4 Ways To Rest Your Brain
With today’s stressful lifestyles involving heavy work schedules, hectic social lives and busy families, it’s you may find yourself thankful for any rest you manage to fit in. Your brain, unsurprisingly, feels the same way.
You may not experience any symptoms, however your brain may also tell it needs a rest. You could experience headaches, sensitivity to lights or sounds, a loss of concentration or even simply feel tired.
If that’s the case, you’re in need of some downtime.
Our brains are preoccupied by work for a high percentage of the week, so it’s no wonder things can begin to pile up and make us feel stressed. However, although many believe that working longer hours will be more productive, this is unlikely to be true if your brain is feeling overworked.
Your most innovative, functional ideas are most likely to occur when your brain is well rested, meaning it’s important to take care of it no matter what your schedule is like.
Taking a break is essentially a vacation for your brain. Have you ever returned from vacation and found yourself feeling geared up and ready to go? It’s the same concept.
If you feel that the above points apply to you, yet you’re not sure where to begin with getting your brain the downtime it needs, you may wish to try the following techniques in order to get the relaxation you require.
Close your Eyes
Visual stimulation is a prominent cause of pressure on the brain. In fact, the part of your brain that process visual stimuli is actually the brain’s largest cortical tissue – the visual cortex.
You may take your vision for granted, but visual processing is extremely complicated and contains a very high level of information. The level of information absorbed through vision is absorbed by the brain at a high speed, which can put a lot of strain on it in the process.
So what is the only way to combat the tiring, constant stimulation? Closing your eyes.
Simply close your eyes and take deep breath as you enjoy a break from the world around you. Even a few seconds may be enough to refresh your brain’s sensory capabilities.
Indulge in Daydreams
It may surprise you to learn that daydreaming is actually productive. During our daydreams, we are prone to solving problems and challenges that may occur in our day to day lives.
It’s been suggested that a number of epiphanies or ‘eureka’ moments happen while the individual is supposedly doing ‘nothing’.
A study published in Scientific American in 2006 asked two panels of participants to select the best car after reviewing the specs. One panel was allowed to focus, while the other was distracted with anagram games. The participants who reviewed the specs and then found themselves distracted actually made better decisions.
This just goes to show how relaxing your brain can lead to heightened productivity and mental skill development.
Take a Break
This sounds a little obvious, but it’s true! Your brain cells, also known as neurons essentially function as a team. They all need the same level of fuel to function correctly. When you work for a prolonged or intense period, more and more neurons will be used, meaning your brain will require more fuel.
Without a break to regenerate this fuel, the neurons can become overactive and end up preventing other cells from creating links and associations. This overactive energy will then build up and prevent you from reaching the mental breakthrough you may have been hoping for.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is essential for the body to function correctly, including your brain. When you’re sleep deprived, the functionality of your brain becomes impaired, which can prevent your mind from thinking clearly, focusing on orders or taking logic into account.
As you sleep, your brain continues working. It is essentially clearing up the day’s thoughts and processes, making some sense of all the information it absorbed. New experiences are linked to past memories, helping to develop association, meaning and continuity.
This is why often, after a good night’s sleep, we may feel better about a concerning situation or important decision.
Without sleep, this process is unable to take place to its full effect, which can have a number of negative effects on the brain, leading to a stressful and confusing state of mind. This is the reason sleep deprivation has been linked to torture methods.
Source: Psychologium.com
