Sleep, The Brain and The Mind - Part 1 of 2

A healthy mind sustains a healthy brain.  A healthy brain sustains a healthy mind.  There is a symbiotic relationship between the two.  It is this very relationship that determines the quality of our lives in the present and into the future.

Over the next few posts I want to focus on how to maintain a healthy brain and a healthy mind.  I will dedicate each post to a specific topic where I will explore the science of maintaining the brain and the mind.  After I have explored each issue I will list a series of actions that you can employ to keep your headspace in tip-top shape.

Let me be straight with you right here, right now.  There is no light-switch solution.  What I mean by this is that you can’t simply flip the switch and everything is good.  Like any other improvement in life it requires an investment in time and effort.  If you follow the simple actions outlined in each post and stay dedicated, determined and disciplined you will start to see improvements in two to three weeks.

With that said let’s jump into the first post, which will be presented in two parts.  Let's take a look at Sleep, The Brain and The Mind.


SLEEP
We spend a good third of our lives sleeping.  So if you are fortunate to live to the decent age of 85 years old you will have spent 28.3 years sleeping.   This number may seem quite shocking, but trust me your brain needs your mind to be off line in order for it to do some must-needed house cleaning. 

The activity of sleeping is crucial to our health and well-being as much as nutrition, breathing and exercising.  The reason why we need sleep is still under investigation by various fields in science and the picture is not complete, yet.  What each of us does know is how much more energized we feel and how good our mood is after a solid nights sleep.  The question that still remains: what’s really happening in our brain and body when we are at rest?

Most people are under the assumption that when we fall asleep the brain quiets down.  As counter intuitive as it may seem the brain actually stays active when we sleep.  What quiets down is our mind - the conscious part of our brain.  The chemical signals and the electric firing between the  neurons in our brain are just as active in sleep as during the waking hours. 


SLEEP CYCLES
Sleep happens in cycles of approximately 90 minutes.  There is a general consensus among sleep experts that a good nights sleep ranges between 6 to 8 hours.  This means that on average we need between 4 to 5 sleep cycles of 90 minutes to feel invigorated and refreshed.

Within one sleep cycle our brains move through a range of depths of sleep, which are often referred to as sleep waves.  The waves frequencies and amplitude are measured by an instrument called an electroencephalogram (EEG).  As we sink deeper into a cycle of sleep the amplitude of these waves increases, while their frequency diminishes correspondingly.

There are typically four stages of sleep with their own individual wave frequency ranges.  These are measured by an EEG trace. So if your sleep cycle was being measured this is what would be picked up:

 Fig 1: EEG reading of the different sleep waves.
Courtesy of Sleepdex - Resources for Better Sleep

Fig 2: The stages of sleep waves with frequency and amplitude.
Courtesy of Sleepdex - Resources for Better Sleep


THE BENEFITS OF SLEEP

Cleaning the Brain
In 2013, a number of studies found that sleep gave the brain a chance to  wash out damaging molecules that built up during waking hours.  What was discovered is that the space between neurons (brain cells) increased when asleep aiding in the efficiency to clean out damaging molecules accumulated during waking hours.

The scientists at the University of Rochester found that these ‘toxic’ molecules were associated with speeding up neurodegenerative diseases - a wasting away of neurons indicative of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.  Sleep is crucial for literally cleaning and maintaining the brain.

Archiving Experiences & Consolidating Memory
Another major benefit of sleep is that it allows time for the brain to form new memories and to consolidate older memories with more recent ones.  

The hippocampus is the structure in the brain that is involved in memory creation by consolidating the events we have experienced and lessons we have learned.  Sleep also plays a very important role in learning, because it helps us to solidify new information through better recall, while reducing the likelihood of forgetting.

More specifically, REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is key to consolidating procedural memory (how to use your iPhone or drive a car) and deep sleep (non-REM sleep) is key to consolidating explicit memory (remembering a phone number or address).  Sleep deprivation can significantly affect the hippocampus’ function to form memories.

Normally, the activating brain-chemicals (neurotransmitters) norepinephrine, epinephrine, and cortisol subside at night as we drift into a more relaxed mind state readying ourselves for sleep.  These brain chemicals are usually more present in awake and stressed states of mind.  The lack of sleep increases the level of these activating chemicals and has a direct affect on the proper functioning of the hippocampus.

Improving Performance
To expand on the previous point sleep is key to consolidating our procedural memory.  This is the type of memory related to motor tasks, like learning to ski, swinging a golf club or putting on your pants so they become automatic behaviours.

During REM sleep there are short bursts of brain waves at strong frequencies that are called sleep spindles.  During this period of sleep the the brain moves short-term memories stored in the motor cortex to the temporal lobe, where they are stored as long-term memories.  Simply put, sleep is essential to improving the performance of any physical skill.

Improving Innovative & Creative Thinking
When the conscious mind is offline and the unconscious brain can let loose the mental sparks can begin to fly.  When we are sleeping the unconscious brain can make some astounding new connections.  Watson and Crick, the discovers of the DNA helix, said the solution came to them in a dream state.  They dreamt of rolling a newspaper and a profound ‘a-ha’ moment exploded.  The shape of double-helix sprang forth that explained how DNA was structured. 

The sleep state can make new associations that may not be possible in a waking state.  In 2007, a study at the University of California at Berkeley found that sleep can help to make completely unassociated connections that can lead to awe-inspiring insights of innovation and creativity.  The study found people were 33 percent more likely to make connections between seemingly distantly related ideas.


THE CONSEQUENCES OF POOR SLEEP

• The lack of sleep can lead to an increased risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. In addition to this, the lack of sleep can mimic many of the signs of aging and the seriousness of many medical conditions, while causing changes to metabolism as well as to the endocrine system.  

• The lack of sleep also suppresses the immune system resulting in more body stiffness and aches. Stress increases the release of norepinephrine and epinephrine, and they also decrease the amount of slow-wave sleep.

• The lack of sleep can lead to weight gain even after only 6 to 7 days.  The reason for this is there is an increase in the production of ghrelin.  The hormone responsible for promoting appetite.  At the same time, there is a decline in the production of the leptin.  The hormone responsible for reducing appetite.  To throw more on top of this, your increased munchies due to the lack of sleep increases your need to consume food that is heavily loaded with calories.  This will also include foods that are sweet, starchy and made up of simple carbohydrates.  (I will spend an entire post looking at diet and nutrition as it relates to the brain).

• The lack of sleep lowers glucose tolerance, increases the activity of the reactive mindset (the fight/flight response) and increases activating brain-chemicals associated with stress (cortisol, norepinephrine, epinephrine)

Our next post is Sleep, The Brain and The Mind - Part 2 of 2

We encourage you to share your questions, opinions and comments.

Thanks again for taking the time to read our blog.
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Six tips to build resilience and prevent brain-damaging stress

These days, we all live under considerable stress — economic challenges, job demands, family tensions, always-on technology and the 24-hour news cycle all contribute to ceaseless worry. While many have learned to simply “live with it,” this ongoing stress can, unless properly managed, have a serious negative impact on our ability to think clearly and make good decisions, in the short-term, and even harm our brains in the long-term.

Recent studies show that chronic stress can also lead to depression, and even to a higher risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Why? Under stress, the brain’s limbic system — responsible for emotions, memory and learning — triggers an alarm that activates the fight-or-flight response, increasing the production of adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol, which work together to speed heart rate, increase metabolism and blood pressure, enhance attention, the immune system and anti-inflammatory response, and lower pain sensitivity — all good things when your very survival is on the line. When the stressful situation is over, the body resets back to normal.

However, under constant stress, the body is unable to reset. High adrenaline and cortisol levels persist, potentially causing blood sugar imbalances and blood pressure problems, and whittling away at muscle tissue, bone density, immunity and inflammatory responses. These events block the formation of new neural connections in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for encoding new memories. When these new connections are blocked, the hippocampus can actually shrink in size, hindering memory.

Too much stress can almost make us “forget” how to make changes to reduce that stress, limiting the mental flexibility needed to find alternative solutions and triggering general adaptation syndrome (GAS) — better known as “burnout” — which makes us feel unmotivated and mentally exhausted.  This is why, next time you forget someone’s name at a party, try to not obsess about remembering it. Instead, make fun of your DNA (we are all human, aren’t we). The name in question is then more likely to appear in your mind when you less expect it.

What Can You Do?

Rather than simply living with stress, learning how to effectively master our stress levels and build emotional resilience can not only help you feel and perform better on a daily basis, but also protect your brain from the long-term damaging effects of stress. Here’s how to do it:

1. Get some exercise: Studies show that aerobic exercise helps build new neurons and connections in the brain to counteract the effects of stress. In fact, a 2012 study found that people who exercised very little showed greater stress-related atrophy of the hippocampus (the part of the brain that stores memories) compared to those who exercised more. Regular exercise also promotes good sleep, reduces depression and boosts self-confidence through the production of endorphins, the “feel-good” hormones.
2. Relax: Easier than it sounds, right? But relaxation — through meditation, tai chi, yoga, a walk on the beach, or whatever helps to quiet your mind and make you feel more at ease — can decrease blood pressure, respiration rate, metabolism and muscle tension. Meditation, in particular, is tremendously beneficial for managing stress and building mental resilience. Studies also show that getting out into nature can have a positive, restorative effect on reducing stress and improving cognitive function. So move your yoga mat out into the yard, or turn off that treadmill and take a walk in the park. Your brain will thank you for it.
3. Socialize: When your plate is running over and stress takes over, it’s easy to let personal connections and social opportunities fall off the plate first. But ample evidence shows that maintaining stimulating social relationships is critical for both mental and physical health. Create a healthy environment, inviting friends, family and even pets to combat stress and exercise all your brains.
4. Take control: Studies show a direct correlation between feelings of psychological empowerment and stress resiliency. Empowering yourself with a feeling of control over your own situation can help reduce chronic stress and give you the confidence to take control over your brain health. Some videogames and apps based on heart rate variability can be a great way to be proactive and take control of our stress levels.
5. Have a laugh: We all know from personal experience that a good laugh can make us feel better, and this is increasingly backed by studies showing that laughter can reduce stress and lower the accompanying cortisol and adrenaline levels that result. Having fun with friends is one way to practice to two good brain health habits at once. Even just thinking about something funny can have a positive effect on reducing stress and the damage it causes to your brain.
6. Think positive: How you think about what stresses you can actually make a difference. In one study at Harvard University, students were coached into believing that the stress they feel before a test could actually improve performance on graduate school entrance exams. Compared with students who were not coached, those students earned higher scores on both the practice test and the actual exam. Simply changing the way you look at certain situations, taking stock of the positive things in your life and learning to live with gratitude can improve your ability to manage stress and build brain resilience.

Living with high levels of sustained stress can have a profound negative impact on your psychological and brain health. While often there is little we can do to change the stressful situation itself, there are many things we can do to alter or manage our reactions to it. Managing stress  and mastering our own emotions through simple lifestyle changes and the use of basic techniques that anyone can do can help reduce stress-related damage to the brain, improve emotional resilience and thwart cognitive decline as we age.

–This is an adapted excerpt from the new book “The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: How to Optimize Brain Health and Performance at Any Age” (April 2013; 284 pages). This user-friendly, how-to guide cuts through the clutter of media hype about the latest “magic pill” for better brain health, offering proven, practical tips and techniques that anyone can use to enhance and maintain brain function throughout life and even ward off cognitive decline.

How do I effectively manage change?

Our journey through life involves a series of changes - some major and many minor. Even though change has always been a part of life it seems that change is happening faster than ever before. This is especially evident in the workplace. Competition in a global marketplace, technological advances, changing demographics, and the speed of information transfer are just some of the influences that have had a dramatic impact on how organizations operate. Day-to-day work life is commonly filled with policy and procedure changes, shifting responsibilities, and expanding workloads. At the same time, our personal lives are often marked by competing demands and priorities.

Being able to adapt and respond effectively in a constantly changing world has become a necessary skill. And one that we can enhance and develop when we understand what goes on at a personal level when we are faced with change.

How we respond to change is a funny thing. There are times when we go out of our way to initiate change in our lives. For example, we may move house, city or country; change jobs or go back to school. Although we may be apprehensive about such changes, we are stimulated by the possibilities and opportunities that will emerge. 

When we initiate the change, we are likely to define the experience as exciting. On the other hand, these same changes might be imposed on us by circumstance, or the design of another person or our workplace. When change is imposed on us, our experience of the change is likely to be quite different. In these situations, we may feel threatened and fearful about the change, and focus heavily on negative outcomes. We may want little to do with the change and find ourselves resisting it fiercely.

Moving From Resistance to Acceptance

When we resist change, we knowingly or unknowingly behave in ways that attempt to keep things 'the way they were'. Our attitudes and actions are not aligned with the new directions and we are likely to feel discomfort or tension as a result. To help ourselves move from resistance to acceptance, it can be useful to understand that there are varied reasons why people may resist or struggle with change it isn't simply because we think the old way is better.

When we find ourselves resisting or struggling with change, the first step is to ask ourselves WHY?

It May be Because... We Are Creatures of Habit

Being able to do things the same way provides us with a large element of predictability, stability, and comfort in our lives. When it comes to our responsibilities at work, once we have done things the same way for a certain length of time, we end up getting quite good at what we do. This degree of competence contributes to our sense of value or worth. When we are asked to make changes that impact how we do our job, our sense of comfort and competence becomes disrupted. We may at times feel insecure about our abilities.

It is important to recognize that it is natural to feel out of sorts and frustrated from time-to-time when we are embarking in new directions. Doing things differently takes effort and the course is never really clear. It's important to ask ourselves what knowledge or skills that we may be lacking and to seek these out. We may also benefit from making a goal that relates to doing our personal best within a changing environment, acknowledging that things will not go smoothly all of the times.

It May be Because... The Change Involves a Loss

Certain life events, such as losing a loved one, involve an obvious major loss. In such circumstances we understand that people will grieve their loss. However, with other sorts of change the losses we experience are not always obvious. And with workplace change, our workload is usually so full that it is hard to imagine that we've lost anything. However, as a result of the changes, we may not have the same opportunity to connect with certain people or certain activities that we've enjoyed. These subtle changes can translate into a loss, and leave us feeling amiss and reluctant to move forward with the changes.

Making a special effort to stay connected with people that are important to us can be helpful.

Identifying those aspects of the change that represent benefits for us personally will help us get a balanced perspective and orient us positively toward the change.

It May be Because... We Fear the Unknown

During periods of change, when things are uncertain and unpredictable, we may fear or worry about the unknown. We may be anxious about where we are headed, and what the future will look like. We generally have a high need for information, and yet it is common for information to be sketchy or incomplete. In the workplace, a change in one area may require decisions in another that can't always be foreseen or articulated as quickly as we would like.

There are a number of things that we can do to help ourselves adapt to uncertainty or ambiguity:

• First, ask how the change will affect our immediate situation; ask questions to clarify things that seem unclear; stay focused on the task at hand; focus on one step at a time or one day at a time. To minimize worry about what lies ahead ask yourself the question 'is there anything that I can do about this matter?'
• If yes, then identify the action to be taken. If not, acknowledge that 'I have no control over this matter' and focus on those things that you can influence.
• We can learn from our past experience of change by asking 'have I been through anything like this before?' or 'how did I get through it and what seemed to work?'

Positive Orientation Towards Change

No matter what change we are faced with in life, it will be much easier to cope with and adapt to if we hold a positive attitude about change in general. This doesn't mean that we necessarily have to agree with the circumstances or details of the change. In fact we may disagree with it, but can still adapt to it in a constructive manner.

Having a positive orientation towards change involves:

• knowing what we can and cannot control in a given situation
• recognizing that disruptions are a natural response to change
• being creative and looking for the opportunities that change creates
• recognizing that there are a number of right ways to do things
• utilizing our personal resources and strengths to actively do the best we can

Being Aware and Taking Care

Having a positive orientation towards change will go a long way in minimizing the stress that we may experience during times of change. Nevertheless, it is important to be aware of our stress levels, and to take special care of ourselves during these times. This means ensuring that we are getting enough rest, eating healthily, and participating in activities such as exercise, relaxation techniques, and hobbies that help us get away from this stress. Many people find that speaking with an EAP counsellor can be helpful during periods of HEIGHTened change.

We each have an active role to play in how we respond and adapt to change that we experience in life. Understanding this will make it much easier to take advantage of the opportunities for learning, and personal growth that do exist amidst change.

Contributed by Shepell-fgi

Challenging Conversations

The first step to approaching any type of crucial conversation is the preperation. I compare preparing for a difficult conversation to that of preparing for an important negotiation. In both cases it is highly recommended not to simply wing-it.

There are two fundamental questions you should ask yourself. The first: what is the purpose for having the dialogue? The second: what, exactly, is the problem I want to address?

The first question is important, because it focuses you to think about
the reason you need to have the conversation. That is, to become fully
aware of your intent.

You may discover that your intent is to punish, humiliate or blame.
These are natural feelings most of us initially feel if we believe the
others persons action or behavior was deliberate, spiteful or simply
mean-spirited.

The idea of a crucial conversation is to be constructive and not
destructive, which would be the result if the intent it to get back at
the other person.

The intent should be a genuine and sincere effort to help move the
person forward.

The second question: what, exactly, is the problem you want to
address? You should be able to specify the problem with only a few
sentences.

It is important to be specific, descriptive and concrete by keeping to
the facts. In addition, use a recent example to illustrate the problem
that you are bringing up. Remember it should be based on an observable
behavior. That is, something you can see or hear.

Before ending today's entry I would like to bring to your attention
the difference between dispositional and situational views on behavior.

We tend to view other people's behavior from a dispositional view
point. We tend to place blame on the personality flaws of the person
and tend to ignore any environmental influences. We tend to do this
because we see a person's actions much more readily than we so the
forces behind it.

We tend to see ourselves from a situational point of view. It is clear
to us what environmental forces contributed to our challenge.

When we are preparing for a crucial conversation it is necesarry for
us to be aware of the dispositional and situational factors.

Depression, Stress and Burn-out

This entry is a response to an article that I read in Aftenposten (a Norwegian newspaper) titled Hvorfor blir vi deprimert? (Why are we depressed?) dated 10 October 2009. http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/article3312984.ece

The journalist asked four experts (i.e. a psychologist, a psychiatrist, the Minister of Health and an adviser for mental health) in the area of depression about their thoughts as for the reasons why there is a growing degree of depression in Norway.  The answers given were varied and focused on different areas of society.  The subject of depression is something that can not be fully addressed in a newspaper article, or for that fact, a series of articles.  What it does though, is start a dialogue about an illness that plagues society at many different levels.

I feel the question posed by the article is a fundamental query that needs to be addressed.  There are people who believe that the accumulation of wealth and success brings happiness.  There are others that try to find happiness in mass religion, cults or esoteric gurus.  Then there are other who believe that getting married, having kids and settling down leads to the road to happiness.  There are millions of other ways people chase after happiness.  Some find it, but many more don't.

When a person fails to achieve some sense of happiness or when they do reach a level where they expect to find happiness, they often ask questions such as the following.  "Is this it?  This is what I've been struggling towards? There has got to be more?"

I work as a communication and executive coach in a broad range of industries and across different levels of management.  Depression rears it's ugly head amongst these ranks of working professionals, as it does anywhere else in society.  The severity and the cause of depression, are of course, as varied as are the people affected by it. 

If a person's expectations of what life is suppose to be like does not match with what their life actually is,  it leads people to feel unhappy. If these same people feel that there is nothing they can do to change their life or situation, this leads them to feel a sense of powerless or lack of control. The feeling of depression soon follows.

Realistically, a person has either two choices.  He can either change his life situation (i.e. job, significant other, residence, way of life etc.) or he has to change his expectations of what he believes life is suppose to be (i.e. his map of the world).

One of the best ways I have found to help people deal with their depression is through dialogue. They begin by finding words to describe abstract thoughts and feelings.  A majority of the time, people find it hard to articulate what is specifically on their mind.  They tend to start off using very general terms.  It is through the effort of asking certain types of questions that I help the client to paint a more vivid and vibrant painting of how they see the world.  It not only becomes clearer for me, but becomes, more importantly, clearer for them.

This process of verbally painting a picture reveals, maybe for the first time, the clients' underlying beliefs.  It is his beliefs that determine and define his expectations of how life is suppose to be.   As you know, a belief is simply a person's certainty about someone or something. For example, I am certain that the weather will be nice tomorrow; I am certain that martians are bad; I am certain that I can trust her etc. 

By getting a person to operationally define his beliefs, you discover his rule book.  That is, when someone specifically outlines what has to happen or not happen in order for his rules to be met.

When a person who is depressed clarifies his rules, you generally find his life situation does not come very close to meeting those rules.  Quite often I discover that the chance of meeting those rules is highly unlikely.  It is like setting a goal that you can never achieve.  You are setting yourself up for failure.

The key is to get the the client to redefine the rules or part of the rules by which he defines and lives his life.  The rules need to be realistic, flexible and tailored to his life and situation.  Only then will a person feel that they can affect change.

I've super-simplified the process in this short blog entry as to what I do to help people overcome their depression. For most cases of depression (excluding those due to imbalanced brain chemistry) if you can help a person redefine their rules and expand their constructive vocabulary, you can get them to climb out of their hole of depression and to start moving forward again.

Here are some further sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_%28mood%29
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/depression.html
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/complete-index.shtml