relax

Listen to this Song to Reduce Your Anxiety

- Adam Clare

Marconi Union – Weightless (Official Video) from Optical Vitamins on Vimeo.

The song Weightless by the Marconi Union has been proven by neuroscientists to reduce people’s anxiety, and in times like a pandemic we can all get too stressed out. Following in the tradition of ambient music artist the group set out to create an aural atmosphere that welcomed and comforted people. Don’t take my word for it, click play on the video above and relax.

According to Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International, which conducted the research, the top song produced a greater state of relaxation than any other music tested to date.
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Equally remarkable is the fact the song was actually constructed to do so. The group that created “Weightless”, Marconi Union, did so in collaboration with sound therapists. Its carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines help slow a listener’s heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Read more.

Stress Shouldn’t Stress You Out

- Adam Clare

In this TED talk, Kelly McGonigal examines the biology of stress and concludes that we really shouldn’t be all that worried about it.

Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

Keep Sane by not Working

- Adam Clare

Thanks to modern technology it can be really easy to always be checking email and taking calls. This is great for some circumstances but it’s always important to take a break from being always-connected to work. In fact, it can be good for you!

Another trick: simply ask yourself “will anything bad really happen between 5pm and 6am if I turn my back on my inboxes completely?”
To save your own life, create your own list of “tricks” and of rules to impose on yourself. Some of mine that work:
• Switch gears: When tired of “project A,” switch to something else on the list — easier, different, faster-paced or (gasp) fun. Changing rhythm is restorative and you return to the tougher project fresher in an amazingly short time.
• Change chairs and media — draft that important thing in (gasp) longhand in a club chair or on a sofa.

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Take a Week Off to Think

- Adam Clare

Are you living in a shotgun shack, are you living in another part of the world, or are you behind the wheel of a large automobile? Ever wonder how did you get here?

Well as the days go by we tend to get caught up in the mundane activities of working culture. To ensure that you don’t waste your life in a cubicle farm (or something similar) try taking a week off to just think.

It was an enlightening experience that allowed me to make a clear decision on what I wanted to do next with my personal and professional life.

In an age where we are connecting to everything through our phones, internet, facebook, twitter, etc; we are constantly being interrupted. A couple of years ago, I heard a statistic that having a Blackberry is equivalent to smoking two joints because you are always being interrupted, and never really “here”. Just think about that for a second.

By disconnecting from the world, time moved really slow. I really got to enjoy the moment, which we often neglect in our chaotic worlds. This is the time worth cherishing, which is more valuable than the time that flies by because you’re working hard on something “you’re passionate” about.

Read more at Life Hacker.

Once in a lifetime.

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