Arthur Brooks

If you're a journalist or you have your job, you got to look at it, make sure nothing's on fire, put it down.

That's it for the hour, right?

First hour of the day.

While you eat, neurocognitive programming while you eat is critically important.

It's best not to eat alone and never eat with your device.

Why?

The neuropeptides in your brain, most notably oxytocin, they flow very liberally when you're eating with somebody.

This is how homo sapiens would establish and foster kin bonds.

is by sitting around a campfire, putting pieces of yak meat into their mouths, discussing their day and looking into each other's eyes.

That's how we're wired.

If you have the phone on the table while you eat, or God forbid, if you're looking at it, there's no, none of this neurochemistry happens.

What if you're on your own?

Then you might read a book, you might listen to music, but don't look at your phone.

Or died of sepsis because he didn't go to the bathroom.

He couldn't take his phone in there.

And last, but at least it's the last hour of the day.

Now, that part of that is sleep architecture and blue light, et cetera, et cetera, the pineal gland, melatonin, yada, yada.

We all know the physiology of that.

But part of that is just the way that you actually understand yourself at the end of your day and get ready to rest.

If you're living with your partner, that's critically important to your relationship is not to be looking at your device in the last hour so you can be fully present as you drift off to sleep together.