The benefits of allowing the brain to recover from stress
Have you ever been in a situation that you later regretted your actions and questioned why you, normally a rational and controlled person, would have done such a foolish thing? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) may have found the answer, at least in part.
It seems that the most likely killer of Americans, i.e. stress, can also change your brain and make you do foolish things. To put it another way, stress can compromise your decision-making ability.
The MIT team of researchers located the part of the brain responsible for decision-making and found that, after the brain has been continually exposed to stress (i.e. daily living these days), our ability to define the risks vs. the benefits of our actions becomes diminished.
This same part of the brain that controls risks vs. benefits of our thoughts and actions is also responsible for mood control, motivation, habit formation, and reward reinforcement.
That all makes a lot of sense if you think about what happens to your moods when you’re stressed out. Are you more likely to smoke or drink when stressed? Even worse, are you more likely to drink and drive when stressed? The answer to both of those is a resounding yes.
There is another option, however. If you want to make better life decisions, allow your brain to recover from stress. Take up yoga and/or meditation. Get outside for a daily walk. Learn to control your stress rather than letting your stress control you.
Your ability to analyze your next move, before you make it, depends on it.
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