0861 247 328

Tag Archive for: Mindfulness

How To Mange Stress In The Workplace

/in , , ,

By Dr Tara Swart

Everyone experiences stress regularly throughout their life and this is often due to deadlines at work, pressures with colleagues or just struggling to juggle work and home life. Overall, stress costs the UK economy nearly £6.5 billion each year and is linked to both mental and physical health risks, such as heart disease. In order to know how best to build up mental resilience it is important to understand the natural reactions the brain undergoes when we experience stress.

Stress occurs when we feel under threat, and causes our bodies to release the hormone cortisol, preparing us for ‘battle’ – literally a fight for survival. This natural reaction was developed as a result of years of evolution to ensure our physical survival. However, its effect is that blood is drawn away from parts of the brain deemed unnecessary for physical survival – functions such as rational decision-making, emotion regulation and empathy, which are essential for a productive working environment.

Since we all know we will experience stress frequently during our working lives it is important to understand how best to manage your natural instincts and build up your mental resilience. Most of us use our brain for our job so we must maintain its health, just as an elite athlete would train their bodies to stay in peak condition. You can keep your brain healthy by making small lifestyle changes and ensuring it properly fuelled, hydrated and rested.

Most people don’t realise that what they eat or drink can affect their ability to handle stress. Green leafy vegetables, beans and nuts all contain magnesium which will lower your levels of cortisol. Perhaps think of picking up some nuts instead of an unhealthy snack in future or simply get in the habit of taking magnesium supplements daily.

Practicing mindfulness is a great way reducing your levels of cortisol. If practised regularly three times a week mindfulness can actually enhance the brain’s performance due to the increased formation of folds in the prefrontal cortex. Whilst mindfulness is usually associated with meditation it can also be practised through yoga, whilst eating or even during your commute using a mindfulness app. For a quick fix you can even lower your cortisol levels by simply taking 10 deep breaths and increasing the oxygen flow to the brain.

In a world which constantly demands our attention, it can be tempting to blur your home and work life, however this will have a detrimental effect on your mental resilience. Try and resist the temptation to answer your emails in the evenings and at the weekends. Think about going on a digital detox completely for a day, weekend or even a whole week holiday. Going without your phone will also help boost your levels of oxytocin (the bonding hormone) as you are able to focus on bonding time with family and friends, and improve the quality of your sleep which is also essential to maintaining your brain’s health.

Whilst stress can often seem overwhelming, small changes to your lifestyle can make help improve your mental resilience and help you work better as an individual or as a team. So next time you feel stressed think about going for a walk, taking some deep breaths to oxygenate your brain or picking up a snack rich in magnesium.

Dr Tara Swart is a renowned neuroscientist, leadership coach, medical doctor and award-winning author. 

This article originally featured in hrfuture.net, May 2017, page 17.

 

How To Get The Best Out Of Your Brain At Work

/in , , , , ,

By Dr Tara Swart

You might not have guessed it, but neuroscience and the way the brain works has all sorts of implications for business. Most people get paid to use their brains, but few understand how their brain works and how to get the best out of it. Understanding neuroscience means that we can better understand leadership stress and resilience, risk-taking and decision-making; how to harness diversity of thinking in teams; how to create conditions for success in organisations; and how to deal effectively with rapid change.

Our brains are by no means fixed or set in adulthood: neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to change itself in response to what it experiences, means that we are all capable of changing the way with think and feel about things. The more we practice new behaviours, the deeper the neural pathways will become, and the easier the new process is.  If we want to make a change, for example, from a fixed to a growth mindset, we have to do it consciously and deliberately with awareness, focus and attention.

Just like athletes train their bodies, professionals should look after their brain’s health in order to enhance their performance at work. Our body is not just a convenient vehicle for moving the brain from meeting to meeting. We receive a lot of information and input from our bodies. In the stomach and gut, you find almost all of the neurotransmitters – such as serotonin and dopamine – that are also active in the brain, and help us make decisions and function in everyday life. Caring for both body and brain with a healthy diet, we can improve our brain’s effectiveness at work. Good hydration is equally important; likewise, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine is ideal.  

The ways in which you can improve your brain’s physical health to boost your performance at work (and outside of it) fall into 5 broad categories: Rest, fuel, hydration, oxygenation and mindfulness, or simplification.

1. Sleep

Make sure you get 7-9 hours of good quality sleep every night. Whilst you sleep, your glymphatic system cleans your brain. Population norm studies have shown that any disruption to this reduces your working IQ by 5-8 points the next day.

2. Fuel

Eating properly boosts your brain’s executive functions such as emotional regulation, complex problem-solving and thinking flexibly. Eating magnesium rich foods, such as beans, nuts or leafy green vegetables and taking a mineral supplement lowers levels of your stress hormone cortisol. If you find it hard, you can simply take supplements in magnesium and omega oils alongside your usual diet.

3. Hydration

Hydration is critical as a 1-3% decrease can negatively affect your memory, concentration and decision-making. Try to drink at least 500ml of water for every 15kg of your body weight a day.

4. Oxygenation

Doing regular exercise can have the same effect on the brain as a low dose of anti-depressants and boosts your productivity by as much as 15%. Physical exercise releases cortisol from your body through sweating and this helps you deal with stress.

5. Mindfulness

Practising mindfulness can reduce cortisol levels in the blood which lowers our stress levels and makes us feel more relaxed.

Studies have shown that just 12 minutes of mindfulness a day or 30 minutes of mindfulness 3 times a week thickens folds in the pre-frontal cortex – the area of the brain associated with higher executive functions such as emotion regulation, problem solving and flexible thinking.

We have a limited amount of quality decisions we can make each day, so avoid focusing too much energy on decision-making in the morning, saving your cognitive resources for throughout the day.

In sum, neuroscience turns out to be far more important for business than we might first imagine. Neuroscience-based coaching, and drawing on the remarkable plasticity of the brain, helps create the ideal environment and mindset in which business leaders can thrive, enjoy their work, and build happier teams too.

Dr Tara Swart is a renowned neuroscientist, leadership coach, medical doctor and award-winning author. 

This article was originally posted by Entrepreneur Magazine.