Breathing for Our Brains
Background
People often overlook the health of their mental state. We encourage everyone to avoid a reactive brain to promote calm minds that can support their daily tasks.
Reactive Brain
To have a reactive brain is to have high activity in the lower part of your brain, or your amygdala. You can tell if you have a reactive brain by looking for its symptoms: anxiety, pessimism, threatened by changes and easily overwhelmed.
The most important part of soothing this reactivity is to accept it. Don’t judge or ignore how you are feeling; validate them instead. Becoming “friends” with our brains reduces our overall stress by allowing us to work alongside our emotional and logical feelings rather than becoming aggravated when obstacles are in our path.
Deep Breathing and Meditation
Taking deep breathes provide more benefits than you may initially think. By taking deeper breathes, you allow more oxygen to enter the body and revigorate your brain cells. After deep inhales, deep exhaling pushes more air out of your lungs, leaving more room for oxygen to come in.
On the other hand, the benefits of meditation surpass those of deep breathing. Firstly, meditation increases the amount of gray matter you have. Second, the meditation releases endorphins (natural pain relievers) within your body. Lastly, it helps you have better and longer sleep and improves your mood by releasing serotonin. All in all, to reap the most benefits, try doing both!
Physical Exercise and Diet
Regular workouts trains and condition muscles all over your body. However, physical exercise can also increase brain mass, reduce the risk of dementia, and improves your ability to reason. Studies show the best results derive from 30 mins of aerobic exercise, 5 days per week.
Try the Mediterranean diet! A diet consisting of fruits, veggies, unsaturated fats, and low red meat helps prevent cardiac arrest and also reduces the risk of dementia.
Soothing Guides
Learning about mental health is the first step towards a healthy brain. Push yourself and start applying them!
| Practice | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Deep Breathing |
|
| Meditation |
|
| Physical Exercise |
|
| Mediterranean Diet |
|
Sources:
BrainMD Life. “Brain-Healthy Ways to Soothe Your Stress: BrainMD Life.” BrainMD Health Blog, 25 Jan. 2016, www.brainmd.com/blog/11-brain-healthy-ways-to-soothe-your-stress/.
EOC Institute. “How Meditation Improves Brain Health: Key Benefits.” EOC Institute, www.eocinstitute.org/meditation/the-mind-benefits-of-meditation/.
Harvard Health. “The 4 Best Ways to Maintain Your Brain.” Harvard Health, 9 Jan. 2015, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the-4-best-ways-to-maintain-your-brain.
Pitman, Karly Randolph. “4 Ways to Soothe a Reactive Brain.” Growing Human(Kind)Ness by Karly Randolph Pitman, 29 Aug. 2013, www.growinghumankindness.com/soothe-reactive-brain/.
*This site content is provided for informational purposes only and does not intend to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have medical questions and/or concerns, please contact a medical professional.