Reduce Stress

8 Tips to Improve Brain Function #1

In the information age, the average American comes across more information in a single day that someone alive 200 years ago would have experienced in a period of months. That information is thrown at us at an insane rate. Blogs, tweets, IMs, text messages, emails ... it's a never ending stream. The effects of this on our brain include mental fatigue, impatience and an inability to focus. Worst still, stress causes physical harm to the brain. If we want our brain's to function better, we have to control our stress.

There are two techniques from the book for controlling stress that are relatively common. 

• I assume that everyone reading this knows that you can help alleviate stress by altering your breathing patterns. (Click here to see a number of breathing exercises to help de-stress.) Steady, calming breaths can certainly help relax the tension in your body. 
  


• If there's a situation our of your control that is exerting stress, learn acceptance. Tell yourself to relax. Tell yourself that it will not kill you. Tell yourself the stress will pass.
  

There's another technique in the book for dealing with information overload that was new to me. It's a trick to help slow down your brain. It will help you to maintain your focus. It will help calm a racing mind. Here's the tip.

• Pick a favorite book that you enjoy reading for pleasure. Acquire both a printed copy and an audio copy. While reading the book, listen along to the audio copy. Read it at the "spoken word" pace. Resist the urge to jump ahead of the narrator. If you don't have an audio copy, read the book aloud to yourself. Imagine that the author himself (or herself) is reading directly to you. Focus on the speech patterns employed in the book. 

This tip can be used as a relaxation exercise and as a "practice" exercise for slowing down your brain. You shouldn't use it for all your reading, but if you apply it when reading for leisure, you might find yourself less stressful.

Tips from Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential by Richard Restak, M.D.