Stay Focused!

cheetah, Wellington Zoo

Stay focused!  Yeah, I know, there are always trials in life.  But, focus on the positive.  As the Monty Python song goes, "Always, look on the bright side of life..."

The importance of staying positive is NOT JUST about feelings, but an issue of mental performance and potentially mental health.  Staying calm and relaxed puts our brain in the state of optimal performance, with a good flow of electrical impulses throughout the cortex, allowing faster and easier use of both left and right brain.

When we are stressed, we release the hormone cortisol as part of a stress response.  Cells sensitive to cortisol stop the uptake of glucose, in a bid to boost its supply in the bloodstream to our muscles for the notorious fight-or-flight stress response.  Neurons are cells and require glucose for energy.  Unfortunately, this type of cortisol-sensitive cells accounts for a vast number of neurons in the part of our brain called hippocampus, which governs memory storage and retrieval, plus other functions.  If stress occurs for a prolonged period of time, these neurons will starve and die, thus shrinking the hippocampus, i.e. brain damage.

Therefore, if you want to realize your full mental potential, which in turn helps realize your external endeavors, be it getting good grades in classes, problem solving in your job or building business strategies, you ought to get a handle on your stress.  Not to mention, stress also tips other hormones, reduces blood flow to your skin and the effectiveness of your immune system, thus can give you a break out of acne, if not worse health problems.

So, stay positive - preserve your intelligence, protect your complexion !

Anyway, gorgeous cat, isn't it?!  Why not spend some time at the zoo or observe your (neighborhood) pets as a way to de-stress?

Some ways to de-stress:

• breathing
• meditation
• exercise / play a sport
• listening to soothing music
• short walks in the sun
• aromatherapy

Cheetah facts:

• fastest mammal on land; can reach speeds of 60 to 70 miles an hour over short distances
• the cheetah stalks its prey; its spots help make it difficult to be seen among tall dry grass
• the cheetah eat small to medium size animals, from hares to gazelles
• There are usually 3 to 5 cubs in a litter of cheetah
• Cheetah cubs stay with their mothers until they are 12 to 20 months old
• A fully grown cheetah may be up to 53” (112 to 135cm) in length including head and body
• A fully grown cheetah's tail may measure up to 33” (84cm) long
• A king cheetah is a rare mutation of a cheetah, with black stripes running down its back.

Updated: 25 September 2011

A few online resources:  
http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html | http://www.umich.edu/~psycours/531/becker.chapter10.htm | http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/science_of_early_childhood/toxic_stress_response/