Yawning is one of the best-kept secrets in neuroscience, it is a powerful neural-enhancing tool. Yawning, for example, has been used for many decades in voice therapy as an effective means for reducing performance anxiety and hypertension in the throat.

Recent evidence that yawning is good for you
Several recent brain-scan studies have shown that yawning evokes a unique neural activity in the areas of the brain that are directly involved in generating social awareness and creating feelings of empathy. One of those areas is the precuneus, a tiny structure hidden within the folds of the parietal lobe. According to researchers at the Institute of Neurology in London, the precuneus appears to play a central role in consciousness, self-reflection, and memory retrieval. The precuneus is also stimulated by yogic breathing, which helps explain why different forms of meditation contribute to an increased sense of self-awareness. It is also one of the areas hardest hit by age-related diseases and attention deficit problems, so it’s possible that deliberate yawning may actually strengthen this important part of the brain.

Hence, yawning should be integrated into exercise and stress reduction programs, cognitive and memory enhancement training, psychotherapy, and contemplative spiritual practice. And, because the precuneus has recently been associated with the mirror-neuron system in the brain (which allows us to resonate to the feelings and behaviors of others), yawning may even help us to enhance social awareness, compassion, and effective communication with others.

You should try it
Try it. Force yourself to yawn 10 times and you will experience this fabulous technique. Don’t feel stressed about it, there is an unexplained stigma in our society implying that it’s rude to yawn, and most of us were taught this when we were young.

Yawning usually occurs when you’re tired, and it may be the brain’s way of gently telling you that a little rejuvenating sleep is needed. On the other hand, exposure to light will also make you yawn, suggesting that it is part of the process of waking up.

But yawning doesn’t just relax you—it quickly brings you into a heightened state of cognitive awareness. Students yawn in class, not because the teacher is boring but because it helps easing the brain’s state of sleepiness, thus helping you stay focused on important concepts and ideas. It regulates consciousness and our sense of self, and helps us become more introspective and self-aware.
Of course, if you happen to find yourself trapped in a room with a dull, boring, monotonous teacher, yawning will help keep you awake.

Yawning mechanisms
Yawning is also very contagious, when your friends yawn you start doing it too. The reason for this is that it helps people synchronize their behavior with others.
In fact, it’s so contagious for humans that even reading about it will cause a person to yawn.

Yawning, as a mechanism for alertness, begins within the first 20 weeks after conception. It helps regulate the circadian rhythms of newborns, and this adds to the evidence that yawning is involved in the regulation of wakefulness and sleep.

So what is the underlying mechanism that makes yawning such an essential tool? Besides activating the precuneus, it regulates the temperature and metabolism of your brain. It takes a lot of neural energy to stay consciously alert, and as you work your way up the evolutionary ladder, brains become less energy efficient. Yawning probably evolved as a way to cool down the overly active mammalian brain, especially in the areas of the frontal lobe. Some have even argued that it is a primitive form of empathy. Most vertebrates yawn, but it is only contagious among humans, great apes, macaque monkeys, and chimpanzees.

A real neurological treat
Dogs yawn before attacking, Olympic athletes yawn before performing, and fish yawn before they change activities. Evidence even exists that yawning helps individuals on military assignment perform their tasks with greater accuracy and ease.

Indeed, yawning may be one of the most important mechanisms for regulating the survival-related behaviors in mammals. So if you want to maintain an optimally healthy brain, it is essential that you yawn.

A chemical story
Numerous neurochemicals are involved in the yawning experience, including dopamine, which activates oxytocin production in your hypothalamus and hippocampus, areas essential for memory recall, voluntary control, and temperature regulation. These neurotransmitters regulate pleasure, sensuality, and relationship bonding between individuals, so if you want to enhance your intimacy and stay together, then yawn together.
Other neurochemicals and molecules involved with yawning include acetylcholine, nitric oxide, glutamate, GABA, serotonin, ACTH, MSH, sexual hormones, and opium derivate peptides. In fact, it’s hard to find another activity that positively influences so many functions of the brain.

Conclusion
You should yawn as many times a day as possible: when you wake up, when you’re confronting a difficult problem at work, when you prepare to go to sleep, and whenever you feel anger, anxiety, or stress. Yawn before giving an important talk, yawn before you take a test, and yawn while you meditate or pray because it will intensify your spiritual experience.

You can consciously yawn, it takes a little practice and discipline but it will make you feel incredibly relaxed, and highly alert.

Not bad for something that takes less than a minute to do.

A little bit of stress is good for the body, but when it builds up we need to learn how to deal with it, so take a deep breath and get working for a better mental health.

First : Identify the problem
Try to view stress as a warning that some aspects of your life might need changing. In order to beat stress, you’ll need to work out what these aspects are. OK, it sounds simple, but often we are unaware of just how much stress a relationship/job/lifestyle is causing us. Try and think about the causes of your stress and make a mental note of them. Once you have identified the causes you need to tackle them.

Second : Think positive
“Everything’s getting on top of me”, “I can’t cope”, “My life feels out of control”. Most of us find ourselves having thoughts like this from time to time, but it is possible to take control of these negative tendencies. Just a bit of positive thinking can turn you back onto the path of happiness and healthiness. Clearly, negative thinking can make you sick. Tests have shown that people who focused on bad times had weaker immune systems and also displayed increased activity in the part of the brain associated with mental problems such as depression.

My best advice here is to use NLP on yourself.
If you think you’re not good enough on something -> Repeat yourself you’re the best. Litteraly, just tell yourself ‘I’m the best’ and keep going. Yes you gotta keep going and repeat this to yourself day and night for weeks, then months until this becomes second nature. This just works

Third : Relax
There are endless ways to relax your body and mind; it can be as simple as closing the door to the world and having half an hour on your own with a book, but introducing some formal relaxation into your life will really pay off too. Here are a few suggestions:

Breathing: OK, so we do it all the time, but very few of us do it properly. Re-train your breathing patterns and you’ll soon see an improvement in anxiety and tension levels as well as your state of mind. Mental health charity Mind can suggest some simple breathing techniques.

Massage: Use this hands-on remedy and feel an instant improvement to your body’s built-up tension. Try to find a masseur, it’s usually 30 pounds an hour outside London. Really well worth it. If your budget doesn’t stretch that far, ask a partner or friend to work on your body tensions instead.

Exercise: Choose the right exercise and you’ll feel both energised and relaxed. As a general rule, yoga and Tai Chi are excellent for reinstalling calm by focusing on breathing and centring the mind, but any physical exercise will reduce stress by using up adrenalin and other hormones that the body produces under stress, as well as relaxing the muscles. If you’re skin just watch some Youtube Yoga video and copy the moves

Orgasm: Unlikely to be prescribed by your GP, but the powers of letting off steam in the bedroom can work wonders. Can you honestly think of a time that you’re more relaxed than those post-coital moments curled up in bed? Thought not.

Other stress-busters:
Eat a healthy diet: Processed foods, too much salt, sugar, alcohol and caffeine can all drain energy and often leave you with that ‘wired’ feeling.

Get enough sleep: The best way to do this is to regulate your sleeping hours by going to bed and waking up within a time slot of 1-2 hours.

De-clutter your life: Take anything you don’t use to a charity shop, recycle old magazines and clear away the pizza boxes from under your bed. Then go to work/college on Monday and give your desk the once over. This is the quick-fix of all de-stressers.

Just say “no”: To demanding colleagues/friends/family. You know how much you can cope with, so pick out the important stuff and delegate the rest. Prioritising lists can often help you decide what really needs to be done – and what can wait.

Try to set aside at least 30 minutes each day to switch off from the world, unwind and focus on what has stressed you during the day.

Laugh: Of course laughing works, it does improve our mood, it also relieves stress and improves our immune system. The next time you find yourself with a frown on your face, consider this: four-year-old children laugh on average 400 times a day, whereas adults only laugh 14 times. So go on, get those funny videos out and invite your friends over for some serious cheering up.

Our own behaviours will influence the quality of our sleep, review this if you can’t find sleep !

Work stress
Work stress comes in many forms – an unfinished report or wanted promotion – and it can leave your mind racing well into the night. ‘Works stress taps into a primitive survival pressure. It tends to boost levels of adrenaline that puts the body in a hyper-alert state,’ says life coach Jason Henry.
Turn things around
Take long deep breaths into your belly to switch on the part of your nervous system that lowers adrenalin and aids relaxation. Do a body scan: pass over your body, starting with your toes. Ask each part to ‘melt to let go of any tension.

Unsolved problem in the day
Negative thoughts before bed are a recipe for tossing and turning all night. It’s near-impossible to sleep if you’re thinking negatively or haven’t reached any kind of resolution. Holding onto strong emotions could prevent your body relaxing for hours.
Turn things around
Don’t dwell on it – solve your issues before you get into bed, even if it is to make plans of actions for tomorrow.

Not enough time
You have too much to do, too little time to do it. The feeling of tiredness can comes from rushing around or feeling you’ve lost control. If you feel life is rushing you it is very likely that your body will feel exhausted.
Turn things around
Make a to-do list before bed because this will give you a feeling of some control. Prioritise half the list for tomorrow, or whatever seems manageable, and make a note to plan for the rest tomorrow. You’ll then feel you’ve done enough so you can switch off. Make sure you keep an hour for relaxation before your usual bedtime.

Doing too much and still feeling disappointed
You’re up past midnight again – having said yes to too many people, you have no idea how you’ll complete all those commitments.
Turn things around
Put a stop to late nights. Even if you’re overstretched, resolve to have your head on the pillow by 11pm. Sleep is essential for emotional health and resilience. It’s better to take on less and do it well than running yourself ragged and doing things badly.

Body temperature
You may want to be warm and cosy, but a room that’s too hot will leave you restless. Snuggle up but make sure the air is cool because heat actually causes the body to wake up.
Turn things around
Open the window for a while before you sleep. If you can, leave it open a little during the night. Choose cotton bedding that allows skin to breathe. Make sure you wash your bed sheet every week.

Sugar and caffeine
Coffee or a sweet treat up to three hours before bed will disrupt your sleep. The caffeine from a single coffee will be swishing around your system for a good four hours, while sugar may keep you energised and awake for up to two hours afterwards.
Turn things around
Skip coffee and sweet treats late in the evening. If you fancy a warming hot drink, opt for herbal tea instead. Avoid eating sugary foods on an empty stomach when they will have a more pronounced effect.

Alcohol
Alcohol has a depressing effect on the nervous system, but when it comes to sleep it acts as a stimulant, boosting blood sugar levels. Once you nod off, you’ll probably be woken in the early hours by the opposite problem: low blood sugar.
Turn things around
Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink if you lie awake after a drinking session. After drinking more than a glass of wine or beer, eat some food to stabilise your blood sugar levels. Alternate soft drinks or water with the glasses of booze. Just before bed, drink plenty of water and eat again, this time choosing a fatty protein food such as cheese.

Irregular sleep hours
Perhaps you’re working shifts or something wakes you up at night. Whatever the case, regular sleep patterns are something that’s out of reach for you.
Turn things around
Grab as much sleep as you can before 11pm. Research indicates that falling asleep before midnight really does lead to deeper, more restorative sleep. If you’re woken during deep REM sleep, you’re likely to feel exhausted the next day. Grab a power nap for at least 30 minutes when you can – it’ll make all the difference.

Energy drinks
These energy bombs do more than work against sleep; they can cause you to feel anxious, jittery, and wired and tired at the same time. If you’re addicted to them, now may be the time to cut back.
Turn things around
Instead of having an energy drink, try a glass of unsweetened iced tea or other tea of your choice – Green thea is fantastic.

September is over and the mad rush to Christmas has started. The tube is busy again, work can be manic and you have many things to be anxious about.

Natural and gentle help is at hand
Instead of popping prescription meds for that new bout of anxiety, stop it before it gets too far with a little bit of natural help. The Kava kava plant is here to help slow your mind and reduce your workday, school day, and dinner time anxieties.

What is Kava Kava?
Kava kava—or scientifically termed Piper methysticum—is native to many island nations in and around Polynesia (including Hawaii) where it has been used for centuries as a ceremonial herb to induce intoxication as a way to calm the patrons of celebrations. Although the kava plant has large, green leaves and stems, the actual root is the only part of the plant that is used for medicinal or recreational purposes.

What is Kava Kava good for ?
Besides anxiety, kava kava has been used in numerous natural remedies for insomnia and back pain as well as help with children who are hyperactive or have trouble sleeping. It has been used by business associates trying to keep up with their workload, athletes crushed by their vigorous schedules, and intellectuals hoping to take that pressure off and assist in focusing their minds.

What does Kava Kava do to you ?
Kava kava helps make the body as calm as possible and stay that way as long as the root is in your system. Kava root relaxes your muscles, gives you a feeling of well-being, creates peaceful and relaxing feelings, increases concentration, lowers inhibitions, and can act as an organic form of aphrodisiac. By making people more sociable and less self conscious, it makes sense that it’s the premier “ice breaker” drink of Polynesia.

Kava is also used as an alternative to alcohol among the islands and is a well-known drink available at large functions like weddings, graduations, funerals and community gatherings. There is no known hangover quality to imbibing a kava concoction and has little known side effects when used sparingly.

Potential side effects and warnings
Potential side effects of taking kava are drowsiness, headache, and reaction with certain drugs, indigestion or skin rash; more serious conditions may occur with dangerous amounts of kava and people interested in adding kava to their routine should always consult their healthcare provider before taking anything new.
In addition, pregnant women and people with liver problems have been cautioned not to take it. Kava kava, while used as a drink or a medicine should also never be taken along with alcohol.

How do you consume Kava Kava ?
Traditionally, the kava root was chewed for the medicinal effects or crushed and simmered and made into a beverage. In modern times, kava kava is now available in capsules, teas, liquids, extracts, tablets, and mixed into natural health beverages.

How does it work?
Scientists believe that the root of the kava plant seems to be used as a type of neurotransmitter sending good feelings in the form of chemicals to your brain cells. A 2004 study came to the conclusion that kava, “appears to be an effective symptomatic treatment option for anxiety.” The study also showed, however, that it should not be abused because although there is a percentage of effectiveness against anxiety, it is not high, and should not be used for prolonged or extreme cases of anxiety.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a natural anti-stress, Kava Kava may well reduce your natural anxieties and help you cope with demanding situations

article Source healthnews.com