self-regulation

Napping — We Know It Can Be a Good Thing. But, It Might Be Better Than We Thought

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

I do not nap.

I’m Impressed by Those Who Nap Successfully

If I ever do close my eyes during the day for a bit, I wake up grumpy and often with a headache.

I sleep at night — not during the day. When I stop to think about how many daytime naps I’ve likely had, I haven’t taken more than about a dozen since I was very young. Other people nap daily and wake up energized and ready to tackle the world.

I do not!

I’m kind of like an electric toy. I’m charged all day, doing a ton of ‘stuff’ — when I’m at home you can find me gardening, doing home repairs, in my workshop, hiking with my dog or doing some housework. I stay occupied and go pretty hard for most of the day. By the time evening rolls around I’m tired, I take out my batteries to recharge, and then I fall asleep.

The next day, I put my fully charged batteries back in and go hard again.

Yet, there are others in my family who if they could take a nap every day they would. I’m amazed at this ability.

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Resilience – Digging Deeper Than We Thought We Could

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

Human beings possess what some researchers call a psychological immune system, a host of cognitive abilities that enable us to make the best of even the worst situation.

Lara Aknin, Jamil Zaki and Elizabeth Dunn, The Atlantic (July 2021)

We are capable of more than what we probably think we are capable of sustaining. Researchers Aknin, Zaki and Dunn conducted a review of close to 1,000 research studies examining hundreds of thousands of people across nearly 100 countries and they came to a conclusion:

We are remarkably adept at finding solutions to what might appear to be insurmountable problems.

THE MENTAL HEALTH CHECK

You’ve probably heard that the coronavirus pandemic triggered a worldwide mental-health crisis. This narrative took hold almost as quickly as the virus itself. In the spring of 2020, article after article—even an op-ed by one of us—warned of a looming psychological epidemic.

As clinical scientists and research psychologists have pointed out, the coronavirus pandemic has created many conditions that might lead to psychological distress: sudden, widespread disruptions to people’s livelihoods and social connections; millions bereaved; and the most vulnerable subjected to long-lasting hardship. A global collapse in well-being has seemed inevitable.

Lara Aknin, Jamil Zaki and Elizabeth Dunn, The Atlantic (July 2021)

Alarm bells were ringing.

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I’m Positive About Being Positive

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

I think I’m a fairly positive person.

I tend to stay relatively calm even when the seas are choppy. I try to look for the learning in a situation rather than creating a complaint when things don’t go well. I look for reasons when I see someone’s behaviour that is rude or negative. I try not to jump to conclusions by assigning intent when I really don’t know.

Babies are Positive When it Fits – Adults can Make a Choice

But, by no means am I perfect. I’m quite imperfect actually.

I have my moments of frustration and if you hang out around me often enough you will see me get a tad ‘grumpy’ every now and then. I get like this when when I’m especially tired or overwhelmed — or when everything around me seems to be an overly dramatic soap-opera.

Being positive is often a choice. So, I work to choose positivity whenever I can. I think better. I respond better. I know I make better decisions.

But, can one’s positive mindset actually make a difference in other areas?

  • Physiologically?
  • Emotionally?

Research seems to think so. We’ve all heard of the placebo effect and how someone with a positive mindset about a drug or therapy can help overcome a physical ailment of some kind. And while it might seem obvious, I went looking for some evidence to see if there is any link between a positive attitude and a better educational experience.

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