The key to a strong memory may be rest. Resting after learning something new appears to help create a stronger, more vivid memory.

Information comes from a study by NYU assistant professor of psychology Lila Davachi and doctoral candidate Arielle Tambini. The study’s purpose was to examine the relationship between two parts of the brain related to memory—the hippocampus and neocortex—and the long-term storage of memory following rest.

Resting after gaining new information allows the mind to process that information, and store it into long-term episodic memory. While former studies have shown that this process is highly effective in sleep, this experiment tested the effects of “awake rest”–rest without sleeping.

The hippocampus is responsible for regulating emotion and memory; the neocortex for language, conscious thought and emotional response. Researchers used object-face and scene-face encoding, the brain’s process of changing information from one form to another, to determine how these two areas of the brain reacted to form memories.

Participants were shown images of people coupled with either objects or scenery (called encoding tasks), and asked how likely these images were to go together. Testing began 40–50 minutes after the first encoding task and 70–80 minutes after the second.

According to Davachi, brain regions remained active during rest, which suggests that memories were being replayed and reinforced. Participants with stronger relationships between the hippocampus and neocortex had better memory, especially of the face-object pairing.

“It will be essential for future studies to assess how connectivity during post-task offline periods (rest) relates to more extended measures of long-term memory consolidation,” authors wrote. “It will be interesting to explore the relationship between longitudinal measurements of enhanced connectivity and behavioral measures of memory consolidation.”

source

Even in times of financial uncertainty, it’s always important to keep things in perspective.

Wealth is the ability to fully experience life. – Henry David Thoreau

 

1.You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night.
2.You didn’t go to sleep outside.
3.You had a choice of what clothes to wear this morning.
4.You hardly broke a sweat today.
5.You didn’t spend a minute in fear.
6.You have access to clean drinking water.
7.You have access to medical care.
8.You have access to the Internet.
9.You can read.
10.You have the right to vote.

Some might say you are rich, so remember to be grateful for all the things you do have. Think about that every time when you are not in a good mood… There is always someone who have worse life then you…

Do any of these gloomy thoughts sound familiar? It’s likely they do. The occasional case of the blues is perfectly normal, but that doesn’t make dealing with it any easier. If you allow them to, negative thoughts can fester and lead to serious depression. That’s why it’s important to take action early to bust yourself out of a slump. While these suggestions won’t eliminate your problems, they can help you break a negative thought pattern and stop feeling depressed. If you think you might have a serious mental health problem, don’t hesitate to see a medical professional.

1. Understand the emotional cycle – Life is an emotional roller coaster. Some days you feel like nothing can stop you. Other days you feel utterly hopeless. Most of the time you’re somewhere in between. Understanding the pattern of positive and negative emotions will help you put your feelings in perspective. Next time you feel down, just remember that it’s a natural emotion that will inevitably pass. Knowing that a feeling of depression is only temporary makes it less dreadful.

2. Spend time with positive people – Nothing affects the way you think and feel more than the people you interact with. Thoughts (both positive and negative) are contagious. If you are surrounded by negative people, it’s only natural that you’ll start to think and feel the same way. To improve your outlook on life, spend time with positive people. Search them out and try to understand the way they see the world. Chances are their happiness will rub off.

3. Reflect on past success – In the wake of a colossal failure, it’s easy to forget everything you’ve ever done right. Take a few minutes to remember your past accomplishments and build yourself up. What made you successful before? What are your strengths? Frequently, this exercise will build self confidence, help you figure out what went wrong, and generate ideas for success in the future.

4. Focus on gratitude – It’s human nature to measure ourselves against those ahead of us on the social ladder. Studies have shown that people care more about being richer than their friends than actually making more money. When you consider everything good in your life and compare it to the problems of less fortunate people, the issue that’s making you depressed won’t seem as serious.

5. Change of scenery – One of the best ways to change the way you feel is to change your environment. When you get in a slump, you start to associate your problems with everything around you. It can get to the point where your environment is a constant reminder of your problems. This can be a dangerous cycle. The solution is to change things. Change doesn’t have to be radical. Cleaning up, adding more lights, or including pleasant decorations can completely change the mood of a room.

6. Break your routine – Going through the same routine, day after day, can be monotonous and depressing. It often leads to getting caught in a rut. To get out of it you need to temporarily change your routine. If you can, take a day off from work. Do something you don’t normally have time for or something you’ve never tried. In the long run, taking a day off every now and then to get out of slump will make you happier and more productive.

7. Interact with animals and nature – It’s funny when you consider how humans put so much importance on their own tiny problems. Animals don’t think this way. A little bird doesn’t mope around because it isn’t an eagle or because another bird beat it to a tasty seed. Animals live in the present moment and they show love unconditionally. Observing and interacting with them will help you get over your problems.

8. Get moving – As Johnny Cash famously suggested, “Get a rhythm, when you get the blues.” Moving to a beat makes everyone feel better. The same is true for movement in general. Hitting the gym or going for a walk will help you shed the lethargy that comes with feeling depressed. The more enthusiastic your moments, the better you will start to feel.

9. Think about the big picture – As Carl Sagan made evident with the Pale Blue Dot, we’re insignificant creatures living in a vast universe on a tiny planet. In the long run, everything we do will probably be forgotten. Some might find this depressing, but it shouldn’t be. It means that all our problems are illusory. In a million years no one will remember what you did or didn’t do. What matters is the present moment and enjoying every second of life that we’re blessed with.

10. Do something to help yourself – Above all, the best way to stop feeling depressed is to take action. What is your biggest problem? How can you alleviate it? Once you decide to stop moping and start moving forward you won’t have time to feel depressed. Action will occupy your mind and give you something to look forward to. Once you get some results, you’ll build momentum and positive thinking will keep getting easier.

The Success Solution: How You May be Preventing your Own Success

Recently, I worked with a client who found himself in a couple of situations many of us have either experienced, or fear experiencing. He called me, feeling down, frustrated and anxious about his future. In the same week, he was laid off at work and experienced the end of a six-year relationship. Ouch!

As we explored his situation, we discovered a couple of things. First, he really didn’t like his job and it was not leading him towards the financial success he desired. And second, the relationship that ended was an unhappy one for quite some time. Yet, he wanted to hold on to both of them and felt upset over what had occurred.

You see, many of us find ourselves in similar situations in life. We have something that isn’t quite what we want, but if we were to lose it, great fear and insecurity arises.

Why?

There are two forces that drive your life and prevent you from really having what you desire: attachments and aversions.

We become attached to what is comfortable for us — i.e., things that give us a false sense of having what we want; things that temporarily make us feel better for brief moments, only to leave us feeling rotten later. These attachments can include unfulfilling jobs, relationships that lack passion, bad habits such as smoking or overeating, and thousands of other possibilities.

Our attachments often prevent us from making the space in our life to have what we really desire. If life is a buffet, we have our plates full of food we don’t really like, meaning there isn’t any room for dessert.

Hanging on to that unfulfilling job for its false sense of security prevented this man from finding work he feels excited about doing — or starting a business of his own. His attachment to the mediocre relationship prevented him from exploring new possibilities and meeting someone who really loved him, and someone he really loved in turn.

When he saw this for himself, his energy took a dramatic turn in the positive direction. He saw new opportunity in his life instead of fear and loss. This one simple realization could likely change the course of his entire life.

We also have aversions. These are the things in life that feel uncomfortable to us. It could be making an important phone call, or asking out someone we are really attracted to, or getting in front of a room and sharing our brilliance. Aversions prevent us from moving forward, taking action and manifesting what we desire. Aversions prevent you from acting on your immense potential.

What are attachments and aversions and how can we overcome them?

Attachments and aversions are nothing more than feelings. Many of us say “I am frustrated” — but the truth is, “I feel frustrated.” I am having a feeling; I am not the feeling.

There is a wonderful technique called the Sedona Method that teaches a simple set of techniques that allow us to effortlessly “let go” of any unwanted thought or feeling — any attachment or aversion. With these blocks removed, you will feel more confidence, and more at ease and more willing to take the bold actions that produce success.

We can fight and struggle and force our way to success. We really can. I know. I have done it. But, ultimately, it is a hard, stressful, frustrating journey. I think you know what I mean.

Or, we can learn to easily overcome the resistance that creates a flow to life. When we overcome our attachments and aversions, we become truly free to be, do and have whatever we desire. It’s easy. It really is.

I encourage you to learn more about any program that teaches you to “let go.” It is the most powerful personal development tool I have ever learned. My favorite program on the market is the Sedona Method course — the original, and still the best, program of its kind.

The link below offers a free newsletter to learn more, and you can also order a free 2-hour DVD and introductory CD that includes a demonstration of one of the basic releasing techniques they teach. I encourage you to experience this program for yourself and discover the exhilarating possibility of true freedom from your attachments and aversions.

Wishing you all the success and abundance you can allow into your life,

posted by: John R. Barker