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Why boredom is good for you

There’s something to do, even when there’s nothing to do.

We’re all busy and constantly on the go; so, it’s a strange experience when you’re suddenly at a loose end with nothing on your list. And, with most of us stuck in our homes this year, we either find ourselves panicking about the state of the world. or bored out of our skulls.

Strange as it might seem, boredom has wonderful benefits for your wellbeing. Cindy Strydom, a clinical psychologist based in Johannesburg explains:

Why do we get bored?

Boredom describes a state of “down time” or mot being preoccupied at a specific moment in time. As a society, we have come to celebrate and promote “busyness” and frown upon a state of not being preoccupied or engaging in down time. If you think about your interactions with others, we tend to wear the fact that we are busy as some form of trophy of importance. We also associate being busy with being productive.

Why do people consider this a bad thing?

In the same breath, we shun the idea of being unproductive, or our concept of boredom. We’ve been conditioned to think this way since childhood. We’ve been told in many shapes and forms that boredom is a bad thing and we should keep busy. To an extent, this is understandable because boredom may be directed into destructive behaviours and actions rather than constructive ones.

As human beings, we’re designed to get bored when we’re not stimulated or preoccupied. The period of being bored should serve as a time to regroup our senses, thoughts and ideas. Unfortunately, because of our societal concept of boredom and the celebration of being busy, we tend to create a life of being “on” all the time, which creates anxieties and burnouts.

The benefits of boredom

Boredom allows us to re-experience our environment, to think out of the box, to be creative and process information differently than we may when we’re busy. Being ‘un-preoccupied’ also allows us to problem-solve, without the urgency of deadlines and other demands. It allows us time to reflect and process events and emotions in our lives, which is considered healthy from a psychological perspective.

More life, less listlessness

Allow yourself time to be bored, structure “boredom” and have moments that are unplanned.

  • Try out meditation and mindfulness exercises.
  • Learn how to breathe deeply. Big, deep calming breaths can send you into a relaxed trance-like state.
  • Let your mind wander aimlessly from thought to thought. If something strikes you as interesting or bizarre, write it down.
  • Spend time in nature, taking walks, playing in the ocean and so on.
  • Disengage from life and engage with yourself. This includes switching off your phone!

References:

How to stay productive (even when working from home)

Just like any activity, concentration takes practice. If you want to be good at something, practice makes perfect!

It’s time to banish old habits and adopt new ones to stand a better chance of achieving your goals.

Here are a few science-backed tips and tricks to help you hone your concentration skills to learn and perform better.

1. Set goals

This should be a daily routine. Organise your day and divide it into goals, each with a clear timeline, purpose and intention. Keep a to-do list to ensure you stay focused and increase your productivity. Set reasonable daily targets. Write them down or use an app on your smartphone.

2. Prioritise

Take a moment and identify your most important task, then get it off your plate first thing. Not everything on your list is urgent.

3. Set deadlines and stick to them

Having a set deadline can be a great way to control procrastination, but research suggests that self-imposed deadlines don’t work very well for procrastinators. What’s more effective are hard deadlines that are evenly spaced out. Speak to your lecturer or tutor to help you with this.

4. Keep tasks manageable

To improve productivity, break big projects down into manageable chunks to allow you to focus on one area or one subject at a time. This way you’ll stay motivated and avoid distractions.

5. Train your brain

To fully activate the full power of your mind, you need to train your brain. Set aside a couple of hours every day where you can completely focus on one task without interruption. When you do this, you fully engage your brainpower making progress on critical tasks more likely.

6. Sort your time

Set aside some ‘focus time’ to minimise interruptions. Tell your friends that you won’t be available for anything during this time. Compartmentalising your time allows your brain to isolate a task, so you can completely focus on that one thing without constantly breaking your concentration for something else. Identify when and where you are able to focus best and then invest your time there.

7. Put away your cell phone

Simply by putting your phone away for periods of time, or at least turning off notifications, you’ll gain hours of improved productivity and focus.

8. Monotask

Multitasking isn’t for everyone, so why not giving monotasking a try. Look at your calendar at the beginning of each week and assign yourself a single, specific focus each day.

9. Be mindful

Practising mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase the ability of the brain to focus on a task while at the same time, enhancing learning and memory.

10. Know your body clock

We all have natural rhythms that influence our ability to focus and produce. The key is to match your highest priority work with your most productive hours of the day. Pay attention to your body clock. Most people tend to be most alert in the morning, with concentration dipping in the afternoon. Find out what works for you and stick to it.

References:

The link between brainwaves and your health

Your brainwaves are linked to your state of consciousness, and this can influence your mood, energy, sleep and general health. Whether you’re at rest or doing an all-consuming activity, your brain is always active. Brainwaves are produced when electrical pulses from your neurons within your brain communicate with each other.

Brainwaves could also be considered a continuous flow of your consciousness. The flow can be fast or slow, depending on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. For example, if you’re tired or dreamy, your brainwaves will be slower. And if you’re alert, they’ll be faster.

The five kinds of brainwaves

Your brainwaves are grouped into five different categories. Each one is associated with specific tasks and mental states. The speed of brainwaves are measured in Hertz (cycles per second) and are either slow, moderate or fast.

Here are the different brainwaves in order of their frequency (highest to lowest):

Gamma waves

The brainwaves with the highest frequency at 34 to 42 waves per second are called gamma waves. You’re in a gamma state when you are hyper-focused, learning new information for example.. In this state, you also store memories and become more aware of yourself and your environment. Musicians often experience gamma brainwaves as sharp concentration is necessary for their field of work.

Beta waves

When your brain is active and engaged in mental activities, it’s in a beta state. The beta state means you’re probably alert, focused, trying to solve a problem or making a decision. For example, a teacher would all be in beta when they’re working. Anyone engaged in a conversation would also have beta brainwaves. The frequency of beta brainwaves ranges from 15 to 40 cycles per second.

Alpha waves

When you’re in an alpha state of mind, your brainwaves begin to slow down. For example, if you’ve just completed a task and you sit down to take a break. These brainwaves are also present when you have quiet, slow thoughts and are generally calm; or if you take a walk after a meeting or meditate. The frequency of alpha waves is 9 to 14 cycles per second. These waves are important for alertness, learning and mental coordination.

Theta waves

When you’re asleep, at rest, in deep meditation or if your senses are generally withdrawn from your surroundings, you’re experiencing theta waves. For instance, when you’re driving for a long time, the repetitive nature of the task can put you into a theta state. The same thing happens when you take a shower, comb your hair or read a book. In this state, the frequency of your brainwaves is slow and normally ranges between 5 and 8 cycles per second.

Delta waves

Your brain is in a delta state when you are in a deep sleep or deep meditation. Delta brainwaves are important because they help your body reach a state that allows you to wind down. Winding down is necessary so you can experience deep, dreamless sleep that will heal and restore your body. Delta brainwaves have the slowest frequency at one-and-a-half to four cycles per second.

Brainwave training

If you’d like to tap into different brainwaves to achieve something specific, there are ways to train yourself.

Here are some tips:

If you want to use certain brainwaves to achieve a certain task listening to binaural beats can help. Binaural beats are sounds at different frequencies (but lower than 1000 Hertz so your brain can detect them).

If you listen to these sounds for a time, specific parts of your brain are activated. This can help you switch to different brainwaves. Find binaural sounds easily online.

Meditation can also help. Regular meditation has been shown to increase alpha activities in your brain and decrease beta brainwaves. This can be particularly helpful if you’re struggling to sleep.

References:

How pregnancy makes you lose your mind

You’ve lost your keys again. And, for the third time this week, you found your cell phone in the fridge. No, you’re not going mad – it’s just pregnancy brain.

Pregnancy brain, also called momnesia or pregnesia, is the forgetfulness and brain fog many pregnant women experience. It’s a real and frustrating hallmark of pregnancy, affecting as many as 50 to 80% of expectant moms.

If you suffer from pregnancy brain, you may forget why you walked into a room, where you put your purse, whether you switched off the washing machine, or leave objects in strange places.

A gush of hormones

Pregnancy unleashes a flood of hormones in your body. These hormones trigger major physiological changes, and interfere with your thinking and memory. On top of that, surging hormone levels can make you tired. Fatigue can shorten your attention span and slow your thought process.

Not getting enough good quality sleep, which is a common struggle for many pregnant women, may also play a role. Sleep deprivation and disruption can affect how mentally sharp you feel, and lead to memory loss. It can make you more anxious and stressed, which can impact your ability to concentrate and remember things.

New priorities may also help explain why pregnancy has you feeling like a ditz. You may spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about your baby, and how motherhood will change your life. These thoughts can be overwhelming and distracting, and may leave you feeling forgetful and absentminded.

On the upside: some experts believe that memory change during pregnancy is evolutionary. It’s been suggested that pregnancy brain helps you forget other things, and focus more on caring for your child. This may prepare you to become a better mother.

According to Dr Laura Glynn, a psychologist at Chapman University in California, even the slightest movement of the foetus in the womb can affect a woman’s brain and make her become more sensitive. This may help mothers become more attuned with their baby and prime them for caregiving.

The good news is that pregnancy brain is temporary, and doesn’t reshape or rewire your brain.

How to mind your mind

  • Work from a to-do list. Track your daily doings and mark them off once you’ve completed them. Stick Post-it notes around the house to help you remember simple things.
  • Set reminders on your cell phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Delegate as much as you can so you’ll have fewer things to remember or worry about.
  • Get a dose of choline. This mineral is the building block for the memory-forming brain chemical, acetylcholine. Fill up with eggs, chicken, fish, spinach, and peanuts.
  • Up your Omega-3s. This nutrient is essential for brain health, and may help boost memory. Find Omega-3s in salmon, sardines, walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds.
  • Avoid trying to do everything at once. Focus on one task at a time. You’ll feel more clearheaded and less forgetful.
  • Get plenty of sleep. Sleep is needed to learn and make memories, and stay mentally alert.
  • Don’t be too hard on yourself when you do forget things. Take a deep breath and try to keep calm. Stressing will only cloud your preggy brain even more.
  • Laugh it off. Have a sense of humour about this airhead stage, and get your partner to do the same.

References

Why am I dizzy?

The room spins and you feel light-headed, as if you could pass out. Or maybe you walk down the corridor, when it starts feeling like you’re on a ship, rocking back-and-forth. Other than that, you may not have any symptoms. What could be wrong? What causes dizziness?

Dizziness can be a side effect of a minor health issue, but it can also be a sign of something more serious – here are some of the usual causes of dizziness. Continue reading “Why am I dizzy?”