DR. JAY KUMAR

Above all, humans are social animals extraordinaire. In fact, the biological drive to feel connected and part of something greater is literally wired into your brain! Hear Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show discuss "Love, Empathy, & the Brain" and how the basic human need to love, be loved, and to belong is crucial for your health and wellness! 

Have a great day!

Dr. Jay Kumar
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Did you know that the emotions of compassion and gratitude are now shown to positively affect your brain and heart and, more importantly, can improve your health! Learn more on the latest podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.

Dr. Jay Kumar
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Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
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In case you mIssed the latest podcast of Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show, we continue our Olympic theme on "Neuroscience & Sports." Learn how you can harness the power of your brain for optimal health and peak performance. 

Remember, "Before you can achieve it, you first have to visualize and believe it!" Read more online at http://conta.cc/RaLtyA

Here's to Your Health & Happiness,

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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You might be surprised learning that it's not just pure physical strength that helps Olympic athletes, like Michael Phelps, break world records! The latest research in neuroscience suggests that his brain might be the one tool that helped him make Olympic history at the 2012 Olympic Games. Hear Dr. Jay Kumar on the most recent podcast on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show as we explore how  you can use the same mental techniques to achieve your personal best in all areas of life! Catch all podcasts of Dr. Jay Kumar on ITunes

Michael Phelps just broke the record for most decorated Olympic athlete in sport’s history! You might be surprised to learn that it’s not just his physical strength, but his brain that actually might be the most important tool that helped him in his world record performances at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Every four years the world’s best athletes from every corner of the globe come together to the Summer Olympics for the love of sport and to GO FOR THE GOLD!  In 1896, the first Modern Olympic Games were founded by Pierre de Coubertin on the ideals that "respect, fair balance, pursuit of excellence, joy in effort, and balance between mind, body and will as the most essential Olympic values!" Coubertin’s intention was to take an entirely holistic approach to sports for all athletes to cultivate the body, mind, and soul. I wonder how pleasantly surprised he'd be knowing just how true his vision exists in sports today, as more athletes actively train their mind and brain equally as their body. As a big fan of the Olympic games and as someone who studies the brain and human cognition, what equally fascinates me is understanding what happens between the ears of an Olympic athlete, like Phelps, that makes him an Olympic legend! It's the reason why Dr. John Milton, a neuroscientist at Claremont Colleges in California says, “Brawn plays a part, but there’s a whole lot more to it than that.” Let's explore exactly why that is by looking at what's happening inside Michael Phelps' brain just before he dives off the block and wins gold.

“If You Can Envision It, You Can Achieve It!”

Seconds before the starting buzzer and Phelps' body hits the surface of the water, an area in his brain known as the pre-motor cortex actually begins to fire before the muscles in his body begin to engage for the race. Neuroscientists have only very recently learned that the premotor cortex actually has nothing to do with any actual motor coordination or physical signal for your body. It turns out, this fascinating area of your brain merely helps your body envision and prepare for something it is about to accomplish, like swimming, preparing to give a big speech, tackling an important issue in life, taking an exam, or perhaps merely sticking to your exercise and diet goals.

In a recent article published in the journal Science, research into the premotor cortex reveals that this area of the brain is what accounts for us planning and strategizing in order to accomplish a goal. The reason why Olympic athletes and other highly motivated people appear to be more capable of winning a race or accomplishing a long-sought after goal is that they've trained their premotor cortex to visualize themselves performing the task in their brain well before any actual physical action occurs. It is as if their brain is already doing the action well before the body even moves a muscle! It is perhaps this cognitive visualization that gives athletes, CEOs, presidents, and other highly motivated people a considerable advantage when it comes to facing a challenge.

So even if you're not planning to be the next Michael Phelps, there is one thing that you share with him and everyone else in your ability to achieve your personal best in life—BRANPOWER! All the studies in neuroscience now indicate that the brain, like the body, is a muscle that you can strengthen and harness to your advantage in order to accomplish your goals in life. So how exactly can you use the premotor cortex to work for you? The answer is in a phrase that I often say to clients and to my students: “If you can envision it, you can achieve it!” Whether you want to call it “creative imagery,” “cognitive visualization, ” or “muscle memory,” neuroscience now validates the long-held believe that in order to accomplish a task, your chances of success are much greater if you can visualize it first in your mind!

How The Russians Did It

In their book Peak Performance, Mental Training Techniques of the World's Greatest Athletes, authors Garfield and Bennett cite a remarkable study. Back in the days of the old Soviet Union when athletes trained for the 1980 Olympics, sports coaches and medical researchers banded together to conduct an experiment to quantify just how cognitive visualization and mental training enhance physical performance. The Soviet study divided athletes into four groups:

Group 1 doing 100% physical training.
Group 2 doing 75% physical training and 25% mental training (visualization).
Group 3 doing equal amounts of 50% physical and mental training.
Group 4 doing 75% mental and 25% physical training.

The results may surprise you! It turns out the fourth group that only did 25% physical training and 75% mental training outperformed and showed the greatest athletic improvement among all groups. Furthermore, the Soviet coaches and doctors concluded that engaging the brain in mental training and creative visualization techniques in conjunction with physical training enhanced:

• Overall confidence of the athletes due to visualizing themselves winning their events prior to competition.

• Ability to remain focused and alert by eliminating mental distractions during training sessions.

How to Build a Better Brain

The great news is that if you have a healthy brain you can practice cognitive visualization, activate your premotor cortex, and drastically improve your ability to achieve peak performance in your daily life. Whether breaking the record in the 400m freestyle, preparing for an important business meeting, or merely manifesting your intention for greater health and happiness, the same principles apply. What to do:

1)  Breathe and Relax. Sitting in a comfortable position and closing your eyes, begin to focus and observe your breathing. Taking slow deep breaths in and out through the nose and through the diaphragm (deep-belly breathing) will help your brain go into a relaxed brain-wave state.

2)   Once your body, mind, and thoughts become relaxed, begin to visualize an upcoming event that you wish to go in your favor. Perhaps, it might be a big exam at school, a stressful meeting with your boss, or a challenging conversation you need to have with a friend. Whatever the situation, visualize yourself accomplishing the task with genuine determination and motivation.

3)   Now as you continue to visualize the scene in your mind, feel the emotional quality of joy, accomplishment, or gratitude that accompanies the successful achievement of your performance.

4)  Hold that thought in your mind and experience as if it is already happening in your body.

Please don’t get discouraged if you find the exercise difficult to do the first time around. Remember, like with any muscle in the body trained during physical performance, the brain equally requires discipline and perseverance. The good news is that the neurons in your brain wire together much more quickly than it does for the muscles to develop in your body! So even if you’re not planning to be the next Michael Phelps, you can achieve your personal best and GO FOR GOLD knowing that the first and most important step toward accomplishing your goals in life begin in your brain! (Full article on premotor cortex and Michael Phelps here)

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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My spot last week on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show was a BLAST! This is why I love being on the show...you've gotta' check out the podcast with all the jokes, great fun, and laughs as we discussed the "Neuroscience of Affirmations." Catch all podcasts of Awake with Dr. Jay Kumar on ITunes and be sure to catch me live every Thur. morning 9:30amET at www.dougstephan.com! Have a great and AFFIRMING DAY!

Did you know studies show that it can take as much as 5 empowering thoughts to outweigh one negative one? Even more amazing is that neuroscience now has an explanation for how you can literally rewire your brain for a more healthy and happy life! Learn more on the recent podcast with Dr. Jay Kumar on the Doug Stephan Good Day Show.

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar 

May you always be Living Your Light as you enjoy all of life’s pleasures and passions!

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
Facebook – Dr. Jay Kumar
Twitter - docjaykumar 

Why We Need Pleasure?  
When we speak about passion and pleasure in neuroscience, they are not the hedonistic, excessive aspects of debauchery or gluttony that come to mind. Rather passion and pleasure in neurobiology are defined as feelings or sensations, opposite to but also closely associated with pain. Just like pain, pleasure appears also to be a biological mechanism wired into our human nervous system and brain for survival. It’s easy to understand how the human brain’s pain mechanism is essential for survival, e.g. think of the first time you accidentally placed a hand on a hot stove and quickly learned as something not to do again. You might, however, wonder how can pleasure be an evolutionary tool for survival? I’ll offer two good examples to illustrate this point–food and sex! Both eating and reproduction are essential for the survival of the human species. Neuroscientists now believe that over the course of time the human brain developed specific “reward circuits” and “pleasure centers” to associate and foster all pleasurable experiences as being joyful and beneficial for survival. Eventually, other pleasurable experiences that were not necessary for human survival, such as smelling the fragrance of a rose, watching a beautiful sunset, or hearing a piece of soothing music, would trigger these same pleasure areas in the brain. In all of these situations the brain releases a host of “feel good” neurotransmitters, endorphins and peptides that the brain ultimately associates with positive emotions and feelings. While small and regular doses of these neurochemicals in the body are now shown to be healthy, the problem arises when we experience too much or even too little of these pleasurable activities that might lead to addictive and compulsive behavior. I will explore this topic in my next piece.  

How Pleasure is Healthy for the Brain and Body
My previous blog piece on Health, Stress, and Aging discussed how medical evidence shows that when you are under chronic stress, depression, and anxiety, elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline in the body suppress your immune system, inhibit the cell’s ability to divide, and accelerate the aging process! In fact, numerous studies on the adverse effects of stress indicate that for every one year of life under chronic stress your body can age as much as six years! While that is certainly discouraging news to many, don’t worry, I have hope! By allowing yourself to experience healthy doses of pleasure in your life–whether it’s enjoying a great meal with friends, playing with your kids, walking the dog in the park, being intimate with your partner, or my personal favorite laughing to an episode of the Simpsons–you can actually lower stress, boost up the immune system, and most importantly possibly slow down the aging process. Let’s explore how!

In the growing medical field of psychoneuroimmunology, researchers explore the intimate relationship how human behavior, the brain, and body promote health and ward off disease. At the Neuroscience Research Institute at the State University of New York in 2004 Dr. George Stefano conducted experiments to show exactly how pleasure triggers the “feel-good” chemical proenkephalin, a hormone that plays an important physiological function to regulate pain perception and response to stress. Most surprising of all, the study indicates that healthy amounts of pleasure release an important antibacterial agent in the body, known as enkelytin, an opioid peptide that appears to attack bacteria and strengthen the immune system.

All Work and No Play
You’ve probably heard of the old adage that all work and no play make for a dull life. Well, it also now appears that all work and no play also make for an unhealthy and short-lived life! The notion that pleasure is not only healthy but an integral part of human behavior and survival might run counter to our long held stereotypes about the pursuit of pleasure. While the philosophical foundation of this country was established on a Puritan work ethic that viewed passion and pleasure as the sinful path to debauchery and vice, neurobiology and the growing field of social and affective neuroscience now advocate differently. Contrary to what many of you might have been taught, when you lack healthy pleasures in life, your brain experiences a “pleasure and reward deficiency,” which in turn inhibits the release of beneficial neurochemicals into the body to reduce stress, promote a strong immune system, and create overall health and wellness! So the next time someone criticizes you for “having too much fun,” just smile and know that not only is having pleasure good for the soul, it actually now turns out to crucial for your health and well-being!

As Neal Diamond Walsch eloquently states, “Give yourself abundant pleasure, that you may have abundant pleasure to give others.” 

May you always be Living Your Light as you enjoy all of life’s pleasures and passions!

Dr. Jay Kumar
www.drjaykumar.com
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