Stress Reduction During Pregnancy: Exercise for Your Brain
Exercises for Stress Reduction
“Protect Your Mind” by focusing your thoughts on one thing such as breathing. This simple exercise allows your primitive brain to “calm down” and allows the thinking brain to do take over. One should concentrate on their normal breathing by imagining air going into and out of their nostrils for 5 minutes five times a day. Believe it or not, this is not an easy task because as soon as you start concentrating on your breathing, thoughts enter your mind. This is very normal and once you realize that you are being taken away from your breathing exercise, you gently bring yourself back to that state of mind and continue with your meditation. Once you practice this enough times, it will become a conditioned response where you will not have to think about meditation, you will automatically be able to focus and allow the thinking brain to do the thinking for you.
Another exercise is to stop thinking after a certain time during the day. I, for example, stop “thinking” negative thoughts after 7 p.m. and I start my problem solving early in the morning the next day. This way, I am not bombarding my brain with too much information at a time when I am tired. Do not overwhelm the brain!
If you are overwhelmed with negative emotions despite trying to “Protect Your Mind,” the next phase of the exercise is “Fast Recovery.” Remember that the most successful people in life are those that quickly bounce back from a difficult situation in their lives and move forward. Each of us is aware of how we cope in difficult situations. This may be in the form of exercise, reading or just getting away for a while. By this action, you are allowing yourself to calm down and allowing the thinking brain to take over. I give the example of moving on quickly like we change the television channel or radio station, turning off the television or closing the window blinds. You move on…..
It is important to realize that our brain, just like any other organ, needs to be exercised in order to cope with our daily stresses. In order for these two exercises to work, the prerequisites are healthy eating, 30 minutes of exercise per day and at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.
Thanks to Dr. Daneshmand for reminding us to step away and breathe once in awhile. If only I could shut my brain off at 7 p.m., too! —Erin
Dr. Sean Daneshmand, has been a practicing maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the San Diego Perinatal Center for the past nine years. He is familiar with the emotional and physical challenges presented by a high-risk pregnancy and preterm infants and helped to establish Miracle Babies.