Radio National
The Science Show
'Mindset matters: Why optimists live longer than pessimists'
'While the practice of using positive thoughts and visualisation to turn your goals into reality — sometimes called "manifesting" — simply can't make $1,000 appear in your bank account, a positive mindset can trigger measurable biological and psychological changes in the body, which can lead to better performance and even pain relief. Neuroscientist Lila Landowski explains.'
Guest
Lila Landowski
Neuroscientist and Lecturer
University of Tasmania
Hobart Tasmania
Presenter
Belinda Smith
Key points:
Belief effect: When you think something, it is more likely to occur because when you believe something your body starts to respond as if it were true.
The brain does complex calculations trying to decide whether something is likely to happen. When it is predicting a good outcome it is essentially changing your physiology in subtle ways that allows you to be in a position physiologically to perform better.
However, feeling some stress about a difficult situation coming up is a good thing because it pumps more oxygen to the brain so you can do better. If we tell ourselves that any stress is a sign that we are not coping that results in bad outcomes because it causes too much stress.
If we tell ourselves a negative story about the future that causes stress. But it is only a made-up story. A positive story causes less stress and therefore good outcomes are more likely.
High levels of stress cause any underlying mental health condition to worsen. It shrinks the size of the hippocampus making it harder to learn and remember things. Chronic stress increases the size of the amygdala which increases defensiveness and aggression.
It increases the disconnection from our prefrontal cortex which is all about decision making, problem-solving and we need it for attention. We become more likely to struggle with daily life.
People with lower socioeconomic status experience social threat. This releases three times the amount of cortisol. You can't control that physiological process but you can train yourself to realise that you are not a lesser person.
Negative thinking strengthens those stress pathways in the brain. It can be overcome by consciously making yourself examine the positives which can change the brain pathways.
