Keep it Sweet and Stay Cool - a little bit of sugar stops aggression

Hello Everyone

There is so much information on diet, health and general well-being around at the moment that sometimes it is hard to get a balance. 

For example there is a great movement afoot in the western world to have people be more accountable for the amount of sugar they eat and the impact it has on health – especially type 2 diabetes.                                               

Consider some of the latest research to come from the University of New South Wales in Australia suggests that aggressive people given to outbursts can gain control of themselves in situations where they normally lose it by eating a little sugar.  They also suggested using the non-dominant hand.

Professor Denson from the University of NSW stated that “self-control is like a muscle so it requires an energy source”.  Sugar is the energy source and practice at being calm or in control is also required hence people are asked to use their non-dominant hand.  Denson found that prisoners given a sweet drink were considerably less aggressive.

The research is really important for those people who want to take more control of their lives and limit aggression. 

It seems that the old adage of everything in moderation is important when it comes to sugar.  Similarly if people tend towards aggressive behaviour they would be wise to attend to any low blood sugar issues before they act.

Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

Source:            The Sydney Morning Herald 3/11/2013 page 5

                        Nicky Phillips Science Editor

Communication and the importance of self

Hello Everyone

The dominance and creation of certain words in our language is a key indicator of what we are finding important in the way we live our lives.

In my part of the world, Australia, the word ‘selfie’ has so much importance that it was used as a key communication tool in the recent Government election.

A selfie is a picture that a person takes of themselves, preferably with a celebrity or someone of importance.  The photo is then uploaded to social media.  This is part of an engaging trend in language indicating a more selfish attitude.

University of California psychologists used the Ngram Viewer to analyse word usage in 1.4 million books from the US and Britain since the 1800s.   They found an increase in the use of words relating to the self and acquisition  such as ‘get’ and ‘choose.  At the same time, there has been a decrease in words relating to generosity, responsibility and accountability such as ‘give’, ’obliged’, ‘authority’ and ‘belong’. 

The theory is that as we have moved from rural, low-tech societies to more urban, high-tech ones there has been a greater use of words such as ’individual’, ‘unique’, ‘child’ and ‘self’.

 The changing nature of language and the requirement for language that meets the needs of technologically savvy users has meant that a new dictionary www.urbandictionary.com  has been created to manage the ever increasing internet slang.  This urban dictionary has more than 2.4 million likes on facebook .

Just as the need arises to develop language to suit our highly technical worlds we also have the power to create language and distinctions in language to create any world we want. 

My recent book on Future Words is about that very point.  We have accepted a language based on a highly moral basis which uses words such as right and wrong.  Is it time to create other priorities in language such as generosity , responsibility and integrity?

 Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

 

Communication is the key! Even with bubs!

Hello Everyone

Communication is the key!

Parent of young children around the world are using deaf sign language a way of communicating with their children before the children are able to meaningfully talk.  This usually takes place around 2 years of age.

Deaf sign language is becoming increasingly popular bridge to move from the babble of babies to conversational language.

Many people say that the deaf sign language promotes brain development and infant bonding whilst at the same time giving babies the ability to communicate their needs a little earlier.

From about the age of nine months, babies wave their hands and arms, gesturing and pointing.  As they learn to walk their arms and hands become freer to express themselves.

In the US a longitudinal study from National Institutes of Health indicated that babies given sign language along with talking scored better on multiple measures of language acquisition than those not given that exposure.

This research and the desire to communicate is a constant reminder of the importance of communicating with the ones we love.  Parents can put so much effort into understanding the needs of their little ones.

Communication adult to adult seldom occurs with such a desire for understanding.  New lovers might experience it but the intensity usually dies away.  Imagine if we, as adults put in as much effort in understanding the needs of the children and adults in our lives.

Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

 

6% of the written and Spoken Language

Hello Everyone

English is an interesting language.

The word ‘and’ is the fifth most popular word in the English language and has its own logogram.  A logogram  is a representation of a word or the smallest meaningful unit of language.   The word ‘and has its own logogram the ampersand ‘&’.

This is interesting because the most common word in the English language accounting for 6% of the written spoken language is the word ‘the’. Surely ‘the’ is entitled to its own logogram.

The history of the ampersand makes sense as to its existence.  According to Wikipedia, in English-speaking schools when the alphabet was recited, any letter that could also be used as a word in itself ("A", "I", and, at one point, "O") was preceded by the Latin expression per se which means "by itself".

It was usual to add the "&" sign at the end of the alphabet as if it were the 27th letter.  It was pronounced and. The result was that the alphabet being recited would end in "X, Y, Z, and per se and". This last phrase was slurred to "ampersand" thus the term had entered into common English usage by 1837.

Be, to and of are the 2^nd 3^rd and 4^th most popular words in the English language.  In fact ten words make up 20% of the written and spoken language in English. Perhaps it is time to give all 10 a logogram to speed up reading and writing.

Technology has moved ahead but written language skills have considerable room for progress. Certainly this can be seen in sms texting where new language is developing.   Perhaps it is time to formalise it and see it in everyday use as well.

Enjoy language!

Roz Townsend

Kindness, happiness and chocolate

Hello Everyone

Some interesting research in Australia makes one think about the causes of happiness.

The Di Marzio Research group asked participants to rate seven things that made them happy or fulfilled.  Of all the items listed the highest ranking on 36% was “an act of kindness to benefit another”.  This was followed by having a cuddle and third was walking in nature – 12%.

The other things that make people happy but not to the same extent as those listed above are ‘buying something for someone” and ‘volunteering for a charity or community group”.  On the list but ranked the lowest was eating chocolate.

What the research confirms is that our relationships are the most important aspect of our lives and the area most likely to give us happiness and fulfilment.  We gain most meaning when we pay attention to our relationships with each other and the environment.

The concept of random acts of kindness has been around for some time.  And for some it is easier to be kinder to strangers than our immediate family or friends.

This article challenges you to take on being kind as a natural part of who you are and then to let the happiness and fulfilment flow from that position.  Consider, being kind as an unconditional way of living life with no thought to manipulating those around you or expecting an outcome.

Kindness is like a portal to happiness.  It is a choice of the way in which we live our lives.

Be Kind! Live! Love!

Roz Townsend www.roztownsend.com

Stressed or Anxious? Can't do what you normally would do? Then squeeze your left hand.

Hello Everyone

Is it possible that clenching the left hand could help in times of stress?  According to the American Psychological Association in the Science Daily if you are right-handed, this is so.  Their research indicates that say, squeezing a ball activates certain parts of the brain and lessens the impact of stress or anxiety.

Evidently, for highly skilled people many of their actions/skills are automatic with little conscious effort.  However, when people are under pressure they tend not to perform as well.  In these situations, it is likely that they are consciously focusing on those things that they normally do automatically rather than trusting their automatic skills learnt by years of practice.

"Rumination can interfere with concentration and performance of motor tasks. Athletes usually perform better when they trust their bodies rather than thinking too much about their own actions or what their coaches told them during practice. While it may seem counterintuitive, consciously trying to keep one's balance is likely to produce imbalance, as was seen in some sub-par performances by gymnasts during the Olympics in London," said Juergen Beckmann, PhD, chair of sport psychology at the Technical University of Munich in Germany

Rumination is associated with the brain's left hemisphere, while the right hemisphere is associated with superior performance in automated behaviors, the researchers noted. The right hemisphere controls movements of the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere controls the right side. The researchers theorised that squeezing a ball or clenching the left hand would activate the right hemisphere of the brain and reduce the likelihood of being blocked under pressure.

The implications of this research are significant for all people who for a variety of reasons start focusing consciously on those things which once they did automatically.

"Many movements of the body can be impaired by attempts at consciously controlling them," Beckmann said. "This technique can be helpful for many situations and tasks."

Squeeze! Live! Love!

Roz Townsend www.roztownsend.com

Reference: Science Daily Sept 19, 2012

Extrovert? Introvert? or Ambivert?

 Hello Everyone

Many of you no doubt follow the Socratean philosophy that an ‘unexamined life is not worth living’. That is perhaps one reason why you read articles like this. It is likely that, like me, you have already experienced many personality assessment tools and have a fair idea of who you are and your impact on others.

It was with some surprise then when I came across another distinction.  This for me seemed to be a missing link.  It is the term ambivert.  Ambiverts are between extreme introverts and extroverts, their personality traits include the qualities of both introversion and extroversion.

In business this distinction is becoming more important.  Initially, it was thought that extroverted people do best in sales.  The assumption was that extremely introverted people can’t sell anything. The impact on extrovert/introvert in business has become quite an area of interest.  Very recently, emphasis has been on introverts and their success in business.  Introverts tend to think before they speak, pay more attention, get the facts first and are less likely to embellish or gloss over the details. 

Research is coming up with the importance of having both traits of extroversion and introversion.  In purely economic terms, the University of Pennsylvania found that ambiverts made 24% more sales than introverts and 32% more sales than extroverts.

 
The examined life allows one to consider what is missing or where balance needs to be created.  You probably already know your particular personality trait and how to introduce alternative ways of doing things.  The question to consider is  or not you are aware of the impact and if your choices are made consciously.

If you would like a quick assessment of whether you are an ambivert take Dan Pink’s online assessment http://www.danpink.com/assessment

 Choose! Live! Love!

Roz Townsend www.roztownsend.com

Thinking and Drinking

Hello Everyone

There used to be a funny phrase from the controversial English comedy TV show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  It was I drink therefore I am! It was a send up of Descartes’ famous I think therefore I am.

It was in part a comment on the amount of alcohol people drank and its impact on their lives.  But drink and the types of beverages we consume have played an exceptionally important role in the history of humanity.

Richard Glover points out that the popularity of tea drinking in the 17^th century was a crucial factor in the expansion of the slave trade. Tea along with sugar to sweeten the drink also required vast plantations which then led to the slave trade.

Coffee on the other hand is said to have led to the enlightenment.   Evidently coffee houses took over from pubs as meeting places.  The nature of conversations changed as people were no longer intoxicated and rational thought took hold.

Just last week in New Zealand it was reported that a woman died from overdosing on Coke – she drank up to ten litres a day!

Is it time to consider the unintended consequences of what we drink?  Many of us with pets would only give them water. We would be mortified to think of someone giving them milky, sugary tea or a cappuccino or a gin and tonic or coke. Yet this is what many of us do each day to our own bodies.

What would our mental, physical, emotional and rational health be like if we only drank rain juice? The drink of champions?  Water?  And what is it like for so many in the world who do not have access to it? 

Drink water! Live! Love!

Roz Townsend www.roztownsend.com

Reference:

Richard Glover            The Sydney Morning Herald 9 Feb 2013

Classics - Brain Boosters

 Hello Everyone

 Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?  Are you reading all of the good motivational books (including mine) to get you going?

Well, the research indicates that I, like many other self-help writers, might have to move aside whilst you take on some of the greatest writers.  Evidently, for English speakers it would be the works of Shakespeare and Wordsworth. Other countries have their own classics – the key point is that they are incredible brain boosters.

Academics from Liverpool University found that reading the works of some of the great writers benefitted the mind by focussing the readers’ attention and creating moments of self-analysis.

 Brain scans of those reading the classics showed that as the brain took on more challenging work such as prose and poetry there was a greater level of electrical activity.  This activity increased as the brain encountered unusual words, surprising phrases or difficult sentence structures.

The research found that poetry, in particular, increased activity in the right hemisphere of the brain, an area concerned with ”autobiographical memory”.  Triggering this area helped the reader to reflect or reappraise their own experiences in light of what they had read.  According to the academics, this meant the classics were more helpful than self-help books.

 Literature has the power to shift mental pathways, to create new thoughts, shapes and connections!

Perhaps this article might convince you to add to your resolutions some of the classics from your own culture.

 Read! Live! Love!

Roz Townsend www.roztownsend.com

Reference:

Julie Henry  ‘Classic way to turbo-boost the brain’

Telegraph London January 2013