PRODUCTIVE LIFE COACHING: BRAIN FUEL
By Zainub Jada
07:02:2022
Just as automobiles require fuel to move down the road, people need brain fuel (or mental energy) to pay attention to information, tasks, and people in any learning situation. Your body is equipped with controls that regulate mental energy flow to the brain, and they make sure that the active part of your brain is receiving the energy it needs to get its job done.
Mental energy controls are critical when you face tasks and situations requiring sustained effort (for example, reading for comprehension, writing lengthy reports, solving long math problems, or studying for a test or presentation).
People with strengths in mental energy are good at staying alert. They usually sleep well at night and feel fully awake during the day (or the reverse, if their schedules require it). They can concentrate even when they don’t feel like working on a task.
People with challenges in mental energy may feel very tired or burned out when they try to concentrate. They may have trouble feeling fully awake during the day, or they may do work of inconsistent quality because their mental alertness comes and goes.
We all understand “energy” in the physical sense, and we mostly experience the feeling of having a lot or a lack of physical energy. But physical energy is very different from mental energy. So, what is mental energy?
DEFINITION
Mental energy is a mood and a measure of the willingness to undertake cognitive tasks. When you are experiencing an abundance of mental energy, you will feel motivated, efficient, and focused when dealing with tasks. You may feel like you can take on more and have the capacity to throw yourself into a situation without feeling stress or anxiety.
The ability of any individual to perform cognitive tasks for a long time, keeping the attention and blocking distraction to achieve a certain task
To feel empowered to set boundaries and focus in an absorbed way
BRAIN FUEL, YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET
HOW TO PROTECT IT
Brain fuel/Mental energy is your most valuable asset. Without it, you won’t have the enthusiasm, motivation, drive, and physical energy to live a fulfilled life.
Scientific studies published in the Harvard Business Review and by Cambridge University Press point to evidence that you only get about 90–120 minutes of peak mental energy and five hours or less of “near” peak mental energy each day.
For the rest of the day, your mental energy levels are medium to low at best. The good news is that if you get enough quality sleep, your energy replenishes 100%.
Cherish your mental energy. Harvest it. Tend to it like a precious garden. And, when necessary, fight for it.
Mental energy is the world’s hottest commodity. People are going to try to steal it, drain it, and suck it up every second you’re awake. Yet very few of us protect it. Few of us know-how.
ATTENTION
People carefully protect the money in their bank account and the time in their calendar, but they do little to protect their attention. Attention is the gateway to your mental energy. Where your attention goes, your mental energy flows.
And more often than not, it is flowing toward something someone else wants.
Taking back your mental energy is not a piece of cake. It’s a dogfight.
Even your own mind is going to fight viciously to keep you distracted.
The only way to reprogram it is to start being more selective with where you spend your mental energy.
Ignore the urge to give your attention to whomever or whatever is seeking your attention.
LEARN TO SAY NO
Saying yes without discretion brings failure, not success. Set “no” as your default response. Start rewarding yourself for being selective. Every time you say “no” you get one step closer to achieving your goals.
Build up a resistance against this inclination by saying “no” to everything first. This will be hard to do at first but, over time, it will become easier and easier.
Learn to feel a sense of success when you say “no,” rather than a sense of failure.
REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE EQUATION
Learn to keep all gossip and meaningless drama out of your life. Nothing will drive your mental energy levels down faster than having an emotional blow out. Defending yourself against gossip at the office is tiring; hard work is not. Fighting with your relationship partner is tiring. Falling out with a friend or family member is tiring. Maintaining healthy relationships is not.
The solution is simple, stop burning your mental energy on emotional drama. The key to doing this is to learn to walk away from energy-draining people.
Energy draining people, think of them as vampires needing the energy of others to survive or grow stronger by feeding on your attention. They play the victim, act out, and create all kinds of drama to steal away your attention. Stop letting these people hijack your focus. Protect your mental energy by walking away from them once and for all.
Saying “no” and removing energy-draining people from your life will help rewire your brain so that you’re no longer addicted to distraction or drama.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH MENTAL ENERGISERS
Once you’ve learned to protect your mental energy, surround yourself with people and activities that increase your mental energy levels.
There are some people and activities you should say yes to, of course. The key is that you need to be selective about who and what you let into your life.
Find people who energize you and keep you on track towards your goals. Then, hold onto them. Find activities that excite you and bring you closer to your goals. Then, keep executing them. These people and activities will ensure that your psychological immune system starts to defend against distraction, and against drama.
Your mental energy is going to plummet throughout the day, certainly. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s only bad if it’s being wasted on people and activities that are pivoting you away from true success. Be selective and start saving your most valuable resource for the best things in life, not the worst.
HOW TO MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF MENTAL ENERGY
The maintenance of mental energy is all in the approach. We cannot always control our situation or the number of tasks that we have on at a particular moment in time. However, we can control how we manage and maintain our mental health and mental energy at these times. Just as our physical energy can be maintained through various methods, so can our mental energy.
Get Adequate Sleep
Sleep may sound like the most obvious method to help maintain a high level of mental energy; however, it is very important.
There are two stages of sleep, REM (rapid eye movement) which is the stage of sleep when you dream, and Non-REM. Non-REM can be divided into three stages, the final stage being deep sleep. The deep sleep stage is where scientists believe that your body renews and repairs itself and also the stage that is most important in terms of energy maintenance.
There are many ways in which you can create good sleep hygiene. These include having time away from devices before sleep, stopping caffeine intake a few hours before you plan to go to sleep, and going to sleep at the same time each evening.
Structure Your Day
Structuring your day can apply to either your home or your work life. The key is to prioritize the important tasks so that if you run out of time, you are safe in the knowledge that these have been completed. If you don’t do this, then you are at risk of overworking yourself, staying at work late, or doing household tasks into the evening.
At home, this may be washing first or tidying the house before you sit down to relax. At work, you can write down a list of your tasks for the day and then, list them from the highest priority to the lowest. You can tick off each task as you go along. Any uncompleted tasks can then be transferred to the next day. Furthermore, if you are running out of time, you’ll know in advance and can delegate the priority work to ensure that this is completed on time.
Eat Well
Eating well is important for both physical and mental health. Eating a well-balanced diet and certain foods can aid memory, concentration, and focus and thus, helping you maintain brain fuel.
Whole grains – can improve concentration and focus as it provides a steady supply of energy throughout the day.
Blueberries – can boost short-term memory as they contain protective compounds called anthocyanins.
Blackcurrants – can reduce anxiety and stress as they contain Vitamin C which is widely thought to increase mental agility.
Pumpkin seeds – can enhance memory and boost mood as they are rich in magnesium, B vitamins, and tryptophan, which are believed to be important in serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical that has a positive impact on mood.
Get Some Fresh Air
Going outdoors can have a restorative effect on mental health. You do not have to undertake a ten-mile walk to reap the benefits. Simply being out in the garden, going for a stroll in the countryside, or doing a brisk walk to the shop can have a positive effect on mental energy. Research has shown that spending time outdoors can relieve anxiety and depression. Furthermore, it promotes relaxation and can improve confidence and self-esteem.
Take a Break
Taking a break every so often whether at work or when doing any task can maintain a high level of mental energy and focus when needed. A break can involve something as simple as walking away from your computer and changing your environment for a few minutes by going to make a cup of tea to strolling around the block on your lunch rather than staying in the office.
This change of environment takes your mind off the task at hand, rejuvenates, and reenergizes you. Focus can then be maintained and the task at hand can be done to the best of your abilities without mental fatigue.
When it’s time to focus again, prepare yourself by thinking about how long you will need to stay focused until the next break.
Exercise Your Brain
Challenging your brain does for your mind what exercise does for your body. Physical exercise can stimulate your physical energy just as exercising your brain can stimulate your mental energy.
There are many ways to exercise your brain including:
Brain training exercises can stimulate the mind and also boost intelligence.
Learn something new to create new challenges for your brain.
Socializing can stimulate multiple areas of the brain. The array of activities involved in socializing engages different areas of the brain with each activity.
Meditate/Zikr/Tafakkur/Tadabbur
Studies of meditation have shown to have many benefits to the brain. Such benefits include an improvement in brain function and energy levels.
One such study found that practising meditation for just 25 minutes a day can provide this boost. This is because meditation has been found to release endorphins and increase blood flow to the brain. When meditating, you focus your attention on your breathing and the aim is to eliminate the busyness of the brain and your thoughts. This provides a much-needed rest for your brain thus increasing your mental energy levels.
Be mindful
Pay attention to how your mental energy levels change throughout the day. Keep a log of when you feel most focused and when you find yourself running out of steam. Use this insight to help you tackle more demanding tasks during times when your alertness is sharper.
Be flexible
When possible, stand or use a “fidget object” (such as a bean bag) while you work. Physical movement can help sharpen mental energy and focus.
IN A NUTSHELL
Unfortunately, a lack of mental energy is experienced by many and potentially, it is more commonly felt than the feeling of having a high level of energy. Once you spot the signs of a lack of mental energy, it is time to take action before those feelings worsen and develop into mental exhaustion.
However, the good news is that there are basic steps that you can take to maintain a high level of mental energy, and it is just as important as maintaining a high level of physical energy. These steps can be incorporated into your daily life with minimal effort. Eat well, sleep well, get some fresh air, take a break, challenge your brain, structure your day and meditate—it is as simple as that.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- pubmed.gov
- lifehack.org
- mindthegum.com
- striveok.gov
- facesoflearning.net
- welldoing.org
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