1. Angela Verrill April 29 2014 HW420-2

2. Introduction What is mental fitness? Examples Benefits of mental fitness Physical benefits Emotional and mental benefits Research supporting mental fitness Dr. Richard Davidson Dr. Peter Schnall Dr. Randolph Byrd Activities to help improve mental fitness Meditation- Mantra Yoga- seated twist Mental Fitness Summary

3. What is mental fitness? Just like exercise is needed for your body to stay healthy, the same is needed for the mind It is used to help develop and train the mind to keep our minds healthy The phrase “use it or lose” sums it up Some examples of mental fitness are: Yoga or Tai Chi Meditation Training the mind Positive thinking

4. Physical Benefits of Mental Fitness Triggers the branch of your peripheral nervous system that helps your body return to a calm, relaxed state after dealing with the threat of danger, or daily stress. This branch allows your body to naturally rejuvenate, repair, and rebuild itself (Shaw, 2014). Helps clear your mind, usually allowing for better sleep Allows you to focus on a goal or situation, which in turn can improve your athletic ability Slows your respiration allowing for slow, deeper breaths Slows down the production of cortisol which can help boost the immune system (Shaw, 2014)

5. Mental & Emotional Benefits of Mental Fitness Reduces anxiety and depression Improves critical thinking Allows you to make better decisions Helps to break unhealthy habits, breaking away from emotions due to a certain action Helps you to understand your thoughts more which in turn gives you more control on what you think Helps you to stay in the present moment and not drift off into the past or future; living in the here and now plays a big part in our lives and relationships (Shaw, 2014)

6. Dr. Peter Schnall Professor of Medicine, University of California; published a research report in the Journal of the American Medical Association He studied mid-level managers who were in a stressful working environment; he picked out the ones that suffered from job strain vs. those that didn’t He defined job strain as an inner experience with too much to do and not enough time to do it The ones that felt there was no way no way out of their difficult or stressful situation; felt hopeless, powerless and mental stress Some managers saw this as a challenge and took it on and dealt with the workload The ones who felt overwhelmed, are the ones that had developed disturbed emotions, this led to enlarged heart and chronic hypertension

7. Dr. Peter Schnall Cont… This study was not just geared towards the workplace, this can be experience in any stress you face on a day to day basis Results discovered that our mental life can our affect our body like writing on water with our finger, on sand or on stone Writing on the water with our finger was compared to brief mental disturbance which disappears constantly from our mind and body Longer mental disturbance which lasts a little longer was compared to writing in the sand. Writing on stone is compared to chronic stress, this results in permanent reshaping of our mind and body which becomes difficult to change just as etching something in stone. we must start at the root of our mind and body and heal them at the source, this requires inner development (Dacher, 2006)

8. Dr. Richard Davidson Began studying at the University of Wisconsin in Madison Studied the electrical brain activity, blood flow in the brain and metabolic activity Compared individuals brain functions who felt of good health to those who felt disturbed During his study he was able to identify positive and negative mental states His research revealed that the right prefrontal cortex activates by negative emotions and left prefrontal cortex activates by positive emotions His research recognizes that we are all born with certain temperament and character; certain starting ratio of left- to- right activity Of course some of us born see the positive side more than others and others born using the right prefrontal cortex more At any moment our brains can shift from left to right, changing our emotions

9. Dr. Richard Davidson Cont… July 2003, he formed an 8 week course in stress reduction and relaxation techniques for a group of employees at a biotechnology firm; there were two groups One group took the course while the other group waited, the first group was evaluated before and after they took the course and 4 months afterwards as well through written assessments on their emotions, anxiety levels, brain activity and their immune response to the flu vaccine which was given at the start of the program They were compared to the group also given the flu vaccine but had not started the course yet Participants showed less anxiety and negative emotions and enhancement in well-being compared to the group still waiting to take the course

10. Dr. Richard Davidson Cont… This research revealed that our mental and physical life is not fixed or predetermined, revealing that we can train our minds and good health can result in training our minds from planned, systematic, inner development Conducting this on mental Olympians, they were hooked up to technology and asked to enter well developed mental states like compassion and pure awareness,; the left and right prefrontal cortex were measured with electric measurements and MRIs It was discovered by Davidson that the Olympians of mental fitness have levels of activation of left prefrontal cortex which is where the positive emotions are triggered.. The end result of the study proves that the mind can attain permanent change when trained properly (Dacher, 2006)

11. Dr. Randolph Byrd Conducted a prayer study involved patients from the coronary care unit at San Francisco General Hospital to a control group and intercessory prayer Intercessory prayer was offered by groups outside the hospital, they were informed to pray when they felt they needed and were not told when or how often to pray Patients, nurses and physicians had no idea who was receiving prayer, prayed for patients did better on several counts Revealed the prayer group had less deaths, less likely to require endoracheal intubation and ventilator support, required less potent drugs, experienced lower incidence of pulmonary edema and lowered the need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation Considered a landmark study in the correlation between spiritual practices and healing because through prayer you gain spiritually which in turn can help you heal. Pray for yourself, loved ones or others and can gain spiritually “Stress is not what you do; it is how you react to what you do” (Schlitz & Amorok & Micozzi, 2005)

12. Meditation using Mantra Commit to 10 minutes a day, do this at the same time everyday Set an Alarm so you don’t have to watch the clock Sit in a chair, on a cushion or the floor with your spine straight You can place candles around you or sit near a window, make this a sacred place for you Sit upright with your spine neutral, relax your abdomen and breathe quietly Take the same amount of time for your exhale and inhale Begin your inhale as your exhale ends You must be completely free to move with no constraints such as clothing Choose a mantra (Word or phrase, repeat it over and over with rhythm to your breath, making sure this word leads to positive thoughts if not go back and try a new word Reflect your thoughts or experience in a journal (Shaw, 2014)

13. Yoga: Seated Twist Sit on the floor with your legs extended Cross right foot over outside of left thigh, bend left knee Keep knee pointed towards the ceiling or sky if outside Place left elbow to outside of right knew and right hand on the floor behind you Twist right as far as you can, moving from your abdomen; keep both sides of your butt on the floor, hold for 1 minute Then switch sides and repeat steps using opposite directions meaning where it says right use left and vise verse If this is your first time and want to make it easier: keep bottom leg straight and put both hands on raised knee If your lower back rounds your forward then sit on folded blanket (editors of Fitness Magazine, 2014)

14. Mental fitness Summary Mental fitness helps to improve mental health, improving mental awareness, memory, alertness, improve sleep, clears your mind, improves focus, reduces anxiety and depression, helps to improve your immune system, stay in the moment and train your mind Mental fitness can be done through many different ways including: yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation Dr. Peter Schnall research revealed we need to work at the root of the problem or source in order to get better health, this will help to deal with stressors in our life Dr. Richard Davidson research revealed that positive thoughts were activated in the left prefrontal cortex and negative emotions in the right prefrontal cortex. His study showed that we could train our minds to think more positive. We can in turn change our minds thought process permanently Dr. Randolph Byrd research prayer and how if we pray for others good things happen. Prayer for others can improve health. There are many different ways to practice mental fitness that can improve our lives that are not mentioned. Find what works best for you and practice it for a better outlook and in health

15. References Shaw, B. (2014). Meditation provides physical, mental, and emotional benefits. Retrieved from http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/meditation- provides-physical-mental-and-emotional-benefits http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/meditation- provides-physical-mental-and-emotional-benefits Editors of Fitness Magazine (2014). Yoga Poses for Beginners. Retrieved from http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/beginner -yoga-poses/#page=7 http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/beginner -yoga-poses/#page=7 Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc. Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi. M. (2005). Consciousness and healing: Integral approaches to mind body medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.