When Sleep Eludes

INSOMNIA comes in many forms and has many causes - from side effects of prescription medication, alcohol, coffee, vanilla [yes, it’s a stimulant], physical illness, depression or anxiety, negative emotions like guilt or anger, to excitement, diet, disturbance of usual sleep patterns, physical discomfort, allergies [e.g. to invisible pollens], or concrete disturbances like noise.  Add a long et cetera to the list!

Forms of Insomnia:  Difficulty falling asleep, Disturbed sleep, Nightmares or night terrors, Inability to access Deep Sleep, Too deep and too long sleep periods, Interruption of [+- 90 minutes] sleep cycles, Medical problems like Sleep Apnea;  Early Waking.

The pattern of someone’s particular sleep disturbance can often suggest the cause/s and thus the best solutions.  Unfortunately too many people become dependant on drugs [prescription, alcohol, other drugs or even starchy foods] in order to get enough rest while sleeping.  Except during times of trauma [physical, emotional, societal] it should not be necessary to use chemicals in order to get a great night’s sleep. 

Ironically, the same “rules” for having good sleep experiences generally have applied over many centuries and in different cultures, despite great changes in environmental or social circumstances or demands.  For instance, if you wouldn’t have felt restful if a troupe of actors came to perform Macbeth in your bedroom in 1620, you also will be unlikely to sleep well if you watch television in the bedroom in the 21^st century! 

Most cases of insomnia can be easily cured by simple changes in our lifestyle or thinking habits!

That would of course imply that we have to give up the immediate gratification type of comfort or stimulation for the longer-term benefits of great sleep.

If you believe you have sleeping problems or a sleeping disorder, it is a useful first step to note patterns of disturbance and possible correlation to patterns of behaviour or state of mental or physical well-being or discomfort.  Many times you will then be able to correct the problem appropriately [and without drugs!] but sometimes it may be necessary to consult a health professional like a Clinical Psychologist or a Doctor, or even to be assessed at a Sleep Laboratory, to find the best solution for the problem. 

Specialised techniques like Hypnosis or relaxation exercises are very useful adjuncts to any other methods to alleviate or manage sleep disturbance. 

More about types/forms of sleep disturbance and their causes:

First, unless you are quite sure that the cause is purely psychological or in your life style, it is always wise to rule out possible medical causes, then rule out possible substance causes [including prescribed medication], as sleep disturbances could be an early warning system that there is a physical problem that needs attention.

We can test for lifestyle causes by changing the things we are doing according to the list later in this article for at least 10 days, consistently:  If our sleep improves significantly, then we no longer have a problem!  If not, consult a physician who may also require some blood tests, if medical conditions [like thyroid malfunction or hormonal problems] are suspected.  Please note that while conditions like Sleep Apnea may have lifestyle causes [like being overweight and/or using too much alcohol] they can be life threatening conditions that need medical intervention until the lifestyle changes have positive results over time;  some conditions require medical management for life.

Medical conditions that may be misdiagnosed on initial inspection as Psychological, include Thyroid malfunction, Hormonal imbalance [in men also, not just the stereotyped women’s states of PMS, pregnancy or menopause! – for instance, low testosterone could contribute to high anxiety and sleeplessness in men].  It is important to treat the medical condition rather than its “psychological” symptoms only.

Conditions like diabetes, high or low blood pressure, kidney malfunction, sinusitis, digestive system problems, etc, etc, may also cause or contribute significantly to sleep disturbances.  The medication used to treat these and other disorders [like cancer, or allergies] can frequently be a cause of sleep disturbance, for instance, many medications used for high blood pressure can cause “restless legs” [also found in diabetes] that interferes with sleep.  Spinal injuries, especially if high in the spine, can cause interference with sleep due to conditions like spasticity of the limbs or “high tonus” [tension state] of skeletal muscles generally.  Acute and chronic pain can interfere with sleep.

Patterns of Sleep Disturbance and emotional arousal:  Generally difficulty falling asleep, or frequent waking [once medical causes are ruled out] appear to be related to stimulant/excitement chemical states of the brain [like anxiety or excitement], and early waking with inability to resume sleep appears to be associated with depressed chemical states of the brain [like depression or grief].

Lifestyle causes of sleep disturbances:

Diet:  Eating a heavy meal  or meat late at night;  eating too much meat at supper, eating dairy products at/after supper if you are sensitive to them;  garlic, onions, vanilla, alcohol, caffeine [including in chocolate, tea, soft drinks, some food energy supplements], acidic fruits, MSGs [Monosodium Glutamate found as taste enhancer in many “fast” foods like potato crisps, pizza, sauces, Chinese food and most soya sauces, fish or chicken batter at fast food vendors, gravy or basting at many steak houses, some commercial salad dressings];  too low or too high blood sugar, etc.

Distraction/Stimulation: 
1] Every authority on sleep disturbances states that “The bedroom should be used for sleep, rest and sex only”.  Add to that meditative exercises or spiritual rituals like praying.
2] Do not read in bed.  Read on a chair, seated [not slumped/lying down], under good light somewhere else in or out of the bedroom.
3] Except if you are bed-ridden no one should have a TV or PC in the bedroom;  if you are renting a single room, then do not watch or work from your bed.  Lying down should be associated with rest, sleep, and sex/comfortable togetherness only.  We form “habit” brain pathways with repeated action and the brain gets confused when it has opposing pathways associated with the same situation [e.g. being in bed] – it does not know whether to sleep or not, which leads to sleep disturbance.
4] Some forms of meditation can actually stimulate the brain:  we need alpha states to rest:  do not play eg Beta state generator CDs/MP3s etc late at night.  Do not play arousing music or engage in arousing reading/Tv etc [eg thrillers] before going to bed/sleep.
5] As far as possible, keep regular times to fall asleep or wake up.  The Reptilian centre of our brain becomes anxious when patterns are interrupted frequently, and will assume a watchful-wakeful state.
6] Do not over-sleep or sleep late to “make up” for sleep lost through late night activities.  This affects your sleep-waking cycle.  Rather “catch up” with shorter rest or sleep sessions [“siesta” or “forty winks” are sufficient to replenish energy till the next “normal” sleep time.]
6] Do not exercise vigorously within 2-3 hours before bed time [certain yoga or gentle stretching exercises may be acceptable – always test to see if it makes a difference].
7] Create a “settling down” period of at least 30 minutes before attempting sleep.  This can include calm music, rubbing on body lotion, prayer/visualisation, affirmations of peaceful, positive thoughts, etc.
8] Use self-hypnosis/relaxation/autogenic training exercises if you feel alert/ anxious/ depressed/ irritable/ aroused at bed time, or if you are in physical discomfort like pain.

Hypnosis recordings can be extremely helpful in combating both sleep disorders and their causes, whether physical like pain or illness, or psychological like anxiety or depression.  A properly qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist [i.e. someone like a psychologist/psychiatrist who is qualified not only in hypnosis but also in the neurology and physiology affecting sleep] is recommended although there are also very good commercial sleep-hypnosis products available on the internet. PLEASE READ THE ARTICLES ON HYPNOSIS ON THIS SITE before you buy a product or see a hypnotist as here could be dangers if the hypnotist is not adequately trained or experienced.  Always ask for credentials before submitting to any form of treatment!

Disruptive Emotions or Thinking:

There is by now overwhelming evidence, especially since research by Cogitive-Behavioral and Brain scientists in the last half of the 20^th century and later, that any form of mental or physical distress can be exacerbated and often even caused by incorrect/dysfunctional habits of thinking or behaving.

Many people frequently sleep very little when they’re involved with something fun or stimulating, and feel fine [though I would recommend that this practice is limited to “occasional” sleep deprivation!].  Suddenly if we can’t sleep due to physical or mental discomfort, we tend to “catastrophise” [i.e. give it more power to disrupt us than necessary or real]…  People say “I had ONLY 5 hours’ sleep last night;  I MUST be tired and today therefore WILL be terrible!”  [So many thinking errors in one statement!] Rather say “I’m so happy and excited that I had a FULL five hours’ sleep and am looking forward to a wonderful day, full of positive energy, and a great night’s sleep thereafter!”

Use phrases like “I’m looking forward to a wonderful night’s rest, and a positive, glorious day tomorrow!” or “I’m welcoming this being awake and am grateful for the wonderful, restorative sleep I will soon enter…” etc, to plant seeds for good outcome in your mind.

Dr Wayne Dyer recommends that we use two verbal techniques to help us be at peace:
- Repeat words like Serenity, Calm, Peace, Joy, Tranquillity, Abundance [etc] until you feel good
- Say “I want to feel good!”, followed by “I intend to feel good!”

Remember, your words [and thoughts] create your reality!

To learn more about this, read books on positive thinking, or watch the commercially available DVD of The Secret.

There are also many “releasing” techniques:  Find a therapist or life coach who is trained and experienced to help you to release whatever habits or experiences are interfering with good sleep.  Most of us really do not need medication in order to have fantastic sleep!  If insomnia is interfering with your ability to be happy and successful, it’s certainly worth the investment to see someone competent who can help you professionally.  When people prioritise health, all other aspects of their lives tend to improve dramatically also, at little or no further cost.

This technique was Presented by Reinette Steyn to the Psychology (PsySSA)Conference in Cape Town on 13 Aug 2009.

Whether big or small, Trauma has always implied disruption of our sense of being “OK”.

The German word Traum means Dream, suggesting an experience in Dream State, or Nightmare, if you will.  Traumatic experiences generally have dream state power: symbolism, irrationality, unpredictability, polarised effects, and 2-dimensional characters – good or bad, victim or perpetrator.

Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein held that the Imagoes or mental representations we create of people who have in some way damaged us, are far fiercer and more relentless than the real life people on whom they are based; they are indifferent to all others’ pain or even delight in it.

I believe the same holds true for damaging or threatening events or experiences in general. 

They seem one-sided and overpower us with their unmittigating attack – Nightmare stuff.

The counter-balance for a nightmare, with all its vivid imagery, movement, unpredictability, and frenetic action, can’t be just a calm dream.  We need a similar strong arousal level as that of the trauma or nightmare experience, one that would stimulate the release of large quantities of positive neurochemicals to neutralise or displace the negative ones.

We need colour, movement, rush of action, stimulation of all senses, and exuberant energy in our healing imagery.  Let’s call it a Brightmare!  A wonderful, bright, positive dream state experience, with imagoes as impossibly real and incongruous to everyday experience, as those of negative trauma states.

The changing of the brain state to a positive but aroused state is an important intervention since we know that our brain functioning is so-called “State-Dependent”:  It is very difficult for us to access positive memories or habits if we’re feeling depressed, or calm memories or experiences if we’re feeling anxious, or powerful feelings when we’re in a trauma-induced powerless state.  And since the brain appears to prioritise highly aroused states as mode of ensuring survival, we need to create a similar level of arousal priority for the brain to change to a more positive and powerful state of functioning.

Different de-briefing therapies appear to have 3 common elements in their various protocols:
1]  Re-visit the traumatic experience in minute details, accessing all 7 senses, and replay with different perspective and speeds.
2]  Re-frame aspects of the experience so that they are more empowering & validating.
3]  Generate a containment / safe space experience.

In EMDR the protocol typically ends with 3 containment steps:
a]  De-potentiate the threatening negative imagoes, for instance by putting them into a Perspex bubble, or a composting tank, or shark cage.
b]  Anchor a feeling of being protected through a suitable image – blue light, angels, huge dog, etc.
c]  Help client to create or access a Conflict-Free Image [CFI].  Examples from patients include floating in a dam, playing with their dog as a child, flying overseas on holiday, throwing clay at opponents across a stream, giving birth, a secret place in a garden, etc.

Making light of actual traumatic events [big or small] is likely to be harmful, invalidating the painful experience, causing repression of the negative impact, and hugely annoying the defensive or protective ego-states, which may have disruptive and damaging consequences…

But we can speed up the process of re-empowerment and stabilisation of the self by enlivening the safe space imagery to create an effective counter-balancing “Brightmare” to the trauma-bad dream experience.  We do this through adding incongruous, laughter-evoking imagery to the client’s CFT or safe space.

Example:  To a young rape victim’s Safe image of eating ice-cream on the beach, one ciould suggest that the “ice-cream baby” had a big protector ice-goose that would nozzle her neck with its flat orange beak, and tuck her under its belly to keep her safe, till she sneezed so hard that it somersaulted backwards and looked very funny trying to regain composure.  Experience shows that clients, old or young, keep remembering the incongruous image and e laughter thus evoked seems to speed up the creation of efficacy and normalcy neuronal pathways.

We can thus play the role of movie or dream state director, generating strong and vivid positive states, to create an exciting Brightmare through suggesting additions to patient imagery, using the following tools:

- Add colour, brightness, temperature, physical comfort – or even slight discomfort such a tickling, texture, smell, taste, sounds.
- Enlarge the protagonist/s [including the Self] to absurdly huge size in relation to other elements or characters.
- Add incongruous characters, actions, occurrences, and situations.  It should end up being “silly” and laughter-provoking, while remaining reassuring and protective.
- Add fast movement, unexpected behaviours or events, dramatic, positive action, and make sure the client is part of the action in a powerful way.

Benefits are numerous, for instance:

- Neuro-chemicals evoked by laughter and energetic imagery create a brain state in which it is easier to recall victory and positive experiences, in contrast to the disempowering state created by traumatic experiences;
- Re-association to three-dimensionality of one’s life and reintegration of positive life experiences into the life narrative can occur readily;
- Through the balancing of Nightmare Dream States with Brightmare Dream States, normalcy is validated and permission is given to the self to laugh and experience happy feelings “in spite of” negative experience, etc.

The possibility for selection of possible characters and events is endless:  Why can’t the Elvis impersonator surfing on a Harley Davidson bike near the person’s safe place not have a mouse with long green eye-lashes playing ego-strengthening songs on the red lacquered guitar across his back, while the foam that shoots up from the Hog comfortingly tickles the client’s cheecks?

As long as the characters and events maintain the client’s sense of safety and security, and integrity of self, and add humour and some form of reconnection to happier or more ppowrful experiences, anything is possible.

·         How Memory functions

·         Causes of Memory problems

·         Some techniques to improve memory functioning

How Memory functions

There are various steps to memory functioning: 

Creating, Storing, or Laying-down a memory:

1.  We need to OBSERVE & ATTEND properly to the detail [data] that we wish to store / commit to memory.
This also implies that our APPARATUS must be intact and READY to function:  Just as a deaf person can’t lay down sound data because the apparatus is not intact, our brain memory functioning may be impaired by “faults” like inappropriate structure, tumours, or other damage.  This includes the absence, scarcity or overabundance of certain chemicals [e.g. neuro-transmitters] which may cause malfunction in this or the Retrieval stage. If your brain is dyslexic, you may find it extremely difficult to “remember” correct spelling of even easy words.                
We also need to ATTEND properly to the details we wish to remember:  How many times do we “hear” or “read” a message incorrectly?  - This is often the reason couples land in psychotherapy!  So, many people who are NOT dyslexic may spell words like “percieve” incorrectly because they did not Attend to the rules or examples as they learnt to write:  “e” follows “I” except after “c”:  believe, but perceive.

2.  We need to incorporate the memory data in an appropriate CONTEXT [as in a pc file / folder/ type etc].          
Our memory is STATE DEPENDENT:  We best remember data in CONTEXT, especially emotional and sensory context.  When the brain is in one chemical State, it easily recalls memories created in a similar state, and has great difficulty accessing memories created in a different state.  In effect, when you memorise facts while sober, you will find it very hard to recall them when drunk, and vice versa;  but when you memorise and recall in a similar state, recall is over 75%:  So if you’re drunk when studying, drink again when you write your exam, or otherwise stay sober for both! [Students, please note, this was an illustrative joke, NOT advice!]    
Think back to some memorable smells from your youth:  wet dogs at the beach can bring up a vivid picture of a specific day, including feelings of, for instance, exhilaration, the colour of the Frisbee they were chasing, sound of seagulls, freshness of the breeze, etc.  Or the smell of your favourite comfort food:  what are the childhood memories elicited?  The people/person involved?  The meaning it gave to your life?        
The same state dependency holds for emotional [i.e. chemical!] states:  when you’re depressed [i.e. have too little “feel good” chemicals like Serotonin or Noradrenalin in your brain] it’s extremely difficult to recall the positive memories, with associated thoughts, conclusions and sense of e.g. powerfulness or efficacy that you [or others] have had when you’re feeling happy.  That’s the difficulty:  the very things we need to feel un-depressed are the things that are extremely difficult to access.           
Similarly, if you’re fearful, angry or anxious [with e.g. too much adrenalin and similar “arousal” or “feel bad” chemicals flooding your brain], it’s very difficult to access the memories, thoughts and conclusions of a happy, peaceful state, which would be important for changing the state.        
That means:  feeling happy, non-anxious / powerful and positive generally requires hard and consistent work, especially when you’re experiencing circumstances that evoke opposite states.

3.  We add PRIORITY [usually emotional content or outcome significance] to the data.   
If something impacts us strongly, for instance, if strong negative or positive emotions are involved, the memory created has a higher impact priority than if the effect of the experience on us is small.  Usually larger parts of the brain or more “survival” parts of the brain are involved in such memories. Any form of Trauma can create very resilient negative memories, with negative “automatic” responses to trigger stimuli:  The Vietnam veterans [and anyone else with “shell shock” type of trauma] would typically dive behind a defensive structure if a car backfired in a street in their home town, far from the war, and assume a defensive posture or even pull out weapons to fire back at the “enemy”.           
Similarly, a strong positive memory [again, comfort food, or victory experiences like beating a strong opponent in sport, or your wedding day, etc] can be recalled vividly, with all the associated positive emotions, postures, facial expression, and positive outlook.

Retaining a memory:

In order to retain memory over time / create a Long-term memory we need to add priority, impact [emotional attachment or vividness], or reinforcement through repetition.  Non-impactful experiences and data that we encounter only once or occasionally, are forgotten soon; they are short-term memories.  Think of an object or document or programme that you seldom use:  we easily forget where it is, or how it works [like the few times a year I decide to use the Publisher programme on my pc!].  When we reinforce a memory [e.g. through prioritising or repetition], the tracks are laid down more permanently in the brain, in areas for long-term or for traumatic memories, for instance; these are the things we can remember despite even old age.  Repetition in itself is effective enough to create long-term memories – like an ugly jingle in an advertisement for a product in which you have no interest – these annoying tunes can stay with us, persistently over a very, very long time!

Retrieving a memory:

So it’s “on the tip of my tongue”? [Hope the answer you’re seeking is not “Arsenic”!] Accessing memories accurately is dependent firstly on them having been stored correctly.  It’s also dependent on the amount of distraction [e.g. anxiety or exhaustion] you’re experiencing when trying to access or retrieve the memory.  And – as explained before – on the brain state you’re in, whether it’s similar enough to the “programme’ or “format” in which the memory was stored.  PC-literate people will know that if you try to open, say a .jpg or an .xls file in a .doc [Word] programme, you’re likely to get something unreadable:  the tip of the tongue idea of “I know what should be there but I just can’t make it out properly” comes into play.  It’s important to maximise accessibility / retrieval by proper storage and by attention focus and same-state principles.

Causes of Memory problems

The causes are naturally related to the functioning explained above.     
We may have structural, chemical or attentional interference with the proper laying down of the memory tracks.  Or we may be in a state of mind that makes it difficult to recall memories created in other states, or a strong positive or negative memory may involve our brain in a way that prevents access to memories of lesser priority:  Its really hard to remember the 13x table while you’re running away from a ferocious grizzly bear;  unfortunately it’s also hard to recall the possible consequences the next day if you’re in the throes of ecstatic overeating, gambling, sex, shopping on your credit card, or playing pc games deep into the night!   

It is important to realise that memory may be the most observed impaired brain function in such situations, but [except in, for instance, localised damage to memory centres in the brain] it’s usually only one of many cognitive functions [thinking skills] that are impaired:  Clinicians [like Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrists or Occupational Therapist] will often also note, for instance, slowing down of thinking [“slowed information-processing” – makes me think of how my pc worked before Morné Beck of Circuitbytes.co.za told me to buy a ton of extra RAMS!  This is pertinent:  the more “crisis” programmes / stress we load onto our brains for processing, the slower they work – at least until we find ways to “add resources”].  In addition to general “cognitive impairment”, slowed processing, and memory problems, people in chronic stress, anxious or depressed states are usually also unable to focus on anything not directly involved with the prevailing negative state and show deficits in concentration and attention – which would, of course, interfere with memory creation or accessing.

The Chemical factor:     
Apart from structural brain damage factors such as tumours, stroke, traumatic brain injury, genetic malformation etc, chemical states that become repeated, habitual, or chronic can dramatically impair memory.  Menopause is a classic example, or any long-term stress, anxiety or depression states.              
This is important:  in severe, long-term depression, for instance, the memory impairment can be indistinguishable from that in, for instance, Alzheimer’s disease!  Sometimes the correct diagnosis is only made after the Depressive state has remitted, often only after several months of treatment, with medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy including hypnosis, and sometimes even long-term hospitalisation with electroconvulsive therapy [“Shock Treatment”, ECT].           
People often don’t realise the effect of cumulative Life Stress [such as defined by Holmes and Rahe in the 1970’s] on the brain.  If you’ve moved home regularly, changed jobs or relationships a few times, been Ill or supported loved ones in serious Illness, been promoted at work or social organisations - over several months, your resources are likely to need regular replenishment in the form of self-care [including good nutrition and healthy exercise], uplifting or relaxing recreation, support systems, meditative [trance] states, etc. for you not to develop deficits in physical, mental or emotional health [or all three!].

Diagnostic Tests include Interviews, Mini-Mental state test, general individual IQ tests, and formal tests of memory function like the Wechsler memory tests.  Most commercially available Aptitude tests also have tests of memory function, and some self-tests are available in libraries or on the internet.  A simple self-test would be to learn a list of 10 items for 30 seconds:  you should be able to recall all ten one minute later and at least 8 after 30 minutes.

Some techniques to improve memory function

There are many self-help resources available to help you improve specific memory functions, like learning and retaining shopping lists or appointments.  If your memory problems seem severe, or deteriorate suddenly, you should best consult a suitably trained and qualified clinical psychologist to assist you with diagnosis, through interviews and possibly some neuropsychological tests.  If necessary s/he may refer you to e.g. a neurologist for scans, or a psychiatrist who can help assess which medication, for instance, can best help treat a psychological causative factor, etc.                
The informed psychologist can also select some techniques to teach you to help improve memory functions or even advise you about food supplements [such as Vit E, Vit B and Omega Fatty Acids] that may be helpful in improving functioning, or refer you to appropriate persons to help you create nutrition and exercise habits that will support improved cognitive functioning.

Here are a few simple techniques you can begin to use to improve memory function:

·         Attend and repeat:  Wolfgang Riebe [see www.theriebeinstitute.com] demonstrates how to remember strangers’ names by [1] attending carefully to the introduction, [2] asking for the spelling to be confirmed, [3] immediately repeating the name at least 5 times in the process, [4] associating the name with a feature of the person or his/her clothing [e.g. if Deidre is wearing a green dress one cold pun [in thought!] on “dear-green”, or imagine a picture of a deer – with Deidre’s brown curly hair etc - trying to drink from a dry green trough, etc], and [5] test and repeat soon after.  Never underestimate repetition – out loud: after all, that’s how most 80 year old people still remember their multiplication tables from primary school!

·         Write it down – in as few symbols as poss – pref w diagrm or abbr!

·         Use mnemonic devices, like rhyming words or anagrams.

·         Tell someone else in as much detail as possible, using all 5 senses, and movement:  Instead of “My bag was just stolen” tell the story – “I was sidling past a large man in a green pull-over when I felt a tug on my right arm.  I clutched the leather strap of my beige Gucci bag tightly and jerked my arm back, but saw the flash of a knife in a male hand, the grey sleeve above it, and then I saw my bag disappear from view.  I heard myself scream and saw people giving chase.  There was a smell of candyfloss and something like burnt oil…”  As you tell sensory and event details, you will be able to access the same brain STATE as the event and thus more easily recall further details associated with it.

·         For the same reason, you can either re-visit the scene, or look at pictures of it [for instance, of your childhood people and places if you have “few/no” memories of that period of your life], or create a vivid story about that time and space – and it doesn’t have to be “true”, just “plausible” or “probable”, for you to begin accessing more memories.

·         Recreate as far as possible the same situation and state in which you will need to recall memories [e.g. of exam material that you are studying] while you are learning the material:  if you will be sitting at a desk, without food, drink, music or pyjamas, in a cool room, with a pen and paper in use, when writing your exam, it will be useful to lay down memory tracks in similar conditions to create a similar state [or you could study in a lion cage to create a fear state, I suppose!]

·         Always test your memory and access path soon after noting the data: if you parked in bay K5 in the blue level, test this memory as you walk towards the elevator and glance back to check your facts just before you leave the area.

·         If necessary keep small book or diary handy at all times – like the one my 73 year old friend Adrian fits neatly into his shirt pockets, or a student I counselled after brain trauma wore on a thong around her neck:  it’s better to look over-efficient than stupid!

·         Repeating affirmations like “It’s so easy for me to remember things” or “If I just wait a few seconds it will come back to me” will help to decrease interferences from anxiety or depressed states as you’re creating Efficacy and Success positive states in the brain by such affirmations. 

·         Similarly, adjusting your posture and facial expressions to confident and cheerful ones, is likely to increase your ability to create or recall memory tracks in the brain effectively, by suggesting to the brain that it CAN attend to the information since there are no threats to survival that need all your attention first.

·         Stop multi-tasking when you lay down memory tracks:  immerse yourself in the event or material at hand; enjoy it, then pause for 3 seconds [or longer in complex tasks] before focussing on the next task.  However, restfully allowing your attention to wander slightly around the topic and associate it with pleasant images, may enhance recall under stressful conditions than anxious over-focus might.

·         Guess!  It’s actually more likely to be accurate than wrong, and even if your first guess is not correct you may by association arrive at the correct memory quite soon if you remain positive, humorous, and playful!