Stoicism is an ancient school of thought founded by Zeno of Citium. Stoic Philosophy teaches that the path to eudaimonia (or happiness) is found through controlling the controllable and accepting the uncontrollable as they happen; living with Areté (or excellence/moral virtue), and by taking responsibility. Try to use these stoic quotes as an anchor on your journey towards mental toughness.
You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Marcus Aurelius
How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?
Epictetus
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man [or woman] perfected without trials.
Seneca
Man [or woman] conquers the world by conquering themselves.
Zeno of Citium
Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.
Marcus Aurelius
Write down these stoic quotes somewhere that you can see and keep reminding yourself of them as you work on developing your mental toughness.
https://rewirefitness.app/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Stoic.jpg7311030Ed Gibbinshttps://rewirefitness.app/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rewire_Fitness_menu_logo_340x79-full-1.pngEd Gibbins2021-02-16 09:08:162022-06-18 04:20:18The Top 5 Stoic Quotes You Need to Know to Build Mental Toughness
Binaural beats are a form of brainwave entrainment that have been shown to have positive effects on stress, anxiety (1,2), focus (3), motivation, confidence and meditation (4). Binaural beats work when two different frequencies are heard, one in each ear. This creates a third tone, the binaural beat, whose frequency is the difference between the two other tones, e.g. if the tone in one ear is 400Hz and the other is 410Hz, the binaural beat is 10Hz. This binaural beat is shown to have a positive impact on the user’s mindset. It is important to note that stereo headphones are required to achieve a binaural beat since when using a speaker or non-stereo headphones the frequencies are already mixed outside the brain and hence no binaural beat is created.
The various tones of binaural beats affect the user differently. The following tones are used in the Rewire Mindset Recovery System:
0.5 – 3.5 Hz – Delta wave for deep sleep
In a 2018 study, participants who received this frequency during sleep entered deep sleep quicker and for longer (5). This allows participants to gain more of the benefits of deep sleep including physical recovery.
4.0 – 6.5 Hz – Theta for meditation/sleep
A 2017 study showed that even listening to a 6Hz binaural beat for just 10 minutes induced the user’s brain into a state similar to that achieved during meditation (4).
7.0 – 12.5 Hz – Alpha for relaxation/dreams
In a 1990 study, alpha wave binaural beats were shown to have a positive influence on the user’s relaxation (6).
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13.0 – 38.5 – Beta for Activity
It has been shown that beta wave binaural beats can positively affect vigilance performance and mood (3), and a recent 2019 study showed that beta wave binaural beats have a positive impact on long term memory (7).
Binaural beats also have a positive effect in counteracting the negative effects of mental fatigue. A recent 2020 study showed that binaural beats reduce the negative effect of mental fatigue (8). This makes binaural beats an important part of mindset recovery and pre-competition preparation in sports to minimise the negative effects that mental fatigue is shown to have on endurance performance (9,10).
We have put together a demo of our mindset recovery system featuring theta wave binaural beats which you can watch and download below.
You can also try our Binaural Beats sessions for Rest, Recovery or Focus on the Rewire Fitness App for Free.
Our Pure Beats (Passive) collection has been designed to be used in passive mode without looking at the screen. It contains Binaural Beats at different frequencies for rest, recovery and focus. (Note that these sessions must be used with headphones to work properly).
Rest sessions: These passive recovery sessions include 2.0 Hz Delta Wave Binaural Beats designed for deep relaxation and recovery. These recovery sessions can be repeated as often as needed whenever you are feeling drained or short on sleep. The session lengths range from 2 Minutes to 120 minutes.
Balancesessions: These passive recovery sessions include 4.0 Hz Theta Wave Binaural Beats designed for achieving a calm meditative state. These recovery sessions can be repeated as often as needed whenever you need help getting into a calm mindset. The session lengths range from 2 Minutes to 120 minutes.
Focussessions: These passive focus sessions includes 13.0 Hz Beta Wave Binaural Beats designed for achieving a focused mental state. These sessions can be repeated as often as needed whenever you need help getting into a focused mindset for competition, training or work. The session lengths range from 2 Minutes to 120 minutes.
Across the globe, people are limited, like never before, with what they can and can’t do. This has, naturally, had a massive impact on everyone’s life and health, meaning that it is more essential than ever to make sure that we tick all the boxes in terms of our health.
Exercise
During this time, it is incredibly important to keep exercising. Since (almost) all sporting competitions and events across the globe have been cancelled, it can become very demotivating to work without a goal. On top of this, with gyms closed and social distancing measures meaning that we cannot train with a partner, more barriers are in the way of our goals. The ability to overcome obstacles is what separates us as athletes.
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
Michael Jordan
At the very minimum, we want to maintain our fitness, however by using this unprecedented time to do more than anyone else, it distinguishes you and you will be ahead of the rest when we are released back into the sporting world again. One crucial thing to note is that it is important to do something even if it is significantly less than before. One study into resistance training showed that even when doing 1/9th of the original training, participants were able to maintain their muscle mass for the duration of a 32 week period, whereas those who did not undergo any training over 32 weeks regressed to their original muscle mass before the training plan began (1). However, now is not the time for complacency or downheartedness – we have a unique opportunity to use this time to progress and focus on our health in a way that we have never before.
It is also important to consider the positive effect that exercise has on our mental health. Exercise has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety and has positive effects on mood, self-esteem and cognitive function (2). This is another of the many reasons why we should continue to exercise regularly.
Sleep
With significantly reduced social commitments it is very easy to let our sleep habits go to pot. Aside from having a negative effect on our physical and mental recovery, poor sleep quality impairs our immune system (3), something we naturally don’t want during a global pandemic. When sleeping, there are a few crucial things to take into account: consistency, appropriate length and quality – all which influence each other. By setting a consistent bedtime and wake up time you can reduce the time it takes to fall asleep as well as improving the quality of your sleep by allowing you to spend appropriate time in each sleep stage. When considering sleep length it is important to remember not only to get enough sleep but also not to get too much, having too little or too much sleep is associated with worse health (4). We cannot ‘store’ sleep and so once we have achieved all the sleep we need, sleep is essentially a waste of time and time that we can utilise for better purposes. When considering appropriate sleep length it can also be helpful to think in terms of 90-minute cycles, rather than hours – a more accurate representation of our sleep. You can use an app such as SleepCycle to track your sleep and wake you up at the lightest point so you feel free and ready to start the day. It is crucial to practice good sleep habits, try to turn off blue light sources as you prepare to sleep so as not to interfere with melatonin secretion, which is inhibited by the presence of blue light. To read more on sleeping efficiently, click here.
Nutrition
Strictly speaking, the immune system cannot be boosted through vitamins. However, vitamins can be used to support normal immune function. Whilst it might not be necessary to supplement vitamins or minerals, it is important to get a sufficient amount in your diet, and if you are unable to achieve suitable levels with your diet, then consider changing your diet or supplementing. Essential vitamins and minerals for supporting immune function are copper, folate, iron, selenium, zinc and vitamins A, B6, B12, C and D (5). You might find it useful to use an app, such as Cronometer, to track your micronutrient intake and highlight deficiencies. One vitamin to highlight in particular is vitamin D, which we get from sunlight. Considering the lockdown measures that many countries have put in this creates a challenge, particularly knowing that in normal circumstances 40% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D (6). If you have a garden, try to use it throughout the day or if your current government regulations allow, try to get outside, whilst abiding by social distancing measures. If you are unable to get outside, then consider supplementing vitamin D. Overall maintaining a healthy diet, rich in the relevant nutrients can help to maintain immune function during this crucial time.
Mindfulness
During this strange period, it is easy for us to become stressed and distressed by the circumstances. To help combat this, set aside some time daily to practice mindfulness and breathing exercises. Mindfulness can help us to reduce stress (7), something that we all will be facing to varying extents with the forced change in lifestyle. At Rewire, we have been developing a Mindset Recovery System. This involves guided box breathing exercises (a Navy SEAL technique) to help reduce stress (8) and binaural beats which help to counteract the negative effects of mental fatigue (9).
We have put together a demo of these to help with your mindfulness during this difficult time, which you can access using the following video.
To read more about the positive effects of mindfulness, click here.
Overall, it is incredibly important to stay healthy and active during these uncertain times. Try to create structure in your life where structure lacks and use this unique time effectively to improve yourself without social pressure.
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References
1. Bickel CS, Cross JM, Bamman MM. Exercise dosing to retain resistance training adaptations in young and older adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2011.
2. Callaghan P. Exercise: A neglected intervention in mental health care? Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2004.
3. Besedovsky L, Lange T, Haack M. The sleep-immune crosstalk in health and disease. Physiol Rev. 2019;
4. Kim CE, Shin S, Lee HW, Lim J, Lee JK, Shin A, et al. Association between sleep duration and metabolic syndrome: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2018;
5. British Dietetic Association. COVID-19 / Coronavirus – Advice for the General Public. 2020.
6. Forrest KYZ, Stuhldreher WL. Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults. Nutr Res. 2011;
The quality of our sleep has huge implications for athletic performance. Sleep is essentially the time when physical and mental recovery occurs. With good cognitive function and physical readiness being required for us to perform at our peak, it is obvious to see how it is important that we have good quality sleep to perform at our best.
Start listening to our circadian rhythms
“We are the supremely arrogant species; we feel we can abandon four billion years of evolution and ignore the fact that we have evolved under a light-dark cycle. What we do as a species, perhaps uniquely, is override the clock. And long-term acting against the clock can lead to serious health problems”
Professor Russell Foster
Our sleep patterns our guided by circadian rhythms, which essentially act as our body clock and determine the appropriate time for hormone release, which in the case of sleep is melatonin. With the invention of the light bulb and screens has come the ability to overcome this natural body clock. The presence of blue light reduces the secretion of melatonin, increasing alertness and keeping us awake. This delays the onset of sleep and reduces the amount of time that we spend asleep. By cutting out screens as you prepare to go to sleep you can ensure that your onset of sleep is faster and thus your time in bed is more efficient.
Think in cycles not hours
“Eight hours sleep is an average amount of sleep people get per night, and it somehow seems to have become a recommended amount – for everyone. The resultant pressure put on getting this is incredibly damaging and counterproductive to getting the right amount of sleep that we individually need”
Nick Littlehales
To maximise the quality of our sleep we should quantify sleep in terms of cycles, not hours. One sleep cycle lasts approximately 90 minutes and hence if we can time our sleep to wake up at the end of a cycle we can wake up at the lightest point of our sleep and feel refreshed and ready to start the day.
We should also not be too concerned about the amount of sleep we get each day but instead over the whole week. In his book “Sleep”, Littlehales suggests that we should be getting 35 cycles per week, averaging 5 cycles a day, which works out as 7 hours 30 minutes. This approach is much more achievable than consistently hitting 8 hours which can be quite pressuring and stressful and a cycle approach is reflective of how we actually sleep. Littlehales says that this approach reduces the stress hormones released from struggling to sleep and allows us to get effective rest and recovery.
Apps like Sleep Cycle ensure that your alarm wakes you up at the lightest point of sleep possible meaning that you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.
Be more consistent
Our body adapts to the time we fall asleep and thus by being more consistent, we can fall asleep quicker and ensure the time that we spent in bed is efficient. Not only is our sleep more efficient when we are consistent, but we also get more slow-wave and REM sleep – the times when physical and mental recovery occurs respectively. This allows us to maximise the benefits of training and perform at our best.
Laura Kline, Rewire Athlete, tells us that by developing a consistent routine she has been able to ensure she gets adequate sleep. “By 8:00 I have my magnesium drink and try to limit my screen time. I aim to be in bed by 9:30 – I find that following a set schedule makes a difference as my body knows it’s time to shut down.” Laura says that by doing this she can typically fall asleep within minutes and on the inevitable days that she can’t follow her routine she notices a difference the next day.
Optimising our sleep is not necessarily about getting more sleep, but about making the time that we spend in bed as efficient as possible. Only by working to improve the way that we sleep can we truly allow for sufficient recovery to develop our athletic performance.
https://rewirefitness.app/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Sleep-1030.jpg6871030Ed Gibbinshttps://rewirefitness.app/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rewire_Fitness_menu_logo_340x79-full-1.pngEd Gibbins2020-02-25 00:22:462022-06-27 14:19:32Simple Ways to Improve your Sleep for Athletic Performance
Mental toughness can be defined as a personal capacity to produce consistently high levels of subjective or objective performance despite everyday challenges and stressors as well as significant adversities. (Gucciardi et al., 2015)
Clearly, mental toughness is a beneficial quality to have, it allows you to push past inevitable setbacks to achieve success. But what are the top attributes of mental toughness?
Key Takeaways
Self-belief in your ability to achieve goals
The ability to bounce back from setbacks
Having a self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents
The ability to remain fully focused on tasks in the face of competition-specific distractions
The Study: In a study by Jones et al., 2002, athletes ranked 12 attributes of mental toughness in order of importance.
1. Self-belief in your ability to achieve goals
Numerous studies, including this one, show that the most important attribute of mental toughness is self-belief in your ability to achieve goals. Self-belief in yourself can be developed through vicarious experiences – by watching others who have embarked on a similar path and have achieved success, you can develop the belief that you can achieve that same success yourself.
What you believe about yourself and tell yourself are crucial to mental toughness, Rewire has integrated self-talk mantras to help develop this and in turn, build your mental toughness.
“This record was in my mind for a long time, I’m so happy to have made it reality today.”
Geoffrey Kamworor – On his Half Marathon World Record (2019)
Self-Talk Mantra on the Rewire App
2. The ability to bounce back from setbacks
In this same study, athletes ranked ‘bouncing back from performance set-backs as a result of increased determination to succeed’ as the second most important attribute of mental toughness.
One of the athletes involved with the study was quoted as saying ‘Nobody’s rise to the top is completely smooth, there are always little hiccups or turns in the road.’
Negative results provide increased determination as no one ever wants to be known as a ‘failure’. This increased determination coming from failure is a key part of mental toughness, it differentiates those who will never give up from those who will.
4. The ability to remain fully focused on tasks in the face of competition-specific distractions
The third most important attribute of mental toughness was a self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents. Rewire is all about developing qualities that set you apart from your competition by providing mental training so that you can develop your mental endurance above that of your competitors, allowing you to have that self-belief that you are better than your opponents.
‘Every quarterback can throw a ball; every running back can run; every receiver is fast; but that mental toughness that you talk about translates into competitiveness.’
Tom Brady
4. Having a self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents
The fourth attribute, and the final one we will discuss, is the ability to remain fully focused on tasks in the face of competition-specific distractions. Numerous distractions can occur in competitions, causing your mind to be taken off the task at hand reducing your performance. Using Rewire helps to develop your mental focus. You are ranked on mental focus after every training workout, with the ability to track it over time.
Laura Kline, Rewire Athlete and Former World Duathlon Champion, tells us: ‘It’s not letting your mind wander and your legs slow down as it [Rewire] keeps you focused the entire time.’
To summarize, mental toughness is universally accepted as a key part of athletic performance, as Eliud Kipchoge says: “If you don’t rule your mind, your mind will rule you”. Mental toughness allows you to achieve high levels of performance even in the face of setbacks. It’s time we started to work on it….
https://rewirefitness.app/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Mental-toughness.jpg6871030Ed Gibbinshttps://rewirefitness.app/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rewire_Fitness_menu_logo_340x79-full-1.pngEd Gibbins2019-09-12 15:46:402023-03-15 13:19:49The Science Behind Mental Toughness, and The Top 4 Attributes You Should Have
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