According to Connie Strong and Terrance Ketter, M.D. of Stanford University Medical Center, your emotional broadband expands to elicit creativity and imagination.

How

You know all about warming-up in sports, you have seen it all your life. The Yankee batter starts swinging three-bats to get his reflexes moving; Tiger Jones works out on the putting-range for two hours before the match. Tennis, basketball and hockey, all require warming-up before you get into the Zone, the Flow and experience a Peak Performance.

Do you ever think of warming up before taking an exam, reading a textbook, or taking notes at a lecture?

If you intentionally read some paragraphs aloud, twice as fast as your normal reading speed, you are warming up the neural networks of your brain. It erases feeling tired, panicked, and distressed about your results.

What if you cannot find a place to read aloud without appearing demented? Silently (subvocalize), the page or two as a warm up exercise. In two-minutes, you will be in-the-Zone, and ready to operate at your optimal level.

Science

You got a Sympathetic Nervous System that runs our Fight-or-Flight survival mechanism, also known as Stress and Distress. It is activated by adrenaline (epinephrine), and cortisol, and gets our bodies ready to fight or run.

Our Parasympathetic Nervous System is based on relaxation, and produces the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which is directly related to learning and memory. Which do you need before an exam, interview or presentation?

Seyle

Dr. Hans Seyle wrote 32 books and 1,500 articles on Stress while at the University of Montreal. His research stood for stress destroying the cells of our immune systems, leading to heart disease, cancer and stroke. In his book, The Stress of Life, he said, Stress is not even necessarily bad for you; it is also the juice of life, for any emotion, any activity causes stress.

He makes his case against Distress, which is chronic (continuing), and disease-causing. He suggests that Eustress is a good form of stress, a pleasant or curative stress. According to Seyle, life is largely a process of adaptation to circumstances in which we exist. We can even use stress as a positive adaptation to life. Eustress is the High you get just before you do your best in any experience. Actors on Broadway or Hollywood, students ready for their exam, and your excitement prior to giving your presentation, are forms of Eustress.