The Sharp Solution: A Brain-Based Approach for Optimal Performance

136 Pages·2013·0.96 MB·English

by  Heidi Hanna

Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: Understand Your Operating System
The New Vision of Fitness
The Stress Story
Taking it Easy is Hard
Stress and Health
Boost Your Brainpower
Avoid Multitasking Disasters
Changing Pathways: Improving Habits
The Training Plan: Hitting the Target
Chapter 2: Balance Your Brain
The Relaxation Response
Reasons to Recharge
The Sharp Brain Recharge Process
Pause and Relax
Ready ... Set ... Recharge
Advanced Practice
Recharge Tools and Strategies
Chapter 3: Engage Your Heart
Creating a Clear Vision
Your Purpose Statement
What's Your Story?
Chapter 4: Focus Your Mind
Multitasking and Our Monkey Brain
Mindfulness Matters
Turning Mindfulness into Mindsight
Makeover Your Mindset
Cross-Train Your Brain
Cultivate Creativity
Chapter 5: Energize Your Body
Balance Blood Sugar
Maximize Your Return on Investment
Be Prepared
Optimize Blood Flow
Prioritize Rest and Recovery
How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?
Oscillation Improves Sleep
Sleep Strategies
Chapter 6: Strengthen Your Community
Connection is Based on Perception
Quantity versus Quality
Building Better Relationships
Lead by Example
Set Yourself Up for Success
Chapter 7: The SHARP Solution Plan
Training for Success
Final Thoughts
Notes
For More Information
Index

Cover images: Brain © Baris Simsek/istockphoto; Background © Jenny
Horne/istockphoto Cover design: Wiley
Copyright © 2013 by Heidi Hanna. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Hanna, Heidi, 1974—
The sharp solution: a brain-based approach for optimal performance/Heidi
Hanna.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-118-45739-9 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-50669-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-
118-50668-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-50661-5 (ebk) 1. Achievement motivation.
2. Brain. I. Title.
BF503.H366 2013
158–dc23
2012030193
SHARP: Having an edge; precise, extremely clever or astute; keen, intelligent,
sensitive, alert; having a penetrating quality; observant, incisive, vigorous,
active.
In memory of Amy.
Foreword
The SHARP Solution is a well-written, science-based approach to incorporating
sustainable behavior change to reduce stress and increase overall wellbeing. Dr.
Hanna guides you through designing a personal action plan to decrease your
daily stress and live a longer, healthier life. The book provides an inside-out
perspective of how the body functions on a physiological and psychological
level when under stress. The focus is on building resilience through mindfulness,
meditation, balanced nutrition, and dedicated relaxation time.
The book is organized into five phases: brain, heart, mind, body, and
community. The focus is not on what you should be doing to relieve your stress
and be healthier, but how to take the knowledge that most of us have heard
repeated throughout our lives, and actually make small sustainable changes to
maintain a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Hanna emphasizes nutrition, physical activity,
rest, and most importantly cognitive fitness. The book guides you through
various aspects of brain training through her SHARP Brain Recharge technique.
The process is simple by design. It offers a variety of short, effective methods
to help you shift out of a stress response into the relaxation response in just a few
moments. Dr. Hanna provides a toolbox of simple techniques that you can
practice and incorporate into your busy life without adding more stress and strain
as you struggle to find time to relax. Through this book, Dr. Hanna represents
the essence of our mission at The American Institute of Stress—to provide
evidence-based information and simple-to-follow techniques to reduce stress and
improve your quality of life.
Dr. Daniel L. Kirsch, President,
The American Institute of Stress
Introduction
For most of my life, I thought I had a broken brain. By the age of 12, I had
already been diagnosed with my first stress ulcer and experienced my first panic
attack. It was well understood by scientists and doctors at the time that the brain
was hardwired from an early age-that our mental maps had been secured soon
after adolescence and could not be changed. So I accepted the fact that I would
need to learn to manage my broken brain and try to control the symptoms,
without any hope of fully healing.
A few years ago while writing my dissertation on stress and weight
management, I began to learn a great deal about how the brain works. (I also
learned that stress leads to weight gain, as I put on 10 pounds without changing
my diet or exercise habits—but that's fodder for another book). I was burning
out, completely exhausted from traveling across the globe for work. After being
hospitalized with severe fatigue and crippling panic attacks, I was unsure of how
I would ever return to a normal life. My greatest fears—those that cause the
biggest spikes in my anxiety—are flying and public speaking; so I definitely
didn't make the best choice for a career path if I wanted to live conservatively. I
had pushed myself to the limit and wasn't taking care of my personal energy the
way I knew I should—and my brain let me know it.
Around this time I also found out that a third grandparent of mine had been
diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. This prompted me to begin a deep dive into
research to see if there was any way to try to prevent such a fate for myself or
my other family members—and what I discovered changed my life. I found out
that not only were there things we could do to possibly delay the development of
symptoms caused by Alzheimer's disease and natural cognitive decline, but also
that they were the same things that were being recommended to reshape and
rewire the brain for optimal functioning. Simply put, the things that can help you
have a better brain today will help you have a better brain tomorrow. Of course,
it made perfect sense, but why hadn't I heard about this before?
Thanks to advances in technology that took place about two decades ago,
scientists have discovered that the brain isn't actually “hardwired” after all.
Pioneering neuroscientists demonstrated that through the right type of training,
people could relearn abilities they'd lost through severe brain damage, with
different parts of the brain taking on new roles in the operation of the body. This