Article by: ELECTA DRAPER , Denver Post
The brain is a machine that needs downtime.
Americans have become so averse to being unproductive that many have trouble waiting in line, riding in an elevator or stopping at a traffic light without simultaneously reading, texting or talking into some device.
Psychologists, ministers, scientists and even politicians are urging revival of the ancient concept of Sabbath -- a sanctuary in time. And it's not just for the religious.
Wayne Muller, therapist and minister, works with chronically stressed people who know they need to slow their pace -- clergy, doctors, educators, social workers, parents and so on -- but they find it so difficult to step back from their work that they desperately seek permission to rest.
Muller points out that no less an authority on people than God gave permission for an entire day of rest every week. "It's not just permission, it's a commandment."
It's the commandment people most frequently blow off, Muller said, but it's the one that scripture explicitly refers to more than the other nine commandments combined.
Religion aside, psychologists and neurobiologists are learning that, if the Sabbath didn't exist, it would be more necessary than ever to invent it.
A constant flow of information and a perpetually busy state interfere with our ability to think and make decisions, scientists say.
Angelika Dimoka, director of the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University, studies how the brain processes information. Her research has found that, as the flow of information increases, activity increases in the region of the brain responsible for decisions and control of emotions -- but only up to a point.
Flood the brain with too much information, and activity in this region suddenly drops off. This center for smart thinking not only doesn't increase its performance, it checks out.
Boulder, Colo., psychologist Joan Borysenko works with busy executives who fear taking time off each day or week will break their stride in their high-achieving lives.
"A lot of people I know can't take a full day off. They are anxious the whole time. Their minds are racing," said Borysenko, author of "Fried: Why You Burn Out and How to Revive."
But when people take time to quiet down the left brain, to forget about to-do lists and to unplug from more input, she said, solutions often percolate up from the subconscious.
"The history of creativity is filled with stories like this," Borysenko said. "A few days of not thinking about a problem, then the answer simply appears."
Original Link: http://www.startribune.com/nation/129241828.html
Americans have become so averse to being unproductive that many have trouble waiting in line, riding in an elevator or stopping at a traffic light without simultaneously reading, texting or talking into some device.
Psychologists, ministers, scientists and even politicians are urging revival of the ancient concept of Sabbath -- a sanctuary in time. And it's not just for the religious.
Wayne Muller, therapist and minister, works with chronically stressed people who know they need to slow their pace -- clergy, doctors, educators, social workers, parents and so on -- but they find it so difficult to step back from their work that they desperately seek permission to rest.
Muller points out that no less an authority on people than God gave permission for an entire day of rest every week. "It's not just permission, it's a commandment."
It's the commandment people most frequently blow off, Muller said, but it's the one that scripture explicitly refers to more than the other nine commandments combined.
Religion aside, psychologists and neurobiologists are learning that, if the Sabbath didn't exist, it would be more necessary than ever to invent it.
A constant flow of information and a perpetually busy state interfere with our ability to think and make decisions, scientists say.
Angelika Dimoka, director of the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University, studies how the brain processes information. Her research has found that, as the flow of information increases, activity increases in the region of the brain responsible for decisions and control of emotions -- but only up to a point.
Flood the brain with too much information, and activity in this region suddenly drops off. This center for smart thinking not only doesn't increase its performance, it checks out.
Boulder, Colo., psychologist Joan Borysenko works with busy executives who fear taking time off each day or week will break their stride in their high-achieving lives.
"A lot of people I know can't take a full day off. They are anxious the whole time. Their minds are racing," said Borysenko, author of "Fried: Why You Burn Out and How to Revive."
But when people take time to quiet down the left brain, to forget about to-do lists and to unplug from more input, she said, solutions often percolate up from the subconscious.
"The history of creativity is filled with stories like this," Borysenko said. "A few days of not thinking about a problem, then the answer simply appears."
Original Link: http://www.startribune.com/nation/129241828.html
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