#activebrain

Article at a glance

How Stress affects different hormones in the body and brain cells and negative effects of stress

Convert stress into excitement and stress can be useful

Try out some of these tips to lower stress and manage your stress levels

Day to day activities causing you to worry more..rapidly under stress. Guess what? Stress is an ordinary human response that happens to everybody. We are meant to feel the pressure of stress and respond to it! If a bear was chasing us, our body floods us with stress causing us to run really fast! However, in today’s world, the angry bear might be an upset partner boss or a big public speech.. Stress can have an impact on our body both internally and externally. This happens mainly because of environmental, social, and physical changes that react to our body in a certain way.

Did you know that stress can be useful in some circumstances? Most people think stress is the enemy (and usually it is) but sometimes it can help us. Many of you would be wondering how is this even true? Well, let us explain why. Stress can challenge us to experience things in a different manner. It puts a certain limitation on our brain and helps us to focus on that task to perform it more effectively and efficiently. It can even help us to remember our day to day task. Once we have reached a certain criteria for the day it would be quite noticeable that we would see our stress levels going down. Hence, giving us relief.

While looking on the other side, If we are constantly under stress, it could affect our overall health. Taking stress to a greater extent can lead to many health problems.

So as some stress can be helpful – let’s explore how we can manage stress and keep in in an amount that is working best for us! There are so many ways to manage it too, it could either be by playing sports, eating healthy, spending time with friends, getting out in nature or even spending time with animals! There are many tactics you can implement into your life depending on what is best for you and it would definitely give us a sense of relaxation.

HOW DOES STRESS MAKE YOU STUPID?

Stress is common in today's fast paced life. Every individual you meet is going through some tension, worries and problems. Taking stress for a long term can wear your brain down. We all know how bad stress can be for our brain, body and overall health. From dealing with daily traffic, being late for work or study, or even just comparing our lives to others on social media. It can surely put a certain amount of pressure on our brain.

Stress shrinks decision-making brain

Chronic stress could be life threatening but however it could be overcome. Stress could shrink your decision making brain by interfering with your emotion, metabolism and memory. Studies shows that reaction of stress could also affect our hormones including our thyroid hormones, growth hormones and insulin. [1] [2]

Stress Affects Emotional Intelligence

Stress affects your emotions, the way you feel, the way you talk, and how you respond to others. So when we say it can make you stupid, we really meant it. Stress can actually change the way you relate to others, and often in a really negative way. It can severely affect your decision making capabilities. An uncontrollable stress can further lead to anxiety and mental disorders which might put a person into aggressive behaviour. [3]

Chronic stress that is left unchecked is a disaster and could affect teenagers and adults. Once it starts developing into our system it negatively affects our overall wellness of the body and therefore we spend most of the time in some sort of pressure and burden in our head.

But, let’s not worry too much as there’s so many things we can do to help keep stress at bay, and Savvy Beverages is committed to helping people overcome stress! Let’s jump into how managing stress can make us smarter. It has been suggested that when you feel anxious abut an event, it feels the same as being really excited about it. The only difference is that one is a positive sentiment toward the event and the other is not. So next time you’re feeling anxious about an event (for example, giving a presentation to your team) if you instead think about why you are excited, and look for benefits that could make you feel happier – you might find yourself turning situations around more often!! [4]

Here’s another idea that’s based on a TED talk - when you’re feeling stressed, and your heart is beating faster, you’re breathing quickly, palms are sweaty – try and act like stress is your friend. Think to yourself “thank goodness for this stress, with this extra breathing, I can bring life-giving oxygen to my brain so I can think clearly and perform better”. Little things like this can totally change how you react to any given situation.

If we start to identify what is triggering our stress and react with excitement (or gratitude) then it's a job done! It sounds simple, and sometimes it is, but it’s a science-backed trick that’s worth a shot right? If you’re not convinced, here are the top 5 ways to stress less!

5 Tips to Lower Stress

Exercise is the best remedy

Hop into your sportswear, get into your favourite joggers. Make the momentum and get going into some kind of exercise! Get those muscles working. Research shows that whoever exercises frequently, gets a good night sleep which renews your brain and body and helps to reduce stress. [5]

Rest and recover

Get your sleeping pattern in place. Sleep deprivation can significantly affect your mental health. Getting quality sleep is extremely important to recover and have a good start the next day. Sleep deprivation really affects all of our body and brain, causing it to not work as well as it should.

Eat Healthy

Let's start eating healthy, opt for nutrient-filled foods. Diet can be a great tool for reducing stress. Stress levels decrease when you are enjoying nutritious foods and feeling more energetic from fuelling your body with the right stuff!

Check in with friends and family

You're not on this journey alone! Speak to your friends and family. Spending time with people you care about in a sense of belonging is one of the best ways to feel better. For bonus points, try and add a pet or two into the mix! Interacting with pets and loved ones releases xytocin, a brain chemical that promotes a positive mood. (6)

Avoid procrastination

Procrastination can lead you fall behind in many parts of your life, so you feel like you’re always scrambling to catch up. This can cause stress, which negatively affects your health and sleep quality. Get in the habit of making a to-do list organised by priority. Give yourself realistic deadlines and work your way down the list.

Make sure you’re going through it all – but don’t multitask. Instead work on the things that need to get done today and give yourself chunks of uninterrupted time.(7)

Final thought

Having a balanced life, means that you’re going to get stressed from time to time, and as long as you don’t let stress run your life – you’re going to be okay!

Although stress and anxiety may arise in your workplace and personal life, there are many simple ways to reduce the pressure you feel.

References

[1] Stress and hormones

[2] How stress and depression can shrink the brain

[3] Emotional intelligence and its relationship with stress coping style

[4] The Upside of Stress

[5] The Role of Exercise in Stress Management

6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408111/

https://www.savvybeverage.com.au/

What is brain plasticity? Is it the key to getting smarter at any age?

Article at a glance Our brains have the ability to grow and change throughout our lives. How our brains can rewire and repair themselves. The benefits of brain plasticity and what can we eat and do to improve brain plasticity and make it work for us!

Until quite recently, it was thought that we were all born with a set number of brain cells, and they could not be replaced. The idea was that when you came into the world, you had a set level of intelligence, and that would not be changed. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080605163804.htm)

However, it is now known that our brain is continuously active, developing and exploring new ideas all the time! It’s a continual work in progress. This discovery has been known as the most important neuroscience breakthrough in 400 years. (https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588275)

As we grow up, our brain also grows. Our brain has the potential to change, and it functions in a certain way, that it can become smarter over time. We are shaped by the world around us, and anything we wish to learn at any age. This is called brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, and it means that we can increase our intelligence or ability to learn things at any point throughout our life!

It was previously thought that children, and young adults would be able to learn consistently, but then at one point, we simply stop learning new things. Throughout our lives, we have been told that as we grow older our brain gets slower. Or even at a certain age our brain gets fixed and there is not much room for improvement. But, thankfully studies show that our brain is constantly learning new things, reshaping what it learns. [1]

Brain plasticity is something beyond a fascinating idea. It can be applied to change your mind, and your life to improve things! It means that as you become mentally fitter by learning new things, your ability to learn increases as well! It’s like when you get physically in shape and not only do you look better, but you have more energy, less joint pain, you’re stronger and so much more. The same happens with our brain – and we can get mentally fitter (or smarter) at any time we want!

How does brain plasticity work?

What makes our brain special is that it processes the ability to change, where it forms new brain cells (neurons) and new connections between the brain cells (neural connections), which improve the brain’s capabilities, throughout your life. Neural pathways connect different neurons which creates communication. These pathways are located in the brain and spinal cord. Our brain ensures that a certain area of the brain is responsible for a function of the body. For example, an area of the brain is responsible for moving your right arm.

Our brain is our wonderland! It signals our whole body from speaking, listening, eating and much more. Even the pain you feel in certain parts of your body is signalled through our brain abilities. If a person falls down onto the ground and goes “Ouch!” They feel emotional, disheartened or even annoyed. The sensation of pain is triggered and signalled through the brain.

It all comes down to the connections between neurons (brain cells). Brain plasticity can create new connections between neurons or improve the old ones. For example, once you have learned to ride a bike, that connection will always be in your brain, which is why you can get better at it again. This is an example of improving an old connection. But if you have never learned to ice skate before, this might take a lot longer as new neurons are connecting as your skill improves.

Brain plasticity pushes the brain to quickly form new connections or to rewire itself. Experts still haven't recognised the limit of brain abilities and capacity it can go through. Evidence does support the important process of neuroplasticity. [2] This is excellent, as brain plasticity stems well beyond learning new things, it means that as we continue to learn things, our brain becomes faster at connecting neurons which means.

This means, when you have a highly plastic brain as you are always learning new things or mentally challenging yourself, you have the ability to learn things way quicker than someone else! Think about how children are often so quick at learning how the new TV/computer/car stereo works – it’s because their brain is so plastic that they have become really quick at learning things.

So to have a life with a lot more “A-ha” moments and quickly understanding and comprehending things, it is encouraged to try and bring a bit more intentional learning and brain plasticity into your life!

Brain Plasticity has an enormous benefit:

Ability to learn new things at a faster rate;

Problem solving gets sharper and smarter;

Improvement in social skills;

Better mental drive and motivation;

Ability to grow brain and think out of the box;

Healing and recovering from brain injuries;

You are more focused.

Nutrients and supplements proven to boost brain health and encourage brain plasticity.

Certain foods that can help boost your brain health and improve brain plasticity. By eating a nutritious diet, it can definitely help your brain as it upgrades its function each and every day. [3] We want to be eating a lot of different “brain foods” throughout our days and luckily a lot of them are pretty damn delicious. [link to the blog post about brain foods]

Our brains are very dependent on fats (the good kinds) so we should incorporate healthy fats in our eating regime. Great fat sources can be avocado oil, eggs, fish, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and coconut oil. Supplementing with omega 3 fatty acids is a great way to support brain health (from fish oil supplements, or algae supplements). [4]

Aging is often linked with decline in brain plasticity. Consumption of vitamin C and E can be great from protecting the brain cells from damaging. They are also a great source for managing stress, slowing aging of body and mind, and feeling overall much healthier. [5]

How to improve brain plasticity and become smarter?

What are some exercises to boost brain plasticity? We hear you ask! Well there are thankfully many things you can do to improve the way your brain works!

Many studies are showing that daily exercises can improve your brain plasticity function and it also improves your memory and ability to learn new things quickly. Brain plasticity also prevents Alzheimer’s Disease. [6] [7]

Get into some activities and develop a smarter version of you!

Here is a list of some neuroplasticity exercises:

Using your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, handwrite, or use the computer mouse. For bonus points - use your non-dominant foot to kick a ball, skateboard, snowboard, or surf.

This is a simple one, but it means your brain has to form new connections to do tasks you already knew how to do.

Exploring and travelling new places

They found that London cab drivers have a phenomenal brain due to the amount of connections formed as they know the city’s roads off by heart. So taking a different path home and relying on Google Maps a bit less is a good thing!

Fasting for 12-24 hours (or even longer)

Fasting promotes neuron growth and adaptive responses in brain cells.

Learn to play different musical instruments.

Learning a new musical instrument pushes your brain to form new neural networks and can increase connectivity between different parts of the brain.

Learning to dance or sing

Moving your body or modifying your voice to sing will create new neural networks and is also linked to improving happiness (through stimulating vagus nerve functionality). This has also been associated with decreased stress levels in the amygdala, the fear centre of the brain.

Learning a new language

Learning new vocabulary increases and enhances brain connectivity.

Getting quality sleep

While not really an “exercise,” sleep helps with learning and memory retention by transferring information across cells and growing connections between neurons.

Other amazing ways that can help are:

Playing video games or board games involving strategy

Making new friends

Reading a book

Exercise (for bonus points, learn a new sport)

Our brain is the supercomputer for our body and mind! When it performs well, our lives are amazing and boundless! Let's use it the right way and develop our brain for a better and a healthy future together!

References

[1]https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080605163804.htm

[2] https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588275

[3] How learning changes your brain

[4] Dynamic Brains and the Changing Rules of Neuroplasticity

[5] Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function

[6] The impact of diet and exercise on brain plasticity and disease

[7] The influence of vitamins E and C and exercise on brain aging

[8] Physical Exercise Enhances Neuroplasticity and Delays Alzheimer’s Disease

Depression and emotional problems are very common among people with invisible illnesses, and sadly consistant, understanding support from the world at large is extremely rare. So uplifting yourself is a skill that you'll have to improve upon.

Different things will work for different people. Legally Blonde, baking, learning random stuff, and stupid jokes are things that have helped to keep me centered.

Scishow, CrashCourse, NATGEO, The Smithsonian are all on youtube. All educational, and the prior are quite funny at the same time.

Also, people with invisibe illnesses tend to miss a lot of school, and rarely recieve the support from their educational institution to keep them on track. I wish I had discovered Youtube much earlier, or in fact that all the resources ont here had been there then too. But Youtube, I have found, is so much better than wikipeadia.

In that, you can find credible sources, easily understandable content, in bitesize chunks, and lots of different perspectives so you can make a better arguament. Or, like with Wikis, you can just use them as a starting point, but I found youtube to be mroe helpful.

Especially as when you're lying down, it can be difficult to read rather than listen. And it can strain your eyes. More headaches are not desirable!

This is a good tip for anyone in education really. Youtube rocks my cerebral socks off.

Also, more and more universities/colleges and the open university are doing online courses for free!!!!!!

https://www.coursera.org/

https://www.edx.org/