This is unprecedented time of heightened stress, and with about a third of Americans working from home due to the virus outbreak, many are still adjusting to the learning curve that comes with the new normal. 1It’s important to not let the learning curve overwhelm the mind.
The vital roles of coping and resilience are taking on a new level of meaning and necessity. BrainSculpt is here to help you enhance your ability to cool down your fight or flight response and to build your resilience as you deal with life stress.
Physiology of the Stressed Brain
Physiologically, there is a small part of the brain, called the amygdala which is a processing center of the brain. When the amygdala perceives a threat, it sends a stress signal to the hypothalamus to activate the sympathetic nervous system to release adrenaline. 2This activates a cascade of automatic responses – tightened chest, difficulty thinking clearly, shortened breathing, increased sweating, very rigid thinking, difficulty solving problems, possible experiences of panic, and all sorts of very fun (NOT) things.
The Tricky Thing about Neuroplasticity
The tricky thing about the brain is that because of neuroplasticity, or the ability of our brains to change based on our experiences, our brain gets very good at doing what it does a lot of. So a frequently stressed brain gets very good at being stressed, and the centers of the brain that activate the stress response get better at activating stress. So it’s a vivacious cycle – the more stressed we are, the better we get at being stressed.
The Solution
BrainSculpt is here to help you reverse this trend. BrainSculpt Calm is our on the go wearable device and app that can help calm the brain in real-time and on the go without you having to engage in active mental exercises. Most of us are very different people who make much better decisions if we can just get our brains to get out of fight or flight. Spending more time in a calmed state can help strengthen the calming centers of the brain so we can cool down the stress response more easily and on-demand.
1. Greg Rosalsky. 8 May 2020. COVID-19 Forces More People To Work From Home. How’s It Going?. npr.org/2020/05/08/852527736/covid-19-forces-more-people-to-work-from-home-hows-it-going .
2. Harvard Medical School. 6 July 2020. Understanding the stress response. harvard.health.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response.