Give your brain time to RELAX
Why household clutter and too much multi-tasking could be taking an unexpected toll...
AS WELL as good sleep, we need rest and relaxation if we want to live long and stay sharp. Our mental well-being in general depends on this, and greater mental well-being is associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
I recommend setting aside 15 minutes each day for yourself and to use it for a de-stressing activity.
I’m a big fan of mindfulness and meditation. Both are powerfully effective at lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol and studies consistently show they significantly reduce anxiety, depression and pain.
In fact, scans have revealed that parts of the brain become thicker in people who frequently meditate, and that ‘thick-brained’ people tend to be smarter and have stronger memories.
This could be because meditation appears to bolster the areas which deal with attention and sensory processing as well as planning complicated cognitive actions.
Mindfulness and meditation can be highly relaxing and when you are in a deeply relaxed state, your heartbeat calms, breathing slows, and blood pressure lowers — and that’s very good for your brain too.
Don’t be put off by the idea of crosslegged yogis. Meditation can be as simple as sitting quietly for a few minutes and focusing on taking deep, calming breaths.
It is always time well spent. And there are some great smartphone apps and websites with guided meditation sessions to get you started.
THE so-called relaxation response that’s achieved by meditation can also be brought about through yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and repetitive prayer.
One of the reasons deep breathing, for instance, is so effective at reducing stress is that it triggers a parasympathetic nerve response.
This builds protection against the action of the sympathetic nerve response which is hyper-sensitive to stress and anxiety.
Normally, when you are stressed, the sympathetic nervous system triggers surges of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
But the parasympathetic nervous system can instead trigger a relaxation response.
Deep breathing is one of the quickest ways to get there.
Whatever you choose to do during this daily relaxation time, please avoid anything too distracting such as scrolling through social media or shopping online. You might think that’s a form of relaxation but let me tell you, your brain disagrees.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH
IF THE idea of meditation sounds odd to you, be reassured that deep breathing can be done anywhere, any time.
If you’ve never meditated before, practising deep breathing twice a day will get you started and lead you to try more advanced techniques. Try this:
SIT comfortably in a chair or on the floor, shut your eyes and ensure your body is relaxed — releasing any tension in your neck, arms, legs, and back.
INHALE through your nose for as long as you can, feeling your diaphragm and abdomen rise as your stomach moves outwards.
TAKE in a little more air when you think you’ve reached the top of your lungs.
SLOWLY exhale to a count of 20, pushing every breath of 20 from your lungs, continue for at least five rounds of deep breaths.
DECLUTTER YOUR LIFE
MESS creates stress, as disorganisation equates with distraction, so there is much to be gained from having a good clearout and taking steps to manage your living and working spaces. Why not get busy this weekend cleaning out cupboards, attics and garages:
GIVE old clothes and books to that no longer bring you pleasure to friends or charities.
TOSS out old magazines and catalogues.
THROW away or shred, bills, leaflets and letters that you don’t need.
MAKE a habit of immediately throwing away anything that you do not need or cannot be used.
TAKE a break from multi-tasking. Despite our attempts to carry out several activities at the same time, the brain doesn’t enjoy having to
execute two things that simultaneously demand conscious effort, thinking, comprehension, or skill.
Your brain will always handle tasks sequentially and switches atttention between tasks so rapidly that you are given the illusion tha are multi-tasking.
But no matter how good you think you are at doing this, the process slows down your thinking meaning that everything takes longer to accomplish.
It is like putting your brain in stop-and-go traffic, where it has to work hard without really getting anywhere.
Studies show that the older we
get, the more effort is needed for the brain to maintain focus, and it takes longer to get back to an original task after an interruption.
At some point, the number of things you can do effectively at any time diminishes. That’s why you might find yourself struggling to type an email and watch TV at the same time, or find that you want to turn off the radio to read the newspaper properly. My recommendation?
Instead of training yourself to juggle numerous tasks, stop multi-tasking where you can. Doing this can sometimes be very good for your brain. Concentrating on one task at a time and avoiding all distractions is a great way to improve your attention and is also the best way to get more achieved with minimal effort. It is like taking your turbo-powered brain out on an empty, flat road and letting it speed ahead. This can be a surprisingly joyous experience — it is what I get whenever I am in the operating theatre, which is one of the few places where distractions are absolutely not allowed.