Neuroplasticity in action – Mental Healing Exercises
Unfortunately, a long period of illness can tend to slow down the cognitive (thinking) process. It might be due to the lack of activity, mental stimulation, or maybe no longer going to work. In the case of head injury survivors or patients recovering from addictive issues, it is often a consequence or side effect of the condition, or sometimes the medication.
For most people, brain capacity is not a fixed entity but something that can be encouraged or developed. This process is dependent on something called neuroplasticity.
This is about the flexibility of the mind – its ability to learn and retain new ideas, activities or processes. It links to extending the minds` capacity for learning and creativity. For the process to work, the brain needs a proper supply of nutrients and blood / oxygen. It follows that physical activity will assist the process.
As an approximate guide the younger you are the better the neuroplasticity tends to be. Or if you prefer, children tend to adapt more quickly to new ideas. The older generations will tend to find new ideas and processes harder to adapt to.
Once you start the exercise programme for the brain, you may experience some fatigue. This can be a good sign and is quite a normal reaction. In this situation: Just rest- it will be fine. If it is the case that a small conscious effort to exercise your brain does cause you to be tired, then clearly there is opportunity for improvement here. The exercises outlined in the sections titled “A Life of Colour” and “Mindfulness” offers a step by step approach for your daily life.
A fully functional brain is key to the self healing process.
Neuroplasticity is the key – Exercise your mind for Mental Healing
One of the issues for the long term recovering patient is a lack of mental stimulation. Too much exposure to daytime TV or 24 hour news is unlikely to motivate you or anyone else and quite possibly bring all of you down. It is important during this period to set your brain a series of challenges that will stimulate thought processes and keep you sharp. Variation is the key here. It is important to have four or five quite different activities during the day. These can be favourite hobbies and pastimes, or areas that you are naturally interested in. The Internet is useful for research but conventional reading and writing works as well. As with the physical programmes the brain exercises should be FUN!
It is always better to choose an activity that is your passion and one that you would choose to do. Choose your top five favourite subjects and enjoy them as often as possible. You can read, write or speak about them. Join clubs or societies and follow your passion.
Mindfulness/Meditation
Mindfulness is a book or a training course complete in its own right. The techniques are now being applied through various Health Services around the world. In many cases, it is offered as an alternative to drugs or on-going therapy. It has applications for stress related conditions and depression. It really works!
Mindfulness is a process by which people become aware of their mind states, particularly fatigue or anxiety and take appropriate action to remedy them. Typically, someone who understands mindfulness will take breaks and rest, doing short meditation exercises for 10 to 20 minutes during the day.
A short meditation break in some respects is much better than sleep during the day. One of the challenges of daytime sleep is that it will often ruin the night-time sleep patterns. Mindfulness is not sleeping so much as daytime rest. The key criteria for a mindfulness break are silence, no movement and no visual distractions. So it’s something that you might have to plan, or arrange to make possible.
In my experience, it works very well. I suggest you can attend a course, if you can. Alternatively, you can books which explain the process more completely.
Exercise Your Mind and Body
Why do I recommend physical exercise?
The human body is a wondrous thing and capable of immense repairs when required. But in order for this process to work certain functions of the body do have to be working quite well. Physical exercise will assist with the respiration, metabolic rate and the cellular reconstruction rate of the body. The improved respiration will improve the quality of the blood supply. Oxygen content and its replenishment rate will be more effective. An active person would usually have improved sleep patterns with better appetite and improved dietary balance. The fit and active body will naturally produce its own endorphins, useful for reducing pain and generally feeling better. There would be further gains in both confidence and thinking processes.
Can the body assist the brain? There are two or three ways that a fitter body can improve the brains` potential.
The average human brain weighs just less than 7lbs; the average male human being weighs about 180 pounds. So the brain represents roughly 3% of the total body weight.
As the brain gets priority for 20% of the blood supply, this indicates just how important blood is to the brain. The brain gets its oxygen supply, energy and all its vital nutrients from the blood supply. This is how a brain works at a functional level. If you deplete any of these key resources, it impacts on the brain`s functionality. This can affect both cognitive capabilities and mood.
It follows that blood supply is vital to a fully functioning brain. So anything you do to improve the rate and quality of that blood supply will help you. Body movement and coordination can help brain activity, plus functionality and emotional balance. Exercise your body and you exercise your brain too.
Many depressed patients tend to avoid physical activity. They don’t feel like they would enjoy it. Paradoxically, it is quite difficult to be depressed and active at the same time. I suggest physical exercise – you may find it helps you.
If you are fit and active, you will feel more confident too. Give it time – you will feel better too
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