stuck in survival mode. Overreacting. Overthinking. Overwhelmed. It wasn't until I started learning the science of resilience and designing my resilience rhythm, my daily tools for nervous system recovery and emotional regulation, that things began to shift.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:02:28]:
And the shift wasn't just mental. It was biochemical, neurological, and energetic. This is why I'm so passionate about teaching this to others. Because when you learn to regulate stress, everything changes. Your mood, your Clarity, your performance, your relationships, even your longevity. So let's look at what the science says about stress and resilience and explore some insights from the world's leading experts. I've had the pleasure of having on the show number one with Dr. Dave Rabin in episode 172 around nervous system recovery.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:03:01]:
Dr. Rabin's work with Apollo Neuro reveals how overstimulation screens alerts, hustle traps us in this go mode. His research shows that vibration therapy can help the body return to a parasympathetic rest and digest state. We are chronically overstimulated. And here's some quotes from our episode. We are so chronically overstimulated, the average person operates neurologically like they have adhd. And another one. Just to give everyone an idea of how significant the overstimulation problem is in the first hour because of smartphones, in the first hour of being awake, people are consuming as much information as they were consuming in a week in the 1950s.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:03:47]:
And this leads to an ADHD misdiagnosis epidemic because as Dave says, that we are literally so stressed out that everybody looks like they have ADHD and we're misdiagnosed using it as such. Also looking at amphetamines and the vicious cycle that the cost of amphetamines is poor sleep, which increases your reliance on amphetamines because then you start to sleep worse. And looking at what stress does to brain resources that when you're under stress, the sympathetic nervous system is sapping attention resources so we can't focus and then we think we have ADHD all the time. Your nervous system can be trained to recover faster. I use Apollo Neuro daily as I've spoken about before and many of my clients do too, for calming the vagus nerve and improving hrv. We also discussed in the show intentional versus unintentional smartphone use and Dave's quote is we are supersaturating ourselves with information so much that our bodies are kicking off the day in a stress response. And so try a digital nervous system reset. No screens for the first 30 minutes of the day.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:04:54]:
Literally keep it in airplane mode and breathwork or Apollo Neuro before any tech and ground your body before plugging in. Ideally walking in nature, feet in the sand, wherever in the world you might be. Failing that, a PEMF mat could be really valuable. Let's look at hrv, which is essentially your stress fitness score. HRV, or heart rate variability is one of the most powerful biomarkers for resilience. The higher your hrv, the better your body adapts to stress and recovers. I track my daily, typically with my oura ring, and I teach my VIP clients to do the same. Even just 5 minutes of breathwork can shift your HRV.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:05:36]:
So in my podcast episode with Professor Mark Brackett, episode number one to eight on emotional intelligence and the Ruler method Mark is the founder of the Yale center for Emotional Intelligence and author of Permission to Feel. And he says that you can't regulate an emotion if you can't name it. He teaches emotional granularity, going beyond I feel stressed to identify the real emotion. Is it overwhelm or are you feeling ashamed, maybe anxious? This naming activates your prefrontal cortex, pulling you out of survival mode. So why not try this? Use the mood meter app or journal one emotion a day and watch your self awareness transform. In my podcast episode with Dr. Julia Julia Jones, episode number 83, music as a Brain Biohack Julia's research shows how music instantly shifts emotional state. As she says, your ears are a direct line to your brain.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:06:38]:
That's why music works faster than anything else. I recommend creating three custom playlists, one for calm and rest, one for focus and flow, one for energy and joy. Music isn't just background, it's neurochemical medicine, so make good use of it. In my interview with Dr. Steven Sidorov, UCLA resilience expert, Dr. Sidorov describes resilience as flexibility, not force. He says that resilience is the ability to return to balance. His pillars include emotional openness, body regulation, and meaning.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:07:13]:
That's why purposeful recovery isn't laziness, it's brain optimization. This is something that I had to definitely learn too. And there is a thought, emotion and action loop in it. And in my coaching, I teach a tool called the Stress Rewiring Loop. Thought, emotion, action, reinforcement. Once you see the loop, you can interrupt it with a breath, a new thought, a reframe. Your brain rewires in real time based on what you do next. Breath isn't just for relaxation, it's resilience training.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:07:43]:
Try box breathing where you inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. This is a breathing technique also used by the US Navy Seals. Just two minutes a day builds CO2 tolerance, trains calm under pressure, and improves metabolic resilience. So why not try it now? Hit pause and make sure to come back. Also, let's look at the polyvagal perspective. Dr. Steven Porges Polyvagal theory shows how the vagus nerve is the highway between body and brain. Tools like cold water splashing or plunging humming or tools like Sensate can activate the safety state of your nervous system almost instantly.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:08:27]:
So let's look at the chemistry of resilience. Stress management isn't just mindset, it's neurochemistry. Oxytocin calms, serotonin stabilizes and dopamine motivates. So introducing practices like hugging your kids or your pet, laughing with friends and gratitude journaling, shift your state in minutes. One of my favorite tools is gratitude as a resilience tool and directing attention to gratitude actually rewires your brain. So try this now. What's one thing you're grateful for? Say it, feel it and let your nervous system shift into safety. So a tool I want to share is to build your resilience rhythm.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:09:05]:
And here's how to integrate this into your day. Number one Name it to tame it. Identify your emotions daily. Number two reset your nervous system. Use humming breath work or in a device like Apollo Neuro or Sensate. Number three is leverage music. Create playlists for calm, focus or joy. Number four is practice micro mindfulness, three minutes of nature or breathwork breaks.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:09:31]:
Number five Reframe with gratitude. Instead of saying I have to get up, I have to go get my kids, I have to go to work. Swap that with I get to. I get to get up, I get to have breakfast, I get to pick up my kids. It's a really powerful tool. In my VIP Peak Life Coaching program, I help clients design their Emotional Resilience Protocol, a personalized system that combines mindset mastery, HRV tracking, daily recovery tools such as Red light, PMF mats breathwork incorporating also my say no to say yes system to reduce decision fatigue because you can't live a peak life if you're always in reactivity mode. Even with my daughters, we practice naming emotions and doing calm down breaths. It's never too early or too late to build emotional resilience.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:10:20]:
So dear friends, what's next is Pillar three, the Gut Brain Connection. In the next episode, we'll explore how gut health, blood sugar balance and metabolic flexibility shape brain function and mood. With insights from Dr. David Perlmutter, Dr. Dale Bredesen and many more. The call to action this week's challenge Try one resilience tool today. Tag me on Instagram at Longevity and lifestyle or LinkedIn laudiavon berzelaga and tell me what worked best. Also, what's your number one? Go to for stress relief DM me or share it publicly because I'm compiling a Listener Generated Resilience Rhythm guide.

Claudia von Boeselager [00:10:58]:
I'd love to feature you in. And if this episode resonated, please subscribe, leave a quick review or share it with someone you love. Remember that you can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. By Jon Kabat Zin. Your mind is your greatest asset. Let's train it together. Until next time. See you then.