1st Edition

A Brain Friendly Life How to Manage Cognitive Overload and Reduce Glitching

By Marisa Menchola Copyright 2025
    232 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    232 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Modern life is brain-unfriendly: We are flooded with information and excessive cognitive demands, when we are often already depleted from chronic stress, sleep deprivation, and health issues. Many of us experience frequent 'glitches' or memory lapses, despite tests showing there is nothing wrong with our brains. This book provides concrete strategies, derived from neuropsychological science and clinical practice, to help people improve how they function in daily life.


    Menchola draws on her experience as a clinical neuropsychologist who has worked with a widely diverse group of patients, to translate the findings from highly controlled research into concrete strategies that people can implement in their messy worlds to make their days more brain-friendly. The book also provides advice on how to address those factors that drain our brain resources, and gives guidance on when and how to seek a neuropsychological evaluation.


    It is valuable reading for anyone experiencing frustrating cognitive problems that are not due to brain disease. It is also essential for neuropsychologists, psychologists and physicians in primary care, psychiatry, and neurology, who need a resource to offer to patients to help their healthy brains function better.

    Introduction: Depleted Brains in a Demanding World. Part I: Why we glitch. Chapter 1: How our brain works. Chapter 2: Neurocognitive disorders. Chapter 3: A brain-unfriendly life. Part II: Tending to our depleted brains.
    Chapter 4: Chronic stress. Chapter 5: Mental health. Chapter 6: Medical conditions. Chapter 7: Sleep. Chapter 8: Substance use. Chapter 9: The aging brain. Part III: Decreasing cognitive overload. Chapter 10: Life. Chapter 11: Slowing down. Chapter 12: Hitting pause. Chapter 13: Taming our attention. Chapter 14: Outsourcing mental tasks. Chapter 15: Minimizing multitasking. Chapter 16: Containing worry.
    Chapter 17: Befriending our emotions. Chapter 18: Transforming our thoughts. Chapter 19: Back to the body.
    Chapter 20: Sparking alertness. Chapter 21: Reclaiming our time. Parting Thoughts: Looking Upstream. Appendix: Seeking Help: The Evaluation Process.

    Biography

    Marisa Menchola is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona (United States). She also has a forensic private practice and consulting office in Tucson, Arizona.