Archive for the ‘exercise’ Category


Boost your Brainpower with Exercise

October 16th, 2009 by Jane

exercise-smallAsk yourself this question “What are the times when you have your best ideas and work most effectively?”

For me the answer is when I exercise. Whether it be one hour of lifting weights at the gym or a couple of hours on the dance floor, I’m surprised how many great ideas come to me during and after a good workout.

There is something quite amazing about moving your body that allows you to think more clearly and work more effectively.

Scientific studies have recently found that a number of benefits are associated with engaging in strenuous exercise. According to Dr John Ratey (Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain) exercise helps to activate areas of the brain such that people are sharper, more attentive and less impulsive. In addition, exercise can lead to increased intelligence and lower stress levels.

Dr Ratey also stresses that by engaging in exercise you are helping to grow new brains cells, specifically in the areas of the brain associated with learning and memory (the hippocampus).

So what sort of exercise is best for your brain and will help you to learn more effectively?

Students frequently ask me “Is a 30 minute walk OK? Is that all I need to do?” A 30 minute walk will certainly help you to relax and unwind after a long day but there are much better forms of exercise that you can engage in to benefit your brain.

Dr Ratey suggests that aerobic exercise such as running, cycling and circuit training are all great ways to benefit your brain. He also suggest that by doing interval training (i.e. alternating six 30 second sprints with 60 seconds of jogging in between) two times a week can help to increase your learning ability by up to 20%!

“The more we challenge our bodies and brains, the stronger both become” he states.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Jane Posted in exercise, learning | No Comments »


3 Simple Ways to Stress Less

December 3rd, 2007 by Jane

My high school chemistry teacher once said to me with a serious look on his face ‘Miss Genovese, if you’re not careful you’ll have a stress induced heart attack’. I was 16 at the time and thought relaxation was for lazy people who spent their lives meditating in caves in far away places.

As a teenager feeling stressed out was the norm for me, which was a problem. On several occasions my mind would go blank in test situations and as a result, I ended up failing those tests.

relaxIt wasn’t until I started studying Psychology at university that I realised that I could actually do something about my high stress levels. Below are 3 simple ways that have helped me to relax over the years.

1. Breathe

Often when we feel stressed or nervous (e.g. giving a presentation before the class or taking a test) our breathing becomes faster and shallower. We often notice ourselves breathing fast and may think ‘woah, I’m so nervous!’ and this may cause us to stress us out even more! One way we can change this is to consciously make an effort to slow down our breathing. I usually spend 2-3 minutes focusing on breathing deeply in and out for 6 seconds to start with and then for 3 seconds. This exercise will help you to feel more in control of your body and can slow down and clarify your thoughts. Students have even told me that doing this breathing exercise before important sports games makes a difference to their performance.

2. Laugh

Try to laugh and feel stressed at the same time. Can you do it? I bet $100 that you can’t. There is so much truth to the saying ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. 10 years ago Dr Kataria (inventor of laughter yoga) noticed that his patients who laughed more regularly appeared to have better immune systems, heal faster and appeared to be calmer than patients who did not laugh as much. The reason for this is that laughter releases endorphins, which is a chemical that gives you a natural high. So if you’re feeling stressed out, catch up with a friend who makes you laugh or watch a comedy show. If you can’t do that, force yourself to laugh. Say out loud ‘HA HA HA HA HA’ (I don’t recommend you do this in public) because the brain doesn’t know the difference between a fake laugh and a real one. In a nutshell, you can trick your brain into releasing those feel good, happy chemicals (endorphins).

3. Exercise

runningWhen I walked into my university gym six years ago there was a sign on the wall that said “The question is not – can I afford to do this? The question is – can I afford not to do this?” Studying law for me was not easy and going to the gym after every lecture was the main reason I stuck with the degree. As an 18 year old attending lectures on contract and criminal law I felt like the lecturers were speaking a foreign language. I did not understand the legal jargon that was being used and this was upsetting for me. After every lecture I would be telling myself “I can’t do it. It’s just too hard. Perhaps I’m not cut out for this” and somehow in my helpless state, I’d get myself to the gym. After a one hour session of cardio and strength training I was a different person. I felt clearer, less stressed and just knew I had to break things down, use my legal dictionary more often and take things one step at a time.

So there you go, 3 simple strategies to help you stress less. What works for me, may or may not work for you. You won’t know unless you give them a good shot (test them out for 30 days). If you know of any ways that help you to relax and decrease your stress levels I’d love to hear about them.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Jane Posted in breathe, exercise, laughter, relaxation, stress | No Comments »


Motivating the Unmotivated

November 25th, 2007 by Jane

motivatedAt the beginning of every school year, I would tell myself “This year is going to be different. Assignments in on time, great marks, participating in lots of activities and to top it off, I’m going to be more organised” I’d feel motivated with a positive outlook, but it wasn’t long before the work started to pile up, the average marks started rolling in and I’d think “I’m tired of this. I just want to get through and pass all my subjects”. I decided that I wasn’t one of “those” people – the motivated, smart ones.

My high school year coordinator hired motivational speakers to come in and tell us how we could fulfill all our dreams, overcome obstacles, see the cup as half full rather than half empty, etc. But there was a problem with this. The problem was –

1. I didn’t believe and/or couldn’t relate to what the motivational speakers were saying;
2. I’d feel less motivated after the talk than before; or
3. The motivation would only last for a day or two before it was gone.

I finished high school and went on to spend thousands of dollars listening to motivational speakers and studied 6 years of psychology at university. From these experiences, I’ve come to the following realisation –

You don’t need to be motivated to achieve success and experience pleasure from your studies and in life. In fact, you and I may never be super motivated like Tony Robbins and that’s ok. Knowing this, we should go and do the things we want to do, whether we feel motivated or not.

There is a myth that you need to change your mood before you can change your behaviour. Behavioural Psychology has dispelled this idea time and time again by showing us that if we simply become more active in our lives, then we will feel better and think more positively. Basically, you can become more motivated by taking action and engaging in new, positive experiences.

Exercise has helped me to stay positive about studying and life. One study found that when a group of people suffering from mild to moderate depression exercised (i.e. strength training, running or walking) for at least 20 to 60 minutes 3 times a week, they were significantly less depressed 5 weeks later. The benefits were maintained for these participants as long as they kept on exercising. If people diagnosed with depression can experience such amazing results from becoming active, imagine what is possible for people who don’t suffer from depression?

But the question arises ‘what if you’re so unmotivated that you can’t even get to the gym or start an assignment?’

Here are some strategies that have been suggested to help you overcome these problems–

1. Don’t eat the elephant all at once: How would you eat an elephant (if you had to)? One bite at a time. Starting a new behaviour is a difficult task and your success will be maximised if you’re able to break down the task into manageable components

2. Understand the benefits: The positive benefits of participating in the activity (e.g. exercising or completing an assignment) must be fully considered. Often people aren’t motivated because they’re uninformed. Psychologists often ask unmotivated clients to identify all the benefits of engaging in a certain behaviour. If the client’s list of benefits starts to reveal many reasons, then it is likely that they will be more motivated to take action.

3. Treat it like an experiment: Put aside your judgements about the activity and try as an experiment engaging in the activity regardless of the way you feel.

References

  • Prochaska, J. (2001). How do people change, and how can we change to help more people? In M. Hubble, B. Duncan, & S. Miller, S. (Eds). The Heart and Soul of Change. Washington: American Psychologial Association
  • Flora, S. & Wallach, M.A. (2004). The power of reinforcement. State of University of New York Press.

    • permalink | trackback

    Posted by Jane Posted in Motivation, exercise | 2 Comments »