Challenge 06 - Breathe to Lower Anxiety

“The rate and depth we breathe at is a huge determinant of our mental state” 1

Today’s challenge is to breathe intentionally.

Breathing is so fundamental to our lives but largely goes unnoticed automatically happening in the background of our everyday lives. However, being conscious about those 25,000 daily breaths could help improve our mental wellbeing, lower anxiety, and be calmer.

So how might breathing impact our physiology? Our respiration rate influences our autonomic nervous system which is divided into two: the sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) branches. In healthy subjects breathing techniques can promote parasympathetic dominance, increase calmness and relaxation. With practice, some of these hacks can induce the rest and restore branch in as little as 3-4 minutes.

There are a lot of breathing techniques available for people to try and explore what works best for them. Of course, everyone is different and obviously, this will not substitute for medical advice but I have found the following handy in reminding me to breath more intentionally:

·         Close your mouth – breathing through the nose filters the air and helps us take deeper breaths directly to the belly or diaphragm. It also increases the intake of nitric oxide, which opens blood vessels, which improves circulation and oxygen to travel throughout the body.

·         Deep breathing – breathe deeply into your belly or diaphragm, which reduces shallow breathing (chest breathing) and allows the lungs to increase the intake of oxygen.

·         Slow-paced breathing – slowing breathing to 6 – 10 breaths per minute in healthy people has been shown to improve parasympathetic activity. 2

Being more intentional about your breathing is not just for adults. Research into breathing and stress in children has shown that just taking four slow deep breaths in an everyday setting can significantly affect child stress physiology. Understanding that deep breathing may not be intuitive to children SPARK Lab at Stanford developed a video to show how to pace breath inhale and exhale slowly. By measuring the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and changing pace of the heartbeat when a person inhales and exhales, the study suggests that paced breathing could reduce physiological arousal and be linked to children’s ability to regulate their emotions, focus their attention and engage in tasks. Watch the video here breath in like your smelling a flower and breath out like your blowing a candle

I, have observed the beneficial impact of breathing techniques on people’s lives. Over the past five years, 1,000 volunteers have worn a Firstbeat Bodyguard2 bio-feedback device measuring heart rate variability as part of the ‘Manage Your Energy Renewal Program’. It is incredible to think that learning simple breathing exercises would dramatically affect people's lives.

So what breathing practice might you try today? Tell us here

Reference

1.     Professor Elissa Epel

2.     How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. 2018

3.     How to calm stressed kid one minute video can help according to Stanford researchers. J.Obradović. 2021

Further reading

Read:  How calm stressed kid one minute video can help according to Stanford research. https://ed.stanford.edu

Read (long):  Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. 2020. James Nestor

Listen: how-the-lost-art-of-breathing-can-impact-sleep-and-resilience www.npr.org

** Disclaimer – Fresh start effect & 30 Day challenge by Duncan Young. All content and media on the Build Your Ideal Day Website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.

Challenge 07 - Gratitude

Generosity moves us from hopeless to hopeful

Today’s challenge is to be more grateful.

Grateful feelings buffer us from psychological ill health and provide a bolstering effect to maintain mental health despite the crisis by lowering stress levels and increasing positive emotions, life satisfaction, and resilience. When we have been physically distanced from our friends, gratitude can also facilitate the development and maintenance of social relationships.1

In addition, gratitude practiced daily has been shown to predict life satisfaction strongly (aka happiness2) and improve your physical health. Practicing gratitude improves sleep, boosts immunity, and decreases the risk of disease.3

So how might you incorporate a practice of gratitude? There are multiple activities that can increase gratitude, including writing a gratitude diary, reflecting daily five things you are grateful for, or intentionally sharing how grateful you are with others, such as thank you cards or messages. Random acts of kindness, such as, helping someone with directions or someone who is struggling under a heavy shopping load or holding a door open for someone to cross through are all prosocial actions that express our thanks for others.I like that such small actions can make a difference to others. When I was in cafe queue ordering, my friend prepaid a coffee for a health worker in the queue behind us. Their delight and surprise were palpable as being acknowledged as essential services during the recent pandemic. So much joy for as little as $4.00.

So what is your favourite act of gratitude? Tell us here

Reference

1.  A new perspective on the social functions of emotions: Gratitude and the witnessing effect. 2019. S. Algoe

2.  Positive psychology in a pandemic: buffering, bolstering, and building mental health. 2020. L. Walters, et all.

3.  To improve your health practice gratitude. Mayoclinic.

Further reading

·     Read: Scientifically proven benefits of gratitude www.forbes.com

·     Listen: The gratitude chain www.npr.org

·     Watch: Five Day gratitude challenge ideas.ted.com

** Disclaimer – Part of the Fresh Start Effect / Build Your Ideal Day Program by Duncan Young. All content and media on the Build Your Ideal Day Website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.

Challenge 08 - Finding Flow

When did you last experience flow?

Today's challenge is to build so flow in your life and get into ‘the zone’. Flow is a state of consciousness where people are completely absorbed in the activity they are doing. Whilst engaged in this ‘optimal experience they feel “strong, alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, and at the peak of their abilities”1. Flow state can take many forms: during sports (runner-high), artistic pursuits (playing music or juggling), leisure activities (gardening) or education (learning a new language), in fact any activity where you lose time of the moment can be categorised in this way.

So why is flow important right now? It turns out that those who engage in flow activities whilst being in COVID19 quarantine reported more positive emotion, less severe depressive symptoms, less loneliness, more healthy behaviours, and fewer unhealthy behaviours.  Not surprisingly the benefits became greater as the quarantine length extended in the study group of more than 5,000 people. This could also help those not in quarantine but with disrupted routines, remote working or work tasks that demand full concentration.

The ‘grandfather of flow’ Csikszentmihalyi insists that happiness does not simply happen. It must be prepared for and cultivated by each person, by setting challenges that are neither too demanding nor too simple for one’s abilities. So how can you plan more flow into our everyday? Some suggestions are listed below with juggling as an example:

1.     Turn off distractions, in particular, your smart phone (although its handy to set an alarm to mark the end of your session)

2.     Match your skills to the task (juggle 3 balls not 5)

3.     Have a clear goal (juggle without dropping ball for 2 minutes)

4.     Focus on the present (watch the ball)

5.     Repeat and fine tune process until you establish the right balance.

In my case marathon ocean swimming evokes a state of flow when all of my usual worries leave my head for a time you are submerged, and you become away only of your swimming stroke and rhythmic breathing.

So has anyone else experienced flow recently? Tell us here

Reference

1.     Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 1990.  

2.     “Flow seems to mitigate the negative effects of quarantine.” Kate Sweeney. www.universityofcalifornia.edu

Further reading

Read: Flow State. Headspace. www.headspace.com

Watch: How to stop languishing and start finding flow. Adam Grant. www.ted.com

Watch: Flow: The secret to happiness. mihaly_csikszentmihalyi

Listen: Achieving a flow state at work. Can Newport. www.npr.org

** Disclaimer – Part of the Fresh Start Effect / Build Your Ideal Day Program by Duncan Young. All content and media on the Build Your Ideal Day Website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.

Challenge 09 - Social Connection

Humans have always gained sustenance from each other and this capacity to act collectively and build collaboratively has been at the heart of our success.  P.Seabright

The strongest predictor of life satisfaction, aka happiness, is determined by the strength of your social connections, according to research from both The World Happiness Report and the Grant Study. Our relationships and how well you are integrated into your local network also influence your chance of surviving a major illness, especially after heart attacks and stroke but up to 50%. More recently, pandemic research has shown high-quality connections are highly beneficial and as a buffer and reduce negative outcomes.

Interestingly the optimal number of friends you need to flourish differs by personality type. Dunbar’s number of 150 developed by evolutionary psychologist and anthropologist Robin Dunbar claims that it typically ranges from 100 to 250. This variance is due to the difference between introverts and extroverts, with introverts preferring fewer, stronger friendships, while extroverts prefer more, weaker ones and spread themselves more thinly. We all have limited time and the strength of a friendship is completely dependent on how much time you invest in each person.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges to stay connected. Most of us need other people to live long and healthy lives, help us get up when we are down & connect us to opportunities. Developing social connections is a learnt skill we all need to continually work on. Some ideas below to get started or restarted:

·         Inconsequential connections matter. According to researchers Sandstrom & Dunn, a seemingly inconsequential conversation with your barista, another parent at the school drop-off, or on the dog walk could lift your mood by 17%.

·         Use informal communication. Reach out to an old friend with a simple text, email, or call. A shared history with old friends makes it easier to reconnect and pick up where you left off.

·         Join a local fitness group (Parkrun) or volunteer something with a higher purpose (Bushcare group). The collective group purpose makes it easier to find common ground.

So how might you build or strengthen a relationship today?  Tell us here

Reference

1.      The World happiness report.

2.      Framingham heart study. 1971- 2003. https://framinghamheartstudy.org/

3.      Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships 2021. Robin Dunbar

4.      Gillian Sandstrom

Further reading

Read: Dunbar’s number theconversation.com

Watch: The Secret to living longer maybe your social life www.ted.com

Listen: The science of friendships. Robin Dunbar. RSA

** Disclaimer – Part of the Fresh Start Effect / Build Your Ideal Day Program by Duncan Young. All content and media on the Build Your Ideal Day Website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.

Challenge 10 - Finding Strength

Focusing on what works, works. Tal Ben-Shahar

Today's challenge is to put your strengths to work every day.

Positive psychology is a field of science, developed in the late 1990's as a way to counterbalance the intense focus on psychopathology. Positive psychology emphasizes what is good about people and is described as 'the scientific study of what goes right in life'1. 

It may seem counter-intuitive, but it can be easier to achieve success using your strength than focusing on your weakness. Gallup research of 1.1 million people and 63 countries confirms that people and organisations who reported using their strengths daily were part of teams and or businesses that were the highest performing.

It takes more effort to build performance by focusing on weakness, so instead, let's focus on the things that work. Ask yourself these two questions: firstly, what are your strengths? (i.e. what are you good at?) followed by a second question, what gives you strength (i.e. what are you energised by or passionate about)

On a personal note, I have found strength research invaluable over the years. Two consistent strengths that have guided my work career are grit and curiosity. Grit has helped me navigate the highs and lows of my 27-year career at Lendlease across multiple businesses and regions. My curiosity about nature and human performance has opened new career streams, namely head of sustainability for UK Retail in 2007 and head of workplace wellbeing in 2016.

So a question for you. What is your strength, and what gives your strength? survey

Reference

1.     Tal Ben-Shahar

Further reading

Read: Why Leaders Should Focus On Strengths, Not Weaknesses www.forbes.com

Watch: Tal Ben Shahar Strengths

** Disclaimer – Part of the Fresh Start Effect / Build Your Ideal Day Program by Duncan Young. All content and media on the Build Your Ideal Day Website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.