🌟[TT] Time Travel 🧠

Quick! Time for a little free-flowing word association game. When I say “time travel”, what comes up for you? Maybe it’s Back to the Future, or Doctor Who?

Such is the random nature of how I come up with topics for this [TT] 🙂

As I write this, I’ve just come back from the gym (Sunday = leg day, since there’s no time in the week otherwise…) and guess what was on the screen?

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, with Judi Dench as M.

A film can feel like a time machine when it takes you straight back to a specific point in your life. For me, that was being a resident doctor at the hospital.

Or Noah Wyle looking all “grown up”, from baby doctor John Carter in ER to Dr Robby in The Pitt.

Films and TV freeze a moment in time. They also let us see time passing, in how these talented actors change over the years. They can also be a mirror, reflecting how we have changed too.

Sadly, I saw Dame Judi Dench being interviewed, saying she can no longer work because macular degeneration means she can’t read scripts.

Now, how do these random anecdotes relate to the usual [TT] with 3 tips for peak brain performance, you may be wondering?

Here’s how 🙂

What is mental time travel, and how can it support brain performance?

Mental time travel is the brain’s ability to mentally revisit past experiences and imagine future events. These processes use largely overlapping brain networks. Three practical ways to work with this ability are to practise mindfulness to bring attention back to the present, listen to familiar music to reconnect with positive memories and emotions, and use visualisation to imagine a realistic, positive future. Together, these habits can support present-moment awareness, mood and optimism

📍3 tips for time travelling well

[1] Come back to now

Most of us time-travel many times a day.

We go forward, rehearsing tomorrow’s meeting or worrying about what’s to come. Or we go back, replaying a conversation or a regret. Though some of this can be lovely, like looking forward to Christmas or remembering the summer holiday or a win at work. The lovely ones are welcome. It’s the autopilot ones that cost us.

Mindfulness trains the return to the present moment. A wandering mind (towards distraction and negative thoughts) tends to be a less happy one, and mindfulness is also linked, modestly, with sharper focus (more below).

Try this: next time you notice your mind has drifted mid-meeting or mid-conversation, take one slow breath out, feel your feet on the floor, and come back to the room.

[2] Take a blast from the past

When did you last listen to your favourite track from your teens or twenties? Music from those years tends to carry our strongest memories and feelings.

Try this: save a handful of those tracks into a playlist and play it every so often, for a little lift in mood and energy.

[3] Visualise the future

I wrote about visualisation earlier this year ([click here] if you want to revisit that post).

Building on that, use your mind’s eye to travel forward: to an optimal outcome, or to the person you want to be.

Try this: take five minutes this week to picture yourself a year from now, with things having gone as well as they realistically could. Then jot down what you saw.

📍 Where this sits in the BRA(i)NS® Method

For those new to the Thursday Tips Tribe, welcome!

The BRA(i)NS® Method is my systems-based approach to building your brain health ecosystem, for consistent energy, focus and performance.

Purpose and Meaning is the container that holds it, infusing everything inside.

The three pillars inside it are:

All of it is individualised to you, giving the (i) in BRA(i)NS®. It’s the lens through which everything is viewed.

How does today’s [TT] relate to the BRA(i)NS® Method?

Mental time travel is an Optimisation principle: where your attention goes is a skill you can train. This week’s [TT] touches Balancing the Autonomic Nervous System (present-moment awareness, music for mood) and Optimisation (visualisation as mindset), held together by Purpose and Meaning, since picturing the person you want to be points straight at what matters to you. Your (i) is your own soundtrack, your own memories, and your own picture of the future.

📍The Brain Science Behind It*

Psychologists call this “mental time travel”. Remembering the past and imagining the future use largely the same brain networks. So the brain that ruminates can also rehearse.

And we do it a lot. In a smartphone study that sampled people’s thoughts throughout the day, minds wandered almost as often as they stayed on task. People were also less happy while their minds wandered. Mindfulness offers a modest sharpening: across 56 studies, it gave small gains in executive function and working memory.

Music reaches the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine at peak moments of musical pleasure and even during the build-up. In the study I mentioned, 17 older adults with early memory problems listened to music they’d known for years. It activated a wide network for memory and emotion, including areas relatively spared early in Alzheimer’s disease. It was a small imaging study, but it hints at why the old songs stay with us.

Finally, the “Best Possible Self” exercise, where you imagine and then write about your future going as well as it possibly could, improved wellbeing and optimism across 29 studies.

📍Question for you this week

Which track from your teens or twenties will make your playlist?

Do let me know, I love hearing from you, and your message comes straight to my inbox 🙂

Wishing you happy time travels,
Dr Sui Wong

PS. If you’d like to build a mindfulness practice that supports your brain, my book Mindfulness for Brain Health is a practical place to start. [Learn More(UK / USA)]

PPS. Know someone who’d enjoy a little time travel this week? Share this post with them and invite them to sign up for my weekly Thursday Tips [TT] at https://drwongbrainhealth.com

*References:

Schacter & Addis (2007), Killingsworth & Dilbert (2010), Whitfield et al. (2022), Salimpoor et al. (2011), Thaut et al. (2020), Carrillo et al. (2019)

3 Ways to Use Mental Time Travel

Come back to now	Take a blast from the past	Visualise the future
Use one slow breath out and feel your feet on the floor when you notice your attention wandering.	Create a playlist of familiar songs from your teens or twenties and revisit it when you want a lift.	Spend five minutes imagining a realistic, positive version of yourself one year from now, then write down what you saw.

FAQ

What is mental time travel?

Mental time travel is the ability to mentally revisit personal memories or imagine events that may happen in the future. Both processes use largely overlapping brain networks.

Why does the mind wander?

The mind can shift away from the present task towards memories, future plans, worries or imagined situations. Research has found that mind wandering is common and is often associated with lower reported happiness.

Can mindfulness improve brain performance?

Research suggests mindfulness practice is associated with modest improvements in some aspects of cognitive performance, including executive function and working memory. It can also help train attention to return to the present moment.

Why does familiar music bring back memories?

Music can activate brain networks involved in memory and emotion. Familiar songs can bring back personal experiences and feelings associated with the period when we first listened to them.

Can music improve your mood?

Music engages the brain’s reward system, with dopamine release associated with moments of musical pleasure and even anticipation. Listening to favourite songs may therefore offer an enjoyable way to support mood.

What is future visualisation?

Future visualisation involves mentally imagining a future situation or outcome. One approach, called the Best Possible Self exercise, asks you to imagine and write about a future in which things have gone as well as they realistically could.

Can visualisation improve wellbeing?

Research across 29 studies found that the Best Possible Self exercise improved wellbeing and optimism. The practice involves imagining a positive future and writing about it.

How does mental time travel relate to the BRA(i)NS® Method?

Mental time travel relates to Optimisation within the BRA(i)NS® Method. Mindfulness supports present-moment awareness, music can influence mood, and future visualisation connects mindset with Purpose and Meaning. These practices can be individualised to your needs and goals.

My mission:

To inspire a movement for better brain health.

Because better brain health supports better wellbeing. And better wellbeing creates a ripple effect that benefits individuals, families, communities, and beyond. Making the world a better place for all. And it all starts with you as the individual.

I am a practising medical doctor (MBBS MD FRCP MA FHEA DipIBLM) working as a Neurologist and Neuro-Ophthalmologist, and am an active neuroscience researcher. My research is inspired by questions arising from my busy clinical practice, and I am grateful that both have been recognised with awards.

I am also an Author and Speaker, creating public-facing health content in my spare time.

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drsuiwongmd.com

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