Chapters

Do you also feel as though your brain is permanently running at full speed? Hardly have any time to relax? If so, it's high time to introduce some changes. Neuroscientific research reveals that if you regularly treat your brain to a break you will be far more productive than if you carry on working regardless. Not only does the brain need these moments of downtime to replenish its energy, but brilliant insights that help you solve complex problems almost always manifest if your overall brain activity is low, if you are doing something repetitive or that demands little mental effort. For example, if you're waiting for a coffee, browsing aimlessly through a magazine or staring out the window. During these breaks your brain switches to a default network that ensures you learn, process, associate, order and integrate what happened previously. You cannot achieve this through deliberate, targeted thinking alone!

 

Want to master the art of taking a break? Start now with this pause-time challenge!

Want to place your eating habits 'top-of-mind'? It's an excellent idea, because the optimal function of our brain is highly dependent on what and how we eat. Because although our grey mass only accounts for 2% of our total bodyweight, it accounts for at least 20% of our total energy consumption. And that's not all: did you know that you also have a second brain? In your gut! The brain in our belly produces most of the happiness hormones dopamine and serotonin through gut bacteria, and is responsible, along with our large brain, for a significant part of our well-being. Besides a balanced diet, our brain needs a healthy eating pattern. 

 

Ready to scrutinise your eating pattern? Start right now with the eat challenge!

Do you sometimes feel that you spend too much time at work and on professional contacts and too little time with befriended colleagues, your partner, children, friends and family? If so, you are lacking one of the things that are proven to contribute most to our mental well-being and happiness: human connections. Connecting with others is a basic need that is anchored deep in our brain and rewards us in all kinds of ways: positive social contacts increase our resilience, our self-image, our confidence and our productivity. Therefore, there is never a good reason to avoid allocating any connecting time.

 

Is connecting time what you need? Start right now with this challenge!

At the end of a busy day do you sometimes feel as though you haven't achieved anything? That you may have responded to hundreds of stimuli (mails, messages, telephone calls, conversations, etc.) but without much sense of purpose? If this is true, you lack focus. It's a shame because that’s exactly what makes a difference in this era of constant distraction. You only use your brain optimally if you are able to focus or re-focus quickly on what is really important and are able to shut out all the background noise. In order to better maintain your focus you can train the CEO of your brain – your prefrontal cortex – to stay focused uninterrupted for longer, despite all the distractions. 

 

So, don't delay, and embark on the focus challenge! 

Still waiting for the day you'll feel completely rested? Don't wait any longer, do something about it. It will pay off tenfold in the end. Getting enough quality sleep is the quickest and surest way of increasing your resilience, being in a better mood and improving your performance. This is no coincidence: when you're asleep your brain works at full power eliminating any waste substances from your brain, storing information and processing and organising what happened that day. You couldn't find a better magical formula for productivity and resilience. It is no coincidence that senior managers and top sportsmen and women systematically get more sleep than their colleagues. 

 

Ready to start living life more refreshed? Start right now with this sleep challenge!

Do you always feel revitalised after some exercise? This is because when we exercise our brain releases a protein that activates the growth of brain cells, which in turn boost our learning, memory and resilience. What's more, exercise gets endorphins flowing, which makes us more energetic and happier. 

 

We all realise that exercise is good for our physical and mental condition, but making it a habit is a different matter altogether. And it asks a lot of us: work has to be done, children need their chauffeur and at the end of a busy day we just want to 'chill'. But there's good (brain) news: you don't need to be a professional athlete to experience the mental benefits of exercise. On the contrary, a lot less exercise than that is required to reach the point at which your happiness and productivity increase significantly. Research shows that if you exercise for twenty minutes after an initial period of physical inactivity at the office, this already has the greatest positive impact on your brain.

 

Want to experience the power of more exercise? Get started with our move challenge!

Do you get the feeling that life sometimes passes you by? That there is not much time to reflect on the things that are happening around you? You're not the only one. Research shows that throughout the day we are mainly busy with things to come or with what has already happened. However, now and again it is vital that you shift your focus inwards to be able to respond to everyday obstacles with the necessary calm. Whether it concerns screaming children, an unpleasant remark from your boss, or the car in front that just cut you off, you can teach your brain to react with greater awareness and calm.

 

Do you long for time-in to lower your stress level? Don't hesitate, and get to work on our tune-challenge.