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Thinking as an Especially Complex form of Behavior
Published in L.S. Vygotsky, V.V. Davydov, Silverman Robert, Educational Psychology, 2020
The investigation also demonstrated that this decrease in the expenditure of peripheral energy is connected by a rigorous mathematical relation to the overall quantity of energy consumed in the reaction and, thus, may serve as a measure of the energy consumed in a particular mental process. If it is assumed that a subject expended A units of energy in response to a simple signal, and B units in the reaction of choosing between two signals, then will denote that measure of mental energy which, in this instance, is consumed in the act of choosing between two signals.
Listen to Hear
Published in Judi Brownell, The Listening Advantage, 2019
The challenge of concentration affects everyone, but sometimes the message is too important to miss and zoning out is not an option. Recall, too, that it’s much easier to concentrate on things that you already find interesting. If you’re a sports fan, hearing about how the teams placed may be exciting to you, but how about for your partner? Not so much. The key here is not to make assumptions and discount the value of a message before you even try to listen. Take charge of your mental energy and focus!
Protect the leadership asset
Published in Brian D. Smith, Leadership in the Life Sciences, 2019
Whilst many interviewees saw their physical exercise as contributing to their mental health, I was also interested to know what other methods they adopted to stay mentally capable of their roles. Some of the answers were unsurprising. A strong, supportive family life seems important and, for example, Andy Thompson kindly met me at a hotel where his family were gathering en route to their winter holiday. Kieran Murphy was typical when he stressed the importance of sleep. Allan Hillgrove revealed his habit of grabbing sleep on short flights. But perhaps more surprising were the more idiosyncratic habits some had developed to sustain their mental health. Stephen Moran was among several who practised meditation. Maurits Wolleswinkel and others recommended periods of disconnecting from emails and messages, for example in the evening. Will McGuire’s personal recommendation was to spend some time each day reviewing tasks, priorities and goals. Like physical exercise, the interviewees had developed personal habits to sustain mental health and strength that were suited to their situation. Despite this individuality, a common theme did emerge – focus. Despite the pressures to do otherwise, when these extremely busy people are not working, they focus on what they are doing as strongly as when they are working. When they are with family and friends, when they are exercising, listening to music or reading a book, they sustain their mental health by focusing on that for the restoration of their mental energy.
Differences in workday sleep fragmentation, rest-activity cycle, sleep quality, and activity level among nurses working different shifts
Published in Chronobiology International, 2019
Sleep is required for recuperation and energy preservation (Chołda and Jaglarz 2015). The primary functions of sleep are to repair the brain; to mediate and reorganize emotions, behavior, cognition, and memories; and to regulate various crucial physiological functions in the body (Goldstein and Walker 2014). Eugene and Masiak (2015) also reported that sleep is a fundamental physiological drive and is vital to survival and normal body function. During sleep, the body is temporarily isolated from external stimuli so that it can relax, rest, and adjust, and so that physical and mental balance can be restored. In this way, sleep helps provide people with the physical strength and mental energy they require (Söderström et al. 2012).
Mental energy: plausible neurological mechanisms and emerging research on the effects of natural dietary compounds
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2021
Patrick J. O’Connor, David O. Kennedy, Stephen Stahl
Progress in understanding mental energy has been hampered by lack of a scientific consensus definition [9]. Historically, mental energy was defined based on cognitive parameters, especially sustained vigilance [10]. Feelings of energy (also known as the mood of energy) logically fit into the concept of mental energy, and experimental evidence shows that energy feelings are independent of, but moderately correlated with, vigilance [11,12]. The large body of research in medical patients, which typically measures feelings of fatigue rather than mental energy, complicates matters [9,13]. One model of mental energy has proposed a tripartite conceptualization consisting of cognition (vigilance), mood (feelings of energy, which are referred to by some as alertness, or the absence of fatigue), and motivation to accomplish mental and physical tasks (Figure 1) [9]. In this model, low mental energy can be defined by feelings of low energy, feelings of high fatigue, reports of low motivation to accomplish mental tasks, or reductions in objectively measured performance on cognitive tasks that emphasize sustained attention (also known as vigilance). For simplicity, cognitive tests are often described as emphasizing one dimension such as working memory or vigilance; however, there is a consensus among experts that most cognitive tests require multiple psychological processes. For example, tasks labeled as emphasizing ‘executive function’ or ‘working memory’ often concomitantly require both motivation and sustained attention. As a result, the present paper mentions some results for cognitive outcomes other than vigilance. Lieberman has published a comprehensive review of subjective and objective measures of mental energy [14]. This review concludes that valid assessments of mental energy include tests of vigilance (e.g. Psychomotor Vigilance Test [15]) and choice reaction time (e.g. two- and four-choice reaction time tests [16]), as well as the Vigor (higher scores) and Fatigue (lower scores) scales from the Profile of Mood States [17]. Other work supports the visual analog scale approach as reliable, sensitive to change, and a valid assessment of motivational aspects of mental energy and the Continuous Performance Test as an effective measure of sustained attention and vigilance [18–20].