How to Take a Brain Break | Jim Kwik

our brain isn’t just working during exercise – it’s churning all day long. Thinking, problem-solving, remembering – all of these brain actions burn calories. According to LiveStrong, the brain can use about 400 calories of the 2000 calories the average person uses each day. Plus, the brain controls literally everything your body does – it’s a hard-working muscle. 

 According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the brain builds up toxins while you’re awake and sleep is the time that allows the body to remove those toxins. Here’s what happens if you don’t get enough rest:

• Your memories get blurry: Memories are controlled by the hippocampus in your brain – they are created when the brain sleeps as this is the time it replays them in order to make them stick. Losing sleep means there is less time to make those memories stick. Additionally, the prefrontal cortex and parietal lobe regions help encode these memories, lack of sleep can therefore also lead to you remembering false information.You experience irrational emotions: The brain has a hard time in general processing your surroundings when you are sleep deprived. You may misinterpret situations which could then lead to irrational and sometimes aggressive emotions and behaviours. This could cause physical harm to the body if in a dangerous situation.Practice deep breathing: Turn off or dim the lights, close your eyes and get ready to breathe. Slowly inhale through the nose (for about four seconds) and then exhale through the mouth on the same count. Yoga is an exercise that is good for both the body and mind. Getting into a regular yoga routine will help you stay balanced throughout the week (and life). Again, there’s plenty of great classes you can sign up to, or some great videos on YouTube to get you started.

The importance of resting your mind