Month: September 2019

How Mental Training Can Improve Your Performance

Mental Health blogger

What would you be thinking?

Imagine you have been leading the Olympic triathlon since the start of the race, only to find another athlete arriving at your shoulder 5 km from the finish. This situation could stimulate two possible lines of thought that would result in quite different outcomes in the race. Clearly, the athlete who thinks, This year I really thought I had it.

I have worked so hard and now I have blown it. I really am a loser . . . will drop off the pace and fall back. However, there is a far greater chance of success for the athlete who thinks, Well, here she is. The woman they call the best triathlete ever. And she has only been able to catch me with 5 km to go. I will just tuck in behind the soon to be ex-number one, let her do the work for a change, and see if I can break her later. After all, my 10 km time is as good as hers, and in a close finish I will have the crowds behind me as they always back the underdog.

It is in situations such as this that sports psychology becomes so important. Champion athletes commonly exhibit a high degree of: motivation, commitment, positive thinking, focus, and mental toughness, among other factors (Gould, 2001).

Background

Psychology is the study of how we think and behave. Sport psychology is a science in which the principles of psychology are applied in a sport setting (Cox, 1990). Issues Sport Psychologists are interested in include, but are not limited to; what motivates an athlete, how athletes regulate their thoughts, feelings and emotions, and how they manage anxiety and arousal states in order to maximise performance (Parker, 2000). The principles involved in Sport Psychology are usually applied to enhance performance. The field embraces many concerns and concepts, such as motivation, arousal, reinforcement, psychological preparation, attitudes, attention, emotional health, and stress management (Davies, 1989). Rushall, 1995, proposed that sport psychology could assist athletes in the following ways:
a) The actual words an athlete uses in self-talk have an effect on the quality of performance,
b) It is possible to increase performance levels in elite athletes through thought processes alone,
c) Mental imagery is important for enhancing performance.
Sport Psychologists assist people by helping them to develop the skills necessary to become mentally strong, and prevent them from choking in key situations.

Motivation

Motivation is a particularly relevant issue in the field of Sport Psychology. Motivation can be defined as being aroused to action, to directed purposeful behaviour, although this may not always be either efficient or effective (Davies, 1989).

Benefits of a Mental Health Forum

Mental Health blogger

You don’t need to be mentally ill to benefit from a mental health blog or forum. We all have days where the stress of every day life becomes overwhelming. Maybe you just lost a loved one, or are depressed over an illness. A mental health forum can give you a place to talk about your feelings, vent your frustrations, or cry out your grief, without broadcasting to those around you. This is better than, as the saying goes, going home and kicking the dog.

In today’s society, the need to vent is stifled by impersonal isolation. Others have the same needs. For your own mental health, talking it out releases tensions that can build to the breaking point. You can go to a therapist or counselor, or attend a focus or support group. A forum can provide some of this need, and it is free.

Those with mental health issues can also benefit from a forum. A forum provides a place to interact with others and lets the individual know he or she is not alone. Comparing treatment options, relaxation and anger management techniques, or just joking and laughing about each other’s day help remove the feelings of isolation.

A mental health blog can be educational, as well. Many explain the signs and symptoms associated with various mental health issues, and help us understand when we need help. If you regularly post on a forum, others may recognize signs that you are going into crisis. This could be your lifeline when you find yourself sinking.

Finally, a mental health forum is completely anonymous. No one knows who you are or where you live. Your private life can remain private. This is not a date finding site like many chat forums. It is there to help you live a productive life without overwhelming emotions interfering.

How Binaural Beats Can Improve Your Mental Health

Mental Health blogger

Wouldnt it be great if there was a way to relieve your pain and better your depression without taking all kinds of drugs? Scientists have found a way to influence your brain using different sound waves, a technique thats been named Binaural beats. When the beats reach your brain, the sound waves influence your brain in different ways, all of which are beneficial to your mental health.

Binaural beats brings positive life improvements by working directly with the brain frequency to stimulate the brain. They are beneficial in many ways like: relaxation, Addictions, Stress, Insomnia, Meditation, Motivation, recently recognized Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD). The research to date on binaural beats effect on people with ADHD has proven it helps in improving their focus and concentration.

Take for example my twelve year old son Kevin, who has struggling with the disorder his entire life, he finds binaural beats to be a preferred alternative to the drugs recommended by his neurologist. It has been determined his brain activity has very low levels of beta waves, which are required for concentration and to be consciously alert and very high levels of theta waves.

Each set of binaural beats has a different effect, but dont forget, theyre only effective if youre using headphones. Within just a few minutes of listening you can gain energy, focus your mind on the task at hand, and even increase your memory span. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can also use these binaural beats to relax, calm down after a hard days work, and even reduce your anxiety and depression.

The beats have been helpful for meditation, sleep apnea and daily stress. Binaural beats have also been used successfully to help aide with physical pain in hospital patients. So if you are looking to sleep better, become more productive, and improve your mental health, pop in a hair of headphones and start listening to the sounds of the binaural beats.

There are numerous scientific articles written on the binaural beats, research, cds and organizations dedicated to educate you on this type of therapy. It is important to research the subject, chose the right one for you and in certain cases contact your physician before you begin.

How To Increase Concentration And Mental Alertness Naturally

Mental Health blogger

The ability to increase concentration and mental alertness really depends on how your brain functions. The brain requires lot of oxygen, its main source of fuel, to function at its peak; it uses approximately 20 percent of the oxygen in the body. Improving the health of the brain reduces the chances of developing conditions such as dementia and also increases the memory and sharpens the ability to concentrate.

Depleted concentration had been one of the common symptoms showing insufficient oxygen level.

The best solution is to drink oxygenated water every day; the water comes from the ancient natural springs of the Ouachita National Forest and includes a patented formula called Archaea Active. The nutraceutical beverage mainly contains natural ingredients: Alfalfa, Bromelain, Milk Whey Protein, Papain, Protease, Amylase, Lipase, Lactase and Cellulase.

Alfalfa had been shown to help increase brain energy level and restore mental alertness, because extracts of Alfalfa is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K and also rich in minerals. Those vitamins are powerful antioxidants and important for the brain to play a vital role in producing brain energy.

Amylase had been shown to help digest carbohydrates. Digestion causes the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose which is the brains source of energy. If your glucose levels fluctuate too much, you might experience mental confusion.

Milk Whey Protein is an excellent of protein, vitamins and minerals. Protein provides the building blocks for most of the body’s issues, nerves, heart and brain. Proteins are used to make neurotransmitters and are essential to improve mental performance.

Each time you drink it, it tastes like natural spring water, the only difference is it helps oxygenates and nourish your cells, also increases blood flow and thus oxygen levels to your brain. That is how it increases your concentration and improves your mental alertness naturally.

The important thing is it helps you to stay healthy and live longer at a cellular level.

Learn more about how oxygenated water increases concentration and improve mental alertness naturally.

The Importance of Mental Maths

Mental Health blogger

Mental maths is in use daily and while children who dislike math from a tender age might not become failures, they tend to have difficulties handling life problems. A part of the brain is responsible for effective calculation and if unexplored, it fails to develop properly.

For this reason, it becomes important to teach mental maths to children in the age gap of 5 to 10 years. This in turn improves their ability to use four arithmetic rules in high speed to obtain solutions without the use of any tools. Several factors make this an important part of learning.

-It creates great concentration levels. -Improves on the listening skills -Improves self confidence and endurance -Application skills are improved. -Comprehension and calculation capabilities are improved. -It creates a better memory and sharp observation. -Children develop logical thinking and plotting which is important.

One of the most important factors to consider in this process is the manipulation of numbers in the head. Creating number sense is one of the most important steps towards realizing this goal. This is for the simple reason it incorporates estimation, measurement and place value. This concept in turn makes it easy for students to memorize math facts easily. The best manner in which to teach mental maths is to string random numbers together and ask students to find the solution. In order to effect this with ease, it is therefore important to teach children how to conceptualize the mathematical process. As they learn how to carry out these calculations in the mind, speed to find solutions is also established.

As students become more accustomed to working with numbers, then it becomes easier to provided times tests. However, if they have not learnt the concepts, it is advisable to stay away from this strategy as it only serves to aggravate the students without delivering any results. At this point, it is important to state that teachers should not use any manipulative techniques to teach students. Rather, they ought to focus on teaching them how to think and reason in a mathematical manner. The most important way of ensuring that mental maths concept is accepted and ingrained in students is by incorporating it into the daily program.

Also, note that in mental maths, it is not so much about the duration of the exercise as it is about the frequency of carrying it out. Constant practice is what brings out the best in students.

The author has spent a lot of time learning about mental math and other related topics. Read more about mental math tricks for kids.