Yes!
Yoga, meditation, and visualization are all excellent ways
to learn to manage your stress levels. Reducing stress, and
the stress hormones, in your system is critical to your
brain and overall fitness.
Why is this so? It’s clear that our society has
changed faster than our genes. Instead of being faced with
physical, immediately life-threatening crises that demand
instant action, these days we deal with events and
illnesses that gnaw away at us slowly, without any stress
release.
Dr. Robert Sapolsky, in an interview about his book Why
Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, points out that humans
uniquely “can get stressed simply with thought,
turning on the same stress response as does the
zebra.” But, the zebra releases the stress hormones
through life-preserving action, while we usually just keep
muddling along, getting more anxious by the moment.
Prolonged exposure to the adrenal steroid hormones like
cortisol, released during the stress response, can damage
the brain and block the formation of new neurons in the
hippocampus, which is the key player in encoding new
memories in your brain. Recent studies have shown these
neurons can be regenerated with learning and environmental
stimulation, but while short-term stress may improve
attention and memory, chronic stress leads indirectly to
cell death and hampers our ability to make changes and be
creative enough to even think of possible changes to reduce
the stress.
What are the best defenses against chronic stress?
- Exercise strengthens the body and can reduce the
experience of stress, depression, and anxiety.
- Relaxation through meditation, tai chi, yoga, or other
techniques to lower blood pressure, slow respiration, slow
metabolism, and release muscle tension.
- Biofeedback programs that provide real-time information,
allowing you to learn effective techniques for reducing
stress levels.
- Empowerment, because attitudes of personal confidence and
control of your environment resolve the stress response.
- Social network of friends, family, and even pets help
foster trust, support, and relaxation.
If you want to learn more about the science behind these
recommendations, you can enjoy these scientific papers:
- Bedard M, Felteau M, Mazmanian D, Fedyk K, Klein R,
Richardson J, Parkinson W, Minthorn-Biggs MB. Pilot
evaluation of a mindfulness-based intervention to improve
quality of life among individuals who sustained traumatic
brain injuries. Disabil Rehabil. 2003;25:722-31.
- Bremner JD. Traumatic stress: effects on the brain.
Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2006;8:445-61.
- Czeh B, Muller-Keuker JI, Rygula R, Abumaria N, Hiemke C,
Domenici E, Fuchs E. Chronic Social Stress Inhibits Cell
Proliferation in the Adult Medial Prefrontal Cortex:
Hemispheric Asymmetry and Reversal by Fluoxetine Treatment.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006 Dec 13; [Epub ahead of print].
- Warner-Schmidt JL, Duman RS. Hippocampal neurogenesis:
opposing effects of stress and antidepressant treatment.
Hippocampus. 2006;16:239-49.
- Sapolsky, RM. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (Owl Books;
2004). ISBN: 0805073698
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Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of
SharpBrains.com, which provides the latest science-based
information for Cognitive Fitness and Cognitive Health, and
has been recognized by Scientific American Mind,
MarketWatch, Forbes, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education
and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science
of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute.
You can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/
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