Go Back To Work With More Brain Power And Less Stress

It’s hard to go back to the rigor of work after the relaxed pace of summer. You have to give up junkie novels on the beach and barbecues for commuter traffic, power meetings and deadlines.

This shift requires you to get you’re A-game on, sharpen up your reflexes and perform at your best. It also means you feel more stress.

But while this transition is tough, there are ways to make it easier. You can get back into the work mode with both more brain power and less stress if you follow these 4 tips:

Boost Your Brain And Bust Stress With Exercise

Nothing keeps your brain buzzing and reduces stress like exercise.

Exercise not only helps you defuse immediately, it can also keep stress at bay into the future.[1] And for both children and adults, it’s one of the best ways to keep your memory sharp, help you solve problems quickly and stay alert.

In fact, contrary to popular belief, physical exercise benefits your brain much more than mental gymnastics with a sudoko puzzle. In one study of 638 people, those who exercised were able to fight off the brain shrinkage linked with aging and dementia. Mental exercise yielded no such benefits.[2]

Admittedly, it may stress you out a little to think about squeezing a workout into your hectic schedule. That’s why you can take comfort in knowing that it doesn’t take much to get the benefits. Short and intense intervals of exercise have been shown to have a similar advantage to long aerobic workouts when it comes to fighting brain drain.

Boost Your Brain And Bust Stress With B12

To B12 or not to B12 – there is no question. You need vitamin B12 for many aspects of health. But significantly, B12 plays a key role in keeping your brain and nerves functioning well. It’s also considered one of the “stress vitamins”. B12 energizes you. And several research studies have demonstrated it can help you beat the blues and stay positive.[3]

This brain vitamin is so important for your mental health, a simple B12 deficiency may be what triggers depression and some forms of dementia.

However, sometimes it’s difficult to get enough of this special nutrient. As we get older, it becomes harder to absorb B12 from food. And if you’re a vegetarian, you won’t even get it from your food to begin with. Sure, there are some claims that you can get B12 from vegetarian foods like tempeh or spirulina. But many of these foods don’t provide you with the form of B12 our body can use.

On the other hand, some exciting research indicates taking substantial amounts of chlorella and certain seaweeds, you can get the proper B12 you need from your diet.[4] Bear in mind, however, that vegetarians need to eat tremendous amounts of these foods to keep their B12 levels in the healthy range.

Boost Your Brain And Bust Stress With Eleuthero

Ancient Chinese sages have long valued the root eleuthero above all other herbs. Why? Because it has the extraordinary ability to help your body adjust to stress in multiple ways. By supporting and smoothing out your body’s stress response, it helps you minimize the damage incurred when you feel under the gun.

In particular, eleuthero seems to help you deal with life under pressure in two interesting ways:

1. It sharpens your reflexes and mental performance allowing you to minimize errors and achieve brilliant results.

2. At the same time, you feel relaxed and calm. Not stimulated, jittery and unsettled like you do with a caffeine fix.

Eleuthero is such a powerful brain booster and stress buster, it became the favorite supplement of researchers in the Soviet Union who sought ways to improve work efficiency. From astronauts to telegraph operators to truck drivers, Soviet scientists found eleuthero helped them perform at their best even when they were under enormous strain.[5]

Boost Your Brain And Bust Stress With Sleep

Finally, the simplest things often end up being the most effective tools. And when it comes to fighting stress and feeling like an alert genius when it counts, nothing beats sleep.

When you sleep, your brain integrates new learning and memory into your brain’s filing cabinets. In contrast, when people lose too much sleep, they often perform verbally and physically like they are intoxicated.[6]

Of course, getting to sleep when you’re anxious and tense can be tricky. For this reason, make sure you focus on developing a solid bedtime routine that will help your mind shut down and tell your body you’re ready for sleep. Dim the lights, take a warm bath, jot down any last minute reminders or worries so you can safely let them go until the morning, and then snuggle into bed.

Return To Work With More Brain Power And Less Stress

It’s not easy going back to work. You have to put your flipflops away and get into your commuter gear. You’ve got to grab breakfast on the run and meet deadlines.

But while this shift is rough, no need to get overwhelmed by stress. Give yourself the brain power you need and keep stress at bay with these 4 essential tactics. By putting them to work, you’ll find you can make this transition like a pro. With the right approach, you can wow your boss each day and still feel energized and relaxed when you return home each evening.

Sources:
[1] University of Maryland. "Exercise may protect against future emotional stress, study shows." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 September 2012. .
[2] Gow A et al. Neuroprotective lifestyles and the aging brain: Activity, atrophy, and white matter integrity. Neurology October 23, 2012 vol. 79 no. 17 1802-1808
[3] Lawson W. Be Healthy With B12. Psychology Today. February, 2004. Viewed 8/4/14 at http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200403/be-healthy-b12
[4] Watanabe F et al. Characterization and bioavailability of vitamin B12-compounds from edible algae. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2002 Oct;48(5):325-31.
[5] Baburin EF. 1966. On the effect of Eleutherococcus on the results of work and the thearing acuity in radio-telegraphers. In I.I. Brekhman, (ed) Eleutherococcus and other addaptogens among the Far Eastern plants. Far Eastern Publishing House, Vladivostok, USSR.
[6] Williamson A et al. Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication. Occup Environ Med. Oct 2000; 57(10): 649–655