Coffee-O' Clock

Coffee-O’ Clock

Why your brain craves coffee

My body rhythms to the time of coffee

So is it Coffee-O’ Clock yet?

I have a song somewhere in the background

Flowers and poetry are also along

But I have pending projects on my desk

And my brain needs deadlines to be set

I hope it is Coffee-O’ Clock yet!

Julie was mad at me, and this makes me sad

She isn’t responding to my calls

Did she get sick? I am worried now

Should I call again or should I just text?

Oh please! Is it Coffee-O’ Clock yet!

Lunch was heavy, no wonder I am sleepy

“Ray, meeting at 3”, my boss startled me

Mercy please, I didn’t get a good night, but who cares

I need to be alert and awake

I think yes it should be Coffee-O’ Clock yet!

Evening’s gone, but it was worth

I need a break from my work

But now that work-mail makes me weak

I’ll have to work and skip the sleep

No no, I can’t hold my sleep any longer

May be I’ll just work for an hour

And I make my alarms set

So now, is it Coffee-O’ Clock yet?

Coffee is the most commonly consumed circadian psychoactive substance worldwide. Caffeine- the active ingredient in coffee interacts with our central nervous system mainly through adenosine receptors. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter which promotes sleep when melatonin is high. Caffeine molecules compete with adenosine and when bound to receptors promotes activation of neurons and boost your brain functioning keeping you awake and alert. Caffeine also builds up our adrenaline and serotonin reserve. It prevents dopamine getting re-absorbed in the blood supply and hence, it stabilizes your mood by killing that ‘worry-monster’ and making you ‘feel-good’ chemically. Caffeine is said to be a potent stimulant since it sparks the ‘brain entropy’. This causes brain networks to fire and connect more efficiently which makes your brain process information at faster rate. More importantly it acts as a ‘Clutter-clearer’, cleaning your chaos, it helps you gain focus. Hence, coffee appears to improve cognitive performance and memory. Despite all the rewards, over consumption of caffeine or coffee-addiction is harmful to health and can cause circadian-rhythm disruption by disturbing your natural sleep-wake cycle. Health and Disease unit have already marked ‘Caffeine-use disorder’ as a prevailing health issue.

Lastly, as ‘moderation is the key’, I hope your body-watch strikes just twice at coffee-O’ clock!

A Brain that Believes

A Brain that Believes

Neuropsychology of Belief

Why we as humans long for something to believe in

Or believed by?

And why, to believe in thyself is a real struggle

But believing in an unknown entity

thought to be residing elsewhere is effortless?

----------------------------- 

‘Belief is a support system’, clichéd much; but what is belief anyway? Simply an agreement of something being true and existing without questioning how and why.

But to a brain that believes, belief is just looking for patterns and making sense of them.

The believing brain is absorbed in connecting the scattered dots.

And when these meaningful patterns become ‘beliefs’, our brains trails proof and checks for confirmations. The proofs that support those beliefs are preserved in the memory section of the brain- the hippocampus. As they are accessed more and more, beliefs provide an emotional boost to our decisions and actions. And then they are transferred and stored in other rooted section.

So, if you scan a brain that believes, you’ll see fireworks in the amygdala!

Beliefs act as emotional filter for sensory information to guide brains’ response.

Then the brain that believes becomes a mold, a mental simulation of how we interpret the world.

Putting our beliefs in something or someone is just building an emergency door. So, if our actions go wrong, we know that someone has our backs and then it is easy to avoid red sirens of fight-or-flight in our brains.

To our behavior, hence, a brain that believes provides stability!

---------------------- 

Beliefs aren’t something that you can name and define.

Some could be real things or some, like those cosmic stars that guide

And some just could be your fancy thoughts like finding yourself on mountain tops

and peace at an ocean-side…

No one’s sure if they are truth or a decorated tale

But if they dissolve your doubts, make you cross your fears and calm your chaos,

Why discredit them? Because a brain that believes, will believe anyway!

It’s a risk, sure,

To embrace the uncertainty

To hold what cannot be held

But that being said,

I'll still choose to believe in the sparkle, my stardust

In me, in you and in US

And also in the creator of our universe!

Won’t you too? Of course YES

Because we are humans,

With souls that connect, skins to touch, a heart that loves and

A BRAIN THAT BELIEVES!

Title? I don't care!

"I couldn’t think of a good title,

But I don’t care!"

Neuroscience behind Apathy

Mom said, “Stop, I cannot handle more.”

he saw his dad’s world shatter, but to him, it didn’t matter.

He even had a heartbreak, a girl with a good heart and pretty face

but he said, he couldn’t care less.

His dog, he saw, come in front of a car

He shrugged and said, It did live this far.

But something shook, he felt unwell

and with the last ounce of care he had left

He turned to the world, screamed and begged

Said, “Lend me your pains, I’ll heal and repair”

But unfortunately and at last,

he thought, even the world didn’t care!

Apathy, the brainy-dictionary states, is a neurological condition where emotions and concerns are extremely suppressed. At least once in our life we all have ‘felt’ or ‘deliberately displayed’ a lack of interest. It’s a natural response to disappointment, dejection or stress. So, ‘apathy’ is known to be a good ‘deviation’ to these negative feelings. But how far should we deviate until we loose the right track of our true purpose? How far until we are lost?

            I once met a person who was admitted to a mental health care for depression only to realize later that he was not ‘depressed’ but had no sense of happiness/motivation at all. How would he? Well according to him, he doesn’t really understand sadness or loss, or joy of achievement or the word ‘concern’. He says last time something bothered me was when everyone around me was asking the same question, “What exactly in life will bother you ever?”

Is he ‘The saddest person without any pains’? I cannot even call him ‘saddest’, because he is just ‘apathetic'. He isn’t careless or painless, but sure, a lot helpless!

            Neural correlates of apathy show faults in prefrontal cortex, anatomically. And that explains a lot about apathetic behavior- impaired emotional context, personality expression, decision making, socialism and survival concerns. Although, there’s much to be studied further,  after about 7 decades later its mention, this condition is still identified by subjective tests and the best cure still stops at ‘Comprehension’!

            So, to sum up, scientists discovered Apathy in 1950’s and guess what, ‘No one really cared’!

Do you stop acting brainy when its rainy?

So, do you stop acting brainy when its rainy?

Your brain on rains

It once rained emotions

on earth with just life and no relations…

It then rained togetherness

on the ground full of separations…

It rained for one’s birth

at other’s grave…

And now for food

since some hungry lives could be fed.

For some it rains solitude

For some, to find oneself

And at times it rains,

just to rain itself!

Although, it rains the same

for now and for all the history

Aaah, you know my dear,

It rains, drops of our memory!

And uptil all the living misery

It have rained and shall rain forever

The ‘Peace of Eternity’!

So, why are Rains described as “Peace’? Digging deep into the Neuroscience behind rains, it tells us that lack of sunlight creates pseudo-dark conditions which signal our pineal gland to secrete more of ‘Melatonin’- a sleep hormone, which is normally secreted at rest-phases. Melatonin brings a feeling of ‘calmness’. It binds to nerve receptors to slow down their activity to get you at ease. It also reduces dopamine levels which is your hormone in excitation. This is backed-up by the fact that the precursor of melatonin is ‘Serotonin’- your happy hormone. No doubt why pouring brings you joy!

Also, the rain sound or the thunders, kinda brings  feelings of a ‘focus shift’ to some people. The theory behind this is the concept of ‘Pink Noise’ (the frequency of noise that requires least energy to process by our brains).

In addition, rains lead to Petrichor- a soothing scent! You can ‘smell’ rain because of the geosmin molecule secreted by microbes in the wet earth. Humans are highly sensitive to this molecule. And since the sense of smell is closely linked with memory, remembering your lover and memories of rain-kisses are so acceptable! (blush!)

Moving onto a deeper level, people also state that rains make them ‘connect’ with themselves. I personally believe it may be because of that ‘feeling of calmness’ which actually calms your chaos and makes you think through your tenderness! It channelizes your deeper thoughts into louder voices that are finally heard! 

So this is why you really stop acting brainy when its rainy because rains act internally through hormonal system, sense of hearing, sense of smell and sense of soul!

-To all the pluviophiles,
 Happy Reading, Happy Monsoon!☺️❤️

Elsewhere

Elsewhere

Neuroscience of imaginations

At this moment

With all the adjectives

you are just yourself

with your physical state

easy to see and locate

But where and who are you inside your head?

You have got the Power to be here and Elsewhere.

Here is your reality

In this knowable universe, on planet Earth

In this place you state as your world.

But do you have many worlds?

What is that different world of yours?

A different planet, different universe or a next Cosmos?

A written world, a visual world or a wonderland, perhaps?

A real world or fiction?

Exactly! You have got the power of Imagination.

This gives you a taste

Of the desired alternate perspect

You can flee

Away from current time and place

From your emotions and may be from yourself

It gives you a Power to Escape.

Is it a process or an art, in fact?

The prefrontal cortex masters the act

It shifts your ‘reference point’

Projects ‘self’ to ‘someone else’

From ‘now’ to ‘then’

And turns ‘here’ to ‘there’

A Power of changing reality to Elsewhere.

With every shift you make

A different neural network you create

You build up your mental workspace

New ideas are born

Resulting in setting new plans, goals and actions

Hence, “Intelligence isn’t knowledge

But the Power of Imaginations”

It also has a way through

The medial temporal lobe

That which can ‘remember’

And retrieve long term memories

A keeper of hope

A center of navigation

A part that gives you direction

A Power of well-directed Imagination

You can imagine whatever you desire

And for a moment you let go your fear

Thanks to oxytoxin that gets released

It calms you down, makes you happy

And you feel at ease.

So, when at times, in this overwhelming place

You feel helpless, depressed or powerless

I hope you don’t forget yourself entirely

You must remember this act of Infinity.

You may escape, create, wander or navigate

With your perfect imperfections

All you have is the

POWER OF IMAGINATIONS!

Breathe Bliss

BREATHE BLISS

BRAIN AND BREATHING

Breathe in deep

Clarify your clutter

See how that creates space in your life

It shall diffuse disturbance

Induce ambition

Also can give you abundance

But how does breathing influence your cognition?

--------------------------

A breathing cycle

Inhale and Exhale

Two nostrils, periodically through each,

But never from both at once

Involuntary and repetitive

Hence, a rhythm

More than once throughout a day

Hence, ‘Ultradian’.

-------The Nasal cycle------

Owe to contra-lateral Brain-Body axis

Breathe through right nostril, activate your left brain

Account your intelligence, manifest the logic

And expressing in physical activity

Mark your verbal abilities.

What happens when the flow shifts to left?

You create art, write poems, dream and

may have thoughts of sky, moon and rain

Nothing much, you activate your right brain.

What if we don’t breathe deep?

Aah, then my dear, you live shallow

Disturb your sleep, dream less, Work low

Smile half and remember nothing.

Also, but don’t haste, inhale at rest

Stop breathing fast

It makes you angry or scared

Your heart beats quick

Be worried, it gets you all panicked.

----------------------------

It is an absolute Science

The flow initiates brain activity

Stimulates neurons around hippocampus

A region involved in memory and creations

Hence, Breathing influences Cognition as well as Emotions.

Pay attention

You can regulate and rewire

Since, you are considered ‘normal’

‘a sane-human’, ‘with no abnormalities’ perhaps

Think, and help those

‘A valued breath’ who won’t understand.

Fine-tune your body-clock

Regulate your ultradian rhythm

Because you are your sole-creator

  Your breathing shall boldly matter

Inhale. Exhale. Be aware of the space-in-between

It’s a cycle, focus on the turns

You shift your energy

It gets you at ease

You shall now slowly breathe at peace

I wish, after understanding all this, you may all

------ Breathe bliss! ------

3 pounds of Infinity

3 pounds of Infinity

We think infinity isn't measurable?

It’s far stretched beyond our reach?

---NO--

It is concise, perfectly in our reach,

Probably the most closest

and can be weighed.

shapeless, but can be structured.

It is 3 pounds, with 100 billion neuronal cells around

no globe but has 2 hemispheres

no distinct pointing but 135 areas all mapped and marked.

with some white and grey stuff all bound.

Its Brain

the controlling unit

which tells you to work and sleep,

to breath and break

to feel and love

to wander without moving

to dream and be lost

protected in a hard shell

when imaged, resembles a cosmos.

Do we need entire of it?

or a part, a piece, quite tiny

since, an infinity cut into half

is still an infinity!

ability to change itself, grow, deepen, intensify,

but also shatter, disorder and mis-align

the best beyond perfections

if not, finitely flawed.

to whatever, whoever, wherever you are

-- unlike Dr. Frankenstein--

you cannot change what's physically in your head

but (happy realization) you can rewire it.

Yet that being said

fortunately and unfortunately

you are just yours

3 pounds of infinity.