Clever Sayings

A friend of mine sent me these sayings:

• “I can’t believe I ate that whole pineapple!” Jack said dolefully.

• “Too bad I lost the toothpaste,” Jill said crestfallen.

• “We don’t have a home-run hitter,” Dan said ruthlessly.

• “That’s the last time I pet a lion,” Anne said offhandedly.

• “Just dig another ditch around the castle,” said Yan remotely.

• “My steering wheel won’t turn,” Sally said straightforwardly.

• “I shouldn’t sleep on railroad tracks,” Ned said beside himself.

Amber-Tinted Lenses and the Heart

Sleep is independently linked with longevity, something I pay attention to. The “blue light” linked with televisions, computers, and smart phones, to name just a few, may be contributing to insomnia and, indirectly, to cardiovascular problems. Lead researcher in a study to evaluation the impact of “blue light,” Dr. Ari Shechter has been quoted as saying: “Insomnia is often characterized by physiologic hyperarousal, which may account for the relationship between poor sleep and cardiovascular risk. Going forward, it will be interesting to examine whether this blue-light blocking approach [using amber-tinted lenses] can be useful for improving cardiovascular outcomes like hypertension in individuals with poor sleep.” Apparently, some smart phones can be adjusted toward warmer amber light at night instead of blue light. I’m checking out that option on my iPhone.

Amber-Tinted Lenses and Sleep

“So what’s the big deal about multitasking?” is a question often voiced when groups of people are discussing brain function. The big deal is that the frontal lobes of the brain are not wired to do two tasks at once. Some studies have suggested that male brains may be able to perform two cognitive tasks simultaneously as long as the tasks primarily utilize different hemispheres. With hemisphere of the female brain however, working wholistically and less independently, likely appear to be multitasking when in fact the brain is actually doing rapidly alternating shifts of attention. As such, accuracy tends to go down and mistakes go up. The effort required by the frontal lobes to attempt multitasking increases brain fatigue, decreases the performance of the brain, and slows efficiency. Even when this information is pointed out to individuals, typical reactions are to poo-poo the information or assert that their lifestyle demands multitasking. 

Brain and Multitasking, 2

“So what’s the big deal about multitasking?” is a question often voiced when groups of people are discussing brain function. The big deal is that the frontal lobes of the brain are not wired to do two tasks at once. Some studies have suggested that male brains may be able to perform two cognitive tasks simultaneously as long as the tasks primarily utilize different hemispheres. With hemisphere of the female brain however, working wholistically and less independently, likely appear to be multitasking when in fact the brain is actually doing rapidly alternating shifts of attention. As such, accuracy tends to go down and mistakes go up. The effort required by the frontal lobes to attempt multitasking increases brain fatigue, decreases the performance of the brain, and slows efficiency. Even when this information is pointed out to individuals, typical reactions are to poo-poo the information or assert that their lifestyle demands multitasking. 

Brain and Multitasking

According to Sandra Bond Chapman PhD, “Without brain health you do not have health.” That underscores the increasing interest in brain health and its overall impact on a person’s life, to say nothing of the proliferation of studies related to brain health. She maintains that cognitive brain health declines because individuals let it decline as they fail to keep their frontal lobes as fit as possible. So what can you do? Stop trying to multitask, for one thing. In her book Make Your Brain Smarter, Chapman wrote (page 27): “Multitasking, a common practice for the populace a large, is definitely robbing us of frontal lobe brainpower and reducing is fitness. It is one of the most toxic things you can do to your brain and its health. Multitasking may be a chief culprit in destroying brain cells. We have all become addicted to technology and multitasking. But it is not a healthy addiction.”

Brain and Happiness

Bottom line: the #1 predictor of happiness is an ability to develop a loving relationship with another human being, loving him or her and being loved in return. “Knowing oneself” is critical here. If you have an Anxious (A) attachment style or an Avoidant (B) attachment style, doing some family-of-origin work can help you identify past trauma(s), giving you an opportunity to grieve and recover—opening yourself up to the possibility of a secure and loving relationship and being willing to take the risk. Even if you have a Secure (C) attachment style, there are times when you may feel insecure. Doing the same kind of investigation and recovery work can enhance your adult attachment relationship. Accessing willpower to help you “imagine” yourself as secure, loving, and loved can help you risk developing a healthy relationship and doing what it takes to enhance and maintain that relationship. 

Brain Scans, 2

Brain Scans on individuals identified as having an Anxious (A) attachment style showed increased activation in brain areas associated with emotional arousal and decreased activation in areas that exercise control over emotional arousal. When asked to stop thinking about the situation, each group used a different strategy. Those with an Anxious (A) attachment style thought about a similar (although different) situation that continued the emotional arousal. Individuals identified as have an Avoidant (B) attachment style thought about something neutral that did not trigger emotional arousal. Individuals with a Secure (C) attachment style focused their thoughts on a happy experience or a time when they were in a “happy place” or environment. Compared with those were secure, the scans also revealed that people who were highly insecure had a smaller hippocampus, similar to that seen in the brains of individuals who experience PTSD from traumatic events.