After being plagued by lethargy and a general sense of powerlessness for a couple of weeks, I fell asleep on the bus today on the way home from work, as I sometimes do, and I woke up with an unbelievably clear mind.
What is it like? Colours appear far more intense- I notice the brilliant magenta of a t-shirt here and pair of headphones there. The flowers outside my house sing to me in stunning hues of red and green. I find myself taking in and processing far more sensory information than usual, and everything seems to make more sense than usual, everything comes together more beautifully. My physical sense of self is heightened- I find myself aware of my posture, my fingers, my toes, my eyes. I walk tall, and lightly on my feet. I find myself observing other people with intensity and curiosity, rapidly scanning them like flipping through pages of a familiar book. My mind works smoothly and elegantly, almost faster than I will it to, like a computer does after you reformat it. I am reminded of what it is like to be in a state of “flow”, on stage as a musician or the profound, intuitive clarity I occasionally get when playing games or sports at a level higher than I am normally capable of accomplishing.
What could have invoked this state, and could it be possible to re-create it?Immediately my mind presents me with an organized list of hypothetical reasons, all of which appear to be cumulative and inter-related.
Sleep.
I slept far more this week than the week before, and I think I’ve finally cleared a critical amount of sleep debt. Lack of sleep makes you irritable, give you tremors and aches- and worst of all, cognitive impairment- which is a fancy way of saying that your mind slows down and operates at diminished capacity. The dangerous thing about cognitive impairment is that you lose the ability to be aware of the fact that something isn’t quite right. It makes you complacent and numb, which then allows everything to quickly fall apart without you noticing- much like the sedated frog that gets boiled alive in water that is heated slowly and incrementally.
Water.
I drank lots of water, completely re-hydrating myself. Interestingly, it seems that dehydration may cause insomnia- so if you’re neither sleeping nor drinking water, you’re in for a pretty miserable time, and you won’t even really notice it unless it’s brought to your attention. Drinking water remedies headaches, regulates your body temperature and makes you more energetic, which in turns boosts the quality of your exercise.
Exercise.
A clear trend has become painfully obvious over the years- there is a very strong co-relation between exercise and productivity. The periods where I make time to exercise, even when I’m tired and weary, coincide with the periods where I find myself being much more productive and happy than usual. I did a lot of physical menial labour in camp- elevating my heart rate, breaking a sweat and feeling a rush of endorphins. Everybody knows that exercise is good for you, yet most of us who don’t have a deep-rooted habit of exercising tend to forget to exercise when the stars aren’t aligned perfectly.
Meditation.
If that sounds too “touchy-feely” for you, think of it as focused reflection. Specifically, I’m talking about being acutely aware of one’s own thoughts and emotions, and choosing what to focus on. I was troubled, miserable and emotionally immobilized after a string of unproductive days. After wallowing in self-pity for a while, I decided that I wanted to feel better, so I focused on thinking about the progress I’ve made so far, and on making and executing immediately actionable plans to get over the little hurdles and setbacks that I’d accumulated along the way. (This post is one such example, by the way!) It felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. Moods are fleeting and temporary, and you can choose how you want to feel by choosing what to focus on. Hang on to the good ones, and let the bad ones go.
Relationships.
I spent some time talking to my girlfriend and some close friends, a little bit about how I was feeling, but mostly about other stuff. It made me feel a lot better. One of the worst things you can do when you’re in a rut is to avoid people and become reclusive- I did that once, and it is frightening and dangerous. It’s easy to lose touch with reality and all sense of proportion when the only input your troubled mind receives is its own. Communicate with other people. Avoid the negative ones. Talk to supportive people- close family and friends, and even familiar acquaintances- the people that you see at the coffeeshop or bus stop. Pleasant small talk is heartening.
Reading.
I’m in the process of re-reading Nassim Taleb’s The Black Swan- and I find it empowering, challenging (in a good way) and profoundly philosophical. Reading tends to give me a healthy sense of perspective- it takes me away from the overwhelming immediacy present and gives me a broader view of things. A good book shows rather than tells, and usually manages to shed light on how I ought to live my life, without being patronizing.
Diminish dependency on stimulants.
For me, that meant not smoking. I went cold turkey for almost 20 days- plagued with coughs, headaches, dizziness and general malaise- after which I had a temporary relapse where I’d smoke between 1 and 3 sticks a day for a week- and I have gradually begun diminishing that, beginning a second cycle of cold turkey. This time though I am unbelievably clear. It’s a little too early for conclusions, of course, but I do think that my body is starting to recover from the damage, even though I still smoke from time to time- it’s kind of like doing a massive cleanup followed by several small checks and balances here and there. I’m not entirely sure if I want to quit smoking altogether anytime soon, but I am very certain that I never want to go back to that mindless state where smoking regularly and heavily was my status quo.
So here’s what you do if you don’t know what to do.
- Grab a big bottle of water.
- Get out of your house right now, and start walking. Just keep walking, without a clear destination in mind. Keep moving. Drink as and when you feel like it.
- Pay attention to your heart beating and your muscles getting warm and limber.
- Breathe deeply and enjoy how fresh air tastes when your body asks for it.
- Sip more water.
- Allow your mind to wander, and laugh at how silly and petty you probably have been.
- Smile broadly at passers-by, especially if it’s something you’ve never done before. Some of them will smile back, and it’s a pleasant experience.
- Arrange to meet an old friend that you haven’t seen in a while.
- Hit the library and borrow a couple of books that interest you. Get one that’s completely unrelated to anything you might be doing.
- Close your eyes and listen to some good music.
- Go to bed early. Wake up tomorrow and discover the real meaning of rejuvenated.
I think the most interesting thing about all this is how inter-related everything is. Sleep gives you energy, which boosts the quality of your exercise. Water regulates your body temperature and gives you energy, with also boosts the quality of exercise. Exercise improves the quality of your sleep. Diminished stimulant dependency and effective mood management (through meditation or conversation or reading) also improve your energy levels. Everything is inter-related, and it makes sense to improve all the nodes simultaneously rather than focus on any individual nodes. Nutrition is another important element which I have not discussed here, because I haven’t sufficiently experimented with my diet to notice the difference in my cognition- but there is extensive evidence that eating right can have a world of benefit, too.
Here are some relevant links:
7 things that help me clear my head
After being plagued by lethargy and a general sense of powerlessness for a couple of weeks, I fell asleep on the bus today on the way home from work, as I sometimes do, and I woke up with an unbelievably clear mind.
What is it like? Colours appear far more intense- I notice the brilliant magenta of a t-shirt here and pair of headphones there. The flowers outside my house sing to me in stunning hues of red and green. I find myself taking in and processing far more sensory information than usual, and everything seems to make more sense than usual, everything comes together more beautifully. My physical sense of self is heightened- I find myself aware of my posture, my fingers, my toes, my eyes. I walk tall, and lightly on my feet. I find myself observing other people with intensity and curiosity, rapidly scanning them like flipping through pages of a familiar book. My mind works smoothly and elegantly, almost faster than I will it to, like a computer does after you reformat it. I am reminded of what it is like to be in a state of “flow”, on stage as a musician or the profound, intuitive clarity I occasionally get when playing games or sports at a level higher than I am normally capable of accomplishing.
What could have invoked this state, and could it be possible to re-create it?Immediately my mind presents me with an organized list of hypothetical reasons, all of which appear to be cumulative and inter-related.
Sleep.
I slept far more this week than the week before, and I think I’ve finally cleared a critical amount of sleep debt. Lack of sleep makes you irritable, give you tremors and aches- and worst of all, cognitive impairment- which is a fancy way of saying that your mind slows down and operates at diminished capacity. The dangerous thing about cognitive impairment is that you lose the ability to be aware of the fact that something isn’t quite right. It makes you complacent and numb, which then allows everything to quickly fall apart without you noticing- much like the sedated frog that gets boiled alive in water that is heated slowly and incrementally.
Water.
I drank lots of water, completely re-hydrating myself. Interestingly, it seems that dehydration may cause insomnia- so if you’re neither sleeping nor drinking water, you’re in for a pretty miserable time, and you won’t even really notice it unless it’s brought to your attention. Drinking water remedies headaches, regulates your body temperature and makes you more energetic, which in turns boosts the quality of your exercise.
Exercise.
A clear trend has become painfully obvious over the years- there is a very strong co-relation between exercise and productivity. The periods where I make time to exercise, even when I’m tired and weary, coincide with the periods where I find myself being much more productive and happy than usual. I did a lot of physical menial labour in camp- elevating my heart rate, breaking a sweat and feeling a rush of endorphins. Everybody knows that exercise is good for you, yet most of us who don’t have a deep-rooted habit of exercising tend to forget to exercise when the stars aren’t aligned perfectly.
Meditation.
If that sounds too “touchy-feely” for you, think of it as focused reflection. Specifically, I’m talking about being acutely aware of one’s own thoughts and emotions, and choosing what to focus on. I was troubled, miserable and emotionally immobilized after a string of unproductive days. After wallowing in self-pity for a while, I decided that I wanted to feel better, so I focused on thinking about the progress I’ve made so far, and on making and executing immediately actionable plans to get over the little hurdles and setbacks that I’d accumulated along the way. (This post is one such example, by the way!) It felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. Moods are fleeting and temporary, and you can choose how you want to feel by choosing what to focus on. Hang on to the good ones, and let the bad ones go.
Relationships.
I spent some time talking to my girlfriend and some close friends, a little bit about how I was feeling, but mostly about other stuff. It made me feel a lot better. One of the worst things you can do when you’re in a rut is to avoid people and become reclusive- I did that once, and it is frightening and dangerous. It’s easy to lose touch with reality and all sense of proportion when the only input your troubled mind receives is its own. Communicate with other people. Avoid the negative ones. Talk to supportive people- close family and friends, and even familiar acquaintances- the people that you see at the coffeeshop or bus stop. Pleasant small talk is heartening.
Reading.
I’m in the process of re-reading Nassim Taleb’s The Black Swan- and I find it empowering, challenging (in a good way) and profoundly philosophical. Reading tends to give me a healthy sense of perspective- it takes me away from the overwhelming immediacy present and gives me a broader view of things. A good book shows rather than tells, and usually manages to shed light on how I ought to live my life, without being patronizing.
Diminish dependency on stimulants.
For me, that meant not smoking. I went cold turkey for almost 20 days- plagued with coughs, headaches, dizziness and general malaise- after which I had a temporary relapse where I’d smoke between 1 and 3 sticks a day for a week- and I have gradually begun diminishing that, beginning a second cycle of cold turkey. This time though I am unbelievably clear. It’s a little too early for conclusions, of course, but I do think that my body is starting to recover from the damage, even though I still smoke from time to time- it’s kind of like doing a massive cleanup followed by several small checks and balances here and there. I’m not entirely sure if I want to quit smoking altogether anytime soon, but I am very certain that I never want to go back to that mindless state where smoking regularly and heavily was my status quo.
So here’s what you do if you don’t know what to do.
I think the most interesting thing about all this is how inter-related everything is. Sleep gives you energy, which boosts the quality of your exercise. Water regulates your body temperature and gives you energy, with also boosts the quality of exercise. Exercise improves the quality of your sleep. Diminished stimulant dependency and effective mood management (through meditation or conversation or reading) also improve your energy levels. Everything is inter-related, and it makes sense to improve all the nodes simultaneously rather than focus on any individual nodes. Nutrition is another important element which I have not discussed here, because I haven’t sufficiently experimented with my diet to notice the difference in my cognition- but there is extensive evidence that eating right can have a world of benefit, too.
Benefits of Quitting Smoking