Psychological research suggests simple actions can project power, persuade others, increase empathy, boost cognitive performance and more. We tend to think of body language as something that expresses our internal states to the outside world. But it also works the other way around: the position of our body also influences our mind. As the following psychological research shows, how we move can drive both thoughts and feelings and this can boost performance.

1. Pose for power

If you want to feel more powerful then adopt a powerful posture. When people stand or sit in powerful poses for one minute—those involving open limbs and expansive gestures—they not only felt more powerful but had increased levels of testosterone flooding their systems. Powerful poses take up more space, so spread your body and open up the arms or legs. When you dominate the space, your mind gets the message.

2. Tense up for willpower

Tensing up your muscles can help increase your willpower. A series of 5 scientific studies found that when people firmed up their muscles they were better able to withstand pain, resist tempting food, take an unpleasant medicine and pay attention to disturbing information. So, if you need to increase your willpower, tense your muscles. It should help.

3. Cross arms for persistence

If you’re stuck on a problem which needs persistence then try crossing your arms. Participants who do just that and found they worked longer at a set of difficult anagrams. In fact about twice as long. Their persistence led to more correct solutions.

4. Lie down for insight

If crossing your arms doesn’t work then try lying down. Since anagrams are a type of insight problem, lying down may help you reach creative solutions.

5. Nap for performance

While you’re lying down, why not have a nap? Napping is an art-form though. Nap too long and you’ll suffer from sleep inertia: the feeling of being drowsy for an extended period. Nap too little and there’s no point. Where’s the sweet spot?

For increased cognitive performance, vigour and wakefulness, the best naps were 10 minutes long. Benefits were seen immediately after 10 minute naps but after longer naps it took longer to wake up. Five minute naps only provided half the benefit, but were better than nothing.

6. Gesture for persuasion

The way people’s hands cut through the air while they talk is fascinating. But it’s more than just a by-product of communication. Hand-gestures help increase the power of a persuasive message when compared to no use of gesture. Most effective are gestures which make what you are saying more understandable. For example, when referring to the past, point behind you.

7. And gesture for understanding

Gestures aren’t only helpful for persuading others, they also help us think. Children who were encouraged to gesture while learning, retained more of what they learnt. Moving our hands may help us learn; more generally we actually seem to think with our hands.

8. Smile for happiness

The very act of smiling can make you feel happy, whether it’s justified or not. Again scientific studies had participants holding pens in their mouths so that it activated the muscles responsible for smiling, or not. Those whose smiling muscles were activated rated cartoons as funnier than others whose smiling muscles weren’t activated by the pen in their mouth. So, forcing a smile really does make us see the world in a better light.

9. Mimic to empathise

If you want to get inside someone’s head, you can try copying their behaviour. Those who are good at empathising do it automatically: copying accent, posture, expressions and so on. If you can copy it, you will feel it yourself and then you’ll get a hint of what others are feeling. It’s what actors have known for years: mimicry is a great way of simulating others’ emotional states.

10. Imitate to comprehend

The idea that copying helps us understand others works for thought as well as emotion. People find it easier to decipher an unfamiliar accent if they tried to imitate it themselves. Some psychologists go further, claiming that imitating others helps us predict what they are going to do.

Embodied cognition: Many of these studies support a theory about human life (and indeed all life) called ‘embodied cognition’. The idea is that we don’t just think with our minds, we also think with our bodies. Our mind isn’t a brain in a jar, it is connected to a body which moves around in an environment.

As life becomes increasingly virtual, played out on screens of varying sizes, we need reminding that the connection between mind and body is two-way. Human intelligence is more than abstract processing power; it’s about the interaction between mind, body and the world around us.

All these exercise and much more can be experienced firsthand by booking Garth Delikan, The Lifestyle Guy where all these principles and techniques will be taught to you and your department in a fun role play situation where you will gain a greater understanding of everything covered in this article.

Well here you go then!

These tips will give you the edge to fuel your body, gain a little muscle and become leaner.

The basic building blocks of muscles are basically what are called amino acids, and these are found in protein rich foods. The best quality of protein you can get that is the protein that contains the most amino acids comes from eggs but you can also obtain quality protein from meat, fish, dairy products and soya. If you’re working out on a regular basis or simply would like to get leaner you need to be eating around 1.5g to 2g of lean protein per kilogram of your body weight per day and this is one of the reasons that protein shakes are so popular as they are an easy and convenient way to take in protein without having to chow down all the time.

To be able to power and also fuel your way through your workouts you also need carbohydrates and it always makes sense to have a post workout shake that contains two kinds of carbs, namely slow release low GI (glycaemic index) and also quick release carbs, high GI. Try to get most of your carb intake throughout the day from a low GI source as in wholemeal foods but after a workout you’ll find that a high carbs mixed with protein in the form of a shake is the quickest and easiest way to replenish empty muscles.

Believe it or not you also need a sufficient supply of minerals in your body in the form of metals. No I’m not talking about eating iron filings but eat foods rich in minerals like red meat and spinach. Having enough iron in your diet is important as it helps to oxygenate your blood which improves oxygen levels in your muscles and increases fitness. Zinc is also an essential component for energy and you can find it in shellfish, nuts and seeds. Magnesium is also a great idea and can be found in wholegrains, nuts, seeds and soya.

Timing is everything and the sooner you down your combined protein and carb shake after a workout the better. Your body is crying out for nutrients immediately after a workout and is also at its most receptive and try to eat a nice balanced meal about two to three hours after your workout to help the building and “leaning” out phase.

Exercising against resistance is also ideal for increasing bone density so make sure you’re also taking on board enough calcium which can be found in cheese and other dairy products. Just don’t overdo the double cream.

Just because you’re working out hard and regularly doesn’t give you an excuse to eat all and everything as it’s counterproductive to take in empty calories. Ditch the junk as every excess empty calorie will trigger a hormonal response of insulin and take it straight to your fat stores.

Taking regular doses of creatine have been scientifically proven to help get you leaner and work out for harder and longer in the gym and also help your muscles to look and feel fuller.

Try to avoid having a truly empty stomach as the energy stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen burns off after about 45 minutes of intense exercise and it’s looking for fuel sources. Body fat is hard to break down so your body will go to your hard earned lean muscle tissue for fuel first, that’s why it’s so important to fuel up before and after your workouts as this will preserve your muscle (your lean tissue) and help to burn fat!

Caffeine has long been proven to give you an energy boost pre workout and is also a fantastic fat metaboliser, so have a double espresso before you hit the gym.

Fitness and strength are fantastically good for you but all that exercise can also release free radicals into your body so it makes sense to eat your five a day because of the stress you’re putting on your body and system. It’s important to eat high levels of fresh fruit and vegetables for their high levels of anti oxidants which will help to repair any damage.

Best wishes as always Garth.

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continued….

1. If you find your energy levels beginning to flag in the afternoon go and take a walk in the fresh air. Physical activity oxygenates the brain faster than a chocolate biscuit and energises your cells for the rest of the day by supplying your brain and body cells with fresh oxygen. Hup two three four!
2. Might seem obvious but if you’re overweight, lose weight! Carrying too much weight around is hard work and can leave you prone to tiredness and irritability. Eat a sensible, healthy, balanced diet and feel those energy levels increase! Be good to yourself!!
3. In scientific studies it was shown that peeps with chronic fatigue were also likely to have blocked sinuses of all things! Clear those nostrils baby!
4. If biscuits, crisps and fast foods raise your LDL levels of cholesterol, why do it, bin the junk! These kinds of junk foods block the arteries and the flow of oxygen rich blood to the cells around your body. Dump the junk!
5. Socialising with your mates is an immediate feel good escapade. Socialising makes you feel happier, just remember not to overdo the partying and alcohol intake dudes!
6. Wahay! Here we go, have a laugh! Laughter has been proven to be the undoubted king of banishing depression and lifting moods. Laughter pushes away the energy sapping chemical neuroendocrine out of your brain. Chuckle brothers anyone?
7. If you’ve got high blood pressure it could be a cause of chronic fatigue and up to 60% of people have it without even realising it! Get yours checked today!
8. Vitamin D from sunlight which helps to boost your immune system, strengthen your bones and increase your energy. Go take a walk in the sunshine!
9. Stress is a killer and should be labeled public enemy numero uno! Next time you’re feeling under pressure or swamped at work or at your desktop feel better instantly by closing your eyes and breathing deeply for sixty seconds. Relax!!!
10. Keep reading my blog for excellent advice and tips! WAHAY!!!

If you’d like an impartial chat about anything relating to your lifestyle, confidence, stress, nutrition or wellbeing, please feel free to email me for an appointment and a NO OBLIGATION chat and we’ll see what we can sort out!

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You ready for this?

1. I know you’ve heard it before but cutting back on the booze doesn’t do you any harm at all. The odd glass or two of beer or wine may be good for your heart and also relaxing you but as soon as you overdo it alcohol becomes a depressant and will also disturb your sleep. Even if you feel as though you’re passing out quite nicely booze prevents you from entering REM sleep the restful sleep phase and will probably give you disturbing dreams. Or is that just moi?
2. Studies have shown that being pummeled to oblivion by a woman in a white coat or even better your other half in a white coat (and nothing else) can seriously help you to overcome, headaches, anxiety and muscular soreness. Enjoy the pain pain!
3. To really fire up your metabolism and set you up for the day, exercise first thing in the morning, (no not that type of exercise). It will also release those wonderful feel good endorphins into your brain. Hit those weights!
4. Whatever time of day you do it, cycling, running, swimming or any form of cardio vascular exercise increases massively the energy producing mitochondria that fuels your cells. Go for it!
5. Science has proven that taking a cold shower (Brrrr) will flush lactic acid out of your stiff sore muscles after exercise and help to stimulate you for the rest of the day by increasing your circulation. Could be worth freezing for a few minutes!
6. And the complete opposite! Have a hot shower as again it’s been proven that more than two thirds of people feel much more energetic afterwards and it will probably make you happier than the cold one. The lesson here…take a shower!
7. Going to beddy byes and even just getting gone extra hour of sleep can help to counteract most kinds of sleep deficit and power naps definitely boost your brain power and improve your mental alertness and performance. Time for a kip?
8. Here’s the best part, having S E X definitely helps to increase your fitness and also energy levels. Wahay!
9. In this day and age of MP3s music is never far away. Music can relive stress. Until that tune that you always hate comes along!
10. Worrying about your age can help to increase those worry lines by all that frowning you keep doing. Think about all that S E X you’re going to have later and that will stop you worrying! If you’re lucky!

If you’d like an impartial chat about anything relating to your lifestyle, confidence, stress, nutrition or wellbeing, please feel free to email me for an appointment and a NO OBLIGATION chat and we’ll see what we can sort out!
Like to know how your eating is affecting you? Gimme a call

Subscribe or miss out!

Want to turn your body into a fat burning furnace?

Want to do it fast, easy and as cost effective as possible?

Subscribe to my newsletter and grab this great report – for free.