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Air Traffic Controllers (ATC’s) often find themselves in situations where high stress from rapid changes, multi-tasking, tiredness and unfamiliar circumstances seems to strip away their ability to perform safely and proficiently. What can you do if you are in this situation, unable to take a break and there is no one available to take over? Practical neuroscience provides emergency first aid treatments that will help you recover sufficiently to perform until you can leave or help arrives.
Emergency Stress First Aid
These first aid treatments are simple ways to boost brain performance in emergencies, when challenging life problems, working under tight deadlines, preparing for a test or getting ready to do something important. Telltale signs of a brain under stress include making mistakes, shallow breathing, physical tension, difficultly thinking, fear, anxiety and feeling paralyzed. The choice of which first aid treatment to use obviously needs to fit the situation and available time.
Oxygenate: Deep breathing, walking, stretching, exercise and drinking ice water will increase oxygen to your brain. The most important is deep and rhythmic breathing, as most people tend to hold their breath or breathe shallowly when under high stress. Oxygen is essential for the brain to operate properly. Deep breathing should always be the first step.
Kinesthetic Crossovers: Kinesthetic movements, called “crossovers”, involve direct communication between the two hemispheres to help distribute electrical energy, blood flow and oxygen more evenly in the brain. These exercises are suitable when you are on a break.
- Take your right or left thumb and hold it in front of your eyes. Trace an imaginary large “figure 8″ lying on its side and follow the motion of your thumb with your eyes. Do three to five sequences, or more, in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions.
- Toss a ball (e.g. Koosh, tennis, foam) from one hand to another, while seated. Place your hands in front of you, palms up and about 24 inches apart. Toss the ball in an arc about 12 to 18 inches high for a minimum of three to five minutes. Start with your eyes open and graduate to doing the exercise with your eyes closed. Try to toss the ball at about one toss per second, to be in rhythm with your heart beat.
Thymus Thump: Research indicates that making a fist and thumping the mid sternum area acts as a “reset button” to restore whole brain functionality. The protocol is five repetitions of five thumps within about 15 – 20 seconds. While this may seem absurd, try it when you are experiencing stress in a non-critical situation and pay attention to the effect.
Peppermint: Research has demonstrated that peppermint helps “perk up” the brain, increasing focus and concentration. Chewing peppermint gum or smelling peppermint essential oil provides an immediate beneficial effect, similar to that of the old-fashioned smelling salts given to people subject to fainting. Several pilots have told the author that they chew peppermint gum in the cockpit, as well as during learning and examinations.
In conclusion, we can all become stressed out to the point where it becomes nearly impossible to think clearly and act proficiently. The author uses these techniques when feeling sleepy driving a car at night, before public speaking and when experiencing writer’s block. You, too, can benefit from these powerful practical neuroscience first aid treatments even if you are not an Air Traffic Controller.
Related Articles
- Air controllers need fortitude in demanding job (msnbc.msn.com)
- FAA Has Known About Sleepy Air Traffic Controllers (foxnews.com)
- Despite Sudden Action, Feds Have Long Known of Sleepy Air Traffic Controllers – Fox News (news.google.com)
- Practical Neuroscience Helps Air Traffic Controllers Stay Awake and Alert (brainpathways.net)
