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The amygdala is a small region deep in your brain that is responsible for a lot of your emotional response. As you may know, it responds to stress with fight, flight, or freeze. This is useful for our ancient need to run away from bears... but not as useful when facing a long to-do list.
You see, the amygdala is a "brain bandit". When the amygdala is active, it steals the functioning of other areas of the brain. It takes over, shutting down functions of the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that gives you logical reasoning, emotional regulation, and executive function. (Executive function includes skills like time management and working memory.)
Science journalist Daniel Goleman calls this the "Amygdala Hijack".
Your brain's stress response is literally a physical response, to the detriment of cognitive functioning. In fact, you can lose 10-20 IQ points when you are feeling anxious. It's no wonder that stress makes you more forgetful and less able to manage time.
Here are three tips to help manage that brain bandit:
TIP #1: The best way to combat this dastardly delinquent is to train the amygdala to be less reactive. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is perfectly calm and 10 is an emotional meltdown, you want to get in the habit of catching yourself at 7 or below in order to apply calming strategies.
TIP #2: You can train your brain to be less emotionally reactive through mindfulness practice. Keep your amygdala in check, and you will improve your memory and cognitive function! Try setting aside 5-10 minutes a day to practice.
TIP #3: If your brain is stuck in an anxious thought pattern, give it something difficult to do to force it out of that pattern. This might mean doing an absorbing cognitive task such as reading a book, doing a crossword puzzle, or Sudoku games. You can also try to recall the opening lines of a favourite movie or the second verse of a favourite high school song.
You see, the amygdala is a "brain bandit". When the amygdala is active, it steals the functioning of other areas of the brain. It takes over, shutting down functions of the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that gives you logical reasoning, emotional regulation, and executive function. (Executive function includes skills like time management and working memory.)
Science journalist Daniel Goleman calls this the "Amygdala Hijack".
Your brain's stress response is literally a physical response, to the detriment of cognitive functioning. In fact, you can lose 10-20 IQ points when you are feeling anxious. It's no wonder that stress makes you more forgetful and less able to manage time.
Here are three tips to help manage that brain bandit:
TIP #1: The best way to combat this dastardly delinquent is to train the amygdala to be less reactive. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is perfectly calm and 10 is an emotional meltdown, you want to get in the habit of catching yourself at 7 or below in order to apply calming strategies.
TIP #2: You can train your brain to be less emotionally reactive through mindfulness practice. Keep your amygdala in check, and you will improve your memory and cognitive function! Try setting aside 5-10 minutes a day to practice.
TIP #3: If your brain is stuck in an anxious thought pattern, give it something difficult to do to force it out of that pattern. This might mean doing an absorbing cognitive task such as reading a book, doing a crossword puzzle, or Sudoku games. You can also try to recall the opening lines of a favourite movie or the second verse of a favourite high school song.
Audio read and recorded by Fawn Fritzen.
