The Anatomy of Stress

All of us experience stress on a daily basis. But do you know how it affects your brain?

Let me start by explaining what stress is.

The electrical circuit in your house has a fuse which is there to protect your appliances from an electrical surge. So, when lightning strikes your house, the fuse breaks and cuts off the electricity to your computer so that it won’t blow up.

Just like the electrical circuit in your house, your brain has “fuses” called synapses. The synapses are located between the brain cells (neurons) and the rest of your nervous system. Your heartbeat is like the electricity in a circuit. When it beats too fast, your synapses pull apart slightly, stopping the impulse from going through and possibly damage your brain and that is called stress.

The best way to monitor stress is to look at emotions. If you are happy, calm and content, your heart rate is normal. If you are frustrated or irritable, your heart rate is faster and when you are aggressive or enraged your heart rate is very high.

Stress (synapses pulling apart) always happens in your non-dominant brain hemisphere first, so if you are right brain dominant, your left brain will “shut down” when you are stressed. This also means that during stress you will find it difficult to perform tasks that are controlled by your non-dominant hemisphere. The more we stress, the less logical and more emotional we become.

fig.           row 1: top view          row 2: side view

Normal heart rate is around 60 - 75 beats per minute (bpm) (fig. A)

If you heart is beating at 80-120 bpm, one side of your brain shuts down. (fig.B) Notice how the synapses are slightly further apart.

At 120-180 bpm both your brain hemispheres (yellow part) will shut down (fig.C2)

**At over 180 bpm your limbic system (emotional brain; red part) can also shut down.

NB: Dehydration will also cause the synapses to pull apart. Drink enough water!

So, how do we get out of stress? The easiest and fastest way is to do some kind of physical movement. Take a walk, run around the block, do a few push-ups, do the dishes, etc. Slow, deep breathing also helps - remember the count-to-ten rule? Taking a break before responding to something stressful physically gives your brain time to "get back online" and then you can respond more rationally.

Basically your emotions should be able to tell you how much brain you have at any given time of the day and someone else’s emotions should tell you how much brain you’re talking to. Using this guideline you should be able to eliminate a lot of unnecessary conflicts.

**This happens very rarely, like in cases of road rage (smash someone's window) or blind rage where someone kills a person. This is where one can plead temporary insanity. That person had no logic nor emotion at that stage and was temporarily reduced to an “animal”.

Circadian Rhythm & Sleep

(Extracted from an article by Dr. Annette Lotter)

The pituitary gland control the excretion sleep and awake hormones namely serotonin (awake) and melatonin (sleep).

Sleep

 

Sleep is crucial to your central nervous system because of the amazing things that happen during sleep. This is when the body repairs itself, detoxifies itself, and replenishes its energy stores. Sleep is the one thing that humans have never been able to give up for any length of time. Everyone must have it on a regular basis. Many people with chronic conditions typically suffer from sleep disturbance, which slows down and hampers the body’s healing abilities.

Circadian Rhythm

The sleep/wake cycle is driven primarily by melatonin, the “sleep” hormone, and serotonin, the primary “awake” hormone.

Our bodies are basically designed to sleep when it’s dark and wake up when it’s light. But Thomas Edison changed all of this! And today, the average person in America gets exposure to effective sunlight only 21 minutes a day. 21 minutes is not enough for the body to receive the signals it needs to regulate its circadian rhythm from light.

Circadian Rhythm Disorder is usually involved in most sleep and mood disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, insomnia, mood swings, premenstrual syndrome, elongated and irregular menstrual cycles, menopause, prenatal depression, postpartum depression, ADD/ADHD, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Tips for restoring sleep:

·   Do NOT use supplements of L-theanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, or 5HTP in the evening. While this does go against the conventional wisdom, these substances actually raise serotonin levels—the “awake” hormones. This is particularly true of 5-HTP. These can be used during the day to make you feel more alert, but keep away from them at night.

·   Establish a rhythm where you go to sleep and wake up at close to the same time each day. This should include weekdays and weekends.

·   Sleep in as dark a room as possible. Total darkness is best.

·   Don’t drink much water after 8:00 p.m. This will limit your need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

·   Do stretching exercises before you go to bed.

·   Do not do strenuous exercise late at night.

·   If possible, take a hot bath or sauna in the evening.

·   If you are hypoglycemic or your adrenals are weak, eat a small, balanced snack before bed. Also, keep something healthy around, like almonds or pecans, to snack on if you wake up. Low blood sugar can keep you awake.

·      All meals should have a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. However, you should eat more protein in the morning and more carbohydrates in the evening. Carbohydrates tend to make you sleepy.

·      No colas or coffee, including decaf, at any time throughout the day.

·      Consider taking a “timed release” melatonin 30 to 60 minutes before you want to sleep. Timed release, also known as sustained release, is important because the half-life of melatonin is only 20 minutes. If the melatonin supplement is not a timed release, the melatonin will be “dumped” into the body all at once and it will be used up too quickly. Most people need the effect of melatonin to last several hours or more to gradually put them into a deep and restful sleep.

·      If you do wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep on your own, this is the time to use non-timed release melatonin.

·   And when you wake up after a good night’s sleep, expose your eyes to sunlight as soon as possible. Sunlight helps you wake up and feel less groggy in the morning.

Good Study Habits

Let's face it. Nobody likes to study. Unfortunately we all have to. So why not reduce your study time by doing it right the first time? 

Do you know how much time you are wasting in front of the books because of silly things that could have been avoided?

Habit 1

Make sure your room is light enough when you are studying. Weak lights or studying with a bedside lamp alone will make you secrete more melatonin which will put your brain to sleep. Weak lights = wasted study time.

Habit 2

Drink enough water! Keep a bottle of water on your desk and take regular sips. If you get dehydrated, your brain does not function optimally and you will have trouble concentrating.

Habit 3

Take regular breaks. Do not break in front of the TV or with a book!
Take a walk, play with the dog, dribble a ball, etc. Do something physical and, if the weather permits, preferably go outside. Physical activity will let your brain rest best.
Rest for 10 - 15 min and go back to your books for 30 - 45 min. (30min for Gr.4; 45min for Gr.12)

Habit 4

Music that is faster than 75 bpm will “switch off” your brain, because your heart is beating too fast. This means that you are wasting study time.

(a) Study in silence or listen to calm music without words (words will distract you and you’ll end up singing along instead of learning)
Try classical baroque music or the “Hooked-on-Classics” series.

(b) The radio will also distract you, because you will listen to the announcer and the ads. The music is usually too fast anyway and all have words. Rather switch off the radio and get some good study CD’s

Habit 5

Eat healthy during exam times. Make sure that you follow a balanced diet, especially in exam times.  Don’t be tempted to stock up on sweets and crisps for studying:

(a) They will make your blood sugar rise and drop too quickly, which mean that you’ll get tired quickly and you’ll have trouble concentrating.

It will also speed up dehydration and your brain needs water to work. Remember that you need to drink 3 glasses of water for every glass of soda you drink!

(b) Rather snack on fruit or yoghurt if you have a sweet tooth and drink diluted fruit juice, water or milk. If you want something salty, dip melba toast in hummus or cottage cheese, or couple with fresh herbs or salad.
You (or mom) can also make your own muesli bars. There are many recipes on the internet and they are much healthier than those you can buy in the store.

(c) Recipe: Healthy dip: Mix 250g smooth cottage cheese with lots of fresh chopped chives, 1tsp sweet-chilli sauce, 1tsp lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt.
Dip any fresh veggies, melba toast or plain pretzels - tastes great!

Habit 6

If you have trouble sitting still, always fidgeting or lose concentration easily, try sitting on a pilates ball instead of a chair. This will help keep your brain alert.

Habit 7

If you are frustrated, irritated or mad, your heart will beat too fast and your brain will “switch off”, resulting in ineffective study time.

(a) If you feel negative, do something physical for 15min

(b) Use positive self talk and tell yourself that even though you don’t like the subject, you need good grades and therefore you need to put your feelings aside and study effectively.

Water of Life

Why is water so important?

Our bodies consists of ±65% water. That is more than half of everything that our bodies are made of. Our brains alone consists of ±78% water.

Water is important because the cells in your body, your metabolism, brain and nervous system need it to function properly.

Without proper hydration your body won’t function optimally. Your brain won’t function as its supposed to because the neurotransmitters in your nervous system will be disrupted.

Imagine a dehydrated child in classroom or exam. He cannot process new information or remember properly. Even while studying children should drink enough water to keep their brains functioning optimally and get the most out of their study time.

Some signs of dehydration are thirst, loss of appetite, dry skin, dry mouth, fatigue, weakness, chills, head rush and headache. Most of these symptoms can be relieved by simply drinking water, even headache!

So how much water is enough?

Many people advise 8 glasses of water per day. While this is a good start, you have to take your size, diet and activity level in consideration.

The rule of thumb is for every 10kg (22lb) you weigh, you have to drink 1 glass of water and then another 2 more glasses.

eg. If you weigh 50kg (110lb) you should drink 5 glasses of water plus 2 = 7 glasses.

If you eat lots of salt, sugar and preservatives, you have to increase your water intake. For every glass of soda you drink (normal or diet), you have to drink an extra 3 glasses of water to replace lost fluids. Yes, sugary drinks causes dehydration!

If you play sports, jog or go to the gym, drink extra water to replenish water lost through sweat and metabolism.

Drink water as clean as possible, without extra additives like tea, coffee or concentrates.

Some people are sensitive to the taste of water while others don't taste anything at all. Personally I don't like the taste of tap water and even some bottled water. I have found that purified water that have been treated with ultra violet tastes crisp, clean and sweet. If you can't stand the taste of water, read the labels on bottled water or paid water dispensers and look for ultra violet sterilization.

Water is part of us, it is all around us and it is mostly free or cheap. By just drinking enough water you can improve your life so much. Teaching your children to drink enough water can improve their lives significantly and may even improve their grades. I'd think giving water a chance is the least one can do.

Nature Deficit Disorder

Nowadays children spend so much time indoors with the TV and the growing number of video games. There are so much one can do with a TV set or computer and the technology have drawn children inside. Children are now missing out on important encounters with nature, making mud pies, smelling flowers, grass, dirt, using their imagination to create a game.

This is a wonderful video that shows why children should spend more time playing outside. This does not include organised sports, but focuses on exploration, climbing trees, playing hide-and-seek and spending time with nature.

It also shows how nature play can help children with attention problems and hyperactivity. Nature can even play an important role in depression and other mental disorders. The video is about 12 min long, but it is definitely worth the watch!




Visit this link from Childern and Nature as well for more information on Nature Deficit Disorder.