September 2013, 64-year-old long-distance swimmers female athletes Naye De Diane (Diana Nyad) finally reached a 35 years she continued to pursue the goal: to swim from Cuba to Florida, the entire 110 miles. Along the way there is no anti-shark cage protection. 53-hour swim, she swam across flocks of toxic box jellyfish, because swallowed seawater and kept vomiting, shivering in the cold. But she indestructible, courageously forward, overcame difficulties one after another.
"We should never give up." Naiye De told this reporter. That time she was hobbled onto the beach in Key West, swelling of the lips, slurred speech. She physically strong, energetic, a short blond hair, a sun stricken face. Long-term training that she has superhuman endurance, as second nature. "After years and years of self-training, nothing could stop me." She said, "My spirit began to enter a subconscious state."
It is easy to think that Naye De and other endurance champions - winners such as Orsay, SEALs, marathon runner - like all gifted, able to get ordinary people can not get, will require superior performance. However, the brain has been studying how to deal with the pressure of the University of Santiago (University of California) psychiatrist Martin Paulus (Martin Paulus) opinion, perseverance is not only a nature, but a lot of people have the potential to achieve one of California special skills.
Because of why some people succumb to difficulties, while others are curious about courage, Paul Ross and colleagues conducted some unusual experiments. In the years of the experiment, the subjects they raised all walks of life, from SEALs to the office staff. To simulate real pressure environment, Paulos bring the subjects of a special mask, the mask periodically to prevent them from breathing air for a few seconds, making them nervous, breathing (experimental course uncomfortable, but will not damage to health. then researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to monitor changes in the subject's brain blood flow patterns.
Paulos analyzed the scan data, he noticed some interesting patterns. When subjects were warning their breathing will be limited, including those most adaptable subjects (for example SEALs, cross-country runners) in a brain region recorded bodily sensations - insular cortex would sudden "explosion" of blood flow activity. However, when breathing restrictions actually happen, and activities in the region has decreased. In contrast, those who have not received specialized training in subjects endurance, lower limit breathing before being insular cortex activity, but after it higher.
Paulos thus believe that endurance strongest subjects in this study would predict breathing restrictions caused by feelings and prepare psychologically, which makes them really challenge comes, can remain calm.
Paulos said: "Many people think that their strength is derived from natural, however, we know now that they are so that some areas of the brain to make adjustments to cope with the outside world, only to have this ability."
Compared with the general subject area of "Iron Man" who help govern brain emotional responses - the anterior cingulate cortex also showed less blood flow activities. These changes indicate that the subjects less strong emotional response to environmental pressures.
When Naye De participate breathing restrictions experiment, Paulus noticed her fMRI scan results and try SEALs are very similar. Paulos recalls:. "We let her placed under transient stressful environment, her brain is no over-reaction" Naye De also said she used a number of strategies, distraction and pain under pressure, such as with count four languages, repeatedly sang her favorite Neil Young's song "needle and injury."
Training attention
So, when people who have super willpower to face the critical situation, very good at keeping the mind calm. But Paulos wondering: Can this ability by learning come? To find out, he and his colleagues then began to study at Georgetown University (Georgetown University) of Elizabeth Stanley (Elizabeth Stanley) development of a training method. This approach can help reduce the sensitivity of military personnel to environmental pressures. This is called the curriculum (Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training) "Attention-based spiritual training", also known as M-fit, let the students learn how to focus attention certain sense, such as when standing feet flat when some feeling. Next, how to train attention "shuttle" between the outer world and inner feelings.
The purpose of this training is to enable people to learn to feel the moment of applying attention but not judge, for example, when they run spasm, their thinking: "! Ow, hurt" rather than think: "there is a strong body pain . "
"Do not try to change (environmental pressure), just pay attention to it, it will profoundly affect the brain, so that the natural self-adjustment, suppress emotional responses." Paulus said. His theory is that, pay attention to how you feel but without judgment, you will keep a distance from these feelings, not uncomfortable feelings interfere with your concentration, thus survive difficult times.
To further test the effect of this pre-attention training method, 2011, Paulos and colleague Douglas C Johnson (Douglas C. Johnson), a group of more than 200 pre-deployment training of naval recruits were training, after control study. Before the training program began, Paulus made the first of the players breathing limit stress test, then let half of the people in a period of about two months of receiving 20 hours of classroom instruction M-fit, the other half do not receive guidance, only participation conventional training. At the end of the training, the participants accept the restrictions again breathing test, which accepts M-fit guidance that half of the brain scan results with the previous situation SEALs and Naye De strikingly similar, meaning they react under pressure, more good to predict the pressure and remain calm.
"We (the experiment) see that such training does change the way the brain processes information. When information comes, we focus more attention, the more we can interpret information effectively." Pain specialist Gary Kaplan ( gary Kaplan) said. He is a comprehensive Kaplan Medical Center (Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine) founder, Paul Ross work very well.
Paulos said, survived an uncomfortable stage beginning may need to work over time, your brain will start almost automatically make the necessary adjustments.
Perseverance in the end how much is natural and how much training available? "The answer is complicated, it is mixed with congenital acquired." Paulus said. DNA research had identified genes, including the glucocorticoid receptor gene - which controls the strength of our brain and body reaction to stress. So no matter how much we prepared, there are people not born across the sea, swim from Cuba to Florida material.
But Paulos still believe that no matter how the genes we are born, strong and can be cultivated. He said, "The brain of the system is not cured, it has a great plasticity." He pointed out that after sharpening the focus on the skills of middle-aged people or diverted cancer patients would be helpful, as its ultimate beneficial for athletes that.
"I think so, after all, life is life, there will always be difficult pain." Paulos said, "We want to find ways to allow the brain to better respond to it."
Jun know Tips: To improve the endurance of the body is actually deliberately ignore some bad feeling inherent in these warnings and have a protective effect. Ignore the result may be the destruction of protective reflexes, may lead to damage sustained and increased, most people do not blindly such attempts.
(Author: Elizabeth Translation: Chen Proofing: iron via discovermagazine)
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