Relax and nourish your brain
Stress. Modern way of espcape.
“Life is stressing right now”. “This is the most stresssful period of time when we live”. Well, tell this you ancesstor from XXXX years ago who went hunting and tried not to became a dinner himself. Or not to be killed by epidemic. Or burnt by Indulgence. Yeah, very stressful life now.
But there is always some truth. There is a lot of information around, and we have to make quick decisions and make the right choices. And AI is almost ready to revolutionize and take control. So there is a little bit of stress indeed. But do you know how it impacts your brain?
Stress can impact the brain in both the short term and the long term. There are also different kinds of stress and not all of them are bad but today I would like to talk about bad ones.
So where does stress start? Amygdala. As you already know it is responsible for fight-or-flight (or freeze) response.
Then amygdala send the signs to hypothalamus, hypothalamus activates sympathetic nervous system, after that adrelnaline comes to a play and finally cortisol - stress hormone - is released into your system. Period. This is general description of the process.
(I feel it all the time when I need to speak to people thats why I do not pick up the phone if the unknown number calls me).
Long terms high level of cortisol can lead to smaller size of the brain. Besides it it can affect your prefrontal cortex (Neuropsychology of prefrontal cortex - PMC (nih.gov) and European Journal of Endocrinology | Oxford Academic (oup.com)). We use PC for planning and decision making (so when you can not decide which coffee in sturbucks to choose you know who is in charge).
It also can lead to a smaller hippocampus (memory and emotion processing). So to make a long story short when you expose yourself to long-term stress you have trouble with:
memory
emotion regulation
planning
decision making
self-control
This can lead us to:
depression
anxiety
chronic pain
or even PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
You know what is stress and how it impacts you. Now let's talk about what you can do to relax your brain and to let it do its job.
I will not give you any advice that would fix all the lack of sleep, unhealthy habits, long working hours, etc. These are very simple things that I am trying to do every day and which help me with my anxiety and sometimes even slightly depression.
No.1 Oxygen
The brain needs a steady supply of oxygen to carry out its many functions, such as managing mood, attention, and memory. A lack of sufficient oxygen can lead to reduced cognitive abilities and potentially severe brain damage. Supplementing with oxygen can help minimize the effects of cortisol and safeguard the brain from damage.
So go for a walk. At least 30 min per day. No time for this? No. Do you have time to destroy your brain slowly?
No.2 Water
Proper hydration is essential for our brains to function at their best. Brain cells need a precise balance of water and other elements to work effectively, and losing too much water disrupts this balance, leading to reduced efficiency in brain cell function. Dehydration can negatively affect short-term memory and the ability to recall long-term memories. It is really good to drink 1-2 glasses of water after you wake up because through night your body loses water too.
No.3 Breaks
Take 5-10 minutes to break every xx minutes. For this purpose, I use the Pomodoro technique. Most of you probably have heard of it. If not - this is a simple time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. You divide your work into intervals - usually 25/5. 25 min of work, 5 breaks. After 4 work intervals, you take a longer break - 10-15 min. You can use your phone timer or find one online (ex. 05:00 - Time for a break! (pomofocus.io)
*I know, there is a lot of work and calls and my boss is very demanding and I can not take breaks every 25 minutes! You can develop your intervals and breaks. It can be 30/5, 45/10 etc. The clue is to focus on your job during the work interval and completely relax during break. This means that you do not scroll FB, text, watch YT shorts, and this kind of stuff. You do nothing. Go to the bathroom if you are in the office, make yourself a cup of smth to drink (but do not add whiskey to your tea before noon :)
No.4 Move
Exercising, walking, jogging, running (even juggling as I recently heard). Physical activity stimulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin (neuron protein) responsible for protecting and differentiating neurons, promoting synaptic plasticity (including the creation of new synapses), enhancing long-term potentiation, and supporting neurogenesis in the brain, even in adulthood. Which means that your brain becomes healthier.
No.5 Meditation
There are plenty of articles and research on how meditation impacts the brain. In a nutshell, the main contributors to this neurological activity are the prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in attention and decision-making; the insula, linked to body awareness and emotions; and the hippocampus, essential for memory and learning. The best time for meditation is in the morning after you wake up. Within the first hour after waking up, the brain is in an alpha state, which is associated with deep relaxation. I do not use some exquisite technique. I sit comfortably, close my eyes, and relax without distractions. Let your thoughts be in your head but do not “think” them. Observe. You can also use some tools for help. Start from 5 minutes per day. Enjoy.
As I told you before there is no magic method to take care of your brain. There are very simple and well-known things to do. Yes, it is an everyday routine. You do not get significant outcomes with one-time action. Most of the great things that we do are done by small day-to-day steps. You should understand that the simplest abilities of breathing, moving, walking, talking, etc are precious gifts and not just ordinary things. You should take care of them. That means you must take care of your brain. Be healthy and conscious.
xxx, M
