Exam pressure, deadlines, job interviews and presentations
can all make you feel like a nervous wreck.
Just when you need to remain calm,
your heart's racing, your palms are sweaty,
your voice sounds strange and your mind goes blank.
Well, with a little help from neuroscience,
here are three easy and reliable techniques you can use
to literally keep calm and carry on,
no matter what.
Of course there are other things you can do to combat stress
but this trio of tips will hopefully give you instant calm.
First, a breathing exercise.
I want you to take a deep belly-breath
through your nose for five seconds
hold it for a second,
then push all the air out through your nose, slowly, counting to five.
Repeat a few times and you'll feel calmer.
For centuries, yogis and Buddhists
have used controlled breathing techniques like this
to gain the upper hand over the nervous system
and science is beginning to understand how it works.
Research has identified a specific network of neurons in the brain stem
called the pre-Botzinger complex that regulates breathing
and communicates with other parts of the brain.
Under stress we tend to breathe very quickly
as our body prepares for danger,
which is useful if you need to run away
but not if you're about to speak in public.
The good news is that by breathing deeply and slowly
you can change the message your brain's receiving
from 'danger' to 'all is well'.
So the next time you feel panic rising,
use deep breathing through your nose
to force your body into a state of calm.
And the best thing is, no one will notice, not even your audience.
Now you're ready for the humming.
A single note, your favourite tune, literally anything will do.
Why? Well studies in how we regulate heart rate have shown that humming
can stimulate one of the most important parts of the body
you've never heard of.
The vagus nerve.
It was named 'the wanderer' in Latin
because it emerges from the brain and meanders up and down the body
like a superhighway of communication,
connecting the brain to organs like the heart, lungs and stomach,
voice box and ears.
A 2013 study of choristers showed that singing, humming and mantras
all help keep the heart's rhythm in step.
So the next time you feel your heart racing
sing a song or just hum a note
and let your own wanderer nerve restore calm.
The final tip is to focus.
When you're busy it's tempting to multi-task,
but if you want to stay calm and actually get stuff done, don’t.
Scans show your brain can only do one thing at a time.
When you do two things at once it has to switch between them
very rapidly and gets overstimulated
and floods your body with stress hormones.
By working the way your brain is wired
and doing one thing at a time
you can quickly go from feeling overwhelmed to calm.
So break your task down into small parts or steps,
circle the one thing you need to do next
and forget about the other tasks until their time comes.
This is sometimes called 'process thinking'
and is used by sports coaches to help athletes focus.
Doing just one thing at a time with your fullest attention
keeps your mind in the here and now and is a great habit to develop.
So next time you feel panic rising,
stop and remember to breathe,
hum
and focus.
Let us know how you get on.
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