According to Congressman Tim Ryan in his book A Mindful Nation, “When people have higher working memory capacity they can pay better attention, can solve problems more readily, and have more fluid intelligence–they use facts rather than just know them. Those with strengthened working memory capacity also suffer less from emotionally charged thoughts and are better capable of letting those thoughts go and reappraising emotions when needed. When people have lower working memory capacity, they have poorer academic achievement, lower standardized test scores, and increased mind wandering. The are more prone to suffer from PTS, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse. Some data suggests that low working memory capacity causes people to exhibit prejudicial behavior toward those who are different and for whom they have formed a dislike.” (122) So what things can you do to support a high working memory capacity? Handling and dealing with stress is at the forefront. A very simple thing you can do today to gain more control over your stress is to take a few minutes to shake your body, hard. This is a technique used with certain stress regimens and begins to dissipate excess adrenaline. Perhaps you’d even like to shake hard to some great music!
