Doc Meek

Archive for May, 2010

• Parents are frequently pressured to put their children on Ritalin by school personnel and others. I am frequently asked for my opinion of this controversial subject. Here is a quick review.

Ritalin (or other stimulants, such as Adderal, and the latest of which is Concerta, which time releases increasing amounts throughout the school day) are being advocated for focus and attention. In the case of children, this would be for the school hours usually, and sometimes after school for the homework time.

Ritalin advocates say:

Relatively inexpensive, easy to administer, and often “effective” short-term (can help some children do schoolwork at school; can help adults balance their checkbooks, or do their taxes); probably the only psychotropic (mind altering) drug that can be taken as needed and stopped at will; almost all other psychotropic drugs must be taken continuously to benefit.

If stimulants are used with other approaches, can be helpful. The goal is to increase student self-management and reduce dosage of stimulant to zero if possible.

Ritalin opponents say:

Almost always problematic, chemically, psychologically, and physiologically; can stunt physical growth, suppress appetite, create insomnia, and generate the idea that we are not responsible for our own behavior–it’s the drugs that are responsible for our behavior.

Of course this works both ways; if the child believes he has a medical condition (ADD/ADHD) then of course, “I am not responsible for my own behavior; it’s the ADD, eh?” 😮

Recent reports are very disturbing. Ritalin has now been implicated in severe side effects beyond the ones usually acknowledged. Destruction of neurological circuits and death have been reported. It would appear that although some students settle right down to schoolwork on Ritalin, long-term it actually interferes with learning.

Ritalin has street drug value

Since Ritalin (and its variants) are stimulants, they have value as street drugs and are sought after for illegal purposes. Some students on Ritalin sell their medications to create income for themselves.

Not a pretty picture.

Conclusion:

If you decide to use Ritalin, start right away to develop adjunctive protocols, such that the medicated student is learning to self-manage better with a view to tapering off the Ritalin and eliminating it altogether. Of course, the student also needs to be checked for body/brain toxin overload and nutritional deficiencies, as these problems have sometimes been disguised as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

I’ll address the brain’s nutritional needs and susceptibility to toxins in future posts.

Doc Meek, May 4, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

Books image from: http://tsaum.com/drupal-5.6/

I love reading. I love acquiring new knowledge.

A friend of mine recently encouraged me to read two important books, so I wrote her this note:

Paula, I am very grateful that you alerted me to:

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink (2005, 2006), and

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School by John Medina (2008).

– Blessings, Doc

Who is John Medina?

Here’s his website with humorous videos:  http://www.brainrules.net/

Plus this photo and bio immediately below:

Dr. John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.

I have found him and his work to be worth knowing. From the book cover, here are some of John Medina’s 12 Brain Rules derived from rigorous research conducted by him and many others as well:

Some of John Medina’s Brain Rules

1. Exercise improves cognition.

2. Every brain is wired differently.

3. We are designed never to stop learning and exploring.

4. Memories are volatile and susceptible to errors.

5. Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn.

6. Vision trumps all the other senses.

7. Stress changes the way we learn.

John Medina helps us understand how our brains really work, and how to get the best out of this invaluable resource we all have.

To your best brain!

Doc Meek, Monday, May 3, 2010, at Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA ………………………………………………………….

J. Collins Meek, Ph.D. (Doc Meek)
“What if you are smarter than you think?”
Learning Specialist https://docmeek.com

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Ph (801) 971-1812 (Jeannette); Fax [801] 282-6026

THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE, INC.
1. CANADA: P.O. Box 3105, Sherwood Park, AB T8H 2T1
2. TONGA: Mele Taumoepeau, P.O. Box 60, Nuku’alofa
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In a previous post, I wrote: “Our brain, somewhat analogous to our muscles, needs work to develop and be strong, and needs rest to recuperate and renew.”

There is a difference between what our muscles and our brain need in order to do good work for us.

Let’s say our muscles are working reasonably hard for us. We might be digging up the garden with a shovel in the springtime, or shoveling the snow off the sidewalk in the wintertime. Then someone yells at us: “Hurry up! We have to leave in 10 minutes!”

When someone yells at us when our muscles are working, we can shovel harder and we will get the job done sooner. We may puff and pant a little, and we will still get the job done sooner.

The brain is different in its response to time pressure.

Let’s say our brain is working reasonably hard for us. We might be doing homework, or finishing up our income tax return. Then someone yells at us: “Hurry up! We have to leave in 10 minutes!” To some extent we can “hurry our brain,” and perhaps get the job done a little sooner, especially if we don’t mind making some mistakes.

When we put the brain under pressure–unlike muscles–the brain’s best performance usually deteriorates or slows down.

When someone yells at us when our brain is working reasonably hard, our brain usually ceases to do its best work. Or it may briefly speed up and work harder for a short time, and then go towards less clarity. You might even have a brain crash.

Why does brain performance decline under pressure?

Because the brain works best when it is relaxed and alert, not hurried and harried.

When I teach individual students or train teachers, I tell them:

(1) With respect to muscles, the harder you try, the better they work.

(2) With respect to the brain, the harder you don’t try, the better it works.

“That’s backwards!” they say.

Yes, amazingly, the brain’s performance and power increase when it is not under time pressure, when it is not under worry pressure.

Your brain works best when it is relaxed and alert.

So what do I do when my brain is under pressure?

Get up from your mental task and go get a drink of water. Even a 2% drop in your body/brain hydration will slow down or fog up your cognitive functions. The “get up and get a drink of water” both gives you some physical movement (which the brain loves and thrives upon) and also adds to the water availability in your body/brain system (which the brain loves and thrives upon).

So the “get up and get a drink of water” has a double benefit. Triple action actually. It benefits the body in general, and the brain and muscles in particular.

Another thing you can do to strengthen your brain power and reduce your fear of failure, right there where you are, is to sit back, relax, and take three (3) deep breaths. Breathe in deeply (not so deep it is not comfortable) through your nose, hold your breath briefly, and exhale through your mouth. “Breathe away your troubles,” as they say.

Better still, stand up before you relax and take your three (3) deep breaths. That gives you the added benefit or more physical movement without taking you away to the other room for a drink of water. In this case, you can have your water bottle at hand on your desk beside you. Better still, stand up and walk a little, right there, beside your desk. You might even shake your arms and stretch them towards the ceiling. You could wiggle your fingers and yell “Eh?” before you take your three (3) deep breaths.

If your nose is plugged, simply breathe in and out through your mouth. 😮

If other people are nearby, yell “Eh?” inside your head, silently. No one will hear you. 😮

Be sure your water stays out of the computer keyboard! 😮

Doc Meek, May 3, 2010

At Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA; not at South Jordan, Utah, USA

Today is Sunday and it made me think about reminding all of us to give our brains a period of rest, a sabbath (lower case).

Many religions observe a weekly day of rest, a Sabbath (upper case), a day to turn their work-a-day thinking/feelings in another direction. To look upward and notice loftier things. Or softer and gentler things. Things of the heart, things of the spirit. Many Muslims observe Friday as their Sabbath; many Jews observe Saturday as their Sabbath; and many Christians observe Sunday as their Sabbath.

Many people relate to nature as their sabbath.Walking in nature can sometimes provide an uplift found nowhere else.

Universities may provide a sabbatical year for professors, a year in which they can relax and refresh and renew their research interests.

“Believers” and “Non-believers” Alike

Whether we are “believers” or “non-believers,” our brains still need a “time out,” a sabbath. It improves our ability to learn, to remember, to be sharp. Sharp and awake. Mentally, physically, socially, emotionally, spiritually.

As Stephen R. Covey (1989, 2004) reminded us in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, if we just keep on sawing with the same old saw, over and over again, it will get dull.

He told us that it is essential to stop, to “sharpen the saw.” If we just keep sawing on, hoping to finish the pile of lumber today, we just become less and less efficient. Finally, we are still working very hard indeed and not much lumber is getting cut. The saw is simply too dull to do its work properly.

Stop. “Sharpen the saw.”

How Often Do Our Brains Need R and R?

How often should we stop to sharpen the saw, to give our brain a time of rest and renewal?

Every 7 years?

Annually?

Monthly?

Weekly?

Daily?

Hourly?

Every 10-20 minutes?

All of the above? Yes, and I’ll tell you why.

Our brain, somewhat analogous to our muscles, needs work to develop and be strong, and needs rest to recuperate and renew. Such renewal periods, whether taken after 20 minutes of homework, or a hard week’s work at the office or factory, improve memory, focus, attention, interest, and all manner of cognitive abilities that delight and bless us.

Now . . . today . . . and on to infinity.

Doc Meek, May 2, 2010

Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

Deep dissection of brain-stem. Ventral view. (Reticular formation labeled near the bottom, just above the “olive,” next to the blue fibers.) This image is from Gray’s Anatomy, whose copyright has expired, so it is okay to copy this image.

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Numerous school students have been labeled “ADD” (“Attention Deficit Disorder”). A group of “ADD” students in Canada have re-interpreted this acronym for themselves to mean “Attention Dimension Deluxe.” Why? Because they have a greater ability to pay attention and focus than “average” people do. Of which, more later.

In general, most students who have been labeled “ADD” have obtained the label because they are not paying attention to what someone else wants them to, at specific moments in time.

“S/he lack focus and attention,” someone in the school system may say to parents, as an explanation for poor academic  performance.

“How can they say my son has ADD?” a Mom asked. “He sat on his ‘haunches’ the other day for more than an hour by the sidewalk, intensely focused on the activities of an ant colony.”

So what makes the difference? Your reticular activating system (RAS), a network of “loosely organized” neurons centered deep in your brain stem, and including the reticular formation illustrated.

If you are interested in something, or it is meaningful to you in some way, your RAS “fires up” and you pay attention to whatever it is. If it has no interest or meaning to you, the RAS remains “unfired.”

So who or what has the problem? The child who seeks interest or meaning before s/he engages, or a school curriculum that may be intrinsically boring?

You decide.

When I teach students how to overcome their learning problems at school, I teach them that if what is “out there” is boring, they can’t do much to change that, usually. They claim they have no interest, or that it has no meaning for them. If they stop there, they are simply “victims” of their circumstances or environments, and this goes nowhere good or useful.
So I teach students how to work with themselves, such that they can “fire up” their own RAS, by using their brain (their imagination, their creative selves, or even their “mischievous” selves) to add color and humor and interest and even goofiness to what they are seeing, hearing or feeling.

With a little practice they can transform what is “dull and gray out there” into an internal perception (or mental movie) that is “bright and colorful in here” (inside their heads).

With their RAS fired up by their own involved actions, the material is made interesting and learn-able.

Magic.

No more “victim.”

No more “ADD” label.

Doc Meek, May 1, 2010

Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA