After careful and lengthy research, I recently dug up information about the Hygiene of Mental Labor here. I always suspected (only I had no evidence) that "a healthy mind in a healthy body" and that it was impossible to be energetic, just poring over textbooks 20 hours a day.
Information initially about students and their hard life, but it is quite suitable for other knowledge workers. The paragraphs about the dangers of smoking and alcohol have been removed, because we are all aware of the impact of bad habits on health. The text is long, so removed under the cat.
Hygiene of mental work
There are three types of mental activity. The first includes light mental work: reading fiction, talking with an interesting interlocutor. Such activity can continue for a long time without the appearance of fatigue, since when it is performed, the psychophysiological mechanisms function with a low degree of tension.
The second type of mental activity can be called "operational thinking", as it is typical for the work of operators, dispatchers. For students, this is a repetition of the material covered, the solution of mathematical problems using a known algorithm, the translation of a foreign text into Russian, this case the psychophysiological mechanisms of the brain work with great tension. Effectively, such an activity can last 1.5-2 hours.
The third type is the work that is characterized by the highest intensity. This is the assimilation of new information, the creation of new ideas based on old ones. With this kind of activity, the most active functioning of the physiological mechanisms that carry out the processes of thinking and remembering occurs.
Knowledge of the above classification should help students to properly organize their educational work. Mental hygienists believe that during operational thinking it is advisable to take breaks after 1.5-2 hours, and with the third type of mental activity - after 40-50 minutes. It should be emphasized that the thought processes in the brain fade slowly. Therefore, 5-10-minute pauses set aside for rest will not impair the effectiveness of the subsequent performance of mental work, but will only help restore the energy of brain neurons.
During such a break, it is useful for the body to give physical activity in the form of a walk or a small set of gymnastic exercises. Scientific studies have proven the effectiveness of such outdoor activities. Muscles, as it were, "recharge" the brain.
The physical factors of the external environment have a considerable influence on the productivity of mental labor. It has been established that the optimum air temperature should be 18-22°C and relative humidity 50-70%. Prolonged stay of students in a room with a temperature of 25-27° leads to a significant stress on the physiological functions of the body. This negatively affects the quality of work performed, as well as autonomic functions: the activity of the cardiovascular, respiratory and other systems.
Brain cells, as already noted, are distinguished by a particularly intensive energy metabolism.
Therefore, for successful mental work, it is necessary to be in a room with a normal oxygen content.
Sanitary and hygienic research helped to establish that after the first lecture, the content of carbon dioxide ( carbon dioxide) in the audience reaches 0.15-0.45%, that is, it increases by 5-15 times compared to the norm. In addition, in classrooms, reading rooms, especially if they are overcrowded, air oxidization increases by 2 times, the concentration of ammonia, carbon monoxide, or carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and a number of other substances harmful to health increases.
All this speaks of the need to ventilate the audience. Unfortunately, many students neglect this rule.
The presence of noise also significantly affects the quality of mental activity. Usually in classrooms, its value is 40-50 dB. According to occupational health data, noise up to 40 dB does not adversely affect the state of the body, exceeding this indicator reduces the ability to work, and adversely affects human health.
A lot of controversy arises around the question of the use of music in the process of mental labor. The Hungarian scientist Almazi categorically states that listening to even quiet music during mental work is inappropriate. He believes that the influence of music contributes to a more rapid depletion of the nerve centers and increases the consumption of "psychic energy."
According to Soviet scientists, soft melodic music somewhat increases the productivity of mental work. An interesting experiment was conducted at the Kazan University by Yu. A. Tsagarelli. The initial level of the emotional state was assessed. Then the students were subjected to a stressful influence - a teacher checking their knowledge of a foreign language with an assessment. The level of emotional arousal increased sharply. After that, the students were offered to listen to classical and jazz music for 2.5-3 minutes.
After listening to classical music, a decrease in the level of emotional arousal was observed in 91% of students. Moreover, it most noticeably acted on those who were previously unfamiliar with it. Under the influence of jazz music, emotional arousal decreased only in 52% of students. It was also noticed that the higher the musicality of a person, the faster the level of the emotional state was restored.
From our point of view, music is best used during periods of rest. In addition, when deciding on the inclusion of music in the process of mental activity, it is advisable to take into account the specifics of the work ahead. Doing complex work requires silence, which helps focus. If mental activity is simpler, such as, for example, solving problems using a known algorithm, translation from foreign language with a dictionary, rewriting the synopsis, etc., then music can speed it up. It should also be noted that the influence of music on the quality of mental work depends on individual habits.
Hygiene of mental work makes demands on clothing. It is important that it fits freely around the body, the collar of a shirt or sweater should not squeeze the vessels of the neck (a tight collar makes it difficult for the blood supply to the brain).
You also need to control your posture. Often one has to observe how students sit at the table with their backs bent, their heads bowed low. In this position, the lungs and heart function worse, the spine is bent, the carotid arteries are compressed. You should sit with a slightly inclined torso (at 75-80 °) and a raised head, which should be in a straight line with your back. Observe for several days the correctness of your posture, and it will become familiar to you.
On the table, it is desirable to have a music stand-stand for the book. Instead of a stand, you can use a stack of books. This will allow you to tilt your torso less and relieve tension in the muscles of the eyeball.
Academician N. S. Vvedensky developed general recommendations that are important for successful mental work.
1. Get involved and work gradually; both after a night's sleep and after a vacation.
2. Choose an individual rhythm of work that is convenient for you. The scientist considers a uniform, average pace to be optimal. Irritability and excessive speed of mental labor tires me. In this case, fatigue sets in faster.
3. Observe the usual sequence and systematic mental work. The scientist believes that performance is much higher if you adhere to a pre-planned daily routine and change the types of mental work.
4. Establish a correct, rational alternation of work and rest. This will help to more quickly restore mental performance, maintaining it at an optimal level.
Let's add to the above a few more tips, the implementation of which will contribute to academic success.
Do not start work without firm plan and establishing its approximate volume.
Do not try to cover and memorize the material the first time. Have time to repeat.
Make your own summary of the material being studied, do not use other people's notes,
Widely use bookmarks, colored ink, with which you can highlight important material for assimilation.
Organize short-term rest, actively include physical exercises in the daily routine.
Sleep, health, performance
Our whole life passes in two states - wakefulness and sleep. It is a full-fledged sleep that largely ensures the normal well-being of a person during the period of wakefulness. No wonder the ancient Greek sages said: sleep is the servant of life. modern science helped to establish the nature of such a beneficial effect of sleep. It turned out that in the process of it, the energy reserves used up during work are restored, the nervous tissue is freed from the decay products accumulated in it,
Lack of sleep is detrimental to health. In studies with people who voluntarily agreed to deprive themselves of sleep for a while, it was recorded that after 5-6 days mental disorders occur in the form of hallucinations, irritability sharply increases. Poor use of glucose by neurons, a decrease in the iron content in the body, and metabolic disorders were noted. Even partial sleep deprivation lowers brain activity; negatively affects attention, memory, quality of thinking, worsens well-being, mental performance.
It has been established that during a night's sleep, an active state of the brain occurs from time to time, as during hard work. At the same time, there are rapid rotations of the eyeballs, body movements—during such periods, a person has dreams. This phase of sleep has been given several names: REM sleep, REM sleep, and rema sleep.
Another phase of sleep is called slow-wave or orthodox sleep. During slow sleep, the frequency of breathing and heart rate decreases, body temperature decreases, the release of a number of hormones decreases, and the activity of the gastrointestinal tract decreases. There are no dreams in non-REM sleep.
The study by physiologists of the features of paradoxical sleep showed that in this phase the body undergoes profound changes. The rhythms of breathing and heart work become more frequent, arterial pressure rises, cerebral circulation and hormonal activity increase. At the same time, a deep relaxation of the muscles of the neck, face, and a decrease in the tone of most muscles are recorded.
It also turned out that during paradoxical sleep there is an active neutralization of toxic substances in the body, intensive cell growth, and an increase in the level of biosynthesis to neurons. There is an opinion according to which it is in this phase of sleep that the brain is freed from the excessive information accumulated during the day.
Depriving a person of this phase of sleep dramatically reduces his mental performance, leads to significant mental changes, deterioration of well-being, and the occurrence of hallucinations. In some cases, excessive excitability is observed. That's why important function paradoxical "sleep is considered the psychological mobilization of the personality, the elimination of anxiety of neurotic origin. Therefore, for people with increased anxiety (and this condition is especially characteristic of students), fast sleep is especially necessary.
Night sleep consists of 4-5 cycles lasting 90-100 minutes. In each of them, the phase of drowsiness, or superficial sleep, and the phase of average sleep are distinguished, when any noise can wake us up. This is followed by phases of non-REM and REM sleep. For a full-fledged night's sleep, 7-8 hours is enough. However, not all students follow this rule. Thus, a study of the daily regimen of first-fourth-year students of the Belarusian University showed that 51% of them sleep 5-6 hours a day. Moreover, in the first year, the number of such students is 59.6%. According to the materials of studies conducted in various universities of our country, sleep deprivation was established in 60% of first-year students and 33% of senior students.
Of particular importance is a full-fledged sleep during the session, when students have to master a lot of information. That's when the student should sleep for at least 8 hours! If sleep is limited to 5-6 hours, then this will reduce the ability to assimilate the material and ultimately weaken the body.
Too much sleep is also harmful. Excessive sleep is not considered beneficial in biological terms either, since blood circulation and the work of the digestive organs are disturbed. Each student must remember that intense mental work should be stopped 1.5-2 hours before a night's sleep. Otherwise, the process of falling asleep is difficult, and the dream itself becomes less strong. The last meal should be no later than 1.5-2 hours before bedtime. It is recommended to go to bed at 23-24 hours, get up - at 7-8 hours.
It is supposed to sleep in a comfortable, but not too soft bed, lying on the right side with legs slightly bent. In this position, the muscles relax best, the body rests.
Before going to bed, it is necessary to ventilate the room, create silence and turn off the sources of bright light. Unfortunately, after 24 hours in the hostel, “life” is just beginning: walking around the rooms, loud conversations, drinking tea. Daily lack of sleep causes a deterioration in mental performance, weakens the body's defenses.
A short daytime passive rest is very useful. The horizontal position of the body improves cerebral circulation, allows the muscles to relax. Daytime sleep, even short-term, perfectly restores performance. Even the ancient sages said that daytime sleep is useful, its duration should be 60 breaths, i.e. approximately 4-5 minutes.
In general, insomnia is not typical for students, but occurs only with great mental stress, that is, most often during the examination session, as well as in diseases such as neurosis. You can get rid of this phenomenon thanks to the correct organization of the daily regimen, regular physical exercises, as well as autogenic training.
Night sleep also depends on individual typological characteristics. "Larks" to restore their performance should go to bed early. "Owls", on the contrary, fall asleep late, but in the morning they like to sleep longer. In a student hostel, which is inhabited by different types of people, we must try to create conditions for each other for a good night's rest.
Movement is the key to health
The constant growth of complex mechanization and automation of production, the expansion of the sphere of personal services, the development of the transport system cause a constant decrease in muscle tension in human life. Low motor activity, or hypokinesia, according to doctors, contributes to an increase in the incidence of the population.
The well-known physiologist N. A. Bernshtein wrote that the determining link in the evolution of all life on earth was the motor function. Even earlier, I. M. Sechenov concluded that any form of human activity, including mental activity, is reduced to one phenomenon - the movement of muscles. In the course of a long evolution, all human organs developed in such a way as to best correspond to the function of movement. The extraction of food, defense against enemies, the first, primitive forms of labor in a distant historical era were directly related to the intense activity of the muscles.
In modern society, especially in urban life, a person is practically spared from physical exertion. As a result, the muscular system of the body does not function at full strength. This has a detrimental effect on other systems as well. The study of the effects of hypokinesia on humans began relatively recently. Such an experiment turned out to be interesting. Several young men agreed to be under strict bed rest for long periods of time with good nutrition. Already on the 8th-12th day, the muscle strength of the subjects decreased by 30-43%, congestion in the venous vessels, disturbance of biorhythms and water-electrolyte balance, instability of the tone of the cerebral vessels (poorly regulated constriction and expansion of them) were found.
Professor B. M. Fedorov studied the impact on a person of a long stay in bed rest. At the same time, in many cases, dystrophy (malnutrition) of the heart muscle, cardiac arrhythmia, circulatory disorders and plastic metabolism in cells occurred. Decalcification was also determined, i.e., the removal of calcium from the bones into the blood. This enhances sclerotic phenomena in the vessels.
The described negative changes are evidence of a violation of the biological balance in the body at all levels of its functioning. The lack of impulses from the receptors of the musculoskeletal system (muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints) leads to a deterioration in the work, primarily of the central nervous system. As a result, the tone of the cerebral cortex decreases, and there is a danger of disruption of the nervous and hormonal regulation of all functions.
It has been experimentally proven that skeletal muscles involuntarily contract during intense mental work. This, as it were, "recharges" the subcortical nerve structures of the brain with energy. They, in turn, activate the cerebral cortex, which carry out mental activity. Therefore, the muscles can rightfully be called the batteries of the brain.
Indeed, in moments of intense thinking, the muscles of the face are involuntarily tense, and this helps to concentrate attention and memory.
At the same time, with a strong and prolonged tension of large muscle groups, the brain begins to function worse due to an excessive influx of impulses from muscle receptors to it. Therefore, in the process of mental work, the muscles need to be relaxed from time to time, which will activate the activity of the brain. From here it becomes clear to us the role of physical exercises in increasing mental performance.
The Soviet physiologist I. A. Arshavsky formulated the theory of the “energy rule of skeletal muscles”. From his point of view, the functional state of the body in each age period is determined by the characteristics of the work of skeletal muscles. The scientist expresses the idea that without the work of the muscles, energy potentials would not accumulate and protoplasm, the living substance of the cell, would not be formed. As a result, the very process of development of the organism would become impossible. Hence the conclusion follows: optimal muscle load is an important factor in promoting health and increasing life expectancy.
Hypokinesia can be divided into physiological (night and daytime sleep), habitual (excessive passion for TV, reading, etc.) and forced. Forced include professional hypokinesia, that is, associated with the nature of work, hypokinesia in schoolchildren and students, as well as associated with the disease. Any kind of hypokinesia, except physiological, is harmful to health. At present, this is a kind of conflict between the biological nature of man and the social conditions of life.
With everyday and forced hypokinesia, there is a weakening of the activity of the nervous system, a decrease in the bioelectric activity of the brain, a slowdown in its main rhythm - the alpha rhythm, and this leads to a deterioration in physical and mental performance.
Hypokinesia is manifested in the premature development of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases. They arise due to a deterioration in blood circulation in the heart muscle, an increase in peripheral blood resistance, which makes it difficult for the heart to work.
Hypokinesia also reduces the immunological resistance of the body, weakens the compensatory capabilities of cells. According to scientists, this is one of the factors leading to impaired coordination of physiological functions.
The constant low motor activity of a person is accompanied by increased protein breakdown. Muscles become flabby, the accumulation of fat in the tissues of the body increases. The function of the respiratory system also worsens: breathing becomes more frequent and superficial. All this contributes to the development bronchial asthma, emphysema. Hypokinesia disrupts the activity of the digestive system; intestinal motility worsens, harmful types of microorganisms are activated in it.
The listed negative effects of hypokinesia on the human body convincingly indicate the need for constant muscular activity. Regular exercise makes it possible to minimize these harmful effects.
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Introduction
2. Fundamentals of occupational health
Conclusion
Introduction
The relevance of the work Scientific and technological progress and the acceleration of the pace of life inevitably leads to the need to master a large amount of scientific and other knowledge and skills. In this regard, the number of people engaged in mental activity in all spheres of production is increasing annually throughout the world. This trend will continue in the coming years. Therefore, the issues of mental health are becoming more and more relevant.
The history of domestic and world science and culture gives many examples of how properly organized creative work has allowed elderly people to make great discoveries and create masterpieces of art. At the same time, it is known that with wrong organization mental work, neglect of rest, mental activity becomes difficult, labor productivity and creative activity decrease, conditions are created for the occurrence of health disorders.
Mental labor has a number of features. Most often, it is associated with long-term work indoors and a sedentary lifestyle. Strengthened work of the brain requires a large blood flow to it, which in turn is associated with an increase in the tone of the brain vessels. This physiological increase in vascular tone with improper organization of labor can turn into a pathological one, which can lead to a persistent increase in blood pressure. Sitting work, often in a half-bent position, leads to prolonged compression of the chest, which impairs the ventilation capacity of the lungs and leads to the development of chronic oxygen deficiency. Prolonged work while sitting also creates conditions for stagnation of blood in the organs of the abdominal cavity and pelvis, decreases the motor activity of the intestine, which can lead to a violation of their function.
Like any intensive work, mental work is inevitably associated with fatigue, which leads to the fact that a person has to spend more energy on the usual amount of work. Despite this, he makes mistakes, and, finally, fatigue leads to the inability to continue working. With the inability to properly organize mental work, a state of chronic fatigue sets in, which can result in exhaustion of the nervous system or the development of a vascular disease.
The purpose of the work is to consider the hygiene of mental labor.
Work tasks:
1. Describe the concept of mental labor;
2. Learn the basics of occupational health;
3. Consider modern requirements for the hygiene of mental work of a student.
1. Characteristics of mental labor
Mental labor (intellectual labor) includes activities associated with the reception and processing of information, requiring the intense functioning of the processes of attention, memory, thinking, and the emotional sphere. Scientific and technological progress every year increases the number of people who perform mainly mental work. Many professions with a traditional predominance of physical labor currently have a strong tendency towards an increase in the share of the mental component. Most modern professions are characterized by an accelerated pace, a sharp increase in the amount of information, a lack of time for making decisions, an increase in the social significance of these decisions and personal responsibility. These factors often lead to nervous overload, and as a result, to the occurrence of cardiovascular and nervous diseases. The main types of mental labor in modern production can be divided into the following groups:
1. Operator work;
2. Managerial work;
3. Creative work;
4. Work of pupils and students;
5. The work of medical workers.
Features of intellectual labor:
A scientific analysis of the prevalence of neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular diseases among mental workers shows that intense mental activity in itself, not complicated by negative emotional factors, does not adversely affect the human body. With a relatively calm, regulated (as a rule, without a shortage of time), intellectual work of designers, cardiovascular morbidity is low (in particular, 2 times lower than that of telephone operators, whose work is associated with a shortage of time, a high emotional background). Most emotionally charged under conditions modern production is labor executives in which hypertension and coronary heart disease diseases reach 40-50% and occur at a relatively younger age.
Among the risk factors for cardiovascular pathology in mental workers, in addition to increased neuro-emotional tension, experts distinguish hypokinesia, monotony, high pace, three-shift work, excess weight, smoking, hereditary predisposition. Among the listed occupational factors lead to diseases of the heart and blood vessels 5 times more often than all other risk factors combined.
Special studies show that negative emotional factors cause pathology in mental workers much more often than in manual workers. Forced to suppress the desire to "discharge" people expose themselves to the risk of disease. Some cling to the deceptive appearance of relief that alcohol or drug use creates. And the way out is simple: regular physical activity (at least in the form of long fast walking walks).
Let us consider in more detail the mechanisms of mental activity (features of intellectual labor).
During mental work, the brain is not only a regulatory, but also a working organ, so the influence of intellectual loads affects primarily the functional state of the central nervous system. The main condition for a stable labor process in mental work is the development and maintenance of a stable dominant that devalues a high level of performance.
The doctrine of the dominant finds confirmation in our days. The dominant phenomenon is explained by the formation of a center of increased excitability in the central nervous system: irritation of various receptive fields begins to cause a reflex response characteristic of the activity of this particular dominant area. The dominant is a temporary association (constellation or constellation) of the nerve centers and other structures of the body to achieve the goal that is extremely necessary for the body. If the specified goal is achieved and the task is solved, the dominant ceases to exist, the association breaks up.
It should be noted that mental activity is not realized by the whole brain as a whole, the different parts of which function very differently. Different in content types of mental activity correspond to certain morphophysiological substrates, which are complex functional systems and include numerous cortical and subcortical structures. A variety of mental processes are accompanied by the activation of the corresponding functional system. At the same time, both specific (in particular, sensory) and non-specific (reticular formation) brain structures are activated. During mental activity, local activation develops in many areas of the brain. If generalized, general, changes in brain activity accompany any kind of mental activity, then local activation processes develop in the corresponding areas of the cortex and subcortical formations with all the variety of activities: perception, memorization, thinking, movements.
Any mental work causes neuro-emotional stress. Each type of activity requires its own optimum of emotional stress, in which the reactions of the body are the most perfect and effective. Under the influence of the social environment, the apparatus of emotions in a person has reached a high degree of development, is extremely complex and reacts not so much to physiological stimuli as to complex and subtle socio-psychological motives, largely due to professional activity. Especially often, emotional stress occurs in a person in the process of evaluative activity (choosing alternatives) and organizing new activities in accordance with the dominant need. Emotional activation is essential in solving complex mental problems. Emotions always act as the organizer of purposeful mental activity, although the presence of activation does not guarantee the achievement of the correct result, and excessive overstrain can cause a breakdown.
The intensity of mental activity is a characteristic of labor, reflecting the physiological cost of the load during mental work. The main cause of increased tension and the resulting violations of adequate regulation of functions are overloads of sensitive (afferent), central and executive (effector) links of functional systems that carry out labor activity. This occurs, in particular, when a person distinguishes between signals that are close in parameters, attempts to isolate a useful signal from noise, performing extremely accurate and clear movements, and the need to make a decision with an alternative choice in conditions of time pressure.
Some semantic characteristics of labor activity also lead to a certain tension: the significance of work, its danger, responsibility.
Success in modern work activity largely depends on the personal characteristics of a knowledge worker. Business qualities (the ability to navigate in a difficult situation, efficiency, literacy, etc.) can be determined and predicted using multifactorial personality questionnaires, in particular, a 16-factor personality questionnaire (R. Cattell), a standardized personality research method (SMIL), some others. For information, along with psychological questionnaires, there are currently a very large number of survey companies on the Internet offering paid questionnaires to everyone. That is, survey companies pay money to complete their questionnaires. At the same time, survey topics can be completely different, including, for example, “On medical prevention occupational diseases", as well as many others.
When analyzing the personalities of the leaders of advanced enterprises using psychological questionnaires, it was found that the most pronounced qualities they had were perseverance in achieving goals, responsibility, discipline, and even conformity. For a group of experienced craftsmen and foremen in production workshops, the most characteristic features were self-confidence, conscientiousness, responsibility, balance. At the same time, the correlation analysis between the factors of the questionnaire and the level of blood pressure in the surveyed persons of managerial intellectual work showed that increased sensitivity and suspicion contribute to the development of hypertension and coronary heart disease.
2. Fundamentals of occupational health
Mental work makes high demands on the body and therefore mental health hygiene includes a number of special recommendations. Successful mental activity is possible only under conditions of subordinating mental work to a strict routine, in which a certain time is allocated for work and rest. Nothing tires the nervous system like the absence of a strict regimen. Those who do not start work at the same time, or postpone the most difficult until better times, get tired faster and work less productively. Forced labor, performed without interest, is boring. However, there are no uninteresting jobs. They turn out to be uninteresting until the purpose of the task that a person performs is found and realized. Enthusiasm for work is one of the main factors of high labor productivity.
The result of any work, and especially mental work, depends on the mood, on the psychological climate of the family and institution. In an environment of envy and hostility, the productivity of mental labor will, of course, be low, and the degree of fatigue will not correspond to the time of work.
Thus, the creation of a “favorable psychological environment, conditions in which each member of the team is full of goodwill and embraced by the working mood is one of the most important requirements of mental hygiene, including mental hygiene.
At the same time, one should take care of the favorable conditions of the environment in which labor process. A smoky room, knocking, noise, roar have an adverse effect on the human body, lead to premature fatigue, give rise to mistakes and blunders. work. Alcoholic beverages and all kinds of stimulants (immoderate use of strong tea and coffee) have an equally detrimental effect on mental work. They give a positive effect for a very short time, but the consequences are very bad - fatigue, insomnia, irritability, instability of attention "
Necessary condition successful creative work is a constant mental and spiritual development, replenishment of knowledge. A person who chooses intellectual activity as his specialty must be ready for lifelong learning; this is the key to creative products that meet the requirements of the time. At the same time, it must be remembered that the one-sided development of the psyche, the narrow, stereotyped skill of thinking is effective only in solving problems. specific tasks, more often technical, with certain initial data. Finding original solutions, the ability to create concepts, hypotheses is noted only in people with a broad outlook, with a developed creative imagination.
All types of activity carried out by a person are subject to uniform physiological laws; therefore, in order to understand the features of mental labor, an analogy should be drawn with the known features of physical labor. An increase in the productivity of mental labor is achieved by training, a gradual increase in the load, maintaining its high level. Long periods of inactivity have a negative impact on productivity. Both the athlete who has stopped training and the student after the holidays experience great difficulties with the start of classes. Therefore, rest in the process of mental labor is reasonable only in the form of changing the form of mental labor or reducing the load. To increase efficiency, in addition to a strict schedule, it is advisable to alternate mental work with physical work. Physical exercise in the fresh air, a walk not only relieves the tension that occurs when maintaining a monotonous posture for a long time, but also increase the overall tone of the body. Sometimes even walking around the room while thinking about a task turns out to be effective. Often strong skills, mental work compensate for the lack of abilities.
Mental labor is divided into many types, each of which makes different demands on the person engaged in this work. There is mental work that makes exceptional demands on the function of attention (the work of a dispatcher), memory, etc. For its successful implementation, friendly training of other intellectual functions is desirable. The harmonization of mental activity is as effective as the harmonization of mental and physical activity. Every person engaged in mental work needs differentiated recommendations. In this case, it is necessary to keep in mind its individual characteristics. People who wake up early and cheerfully should go to bed early, and do responsible mental work early in the morning - and in the first half of the day. Another type of people is most productive in the afternoon, late in the evening. In accordance with these features, you should, if possible, plan your work. For the most active people, it is reasonable to solve difficult tasks at the beginning of work, since the onset of fatigue gradually reduces performance. For slow people who gradually enter into work, it is advisable to start mental work with the simplest tasks. When faced with a problem that is difficult to solve, such people can sit for hours until the end and after the long-awaited decision they feel empty, unable to continue working. In such situations, it is better to postpone the difficult task and do the rest of the work. Often, when returning to an unsolved problem after a certain period of time, it can be solved unexpectedly quickly. This observation suggests that some part of the mental work is done subconsciously. So, many mathematicians found solutions in a dream, in the form of a dream, or at the moment of awakening. Of course, people who are easily excitable, with good switchability, are not recommended to postpone solving problems, for them this is only self-deception. However, subconscious work should not be particularly relied upon. The acquisition of new knowledge requires a clear mind.
It is difficult and hardly possible to give comprehensive, differentiated guidelines for mental health without taking into account many factors. In such cases, it is necessary to seek help from a doctor - a psychohygienist, a psychotherapist or a psychologist.
3. Modern requirements for mental hygiene of a student
The work of a student is, first of all, intellectual work. Is mental work dangerous for human health? If you do it, observing the rules of mental hygiene (UT), then it even helps to maintain a high level, load other body systems. best example To this is the life of many great scientists who lived in full health to a ripe old age and at the same time retained the ability to intense mental work until the last days. At present, with high mechanization, automation and computerization of almost all types of human activity, UT occupies a significant place among other types of labor, and this to some extent affects the number of cardiovascular diseases. They have ceased to be the lot of the elderly, cases of the disease at the age of 17-35 are not uncommon. However, the dangers that lie in wait for a person engaged in mental work are not related to the specifics of the work itself, but to the conditions in which it usually takes place: a sitting posture, staying in enclosed spaces and imperceptibly creeping overwork. Therefore, all UT hygiene rules are aimed at preventing classes in adverse conditions.
There are patterns on which labor productivity depends. These patterns were described at the beginning of the century by the famous physiologist N.E. Vvedensky. He installed the following:
1. The amount of product produced in a certain period of time depends on the state of your body. If you work in a certain rhythm and rest at certain intervals, then the longer you work, the greater is the productivity of your work: the body gradually acquires "inertia of work", in short breaks it does not lose this "inertia", restores strength, and from Cycle to cycle, all the functions and systems of the body are activated. You need to know that not only the brain, but the whole body is involved in the UT process, and in order for it to start working, it takes time, that is, after each rest break, it takes some time to “work in”. The longer the break, the longer this time. Therefore, the break between work cycles should not exceed 10 minutes. After 4-5 cycles, a break of 30-60 minutes is advisable, and after 10 hours of practicing one type of labor - stopping these classes. Cycle duration from 45 to 90 minutes;
2. If a person, due to lack of time, decides to refuse breaks, his labor productivity drops, “oppression” appears. How longer man it works in this way, the more harm it does to the body - overwork appears, first acute, and then chronic. A person, however, does not only harm his health: since fatigue from mental work is a dulling of attention, a person harms the whole business. He begins to make mistakes, correcting which then spends much more time than he would spend on rest.
During a longer rest period, such as, for example, in the evening free hours and on Sundays, it is necessary to increase physical activity and always in the fresh air. Otherwise, from month to month, the performance of UT will decrease and by the session it will be very low.
Another thing is also dangerous: complete idleness during the semester will not give you the opportunity to acquire the necessary pace in your work, to properly train your attention. The inevitable result of such idleness is failure to complete the required amount of work in the session, failure in exams (preparation for the exam is given in 3-4 days, during which it is practically impossible to learn the subject studied throughout the semester, lasting about 4 months) and , most importantly, the acquisition of a life style that is unacceptable in further work:
? inability to distribute work in time;
? force yourself to do what is important;
? to distinguish the main from the secondary;
? laxity;
? dissatisfaction and negative emotions, etc.
Therefore, the first rule of mental hygiene is the rhythm of work. A special behavior is required from the worker:
the first phase is the start of work. You need to work at a moderate pace, do not push yourself, go into work gradually. In order to work quickly, you need to think through to the smallest detail what you are going to do, determine the sequence of operations, prepare the workplace so that everything you need is at hand and then you don’t have to break away and slow down the pace of work. Always start work with cases of average difficulty for you. So, actions in the first phase are a kind of algorithm of human behavior.
the second phase - the most complex cases or operations that require the greatest concentration of attention are solved. Here you should work at the maximum pace and not be distracted by anything.
the third phase is where the easiest things are done. But at the same time, try to maintain a high level of attention with an effort of will. Remember that in this phase the level of attention is already quite reduced.
The misconception that fatigue is harmful to the body. Fatigue is inevitable. It is not fatigue that is dangerous, but neglect of one's body - the continuation of work, despite severe overwork. The main question is to notice fatigue. After 1-1.5 hours, the degree of fatigue is such that it is advisable to take a break. But it is still useful to know some signs of unacceptable overwork:
? You re-read the same thing over and over again;
? eyes “read”, but the brain does not react to what is read;
? there is a painful reaction to sounds that you did not notice before;
? the handwriting has become more sweeping, uneven, the letters “dance”, it is difficult to observe the angle of their inclination and the line of the line.
All of which means it's time to take a break.
Labor productivity in the next cycle largely depends on how productive the rest was. Rest is not idleness, it is a change of activity. For a knowledge worker, this is physical activity in the fresh air, even with a short break:
? go to the window, do breathing exercises;
? do exercises for the fingers of the right hand;
? rotational movements of the head;
? be like.
The second rule of mental hygiene is to have enough oxygen in the room where you work. This requires regular airing for 10 minutes every 90 minutes of classes, as is customary at the university. During breaks, you should leave the audience and arrange a draft. During classes in classrooms, on the contrary, open windows in the corridors.
The third rule of mental hygiene is that due to prolonged sitting, the body gets tired. In motion or standing, thought processes proceed at a greater speed. From this, draw the conclusion: whenever possible, it is better to study while standing or walking, and the book to stand in front of your eyes.
The fourth rule of mental hygiene is lighting. A lamp with a power of 40-60 watts should be located at a distance of 30 cm from the manuscript on the left. The lampshade must necessarily protect the eyes from the direct light of the light bulb. It is recommended to have a matte table surface, without glare, preferably green.
The fifth rule of mental hygiene is the regularity of nutrition. Eat should be at the same time, preferably with breaks no more than 4 hours. Dinner is light (dairy products, vegetables) no later than 2 hours before bedtime. At the university, after the first class, lasting 90 minutes (8.00 - 9.20), a break of 25 minutes (9.20 - 9.45) was taken, the main purpose of which is to feed students. To do this, in each educational building there are buffets.
The sixth rule of mental hygiene is the need for proper sleep (7.5 - 8 hours a day).
The seventh rule of mental hygiene is the individual "peak form". Performance changes throughout the day. Many people have peaks around 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm, during which mental activity is most productive. Watch yourself. It is necessary to determine the time of the individual "peak form". Plan independent homework for these hours, and household chores, reading fiction, etc. work at another time. This will save you an hour and a half every day.
Compliance with all these rules will allow you to maintain vigor and health, increase labor productivity and experience the joy that is known only to people who are accustomed to work hard.
Conclusion
A feature of mental labor is that a person, after the time allotted for this labor, cannot get rid of the problems associated with it, which causes neuropsychic overstrain. For the prevention of fatigue, conditions are necessary that help to "pay off" the ongoing mental work and relieve neuropsychic stress. For this purpose, after day job you can go for a walk, play sports, do moderate physical work. All healthy people are quite accessible to such sports as running, cycling, playing volleyball. It has now been firmly established that a sedentary lifestyle leads to the development of many diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases. It is better for knowledge workers to spend their days off in motion, in the air. These days it is recommended to completely switch from mental to other forms of activity. During the holidays, it is recommended to give preference to active recreation, combining it with sports activities and moderate physical labor in the fresh air. Nutrition also plays an important role in the organization of the working regime. Meals should be 3-4 times a day. It is necessary to ensure that the food is varied, rich in proteins, vitamins. In the morning you should have a hearty breakfast. Food in the first half of the day should be more high-calorie than in the second. Dinner should not be plentiful, it should include dairy and vegetable dishes. Don't eat dinner right before bed. Raw vegetables and fruits should be widely used. You should not abuse spicy seasonings for food. It is recommended to limit the amount of sugar somewhat, as specific gravity carbohydrates in the diet already occupies a large place. It is harmful to read while eating.
Often the question arises about the advisability of improving performance during the period of fatigue with the help of special means. It has long been known that coffee and tea containing caffeine are mental stimulants. In moderate doses, they are not harmful. Reception of tea and coffee is recommended to be reduced in the afternoon and not taken at all at night. Strongly acting stimulants are not recommended. Alcoholic beverages should also not be taken. It has long been known that after taking even small doses of alcohol, performance decreases and the number of errors in the work performed increases. In some cases, the intake of vitamins of group B and C is indicated.
The correct alternation of the rhythm of work and rest is the most rational method of organizing mental activity, which helps to preserve the creative forces of a person and his physical capabilities for many years.
The implementation of all these simple recommendations will help increase the productivity of mental work and help to avoid violations in the state of human health associated with fatigue in the process of mental activity.
List of sources and literature
1. Azizova S.M. Technologies of mental work as a factor in the formation of students' aspirations for self-realization in their educational activities: Dis. ... cand. ped. Sciences, Makhachkala. ? 2005.? 153 c. 2. Zaitseva S.S. The culture of mental work as a pedagogical phenomenon // Vestnik URAO. - M., 2007. - No. 1. - S. 42-45.
3. Zaitseva S.S. Essence and content of independent work of students // modern education in the context of the ideas of humanistic pedagogy and psychology: Sat. tr. Vseros. scientific-practical. conf. - Elista: Kalmyts. Moscow branch. state open. ped. un-ta im. M. A. Sholokhova, 2006. - S. 102-106.
4. Zaitseva S.S. Educational activities of students and the culture of their mental work. // Topical issues of education and production: Sat. mater. 7th All-Russian. scientific-practical. conf. - N. Novgorod: VGIPU, 2006. - 115-118.
5. Klimov E.A., Noskova O.G. History of labor psychology in Russia. - M., 2002.
6. Mental fatigue and mental health: [Publ. lecture] / Prof. I. Kiyanitsyn. – http://www.oldbooks.ru/e-store/books/bbgr/index.php? SECTION_ID=225&ELEMENT_ID=145042199
7.
Klimov E.A., Noskova O.G. History of labor psychology in Russia. - M., 2002. - S. 55.
Erisman F.F. Directory "Medics of Russia" - http://ap.sibtechcenter.ru/ap_person.tal?identifier=AErismaFedoF2008122463480700
Erisman F.F. Directory "Medics of Russia" - http://ap.sibtechcenter.ru/ap_person.tal?identifier=AErismaFedoF2008122463480700
Mental fatigue and mental health: [Publ. lecture] / Prof. I. Kiyanitsyn. – http://www.oldbooks.ru/e-store/books/bbgr/index.php? SECTION_ID=225&ELEMENT_ID=145042199
Zaitseva S.S. The essence and content of independent work of students // Modern education in the context of the ideas of humanistic pedagogy and psychology: Sat. tr. Vseros. scientific-practical. conf. - Elista: Kalmyts. Moscow branch. state open. ped. un-ta im. M. A. Sholokhova, 2006. - S. 106.
etc.................
The word "hygiene" is a Greek borrowing that came into Russian through German or French in the first half of the 19th century. The Greek word meant "health".
Hygiene of mental work is a system of measures aimed at maintaining high mental performance for a long time. As N. E. Vvedensky noted, many people work inefficiently, get tired quickly, because they do not know how to organize their work.
There are three types of mental activity. The first includes light mental work: reading fiction, talking with an interesting interlocutor. Such activity can continue for a long time without the appearance of fatigue, since when it is performed, the psychophysiological mechanisms function with a low degree of tension.
The second type of mental activity can be called "operational thinking", as it is typical for the work of operators, dispatchers. For students, this is a repetition of the material covered, the solution of mathematical problems using a well-known algorithm, the translation of a foreign text into Russian. In this case, the psychophysiological mechanisms of the brain work with great tension. Effectively, such an activity can last 1.5 - 2 hours.
The third type is the work that is characterized by the highest intensity. This is the assimilation of new information, the creation of new ideas based on old ones. With this kind of activity, the most active functioning of the physiological mechanisms that carry out the processes of thinking and remembering occurs. Like any intensive work, mental work is inevitably associated with fatigue, which leads to the fact that a person has to spend more energy on the usual amount of work. Despite this, he makes mistakes, and, finally, fatigue leads to the inability to continue working. With the inability to properly organize mental work, a state of chronic fatigue sets in, which can result in exhaustion of the nervous system or the development of a vascular disease.
The first signs of chronic fatigue are rapidly onset fatigue, decreased attention, memory loss, loss of appetite, irritability or apathy, recurrent headaches, sleep disorders, which in some cases are manifested by drowsiness, in others by insomnia. Insomnia is usually more difficult for a person to tolerate. In the morning after a sleepless night, general weakness, a feeling of "brokenness", irritability appear, and working capacity decreases. In addition, the fear of another sleepless night worries.
So when working with a computer, many people note that often after a short time after starting work, a headache, pain in the muscles of the face and neck, aching pain in the spine, pain in the eyes, tearing, impaired clear vision, pain when moving hands
The negative impact of the computer on humans is complex, therefore, the study of the influence of computer technologies should be comprehensive, taking into account the interrelated influence of many factors. Only A complex approach allows you to reliably assess the impact of the computer on the health of the user.
Mental labor involves the use of certain rational forms of work. It is important to combine intense theoretical work with rest, relaxation, switching classes. Some students literally terrorize themselves by constantly poring over their books. They believe that the result of their work is fully determined by the time spent. Meanwhile, psychology helps to build preparation for exams rationally, taking into account the capabilities and resources of the human psyche. If you reviewed your notes and went for a walk, this does not mean that you have switched off from work. On the contrary, your brain continues to work, looking for rational decision Problems. The relationship of mental, emotional and motor activity improves the results of your work.
Intuition plays a huge role in cognition. But the constant hard work of consciousness often reduces the intuitive possibilities of cognition. That is why relaxation, a temporary respite in increased mental mobilization will sometimes give valuable heuristic results. The facts of creativity in a dream are widely known. J. Condorcet, B. Franklin, J. Michelet, E. Condillac, D. Arago testify to them. The French philosopher Voltaire created a whole canto of his "Henriade" in a dream, and the French fabulist J. La Fontaine - the fable "Two Doves". Mathematician E. Menyan found two important theorems in a dream.
The English poet S. Coleridge fell asleep while reading, and when he woke up, he felt that he had 200 or 300 poems, which remained only to be written down; He wrote down 54 verses completely freely and as quickly as the pen could keep up. But someone came in and stayed for about an hour on one business. And Coleridge, to his great chagrin, felt that he had only a vague memory of his vision, and only 8-10 separate verses remained in his memory, and all the rest disappeared forever. The Italian actor E. Rossini used to put paper and a pencil by his bed and sometimes, suddenly waking up, wrote down important thoughts that came to him in a dream. A very important subconscious activity can take place both in reality and in a state intermediate between sleep and wakefulness. What is called inspiration very often comes in a state of more or less complete eclipse of consciousness.
The French writer T. Gautier wrote about Balzac: "He looked like a frenzied, like a somnambulist, sleeping with his eyes open. Immersed in his deep thoughts, he did not hear what he was told." Mr. Hegel calmly finished his "Phenomenology of the Spirit" in Jena, October 4, 1806, not noticing that the battle was raging around him. L. van Beethoven, completely captured by inspiration, once went out on Neustadt street half-dressed. The philosopher Schopenhauer said of himself: "My philosophical postulates appeared on their own, without my intervention, at moments when my will was, as it were, asleep and my mind was not directed in advance certain side... My personality was, as it were, alien to the work ... "
Sometimes the subconscious movement is so clear that it seems to be a suggestion from outside. This is expressed in the verses of the French poet de Musset: "You don't work, you listen, you wait... // As if someone unknown speaks into your ear." Similar examples from Socrates, Pascal, Mozart have become classic.
However, this is not at all about the fact that mental work, inspiration can work miracles by themselves, like a heavenly gift. The culture of mental labor suggests something else. Before you begin to solve any problem, you need to think it over carefully, organize your thinking, and outline a plan. Inspiration is the result of a huge preliminary work, the result of the discipline of the mind and creative possibilities, so the fruitful work of the student has nothing to do with endless cramming or the ultimate strain of mental abilities. But neither is it the sweet product of light slumber, the work of human fantasy or daydreaming.
Students tired of hard work can be recommended auto-training, which is used all over the world as an element of the proper organization of mental work. Here, for example, is one of the options for auto-training:
"Sit straight, put your hands freely (you can on the table). Close your eyes. Tune in for auto-training. Now I will relax the muscles of the face. The forehead wrinkles are smoothed out. Eyebrows, like streams, spread in different directions. The eyelids are closed. closed... Cheeks sunk in. Folds appear in the corners of the lips, the chin is symbolically lowered. All the muscles of the face are relaxed. I see my face at arm's length. It is completely relaxed. The face is mask-like, lifeless... Neck muscles are relaxed, mentally I find clamps in the back and relax...
The right hand is heavy. Filled with lead weight. The left hand becomes heavy, filled with lead weight. Hands heavy, mentally trying to tear them off the table. Hands are heavy. The right leg becomes heavy, filled with heaviness. Both legs are heavy. They are shod in shackles. I'm trying to make a move. Legs do not obey. They are heavy...
The whole body is remarkably heavy. On the shoulders lies a bag with a load. The back is slightly bent. Pose of the coachman. The whole body is relaxed, in this position I can rest for a long time, feeling the relaxation of the muscles.
Now I will warm up my body. All attention is focused on the tips of the fingers, where they are in contact with the surface of the table. Here, in the pads of the fingers, warmth is born, I feel the beating of the pulse. Warmth rises up the phalanges of the fingers. I can feel the pulse in my palms. They are damp, and the heat rises to the elbow joints, to the shoulders. In my mind I see myself by the fire. A hot flame enters every cell of the hands. Warm hands...
Now I turn my attention to the soles of my feet. Here, a pulsation is gradually felt. Heat is born. I mentally step on the hot sand. Feet are hot. It is important to catch this feeling of warmth coming from below. Warmth rises to the ankles. I feel a pulse in my calves. And the heat captures the hips, rises higher and higher. Attention: warmth in the solar plexus, in the lower abdomen. It is a blissful feeling of relaxation and bliss. The heat rises higher and higher, past the chakras to the thousand-petalled lotus in the top of the head. I see myself lying on the hot sand. The sultry hot sun caresses, pampers every cell of the naked body. I feel hot...
Now there is a feeling of weightlessness. I myself am in place, and the body suddenly moves to the left ... to the right ... Back, forward ... I feel like a tumbleweed. The wind picks me up and carries me across the plain. Now I, like a kite, soar up... I rush, attach myself to a white cloud, soar... I see a caravan of camels below, a desert, a jungle, a railway line. And slowly sink into the raft in the middle of the ocean. The damp wind caresses my naked body, it sways me, swayes me...
- (The further text is pronounced with a different intonation.) Each time I master the technique of auto-training more and more deeply. Now it is not difficult for me to cause a feeling of warmth, relaxation and weightlessness. Sleep deep, barely head touches the pillow. Memory noticeably improves, anxieties, fears go away, problems seem to be solved.
- (The intonation changes again.) I am lying near a huge pond. The silent sound of a waterfall is heard. Easy, free...
Now I will get out of this state. In my mind I see a cloud fraught with rain. I pull her up to the window of our room. Attention! Now the window will open. Attention! Cold and damp air rushed into the room. My whiskey is cool... I open my eyes... The session is over..."
- Cm.: Gurevich P. S. Youth psychology. pp. 89–91.
There are three types of mental activity. The first includes light mental work: reading fiction, talking with an interesting interlocutor. Such activity can continue for a long time without the appearance of fatigue, since when it is performed, the psychophysiological mechanisms function with a low degree of tension.
The second type of mental activity can be called "operational thinking", as it is typical for the work of operators, dispatchers. For students, this is a repetition of the material covered, solving mathematical problems using a well-known algorithm, translating a foreign text into Russian. In this case, the psychophysiological mechanisms of the brain work with great stress. Effectively, such an activity can last 1.5-2 hours.
The third type is the work that is characterized by the highest intensity. This is the assimilation of new information, the creation of new ideas based on old ones. With this kind of activity, the most active functioning of the physiological mechanisms that carry out the processes of thinking and remembering occurs.
Knowledge of the above classification should help students to properly organize their educational work. Mental hygienists believe that during operational thinking it is advisable to take breaks after 1.5-2 hours, and with the third type of mental activity - after 40-50 minutes. It should be emphasized that the thought processes in the brain fade slowly. Therefore, 5-10-minute pauses reserved for rest will not impair the effectiveness of the subsequent performance of mental work, but will only help restore the energy of brain neurons.
During such a break, it is useful for the body to give physical activity in the form of a walk or a small set of gymnastic exercises. Scientific studies have proven the effectiveness of such outdoor activities. Muscles, as it were, "recharge" the brain.
The physical factors of the external environment have a considerable influence on the productivity of mental labor. It has been established that the optimum air temperature should be 18--22 °, and relative humidity - 50--70%. A long stay of students in a room with a temperature of 25--27 ° leads to a significant stress on the physiological functions of the body. This negatively affects the quality of work performed, as well as autonomic functions: the activity of the cardiovascular, respiratory and other systems.
Brain cells, as already noted, are distinguished by a particularly intensive energy metabolism.
Therefore, for successful mental work, it is necessary to be in a room with a normal oxygen content.
Sanitary and hygienic research helped to establish that after the first lecture the content of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) in the audience reaches 0.15-0.45%, i.e., it increases by 5-15 times compared to the norm. In addition, in classrooms, reading rooms, especially if they are overcrowded, air oxidization increases by 2 times, the concentration of ammonia, carbon monoxide, or carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and a number of other substances harmful to health increases.
All this speaks of the need to ventilate the audience. Unfortunately, many students neglect this rule.
The presence of noise also significantly affects the quality of mental activity. Usually in classrooms, its value is 40--50 dB. According to occupational health data, noise up to 40 dB does not adversely affect the state of the body, exceeding this indicator reduces the ability to work, and adversely affects human health.
A lot of controversy arises around the question of the use of music in the process of mental labor. The Hungarian scientist Almazi categorically states that listening to even quiet music during mental work is inappropriate. He believes that the influence of music contributes to a more rapid depletion of the nerve centers and increases the consumption of "psychic energy."
According to Soviet scientists, soft melodic music somewhat increases the productivity of mental work. An interesting experiment was conducted at the Kazan University by Yu. A. Tsagarelli. The initial level of the emotional state was assessed. Then the students were subjected to stress - a teacher checking their knowledge of a foreign language with an assessment. The level of emotional arousal increased sharply. After that, the students were offered to listen to classical and jazz music for 2.5-3 minutes.
After listening to classical music, a decrease in the level of emotional arousal was observed in 91% of students. Moreover, it most noticeably acted on those who were previously unfamiliar with it. Under the influence of jazz music, emotional arousal decreased only in 52% of students. It was also noticed that the higher the musicality of a person, the faster the level of the emotional state was restored.
From our point of view, music is best used during periods of rest. In addition, when deciding on the inclusion of music in the process of mental activity, it is advisable to take into account the specifics of the work ahead. Doing complex work requires silence, which helps focus. If mental activity is simpler, such as, for example, solving problems using a known algorithm, translating from a foreign language with a dictionary, rewriting notes, etc., then music can speed it up. It should also be noted that the influence of music on the quality of mental work depends on individual habits.
Hygiene of mental work makes demands on clothing. It is important that it fits freely around the body, the collar of a shirt or sweater should not squeeze the vessels of the neck (a tight collar makes it difficult for the blood supply to the brain).
You also need to control your posture. Often one has to observe how students sit at the table with their backs bent, their heads bowed low. In this position, the lungs and heart function worse, the spine is bent, the carotid arteries are compressed. You should sit with a slightly inclined torso (by 75--80 °) and a raised head, which should form a straight line with your back. Observe for several days the correctness of your posture, and it will become familiar to you.
On the table, it is desirable to have a music stand-stand for the book. Instead of a stand, you can use a stack of books. This will allow you to tilt your torso less and relieve tension in the muscles of the eyeball.
Academician N.S. Vvedensky developed general recommendations that are important for successful mental work.
- 1. Get involved and work gradually; as after a night's sleep, so after a vacation.
- 2. Choose an individual rhythm of work that is convenient for you. The scientist considers a uniform, average pace to be optimal. Irritability and excessive speed of mental labor tires me. In this case, fatigue sets in faster.
- 3. Observe the usual sequence and systematic mental work. The scientist believes that performance is much higher if you adhere to a pre-planned daily routine and change the types of mental work.
- 4. Establish a correct, rational alternation of work and rest. This will help to more quickly restore mental performance, maintaining it at an optimal level.
Let's add to the above a few more tips, the implementation of which will contribute to academic success.
Do not start work without a solid plan and establishment of its approximate scope.
Do not try to cover and memorize the material the first time. Have time to repeat.
Make your own summary of the material being studied, do not use other people's notes,
Widely use bookmarks, colored ink, with which you can highlight important material for assimilation.
Organize a short rest, Actively include physical exercises in the daily routine.