the times | Tuesday September 15 2020 1GT 7
be putting your health in risk. A study
published this week in the European
Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
shows that heart attack patients who
are sarcastic, cynical or irritable are
more likely to suffer from a second
heart attack.
“We know that taking control of
lifestyle habits improves the outlook
for heart attack patients, and our
study suggests that improving hostile
behaviours could also be a positive
move,” says the lead researcher,
Tracey Vitori, an assistant professor
of nursing at the University
of Tennessee.
Curbing your grumpiness could
be easier if you get more sleep. Last
month, psychologists at Iowa State
University reported how losing five
hours of their regular sleep quota
across two nights unleashed anger
when participants were then exposed
to irritating noise. In contrast,
well-slept participants were able
to cope with the sounds. “Sleep
activates a plumbing system called the
glymphatic system that helps fluid to
move more rapidly to the brain,” Wild
says. “A good night’s sleep is clearly
linked to better mood and memory.”Can’t sleep? Picture
sunshine at 2amMost insomniacs tend to overthink
and dwell on negative thoughts in
the early hours. “Negative images in
your mind keep anxiety and other
feelings intact,” Wild says. “They
push us towards what we call ‘safety
seeking behaviours’, habits we use
to keep ourselves safe, but which
actually hold our attention on to
our worst fears.”
If you lie awake worrying, Wild says
the most effective method of dealing
with it is to conjure up a positive
image in your mind. “In our studies we
have found the best way to disengage
from troubling thoughts is to picture
things working out fine or just focus
on a positive image in your mind,”
Wild says. “It can be any sort ofpositive image, but picturing bright
sunshine is among the most effective.”Do ten jumping jacks
Physical activity gets us “out of our
own heads” and off the treadmill of
negative thinking, Wild says. “It breaks
the cycle and stops circular thinking,
which means we stop fuelling low
mood,” she says. “When you are
focusing on tough cardiovascular
exercise, such as running or aerobics,
which are both fantastic, it’s
impossible to think about the whys
and ifs of your day, and if you are
doing yoga you are concentrating on
getting the postures right.”
However, if you can’t face a full
workout, some jumping jacks or star
jumps will have the same effect.
“Just by doing a simple exercise like
this for a minute or two, you begin
weakening the neuronal pathways that
reinforce the negative whys and ifs,”
Wild says. “Your thoughts change
from being focused on yourself to
being focused on the wider world and
you start to feel better.”Lift weights twice a week
Lifting weights has “a significant
effect on cognition”, according to
Professor Michael Valenzuela,
the leader of the Regenerative
Neuroscience Group at the University
of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre
and the author of a study published in
February that looked at the effects of
twice-weekly resistance training
sessions on the brains of people with
mild cognitive impairment.
Valenzuela and his team found that
six months of strength training, using
free weights and exercise machines
with progressively heavier loads, led to
improvements in areas of the brain
affected by Alzheimer’s disease
compared with control groups who
did cognition training or stretching
and watching videos. Even better, the
protective effects of strength work
lasted for up to one year after the
training programme ended.brain and think straight again
GETTY IMAGESthe next day.” It also helps to improve
focus by removing wriggle room
for daydreaming. “You get much
clearer on how much time you spend
mind-wandering when you set
yourself a clear timetable to stick
to,” Wild says. “Be clear with yourself
how much you can realistically get
done and stick to it.”Get a good night’s sleep
Angry outbursts, road rage and
agitation are sometimes signs of
depression and have been associated
with low mood and lack of
productivity, but they also couldTimetable your day into
half-hour chunks
If you are feeling frazzled, the best
thing you can do is to each evening
write a detailed timetable for the next
day. “In studies we carried out at
Oxford we found that a programme
of planning ahead left paramedics
with long shifts significantly less
distressed when compared to other
methods,” Wild says.
“Planning every minute of your day
in 30-minute chunks works by moving
routine decision-making to the night
before and that frees up lots of your
mental energy for more pressing tasksA good
night’s
sleep is
linked to
better
memory
Focus on exercise to distract
you from your day
health&soul