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Tag: Cognitive Performance



Burnout Protection; 3-minute exercise to regain vitality

Posted in: October 2, 2021 By: Bernadette Marie Wilson

Burnout Protection; Try this evidence-based, 3-minute exercise to quickly bring back your vitality —

Overcome Burnout

Work-related burnout has become a major problem throughout the world, and it is especially prevalent among health-care practitioners and entrepreneurs. But what are the most effective ways to prevent and recover from this debilitating situation that has been shown to compromise the cognitive and emotional processes in the brain? Offering evidence-based exercises to enhance personal and professional development has many advantages over the “common-sense” advice featured in popular books and blogs. In fact, an untested strategy that is based on a sound scientific theory is far more likely to be more effective than strategies based on personal (anecdotal) experience.

Take a Break!

Extensive research has demonstrated the consciousness-and-decision-making processes of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and we know from many supportive studies that the longer you stay focused on achieving goals without taking relaxation and pleasure breaks, the more your work quality and performance will decline. Other studies show that excessive stress and burnout is correlated with decreased activity in the empathy/intuition/social-brain circuit, especially in the parietal and anterior cingulate regions. However, our brain-scan studies of meditators, coupled with the extensive research on stress reduction, strongly suggest how specific relaxation and mindfulness studies can be used to alter stress-related activity throughout the brain.

So here is a strategy to protect yourself from burnout and to heal yourself from work-related stress, based on the study above and other peer-reviewed brain-scan experiments:

  1. The fastest way is to take relaxation break and to fully immerse yourself in any pleasurable activity for 1-3 minutes.

Burnout is caused by too much focusing on achieving goals for extended periods of time. You need to turn down activity in the concentration center of your brain (the DLPC) several times an hour to allow your glial cells to dispose of the stress-related byproducts generated by the neurons in this area.  The most effective way to give your DLPF a rest is to enter a trance-like daydreaming state. Research shows that repeating the word “OM” may be the fastest way to do this (other sounds don’t appear to work!) [i].

  1. Feeling burnt-out?

One of the symptoms is a lack of empathy or interest in social interactions [i]. Research shows that doing compassion meditations (sending yourself love, nurturing kind thoughts for others, immersing yourself in feelings of gratitude, etc.) will increase activity in the parietal/anterior cingulate circuits that regulate empathy, compassion, and self-love.

  1. Feeling highly irritable?

This too is a symptom of burn-out, and it is correlated with excessive activity and volume in the amygdala and a thinning of the neocortex[i]. Research with Zen meditators (where the “OM” meditation is often used) shows decreased activity/volume in the amygdala and a thickening of the neocortex that controls the majority of our cognitive functions.

Let’s put all these pieces together

Thanks to the neurological power of your imagination to recreate negative memories from the past, you can experience the benefits of this “Burnout Protection” exercise right now. Close your eyes and recall one of the most stressful times you’ve experienced in the last couple of weeks. Allow yourself to feel the tiredness, the frustration, and the emotional exhaustion. Now begin to slowly – VERY SLOWLY – stroke the palms of your hand and your arms in the most pleasurable way possible (you want to cover one inch in 2-4 seconds…that’s what’s required to stimulate the pleasure nerves in this part of your body).

Now take a very slow deep breath in through your mouth, and as you slowly exhale, make the sound of “oooohhhhmmmm,” drawing it out as long as you comfortably can. The “oh” sound will come out first, and as you slowly close your mouth, the “mmm” sound will vibrate your lips. When the sound fades away, take another slow deep breath through your mouth. As you repeat this OM meditation, pay close attention to every nuance of the experience: the resonant sound, the sensations in your chest, throat, and face, and the tonal qualities as you say OM sound in different ways. See if you can actually lose yourself in the sounds and sensations of OM. Go as long as you like, and when your intuition tells you to stop, sit quietly for a few more minutes observing your feelings and thoughts.

Finally, repeat this compassion meditation phrase: “May I be happy, may I be well, may I be filled with love and peace.” Feel free to alter this phrase in any way that you’d like. Immerse yourself in the experience for as long as you like, and then sit quietly, noticing how calm and relaxed you feel. When you go back to concentrating on a specific goal or task, you’ll feel less stress and your productivity and performance will increase. And if we put you into an fMRI scanner as you do this, we are 90% certain that you’ll see the types of neurological changes described in this blog!

PARTIAL LIST OF SOURCES:

[*]Mark R. Waldman, Author of NeuroWisdom, The New Brain Science of Money, Happiness, and Success

[i] Neurohemodynamic correlate of ‘OM’ chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Kalyani BG, Venkatasubramanian G, Arasappa R, Rao NP, Kalmady SV, Behere RV, Rao H, Vasudev MK, Gangadhar BN. Int J Yoga. 2011 Jan;4(1):3-6.

[ii] Can we predict burnout severity from empathy-related brain activity? Tei S, Becker C, Kawada R, Fujino J, Jankowski KF, Sugihara G, Murai T, Takahashi H. Transl Psychiatry. 2014 Jun 3;4:e393.

[iii] Structural changes of the brain in relation to occupational stress. Savic I. Cereb Cortex. 2015 Jun;25(6):1554-64.

Mindfulness Benefit at Work and in Life

Posted in: September 27, 2021 By: Bernadette Marie Wilson
Mindfulness at Work and in Life

Mindfulness practice, in business and in life, is the application of mindfulness in how we approach our job, colleagues, customers, employer, and family over the course of our day. When we bring mindfulness to whatever we are doing, we begin to learn how to integrate a positive behavioral mindset into our daily life. We act in a mindful state and engage in “compassionate communication.”

Neuroscience-enabled, contemplative mindfulness practice over time leads to dispositional mindfulness – which is a way to be constantly mindful, at least to some extent.
 
Mindfulness in practice
Neuroscience has discovered that—as with physical exercise—very short bouts of mindfulness practices, repeated throughout the day, provide the same (or even greater) benefits as long sessions. There truly is no mandate that you must meditate for more than 20 minutes at a time. You can achieve comparable results by purposefully bringing mindfulness to activities throughout your workday.
 
To put this into practice, I recommend integrating “seconds of mindfulness” throughout the day. Even ten seconds of mindful awareness will make a difference. Taking a mindful moment at any time of day lets us take a breather, come out of our worrying mind, and reconnect with what’s real within and around us.
 
How can we create the tenacity to adopt a mindful mind and instill new behavior?

The simplest way to apply mindfulness is to deliver full moment-to-moment attention to a task with a nonjudgmental mind, and every time our attention wanders away, gently bring it back. It is similar to the sitting meditation, with one change: the focus of our energy is on the task at hand rather than the breath or a mantra.
 

3 Easy Mindfulness Techniques



1. Have a mindfulness collaborator

Exercising alone is hard enough. Choose an accountability partner and have at least one conversation weekly to check in. Mindfully review the following questions:When do I practice mindfulness most effectively during my day?How have I integrated mindfulness into my daily work life?What effect do I have on others whilst practicing mindfulness?

2. Do less than you can

If 5 minutes of mindfulness feels like a burden, then only do it for 3 or 4 minutes. If every twenty minutes is too much, then do it every sixty or ninety minutes. The aim is to find a practice that feels pleasurable.
 

3. Take one mindful breath every hour

Commit to conscious breathing at least once an hour; everything else is a bonus. Preserve the momentum of your practice. When you feel you are ready for implement this breathing methodology you can do so with more ease each time you practice. The practice encourages you to generate an intention to do be centered and opens up our mind to simple acts of self-care.
Implement these 3 mindful and compassionate leadership principles to throughout your day to enhance your performance and find greater fulfillment at work – and at home.
 

CARE for Improvement

Posted in: October 16, 2020 By: Bernadette Marie Wilson
CARE Model

The CARE® model is an evidence-based process to get unstuck, achieve rapid results, so you can reach your goals with more ease! CARE® for Improvement is the foundation of Cognitive Performance NeuroCoaching. Here’s a high-level look at how CARE works ⬇️

Cognition: Introduce brain-science to unlock the power of thoughts and build a new #cognitive framework so that your executive brain functions are in line with your values, intuition, and desires.

Action: Develop a strategic plan with key milestones to gain momentum and progress quickly – taking the right action, not just action.

Results: Assess results frequently and adjust or refine as needed before moving forward.

Embrace: Mindful acknowledgment and #gratitude for every milestone. Continually celebrating successes builds #confidence and drives #motivation to stay unstuck and achieve rapid results!

CARE is cyclical so that you may continually evaluate and improve different areas of your life. We are constantly in progress – the coaching you receive through CARE will empower you with the framework to work through any new challenge that comes your way.

To learn more, connect with Bernadette @ https://www.cognitive-performance.com/contact/

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