Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - June 30th

Sleep is the best meditation. - Dalai Lama

Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. - Francis Bacon

As we continue on our journey to increase our memory and improve our minds, it is time to talk about sleep!  In the past year, I have had issues with sleeping including waking up at 1am and not being able to fall back asleep.  This has caused a few problems with coherence at work.  I have done research, watched various segments on Dr. Oz and tried to determine why this started happening in the last year.  I have not been able to resolve my issue yet.  Last Friday I again experienced sleep deprivation after sleeping about 8 hours in 2 days during my business trip to Washington, DC.  Exhaustion overtook me and my brain was definitely not working “on all cylinders” and I do not remember much of Friday.  There was nothing I could do, but relax and wait to fall asleep when I got home from work.  

Why is sleep so important to our memory and improving our minds?  According to recent studies published in 2007, 2013 and 2015, sleep helps remove waste and toxins called beta-amyloids from our brains, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.  The various studies suggest that 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night removes the cerebrospinal fluid that sits around the brain and spinal cord.  These beta-amyloids also prevent the body from getting enough sleep because the more beta-amyloids you have in your brain the less sleep you will be able to get.  Last week when I was sleep deprived, the beta-amyloids had not be extracted from my body during sleep causing fatigue and irritability.  

Based on the studies and the quotes by the Dalai Lama and Francis Bacon, sleep is vitally important to help us be the best each day, improve our minds and memories and accomplish our purpose in life.

***REMINDER***

Today marks the end of the 2^nd quarter for 2015.  How are you doing on accomplishing your goals?  Here are the questions I posted at the end of the 1^st quarter and I thought they would be good to review again.  For each goal you set for yourself, ask:

1. How am I doing on this goal? 
2. Why do I have that goal?
3. Do I still need this goal with the new dreams and inspirations that are developing in 2015?
4. How will that goal help me accomplish my long term goals?
5. How will that goal help me accomplish the vision I have for my life?
6. How will that goal help me fulfill the purpose statement that I created for my life?

It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.

- John Steinbeck

Sources

• http://redef.com/item/557ddbe5dfa530b429660556?curator=MediaREDEF&source=http://qz.com/424120/our-poor-sleeping-habits-could-be-filling-our-brains-with-neurotoxins&utm_source=Ivanka+Trump&utm_campaign=0d0e181998-6_25_Newsletter_original_list6_25_2015&utm_
• http://www.wired.com/2015/06/schedule-nap-at-work/?mbid=psocial_hbr
• http://www.businessinsider.com/bad-sleep-leads-to-neurotoxin-buildup-in-your-brain-2015-6

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - June 23rd

Listening to my regular favourites - Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on - I always feel, quite misguidedly, that nothing can be too bad if such beauty and brilliance exists in the world. - Jane Asher

I love gentle, gorgeous classical music such as Mozart. - Felicity Kendal

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer that composed operas, concertos, symphonies and sonatas that shaped classical music.  At age 5, he started composing music and before he died at age 35 he wrote hundreds of musical pieces.  

There is something very special about Mozart’s music.  According to some scientist, Mozart’s music is known to relieve stress, improve communication, increase creativity and efficiency.  Research has shown that listening to Mozart’s music can actually reduce learning time and increase memory of materials one is trying to master.  This is called The Mozart Effect.  Various studies have been conducted and there are various opinions if Mozart’s music does actually help increase learning.  For those individuals that believe Mozart’s music improves learning, they believe certain works were written at the appropriate tempo (about 60 beats per minute) and activate the left and right brain for ultimate learning/retention effect.  The music will activate the right brain and the words we are reading or saying aloud will activate the left part of the brain.  Research indicates that our learning potential can be increased by up to five times. 

In my quest for increased knowledge, I am starting to incorporate listening to Mozart when doing work or even writing Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week.  Some researchers do not believe the Mozart Effect, but Mozart’s music is calming and beautiful.  The calming, peaceful benefits of listening to the music are worth it no matter if it increases learning or not. 

This week as you work, listen to Mozart to help you accomplish your tasks throughout the day!

I'm very fond of classical music, especially Mozart. I find it relaxes me and helps me concentrate. - Guler Sabanci

Resources:

http://www.howtolearn.com/products/mozart-effect/

http://www.biography.com/people/wolfgang-mozart-9417115#budding-young-composer

http://xenon.stanford.edu/~lswartz/mozarteffect.pdf

http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/lerch1/edpsy/mozart_effect.html

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - June 16th

The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous. - Carl Sagan

You can't change who you are, but you can change what you have in your head, you can refresh what you're thinking about, you can put some fresh air in your brain. - Ernesto Bertarelli

In last week’s Terri’s Tuesday Tip, I discussed my new quest for knowledge on various topics.  As I finished Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot by Richard Restak, M.D., I contemplated things I learned and implemented an idea I learned.     

According to dictionary.com, mindlessness is “without intelligence; senseless, unmindful or heedless”.  Every day, we have to do repetitive tasks that often become mind numbing.  Activities of this nature include making copies or entering data at work or washing dishes or folding clothes at home.  Often times, the mind does these activities over and over again day in and day out and there is no challenge and those times become very mundane.  However, this is a great time to “shake things up” and refresh your mind. 

Cleaning is a mindless activity that many of us do, but probably do not enjoy it.  However, I think it is a great time to allow the brain to think, process information or just “run wild”.  For me, I take time each day to tidy up my apartment and prepare for the next day.  I actually find this relaxing.  During this time, I think about the day’s activities, any meetings on my calendar for the next day or anything else that comes to mind.  The other nice thing about this mindless time is that I am using a different part of the brain because I am not looking at a computer screen, reading, etc.  

Recently, I found another time that could be considered mindless, but it is a great time to think.  It is during our commutes (driving).  Our brains have driven for so many years that it has become a habitual process.  For the last week, I have not listened to the radio in my car.  I literally put a sign on my radio that says “NO”.  Instead of listening to music, I think on my way to work about my day, contemplate topics for the day’s meetings or think about what tasks I need to complete.  On my drive home, I review the day…what went well and what can I change.  There have also been commutes that I just drive in silence without my brain processing anything, which allowed my brain to refresh.  Out of habit the other day I went to turn on the radio and I stopped myself.  Through this process, I have discovered that I stay calmer driving (which is a very good thing with Austin drivers!) and I allow my inner self to process.  Since implementing this change, I have seen a change in myself in many different ways.   

When are those times that most people would find mindless, but you find great solace in those times for processing information?  Use them to your advantage to process and improve your memory.

You can't change who you are, but you can change what you have in your head, you can refresh what you're thinking about, you can put some fresh air in your brain. - Ernesto Bertarelli

Mindless habitual behavior is the enemy of innovation. - Rosabeth Moss Kanter