Illustrative photo
There is more scary news about the effect of city life on the
brain. But in the compilation from experts, below, there are many ways
to save your head and live an enjoyable life.
Researchers have confirmed that people who live or were raised in
cities show distinct differences in activity in certain brain regions
than those who aren’t city dwellers.
Those who currently live in the city, for example, showed higher
activation in the brain region that regulates emotions such as anxiety
and fear. That part of the brain is most often called into action under
situations of stress or threat, and studies suggest that city dwellers’
brains have a more sensitive, hair-trigger response to such situations,
at least when compared with those living in the suburbs or more rural
areas.
The study also found that people who were raised in the city during
their first 15 years of life were more likely to show increased
activation in another brain region, a more global regulator of stress.
In these individuals, the change appears to be more permanent than in
people who move to cities later in life, says Jens Pruessner, one of the
authors of the study.
Living in the city during your early years “means you will become
more alert to [stress] situations for the rest of your life,” he says.
Anxiety disorders
Studies have also shown that city dwellers may have a 21 per cent
greater likelihood of developing anxiety disorders, and a 39 per cent
increased risk of mood disorders, compared to people living more
rurally.
Given that 66 per cent of the world’s population is expected to be
living in cities by 2050, the impact of urban life on mental health has
become more important than ever.
“City living affects the way our brains deal with stress,” said Dr Mazda Adli, a stress researcher in Berlin.
Coping With City Life:
Get more sleep: There are many suggestions on how to cope with city
life, but my most favourite is getting enough sleep. Time constraint
and stress levels require that people in the city deliberately look for
time to sleep during weekends and holidays because a lot of sleep hours
is spent in traffic. Without enough sleep you are just one big fight or
accident waiting to happen.
Keep a happy home: After all the stress on the roads and in the
office if one returned to an angry spouse and kids, one would have ended
in fire from a frying pan. My friend often tells his wife no matter
where a man goes, he will always want to return to a peaceful home. His
witty wife replies “as we both make the bed so shall we sleep in it.” A happy home is an energizer and relaxer, but it requires a lot of work, including sacrifices, to make it so.
Expand Your Comfort Zone: When we are new to a big city it can be
very tempting to replicate the same life we had before we arrived- to
join a similar small gym, find a similar Indian takeaway, and spend our
Fridays nights watching DVDs per usual. Even if we have been an urban
dweller for ages we can fall into a rut of the same routine every week.
While this can make us feel safe it can also allow us to be negative and
bored with our lives. Joy is often waiting just outside our comfort
zone and urban living offers a lot of opportunity for experimenting. Why
not set yourself a goal of trying one new thing a week, even if it’s
just walking home a different route or trying a new restaurant? In a few
months you might find that you actually love Ethiopian food, yoga
classes, and the opera.
Have an escape strategy: If it all gets too much, have an escape
route handy. That might be a nearby park or even just your home. Having a
door you can close on external stressors can help you feel in control
and will distance you from the everyday stress of city living, says
Adli.
“As long as you have good control over city stimulation and
stress, it cannot be harmful,” he said. For most people, it’s possible
to have spaces where they feel secure and safe in urban environments.
But for some groups, such as people with migration backgrounds, it can
be much harder to feel a sense of control over their environment.
Step away from the car
“Using the car is extremely stressful for people in cities,
whereas walking or cycling to work, for example, is much better for your
mental health,” Adli said.
“We know that driving a car in the high time of city traffic
puts your stress hormones in a similar situation as a fighter jet
pilot’s.”
Stick to Your Own Pace
If you often feel anxious or tense when, for example, commuting, it
is likely that you are subconsciously taking on the urban stress of the
rushing crowd around you. This is where mindfulness comes in. By using
your breath and your five senses to pay attention to the now moment you
can choose what to let affect you, including that rushing crowd. And
you can slow down to a pace you feel good about. Start with learning how
to have a two-minute mindlessness break and take it from there.
Be Yourself
It can be easy to feel we have to be someone else to ‘survive’
urban life, believing we have to be more wary and trust nobody. While
it’s true that cities have more crime and it’s unwise to leave our doors
unlocked or walk through certain areas at night, it’s also true that
people are people wherever we go. If we are on guard and paranoid all
the time a city will without doubt be a miserable experience. Be smart,
but learn to trust your own instincts about people, and take time to
notice the positives around you- the people who smile, the local
community street party, the bus driver who makes jokes over the
loudspeaker. You create your experience, not the other way around. Stay
out of bad company, and away from trouble!
***
Culled from Daily Sun
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