Coffee Break? Walk in the Park? Why Unwinding Is Hard
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904199404576538260326965724.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_health
Why You Can't Make a Good Decision at 5:00PM
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/08/18/why-you-cant-make-a-good-decision-at-500-pm-decision-fatigue/
Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? [Free registration may be required]
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?_r=1
Fatigue: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003088.htm
Video: Need to relax? Take a Break for Meditation
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/MM00623
Sleep Tips: 7 Steps to Better Sleep
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sleep/HQ01387
During high-pressure times, it may be tempting to take a break or step
outside for a stroll to think things over. Is this the best idea? Should
we perhaps just power through until we've completed the task at hand?
The brain certainly does get fatigued after working long periods of
time. Researchers are currently looking into which types of breaks and
circumstances may best adequately refresh and revitalize the brain's
functioning. In this Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, journalist Shirley
S. Wang reports on the current research into this area of scientific
inquiry. She reports that a team of researchers at the Rotman Research
Institute in Toronto is currently studying whether interacting with
nature can be therapeutic for people with disorders including depression
and anxiety. Their work is building on findings done by another team of
researchers at the University of Michigan that showed performance on
memory and attention tests improved by 20% after study subjects paused
for a walk through an arboretum. The same team noted that these
cognitive benefits did not occur when subjects walked along a busy city
street for the same amount of time. The researchers have noted that
nature images engage humans' involuntary attention, which is activated
when our minds are drawn to something interesting but doesn't really
require intense focus. With a busy city street, humans must rely on
directed attention, as there may be aggressive dogs around or intense
vehicular traffic to think about. It's rather interesting work, and
currently researchers at the University of Bristol are also looking into
how the traditional "coffee break" may or may not help with mental
fatigue.
[KMG]
The first link will take visitors to the previously mentioned Wall
Street Journal article from August 30th. The second link will lead users
along to a blog post by John M. Grohol, the founder and editor-in-chief
of PsychCentral. In this post he talks about the nature of decision
fatigue and why making important decisions late in the day can be very
difficult. Moving along, the third link will whisk visitors away to a
recent piece by John Tierney that appeared in the New York Times Sunday
Magazine. In this rather interesting piece, Tierney looks into the
science of decision fatigue. The fourth link leads to a most helpful set
of resources on the physiological nature of fatigue and its treatment
from the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia. The final two links are from
the Mayo Clinic and the first of those reveals how to take a break with
a bit of meditation. The second leads users to a helpful piece with
seven steps to getting better sleep.
[KMG]
From The Scout Report