Physical state—keep your body systems in good shape for learning
The next learning state layer, the physical layer, deals with critical
body and brain systems that support good learning state. Good physical state
consists of:
Your overall health and nutrition has a significant impact on how well
you learn and remember. I cover more detail of some specific parts of health
and nutrition in other parts of learning state, however some key points for
good health and nutrition include eat well, get regular exercise, use
relaxation, deal with illnesses quickly, keep a positive mental attitude,
and take responsibility for your life. You should also avoid alcohol and
other drugs.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- How general health and nutrition contributes to optimum learning
performance.
- Includes information on diet, exercise, general stress and relaxation,
illnesses and injuries, positive mental attitude outlook, and taking
responsibility.
- Also includes information on the harmful impact of alcohol and
psychedelic drugs (such as marijuana, ecstasy and others). Which is worse
for the brain – long term alcohol consumption or binge drinking?
We often hear the advice “be fit” these days. Many of us though have
become desensitized to the role of physical fitness in good health. Fitness,
in particular cardiovascular fitness, influences memory and learning.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- The positive impact of physical fitness on learning.
- Includes information on blood flow & circulation, blood quality, lung
efficiency, and immune and lymphatic system.
- Basic guidelines for fitness, including calculations for optimum
exercise heart rate and maximum heart rate.
There has been much publicity about the role relaxation plays in
learning. Examples include the SuperLearning system and variations such as
“The Mozart Effect.” Authors claim these systems provide incredibly high
learning performance in a relaxed state. Unfortunately there have not been
clear clinical studies that support the theory that relaxation induced by
music provides greatly increased learning performance.
There are particular reasons though why you should incorporate relaxation
(both physical and mental) into your learning state.
- Relaxation exercises improve concentration. Basic relaxation
exercises before study can help clear the mind of distractions and
concerns.
- Relaxation exercises reduce stress. Stress has a direct impact
on memory. While short-term stress doesn’t always degrade learning new
information, it does degrade recall of previously learned information.
Long-term excessive stress can also irreparably damage parts of the brain
used in learning new information.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- Includes a basic relaxation exercise
- When to do relaxation exercises – before, during or after learning or
study?
- Further information on relaxation exercises, such as Deep Breathing,
Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR), Autogenics, Sensory Deprivation
(Float Tanks), Massage, and Biofeedback.
Your physical environment influences your learning performance. Correct
temperature, fresh clean air, good light, supportive furniture, and nearby
services (rest rooms, break areas, etc.) all contribute to good learning.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- How the physical environment influences your learning, including
temperature, air, light, furniture, and services (rest rooms, break areas
etc).
- What is the best temperature for learning? Can small variations
influence learning performance?
- Why is fresh clean air important? Which impacts you first – carbon
dioxide or oxygen levels? How fast does carbon dioxide build up in a small
space? What is the impact of heating? Have you heard of “sick buildings?”
- How much light should you have while learning? What about during
presentations, videos and slide shows? Does full spectrum lighting provide
any benefits, or are standard artificial lights just as good as sunlight?
- How does furniture affects your learning potential? Does muscular
tension impact learning? Where should you sit in class?
- If you provide a learning location, should you consider easy access to
restrooms, break areas, food and water, and other services such as phones?
Your body runs to many cycles and rhythms. Two important cycles have a
direct impact on your ability to learn efficiently. One is the circadian
rhythm, familiar to us as the daily pattern of waking and sleeping.
Circadian means once a day. The second less-known rhythm runs to a rough
ninety-minute cycle. This is an ultradian rhythm. Ultradian means more than
once a day. Both of these rhythms have an important role in learning. As
well as these overall rhythms, there is also a brain characteristic I’ve
called “Brain Drain” that you should also consider when planning breaks.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- The cycles and rhythms the body and brain runs to, including the
circadian rhythm and the ultradian rhythm. Also covers “brain drain” – the
natural replenishment requirements of brain glucose and neurotransmitters.
- The circadian rhythm. Why it’s important to get sleep before and after
your lessons, the level of alertness throughout the day, and the best
times of the day for rest (“siesta”), brainwork, and physical activity.
Also information on the lark-owl myth, and how you can change your
sleeping habits.
- The ultradian rhythm. How to make the most of this intra-day rhythm.
- Brain drain. How prolonged study can drain the brain of
neurotransmitters and glucose, and what you can do about it.
- Planning for optimum breaks during study.
A healthy and balanced diet is the most important nutritional contributor
to well functioning memory. Over the years though there has been hundreds of
memory and brainpower improvement supplements advertised. Unfortunately,
most of these are ineffective and some are dangerous.
There are certain drugs and substances that do improve memory and
learning though. A huge number of supplements on the market, though, don’t
have satisfactory testing. We don’t know if they work as marketed, nor do we
know the contraindications. Contraindications describe when you shouldn’t
use the supplement because you have an existing condition or you taking
other drugs. You may want to avoid any supplement that doesn’t have
independent medical research to provide such information.
You can use the Internet to research information on drugs and their
effects. Pubmed, on the Internet, is a good place to start. It’s a publicly
available database based on MEDLINE, the reference source for medical
research information. If Pubmed doesn’t mention a drug, or if it contains
citations linking a drug to negative research, that’s usually a good sign to
stay away.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- Drugs and substances that improve memory and learning.
- Some of the risks, contraindications (side effects) and other issues
associated with other supplements.
- Where to find further information on supplements & clinical trials
- Tips for buying and using supplements
- Details on five memory-enhancing supplements, including B-group
vitamins, Ginkgo Biloba, Brahmi (Bacopa Monnieri), caffeine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine.
This also includes dosages, usage and contraindications.
- Also includes detailed information on how to use caffeine for best
effect, as well as caffeine content in standard drinks such as coffee, tea
and cola soft drink.
- Examples of some particular supplements to avoid.
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