Dr. Jay Kumar
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Dr. Jay Kumar
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Tip # 1 - “Gratitude is a Healthy Attitude”
Expressing gratitude for what you have, no matter how small it is, can also contribute to your greater health and happiness. In the past few years, scientists now recognize that gratitude is one of the most powerful and healthiest of human emotions. Studies at University of Miami, UC Davis, and Stanford University successfully demonstrate that remembering to be grateful for what you have in life can greatly outweigh any sadness, stress, or challenges you might currently experience. Further discoveries in neuroscience suggest that when you experience gratitude, the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain, an area that correlates to emotions of love and compassion, begins to activate. As I like to say, “Gratitude turns WHAT YOU HAVE into enough, creates contentment for WHAT IS, and manifests greater joy for WHO YOU ARE!” If you can’t express gratitude for what you already have, how can you expect to be grateful for all the prosperity and abundance that awaits you in the New Year! Read more in “How Gratitude Heals Your Brain, Body, & Being.”
Tip # 2 - “Don’t Buy More, Just Be More!”
As much as our culture wants you to believe, material success does not equate to happiness. As I discussed in “Tips for Staying HAPPY during the Holidays,”authentic happiness cannot be measured by a price tag. Ed Diener of the University of Illinois and Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 published findings in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest that while U.S. wealth has tripled over the past 50 years, our national wellbeing and happiness have been flat. It’s just as the famous line from The Beatles goes, “Money can’t buy me love.” While having material and financial stability are vital for your way of life, the point is that the real indicators for happiness are not found in your bank account, stock portfolio, or the size of your car or house. Rather, focus on what truly is of value in your life—family, friends, loved ones, and enjoying life! Studies conducted by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky at UC Riverside show that people who are happiest also have strong social connections and deep personal relationships with friends and family. We humans are social animals, after all. We need to feel a sense of belonging and connection to the greater whole. So the next time you get stressed, feel anxious about finances, or worry that you can’t afford that luxury car or home, remember that the real treasures in life, the love of our family and friends, are free! Read article Consumerism, Happiness and Health
Tip # 3 - “Practice Compassion and Kindness”
As His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says, “If you want to be happy, make others happy!” In my piece “The Neuroscience of Health and Happiness" research into the human brain has discovered that we possess a peculiar thing known as a mirror neuron. Scientists know believe that these mirror neurons are the reason why humans, along with certain primates, elephants, dogs, and dolphins, are biologically wired to experience the emotions of others. Mirror neurons suggest that the human brain has evolved to experience both the pain and euphoria of others. It is this biological conditioning that may account for human empathy and compassion. Brain scans reveal that expressing more compassion and kindness helps you develop these mirror neurons, and it is this notion of compassion and empathy toward others that ultimately allows you to experience greater happiness and wellbeing on a daily basis. So the more kindness you practice toward people, the happier they become and the happier you become! Enjoy this True & Personal Holiday “Tail” about the power of human compassion and empathy we humans share with our pets.
Tip # 4 - “Keep Thinking Good Thoughts”
Did you know that it takes at least FIVE good thoughts to outweigh a negative one! Neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson states, “The mind is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” I’m sure many of you can relate to this idea, but why is that our minds tend to remember the painful, negative experiences but not so much the joyous, happy moments? There’s actually a neurobiological answer that has to do with something called a “negativity bias.” At the University of Washington a study revealed how a negative experience remains wired into your brain more strongly than a positive one. In fact, it takes up to five positive experiences to outweigh a negative thought! Neurobiologists believe that this “negative bias” of the human brain was an evolutionary trait that helped early humans survive by allowing the brain to react to, remember, and recall life-threatening experiences. Imagine you were an early human chased by a lion; your brain would store that information into a neural net, recalling that memory as a survival mechanism. The lesson is that in order to experience authentic happiness, you actively have to focus on the positive to overcome the negative experiences in your life that your brain has imprinted into your consciousness. Learn more about how your psychology influences your biology in “The Healing Power of Thought.”
Tip # 5 - “Just Breathe!”
One of the simplest and most effective tools you have to alleviate stress and create more happiness in your life is to find some personal time in your day to focus on your breath. In “Breathe Your Way to Health & Happiness” one of the easiest ways to experience greater wellbeing is to engage in conscious breathing for as little as five minutes a day. Dr. James S. Gordon, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University Medical School, states, “Slow, deep breathing is probably the single best anti-stress medicine we have.” You may be surprised to learn that doing mindful, calm breathing exercises for just five minutes a day can begin to shift your emotional and mental health. In the growing field of “brain-body-being” research, studies show that focusing on your breath, specifically on the quality and state of your breath, might be the key to unlock your potential for health and happiness. Let’s face it, most of us do shallow breathing, i.e. not connecting our breath deep into the belly. Deep-belly breathing has now been shown in numerous studies to have a significant benefit on your neurophysiology, calming and soothing both your mind and body. When you connect and focus on your breath by taking deep and slow inhalations and exhalations, your nervous system and brain waves begin to come into balance and coherence. When your brain and body are in alignment you tend to cultivate the “four C’s” of calmness, contentment, caring and creativity. Watch my Self-Guided Breathing Video to learn how to alleviate stress and to experience greater happiness in your daily life and throughout the New Year.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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Curious to know how your brain, thoughts, and emotions all play out in the Voting Booth and in life? Discover the fascinating way our emotional brains and unconscious mind bias our political decisions and reinforce our actions in every day life. Catch the full podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the most recent Doug Stephan Good Day Show.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Happy Voting!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Dr. Jay Kumar
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Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
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Dr. Jay Kumar
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Thanks to everyone who attended the successful workshop last weekend on "Contemplative Neuroscience: Your Body as a Sacred Vessel." Please enjoy the podcasts to the lecture.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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Take A Breather
My mantra for the past decade that I’ve been telling to my students and clients is that “how you choose to breathe determines how you choose to live, heal, and be.” I’m now going to add to that how you choose to breathe determines how you learn! We’ve all heard the phrase “Take a Breather” when we need to calm down from stress, frustration, or overwhelm, but it turns out that the phrase can now be backed up by neuroscience. The latest research into mind-body medicine consistently shows that slow, deep, focused breathing into the lower belly activates the body’s natural relaxation-response, a mechanism that is wired into the human nervous system and triggered by consciously shifting the quality of the breath. It now appears that the body's relaxation-response is not only an evolutionary tool for survival, but a vital mechanism to improve focus, maintain calm, and boost memory. Centering and focusing on your breath is such an effective technique in the learning process that I’ve recently decided to begin every university class that I teach by leading my students in a 5-miunte breathing exercise. We now know that when your brain and body come into alignment through the breath, it creates the important 4 C’s for learning: Calmness, Centeredness, Concentration, and Creativity! Watch this simple 5-minute guided video and breathing-exercise to teach help you get on track.
Before You Achieve It, You First Have To Visualize & Believe It!
Memory is one of the key components in learning. The traditional model of education focused on rote memorization of facts and figures with the expectation to recall such details for an exam. While this type of learning might be good for short-term memorization, true and effective learning is a multi-sensory skill that that requires long-term memory and multiple intelligences. Recent advances in brain-imaging now show that, in fact, different parts of the brain activate in short versus long-term memory. The pre-frontal lobe, the outer and more recently developed region of the brain close to the skull, appears to be the predominant area responsible in short-term memory, also known as working-memory. Long-term memory involves more complex and integrated brain regions that employ the older evolutionary and more interior regions of the human brain, specifically the hippocampus and the limbic system. So why is this so important? It turns out these regions of the brain connected to long-term memory are where your brain makes cognitive associations and synthesizes incoming data from all your five senses. More importantly, these regions are intimately linked to other areas of the brain that govern emotions and visualization, which utilize other vital forms of intelligence, such as emotional, kinesthetic, visual, and spatial learning.
All the studies in neuroscience now indicate that the brain, like the body, is a muscle that you can strengthen and harness for your advantage to accomplish your goals in life. A technique I use myself and with my own students, which has been recognized to enhance memory, performance, and confidence in leaning is cognitive visualization. A quote I often use to explain cognitive visualization is: “Before you can achieve it, you first have to visualize and believe it!” Whether you want to call it “creative imagery,” “emotional learning,” or “muscle memory,” neuroscience now validates the long-held believe that in order to accomplish a task, your chance of success increases when you use multiple forms of intelligence such as emotional, visual, and kinesthetic. The technique of cognitive visualization starts by having you first visualize in your mind what you want to accomplish and then feel the emotional quality of successfully achieving that goal.
Let’s take an example where you have to give a report in front of the class. While you will have to prepare for the actual presentation by doing your research, writing your notes, and memorizing your speech, you can also do a cognitive visualization technique on a daily basis before the actual task. Perhaps, you can visualize yourself delivering the presentation to your audience, picture the actual room, and even repeat the speech in your mind, while at the same time feeling the emotions of confidence and enthusiasm. What you’re doing is actually training a part of your brain known as the premotor cortex to help your body, mind, and brain prepare for the activity well before the actual event occurs. In a recent article published in the journal Science, years of research into the premotor cortex reveal that this region is what accounts for us effectively planning and strategizing in order to accomplish a goal, whether that is an athletic performance, playing a musical instrument, or taking an exam. It is as if your brain is already doing the action even before the body moves a muscle! Learn how cognitive visualization allows Olympic athletes, CEOs, and even students gain a considerable advantage when it comes to achieving their goals in my article here.
Shake It Out: Move, Play, & Have Fun
We all know that movement and exercise are important for the body and for optimal health. Recently, more evidence from educational neuroscience supports the conclusion that movement of any kind, whether it’s recess, sports, dance, yoga, or just plain fun and play, stimulates the brain and improves learning! With advances in brain-mapping, we observe that there is a direct correlation between movement and cognitive function, specifically in an area of the brain called the cerebellum, a region located at the base of the brain in the back of the head. While the cerebellum is only about the size of a fist and constitutes about ten percent of the brain’s volume, it contains almost half of all the neurons of the human brain. One reason why the cerebellum is so densely packed with neurons and recognized as the most complex part of your brain is due to the fact that its primary function is to govern motor control. Even more remarkable is that recent studies now suggest that the cerebellum’s motor control functions send important signals to other parts of the brain responsible for attention, spatial perception, and most importantly, for memory.
Why is this so important for educators, parents, and students to know? What the latest medical research indicates is that the same region of your brain that involves movement, exercise, fun, and play is the exact same area that governs cognition and learning! While there is a common bias that play and movement are fine only for younger children, the scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the brain’s ability to increase cognitive function through movement, exercise, and play is one that continues throughout life! Not only do exercise, movement, and play keep the body healthy, they also appear to stimulate brain activity, improve learning, enhance memory, and even promote motivation and instill confidence in the learning process. Now that’s one game I’ll gladly play! Read article explaining how movement and exercise improve cognition and learning.
Take a Hike, Literally!
Closely connected to the idea of how movement and exercise enhance learning is a corollary concept coming out of neuroscience that nature appears to promote a healthy brain conducive for learning. We all know how peaceful and relaxing it is to sit on the beach, hike in the mountains, or enjoy a beautiful sunset, but there appears to be something more profound happening in your brain whenever you’re immersed in nature. In a ground-breaking experiment published in Psychological Study a direct correlation was made between being in nature with increased cognitive attention. In 2002, a study was conducted in which 169 young girls living in public housing projects in urban Chicago were divided into two control groups: those living in units overlooking nature and greenery and those living in units void of views of nature. The results were astounding. The girls who had views of nature consistently performed better than those in the other control group in tests to measure focus, concentration, and mental discipline.
So how exactly does nature improve focus, enhance concentration, and perhaps even reduce anxiety and depression? The answer resides in your brain and relates again to the relaxation response, an evolutionary mechanism that appears to be “wired” into our neurobiology. The growing field of ecopsychology studies the affects of nature on the brain and reveals that your brain has two forms of attention: voluntary (direct) and involuntary (indirect). The voluntary/direct attention enables you to focus your thoughts and harness neural energy for tasks that require direct concentration, e.g. writing this article, taking an exam, or listening to a lecture. The other type is an involuntary/indirect attention that your brain does with little or no effort, e.g. watching a sunset, meditating, having a casual conversation, dancing, or being in nature.
In our current non-stop technologically driven world, a student's brain process on average 4 billion bits of information every second and about 700 ads every day, which doesn’t even include all the texts, emails, and other virtual data students receive on a daily basis. The brain is overwhelmed with all this sensory data, as it requires an unimaginable amount of forced and focused attention to be in this voluntary/direct mode. As a result, your brain functions in a constant stressful beta-wave state for the majority of your waking day. Rarely, do we take the time in our awake state for the brain to go into the involuntary/indirect attention state that correlates to the calming, soothing alpha-waves. (Learn about the different brain waves here) It appears that when we are immersed in nature, our brains automatically drop into the involuntary, indirect attention-mode that is connected with the healing alpha-wave brain state. Research suggests that even a short walk in the park during your lunch break, touching a tree on your way to school, or literally “stopping to smell the roses” once in a while is beneficial, as it is an evolutionary trait that your brain evolved to do. So while it turns out that certainly being in nature has tremendous benefits on the mind, brain, and learning, it appears that just having a view of nature from your home or in school can increase cognitive focus and attention in the classroom.
Relax & Sleep: More ZZZZ's Make for More A's
Of all the neuroscience tips for better learning, the one by far that is the easiest and simplest to do is sleep. In order to get those A’s you might need to get more Zzzz’s! Why sleep is so important is that scientific studies demonstrate it to have a significant impact on memory and learning. A fascinating experiment conducted at the Harvard Medical School on sleep, memory, and learning reveals that learning actually continues to occur while you are asleep and that getting a good night’s sleep after learning is just as important as getting rest before an exam.
Furthermore, it appears that the brain consolidates learning in sleep during the specific phase of Rapid Eye Movement (REM), better known as dream-state sleep. During this period important neural information is released from the hippocampus, the area responsible for memory, into specific areas of the cortex required for learning. Thus, the more sleep one gets the greater the duration of these important sleep phases to increase distribution of cognitive material into the appropriate neural networks. So the night after you learn about the American Civil War in school, during REM dream sleep your brain appears to review and reenact all that information, eventually solidifying them into your brain’s memory banks. What all the research into sleep, memory, and learning observes is very simple–the more sleep you get in the bedroom, the better chance of success in the classroom!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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