Is it Okay to Cheat? Self Care vs Self Indulgence

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Is it Okay to Cheat? Self Care vs Self Indulgence - Thomas DeLauer

Self-Care & Well-Being

A study published in Social Indicators Research conducted interviews with over 1,000 participants asking them about the types of self-care practices they used

The most common self-care activity reported by participants was exercise

Other common self-care activities listed by participants included getting social support from others, making time for fun activities (such as pursuing hobbies, reading, or watching a movie), and taking time to relax (for example, by spending time in nature)

The researchers also looked at which self-care activities were related to well-being - they found that seeking out social support had the strongest link to well-being

Note: Well-being is tough to quantify, hence why most self-care studies are seemingly quite subjective

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-004-0995-3

Mindfulness

In one study, published in the American Psychological Association, psychology graduate students were taught about mindfulness and participated in a variety of activities designed to increase mindfulness (meditation and yoga) for 8 weeks

Compared to other students who did not practice these mindfulness activities, the mindfulness intervention reduced stress and anxiety and reported feeling more compassionate towards themselves
The scans still detected changes in the subjects’ brain activation patterns from the beginning to the end of the study, the first time such a change — in a part of the brain called the amygdala — had been detected.

After eight weeks of training in mindful attention meditation (right) note the amygdala is less activated after the meditation training

During the scans, participants completed two tests, one that encourages them to become more aware of their bodies by focusing on their heartbeats (an exercise related to mindfulness meditation), and the other asking them to reflect on phrases common in the self-chatter of depressed patients, such as “I am such a loser,” or “I can’t go on.”

This training boosts body awareness in the moment, called interoception, which, by focusing their attention on the here and now, arms participants to break the cycle of self-rumination.

The amygdala is involved with interoception, and we know that’s involved with rumination and depression

Additionally, the hippocampus, shows increased amounts of gray matter in the brains of our mindfulness program participants

It’s part of the limbic system, a set of inner structures associated with emotion and memory - it’s covered in receptors for the stress hormone cortisol, and studies have shown that it can be damaged by chronic stress

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/harvard-researchers-study-how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/

Hobbies/Relaxing/Leisure Activities

A study, published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, followed over 100 adults as they went about their daily activities

Participants wore heart monitors and also completed surveys periodically to report their activities and how they were feeling

After three days, the researchers found that people who engaged in leisure activities were 34% less stressed and 18% less sad during the activities

Not only did they report feeling happier, but their heart rates were lower-and the calming effect lasted for hours

Surprisingly, the scientists say that it didn't seem to matter much what the participants did just so long as it was something they deeply enjoyed

No matter the passion, people showed the same huge decrease in stress

*Believed to induce ‘relaxation response’ a term coined by Dr. Herbert Benson, professor and founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute that

Defined as your personal ability to encourage your body to release chemicals and brain signals that make your muscles and organs slow down and increase blood flow to the brain

Opposite of the flight or flight response

https://www.ucmerced.edu/sites/ucmerced.edu/files/documents/zawadzki-paper-2015.pdf

Exercise

Exercise increases the neurotransmitter anandamide, and anandamide is thought to be involved in increasing BDNF

In your brain, BDNF not only preserves existing brain cells, it also activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons and effectively makes your brain grow larger

Exercise induces neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons - the new neurons are created in the hippocampus, the center of learning and memory in the brain

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29775542

Видео Is it Okay to Cheat? Self Care vs Self Indulgence канала Thomas DeLauer