332: MindWaves: How to Use Less Brain Energy to Avoid Burnouts and Better Connect With Those Around You

332: MindWaves: How to Use Less Brain Energy to Avoid Burnouts and Better Connect With Those Around You [X]

MindWaves – Implications for everyday living Arlene Taylor PhD References: Selected Brain Facts www.arlenetaylor.org URL: http://www.arlenetaylor.org/selected_brain_facts/index.htm

Your Brain is as UniqueArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc As your thumbprint No two brains are ever identical in structure, function, or perception! • Give up any expectation of another brain perceiving anything • exactly as yours perceives it—and vice versa • The way your brain functions largely determines your quality • of life including the way in which you learn new information • This section is one brain’s perception of the research

The Brain Grows Quickly Arlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • In some ways and yet matures more slowly • than the physical body in others • Myelination of the corpus callosum is generally thought to be complete by age 20 or 21 • Development of the pre-frontal cortex may be complete around the mid twenties, by age 25-27 • This maturation process may require an additional 1.6 years to complete in the male brain (as compared to the female brain) • It is dangerous to assume that individuals with adult-sized bodies • have brains that are complete and mature • Decisions made prior to mid-twenties may not work well once • myelination is complete and pre-frontal lobes are developed

Generation Gap? Arlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • In PET Scan studies, when participants were asked to respond to a question: • Individuals over age 21 tended to process • their responses in the thinking brain layer • Individuals below age 21 tended to process • their responses in the emotional brain layer When questions began with the word why, study participants – regardless of age -- tended to process their responses from the emotional brain layer where there is no conscious thought

Avoid WHY Whenever Possible Arlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc In the English language, the word why tends to be perceived as threatening – and can trigger the brain to downshift • Try using other words to elicit information: • What did you want to have happen? • What could you do differently in the future? • If you exhibit this behavior what do you think might happen? • If you make this choice, what are the possible consequences

Use Your Brain by Design Arlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • In MindWaves, co-authors Brewer and Taylor, highlight four key components of brain function that can impact the amount of brain energy required to accomplish specific tasks • Understanding more about these key components can help you identify, honor, and enjoy your own brain’s uniqueness • It can also help you identify (insofar as possible) and honor the brain uniqueness of others, which can enhance communication/relationships • According to E. G. White, it is the design of God that people with differing types of brains live together in families so they can learn how to get along with those who are not like them

1. Male-Female ContinuumArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • Takes in 95% of the population • Checklists of psychological maleness or femaleness give two scores • Some brains definitelylean toward systemizing, others lean toward empathizing, and some are 50-50 • Some brains match their external housing while other’s don’t, and about 5% of brains don’t even fall on the continuum • No wonder people are confused!

Corpus Callosum DifferencesArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Research has shown differences – controversy exists about magnitude and meaning Female Brain: Has a thicker CC - no chemical bath and an earlier onset of puberty. This promotes a generalized style of brain function. Male Brain: Has a thinner CC - gets a chemical bath during gestation, and has a later onset of puberty. This promotes a lateralized style of brain function. The male brain is at higher risk for conditions exacerbated by reduced hemispheric coordination (e.g., dyslexia, hyperactivity)

Female Brain Generalized processing style If any part of the brain is “on,” it’s all on Second for second requires more energy to run Male Brain Lateralized processing style While one part is working, other sections can be “idling” Is more energy efficient; requires less energy to run second for second; tends to evaluate and allot energy in advance of the activity/event M-F Brain Energy DifferencesArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc

Shopping Challenges and EnergyArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Female Brain • Tends to browse – for a change or adventure • Does more comparison shopping at the time • More spontaneous about following a “list,” if one even exists Male Brain • Tends to hunt for a pre-identified quarry • Does more research ahead of time • Allots energy based on estimated time and task, and can run out of energy if the agenda changes

Thought-Processing StylesArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Female Brain • Tends to process information verbally and aloud and arrives at a conclusion during the process • May want only empathy and a listener rather than help with a solution • Tends to function better in an environment with low levels of distraction (e.g., IQ test scores were higher when room was quiet) Male Brain • Tends to process information internally and silently, and wants to state the conclusion only when process is completed • Usually want to fix the problem or come up with a solution that can be implemented • Tends to focus better in an environment where there is some distraction (e.g., IQ test scores were higher in noisy room)

Rumination Styles – Trunk MetaphorArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Female Brain Tends to: • Generalize • Integrate • Compound • Stew Male Brain Tends to: • Lateralize • Compartmentalize • Segment • Separate

Extreme Extroversion 15% Ambiversion  70% E-I Continuum Extreme Introversion 15% 2. Extroversion Ambiversion IntroversionArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Labels refer to the brain’s focus – internal or external And has little or nothing to do with how much you like people You can flex along the E-I Continuum in specific situations / environments to some degree and still function – long-term it will cost you in energy and can decrease your effectiveness

Extremes – Special Types of GiftednessArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Ambiversion is a label of exclusion (e.g., not extremely extroverted or introverted, no extreme needs/giftedness)

Blood-Flow Rates DifferArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Dr. Debra Johnson, PET Scan Studies

Different Neurochemicals FuelArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Dominant pathways - Dr. Debra Johnson

Characteristics of ExtremesArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc

Implications for Everyday LivingArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc

3. Sensory PreferenceArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc The type of sensory stimuli that registers most quickly in your brain • The brain’s decoding centers can receive up to 10 million bits of sensory data per second • Early in life human beings tend to use the senses almost equally • By age 5 or 6 the brain begins to organize toward a sensory preference • Sensory preference impacts how you prefer to absorb sensory data, the type of data you miss, the way you tend to communicate with other, and how you learn easily

Population Estimates of IncidenceArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc It requires less energy to process sensory stimuli that match your sensory system preference

M-F Vision Differences Arlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc

M-F Vision Style DifferencesArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc

M-F Hearing DifferencesArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • When communicating with only females, keep room as free of extraneous noise and distraction as possible • When communicating with males, speak up and/or use a microphone

Hearing Differences ApplicationsArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Study at University of Sheffield and published in the journal NeuroImage • A female voice is more difficult for the male brain to process – typically processes it as a “melody line” or as “background music” • To increase the likelihood of being “heard” by a male brain, a female must lower her voice pitch and keep it even, speak louder, and allow inflections to fall at the end of sentences

4. Thinking Preference or Brain LeadArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc Refers to brain’s energy efficiency for processing information Based on PET Scan Studies, the human brains is believed to possess an innate biochemical energy advantage in one of the natural cerebral divisions over the other three • It is stable, energy efficient, and impacts: • Level of competence • Ability to sustain high performance • Health and longevity • Overall success

PET Scans Have ShownArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • When performing non-preferred functions, the brain expends more energy and requires: • More oxygen, glucose, and micronutrition • A longer rest time to recover • To use a monetary metaphor, the difference in energy expended may be pennies on the dollar • 1¢ per second versus $1 per second -- and that’s after the • skills have been developed • Based on brain lead, you will tend to excel at some tasks • (energy-efficient expenditure), and procrastinate or • struggle with others (energy-intensive expenditures)

Nothing in Life is FreeArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc You always give up something to get something – and the bottom- line unit of exchange is energy • To be a good steward, minimize your brain-energy drain! Learn to evaluate relative energy expenditures and ask: • How much is this something going to cost me in energy? • Do I want it badly enough to exchange that amount of energy? Knowing the way in which your brain functions most energy-efficiently can enable you to make pro-active choices about the types of tasks you undertake and the relative amount of time you devote to them

Brain Energy DrainArlene Taylor PhD Realizations Inc • Can negatively impact your health, longevity, and long-term success • Estimates are that you can shorten your lifespan from 14-2 years when you spend large amounts of time requiring you brain to complete tasks that are a mismatch with what it does energy-efficiently • Long term you are more likely to be happy, healthy, and successful when there is a match between what your brain does energy-efficiently and a majority (e.g., 51%) of your life’s activities. • The life you save may be your own!

Speaker Information If you ask Arlene Taylor what she does in life that absolutely energizes her, she will likely reply, “I’m a brain-function specialist and I help people thrive!” She incorporates cutting-edge brain-function research into her empowering seminars, highlighting strategies that, when practically applied, can help people be more successfulby design. A recipient of the American Medal of Honor for Brain-Function Education (American Biographical Institute Inc, 2002), Taylor holds earned doctorates in Health and Human Services and in Clinical Pastoral Counseling. In 1989 the Loma Linda University Nursing Alumni Association selected Taylor as Alumna of the year. She has life membership in the National Registry of Who’s Who, 2000 edition. A member of the National Speakers Association, Taylor is listed with the Professional Speakers Bureau International. Access her web site (www.arlenetaylor.org) for descriptions of seminars, Taylor-on-the-Brain Bulletins, SynapSeznewsletter, Selected Brain Facts, Frequently Asked Questions, lecture schedules, and more.

Brain Bulletin Offer To receive the bimonthly Taylor-on-the-BrainBulletin electronically at no charge, complete the following: Print first and last names____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Print E-mail address_______________________________________________ Tear off this portion and give it to Arlene Taylor or send the information via e-mail to:thebrain@arlenetaylor.org

332: MindWaves: How to Use Less Brain Energy to Avoid Burnouts and Better Connect With Those Around You