tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92011544935281365382024-03-19T04:54:59.633-07:00the art of concentrationThe Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-74030609742818011992015-05-27T03:12:00.000-07:002015-05-27T03:12:46.197-07:00Revising for exams... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the weather improves, for many young people exams loom. In the UK, GCSEs, AS levels and A levels are a big reality check for most 16 to 18 year olds over the summer, and many face the prospect with apprehension, knowing that the one word they are going to hear a lot of over the coming weeks is REVISION. But what's the best way to revise?<br />
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First of all, understanding that revision really means to revise what is (or should be) already known is helpful, and to understand what this might mean for different subjects. Fact-led subjects like the sciences, history and geography, demand just that - facts remembered that can be drawn on to answer the questions that come up in exams. Other subjects require ongoing knowledge, like maths or languages, which is where practicing these skills is helpful. Identifying what each subject is going to need in terms of revision can be a useful first step.</div>
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Then there is the mapping out of a revision timetable that most students find invaluable. Some are able to do this on their own, but for most - and teenagers in particular - this sort of organisation is a learnt skill and requires help, as many can feel overwhelmed.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Map out what needs to be done, creating a revision timetable with realistic daily goals leading up to the exams, allowing enough time to avoid feeling stressed too close to the actual exams.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Make sure the notes, past papers, books and other sources from which to revise, are available to revise from. Check with teachers and make sure everything needed is in hand.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Utilise natural learning styles. Auditory learners find that reading or saying things out loud, recording these and playing them back to listen to, may help things stick. Visual learners find taking notes or making diagrams a useful way to remember as they revise.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Allow enough uninterrupted time during a revision period to reach a point of concentration where information is actually retained and transferred from working memory into long term memory, from where it can be retrieved when taking the actual exam. Without this process occurring, the possibility of actually remembering what has been revised is limited. This means revision periods of 20-30 minutes minimum, building on this to stay concentrated for up to 90 minute before taking a break (although for most teenagers, this will take practice!).</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Take time to wind down before sleep, however. The brain works best when well-slept, and chronic tiredness just exacerbates feelings of being overwhelmed.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cut out distractions - all of them! - during each allocated revision period. This means turning off mobile phones, instant messaging, email, Facebook and other social networking sites, and making revision a primary and exclusive focus. After every interruption, it takes at least 5 minutes to concentrate fully again. Much better to focus exclusively for an hour, then take a 15 minute break, than work for 3 hours with constant interruptions that prevent the brain from retaining information.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Schools and colleges often run revision sessions which can be a good way of concentrating on subjects that need extra focus.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Regular exercise in between daily revision sessions - just taking a walk, going for a run, swimming, playing football - are all excellent ways to relieve physical and mental tension, and also increases the brain's ability to work well.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eat well - the brain thrives on complex carbohydrates to keep it going, and lots of fluids to stay well hydrated, but avoid highly caffeinated drinks (like Red Bull) that can hype the body up and increase feelings of stress.</div>
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*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Keep a sense of perspective. Exams are a means to an end, not an end in itself and those who don't achieve great exam results can still go on to live happy and accomplished lives.<br />
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For parents, this can be a difficult time as they watch their moody teenager avoid ways of getting down to the revision that they feel is necessary. Wallpaper parenting, as I call it - being around but not too interventionist - can help. Create a calm atmosphere that is conducive to study, keep meals regular, help devise a revision timetable, encourage some time out and bedtime at a reasonable hour, but avoid increasing stress by being heavy handed. </div>
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It can be a tricky time, especially as the teenage years often coincide with a general lack of confidence about life, which can be exacerbated by exam stress, but learning how to revise and work independently in preparation is a useful lesson for later studies at college or university. </div>
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Schools and colleges are very keen to help their students to do their best, so if in doubt about what you can do to support your child, check in with them about what might be helpful.</div>
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Further information on how to concentrate from <i>The Art of Concentration</i>, published by Rodale priced £9.99</div>
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The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-55275517233577810612015-01-18T14:29:00.000-08:002015-01-18T14:29:18.854-08:00Multitasking - just because you can, does it mean you should?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><b>So,
you think you’re really good at multitasking,</b> and that you can concentrate just
as well doing more than one thing at a time?</span><span style="line-height: 150%;">
</span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Think again.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">You may be giving the
impression you are doing a lot, but the reality is often something different.
Now that we have access to functional MRI scans, we can actually see,
monitor and record what our brains are doing while we’re doing it. And what we now know is that multitasking could mean that
you are doing nothing well enough to gain any benefit from doing it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>In an experiment</b> carried out
at the University of California, Los Angeles a group of 20-something students
were asked to sort through index cards in two trials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time, the students worked in
silence and during the second exact same task they were asked to listen out for
specific tones in a series of randomly presented sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way their brains coped with this was to
transfer from the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores and recalls
information, to the striatum, which handles repetitive activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had no trouble doing the same task while
distracted, but they found it much more difficult afterwards to remember what,
exactly, they had been sorting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So their
ability to do the task in a way that meant they later remembered what it was
they were doing was compromised. What this tells us is that if you are trying to learn a
new skill, you won’t do it as well, or as easily, if you are distracted while
you are doing it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>The neuroplasticity of our
brains</b> means that they are built to manage a variety of tasks at once, but only
up to a point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems that this
physiological balancing act we ask of our brains comes at a cost. By constantly
switching back and forth, and by stimulating parts of the brain that are
concerned with visual processing and physical co-ordination, as in the
experiment described above, we appear to distract from the higher areas of the
brain related to memory and learning. We can end up concentrating of the
process of concentrating rather than on what we were supposed to be
concentrating on!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of the time, it
probably won’t matter much, but it’s easy to see how inefficient a way of
learning it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Concentrate well, do it
once: distract yourself and you may have to do something several times before
it’s learnt. And when it comes to storing information that you want to recall
later, perhaps when revising for an exam, you just won’t learn it so well if
you don’t concentrate while you’re learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Focusing or concentrating well means that you store information in the
part of the brain necessary for later recall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>True, there are some forms of
multi-tasking that do work,</b> but this usually involves only doing a maximum of
two things at once, one of which is done automatically, i.e. washing-up and
listening to the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Washing-up
doesn’t really take much thought, so 95% of your concentration can be given
over to the other task in hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
wouldn’t apply to doing three tasks, though: washing-up, listening to the radio
and reading a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just not
possible to absorb either the book or the radio adequately, so – along with the
practical difficulties of doing all three at once – you probably wouldn’t
bother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>However, there are some
activities that appear automatic, but actually require good concentration to be
safe</b>, as the ban on driving while simultaneously using your mobile phone now
recognizes. It may appear to be an automatic skill but driving is a complex
activity, requiring excellent concentration and good reaction times, both of which
will be impaired if focusing on something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Talking on a mobile phone, while driving, is now illegal in the UK and
many other countries and with good reason since fatal accidents have been the
result. Many experts also believe that talking on a hands-free phone is also
too distracting to be entirely safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">“Multitasking is always going to slow you down, increasing the chances
of mistakes,” says David Meyer, a cognitive scientist and Director of the
Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan, in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal
from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><b>It
is impossible to precisely measure lost productivity, caused by multi-tasking</b>,
but in 2007, Jonathan Spira, chief analyst at Basex, a business-research firm,
estimated the cost of interruptions to the US economy at nearly $650 billion a
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This figure was based on surveys
and interviews with professionals and office workers, which concluded that 28%
of their time was spent on what they considered to be interruptions (and
recovery time) before they returned to their main tasks. Spira conceded that
$650 billion is a rough estimate, and work interruptions will never, and
shouldn’t be eliminated, because this is often how work is done and ideas are
shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even if half of all those
constant interruptions at work are worthwhile, it still represents a lot of
money lost,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>There
may also be another cost to distraction resulting from multitasking.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The process of constantly switching,
multi-tasking, call it what you will, carries with it a degree of stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not necessarily one that you would even
notice, but one that requires the key stress hormones, (cortisol and adrenaline),
to be secreted at higher levels to help you stay on top of what you are trying
to do. These are the same hormones that are secreted when we need short, rapid
bursts of energy necessary for ‘fight or flight’, but they are not designed for
long-term use. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>In the short term, feeling constantly “hyped” by high levels of
stress hormones can result in a persistent ‘brain fog’ many of us experience,
</b>and in the long-term, bombarding the brain with stress hormones that are
neuro-toxic when secreted in large quantities, may cause premature ageing and
other brain damage. Interestingly, cortisol is what is known as a universal
donor which means it can attach to any receptor site and block the feel-good
hormones, dopamine and serotonin, which help us feel calm and happy. So, not
only are we stressed when we multitask, we are also missing out on the more
positive effects of the body’s own, natural antidotes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><b>Hyper-vigilant, over-alert and anxious, it’s
hardly surprising we feel too stressed to concentrate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-75959250961602851242014-01-26T06:46:00.001-08:002014-01-26T06:50:04.952-08:00The secret to improving your concentration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>If you want to improve your ability to focus you should eat well, take breaks and connect to your inner Buddhist</b><br />
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A recent survey by the University of California estimates that we are bombarded with 34gb of information a day, twice as much as 30 years ago. Office workers, meanwhile, are interrupted on average every three minutes. Small surprise, therefore, that our concentration spans are shrivelling. "The internet has made us very fragmented in our way of working," says Harriet Griffey, journalist and author of The Art of Concentration. "The digital generation considers constant interruptions normal and these days we expect to multitask, which spreads concentration very thin and can be counterproductive."</div>
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Research by psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson found that workers who were constantly distracted by phone calls and emails experienced a 10% drop in their IQ. Meanwhile, Richard Nisbett, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, found that a Chinese-American with an IQ of 100 achieves the same academically as a white American with an IQ of 120. "This is a direct result of their more focused attitude when it comes to their schoolwork," he says.</div>
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It's a relatively simple process to discipline the brain, but the effects of that effort on our achievements, relationships and self-fulfilment are incalculable. "If you could just stay focused on the right things, your life would stop feeling like a reaction to stuff that happens to you and become something that you create," reckons Winifred Gallagher, author of Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fuel your mind. </strong>If you skip breakfast, adrenaline will kick in and make you feel stressed, warns Griffey. What's good for the body is good for the brain so combine proteins with carbohydrates to stabilise blood sugars and drink plenty of water as dehydration impoverishes concentration.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Get the rhythm</strong>. If you can fit your work schedule around your circadian rhythms you'll harness your brain at its best. Most of us reach peak alertness at 10am, coordination is best at 2pm, reaction times are fastest around 3pm and muscle strength climaxes at 5pm. Deepest sleep occurs around 2am so make sure you're tucked up well before then for maximum focus the next day.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Organise your mind. </strong>A deadline looms but memories of your unemptied washing machine/untelephoned mother/unpaid car tax are undermining you. Before you start work make a list of everything you have to do and prioritise them so that you can empty your mind without fear that you'll forget something. Save tasks that need less concentration for your mental low points such as straight after lunch.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">One thing at a time. </strong>Multitasking leads to a state of continuous partial attention which, in the end, achieves much less and makes more mistakes than a fully focused mind. If possible take a brief mental break between one task and another.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Eliminate distractions. </strong>If you check emails while writing a report, your brain will not process the information from the short to the long-term memory, says Griffey. Close down your emails and your Twitter page and put your phone on silent before focusing on a project. If office bustle distracts you, take a walk to think the task through.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Take a break. </strong>A natural environment relieves a cluttered mind whereas an urban one stresses it. A survey conducted by the University of Michigan asked one group of students to walk around an arboretum and another around a city. The latter group scored significantly lower in concentration tests. If you have a local park, take a stroll in it. Exercise also increases brain power and reduces anxiety.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Five more … </strong>If you are tempted to give up on a task just do five more pages/minutes/sums, suggests Sam Horn, communications consultant and author of ConZentrate: Get Focused and Pay Attention. "Just as athletes build physical stamina by pushing past the point of exhaustion, you can build mental stamina by pushing past the point of frustration," she says.</div>
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<strong style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Learn to meditate. </strong>Meditation techniques can help shield you from the excesses of modern life. Ten minutes a day can reduce stress, channel concentration and brighten your outlook. Try T'chai or yoga if you can't naturally connect with your inner Buddhist.</div>
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This originally appeared in the Guardian newspaper <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/jul/24/secret-to-improving-concentration" target="_blank">The secret to improving concentration</a></div>
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The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-76144952439999598722013-06-11T01:17:00.000-07:002013-06-11T01:17:17.222-07:00Winnie the Pooh goes digital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">News that Egmont children's books publisher has launched a digital form of the famous Winnie the Pooh, in the form of an iPad and iPhone app, has ruffled a few feathers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not so much because it introduces the much-loved character and stories to a new, digital-savvy generation, but because of the words of the app designer Kristian Knak who said, "The attention span and patience of today's children is obviously different than in 1926. If children are not engaged in the storytelling almost instantly, they'll just move on to the next app. On one hand, we really want to preserve the integrity of the original work by Milne and Shepard, but on the other hand, when you want to reach out to children you need to adapt the storytelling, you need to enhance it."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Really?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so maybe the way in which we access and utilise information has changed, and we seem to be more able to shift between things with speed and greater ease - in itself a form of concentration - but has the ability to pay attention for long enough to enjoy the original Pooh bear stories really become so diminished that we can no longer sit peaceably, immersed in a book?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think not. I see children concentrate all the time, from a baby playing with its toes to the toddler with a balloon, or a four year old absorbed in building Duplo. And I also see children who are exposed to so many distractions at one time, their ability to concentrate becomes eroded, and multitasking becomes the norm. But I don't think this means they have lost the ability to concentrate, just the opportunity to do so. Remove distractions and, perhaps with some gentle prompting, sit back and watch the engagement and motivation that follows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be fair, Egmont also publish the full book version of Winnie the Pooh, so they are - cannily enough - extending their market which may, in turn, lead young readers back to the original books. Books that can be read aloud, read alone, returned to time and time again, shared and treasured - and in that, I don't think children have changed since 1926.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But rest assured, children are smarter than you think - give them a book and the time and opportunity to read it and they probably will! </span>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-21775729142794254602013-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:002014-01-14T04:01:47.044-08:00Sugar... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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--</style>There’s really no such thing as a
detrimental food, but there is definitely such a thing as detrimental
quantities of different food substances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </div>
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Take sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In its natural form
it can be used to improve the flavour of lots of different things from fruit to
cereals, but the use of convenience and highly processed foods means that our
consumption of refined sugar has, over the years, rocketed to around 150lb per
person per year - in 1830 consumption was only about 11lb a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The downside of this is not just higher
obesity rates, increased diabetes and possible cancer diagnoses, etc. but the
fact that such high rates of sugar consumption knock out other good nutrients –
like vitamin B, for example, which is very important for the effective
functioning of the nervous system – and our brains!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
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So it’s really worth thinking about reducing sugar
intake, not just from specific sugar use – substitute sugar on your breakfast
muesli with a handful of blueberries to sweeten and ensure one of your five a
day, for example – but also from cutting out refined and processed foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
"We all weigh 25lbs more than we did 25 years ago," says endocrinologist and paediatrician Robert Lustig<span style="line-height: 150%;">, author of </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease</i><span style="line-height: 150%;">. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Sugar, he says, was always meant to be a treat, a reward. "The last time I checked, birthday cake was for birthdays, and birthdays come once a year."</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fat-Chance-bitter-truth-about/dp/0007514123/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369229547&sr=1-1&keywords=robert+lustig" target="_blank">Fat Chance by Robert Lustig</a><br />
<br />
And you should hear what he has to say about that world famous soft drink in the red can…<br />
<i>Sugar: The Bitter Truth</i><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM</a></div>
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The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-3548081433178197182012-12-23T06:57:00.000-08:002012-12-23T07:01:25.124-08:00Mindfulness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AUbA0sdfNXdBJKSqpsW2ls_9KrI7p9RP17t0VtUne6xtSUYsY1ohRM_AbIGs4iK5W28UTdvwhIs7eHDyPX-d_6oZWAtW0DXD-1vIsGmkPMTL9AVbSBLg5E0dC6-jdH5dsqFcV8mn2E5J/s1600/tangel-launching-a-bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AUbA0sdfNXdBJKSqpsW2ls_9KrI7p9RP17t0VtUne6xtSUYsY1ohRM_AbIGs4iK5W28UTdvwhIs7eHDyPX-d_6oZWAtW0DXD-1vIsGmkPMTL9AVbSBLg5E0dC6-jdH5dsqFcV8mn2E5J/s1600/tangel-launching-a-bird.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Mindfulness, as a tool for living rather than a spiritual practice, is a process of bringing purposeful attention to bear and can be applied to any activity. It is about being 'in the moment' whether you are washing the dishes or performing brain surgery, walking the dog or reading a book.<br />
<br />
Why is it beneficial to us? It is the exact opposite of multi-tasking and allows us to focus properly on one thing at a time, to the exclusion of other distractions or interruptions. As it is a more productive way of working - it makes the carrying out or completion of a task more efficient - it is also a less stressful way of working, too because you are using your energy, mental or physical, in a way that is most constructive to the task at hand <br />
<br />
Small children tend to achieve mindfulness naturally: programmed to absorb every last drop of experience, their focus and concentration can be total, from watching a ladybird slowly walk along a twig to playing with a much-loved toy or dropping a pebble into a puddle to see the water ripple. They are absolutely, as we say, 'in the moment'.<br />
<br />
As we grow and learn to manage multiple stimuli, we juggle and multi-task and, eventually, pay the price through the stressing our abilities in order to do so. We can all multitask when necessary, for sure, but often do each task less well, or with less appreciation, as a consequence. Interruptions and distractions are accommodated, but at a price.<br />
<br />
Mindfulness can also foster creativity. When we are mindful of what we
are doing, involved with the process on every level, it can
help us to stand back from preconceived ideas, from which we are liberated
and enabled to create new connections, thoughts and ideas.<br />
For many, we have got so out of the way of it that achieving a state of mindfulness needs help. Instead of moving naturally into this state, as we once did as a small child, we often need to relearn how; we need to practice it and once we have become reacquainted with what being mindful feels like again, to access it at will. Breathing exercises are often a help in this because, by focusing on a gentle, physical activity of breathing, we quieten and focus our minds <br />
<br />
I thought about mindfulness recently when I was avidly watching the TV series <i>The Killing</i>, known as <i>Forbrydelsen</i> in its original Danish. Utterly gripped, I couldn't take my eyes from the screen - and with good reason. Transmitted in its original language, I had to read the sub-titles to follow the complicated plot. I had to actively watch the TV in a way that I seldom do. Often I only half-watch the television. It's on as I read the newspaper, talk to someone, do something else... I don't watch it very actively, or mindfully.<br />
<br />
I realised then that I had got out of the habit, generally, of mindfulness and it was worth thinking about reinstating the practice so that it could benefit my other activities... and not just my TV watching!<br />
<br />The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-72861776360960801482012-06-07T05:38:00.000-07:002012-06-10T05:32:59.659-07:00Neurogenesis...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lAUXEcExfD1qXvq4zg5eoFR2cqECig8L4w7XJeMqHkkxwhIsXwN1qbyacuU8QCY5HOCVXBlltkPLtWOAX89iO3NKtop8YRQWOCC6KZEyMZpq0P165Ftu_irGO3VIIyX08qUb64PQizPh/s1600/neurons-thumb-200x150-5382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lAUXEcExfD1qXvq4zg5eoFR2cqECig8L4w7XJeMqHkkxwhIsXwN1qbyacuU8QCY5HOCVXBlltkPLtWOAX89iO3NKtop8YRQWOCC6KZEyMZpq0P165Ftu_irGO3VIIyX08qUb64PQizPh/s1600/neurons-thumb-200x150-5382.jpg" /></a></div>
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One of the great discoveries
of the late 20<sup>th</sup> century was that the brain was also capable of
generating new brain cells: neurogenesis. </div>
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Previously,
it was thought that we were born with every last brain cell we would ever have,
and that no more could be created. This turns out not to be the case. Neurogenesis is
the creation of new brains cells from pre-cursor cells that occur in the
hippocampus, which is so important for memory.
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Although there had been some evidence of this from work done on bird brains
and other animals, it was eventually identified in human brains from the
tenacious work of a Swedish stem cell neuroscientist Peter Eriksson, from the
Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg.
The biochemical marker that had been used in animal experiments
couldn’t, ethically, be used for human experimentation for this purpose at this
time. However, elsewhere, approved
medical studies were being carried out in terminal cancer patients – where new
cells are created by the cancer – this same biochemical marker was being used
to try and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment, because it would flag up
neurogenesis. Eriksson’s scientific
assumption was that if the brain was capable of neurogenesis, these new cells
would show evidence of the same biochemical marker that was being used to identify
new cancer cells. So he asked if he
could have the brains of these patients, after their death, to examine and see
if there was – as he thought there may be – any evidence of neurogenesis.</div>
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This work was also being explored
by the eminent neuroscientist Professor Fred Gage, at the Salk Institute for
Biological Studies, California. After extensive study, and ruling out the
possibility that new cells in the brain could be secondary cancer cells, the
scientists finally got their ‘Eureka!’ moment in 1998. The brain was capable of neurogenesis. </div>
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<i>‘All
the brains had evidence of new cells exactly in the area where we had found
neurogenesis in other species,’</i> said Gage.
<i>‘And we could prove through chemical analysis that they were mature
neurons. The neurons were born in the
patients when they were in their fifties and seventies, and these neurons
stayed alive until the people died. That
was the first evidence for neurogenesis in the adult human brain. So now we know that in some areas of the
brain, new neurons are being made all the time.
It was a surprise because we thought the brain was stagnant. But in this region of the hippocampus, there
are these little baby cells that are dividing, and over time, they mature and
migrate into the circuitry and become a full-blown adult neuron with new
connections. And this is occurring
throughout life. The finding brought us
an important step closer to the possibility that we have more control over our
own brain capacity than we ever thought possible.’</i></div>
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What was also becoming clear from
continuing research with mice was that voluntary exercise was as crucial to
neurogenesis as environmental enrichment.
So not only did the old adage, ‘use it or lose it’, apply to
neurogenesis, physical activity is crucial too. </div>
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<i>‘We think that voluntary exercise increases the number of neural cells
that divide and give rise to new neurons in the hippocampus,’</i> says Gage. <i>‘But we think it is environmental enrichment
that supports the survival of these cells.
Usually, 50% of the new cells reaching the dentate gyrus of the
hippocampus die. But if the animal lives
in an enriched environment, many fewer of the cells die. Environmental enrichment doesn’t seem to affect
cell proliferation and the generation of new neurons, but it can affect the
rate and the number of cells that survive and integrate into the circuitry.’</i></div>
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<br /></div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-15027008196840650632012-05-02T05:46:00.001-07:002012-05-02T05:48:23.060-07:00Teenagers... a work in progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPaI86IhjGQD3bY7Hdf2zFjMJXB2gmHD2bUUZf77cSrrZPgNwJz-G6O_hvii82HG5f-boSKkz9j0b1NWp9ef2cWrDLNeuJAfIuSG3gKygsWhvKid0uyP1AmwuyReLSalDnUkZneNy_Hyq/s1600/teenager%2527s+brain" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPaI86IhjGQD3bY7Hdf2zFjMJXB2gmHD2bUUZf77cSrrZPgNwJz-G6O_hvii82HG5f-boSKkz9j0b1NWp9ef2cWrDLNeuJAfIuSG3gKygsWhvKid0uyP1AmwuyReLSalDnUkZneNy_Hyq/s320/teenager%2527s+brain" width="320" /></a></div>
Recent press coverage has once again focused attention on teenagers, and the news that their brains might not mature as quickly as once thought will come as no surprise to those parents who have already lived through this turbulent transition.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/teenage-plus-the-new-adolescence-7676016.html" target="_blank">http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/teenage-plus-the-new-adolescence-7676016.html </a></span><br />
<br />
And transition it is. One that we have all been through, although most adults have amazingly short memories of their own experience when considering their adolescent children!<br />
<br />
Where once your child was happy, equable, outgoing and biddable, overnight he or she seems to have morphed into a monosyllabic, lethargic, resentful individual whose only interest is Facebook, incomprehensible music lyrics and conspiracy theories. And just when they need to focus on schoolwork they seem incapable of concentrating on anything <i>at all</i>, indulging instead in what looks to us like thoughtless, demotivated and risk-taking activity.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Primarily it's to do with a lot of necessary reorganisation of the brain's structure that needs to occur. Now, instead of a continuing proliferation of brain cells, there is an increase of mylenation, the fatty tissue surrounding brain cells that allows for better connectivity and transmission, especially in the frontal cortex which is responsible for executive planning - our capacity to direct our attention, plan future tasks, process more than one thing at a time and control impulsive behaviour. But this is happening at the same time as a vigorous pruning of less useful grey matter, ensuring that the frontal cortex is strengthened. There is a temporary state of flux, and it takes time to settle down. <br />
<br />
What's the effect of all this internal activity? One of the temporary side-effects of this remodeling of the frontal cortex is a reduced ability to recognise other people's emotions. What parents experience is an increase in the sort of self-conscious, self-absorbed and apparently selfish behaviour that drives them nuts! Wet towels left on the bathroom floor? Hopeless time-keeping? Constant snacking? The sort of forgetfulness usually associated with Alzheimer's? Inability to get up in the morning? They almost can't help it....<br />
<br />
Throw in a sudden and unsettling surge in sexual hormones, is it any wonder that your teenager is all over the place for a while? <br />
<br />
What can you do to help them through this transition? A few pointers...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Remember, it's temporary and it's not personal, whatever it feels like to you - it will pass and you will eventually recognise them again. </li>
<li>Never discuss anything important if they are hungry or thirsty or overtired - remember how they couldn't cope when they were 3 years old? It's similar scenario now.</li>
<li>Keep rules essential and minimal. Just because they don't answer, doesn't necessarily mean they haven't heard you.</li>
<li>Keep in mind that their instinct for survival is usually greater than their inclination toward self-destruction.</li>
<li>Try not to dismiss their mad ideas as stupid - they are often just trying them on for size. Offer feedback, not dismissal.</li>
<li>They often have to learn the hard way - just as we did - about the consequences of their behaviour. It's not always easy to watch and you may have to pick up the pieces: that's a parent's job.</li>
<li>Whatever energy you've put into the parenting pot over the years will pay off - trust it.</li>
<li>Your almost grown-up child needs to know that in a pretty scary world, come what may you are basically on their side and their number one port of call in an emergency </li>
</ul>
<br />
Good luck! And remember, the proud parent moments generally outweigh it all. In the end.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-61350255235814946632012-04-15T07:01:00.000-07:002012-04-15T07:02:58.865-07:00Tenacity...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExnaMq1VAP39YSZtJSjcpJ4jYndSW0C3F1ggH2VfsEtKWNCP_4gcdQb5yiq32bRLAddqN5VeuYPoChEJx0ebXytAevPfOnuhnrFtyDhSZLA1oQBJL25uEDYVHuIG5ZGqv_CWnsqw3MpU6/s1600/tenacity-by-mark-robinson-flickr-name-menthedogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExnaMq1VAP39YSZtJSjcpJ4jYndSW0C3F1ggH2VfsEtKWNCP_4gcdQb5yiq32bRLAddqN5VeuYPoChEJx0ebXytAevPfOnuhnrFtyDhSZLA1oQBJL25uEDYVHuIG5ZGqv_CWnsqw3MpU6/s320/tenacity-by-mark-robinson-flickr-name-menthedogs.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Tenacity... Grit. Determination. Persistence.<br />
<br />
Four words that mean pretty much the same, but tenacity wins hand down when it comes to the sort of consistent application that takes and shapes an idea and makes it a reality.<br />
<br />
Buzz words come and go. Happiness was around for a while. And then Resilience. During difficult, recessionary times resilience certainly has its place but it's tenacity that could make all the difference to whether or not you succeed with your idea. Not letting go, but holding on to it, exploring it, shaping it, developing it and believing in it is the only way to transform the abstract into reality. Otherwise it remains just an idea.<br />
<br />
Reading about David Karp, the man who created the blogging website Tumblr (36 million users, 40 billion views a day) I am struck not so much by his idea for the website he produced, but by his tenacity in exploring its possibilities, developing it and staying with it while others might have thought... <i>what's the point of another blogging website?</i> <br />
<br />
Whether you take an existing idea and make it better or dream up something completely new, whether it's Tumblr or Spanx, the difference between the ideas we know about and the ones we don't is that someone, often an individual, just kept plugging away with it until it became a reality. The original idea may come in and out of focus, but it remains at the core to be explored, shaped, developed and kept alive, coming to fruition often just slightly ahead of the market curve. Then you hold your breath. But along with that first 1% of inspiration came 99% of perspiration: it seems the old cliches hold true. Tenacity works.<br />
<br />
It doesn't really matter what you want to do - create a new product, run the marathon, compose the next <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>, improve an exam grade, write a book - out there are a whole host of things that seem somehow so obvious<i> now</i>, it's hard to imagine a time when they didn't previously exist, but all it takes is the first step, and the next, and the next... And the next.<br />
<br />
That's tenacity.The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-14375251441482441732012-04-02T05:32:00.005-07:002012-12-23T09:50:33.596-08:00Sleep...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwQ7Tp06XR1xxC1j-88-uGCJ1SbCa6PcSURJtXTqbmyXcMKv_a7Zf2B-n6B3YebNu6nxlYbSOlPakvFyweenNqgX24acpRiAhLqiDT2fQAz28Ut5wsANQBPJdmETpJNqc5CRrmZ3Zlugf/s1600/Lack-of-sleep-can-lead-to-008.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726780627533900418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwQ7Tp06XR1xxC1j-88-uGCJ1SbCa6PcSURJtXTqbmyXcMKv_a7Zf2B-n6B3YebNu6nxlYbSOlPakvFyweenNqgX24acpRiAhLqiDT2fQAz28Ut5wsANQBPJdmETpJNqc5CRrmZ3Zlugf/s400/Lack-of-sleep-can-lead-to-008.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 400px;" /></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9201154493528136538" name="48" style="font-style: italic;">Sleep... that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care,</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9201154493528136538" name="49" style="font-style: italic;">the death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9201154493528136538" name="50" style="font-style: italic;">balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9201154493528136538" name="51" style="font-style: italic;">chief nourisher in life's feast</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br />
<br />
So said Shakespeare and a new study just published by Vielife, the health and productivity company that carried it out, suggests that a third of UK workers suffer from poor sleep and are putting their jobs before their health, counter-productive though this might be.<br />
<br />
This is echoed by the US's National Sleep Foundation's 2012 American poll, cited recently on the Huffington Post, and as long ago as 2008 the online health site NetDoctor identified lack of sleep, and its causes, as a perennial problem.<br />
<br />
Sleep is essential to restore the body and mind. Deep slow-wave sleep, when our brain moves into delta waves, is imperative: this is the restorative sleep that we all need and without it, we suffer both physically and mentally. In order to compensate for chronic lack of sleep, we produce more stress hormones (adrenalin and cortisol) which revs us up and consequently makes it more difficult to sleep. Stress hormones are designed for short, sharp (fight or flight) responses, not for sustaining you against chronic levels of sleep deprivation caused by your lifestyle.<br />
<br />
Stress caused by chronic sleep deprivation is also inflammatory (hence the secretion of anti-inflammatory hormone cortisol) - which causes damage to the cells of the body, and permanent long term damage over time. Consistently high levels of circulating cortisol are also a neurotoxin, which may go some way to explain the increase in degenerative brain damage that results in diseases like Alzheimer's. There's also a correlation between chronic sleep deprivation and heart attacks and strokes, not to mention weight gain and diabetes.<br />
<br />
It's not easy, though, to reverse those habits that cause chronic sleep problems. Once your stress thermostat is set at high, and you have adjusted to it, it takes time to turn it down to the point where your adrenalin-fueled, pounding heart rate no longer keeps you awake at night. So used are we to the anxious, 3 am thoughts that keep us awake, we are somehow loathe to let them go and our incredible ability to adapt can even make bad habits possible. It's insidious, this slow glide towards a chronic sleep problem and, at first, the lifestyle changes you make may not immediately yield the results you seek. Give yourself time - but persevere, you will benefit greatly from better sleep, both in the short and long term.<br />
<br />
To improve your sleep, and consequently your health and productivity, check out the following top tips:<br />
<ul>
<li>physical exercise - factor in a daily dose, even if it's only a 20 minute walk - but avoid excessive exercise late in the day</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>reduce your daily intake of caffeinated drinks - coffee, colas and ban Red Bull - it takes time for an exhausted liver to rid your circulation of caffeine, so cut down gradually but get to a point where you have seriously reduced your intake and nothing caffeinated after 3pm</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>eat regularly and eat slow-release carbs - hungry bodies go into stress mode more easily which equals more stress hormones, which will aggravate sleep problems</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>take time off from work before you go to bed and keep your bedroom work, TV and mobile phone (turn if off, so that 3 am text from a well-meaning 'friend' doesn't wake you!) free</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>keep regular hours - going to bed and getting up the same time every day helps set your internal clock - at least 5 nights out of 7 - you may have to adjust this over time to adapt, but it's worth it - and so are you</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>aim for 7-8 hours which, for most of us, will mean we need to go to bed earlier...</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-volpi-md-pc-facs/sleep-tips_b_1389778.html"><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-volpi-md-pc-facs/sleep-tips_b_1389778.html </a><br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/01/chronic-sleep-deprivation-uk-staff?INTCMP=SRCH">http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/01/chronic-sleep-deprivation-uk-staff?INTCMP=SRCH</a>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-74252752628045011352012-02-08T01:13:00.001-08:002012-02-08T02:04:02.301-08:00What the Dickens?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNWEncSFSJmFks1fcJ6SzxW6KYB6n3UT3VBvq8S-Z4J3GbWkdFgFAPZTaF2FnfeUycZmABMFSt-IZegr9m9mUGvUKqwZiY9s-Lc1jVgIqFPvDiMif2PRj50cSKqwC76OSUlcSyRBhfU7M/s1600/Pg-3-dickens-rex.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNWEncSFSJmFks1fcJ6SzxW6KYB6n3UT3VBvq8S-Z4J3GbWkdFgFAPZTaF2FnfeUycZmABMFSt-IZegr9m9mUGvUKqwZiY9s-Lc1jVgIqFPvDiMif2PRj50cSKqwC76OSUlcSyRBhfU7M/s400/Pg-3-dickens-rex.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706690571508206402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"Today's children have very short attention-spans because they are being reared on dreadful TV programmes. They are not being educated for long attention-spans." So says Charles Dickens' biographer, Claire Tomalin in yesterday's <span style="font-style: italic;">Independent</span> newspaper.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://http//www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/every-pupil-should-read-dickens-says-minister-but-hes-too-hard-says-the-authors-biographer-6579525.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/every-pupil-should-read-dickens-says-minister-but-hes-too-hard-says-the-authors-biographer-6579525.html </a><br /></span><br />I disagree. The ability to concentrate is innate, but like a muscle has to be flexed to extend its use, and reading Dickens is in fact a good way of helping our kids to do this.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Because Dickens writes in brilliant, episodic bursts designed to grab the attention with his larger-than-life characterisations, lots of dialogue, vivid descriptions and emotionally engaging plots. He wrote for the ordinary person, not the intellectual or the academic, and his storytelling reflects this making it more accessible than might be imagined at first glance. And, in spite of the possibly daunting extent of his books, the length of each chapter is actually quite short.<br /><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Great Expectations,</span> for example, may be 440 pages long, but it's divided into 59 chapters, averaging 7.5 pages for each chapter. Any young person who can sit through a 30-minute episode of the BBC soap <span style="font-style: italic;">EastEnders</span> will have no trouble romping through a few chapters, as a 15 year old I once coached found. He had to read <span style="font-style: italic;">Great Expectations</span> for his English GCSE and was daunted by the task. How are you going to go about this, I asked? A chapter a day, was his initial, doeful suggestion. Pointing out that, given the number of chapters, this would take a while I suggested he read for as long as an episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">EastEnders</span> a day, 30 minutes. Which he did, and discovered that he could easily do it and completed the whole book in his half term (7 day) break. He was delighted with himself, not least because he had enjoyed reading, and reading a classic like Dickens, and consequently found his GCSE work much easier having read the whole book. An additional pay-off.<br /><br />So let's not patronise our young people and say they don't have what it takes to make reading Dickens possible. Instead, let's actively encourage them to read Dickens' novels for enjoyment and see them extend their ability to concentrate and improve their attention span.<br /><br />And even if you've not read Dickens by the age of 11, there's still time. Dickens is one of those authors that can be read time and time again. His books are timeless in spite of their historical settings, because like any great fiction it is the lie we give to truth.The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-68269474797291479772012-01-12T03:26:00.000-08:002012-01-24T07:35:29.625-08:00The Whitehall ll study - what to do?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqlB4dHc7SWc9R_GiyNl8JnQaoWYH7i6niBgrhyphenhyphentUQXm2Pjl-q-rN8fzOjwDw_NXg8sOxePue8DYQfcaiyxjbWBMQUBohVIS7FT3fQwGLoeQsdMWRErpd3Qej8tRfw1h0ngW7Pmc9rJsj/s1600/Einstein"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqlB4dHc7SWc9R_GiyNl8JnQaoWYH7i6niBgrhyphenhyphentUQXm2Pjl-q-rN8fzOjwDw_NXg8sOxePue8DYQfcaiyxjbWBMQUBohVIS7FT3fQwGLoeQsdMWRErpd3Qej8tRfw1h0ngW7Pmc9rJsj/s400/Einstein" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696711558096101266" border="0" /></a><style>@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Courier New"; }@font-face { font-family: "Wingdings"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >The recently published Whitehall ll study, which focused on 7,000 British civil servants over a 10 year period, showed that amongst this group mental dexterity and brain power deteriorated earlier than was once thought.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >There is no doubt that here in the Western world we are, on average, living longer, which creates an associated risk of age-related decline in our mental powers – but the news is not all bad.<span style=""> </span>It was once thought older people lose thousands of brain cells every day, but this has now been contradicted by more recent studies.<span style=""> </span>While neurons in some areas of the brain, like the basal forebrain, do decrease in number as we age, most neurons in the cortex are retained – while the hippocampus is capable of generating new cells until the day we die, if stimulated.<span style=""> </span>Cell process can change, but this fine-tuning may result in gains in wisdom and patience.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >While there is a sense of ‘use it, or lose it’ there are some effects of ageing on the brain that we can’t escape, because our bodies are deteriorating too.<span style=""> </span>Our sensory organs – eyes and hearing, in particular – tend to deteriorate, too and with it the inclination to expose ourselves to new stimuli. The decline of other body systems will also have a similar effect.<span style=""> </span>Our digestive system, for example, becomes less efficient at absorbing the nutrients we need from the food we eat, while the endocrine system becomes less efficient at responding to hormonal messages.<span style=""> </span>Brain cells are also extremely sensitive to oxygen levels and, with a degree of arteriosclerosis typical of the ageing process, a reduced blood supply to the brain reduces the oxygen supply.<span style=""> </span>A low-level but continuous oxygen deficiency will lead to a decline in neurons.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >Without continuous external stimulation, new brain cell production slows down and with it brain plasticity because, as research has shown, it is the plasticity of the new brain cells that helps old brain cells function better. </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" >Neuroplasticity refers to the continued changes that can occur in the brain as the result of exposure to new experiences and learning opportunities, referred to by neurologists as ‘experience-dependent plasticity’. This was seen to occur after injury to the brain, where plasticity allowed new functional and structural changes to take place to compensate for the damaged area.<span style=""> </span>This is what makes rehabilitation so important, and creates the possibility for regaining some, if not all, previously damaged function.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" >It was previously thought that the adult brain was hard-wired and no longer capable of new development.<span style=""> </span>It had been thought that after critical periods of development, there would be no more change and that the sensory pathways were fixed, even while areas like the hippocampus – concerned with processing memory – continued to produce new neurons. Exposed to enough opportunities, it seems, we go on learning, process what we learn, and apply that learnt experience – all of which encourages the formation of new neurons in the hippocampus. </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >As we age, we tend to be exposed less to new experiences, become less active, and become less sociable so our opportunities, unless actively sought, for brain stimulation quite naturally decline.<span style=""> </span>We are just less likely to try new things, so overall our opportunities for external stimuli decrease. But when older people are given tests that depend on vocabulary, general information and well-practised activities, they show negligible age-related deterioration.<span style=""> </span>So while both low response times and short-term memory impairment contribute to lower scores on standard tests of intelligence for the elderly, removing this difference equals this out.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >The Whitehall study shows that reasoning, memory and verbal fluency were the three main areas of cognitive ability affected. But when I read the following from India Knight’s piece in the <i>Sunday Times</i></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" > on January 8<sup>th</sup> 2012, describing what she was trying to do all at the same time, one could perhaps see why:<span style=""> </span>“How can we be expected to remember anything at all, when we are multi-tasking to such an insane degree?” she wrote. “As well as wondering what to write about, I was also thinking about my elder son’s university offers; my younger son being late for school; how to re-hang the door of a kitchen cabinet that has come off its hinges; where to collect my daughter from… what to make for supper… I was also on Twitter, having six conversations at once and reading hundreds more, and the doorbell rang twice…” and so she goes on. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" ></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >Six things that might help:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; text-indent: -36pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >stop multi-tasking, focus on one thing at a time</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; text-indent: -36pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >eat nutritiously 3 times a day, sit down and relax while eating</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; text-indent: -36pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >exercise – even a daily, 20 minute walk in natural daylight will help</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; text-indent: -36pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >anxiety & depression create additional stress hormones that are neurotoxic: so address the worries in your life & learn to let go</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; text-indent: -36pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >maintain good relationships with people you actually see & talk to</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; text-indent: -36pt; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:Symbol;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" >sleep – good restful sleep is restorative, make it a priority every night</span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" > </span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" > </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jan/06/memory-loss-begins-at-45-says-study"><span style="font-family:Arial;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jan/06/memory-loss-begins-at-45-says-study</span></a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" > </span></p>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-57309504587753243282011-11-14T02:45:00.000-08:002011-11-14T03:28:30.338-08:00You're really stressing me out!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRZXYgNOw6RyqxxwsN7kfb-XYuVcqic-AORyvr-KdSCsvb-twn7DRcwglopcctzqAhDGnga6MZfnnrH9MCRuV10FXAfXuYYXTlR2GD_RvKrIy9sPs9Js4bn03rz3XlpEfT4e9KvKDvMKQ/s1600/stress-at-work.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRZXYgNOw6RyqxxwsN7kfb-XYuVcqic-AORyvr-KdSCsvb-twn7DRcwglopcctzqAhDGnga6MZfnnrH9MCRuV10FXAfXuYYXTlR2GD_RvKrIy9sPs9Js4bn03rz3XlpEfT4e9KvKDvMKQ/s400/stress-at-work.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674803761447220562" border="0" /></a>Researchers from the University of Hawaii, led by Professor Elaine Hatfield, discovered that second-hand stress can be passed from person to person in the workplace - and it seems to be contagious.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/10/passive-stress-at-work-just-as-contagious-as-a-cold_n_1085758.html#s451010&title=Build_In_Planning"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/10/passive-stress-at-work-just-as-contagious-as-a-cold_n_1085758.html#s451010&title=Build_In_Planning</span></a><br /><br />Washing your hands isn't going to deal with this sort of contagion, but recognising those personality types you work with that cause you stress may help.<br /><br />"We call it 'people poisoning' and we describe the culprits as stress carriers," says Dr Chandra Patel, stress expert and author of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Complete Guide to Stress Management</span> (Vermilion). "They induce stress in others without suffering it themselves."<br /><br />Behavioural scientist Dr Robert Bramson has identified seven key personality types who cause difficulties and stress for those around them. Work out which category your tormentor fits into, the theory goes, and you can find coping strategies to reduce the stress they cause you.<br /><br />1. Know-it-all experts ~ these can be divided into two types: those who might know what they are talking about and those who 'become' experts on the basis of very little information but present it with such authority that it's difficult not to feel overwhelmed by them.<br /><br />2. Super-agreeables ~ they come across as good humoured and willing, but never deliver. They are exasperating because they agree everything in an effort to be liked, but constantly let you down.<br /><br />3. Indecisive stallers ~ one of the most stress-inducing types, especially if you are dependent on their decision making to get <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> job done.<br /><br />4. Pessimists ~ no matter what you say or how you present it, they always respond negatively and often respond with such conviction that it's difficult not to get hooked into their negative agenda.<br /><br />5. Silent unresponsives ~ this type purposefully use silence to negatively control situations, undermining others, and it can be a form of passive aggression or a spiteful refusal to co-operate.<br /><br />6. Hostile aggressives ~ basically these are the office bullies, who aim to get their own way by being hostile, using ridicule or sarcasm. Criticism tends to be personal and stress is induced by confusing, frustrating or even frightening you.<br /><br />7. Complainers ~ constant whining while refusing to take steps to change those things they complain about is super stressful because they suck you in while ignoring helpful suggestions and wasting your time.<br /><br />Whether it's your boss or a co-worker or someone who reports to you, identifying what it is about them that triggers a stressful response can help you see how to deal or avoid it.<br /><br />It's also helpful to review your own behaviour, too and see what your default position is and how this might cause stress to those around you. None of us is infallible, all of us are human, but given how much time we spend at work - in the UK an average of 48 hours a week, way over the European standard - we owe it to each other to facilitate each other's and our own best use of time. Actively trying to reduce second-hand stress in the workplace helps us all concentrate and work better, more effectively and in less time.The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-8698146359754158282011-10-20T02:53:00.000-07:002011-10-20T04:02:59.800-07:00Addicted to love... of Blackberrys, iPhones & other handheld devices!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgN-i52sYgUT4nSM75-cP9BAZoOtibbiPrsI_zjoHcMHDR1yXL74ldWhiEra4DagSC4N4-zFeGhdN_vvTyoVeHsvG8H2Nab3zlIKtXeDJVaDQdhQVimaB0PYTrD0oZ1g4WhjYyxxn0hBa/s1600/texting"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgN-i52sYgUT4nSM75-cP9BAZoOtibbiPrsI_zjoHcMHDR1yXL74ldWhiEra4DagSC4N4-zFeGhdN_vvTyoVeHsvG8H2Nab3zlIKtXeDJVaDQdhQVimaB0PYTrD0oZ1g4WhjYyxxn0hBa/s400/texting" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665511225561668466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Remember when someone called the Blackberry a Crackberry, apparently referencing its addictive properties? Emails, texts, Twitter & BBM are all great means of staying in touch - but do you ever feel that this virtual communication is dominating your life, getting in the way of what really matters - your real relationships with partners, family and friends?<br /><br />Way back in 2005, a 19 year old from Paisley was treated for his addiction to electronic communication, which had cost him £4,500 in a year of sending around 100 texts a day, his job when he was sending up to 500 emails a day, and his relationship when his girlfriend could no longer cope with the barrage of messages.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/oct/15/news.mobilephones">http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/oct/15/news.mobilephones</a></span></span><br /><br />And also in 2005, a study from Hewlett Packard expressed alarm that 62% of British adults appeared addicted to their email - even checking messages during meetings, after working hours and on holiday - behaviour we now mostly consider as normal!<br /><br />Tom Stafford, lecturer in psychology and cognitive science at the University of Sheffield and co-author of <span style="font-style: italic;">Mind Hacks</span>, identified what it is that makes this so addictive. "Both slot machines and email follow something called a 'variable interval reinforcement schedule' which has been established as the way to train in the strongest habits," he says. "This means that rather than reward an action every time it is performed, we reward it sometimes, but not in a predictable way. So with email, usually when I check it there is nothing interesting, but every so often there's something wonderful - an invite out or maybe some juicy gossip - and I get a reward."<br /><br />Now you understand the psychology and how you've been snookered into this addictive behaviour, it might make it easier to resist. Not least because if you are trying to get something done - a book read, a movie watched, an essay written, homework done - these constant interruptions seriously restrict your ability to concentrate and, in the long term, add to your personal stress.<br /><br />I have worked with teenagers who tell me that they just<span style="font-style: italic;"> can't</span> turn off their phones, day or night, for fear of missing out. And when I see someone texting during a movie I just think - why can't you allow yourself some time out, some uninterrupted "me" time, for just 90 minutes? Or couples in restaurants not talking to each other but checking their messages or Twitter alerts, unable to drag themselves away from the demands of this insatiable device, and I wonder how it was that the idle thoughts of someone you don't actually know became more important than those of the person you're with?<br /><br />In 2008 it was reported that Madonna and her then husband Guy Ritchie slept with their Blackberrys under their pillows. She apparently said, "It's not unromantic - it's practical." Six months later the marriage was over.<br /><br />There's no doubt that it's brilliant to be able to have such immediate communication when we need it, but sometimes it's important to literally switch off from the virtual world and re-engage with the real world, before we lose sight of what really matters.The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-38869847373433060162011-10-12T13:05:00.001-07:002011-11-12T04:23:56.572-08:00Breakfast<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r0dPvftq2MkR0nRS98-MJUhWb3DtZD5QMIw2jy4aKTB3lkiVzmIAtMqMbWCxar3MLPMMHPKEqTUryWh6OYLaG3iGB6ZX_DVmvRU2NoRygumMape4KIjYeMqiDC9hXFjVgsYCccfq0r_R/s1600/28662_397265500875_331248665875_4769514_3299837_n.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r0dPvftq2MkR0nRS98-MJUhWb3DtZD5QMIw2jy4aKTB3lkiVzmIAtMqMbWCxar3MLPMMHPKEqTUryWh6OYLaG3iGB6ZX_DVmvRU2NoRygumMape4KIjYeMqiDC9hXFjVgsYCccfq0r_R/s400/28662_397265500875_331248665875_4769514_3299837_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662699595513710738" border="0" /></a>A boiled egg with dippy toast fingers may not be your choice for breakfast, but its combination of protein and carbohydrate will set you up well for the day.<br /><br />But if your idea of breakfast is a black coffee and a cigarette or a latte and muffin, en route to work, you could be doing your body and your brain a serious disservice.<br /><br />"The body's natural reaction to low blood sugar is to compensate by increasing adrenalin output," says psychologist and director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP) Sally Goddard Blythe. "Such a biochemical combination can affect attention, concentration and impulse control. In the long term, sharp swings in blood sugar levels increase irritability, fatigue and bouts of hyperactivity."<br /><br />Do you really need more stress in your life, detrimental to your body, your brain and - somewhat inevitably - relationships with those around you, from your family to your work colleagues?<br /><br />Slow release carbohydrates, combined with some protein to further reduce insulin surges, provide the fuel you need to start the day. Not only that, you are less likely to get a desperate urge for a sugar hit mid morning, when grabbing a full fat latte and muffin 'snack' could earn you a quarter of your daily calorific intake.<br /><br />So what to choose to break your overnight fast and get your day off to a good start? A boiled egg and wholegrain toast is an excellent choice. But porridge oats, with skimmed milk and fruit is another choice. Oatcakes and cheese, perhaps? A bagel and avocado? Skimmed, live yoghurt with apricots? My personal choice is a helping of rolled oats, sunflower seeds (high in zinc), a handful of nuts (walnuts for omega-3, brazil nuts for selenium, almonds for magnesium) for protein and blueberries (lots of vitamin C and antioxidant anthocyanin) with some skimmed milk.<br /><br />And if breakfast is important for grown-ups, imagine how much more important it is for children whose smaller, growing bodies and higher energy needs demand regular, nutritious meals.<br /><br />So if all else fails, as you rush for the door thinking breakfast is a luxury you don't have time for, at least grab yourself that ultimate in fast food - a banana. Your body and brain will thank you for it.The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-16004199077568187792011-08-11T08:51:00.000-07:002014-01-04T10:47:28.542-08:00Don't try harder, try differently<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8KH54JYoe3-T10G4Vx4FPthKEkljIIl3ZVzdjPn-DPWlGoIDP2qNQK7sO-rcDTmCYfliTLAL0f0Zf1wHjsMMFC3ca8s-oeZeK94aCOyX_Vxw6qaJzyrT7LAhAvy-smSDPhgIWCVpGPd5/s1600/aesop" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639632018968595986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8KH54JYoe3-T10G4Vx4FPthKEkljIIl3ZVzdjPn-DPWlGoIDP2qNQK7sO-rcDTmCYfliTLAL0f0Zf1wHjsMMFC3ca8s-oeZeK94aCOyX_Vxw6qaJzyrT7LAhAvy-smSDPhgIWCVpGPd5/s400/aesop" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 267px;" /></a>If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again, goes the old adage - but doing the same old thing often yields the same old results and what is really needed is to try differently.
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The same goes for concentration. Can you improve concentration by trying harder, or is trying differently what you need to do?
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Often what we have to do doesn't really interest us; we find it boring and when we're bored our minds wander and we lack concentration. So on those occasions, what can we do differently? The answer lies in finding a way to create interest by sticking with it long enough to create context and points of reference that relates to something that will tweak our imagination and stimulate us to take the next step.
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What we also know is that trying differently can create a change in the way the brain functions, and this could actually make it easier to concentrate. Even allowing for all the variables - personality, temperament, intelligence, age, etc. - you can change your brain's function by the way you behave, and your behaviour by the way your brain functions. "That's what learning is," says Professor Richard Davidson, director of the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Anything that changes behaviour changes the brain."
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The suggestion here is that if you want to improve your concentration, try differently: change what you do and how you do it. Think about taking a different approach, one that allows your brain to engage, respond and make connections in a different way - the difference could just be turning off external distractions, focusing for five minutes longer than you usually give yourself, or not multi-tasking - but whatever the difference, see what a difference it could make to your ability to concentrate.
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So don't try harder, try differently.
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.theartofconcentration.co.uk">www.theartofconcentration.co.uk </a>
The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-77471767454744908122011-06-15T06:28:00.000-07:002011-06-15T07:10:34.881-07:00Is being a stress junkie affecting your concentration?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9ac4gZWyvzqvSAT0GSKnXUGueQ0mpL3GXa1exhyc2F7U7h_ymXVmG9Qur4LyUWv-IkWCguCZBgqcGUSbULqsM6vreYwYSLD8-VOokBwarkuQrYUt8LmVq_cvsHT24KKYQlk2bP4aur5z/s1600/Stress.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9ac4gZWyvzqvSAT0GSKnXUGueQ0mpL3GXa1exhyc2F7U7h_ymXVmG9Qur4LyUWv-IkWCguCZBgqcGUSbULqsM6vreYwYSLD8-VOokBwarkuQrYUt8LmVq_cvsHT24KKYQlk2bP4aur5z/s320/Stress.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618439293132187266" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The link between stress and concentration is an interesting one, and it’s worth taking a moment or two to understand what happens in your body and brain to prevent concentration when you’re stressed.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Confronted by circumstances we see as threatening in some way, our brain short-circuits conscious thought to 'red alert' mode.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This automatic response is created by the amygdala, an almond shaped gland located deep within the mid-brain – and is a great response when faced with a sabre-toothed tiger, but not so useful when you discover your tax return has exceeded its return-by date.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We talk about something being gut-wrenching for a reason. The gut is also affected by the 'fight or flight' hormones generated in response to the amygdala’s red alert because, God knows, you’re not going to have time to eat when running for your life.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Besides, you are going to need the blood supply concentrated in your legs rather than your stomach in order to get away fast, and your heart will need to pound to get it there. Plus which, your breathing rate rises to get that additional oxygen you’re going to need into your lungs.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">All of which is happening rather unnecessarily while you are sitting at your desk with those stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol flooding your body and compounding your panic further.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Know the feeling?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Not only that, but when we get into long-term patterns of stress, it somehow re-sets our stress thermostat and it takes less to set off our red alert reaction.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And, because we also have amazing powers of adaptation, we adapt to these constant, over-elevated levels of stress hormones as far as we can. It begins to feel 'normal' to be functioning in a constant state of stress. In fact, we can become almost addicted to it and seek to recreate the apparent comfort this known state creates, by which time we fit the label: stress junkie.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And while functioning in this way, sleep becomes difficult because those same stress hormones that can power your legs are also designed to keep you wide awake and running away from danger, not chilling out and drifting off happily into the land of Nod. Lack of sleep is itself very stressful. Result: more stress.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now imagine functioning at full stressed throttle like this for days, weeks, months on end and its effect on your body and mind becomes clear. If you did the same to a high performance car, the phrase 'burn out' might come to mind. Long term stress just isn't sustainable without detriment to health. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Great for acute situations where you may need to concentrate your physical and mental prowess to react to danger, stress is hopeless for sustained concentration or for enabling you to focus without the internal distraction of red alert warning signals going off. </span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now it becomes clear why concentration, which is aided by a calm, collected mind, becomes tricky when we are stressed. So if you want to concentrate better and benefit from that, look at how to reduce the stress in your life.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Having identified the situation, what can you do?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If you’ve been functioning in stress mode for a period of time, it’s hard initially to switch it off. Your body has got used to the feeling, so you may have to be quite deliberate in creating time to readjust, and consciously build in down time, either through non-competitive exercise, meditation or some other physical therapy that helps release you from the physical sensations of stress.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Once you begin to release the body from its grip, it becomes easier to release the mind from stress, improving its ability to concentrate. It may take time, but consciously doing so will pay dividends in terms of physical and mental wellbeing - and concentration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-36978002136573650602011-04-28T04:18:00.000-07:002011-04-28T07:09:27.777-07:00Revising for exams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Y_sBEru_YeH3v9QCiMPqQ09_ZiGU8HMPyma4fXDPAaP4WJakBHCU4KrzV-x0tWjOukQapLLIMdUHujeT2phrx68mzCldGC0maXY51C6EMiukoJ0jyuqV0YTzf94AVL2Wa24DarHBgWVX/s1600/revisionbart.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Y_sBEru_YeH3v9QCiMPqQ09_ZiGU8HMPyma4fXDPAaP4WJakBHCU4KrzV-x0tWjOukQapLLIMdUHujeT2phrx68mzCldGC0maXY51C6EMiukoJ0jyuqV0YTzf94AVL2Wa24DarHBgWVX/s320/revisionbart.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600597459625546226" /></a>As the weather improves, for many young people exams loom. In the UK, GCSEs, AS levels and A levels are a big reality check for most 16 to 18 year olds over the summer, and many face the prospect with apprehension, knowing that the one word they are going to hear a lot of over the coming weeks is REVISION. But what's the best way to revise?<div><br /></div><div>First of all, understanding that revision really means to revise what is (or should be) already known is helpful, and to understand what this might mean for different subjects. Fact-led subjects like the sciences, history and geography, demand just that - facts remembered that can be drawn on to answer the questions that come up in exams. Other subjects require ongoing knowledge, like maths or languages, which is where practicing these skills is helpful. Identifying what each subject is going to need in terms of revision can be a helpful first step.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there is the mapping out of a revision timetable that most students find invaluable. Some are able to do this on their own, but for most - and teenagers in particular - this sort of organisation is a learnt skill and requires help, as many can feel overwhelmed.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Map out what needs to be done, creating a revision timetable with realistic daily goals leading up to the exams, allowing enough time to avoid feeling stressed too close to the actual exams.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Make sure the notes, past papers, books and other sources from which to revise, are available to revise from. Check with teachers and make sure everything needed is in hand.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Utilise natural learning styles. Auditory learners find that reading or saying things out loud, recording these and playing them back to listen to, may help things stick. Visual learners find taking notes or making diagrams a useful way to remember as they revise.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Allow enough uninterrupted time during a revision period to reach a point of concentration where information is actually retained and transferred from working memory into long term memory, from where it can be retrieved when taking the actual exam. Without this process occurring, the possibility of actually remembering what has been revised is limited. This means revision periods of 20-30 minutes minimum, building on this to stay concentrated for up to 90 minute before taking a break (although for most teenagers, this will take practice!).</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Take time to wind down before sleep, however. The brain works best when well-slept, and chronic tiredness just exacerbates feelings of being overwhelmed.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Cut out distractions - all of them! - during each allocated revision period. This means turning off mobile phones, instant messaging, email, Facebook and other social networking sites, and making revision a primary and exclusive focus. After every interruption, it takes at least 5 minutes to concentrate fully again. Much better to focus exclusively for an hour, then take a 15 minute break, than work for 3 hours with constant interruptions that prevent the brain from retaining information.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Schools and colleges often run revision sessions which can be a good way of concentrating on subjects that need extra focus.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Regular exercise in between daily revision sessions - just taking a walk, going for a run, swimming, playing football - are all excellent ways to relieve physical and mental tension, and also increases the brain's ability to work well.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Eat well - the brain thrives on complex carbohydrates to keep it going, and lots of fluids to stay well hydrated, but avoid highly caffeinated drinks (like Red Bull) that can hype the body up and increase feelings of stress.</div><div><br /></div><div>For parents, this can be a difficult time as they watch their moody teenager avoid ways of getting down to the revision that they feel is necessary. Wallpaper parenting, as I call it - being around but not too interventionist - can help. Create a calm atmosphere that is conducive to study, keep meals regular, help devise a revision timetable, encourage some time out and bedtime at a reasonable hour, but avoid increasing stress by being heavy handed. </div><div><br /></div><div>It can be a tricky time, especially as the teenage years often coincide with a general lack of confidence about life, which can be exacerbated by exam stress, but learning how to revise and work independently in preparation is a useful lesson for later studies at college or university. </div><div><br /></div><div>Schools and colleges are very keen to help their students to do their best, so if in doubt about what you can do to support your child, check in with them about what might be helpful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Further information on how to concentrate from <i>The Art of Concentration</i>, published by Rodale priced £9.99</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Concentration-Enhance-reduce-achieve/dp/1905744439/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303999103&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Concentration-Enhance-reduce-achieve/dp/1905744439/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303999103&sr=1-1</a></div><div><br /></div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-78645397519553461442011-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:002011-04-07T10:22:37.943-07:00Long hours culture<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0HFP4y9qbOZ7Rim-VwsXpfTXXfH0ViwWy2HKbdTibgnl9BGNvSFfYtzUmlsfB0TmbEzgX1llel18CnD3V9PIvjF4FcLvSl_tWfhb52arRTe6h6ZWy6viPugzIF1__pHaMdF1tsNuE4sr/s1600/tired_worker_1350473c.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0HFP4y9qbOZ7Rim-VwsXpfTXXfH0ViwWy2HKbdTibgnl9BGNvSFfYtzUmlsfB0TmbEzgX1llel18CnD3V9PIvjF4FcLvSl_tWfhb52arRTe6h6ZWy6viPugzIF1__pHaMdF1tsNuE4sr/s320/tired_worker_1350473c.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592883195469960322" /></a>Research published today suggests that those who regularly work more than 11 hours a day put themselves at increased risk of heart disease. In fact, their risk of heart attack goes up by a whopping 67%, according to a study from University College London which has been tracking the health of 7,000 civil servants since 1985.<div><br /></div><div>This suggests a working week of 55 hours, rather than the 40 hour week one might suppose. Apart from the obvious question about what it was that civil servants found to do for 11 hours a day, it also begs the question as to how effective anyone can be when working such long hours. It's a well-established fact that working long hours is bad for both concentration and productivity, as well as health.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the UK has the longest working week in Europe. The average hours worked by full timers in the UK is 43.5 a week, in France it's 38.2 hours a week and in Germany it's 39.9. And - get this - their productivity rates are higher, even though they work shorter hours. The European directive is for a maximum of 48 hours a week, and 1 in 8 British workers does more than this.</div><div><br /></div><div>And a report published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2009 showed that those workers clocking up more than 55 hours a week have poorer mental skills, including short-term memory and ability to recall words, than those working fewer than 41 hours. Researchers concluded that the extreme tiredness and stress engendered by the long hours culture was as bad for the health as smoking, a known risk factor not just for heart disease but also for dementia.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Japan they call it karoshi and in China they call it guolaosi, but there is no word in English for working yourself to death. But time and time again, it has been shown that not only is working long hours counter-productive in terms of effectiveness, it should now come with a Government health warning.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's not a happy scenario, but it does provide useful ammunition when countering the demands of the pervasive long hours culture and the blight of presenteeism which is often an attempt to cover-up poor performance.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School says, work smarter not longer - you'll concentrate better and get more done.</div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-30334206886268676002011-03-28T14:32:00.001-07:002011-03-28T15:03:09.616-07:00Concentration and memory<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciz7n41zGknvCMVwywDTBfsbATtxmv3XBfVzlXGv31TRzN_ouXFCqtQOKB0z6z6L6CT5I-_6Qy1ZhuXC1b-ovBaynXXecitmXJyH3VpxDXtoweCjso0Am23xM9WzlZZSlhgDnlgsrx1Dl/s1600/349496270_09f3e68b2b_z.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 321px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciz7n41zGknvCMVwywDTBfsbATtxmv3XBfVzlXGv31TRzN_ouXFCqtQOKB0z6z6L6CT5I-_6Qy1ZhuXC1b-ovBaynXXecitmXJyH3VpxDXtoweCjso0Am23xM9WzlZZSlhgDnlgsrx1Dl/s400/349496270_09f3e68b2b_z.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589254618889928898" /></a><br /><div>I'm often asked about the link between concentration and memory, and it got me thinking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Certainly, if you concentrate you can improve your memory. Lack of attention to what you are doing makes it difficult to remember doing it. That's one of the downsides of multitasking. </div><div><br /></div><div>When you multi-task you rely on working memory, the memory you need to look up and dial a phone number, for example. It works well for that, but if you want to remember something you did today for another time, you need to concentrate well enough to allow the transfer of information from working memory to long term memory, from which you can retrieve it later. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is really all memory training is, but it takes practice. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 2008, health psychologist David Moxon from Anglia Ruskin University carried out a behavioural study that showed our attention span was now five minutes and seven seconds, compared to 12 minutes a decade previously. Not only that, the research suggested that this lack of attention and "five minute memory span" was costing Brits £1.6 billion worth of damage a year from domestic accidents - burnt out kitchens, lost keys, and over-run baths amongst them!</div><div><br /></div><div>The same research showed that the 1,000 participants cited stress (18%) and "decision overload" (17%) as the main reasons for poor short-term memory and flagging attention span. But it's not age-related: the over-50s out-performed the younger age groups.</div><div><br /></div><div>The good news is that your concentration levels, attention span, and memory can all be improved. As a result of this research, Moxon put together a series of exercises, a daily memory workout, reproduced here:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>9 am</b></div><div>Memorise one friend's phone number from your mobile phone each day -- <i>this will help expand your memory's capacity</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>12 noon</b></div><div>Instead of reading the newspaper over your lunchtime break, complete a Sudoku or crossword puzzle -- <i>this requires you to maintain concentration and will increase your attention span</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>4 pm</b></div><div>Make a tea round for at least six of your colleagues without making a note of the details -- <i>this requires you to hold multiple details in your mind.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>6 pm</b></div><div>Write a shopping list but don't refer to it when you're in the supermarket -- <i>you'll find that you remember more and more items each trip as your memory improves</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>8 pm</b></div><div>Write a diary each night listing five key positive things that occurred during the day -- <i>recall of events is key to keeping the mind fit and healthy</i>.</div><div><br /></div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-72063036916114137412011-03-12T02:24:00.000-08:002011-03-12T04:16:41.542-08:00The benefits of chess<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4JsmzowWTqjVFNIGUELdTZIG7L0Ba0muMyxm9kFb2GBrTSjL_-hDlq3TVvkBOmFC-CzOkzsvVNclYJFXSiGMWUccK8w1J-aDTHbfP_nn3KXfNccgCdwTSBT3RdcfAGHPXhe9RmBkVzp1/s1600/069MD6LsDgl1ymkwOErDLh61o1_500.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4JsmzowWTqjVFNIGUELdTZIG7L0Ba0muMyxm9kFb2GBrTSjL_-hDlq3TVvkBOmFC-CzOkzsvVNclYJFXSiGMWUccK8w1J-aDTHbfP_nn3KXfNccgCdwTSBT3RdcfAGHPXhe9RmBkVzp1/s400/069MD6LsDgl1ymkwOErDLh61o1_500.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583137565793708162" /></a>How can you play chess if you're blind? I asked Ray Charles when I interviewed him in Paris in 2000, knowing his reputation not only as a musician and singer but also as a chess player of great skill.<div><br /></div><div>"Aw, well, honey," he replied in that wonderful voice like wood smoke over maple syrup. "I ain't no Spassky or Fischer - but being blind has nothing to do with playing chess. It has nothing to do with sight. It has to do with memory and strategy and where the pieces are on the board. I can just touch the board and see where the horse is, where the bishop is, or the pawns. There's no luck in the game. None. That's why I like it. And that's the great thing about chess: everyone starts with the same amount of pieces. You either out think your opponent or he out thinks you."</div><div><br /></div><div>They surely do, but some are better able to manipulate those carved wooden pieces than others. And like many skills, chess can be learnt and practiced and improved, yielding unexpected benefits in concentration, logical thinking, spatial awareness and socialisation, as research has shown. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is something rather romantic about a game that features kings and queens, bishops, knights, castles and pawns. Sixteen pieces in all, two players, specific moves and 64 spaces in which to execute them. The rules are there, the limitations are set, but within these a combination of logic, memory and imagination create possibilities and outcomes that are infinite although the ultimate aim is the same: to checkmate the king.</div><div><br /></div><div>Personally it's a game I struggle with. I am neither as ruthless or strategic as I need to be. I can only plan about three moves ahead and my ability to anticipate my opponent is poor. Both my children learnt to play before they were five, and before preconceived ideas about chess being anything other than fun got in the way of their ability to plan whole games and play with lethal efficiency. They were soon able to run rings around me, and pronounced me an unfit opponent, preferring to try to outwit each other.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is also a game that provides intellectual challenge and development in surprising places - prisons, refugee camps, schools for the excluded. You can play this game as an equal even if the odds of life have been stacked against you. You can develop skills in chess and apply them elsewhere. You can compete, and win, even if you're blind, as Ray Charles discovered. He learnt in hospital when he took himself off heroin, cold turkey, and he played for the rest of his life.</div><div><br /></div><div>And even if I play poorly I love it for its opportunity and challenge. I love chess purely for the idea of it, for the possibilities it evokes, and its ubiquity as it turns up time and time again in fiction and in fact as a metaphor for life.</div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-83026329952565042642011-02-28T02:23:00.000-08:002011-02-28T12:45:02.957-08:0010 Top Tips for Concentration<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwUsiaT_ZUNYunXXrIlqdtADEiJANqSEDmPPkjCj_js04W967t4-iyL7itKlQ6wFMbwMqDgrl3LPxhNXmz1kaTMk5gPexIR09l1F-4K-jPTw_P3REnuRmreF2bkjLP8rXDAacZB_LhccT/s1600/And+God+created+Adam....jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwUsiaT_ZUNYunXXrIlqdtADEiJANqSEDmPPkjCj_js04W967t4-iyL7itKlQ6wFMbwMqDgrl3LPxhNXmz1kaTMk5gPexIR09l1F-4K-jPTw_P3REnuRmreF2bkjLP8rXDAacZB_LhccT/s400/And+God+created+Adam....jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578706600145235794" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A quick reminder of what you can do to improve your concentration ... achieve more ... and reduce stress ... </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Turn off all the external distractions you can – music, mobile phone, email alerts – and close the door to your work room, giving off a signal that interruptions are currently unwelcome.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Don’t multi-task.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Except for very mundane tasks, when you try to do too much at once your concentration and hence your brain’s ability to transfer information from working memory to stored memory, which you can retrieve later, is impaired. Learning French verbs while chatting on MSN might appear to get the job done, but you’ll remember little tomorrow.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Eat breakfast – the brain needs fuel, especially after a night’s sleep.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For best results choose porridge for its slow-release energy, or combine protein with carbohydrate to stabilise blood sugar levels.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Drink more water.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Your brain is 80% water and relies on good hydration for its neurological transmissions.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">5.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Learning new activities that link and challenge your mental ability is particularly effective in generating new brain cells – what the scientists call neurogenesis – and helping concentration.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And these new cells will also help energise old brain cells, by firing them up and making new connections, so it’s doubly effective.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">6.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Get enough sleep. When we are tired we rely on stress hormones to keep us going – great in the short term, but detrimental to concentration in the long term.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">7.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Listen more actively – we hear with our ears, but listen with our brains –listening more purposefully helps concentration.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">8.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Omega-3 EPA is good for brain function, so supplement if necessary because it’s hard to get enough from modern diets even if you eat oily fish regularly.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">9.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you’re finding it hard to concentrate on something – whether it’s the book you’re reading or the flat-pack you’re trying to assemble – allow yourself enough time to engage with what you’re doing in order to aid your concentration.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">10.</span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Physical exercise is good for the brain for two reasons – one, it helps us relax and a relaxed brain concentrates better and two, physical exercise itself produces a hormone that actively supports brain cell activity. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.theartofconcentration.co.uk">www.theartofconcentration.co.uk </a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Arial Narrow"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Arial Narrow"font-family:";font-size:11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-52996103562164579172011-02-21T08:15:00.000-08:002011-11-28T08:56:07.457-08:00Brain waves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamoQzdmxXu6MvVV4N6ZhPGEXjbZZaBfIeIu1G1Gic2xkfGQLMbD_neZM3Gi-dAaPQeWzd_t3aGBH9UKBssfJNXbCMoJufZGfoE5Ar7eTp8KrZ8Y7bJnjv59LHpVt16vGP2LBixTJ3bqN_/s1600/brain_waves.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 341px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamoQzdmxXu6MvVV4N6ZhPGEXjbZZaBfIeIu1G1Gic2xkfGQLMbD_neZM3Gi-dAaPQeWzd_t3aGBH9UKBssfJNXbCMoJufZGfoE5Ar7eTp8KrZ8Y7bJnjv59LHpVt16vGP2LBixTJ3bqN_/s400/brain_waves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576178015301578818" border="0" /></a>Talking to a friend today, I was reminded of how useful it is to recognise and tap into different "brain waves". If we do this, learning to identify and utilise the different capacity of the brain's waves, we could not only achieve more, but achieve more easily.<div><br /></div><div>There are four main types of brain waves: Alpha, Beta, Delta and Theta, and a fifth - Gamma - that also deserves a mention. Brain waves work a bit like the gears on a car engine, shifting brain activity up and down according to what we are trying to do. Delta (seen only in deep sleep) is a bit like first gear, Theta (light, dreaming sleep and drowsiness) the second, Alpha third, and Beta fourth - with Gamma for a high performance fifth gear. </div><div><br /></div><div>As with driving, skillful use of gear change can get the best performance out of a car. When we are driving a complex route, we operate mainly in Beta, dipping in and out of the more relaxed state of Alpha - which is good for creative time-out and a bit of restorative daydreaming. Just as there is no benefit to driving in only one gear, we need to create balance and opportunity to match the right level of brain wave for what we are trying to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gamma brain waves are those that resonate at a higher frequency than Beta - typically at 40 Hz and above - and these have become more easily identified since the introduction of digital electroencephalography (EEG) as analog EEG was restricted to around 30 HZ. So although Gamma waves have always existed, they were previously not recognised on monitoring equipment. They are associated with a state of hyper-alertness, perception and integration of sensory input, usually seen in those who train for peak performance in a physical or intellectual capacity, as they are evidence of extreme levels of concentration and focus. But for the rest of us, a good example is when time seems to "slow down" during a car or other accident, for example. This is the brain entering a phase of Gamma waves where our survival may be dependent on the fastest of information processing and reaction times.</div><div><br /></div><div>For many of us, life is just one long round of Beta wave activity, which is tiring and, in the end, counter-productive as it's impossible to deliver continuously well when utilising only one wakeful state (if you drove a car continuously in fourth gear, you'd wreck the engine). Certainly, consciously working towards more balance between Beta and Alpha waves means a more creative way of concentrating, problem solving and working. Balancing between the two, and dipping into Gamma wave activity occasionally, could serve us even better. Along with lots of Theta and Delta waves at night!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-67183824118228775792011-02-18T03:00:00.000-08:002014-01-04T10:46:51.847-08:00Daydream believer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XQIsYuFIMjaEJs_UQkdV5AgHGf6uTDWLgH8tkmjH2j898m1Qu0l-bJVXVj1Z34zISQke0gOKcL6MYRne94TzRT7w3whGE-_Xvj1DAUKcQxK3SHPRIm3Eaw_6ogTXveCG6dPG53PXOyTg/s1600/wallflutter-nickel-contemporary-dragonfly-1367-1273_zoom.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574988569823514674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XQIsYuFIMjaEJs_UQkdV5AgHGf6uTDWLgH8tkmjH2j898m1Qu0l-bJVXVj1Z34zISQke0gOKcL6MYRne94TzRT7w3whGE-_Xvj1DAUKcQxK3SHPRIm3Eaw_6ogTXveCG6dPG53PXOyTg/s400/wallflutter-nickel-contemporary-dragonfly-1367-1273_zoom.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 400px;" /></a>Einstein did it. Mozart did it. But will you make the time to daydream and see what it might yield?<br />
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Writing a book on the art of concentration became extremely focused on the pursuit of those constructive activities that produced tangible results. Where the aim was to replace distraction with focus, procrastination with achievable outcomes. But when I looked at what might also free up the brain to improve they way we live and work and concentrate, another theme crept up on me: that of checking out to check in. Freeing up the mind to make its own unique connections. To allow the opportunity for the unfettered creativity that it is capable of. That "Eureka" moment.</div>
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Sure, there was still a need to remove those distractions that the habit of multi-tasking can produce, but this could create the space not only to concentrate on executing some task or hit some deadline, but also to merely stand and stare. To be in the moment. To allow the mind to wander and wonder. And see what might percolate through... what genius solutions might be lurking behind some of the restrictions of our results-driven way of being.</div>
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I began to see that by concentrating better in order to get things done, there might be more time to daydream! And that this might be constructive and beneficial.</div>
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Why do our minds drift off anyway? Modern brain-scanning techniques show that when this happens, the temporal lobes of the brain are actually busy processing long-term memories, like some automatic data-storage facility.</div>
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Daydreaming allows the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain involved in problem-solving, to do its work. "Mind wandering is actually a very involved task," says psychologist Jonathan Schooler, who is researching this at UC Santa Barbara. "You leave the here and now and focus on more remote concerns that nevertheless might be more important. We've been focusing on the downside of this [daydreaming] but we need to think about the upside."</div>
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It also allows us to envisage the next step in an idea or plan. To play it out, visualise it and see what it might look like. Making it more real and more possible. Every big idea starts with a "What if..." thought, but you need the head space to consider and develop it. To allow the creativity the subconscious mind is capable of.</div>
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Archimedes was taking a bath when he finally solved the seemingly intractable problem of measuring the volume of objects with precision. Einstein's theory of relativity began with a daydream on a sunbeam, which led to the realisation that the earth was curved...</div>
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The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9201154493528136538.post-53776768982972472882011-02-15T05:04:00.000-08:002011-02-15T14:42:15.637-08:00Learn to breathe easier with Resperate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4No-7tlYDEi6BWHFAI30vn9TksEtAs2tlnS718OqDLOkJVq83aqM50kNIt5f5MeSdFLqWh_CXY3Iq2u_EDyfK2RxdNYg7tPbyh8585CHoUofHLliv96Im6tof35gBzJ0fvSrD32P_xLl/s1600/inset-closeups-5.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR4No-7tlYDEi6BWHFAI30vn9TksEtAs2tlnS718OqDLOkJVq83aqM50kNIt5f5MeSdFLqWh_CXY3Iq2u_EDyfK2RxdNYg7tPbyh8585CHoUofHLliv96Im6tof35gBzJ0fvSrD32P_xLl/s400/inset-closeups-5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573919152432205138" /></a>When we are stressed, anxious, frightened or angry, our breathing pattern speeds up and becomes quite shallow, using only the upper part of our lungs. In the short term, it's a useful part of our 'fight or flight' response, helping us deal with whatever it is that's disturbing us. In the longer term, it can become an habitual but unhelpful way of breathing, because instead of our mind telling our body that we need to cope with an emergency, the way we are breathing actually conveys to the mind that we have a continuous reason to feel anxious, panicked, etc.<div><br /></div><div>Understanding this can be a useful first step toward using the way we breathe to consciously help regulate how we feel - both emotionally and physically. But it's not always easy to learn to do this, which is where Resperate can help.</div><div><br /></div><div>Designed primarily to help those with high blood pressure to lower it, the Resperate device works by providing feedback on how you are breathing. It measures your breath rate while playing classical music, then slows it down to encourage a slower pace. It acts as a breathing coach, and used several times a day can help restore a calmer way of breathing. You can actually see how well you are doing, even before you begin to feel it.</div><div><br /></div><div>With regard to the lowering of blood pressure, nine peer-reviewed medical publications listed on the Resperate site, along with more anecdotal reviews from doctors and users, provide testament to its effectiveness.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was told about Resperate by a uniquely qualified Ericksonian psychotherapist, Annette Poizner (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.annettepoizner.com">www.annettepoizner.com</a>), who was telling me how I could improve my lung energy - and why it was important!</div><div><br /></div><div>For me, if you are (as one professional once put it) a 'managed type A personality' it can be very useful to have some physical evidence that your mindfulness, meditation or other practice, is effective. Like anything else, it demands some commitment, but it's really no hardship to sit quietly and take some time out - whether the result you want is to lower your blood pressure or calm your thoughts.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.resperate.co.uk">www.resperate.co.uk</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><p style=" text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal;font-size:16px;"><br /></span></span></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"></span></div>The Art of Concentrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222659996414852808noreply@blogger.com0