How Stress Can Affect Our Memory

Have you ever been at a party or social/work related event and forgotten the name of someone whom you know that you know? Have you ever walked into a room to get something and forgotten why you are there? Have you ever started to ask someone to pass you something only to forget what it is called? “Could you please pass me that……you know, thing over there, I can’t think of the name”.

You could be suffering from “neurotic stupidity”. Yes, there is a name for it, and it has its roots in cognitive psychology.

• Neurotic stupidity is a failure to use the real capacity of our brain due to its being overloaded by information.
• Neurotic stupidity manifests as a failure to process information needed to function well.
• Symptoms of neurotic stupidity include missing important details, having needed information readily drop out of memory, failing to pick up on important social cues, and loss of creative problem solving skills.
• Multitasking and muscular tension are major sources of neurotic stupidity.

Cognitive psychologists say we have a 2.5 bit channel capacity. Our brains can process 2.5 bits of information at a rate of 18 times per second. To get a sense of how limited this is, the average home computer can process 32 bits of information at a rate of 2-3 billion times per second. What this means is that the brain is easily overloaded, and when it overloads we drop information from our memory and miss important information necessary for problem solving and navigating though our world.

The good news is that we have an amazing ability to store information and to take information in. When our brains are allowed to operate at their best, they have remarkable capabilities. We know from years of research that memory has been shown to be almost limitless. But because of our limited channel capacity, the brain can only process small amounts of information per unit of time.

Most people would think that things we see and hear are the greatest sources of information coming into the brain. While it’s true that information from hearing and seeing can overload the brain, the largest source of information processed by the brain comes from our muscles. Muscular tension is the major source of information flow into the brain, and tension goes hand in hand with stress. It is stress and tension that clog our channel capacity, therefore, learning to relax allows us to think more clearly and concentrate more easily.

The cure for neurotic stupidity? Relaxation and self-quieting exercises.

How Stress and Our Emotions are Connected

Last week I talked about stress and the fight/flight state, how to identify the signs of the state and how to neutralize the negative reactions associated with it.

But, there’s more to think about – namely, humans have an emotional response to everything that happens to them.

Every second of every day, we respond both mentally and emotionally to everything that happens to us. Here is why: everything that happens is processed in the subcortical part of the brain (also known as the limbic system or stream of emotion). Everyone responds in this way; it’s the way humans are wired.

At the base of the subcortical part of your brain is the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus governs the Autonomic Nervous System (fight/flight response) and basic functions of the body. It also controls sympathetic firing – whether or not you go into that fight/flight state.

So an event happens – let’s say a driver runs a red light and narrowly avoids hitting you. Your reaction is processed in the emotional part of the brain. As you silently (or not) curse the other driver’s carelessness your brain is busy. Chances are you found the incident stressful. Your hypothalamus reacts, you go into the fight/flight state and your hands get cold (remember if your hands are cold - and you’re not outside in very cold weather or have a medical condition that causes it - then you are in the fight/flight state).

The above is an obvious example of how you respond emotionally to events. But we also respond emotionally when we are stuck in traffic or grocery lines that are too long – or when we wake up in the morning and realize that our “to do” list is longer than we have time for. Remember we have a mental and emotional response to everything that we encounter.

Reversing the fight/flight state isn’t difficult if you practice self-calming techniques (please see last week’s blog for some simple techniques).

Be aware that there are thousands of different relaxation/meditation techniques. Some will work better for you than others. However, deep breathing is the basis of any relaxation or meditation technique. A good basic book on the subject is called “The Relaxation Response” by Herbert Benson M.D. To read further, go to http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/basics/rr.aspx.

Next week I’m going write about how stress affects your memory.

News You Can Use: Increasing Resilience through Relaxation and Meditation

One of the ways you can train resilience and increase performance is through learning and practicing relaxation or meditation techniques.

There are four different brainwave states that we experience. The beta brainwave state is our cognitive, thinking state. Alpha waves are the daydream like state. We are most likely in the alpha state when we are relaxing, staring out the window, visualizing or participating in a more active kind of meditation. The theta brainwave state is that place in between sleep and awake. It is that spontaneous, dreamlike state, also called the reverie state. It is the state that meditators are looking for. And, the delta brainwave state is when we are asleep.

If you watched Jill Bolte-Taylor’s video (mentioned in my last blog), she describes the right brain state. We access the right brain when we are in the reverie state. We are also accessing the limbic system, or emotional brain which only speaks to us in the form of images. This is where our dream images come from. This is also why we experience dreamlike images when we are meditating. It is a state of “knowing” not thinking (the left brain thinks, the right brain knows). Complex understandings can be grasped, worries are relieved and healing messages are sent to the body. We lose our “ego” and the true self is revealed. This is the state that keeps meditators coming back for more. You are accessing the emotional part of the brain (the limbic system) where you may experience feelings of bliss or have powerful, emotional experiences.

This deep meditative state is a very powerful, restorative state. Endorphins are found in high concentration in the limbic system (emotional brain). When endorphins are released they kill pain and cause euphoria. Accessing the limbic system also releases polypeptides (stored energy) which energizes the immune cells and helps them replicate to attack invaders.

This deep meditative state also connects us to our higher self. Have you ever been working on a difficult problem or situation only to find the answer in a dream? Or as you are waking up or falling asleep? Complex understandings are brought to consciousness, things we don’t realize we know come to mind. These messages come from our deep unconscious mind. We access this state to create art, music, any right brain activity.

If we stop and listen and allow the “self” to speak, we learn so much about ourselves and others. Our intuition is heightened and we become more in tuned with what is going on inside of us and around us. If someone is searching for their life purpose, fulfillment, or new and different ways to view their world, this is the state to strive for.

The following exercises are first steps to deeper meditation. For many people who are just starting, it is difficult to practice the longer, deeper relaxation exercises. Try these exercises for a few weeks and next time I will talk about deeper relaxation exercises.

Brief Relaxation Technique
· Take a deep breath and exhale while mentally saying “reeeelaaax”. Do this several times. You can do this while you are talking with someone, walking, waiting in line.
· Say to yourself, “A wave of relaxation is passing from the top of my head to the tips of my toes”. Picture the wave of relaxation as it progresses.
· Check for bodily tension and tell tense body parts to “reeelaaax” as you exhale.

Brief Relaxation Technique
· As you breathe deeply, imagine that you are breathing in and out from your heart
· Now imagine someone or something that you really appreciate, picturing all the details, who/what, where you are, etc.
· Then go back to breathing in and out through your heart

Using Brief Relaxations
· Identify cues that remind you to do brief relaxations. Examples of cues could include a ringing phone, when you have to stop for a red light or when something distressing occurs. Or, put a sticker or dot on your mirror, refrigerator, etc. to remind you to take deep breaths or do a quick visualization.
· Remember to think something like “That’s my cue to do a brief relaxation” whenever the cues occur.
· Practice many brief relaxations each day.

News You Can Use: Your Emotional Brain

In Turning Point’s Using the Mind class, we talk a lot about the mind, brain and emotions. The next time we offer the class, I will be adding some additional information on neuroplasticity and the brain – so for those of you who have taken it before, it is new and improved. But for now, I will give you a short lesson on the emotional part of your brain.

Did you know that for every outside event that you experience, you have a mental and emotional response? Every second of every day, you are responding mentally and emotionally to everything that is happening to you. Here is why: everything that happens is processed in the subcortical part of the brain, also known as the limbic system or stream of emotion. There is nothing you can do about this; it is the way you are wired. The only way around it is if you were somehow disconnected from that part of your brain.

We also know from research done by J.W. Papez, that the brain can be separated into three sections. The stream of cognition governs your intellectual functioning; the stream of emotion governs your emotional functioning; and the stream of motion governs your movement and speech.

The three sections are not very well connected to each other. In essence, there is a lot of communication within each section, but not much between each section. For instance, let’s say you decide to go on a diet. You know all of the intellectual reasons why you should diet - so you start with a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner and then at 10:00 at night, you eat a pan of brownies or bag of potato chips. You think to yourself, “I know I need to do this, why can’t I make myself diet!” What has happened is that your stream of cognition decided you need to do this, but your stream of emotion said “No, I’m not dieting”. And guess which part of your brain is more powerful? The stream of emotion.

So, how do you deal with this? You need to get the stream of cognition and stream of emotion on the same path. And how do you get the stream of emotion agreeing with the stream of cognition? Through right brain activity. Right brain activity is the only way to access the emotional part of your brain.

Some of the best right brain ways to access the emotional part of your brain:

· Relaxation response: There are many techniques that can help you relax, and this “deep relaxation” is great for accessing your stream of emotion. To read further, go to www.mbmi.org/benson or check in next time and I will walk you through the process.
· Repetitive prayer – the repetition of a simple prayer over and over.
· Repetitive physical exercise – running, elliptical, treadmill, etc.
· Mindfulness meditation – Jon Kabat-Zin or Jack Kornfield.
· Breathing techniques – Thousands to choose from!
· Self talk: The repetition of simple language over and over again. More on this later.
· Imagery: Imagining yourself reaching your goals, picturing everything exactly as you would like to be.
· Listen to calming recordings, music or voice.

For a wonderful description of how the right brain functions, I recommend viewing a video of a scientist named Jill Bolte Taylor. Go to www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229 - it is worth the 18 minutes!

See you next time.

Moira