Brain Health Lifestyle

Spirituality has many meanings and it may mean something different to different people. This section refers to spirituality as one means of turning inward to a peaceful existence and to remove oneself from the hurried society that is modern life.  Prayer/worship, meditation, and relaxation procedures are just three examples of spirituality.

Early research on the human brain exposed to life threatening stressors indicates there is similar damage to the hippocampus as is known to exist in animals. Also, humans with chronic anxiety have memory problems again supporting the negative effect of stress and uncontrolled anxiety on brain function.

Research and surveys have reported the following positive effects of spirituality on health:

• An enhanced immune system, the system that helps you defend against colds, flu, and other illnesses.
• Reports of longer, happier and healthier lives.
• As part of the daily routine while in the hospital relates to an earlier discharge.
• According to a past Parade Magazine Survey, 95% of the physicians in the U.S. believe spirituality is important to the well-being of their patients.

Meditate

Learn to meditate in order to slow down.

Similar to meditation are relaxation procedures that include deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation exercises. Modern society has a tendency to turn to medication rather than behavior modification.

Unfortunately, these can be short-term approaches and the underlying problems or struggles of our lives may remain.

It is important to identify what part of your body is vulnerable to stress. You may experience stress in your neck, lower back, head, or stomach. By identifying what part of your body feels the most stress you can then engage in progressive muscle relaxation procedures to alleviate the stress from that area.

Try this example of progressive muscle relaxation:

• Squeeze your right hand into a fist as hard as you can.
• Hold the fist and pay attention to how uncomfortable the tension is in your fist.
• Now, slowly release your fingers extending them one by one and notice how the tension leaves your fingers.

The more relaxed feeling achieved by letting the fist go and extending your fingers is an example of how you can focus on any muscle group in your body to release stress. You can actually tighten and release muscles all over your body. At the end of the exercise you may notice that energy in the form of stress has left you and you feel better!

Get enough sleep

Try and get enough sleep to feel rested in the morning.

Speak to your M.D. if you have problems with your sleep to understand why and to develop a remedy. Slow down and do not be afraid to say "no".

Incorporate spirituality into your routine

Consider attending a formal or group spiritual activity on a weekly basis and incorporate spirituality, however you may define it, into your daily health routine.

Meditation and relaxation procedures are good techniques to help you slow down and to turn inward for balance and symmetry. Your brain can adapt to a chaotic world, but it will function more efficiently over a longer period of time if you provide moments of inward reflection and rest. Meditation offers one technique to achieve such inner peace. Part of your brain health program can include a lesson or two on meditation so you can engage in this behavior on a daily basis.

Relaxation

Learn relaxation procedures with deep breathing and muscle relaxation.

Do you know how to use breathing techniques to rid your body of stress?

Doing this exercise several times throughout the day can help you to slow down and gain a sense of calm as you rid yourself of toxic stress:

• Take a deep breath through your nose.
• Let the air fill your stomach and chest slowly and fully.
• Hold the breath for several seconds.
• Slowly exhale the air through your mouth.

Avoid stress

Enroll in a meditation class and begin to incorporate this into your brain health program. Try progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing exercises two to three times daily. Turning inward will help your brain temporarily escape the stress filled environments in your life.

One final brain health promoting behavior you will enjoy is sleep! A staggering number of people have sleep disorders. When they are asked how they are doing, people often respond, "I am tired".

Sleep is actually a very active time for the brain. Some studies indicate that your brain actually consolidates information into a well-organized and formed memory during sleep. You can appreciate why sleep is so important if it is involved in your information processing and ability to recall potentially important details. Those who do not accrue enough sleep have a higher risk of thinking problems and mood disorder such as depression. Work related accidents and motor vehicle accidents are examples of negative outcomes from poor sleep.

Are you getting enough sleep? If not, why not and what are you doing about it? There are many reasons for sleep disorder including anxiety, bills, pain, interpersonal or family conflict, and medication side effects. Each of these causes can have a different solution or treatment to regain a normal sleep pattern. Remember that sleep is a learned behavior and it can be altered in many ways.

A sleep pattern can be re-learned provided consistent behavior is adhered to. Here are a few suggestions:

• Go to bed at a regular time each night.
• Use the bed for sleep, not reading or t.v.
• Don't lay in bed when you are not sleeping.
• Give yourself 20 to 25 minutes to try and get to sleep in your bed.
• If you cannot fall asleep after that time period, get out of the bed and leave the bedroom. 
• Identify an "anxiety chair" or area in your house where you can go sit and worry all you want.
• When you are done worrying go back to your bed and try to sleep. 
• The same 20 to 25 minute rule holds and you may need to get up several times.

The point with this exercise is to condition your body and brain to sleep in the bed, not worry in the bed!