How can we try to keep our brain in it’s optimal performance?

A favourite tool I picked up from the Neuroleadership Institute is the Healthy Mind Platter. I think of it as a plate of goodies that are good for me. Sometimes I’ll need a sample of all of them, some I’m better at having in my day to day life, so I might need to pick up the morsels that don’t regularly get into my day to day life. These sweet treats are there to help our brain function at it’s best, including:

Sleep

Sleep isn’t just a nice to have, it’s necessary for our brain to function at it’s best. Our brains are designed to hardwire as much as possible to be efficient, we do that hardwiring when we’re sleeping so not only having long enough sleep matters here, good hygiene before sleep to not miss our natural sleep cues, good temperature and low light, all effect how well our brain can do it’s work at night.

Move

We are designed to be moving creatures and yet so many of us now have sedentary jobs and if we’re needing to be creative, innovative, thoughtful in our work, we need to keep moving. When do you get your best ideas? In the shower, driving, walking, at the gym? That’s because that is how we were designed to process ideas. A simple walk around the office, or the block when you’re feeling stuck is a great method to prompt new thinking.

Connect

I know connection can feel overwhelming, but the reality is we’re social creatures. Designed to connect with other humans for our ultimate wellbeing, think of the impact covid had on mental health when we were all forced to isolate as a great example of this. Often a chat to a friend or colleague is a great way to keep the brain happy and working at it’s best. It doesn’t have to be big groups and social scenes, quality one to one, does wonders.

Focus

I don’t mean get lots of focus time, in fact the opposite, limit your focus time. Depending which study you read, on average we have an ultimate (maximum) focus time on one task of 20 minutes (and that’s when we’re well slept, hydrated, good glucose levels and no distractions). If we’re in “flow” we can go longer than that, but the constant need to focus and not breaking focus while listening in meetings, working on a task, etc is not going to get the ultimate output.

Playtime

As adults life gets all serious – work to do, bills to pay, chores to do, people to look after, balancing finances, health, future planning etc is a LOT. We need playtime, good unstructured, laugh evoking play in our days/weeks too. It could be a hobby you love, time with an animal, playing with your kids (I don’t advice board games) or someone else’s (with permission!), bringing something back into your life that brings you joy. Getting to be playful does wonders, if it includes getting creative without limitations all the better for your brain!

Downtime

“What’s that?” I hear you say! I get it. What it means is letting your brain just be. Maybe while you’re walking you leave the headphones at home, maybe you sit and look at the horizon, maybe you lie on the grass and look at the clouds. No stimulus, no demands, just letting our brains be. No reading, listening to podcasts, or music, no device in hand. When did you last do it?

Time-In

This is our last one, and this is about that reflective time. Noticing how you’re feeling, noticing what you need, being conscious of yourself in a world that has you constantly looking outward. This could include reflective journalling, mindfulness, meditation, practices like yoga where you really listen to your breath and your body working together. Sound too woo-woo? I understand that. But give it a go and see what impact you notice. For me, journalling is critical for me when I’m in overwhelm. Sometimes I set a topic to write about, other times it’s just writing down what’s sitting there, with no expectation of it ever being read, but to process thoughts and be able to move on.

All of these can contribute to staving off escalating cortisol levels by introducing our happiness chemicals DOSE (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Seretonin and Endorphins). Having them regularly in our days/weeks can really help us manage stress levels, and brain health!

When should we take them?

It can be hard to know when they’re needed. To start with, you might put a regular prompt in your calendar to notice what you’re needing. You may share a plan with a colleague, friend or family member who can be a mirror to prompt when you need it while you’re still getting to notice the shifts yourself, maybe it’s a post it note on your desk.

Like any habitual change, you’ll often need a prompt, a when X happens, I need Y. To start with it might be – I need to try some things out to see what feels most beneficial – a great opportunity to play with it and see what works for you.

You might want to make some compulsory planned parts of your week, others might be when the time arises and being able to notice and respond accordingly.

What I can tell you is having reminders or prompts, are usually needed while you’re wanting to change something. As it gets repeated it will become more automatic. Afterall we can’t disconnect old wiring easily, but we can override it with new wiring (we just have to be aware of dipping into the old path and getting back on the road when it happens). Think of letting your old habits turn into old dirt paths, while our new wiring is the main highway!