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Mental relaxation

Earlier in this chapter I discussed physical relaxation and the effect that has on the body-mind system. In this section, I focus on mental relaxation and some of the techniques you can use.

The primary purpose of mental relaxation, for learning, is to control stress. We are all subject to mental stress in our daily lives. Work is typically the highest cause of stress. Use these exercises regularly in your daily cycle to help manage the impact of stress on your mind.

As I mentioned in physical relaxation though, there is little reliable evidence to suggest that relaxation directly before or during a learning activity significantly improves learning performance. Specific relaxation exercises before or during a learning activity appears useful if you feel stressed or lacking in concentration. Use the exercises to get into a better state of mind for learning.

Mental relaxation techniques

Let’s look at some common mental relaxation exercises:

Meditation

Meditation is a healthy modern activity. You don’t need to submit to the traditional religious or spiritual dogma once associated with its practice, and it does not need to be complex. The basic exercise of sitting calmly and focusing on the breath is often the most effective form and provides many of the benefits ascribed to meditation. This includes good relaxation and better overall concentration. Find a good reference (you can learn it from a book) or attend a class if that suits you better.

Guided imagery

Guided imagery involves concentrating on a scene or script that helps you relax. An example of a simple script may involve walking along a beach and then swimming in the surf. Another example could be walking through a warm forest, coming across a waterfall, stripping off your clothes and swimming under the falling water.
You can use many methods to guide you through the visualization. You may choose to write basic points of the script first, and then rely on your memory to take you through the scene. You could record your own voice and play it back, or you could try a commercial recording. In my view you are better off recording your own script.

The main point is to stay focused on the imagery. Concentrate on experiencing as many of the senses as possible. Feel the wind on the beach, smell the thick air of the rainforest, and feel the cool water as you are swimming. If you find your concentration wandering onto another topic, simply bring it back to where you where in your script and continue.

Music

There is a widespread misrepresentation that music offers huge gains in learning performance. In many controlled studies music alone has not performed much better than silence in improving learning and memory. Music does have a role to play in heightening relaxation though. Many clinical studies show that certain types of music increase relaxation—some types more than others. When combined with other relaxation techniques, music can further increase relaxation. For example, using music with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) increases relaxation more than just doing PMR alone. Personally, I also find music useful for relaxation and concentration when there is some distracting noise in the background.

Let’s look at some points to keep in mind if you want to try music for relaxation. First, choose music and volume that feels relaxing to you. Don’t worry too much about the supposed effectiveness of the different types of music (except rock and rap music, as this increases stress in many individuals). Second, try music with a slower beat. Lastly, if you are studying or relaxing you may want to avoid music with singing or voices as these can distract you.

Anchoring

Try creating some anchors for specific times where you feel the most relaxed (I describe anchors in the Memletic Techniques chapter). Later, when you want to take a moment to relax, use your anchor to quickly bring back the relaxation response you experienced during the exercise.

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You don’t necessarily need complex relaxation exercises. The simplest exercises often work best because you think about them less. Most of the mental relaxation exercises simply aim to train the mind to avoid unwanted thoughts for a while. Use whatever method you find works best for you.

You may want to combine these mental relaxation techniques with physical relaxation exercises (from the physical state layer) to achieve the maximum benefit for the time spent.

Control stress and fear with relaxation

I’ve already mentioned that when under stress the body releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol can inhibit memory recall. After a stressful incident cortisol may reach a level that impacts your memory performance after thirty minutes. It then takes a few hours for the effect to wear off.

This is why staying relaxed before and during an exam or test is important, as is how you react to incidents during that time. If you make a mistake at the start of an exam, take a moment to relax and ensure you don’t let your stress response go too far. If you let that mistake start to stress you further, your cortisone rises and thirty minutes later, you will find it harder to remember what you already know.

Fear and nervousness are also harmful to good learning state. Often you can overcome nervousness by simply relaxing and getting your breathing back in control. Later in the book, in the Challenges section, I provide you with specific strategies for dealing with risks, fears and nervousness, as well as some other common challenges.