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Five habits are giving us ‘brain rot.' Here’s how to easily fix them.

We've got a lot of GOOD science in today's issue. Dangers for your mind and how to avoid them, a real science-backed cure for hiccups, and the positive traits shared by social media lurkers.

Author

Greg Sullivan
August 21, 2025

In partnership with

Brain rot isn’t something your mom made up to get you off the Nintendo.

Psychologist T. Alexander Puutio, Ph.D. (imagine the size of that business card!) has bravely volunteered to be the latest scientist to poop our collective party. He’s done the research and put together a list of the habits and vices that are doing our gray matter the most harm. Insidious little things that we might not even think about are making us dumber.

❝

“By far the most performance-reducing habit is treating the brain as if it’s a fixed fixture.”

Psychologist T. Alexander Puutio, Ph.D.

If you’re reading this late at night with a glass of wine, sorry, but you’ve already found items one and two.

The good news is that Psychologist T. Alexander Puutio, Ph.D., doesn’t just diagnose the rot, he offers easy, science-backed fixes that could sharpen your focus and keep your gray matter thriving, and this story by Mark Wales has them all.

From Italy to a Nasdaq Reservation

How do you follow record-setting success? Get stronger. Take Pacaso. Their real estate co-ownership tech set records in Paris and London in 2024. No surprise. Coldwell Banker says 40% of wealthy Americans plan to buy abroad within a year. So adding 10+ new international destinations, including three in Italy, is big. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.

Scientists say this bizarre straw might stop your hiccups forever.

One of my best friends swears the cure for hiccups is to put a steak knife into a glass of water, then turn yourself upside down and drink the water. It’s impressive to watch. It’s also, shockingly, ineffective. That’s right, Sarah! It doesn’t work!

Kareem Clark, PhD, is not Sarah. And his hiccup-stopping invention is backed by science, specifically a study showing it works 92% of the time. It’s called the Forced Inspiratory Suction and Swallow Tool (FISST), but think of it as an anti-hiccup straw.

In this story by Ryan Reed, we learn why your hiccup hacks may soon be obsolete and why you’ll want one of these things in your kitchen drawer, stat.… HIC

What’s the longest recorded case of hiccups?

I've been driven to the edge of insanity with just a ten minute spell myself.

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And what did we learn?

Signs of adulthood are changing. Yesterday’s survey asked which modern sign of being grown reigns supreme. Four answers on the board, show me “Having a side hustle!”

  • Having a side hustle AND a therapist (41.9%)

  • Knowing three streaming passwords (legally) (9.7%)

  • Being able to order pizza... by calling a real person! (9.7%)

  • Actually reading the terms & conditions (38.7%)

There’s something to be said for seeing much and saying little.

Lurking gets a bad rap. Horror movie villains lurk. Creepy shadows lurk. No one wants to be that guy. But when it comes to social media, staying quiet might actually be a hidden superpower.

In this story by Erik Barnes, we meet Lachlan Brown, a mindfulness expert who says digital lurkers share five surprisingly positive traits. Think less “antisocial” and more “deeply reflective.” Lurkers, it seems, are less motivated by likes, more analytical, and often more mindful than their oversharing counterparts.

So the next time you’re quietly scrolling instead of posting, you might just be flexing a strength, not a weakness.

* Or perhaps they attended Milford Academy?

💬 From the group text…

In moments like this, you have to ask yourself if the laugh is worth the therapy bills. I vote yes!

Until tomorrow, may you do your gray matter a favor and go touch some of that green stuff growing out in the yard.