Relieve Your Stress With This Easy 5 Minute Meditation

Meditation is used by people across the world for its wonderful benefits for the mind, body, and soul. However, many of us never give it a go because we think it involves complex learning, special skills and even a level of meaning that we don't really understand. In reality, the only equipment you need in order to meditate is yourself, and you do not need any special training. Here is a five minute, stress-relieving meditation that anybody can perform easily.

How It Works  

Meditation comes in many different forms, but this guide covers a practice that is designed to allow you to re-connect with yourself emotionally and mentally. Meditative practices like this are specifically intended to promote relaxation, calm and stress relief, and provide you with peace of mind. You only need five minutes to run through the entire process, so it's possible to perform the routine in the middle of a hectic day when you are feeling worn down, anxious or overworked. 

 

Meditation can help you shake off your woes and continue with your day in a much better frame of mind. 

 

Step 1 - Set a Timer

You will not relax properly if you are constantly thinking about the time that has elapsed since you started the process, so use a timer. You can set the timer on your phone, computer or wristwatch to ensure you can concentrate on the meditation. If you are an iPhone user, you can download the Healing Music app and use that as a timer instead. 

 

Ideally, you will set the timer for five minutes, but if you are pushed for time, you can set it for a shorter period.
 

 Step 2- sit in a comfortable position

If you think of meditation, you probably think of people sitting cross-legged on the floor. While that is an effective position in which to meditate, it is not a necessity. When picking a sitting position, it is best to simply ensure that you are comfortable. An awkward position will distract you. 

 

You should sit or lie down, rather than stand to replenish your energy supplies, but you can use a chair if you like. Just try to keep your feet in contact with the ground. 

 

Step 3 - Close Your Eyes and Focus on Breathing

Start your timer, and then close your eyes. Gently focus your attention on your breathing. Don't try to change your breathing pattern or do anything unusual, sustain a normal breathing pattern. Focus on how your breath feels right now, and if you can find a way to breathe naturally but deeply it will help.

Step 4 - Hold Your Attention

Your mind is the biggest barrier to successful meditation, but remember that you are trying to clear it. Thoughts will drift into your head, but as they do so, gently acknowledge them but let them drift away. Continue to focus on your breathing patterns as the thoughts try to dominate your mind. Focusing your brain on your breath will ensure that your mind stays in the present.

 

Concentrate on each inhale and exhale until your timer sounds the end of your meditation.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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How Internet may be changing your brain

High levels of Internet use may change the brain in a way which could affect our attention, memory and social interactions, according to a study.

The research, found the Internet can produce both acute and sustained alterations in specific areas of cognition, which may reflect changes in the brain.

Researchers investigated leading hypotheses on how the Internet may alter cognitive processes, and further examined the extent to which these hypotheses were supported by recent findings from psychological, psychiatric and neuroimaging research.

“The key findings of this report are that high-levels of Internet use could indeed impact many functions of the brain,” said a researcher.

“For example, the limitless stream of prompts and notifications from the Internet encourages us towards constantly holding a divided attention — which then in turn may decrease our capacity for maintaining concentration on a single task,” he said.

Additionally, the online world now presents us with a uniquely large and constantly-accessible resource for facts and information, which is never more than a few taps and swipes away,” he said.

“Given we now have most of the world’s factual information literally at our fingertips, this appears to have the potential to begin changing the ways in which we store, and even value, facts and knowledge in society, and in the brain,” he said.

The widespread adoption of these online technologies, along with social media, is also of concern to some teachers and parents, researchers said.

The World Health Organization’s 2018 guidelines recommended that young children (aged 2-5) should be exposed to one hour per day, or less, of screen time.

However, the report also found that the vast majority of research examining the effects of the Internet on the brain has been conducted in adults.

More research is needed to determine the benefits and drawbacks of Internet use in young people, according to researchers.

He said although more research is needed, avoiding the potential negative effects could be as simple as ensuring that children are not missing out on other crucial developmental activities, such as social interaction and exercise, by spending too much time on digital devices.
“To help with this, there are also now a multitude of apps and software programmes available for restricting Internet usage and access on smartphones and computers — which parents and carers can use to place some ‘family-friendly’ rules around both the time spent on personal devices, and also the types of content engaged with,” he said.

“Speaking to children often about how their online lives affect them is also important — to hopefully identify children at risk of cyberbullying, addictive behaviours, or even exploitation — and so enabling timely intervention to avoid adverse outcomes,” he said.

The bombardment of stimuli via the Internet, and the resultant divided attention commonly experienced, presents a range of concerns, said a Prof.

“I believe that this, along with the increasing Instagramification of society, has the ability to alter both the structure and functioning of the brain, while potentially also altering our social fabric,” he  said.
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Neuroscientist reveals the impact of exercise on the brain

We’ve always been told that exercise is good for us. That it gives us more energy, makes us more healthy, and even helps us look our best.

But in truth, we have no idea just how much exercise can change our lives.
Sure, we get so much information about the physical effects of exercising our bodies, but what we don’t know is how exactly it can affect our brain.

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki gives a very unique insight as to how exercise can significantly increase our brain’s capacity, right down to a neuro-cellular level.

With a titillating mix of science, relatability, and a little humor,  a Dr. talks that will undoubtedly send you running to the gym right after.

The Science Behind Exercise

Like many others, Dr. Suzuki was trapped inside a self-inflicted jail of a workaholic. Although she was successful in her field, pioneering research about brain memory, she was miserable inside. She had no social life and even gained more than a couple of pounds.

It took a life-changing river rafting trip to wake her up from this stupor. She started exercising. She tried everything and immediately became addicted.

Dr. Suzuki immediately noticed a change in her mood, focus, and energy. But as a neuroscientist, she naturally began to question just how and why exactly this is happening. And after a few sessions in her lab, she made amazing discoveries.

Particularly, she found that “exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today.”

Here are the three reasons why.

1. It has immediate effects on your brain.

“A single workout that you do will immediately increase levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline. That is going to increase your mood right after that workout, exactly what I was feeling. My lab showed that a single workout can improve your ability to shift and focus attention, and that focus improvement will last for at least two hours. 

And finally, studies have shown that a single workout will improve your reaction times which basically means that you are going to be faster at catching that cup of Starbucks that falls off the counter, which is very, very important.”

Researchers  back this up when they compared the reaction times of people who just exercised and those who did not, to a cognitively demanding eye movement task. And the difference they found was astonishing.

Those who exercised were instantly more accurate. Their response times were also up by 50 milliseconds. This shows a 14% in cognitive performance.

2. It improves attention-function.

“The most common finding in neuroscience studies, looking at effects of long-term exercise, is improved attention function dependent on your prefrontal cortex. You not only get better focus and attention, but the volume of the hippocampus increases as well. And finally, you not only get immediate effects of mood with exercise but those last for a long time. So you get long-lasting increases in those good mood neurotransmitters.”

Studies have shown that aerobic exercise, particularly, can enhance your ability to maintain and shift attention. Our attention is directly manipulated by our brain’s prefrontal cortex. Exercise helps improve the prefrontal cortex’ performance. In fact, even just one hour of aerobic exercise can spike significant improvement in your attention.

3. It protects your brain.

There are two areas in your brain that are particularly more susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases – the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. These two parts are also the ones more prone to declining as you age.

The most wonderful thing about exercise is that it helps protect these parts of your brain, lessening the chances of diseases like Alzheimer’s or even dementia.

“So with increased exercise over your lifetime, you’re not going to cure dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, but what you’re going to do is you’re going to create the strongest, biggest hippocampus and prefrontal cortex so it takes longer for these diseases to actually have an effect. You can think of exercise, therefore, as a supercharged 401K for your brain, OK? And it’s even better, because it’s free.”

How much exercise do you need to get these benefits?

Do you have to be a triathlete to get the amazing and life-changing benefits to exercise? Good news is, no.
But you do need a minimum amount of exercise to do so. Luckily, the Dr. has the answer for you.

“The rule of thumb is you want to get three to four times a week exercise minimum 30 minutes an exercise session, and you want to get aerobic exercise in. That is, get your heart rate up.

And the good news is, you don’t have to go to the gym to get a very expensive gym membership. Add an extra walk around the block in your power walk. You see stairs — take stairs. And power-vacuuming can be as good as the aerobics class that you were going to take at the gym.”

The Takeaway

The truth is, you don’t have to be a gym rat or an athlete to get these brain-changing benefits. All you need to do is get up and exercise.

And the wonderful thing about it is, there are plenty of types of exercises that can suit you perfectly. All of them can be a fun way to make you feel and good look – and even leave you with better brain function.

Dr. proves just how much exercise can change the trajectory of your life. All for the better. 

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Mechanism that enables brain to rapidly focus attention found

Scientists have discovered a key mechanism in the brain that may underlie our ability to rapidly focus attention.

Our brains are continuously bombarded with information from the senses, yet our level of vigilance to such input varies, allowing us to selectively focus on one conversation and not another, according to the study.

"If we want to give our full concentration, something happens in the brain to enable us to focus and filter out distractions," said a Prof.

"There must be a mechanism that signals the thing we want to focus on," said the Prof.

However, this mechanism is not well understood, he said.

Research has shown that the electrical activity of the neocortex of the brain changes when we focus our attention.

Neurons stop signalling in sync with one another and start firing out of sync.

This is helpful, he said , because it allows individual neurons to respond to sensory information in different ways.

Thus, you can focus on a car speeding down the road or on what a friend is saying in a crowded room.

It's known that the cholinergic system in the brain plays an important role in triggering this desynchronisation.

The cholinergic system consists of clusters of special neurons that synthesise and release a signalling molecule called acetylcholine, he said, and these clusters make far-reaching connections throughout the brain.

Not only does this cholinergic system act like a master switch, but mounting evidence suggests it also enables the brain to identify which sensory input is the most salient -- that is worthy of attention -- at any given moment and then shine a spotlight on that input.

"The cholinergic system broadcasts to the brain, 'this thing is really important to be vigilant to'," the Prof. said.

He added that the cholinergic system has been proposed to have a far-reaching impact on our cognitive abilities.

"Destruction of the cholinergic system in animals profoundly degrades cognition, and the formation of memory," he said.

"Importantly, in humans, progressive degeneration of the cholinergic system occurs in devastating diseases that blunt cognition and memory, such as Alzheimer's disease," he said.

However, precisely which neurons in the cortex are being targeted by this master switch and how it's able to influence their function was unknown.

Researchers wondered if layer 5 B-pyramidal neurons, the 'output' neurons of the neocortex, might be involved because they are intimately involved in how we perceive the world.

"The output neurons of the neocortex perform computations that are thought to underlie our perception of the world," said the Prof.

Researchers wanted to know if the cholinergic system is able to influence the activity of these output neurons.

Using a technique called optogenetics, they modified neurons in the cholinergic system in the brains of mice so that they could be activated with a flash of blue light, triggering a sudden release of acetylcholine.

This allowed the researchers to closely monitor the interaction between the cholinergic system and the output neurons.

They discovered that if the output neurons were not currently active, not much happened.

However, when those neurons received excitatory input to their dendrites, the cholinergic system was able to massively increase their activity.

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Men too experience antenatal blues

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 According to a recent study, antenatal depression affects men, too, revealing that a first baby is a reality check as dads suddenly find they are no longer the centre of attention.

The study reveals that an astonishing number of fathers, nearly 13%, experience depressive symptoms during their partner's pregnancy. Very little research has been done on male reactions to pregnancy and childbirth. Becoming a first-time father is many things — terrifying, joyful, nerve-racking, exciting — but disagreeing, it is not. Although most men eventually come to savour the fantasy of being a father, they also dimly anticipate the reality — and for a father, childbirth is the bonfire of the vanities.

As childbirth approaches, men have to face the fact that they are not as important as they thought they were; at least not in the way they thought they were. The arrival of a first baby from the point of view of the father is a massive shift, just as it is for the mother. Antenatal depression is rational enough and the solution is to keep reminding yourself that it can sometimes be hard to believe when you find yourself suddenly living on the fringes of your own life.