The Human Brain - It Works!

Last week when I was writing about how I prepared my presentation for university, my daughter took an interest in what I was typing. I reminded her of something I had shared with her previously, about how amazing our brains were, and she decided to try it out. This morning, she came and told me that she tried it and it has worked for her twice in a row. I think it is something you all can try, and share it with your kids too. It is a great self-esteem builder. An amazing "Look what I can do!"

This is a mind exercise that one of my university professors told us about in class. I encouraged my students to try it out when I was student-teaching a grade five class. The children reported back to me almost immediately that it works.

Here is the trick:

At night, when you go to bed, think about what time you would like to wake up. My recommendation is that you think about the time five minutes before your alarm clock is supposed to wake you. For example, if you wake up at 6 am, like I do, think in your head that tomorrow morning you want to wake up at 5:55. If you concentrate on this before going to sleep, you will wake up at 5:55. It's as simple as that!

I don't know how this works, really, as my knowledge of the human brain is very limited. I can't fathom how our brains can keep track of time while we are sleeping, with out eyes closed. (I assume this is the case, unless you are Gandalf, who sleeps with his eyes open!) Obviously we are not looking at the glowing numbers of our alarm clocks, so how do we know when it is 5:55, and how can we program ourselves to wake up at that precise moment? I can't explain the mechanics of it, but the simple how is: just think about it, and it will happen. When I was a student teacher, almost every child in my class told me that it worked for them by the end of the week. It was an amazing way to teach them that they really could do anything they set their mind to.

I think it is important to remind myself that I can trust in my brain, especially now, with all the memory problems I have been having. It is daunting to think that I will start university in the fall with a brain that is not functioning at full capacity. I really do want to wean myself off the meds by september, but of course that decision will ultimately be based on what my doctor recommends, based on my blood tests, etc. In the meantime, I think it is important to remind myself that I am intelligent person and that my brain has already gotten me through university once. I obtained my BA in Education with flying colors at that, so I have to trust that I will be able to succeed in Translation also.

If you are prone to moments of doubt, I suggest that you try out this Human Alarm Clock exercise and prove to yourself just how wonderful your brain really is.

If you are a parent, showing this trick to your child(ren) can help to teach responsibility. Wouldn't it be great to avoid the hassle of trying to coax a grumpy, sleepy child from under the covers? What parent doesn't wish their child would wake up on time and on their own? I'm going to tell Second Son to try this out tonight. He is the one who has the most difficulty waking up. Why didn't I think of this before? Live and learn!