Category: Brain & Trauma

Does Stress Affect the Brain?

Stress can feel inevitable at times and just a part of life. We all have our ways to cope and manage stressors in our lives. It is when stress becomes chronic and our ways of managing does not remedy the situation. The Ted ED made a video on How stress affects your brain. It is posted below with a summary of the video.

Video Summary:

  • Chronic stress does affect your brain size and functionality.
  • The hypothalamus pituitary Adrenal Axis (HPAA), is the part of your brain where stress begins. It is a series of actions of endocrine glands in the brain and kidney that controls your response to stress.
  • When under stress your HPAA is activated and releases a hormone called cortisol.
  • Cortisol prepares you to respond to the stress ie. fight, flight or freeze.
  • High levels of cortisol changes the neural connections in the part of the brain called the Amygdala. This part of the brain is the fear center.
  • When cortisol levels increase, signals are sent to the part of the brain called the Hippocampus. This part of the brain is associated with learning, memories, and stress regulation starts to deteriorate due to the chronic stress arousal.
  • The hippocampus prevents the HPAA from managing stress (weakens you ability to manage stress).
  • Chronic cortisol levels can shrink your brain and reduces the amount of synaptic connections between neurons in the brain.
  • This shrinking affects the prefrontal cortex. This region regulates behaviours (such as decision making, concentration, judgement and social interactions). therefore, chronic stress may make it difficult to remember and learn new things.
  • These changes can lead to bigger problems like depression and then eventually Alzheimer disease.

A Study on Rats:

  •  A study completed with rats showed that a mother’s nurturance (emotional and physical response) to her baby played a huge role on how the baby will respond to stress later in life.
  • These babies with nurturing moms turned out less sensitive to stress because their brain developed more cortisol receptors. These receptors stick to cortisol and lessens the stress response.
  • The rats with negligent moms had the opposite outcomes and were highly sensitive to stress. These changes can be changed if the moms were nurturing and can alter the next generation of babies.

There is Hope:

  • To reverse the affects cortisol has on your brain is to exercise, and meditation/ mindfulness. This increases the size of the hippocampus and lessens your stress and improves your memory.

(Photo taken from Cliparts.co)

Children and Technology

Science and technology in the 21st century is advanced and amazing. We can access just about anything right at our finger tips. Obviously, there are several advantages in having advanced technology in North America, however there are always disadvantages. The disadvantages surround our younger population. Specifically, our children and youth. They are exposed to iphones, video games, and ipads etc. at a young age without any idea of what that may do to their developing brains.

It is very common and apart of our culture to allow our children to freely use these devices, however, when done in excess it can be disruptive. Creating structure, safety, and boundaries with the use of technology is always important. That means, set a time limit and always be in front of your child while they are playing/ interacting. Your child may resist if these are new rules but in time, they will be happy you did.

The article below provides information and details on ways you can create structure with your children and their technology use.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/201604/3-mistakes-parents-make-technology

(photo taken by Cliparts.co)

The Teenage Brain

Dr. Daniel Siegel has written several books on brain development. His research has an influential impact on how we can interact with children and youth. Brain maturation ends when an individual turns 25 years old. The underdeveloped part of the brain that is still forming is called the prefrontal cortex.  The prefrontal cortex masters the following functions:

  • impulse control
  • attention
  • decision making
  • logical thinking
  • complex planning
  • organization
  • risk management
  • personality development, and
  • short term memory

These functions have an important role in healthy brain development. Understanding that your child and/ or youth are unable to follow the above functions may help when evaluating your expectations of them. Compassion goes a long way when discussing topics with your child. Hearing what their struggles are and validating them, helps break down barriers within your communication style. Remember, they are just like you and want to be heard and acknowledged too.

(Photo taken from Cliparts.co)

 

Electronic Devices and Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep? There could be many factors that contributes to sleep troubles. One major influence on sleep can be the use of your smartphone, ipad, kindle etc. at night. The light from the devices triggers a response to your brain saying it is not time to sleep. Dr. Daniel Siegal’s  explanation on how smartphones impact your brain, body, and sleep habits provides a clinical perspective.

Dr. Siegal stated that adults need 7- 9hrs of sleep and when you do not get enough sleep, you can experience the following:

  • Decreased attention,
  • Impaired memory,
  • Challenged thinking,
  • Decreased insulin function which slows down your metabolism (ie. weight gain), and
  • Delayed secretion of natural melatonin due to the screen lights

Dr. Siegal suggested giving yourself at least an hour before bedtime to unwind from all devices.

(Photo taken from Cliparts.co)

Emotional Regulation

What is emotional regulation? It is the ability to manage and control an emotional response through strategies that are self-soothing. The reactivity and regulatory responses to stressful situations may cause people to respond either negatively or positively. This depends on the integration of the right and left sides of the brain. (Cicchetti, Ganiban, & Barnett, 1991; Kopp; 1982; 1989; Thompson, 1994; Siegal & Bryson, 2011).

According to Dr. Daniel Siegal (2011), he explained that the brain has two hemispheres, right brain (emotional) and the left brain (logical). The integration of accessing both sides of the brain is an important aspect to our mental well-being. The two hemispheres integrate emotional responses and logical responses to regulate our reaction to stress.

Self-awareness and attunement to emotions are the building blocks to integrate the right with the left brain. Responding to emotional needs before arriving at solutions validates feelings and creates self-actualization (fulfillment and pride).

To find out more on whether you are self-aware, take the quiz below, and keep in mind tests are not always accurate.

http://embracingcivility.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Self-Awareness-Quiz.pdf

 

Cicchetti, D., Ganiban, J., & Barnett, D. (1991). Contributions from the study of high-risk populations to understanding the development of emotion regulation.

In J. Garber & K. A. Dodge (Eds.). The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation (pp. 15–48). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kopp, C. (1982). Antecedents of self-regulation: A developmental perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18, 199–214.

Kopp, C. (1989). Regulation of distress and negative emotions: A developmental view. Developmental Psychology, 25, 243–254.

Siegal, D.J. & Bryson,T.P. (2001). The Whole- Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary strategies to nurture your child’s developing mind. New York: Bantam Books.

Thompson, R. A., & Calkins, S. D. (1996). The double-edged sword: Emotion regulation in high risk children. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 163–182.

http://embracingcivility.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Self-Awareness-Quiz.pdf