With an endless barrage of career, social, and family obligations – not to mention the looming threat of war and new COVID variants – it might seem like the stress and pressure we face never eases up.
Cognitive neuroscientist and University of California at Irvine professor Dr. Sara Mednick has a plan to tackle this continuous “upstate” way of life, which research shows has a negative impact on everything from our longevity to our mental health. In her new book, The Power of the Downstate: Recharge Your Life Using Your Body’s Own Restorative Systems, Dr. Mednick explains how we can tap into the rejuvenating aspects of sleep during our daily activities by diving into our “downstate.” She believes we each possess a wide range of recovery systems and built-in rhythms that we can leverage to restore our most vital functions which, in turn, will give us more energy, sharper thinking, and help balance our moods.
In this session, Dr. Mednick offers practical, evidence-based insight into how we can enable our recovery systems to work together in better harmony. She explains how our bodies and minds are guided by a natural upstate/downstate rhythm, how our modern lifestyles are disrupting these natural rhythms, and how we can activate the downstate by reimagining how we breathe, eat, sleep, and exercise to restore our energy and recharge our lives.
