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Change your approach to productivity and let the results speak for themselves

By the time 3:00pm hits, my body starts telling me that to check out. Despite my high motivation and earnest desire to achieve my goals, simple biology causes my energy levels to plummet, negatively impacting my concentration and ability to stay productive. My experience is not abnormal.

For many individuals, the hours following lunch between 12 and 4pm is a vacuum in which time slows and productivity plummets. People find themselves scrolling through their social media accounts rather than staying focused on the task at hand because their bodies feel like falling asleep.

Here are ten simple ways to avoid your afternoon slump and stay productive throughout the rest of the day:

1. KNOW YOUR BODY’S TENDENCIES.

My body crashes at 3pm, but yours may crash earlier or later than mine. Start taking notes about how you feel at different times throughout the day and adjust your tasks accordingly. If you’re very productive in the morning, schedule more difficult tasks first–or do the opposite if it takes you awhile to get moving.

2. EXPERIMENT WITH HEALTHIER NUTRITION.

Knowing when your body feels tired gives you information that can help you fight this battle with nutrition. Try adding in slower digesting carbohydrates in the morning, like sweet potatoes or brown rice, to sustain energy levels, and then eat an apple for a quick boost in the afternoon. The better you can build the foundation of your diet, the higher your energy levels throughout the day.

3. TAKE A SHORT BREAK (WITHOUT YOUR PHONE).

Taking a break sounds counterintuitive, but it will actually save you time when used correctly. Leave your phone at your desk, or put it on silence before leaving your office and walking around. Sometimes fresh air and no distractions can help reset your mind–which at this point in the day is accustomed to being over stimulated.

4. ELEVATE YOUR HEART RATE WITH QUICK MOVEMENTS.

Sitting most of the day is one of the least healthy aspects of most people’s workplace, and it leads to fatigue. Jumping jacks in the stairwell, running up a flight of stairs, dropping down for some quick mountain-climbers and pushups, or taking a short series of rapid deep breaths will bring your heart-rate back up to normal and increase your internal body temperature. Both of these factors will provide you with the energy you need to remain focused.

5. MAKE ROOM TO FEEL WHAT YOU’VE BEEN AVOIDING.

Ignoring or minimizing uncomfortable thoughts and feelings–whether related to work or your personal life–removes valuable energy that could be applied elsewhere. Give yourself five minutes to sit with your feelings without labeling or judging them. When you give them space, you’ll feel a sense of relief and discover energy you didn’t know you had.

6. HIT THE RESET BUTTON WITH A LIGHT AFTERNOON MEDITATION.

After your short exercise and feeling activity, it’s time to transition back into the workplace grind. Allow your mind to reset and regain composure by taking a minute or two to focus on your breath and become aware of your surroundings. Focus on what you can see, what you can touch, and what you can feel.

7. RE-ORGANIZE YOUR PRIORITIES AND SET DEADLINES.

Look at all of your tasks. Decide right now which need immediate attention and which can be put on the back burner, then write out what you need to accomplish.

8. ELIMINATE ALL DISTRACTIONS.

Put your phone on silent, close your extra browser tabs, and tell your coworkers that you need some time to yourself this afternoon. It’s time to get serious about productivity.

9. START (AND KEEP) MOVING TO FIND YOUR FLOW.

Remember Newton’s first law? Objects in motion stay in motion. Start moving and allow yourself to be consumed by the task so that you can enter a highly productive state of flow.

10. DO YOUR BEST AND ACCEPT THE RESULT.

No matter how your day went, implementing changes takes time. When adding in the steps above, recognize that we all have some days that are less than optimal. However, with acceptance comes forgiveness and the ability to be open to new possibilities tomorrow.

Give yourself permission to continue refining the way that you approach productivity and you’ll be pleased with the results.

This article was originally posted on flipboard.com by Matthew Jones

The most important organ in your body—your brain—needs workouts and attention to keep it healthy; learning new subjects, tackling new challenges, and engaging in new experiences are excellent ways to exercise you brain. There are also more subtle ways to give your brain the workout it needs. Matteo Bonetti of TrendinTech writes about boosting your brain power using a common household item—a simple pen or pencil.

As Bonetti states, a pen or pencil “… is a fantastic way to increase your learning speed, creativity and focus in ways that a computer never will. But how?

According to the article, when using a pen or pencil you’re more focused, you learn faster, and you’re more creative. Writing or drawing by hand allows you to concentrate by taking away the distractions of the internet, e-mail, text messages, and the everyday “hustle and bustle” or home- and work-life. Bonetti refers to UCLA psychologists who claim that students learn better when taking notes by hand rather than a computer, and a University of Washington study showing that essays written by hand were far better than those written using a keyboard.

So, it seems that using of a pen or pencil often can help to keep our minds sharp, and remind us of the days when life was simple before the onslaught of technology.

For more details, check out the article Boost Your Brain Power for Just a Few Cents.

The rhythm of breathing co-ordinates electrical activity across a network of brain regions associated with smell, memory, and emotions, and can enhance their functioning, according to a new study by researchers at Northwestern University. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that breathing does not merely supply oxygen to the brain and body, but may also organise the activity of populations of cells within multiple brain regions to help orchestrate complex behaviours.

Nearly 75 years ago, the British physiologist Edgar Adrian used electrodes to record brain activity in hedgehogs, and found that brain waves in the olfactory system were closely coupled to breathing, with their size and frequency being directly related to the speed at which air moves through the nose. Since then, this same activity has been observed in the olfactory bulb and other brain regions of rats, mice and other small animals, but until now it has not been investigated in humans.

In this new study, a research team led by Christina Zelano recorded electrical activity directly from the surface of the brain in seven patients being evaluated for surgery to treat drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy, focusing on three brain regions: the piriform cortex, which processes smell information from the olfactory bulbs, the hippocampus, which is critical for memory formation, and the amygdala, which plays an important role in emotional processing. At the same time, they monitored the patients’ respiratory rates with either pressure sensors or an abdominal breathing belt.

The researchers found that slow brain wave oscillations in the piriform cortex, and higher frequency brain waves in the hippocampus and amygdala, were synchronised with the rate of natural, spontaneous breathing. Importantly, though, the brain wave oscillations in all three regions were most highly synchronised immediately after the patients breathed in, but less so while they were breathing out. And when the patients were asked to divert breathing to their mouths, the researchers observed a significant decrease in brain wave coupling.

Thus, the air plumes that periodically enter the nose during natural breathing appear to synchronise the activity of neurons in the piriform cortex, and this synchrony is then propagated to the hippocampus and amygdala.

Given the well established respective roles of the hippocampus and amygdala in memory and emotions, the researchers conducted a series of behavioural tests to investigate whether breathing phase might influence thought processes. First, they recruited 21 healthy participants, and asked them to perform an emotion discrimination task. They were shown images of faces expressing either fear or surprise, in quick succession, and asked to identify the emotion in each one as quickly as they could. Another group of 75 healthy participants performed a visual memory task, in which they viewed a series of images and then identify the ones they had seen before from a second series presented to them 20 minutes later.

Participants in the emotion discrimination task identified the fearful faces, but not the surprised ones, more quickly when they saw them while breathing in compared to when breathing out. And those who performed the memory task were far better able to recall images that had been presented to them while breathing than those they saw while breathing out.

Breathing therefore modulates emotional recognition and memory recall, with both processes being more accurate during breathing in compared to breathing out. Once again, the route of breathing was critically important – the effects were seen when the participants were asked to breath in through their noses, but their performance on both tasks declined markedly when they breathed through their mouths.

Breathing is controlled unconsciously by the brainstem, and humans alter their breathing pattern in response to emotional stimuli and mental effort, suggesting that our thought processes affect the rate of breathing. These new findings suggest that breathing can also impact our mental function. For example, breathing rapidly when we are scared or highly aroused may optimise information processing in the brain so that we can think and act appropriately and quickly.

“When you breathe in… you are stimulating neurons in the olfactory cortex, amygdala and hippocampus,” says Zelano. “In a panic state, your breathing rhythm becomes faster [and] as a result you’ll spend proportionally more time inhaling,” [This] could have a positive impact on brain function and result in faster response times to dangerous stimuli in the environment.”

This article was curated from theguardian.com.

Research suggests that an hour long nap after lunch could help boost memory in older adults. As we age, our cognitive functioning gradually declines, meaning that we start having problems recalling names, learning new things, or simply remembering where we left the house keys. Previous studies have linked being active – both mentally and physically – with staying on the ball in older age – but is there anything else you can do to keep your mind sharp?

According to a new study, yes. Research undertaken at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore suggests that a good afternoon nap could work wonders if you find yourself in need of a memory boost. Whilst similar investigations have already established a link between napping and cognitive performance, these new findings – published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society – show that an afternoon nap of around one hour to be ideal when it comes to boosting memory performance in older adults.

The Study

Scientists analysed the data of 2,974 Chinese adults aged 65 and over who were part of the China Health and Retirement longitudinal study. All participants were tested to assess their attention span, episodic memory and visuospatial abilities using a variety of means including mathematical, word recall and figure drawing tests.

They were also asked to report how long they napped for after lunch on each day during the past month, and were categorised into four groups based on their answers: non-nappers (0 minutes, short nappers (less than 30 minutes), moderate nappers (30-90 minutes) and extended nappers (more than 90 minutes).

Stick to a Moderate Nap

Of the 57.7% of those who claimed to partake in post-lunch napping, moderate nappers (averaging a snooze time of one hour) came out on top. When compared to those who did not sleep in the afternoon, or who slept for much longer, this group of participants performed better in the cognitive tests.

Indeed, reductions in mental abilities of non-nappers, short nappers and extended nappers were between four and six times greater than those of moderate nappers. It was also noted that such a decline in cognitive function was comparable to an estimated five-year increase in age.

Study co-author Junxin Li, Ph.D., of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said:

“The results support the hypothesis that a moderate-duration nap taken during the post-lunch dip is associated with better overall cognition. Older adults who did not nap or napped longer than 90 minutes (extended nappers) were significantly more likely than those who napped for 30-90 minutes after lunch (moderate nappers) to have lower overall cognition scores after adjusting for possible confounders.”

However, Li did highlight that the cross-sectional design and self-reported measures of sleep limited the findings, and agreed that further research is needed.

This article was curated from netdoctor.co.uk.

The current trend for older adults shows that this population is living longer and healthier than ever before in history leading to drastic growth in this sector. As we age it is important to think of ourselves as a whole and strive for fulfillment in numerous areas: emotionally, mentally, physically, socially, spiritually.

Getting Help and Support

There are many types of programs and services, both public and private, designed to ease the burden and allow for successful aging, such as programs for employment, housing, income maintenance, medical care, and social services.

Health Related Issues

The majority of older adults have multiple chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis; this heightens an individual’s risk for complications. It can be helpful to reduce the risk of complications by:

• Fully understanding treatment options
• Determining treatment outcomes that are important
• Speaking up immediately if you have complications
• Voicing concerns if a treatment plan is too complicated to manage

As we age moderate declines in overall functioning is normal. An individual naturally compensates for these declines. Nonetheless there are a few steps to stay proactive concerning prevention.

Stay on top of all medications

• Prescription drugs, over the counter medicine, vitamins, and herbal remedies should all be kept track of (dosages & frequency)
• Keep an up to date list. Make copies and bring them with you to all doctors appointments, pharmacists, and any other health care professional
• Never share or borrow medication that is not prescribed to you
• Always check with your local pharmacist before adding another medication (prescription or over the counter)

Be cautious of risks for falls

• Ask your health care professional about taking a calcium and vitamin D supplement. As we age it is vital to maintain good bone health
• Try to create spaces that are barrier free to reduce the risk of falls
• Regular exercise is important to stability and strength. Walking, cycling, weight lifting, yoga, and tai chi are effective types of exercise
• Always check with your local pharmacist before adding another medication (prescription or over the counter)

Nutrition is important

Nutrition is a vital component to overall health. As we age our dietary needs vary slightly. Fever calories are needed but vitamins and minerals become more essential. For instance Vitamin D and B12 and Calcium are crucial to a healthy diet. Adequate nourishment can be achieved by choosing foods that are nutritionally dense. More information about nutrition for individuals over the are of 65 can be located at these links:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Nutrition.gov
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

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