If You Rest Your Brain, Everything Will Start to Work Out
The other day, at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant (Hama Sushi), a "brain" was delivered to me on a gold plate. The moment I reached for the plate, the screen switched to "Bikkura Pon" and a game started. Wait!? Bikkura Pon is at Kura Sushi, not Hama Sushi... I thought, and then I woke up. It was a dream. I think I must have been quite exhausted. The vague anxiety I've been feeling lately, the inability to shake off fatigue, and the lack of focus might be my brain screaming for help. Even if your body feels fine, brain fatigue is a different matter and can be the cause of various ailments. I believe this invisible brain fatigue is a major issue for modern people. I would like to introduce the contents of a book that seems to solve this problem, titled "If You Rest Your Brain, Everything Will Start to Work Out" written by Nobuyoshi Oshima.
What is a state where the brain is not resting?
Now, what exactly does it mean for the brain not to be resting? Starting to fiddle with your smartphone as soon as you wake up in the morning and realizing you're already tired... that is exactly it. Also, driving for long hours or riding a crowded train can make your brain feel heavy with tension and anxiety. Having someone you don't get along with at work or feeling unconscious stress even during lunch are also signs that your brain is not resting. I often have the experience of not being able to sleep because the unpleasant events of the day won't leave my head before I go to bed. Modern society is overloaded with information, and thanks to smartphones and computers, even the gap time that used to be spent doing nothing has become time spent exposed to information, and I felt that opportunities to rest the brain are decreasing. The brain is constantly forced to process information... I want to try to practice digital detox.
The brain cannot see itself.
So, what happens when the brain is tired? I was startled to hear that when the brain is tired, you might lose track of what you really want to do. Sometimes I try to search for something on my smartphone, only to forget what I was searching for and end up clicking on news articles instead. Also, for some reason, it seems that sometimes we choose the painful path instead of the easy one. The fact that we lose our resistance to unpleasant things is because our brains are tightly bound by strong stress. This might be a state where my brain's self-protection function is declining. I was deeply convinced to learn that the reason I find it hard to notice my own emotions and desires is because my brain has become dull from fatigue. Not being able to see what you want to do is a sign that the brain is not correctly perceiving itself.
The brain thinks too much about others.
I often find myself unconsciously trying to guess how others feel or strongly wishing to be recognized by them. I thought that while it might look like I'm thinking about the other person, I might actually be cornering myself. Reading this book made me think about how my brain would react if I did something for a depressed friend and felt that it wasn't sufficiently appreciated. It seems that childhood experiences are sometimes deeply involved in this. The unconscious belief that one must be recognized by others is what causes the brain to become exhausted. I was surprised to learn that thinking "Why don't they understand this?" about others might be because my brain is tired and in a daydream-like state.
I want to heal my brain.
As for concrete ways to heal a tired brain, even in a busy daily life, spending time blankly is important. I wanted to incorporate this immediately after hearing that it helps the brain self-repair and find new ideas. And, thinking, "it's okay to do this, and it's okay not to do this." This is said to balance the excitatory neurons in the brain and have the effect of suppressing inflammation. I tend to think "I must do this," so I want to consciously incorporate this way of thinking. I learned that exercise, getting enough sleep, securing time to do what you like, and the habit of reading are also very effective for healing the brain. Good scents like aroma are also said to have the effect of suppressing brain inflammation.
Summary.
This book also had the potential to fundamentally change my life. It's not just rest, but an important investment for rebuilding your life. This is a book I would especially like to recommend to those who are troubled by vague anxiety or unexplained fatigue, those who lack confidence in their concentration or memory, those who are suffering from stress, and those who feel they are not able to demonstrate their full potential. It teaches us that by properly resting the brain, we can regain our true selves, become free from stress and anxiety, and lead a fulfilling life. Healing the brain is the beginning of everything. See you later.