brain science
If we think of our brain as the ‘gears of a car’, the brains role is to ensure we are in the right ‘gear’ for our needs.
For example, when we go up a steep hill in a car, the gears of our car sense the pressure on the system and go down to help us up the hill. Our brain works in much the same way whenever it perceives pressure; the brain adjusts to the circumstances (uphill and downhill) we find ourselves in. Once the car gets to the top of hill, it reverts back to its ‘optimal’ gear to move along.
What would happen if our gear didn’t change back but continued to ‘rev’ as if it were still going up the hill? It would very quickly overheat and breakdown.
If our brain is unable to adjust to the changes of pressure, it also experiences ‘overheating’ and ‘breakdown’ and at its worst creates anxiety, depression and insomnia. For most of us, the effect of this sustained pressure is the ‘feeling of stress, lower wellbeing and sometimes poor sleep’ - the brain is just not changing gears at the right time or for the right amount of time.
Let’s look at these ‘gears’ in the brain a little more closely. The brain's ‘gears’ are called BRAIN WAVES and these waves are produced to help us function at the right level for our needs. Below you can see the brainwaves required by us to function normally.
These brain waves operate for the situation. For example, when we are relaxed the predominant wave is ALPHA but changes to BETA as we increase both our physical and mental activity (see below)
When the brain needs to sleep we move to THETA, and then to DELTA brainwaves. The above table shows our ‘brainwaves’ as we move from ‘wakefulness’ to ‘sleep. At DELTA the brain replenishes its energy.
The reasons why sometimes the brain doesn’t switch gears by itself when it should are not yet fully understood. However, we have made significant advances in helping the brain to ‘switch gears.’
Our books are designed to help you do just that. Brain studies show us that when under pressure we can ‘manually’ change ‘gears’. By focusing on the task of ‘colouring between the lines’ we can change our ‘brainwaves’ from being in a continual state of ‘BETA’ (pressured and stressed) to a more relaxed state of ‘ALPHA’
The effects on both your health (physical and mental) and performance when you’re pressured, will be immediately felt.
COLOURTATION RESEARCH
Colourtation Definition –
Meditation through colouring-in, meaning ‘The act of colouring to enable a calming or meditative state’.
intro
The act of colouring, with its ability to create a calming or meditative state, was first researched by neuroscientist Dr Dr. Stan Rodski in 2012.
Working as a psychologist and researcher in executive health evaluation clinics, Stan was continually presented with executives suffering from stress. Between 30% and 45% of executives presenting for their annual medical examination were reporting feeling stressed and more importantly reporting they were feeling their life and work were more often than not, 'out of control’.
As a result of these findings and the continuing growth of stress within the client population, further research was initiated.
The research
Between 2013 and 2014, 522 executives (63% male and 37% female) participated in the research as a result of being identified using standard self evaluation stress questionnaires administered by the medical doctors.
Those identified and prepared to engage in the research undertook further evaluation. This evaluation took the form of a 5 minute ECG (Electrocardiogram) test which monitors electrical activity of the heart. More specifically, the test measured HRV (Heart Rate Variation) to monitor the individuals homeostasis (balance) of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems. These are part of the autonomic nervous system and when out of balance, amongst many physiological reactions the one focused on in the research was ‘stress’.
Of the 522 identified as stressed by standard questionnaire analysis, 126 were further identified as having significant stress levels using the ECG testing. These 126 were then approached to undergo a stress management program over a 4 week period involving 4 consultations of 45 minutes each. 42 were willing to participate and were placed into 2 groups of 21 where gender, age and position level were distributed as equally as possible.
The control group were administered a standard ‘mindfulness’ based stress program. The test group in addition received the ‘colourtation method’ as an additional tool to use to relieve stress. Both groups were continually monitored using ECG with feedback of results in every session.
The Colourtation method involved colouring-in specific designs arranged around the principle of Pattern, Repetition and Focus/Detail for at least 30 minutes per day.
Following the completion of the program, participants were followed up and tested at the end of the 4 stress management sessions, 1 month and 6 months post stress management program.
Summary
At the end of the 4 sessions both groups showed significant improvement in stress management. The Control group improved 28% compared to the Colourtation Test group’s 46%. Improvement was seen by a % improvement in the sympathetic (neuro transmitter - adrenalin and cortisol - stress hormone) levels. The first test result in session compared to the second test result following practicing stress relieving exercises, eg slow deep and repetitive breathing techniques vs breathing plus colourtation method.
Control and test groups were reviewed and tested 1 month later. Control group had diminished significantly in both their perceived and actual stress management results. Improvement result had dropped to 11%. The test group maintained their success with only a small reduction of 2% to 44% at the end of the first post session month. The control group reported poor adherence to using the breathing techniques (I forgot, too hard, feel silly were common responses). The test group adherence to colouring-in their books was very high and more often than not stimulated the breathing techniques at the same time.
At the 6 month review, participation in the breathing techniques had dropped to 3% and stress management control of the sympathetic nervous system had dropped to 4%. The control group, on the other hand, remained focused on the Colourtation Method. After 6 months, the group maintained a 30% improvement on average compared to their pre program analysis. The groups comments included: ease of use, ability to structure into everyday activities, enjoyment of the task and immediate feedback in the form of ‘feeling better’ as a result of the activity.
It was concluded, that overall, the Colourtation Method provides a viable alternative to traditional methods such as relaxation breathing. It was also noted that when combined with breathing techniques, meditation and mindfulness, the Colourtation Method has the potential to hold initial improvements in place and indeed over time provide a ‘fun’ habit forming activity to improve stress management outcomes.