Physical relaxation#

There has been much publicity about the role relaxation plays in learning. Examples include the SuperLearning system and variations such as “The Mozart Effect.” Authors claim these systems provide incredibly high learning performance in a relaxed state. Unfortunately there have not been clear clinical studies that support the theory that relaxation induced by music provides greatly increased learning performance.

There are particular reasons though why you should incorporate relaxation (both physical and mental) into your learning state.

• Relaxation exercises improve concentration. Basic relaxation exercises before study can help clear the mind of distractions and concerns.

• Relaxation exercises reduce stress. Stress has a direct impact on memory. While short-term stress doesn’t always degrade learning new information, it does degrade recall of previously learned information. Long-term excessive stress can also irreparably damage parts of the brain used in learning new information.

Example Physical Relaxation Exercise

Here is an example relaxation exercise that focuses on physical relaxation.

1. Close your eyes. If you can, lie down (unless you are tired - you may fall asleep. Sit up in a chair if you are tired).
2. Clench your whole body. Pull taught every muscle you can feel… tightly! Make a face. Strain those arms, legs, shoulders, everywhere. Hold for about ten seconds. Then let go.
3. Do this again but focus on individual muscle groups one at a time. Start at your toes, then your calves, quads, all the way up to the muscles around your face. Strain and relax each group for around five seconds.
4. Breathe in for a beat of 1, 2, 3. Then out on a beat of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Fill your lungs to capacity. Visualize relaxation flowing into your body through your lungs as you breathe in, and then feel tension and stress flow out of your body as you breathe out.
5. Repeat the above with beats of 1, 2, 3, 4. Then out on a beat of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Your breath out is twice as long breathing out as you do in.
6. Repeat step 5, breathing in for five, then six beats (ie out on ten, then twelve beats). If you can comfortably go higher, then do so. Don’t stretch it though. (If you get light-headed you are probably going too far!)
7. Then go backwards, starting at six beats in (twelve out), then five in (ten out), down to three in (six out). That’s it. This exercise is a good way to relax before starting any kind of study or work requiring concentration. It’s also a good exercise to do when you are feeling stressed, pressured, angry, or upset. It helps you wind down and puts you in a better peace of mind.

If you feel stressed before or during a study period, you may want to spend a few minutes doing a relaxation exercise. You can also use these relaxation exercises to increase the effectiveness of study breaks. Contrary to popular opinion though, doing specific relaxation exercises if you already feel relaxed won’t significantly increase your learning performance.

Relaxation exercises appear more useful in lowering long-term stress. Consider making relaxation exercises part of your daily routine, even if only for twenty minutes. Relaxation exercises can also help you get to sleep faster.

Note that the exercises in this section focus on physical relaxation. In the next section on mental learning state, more exercises focus on mental relaxation. They support each other though. Combine them and you get a better result. Let’s look at some types of physical relaxation exercises:

• Deep breathing. Deep breathing involves abdominal breathing for 10-20 minutes. You take shorter breaths in and longer breaths out. If you start to feel light-headed or get a tingling sensation, you may be doing the cycle too fast. See the text box on page physical relaxation exercise for an example.

• Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR).** PMR involves progressively tensing and relaxing groups of muscles. The principle is that if you tense a muscle and then let it go, it should be in a more relaxed state. It is also easier to relax muscles this way instead of trying to detect tense muscles and release them. The relaxation exercise example in the text box on page physical relaxation exercise also includes a basic version of PMR.

• Autogenics. Autogenics is a relaxation skill that takes some time to learn (roughly three months), but provides better and faster relaxation once mastered. It first involves learning to produce a sense of limpness, heaviness and warmth in your body, and then involves explicitly slowing your breathing and heart rate. The result is you can deeply relax in only a few minutes, whenever you need it.

• Sensory deprivation, for example float tanks. Rather than being a passing fad, float tanks do have a significant amount of controlled research backing up their marketed benefits. They greatly assist relaxation. They also improve general health and performance. These tanks work by removing as much physical stimulation as possible. They are usually lightproof and soundproof, the temperature is typically at skin temperature, and you float on a buoyant solution of water and Epsom salts. These conditions can induce a deeper relaxation response than is possible using standard relaxation techniques, although you can’t always use float tanks when you want to! Float tanks can also provide you with a guide to what deep relaxation can be like. This can improve your relaxation exercises outside the tank.

• Massage. Massage can also induce the relaxation response in many individuals, however it may not always suit your study timing as it typically involves another person.

• Biofeedback. Biofeedback is a technology that has only become readily available to consumers over the past few years. It involves using electronic equipment to provide you with various biological statistics, such as heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature or muscle tension. Using this technology, you can train yourself to understand how well your body is performing. Using this information you can then influence body systems previously thought to be unconscious. This technology is only just starting to become useful to the general population. Expect to see more in the future.