The Science of Recovery

Just like a marathon runner who's just finished a 26-mile race, our brains need to recover, recharge, and be nourished. After they run a marathon, a runner requires rest before they run again. They get restful sleep, eat right, rehydrate, and relax. Our brains need the same thing. So, for optimal brain health and to be a high performer at work and in life, we need to let our brains recharge and recover.

One way to help rejuvenate your brain is to get enough sleep. It's important that adults get at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Anything less that that can lower their I.Q. and reduce their ability to reason quickly. Another way is to exercise. Exercise is not just good for your body- it’s also good for your mind! Research has shown that regular moderate to vigorous exercise can lead to the development of a larger hippocampus, improving your memory and performance as a result.

Third, what you eat has an effect on your brain. In fact, research has shown that unhealthy diets can lower your I.Q. so, try to eat a balanced diet full of brain foods. Jim Kwik’s top ten brain foods are avocado, green leafy vegetables, walnuts, coconut oil, broccoli, blueberries, salmon (I like sardines as well), turmeric, and dark chocolate…. Keep in mind that refined sugar (found in candy bars, soda, donuts, junk food, processed foods, etc.) is not good for your brain health and can lower your ability to learn and concentrate.

The fourth way to recover is with downtime. Your brain needs a rest from social media and reading text messages. It's good to give your brain a regular break from technology. Downtime is productive time for your brain. Fifth, stress and anxiety are not anyone’s friends. In fact, too much stress can also lower your IQ and decrease your ability to perform, along with tearing down your body physically. That's why meditation and mindfulness are so important. They can counteract the effects of stress on your brain and improve your ability to focus and learn, as well as enhance your memory.

Finally, remember that your brain needs to be hydrated. Remember to drink water throughout the day and to avoid caffeine, which can dehydrate you.

Feeling Tense? A 3-Step Plan to Reduce Your Everyday Triggers

What does pressure feel like? Is it tension in your body? A headache that won’t go away no matter what you do? Is it a queasy feeling in your stomach or a looming fear of what may happen if you don’t perform up to standard? 

However you define pressure, if it’s become a constant in your life, chances are it’s wreaking havoc. 

What can you do?

Plenty!

While escaping all of life’s responsibilities may not be realistic, there are things you can do to make these responsibilities FEEL less burdensome and evoke less of a stress-response.

First thing’s first: Below are a few simple tips you can use immediately to reduce your level of physical and mental tension:

• Go for a walk outdoors and feel yourself invigorated by the fresh air and sunlight- choose a natural setting, somewhere picturesque, away from loud city traffic, if possible.

• Take 10 deep, cleansing breaths; imagine breathing in fresh energy on the inhalation and picture tension leaving your body with every exhalation.

• Give yourself a head massage with your fingertips for immediate relief from cranial tension. Use the pads of your fingers and work the entire surface area of the head. Use the index and middle fingers side-by-side to make slow circular strokes at the temples for extra relaxation. 

• Take a time-out to engage in a short open-awareness meditation. This meditation style calls for you to simply relax, close your eyes, and allow yourself to breath easily while maintaining a gentle awareness of the thoughts that enter your mind without holding onto them. As thoughts arise, you are to notice them, without judgement or attachment, and then let them pass out of your awareness. In this way, you are neither trying hard to prevent thoughts nor to hold thoughts. You are just noticing them coming and going. 

Next, create a 3-Step Plan for avoiding tension buildup:

1. Identify tension triggers, which can be defined as

   a certain task, person, time of day, thought, etc. that makes you tense

2. Find a way to avoid/delegate/ or reduce the impact of the trigger

•AVOID: literally, AVOID this trigger

Example: “Taking Maple Avenue to work always stresses me out.”

Solution: AVOID taking Maple Avenue to work. 

•DELEGATE: identify someone who can take over this trigger for you

Example: “Always being the one to deliver the bad news to the boss on Fridays makes my stomach churn.”

Solution: Delegate others in the office to take turns giving the end-of-week report. 

•REDUCE THE IMPACT: reposition when this trigger occurs during the day, reposition other positive support measure around the trigger

Example: “My whole body feels tense after a long, focused day in front of my computer.” 

Solution: Build in mini breaks (you can set the timer on your phone) to get up from your desk to walk around, get a cup of water stretch and let your eyes take a break from the screen. On these days, commit to taking lunch away from your desk, or, at least away from your computer monitor. 

3. Rename and reframe the feeling

Tension is real, and it is the by-product of stress. Stress is also real but it is dependent upon our reaction to the world around us. 

We have a conscious choice in how we respond to our world. 

We can choose stress or we can choose to challenge stress. 

I am not suggesting that this change will occur overnight, it must be practiced repeatedly, just as with any new habit we wish to develop. 

The next time you notice yourself having a knee-jerk response to a situation that involves a negative, stress-based reaction, CHALLENGE it!

Ask yourself: 

Can I be intrigued by this instead? 

Can I be amused by this? 

Can I see this as a game or as part of a game or as a twist in a game? 

I encourage you to get creative! Don’t keep allowing yourself to run into the “stress ditch.” You’ve been there, you know what it feels like. It’s time to travel to other places. Remember, you have the power to chart the course from here on out!