6 1GT Tuesday September 15 2020 | the times

35-year-old participants.

In a review of 13 studies,

researchers found that

bursts of just 120 seconds

of moderate to high-

intensity activity —

enough to make you puff

— “improved learning

memory, planning and

problem-solving,

concentration [and]

verbal fluency” with the

positive effects lasting for

up to two hours. Since

there was also a link

between exercise and

“learning ability”, it could

be that exercising before

work or studying could

improve mental clarity.

However, Wild says that

the toolbox for tackling

mental tiredness is vast.

“There are plenty of

strategies to transform

your everyday stressors, to

restore focus and develop

healthy thinking habits,” she says.

Here are the habits to form to

overcome seasonal brain fatigue:

Create worry-free zones

Worrying is the scourge of a

productive mind. “Once you start to

worry or focus on uncertainty, it can

spiral into full-blown self-doubt and

blocks the capacity to problem-solve,”

Wild says. “The best way out of this

rut is to recognise that worry is

overthinking and accept that research

shows that 88 per cent of our worries

never happen.”

Research by Dr Colette Hirsch, a

reader in cognitive clinical psychology

at King’s College London, has shown

that operating a worry-free zone

(WFZ), a five-minute period when you

shift your focus away from worry to

a task in hand, can help dramatically

to reduce the intensity and frequency

of intrusive, negative thoughts.

Your WFZ could be anything from

an action, such as making a cup of

tea, to a place, such as the bathroom,

or a determined time period (eg from

waking until going downstairs).

Although worry “will naturally

come back into your mind” at first,

Hirsch says that gradually you will

learn to override it and can then

increase the number and duration

of your daily WFZs.

Take a ‘brain break’

Sitting for too long can exacerbate

brain fog, but taking brief three-

minute “brain breaks” can reboot

cognitive performance, such as

decision-making, attention and power

of recall, researchers reported in the

British Journal of Sports Medicine last

year. In a study of older Australians

aged 55 to 80, Michael Wheeler, a

physical activity researcher at the

Plagued by worry and finding

it difficult to focus? There are

proven strategies for getting

back your edge, says Peta Bee

I

f you are feeling overloaded

and fatigued, you are not alone.

Psychologists say that anxiety

and brain fog peak at this time

of year (and this year in

particular). It’s a culmination

of rising stress levels as we

attempt to shift to the school or

work routine coupled with seasonal

changes in weather and gradually

diminishing daylight.

The prospect of too much or too

little on your plate in the months

ahead can leave you feeling

overwhelmed or underwhelmed

with daily life, adding to what

psychologists term your “allostatic

load”, the mental and physical effects

of exposure to stressors.

When our ability to stay calm and

focused is hampered by our daily

routines, it is easy to become more

frazzled and forgetful, mentally flighty

and less able to focus on even the

most mundane task. Informally, it’s

known as brain fatigue and anyone

who has even the slightest experience

of it will know the impact it can have

on concentration levels, clear thinking

and mental alertness.

There are, however, proven steps to

offset this autumnal ennui and set our

thinking back on track. Dr Jennifer

Wild, a consultant clinical psychologist

and associate professor at the

University of Oxford and the author

of Be Extraordinary (Robinson), says

that prioritising simple steps that

are known to make a difference

to our mindset can help to restore

mental clarity.

“Avoiding things you know you

should do, such as activity and

exercise, is the number one behaviour

that keeps anxiety and low mood

going,” Wild says. “And just getting out

for a brief daily walk in the open air

can have a powerful impact on your

thinking and positivity.”

A few years ago, researchers at

Heriot-Watt University attached

portable electroencephalograms

(EEGs) to the scalps of volunteers to

study their brain wave patterns as they

walked in different environments.

They were looking for wave patterns

that were related to frustration, or that

directed attention and mental arousal

or calmness and a meditative state.

Their results showed that walking in

green, leafy spaces lessened brain

fatigue and that the walkers’ brains

were mentally quieter when they

passed through parkland — an

effect of nature engaging the brain

in an “effortless” way that allows

scope for reflection.

Added to this is a recent study from

Jonkoping University in Sweden

published in the journal Translational

Sports Medicine that found that

walking, running or cycling for

as little as two minutes at a time

reduced mental sluggishness in 18 to

University of Western Australia, found

that a 30-minute morning walk

boosted short-term memory compared

with prolonged sitting, but that adding

three-minute breaks — during which

you stand up and leave what you are

doing to move about — every hour

or so boosted cognitive outcomes.

Levels of brain-derived neurotrophic

growth factor, a chemical that plays

an important role in preserving

information-transmitting neurons

in the brain, were elevated after the

morning walk and the mini brain

breaks. Wheeler says that this

“demonstrates how relatively

simple changes to your daily routine

could have a significant benefit to

cognitive health”.

Put a plant on your desk

Green is a colour that psychologists

associate with positivity and

surrounding yourself with it can

help to boost your mood and focus.

Researchers at the University of

Exeter and Cardiff University

found that something as simple

as putting greenery in a spartan

workspace served to increase

productivity by as much as

15 per cent and enhanced focus

and perceived air quality.

Marlon Nieuwenhuis, a psychologist

from Cardiff who led the study,

suggested that plants make workers

more physically and emotionally

involved in their work and makes an

office “more enjoyable and more

comfortable”. According to the

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS),

an office plant was shown to reduce

fatigue and headaches by 20-25 per

cent in one study — the RHS

recommends easy-to-grow office

plants such as the spider plant and

peace lily.

How to sharpen your

says

Think of sunshine at 2am

&healthsoul