Wellness

  • Wellness

    Back to Basics: Hydrate for Better Health

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    Rough estimate, how much water do you drink?  I recently read a study published by the CDC on water intake and was really surprised by the number of respondents who consumed very small (or zero) amounts of water daily.  This doesn’t mean that they didn’t get water from food sources, or small amounts from other beverages, but the actual intake of plain drinking water was very low. The study was published in 2007, so maybe things have changed since then, but I still think a small reminder about proper hydration is important. 

     

    Why drink more water?

    Hydration is necessary to keep your body functioning optimally. Water is the main component in your blood that helps keep it circulating freely throughout the body. It keeps your joints lubricated, aids in detoxification and digestion, cushions your organs, and also helps regulate body temperature (ever gotten the cold sweats when you are dehydrated?).  

     

    We also tend to forget how much water we lose throughout a normal day. We lose water through digestion, urination, sweating, and even breathing. If those stores aren’t replenished, then things can go awry. 

     

    Some benefits of being adequately hydrated include: 

    Weight loss – Water takes the place of other sugar-sweetened or unhealthy beverages, leading to lower overall caloric intake. Water also helps stave off feelings of hunger. 

     

    Great skin – Water helps with the body’s natural detoxification processes.  When detox is sluggish, then you are more prone to breakouts or other skin problems. Water also helps your skin maintain its elasticity, keeping you younger-looking longer. 

     

    Better Cognition – Hydration helps promote improved mental health, which also often translates to better cognition. 

     

    Improved Digestion – One of the major contributors to constipation is dehydration. Having regular bowel movements is crucial to your overall health. Drinking more water can ensure that you stay regular and detox efficiently. 

     

    Here are a few hydration tips to get you chugging that H2O throughout your day.

    • Always start your day with water – Before coffee, tea or anything else in the morning, drink at least 12oz of water.  Your body dehydrates overnight and doing this small thing can help wake your organs up and it sets you up for a well hydrated day ahead.  Bonus: warm that water and put some lemon in it for an added detoxification boost.
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    • Drink water before meals – Drinking during a meal can make digestion less efficient. You are better off hydrating before (or even after) a meal. Bonus: drinking water before a meal may help you feel fuller faster.
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    • Always carry water with you – This is probably the most effective hydration tip. If you always have water on hand, then it’s much easier to get enough.
    • Set an alarm or use an app to remind you to drink more water – Use that smartphone for more than social media. There are several hydration apps, or you can just use your calendar reminders each day to remind you to drink.  Or, you can even opt for a smart water bottle to keep you on track.
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    • Eat Fresh (and I don’t mean Subway) –  the water in fresh fruits and vegetables contributes to your daily hydration requirements

    Your mission this week is to increase your water intake by any means possible. A popular rule of thumb is to aim for half your body weight in ounces each day. All of the tips above will help you get there!

     

    Keep going with your better health basics from previous weeks!

  • Wellness

    Back to basics: Grounding For Better Health

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    This marks week two of the Better Health Basics series.  Last week was all about breathing deliberately, slowly, and through the nose.  Have you noticed any changes?

    This week I want to talk about another simple way to decrease inflammation, reduce stress, improve sleep, and enhance your overall health and well-being. It’s called grounding (or some may call it earthing).  And, it’s as simple as walking outside barefoot.  

    The idea is that reconnecting with the Earth’s vast supply of free electrons helps restore bioelectrical balance (and therefore physical health) in the body.  Our modern lives have us so disconnected from nature, that we tend to forget that it is a vital part of our internal balance. The simple act of standing barefoot on the ground can (at least in some part) restore harmony to our often stressed and inflamed state of being. 

    Research shows that grounding may: reduce inflammation, improve sleep, reduce chronic pain enhance immune function, and lower the chronic stress response.  

    And the best part…It’s totally FREE!

    While the studies suggest some pretty extensive sessions (like 20 mins or more) that might not be possible for you (especially in the winter months) but a little bit of time is better than none. So, just get in a short grounding session each day. Take in the beauty of nature around you and breathe in some fresh air (through your nose, of course!)

  • Wellness

    Getting Back to Basics: Breathing

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    This is the time of year where a lot of us like to set health goals, start something new, or get back to work on something we’ve been neglecting *dusts off dumbbells*.  What often happens is that we try to do too many things at once and inevitably end up dropping all of them because trying to make time for all the healthy things is literally impossible. 

     

    Instead of vowing to lose ten pounds, go vegan, or run a marathon I propose we try something different in 2023: Get back to the basics of healthy living.  

     

    It’s true that results may not be as dramatic or as quick as say a juice cleanse or intense fitness bootcamp, but the foundation you are laying becomes infinitely more important when you master the basics. Focus on simple things you can do every single day to lay a foundation and set yourself up for success should you decide that maybe a marathon is in your future. 

     

    First lesson: Healthy Breathing

     

    I just read an amazing book that is literally all about breathing and just how important doing it the right way is to our overall health. Having a background in yoga, I knew breathwork was a thing, but there was nothing in any of my training that explained why.  This book (cleverly titled Breath) filled in the gaps.  If you want to learn the ins and outs, then I definitely recommend the book, but if you just want to cut to the chase and learn how to breathe the right way, then I’m here to help 😉

     

    There are a lot of healthy breathing techniques and tutorials available on the internet today.  If you are inclined, do some research and experiment.  I am all about keeping things simple and again, sticking with the basics. 

     

    So at a very basic level, the absolute best and healthiest way to breathe is through your nose. 

     

    Always.  

     

    Seems simple enough, right?  You’d be surprised how often this doesn’t happen (especially at night). According to the author of the book, this one thing can help overcome things like allergies, sleep apnea, snoring, high blood pressure, frequent illness and more. 

    It is especially beneficial to help children learn to breathe through their nose.  Our son has had chronic sinus issues and has never slept through the night. We were told that his tonsils and adenoids are too big and the only solution is to remove them.  Turns out, our son is also a chronic mouth breather. Because he doesn’t filter the air through his nose, it irritates and enlarges his tonsils and makes him more prone to infections.  Interesting, right?!

     

    So, we are working on his breathing to see if we can make improvements without having to send him under the knife.  It’s early so I will report back, but so far results are promising. 

     

    Your assignment for the week: Breathe through your nose

     

    • As you go through your day, try to notice if you are breathing through your nose or your mouth. Anytime you catch yourself mouth breathing, shift the breath back through the nose.  
    • When you are experiencing stress, it is very common to begin mouth breathing. Again, shift the breath back through your nose. Notice how it calms you down (this is another benefit of nose breathing!)
    • At night…I know this sounds crazy… tape your mouth closed.  Not like full on duct tape closed, but just one small piece of surgical tape laid vertically across the center of the lips. Here’s what I’ve been using. Since you can’t monitor your breathing at night, this ensures that you breathe through your nose.  It may take some time to build up to a full night with tape. Keep trying. 

     

    Advanced breathing assignment – If you are already a nose breather, good for you!!  Now you can focus on taking longer, slower breaths through the nose. According to the book, the ideal length of breath is 5.5 seconds in, and 5.5 seconds out.  (turns out that breathe app on your watch is on to something!). Do this as often as possible throughout the day. 

     

  • Life, Wellness

    Are you a Highly Sensitive Person?

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    Have you ever come across a book, movie, or story that made you think “OMG, this explains my whole life?!”  I recently read a book called The Highly Sensitive Person and that was exactly my thought the entire time.  I had someone mention this book to me almost a decade ago and it never occurred to me to read it because I didn’t really consider myself a sensitive person.  I don’t really get my feelings hurt easily and don’t take things personally. So, clearly, that didn’t apply to me, right? I was completely wrong. 

     

    What is a highly sensitive person?

    It turns out that being a Highly Sensitive Person doesn’t mean that you cry about everything or get your feelings hurts over nothing.  It is all about your nervous system and how certain stimuli (internal and external) affect you…. Now, this I can relate to.  

     

    If you are a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP for short) then it is super easy for you to get overstimulated, overwhelmed, and burnt out. The reason is that your nervous system is highly sensitive and things that feel normal to others can easily push you over the edge. This can affect all of your senses and make you particularly sensitive to loud noises, chemical smells, and even things you eat and drink. It may also make you more reactive to  things you see and hear about (like the news, perhaps?!) 

     

    So, I bring this up for a couple of reasons…

     

    1) If you are an HSP then chances are the craziness of this year is especially tough for you to handle. You often feel other people’s feelings and are sensitive to “vibes,” and boy are the vibes tense these days!  Anxieties that you never felt before may be creeping up or intensified, or you may find that you are feeling more “blue” than normal.  

     

    2) If you are a highly sensitive person then there’s a good chance you are also a hormonally sensitive person.  Your stress response (and therefore, cortisol levels) are more sensitive than most and can be tripped more easily. You are likely more prone to hormonal imbalances which can make the above-mentioned feelings even trickier to deal with. 

     

    But there is good news…

    Once you become aware of your sensitivity you can take steps to manage it. And…it can also act as your secret superpower. Some beneficial traits of a highly sensitive person are that you notice things that others don’t and can easily tune into social and emotional cues.  You are intuitive and can feel the subtle “hits” when you know something is right or wrong. The secret is to make your sensitivity work for you instead of debilitating you.  Here are some ways you can do that:

     

    Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

    Highly sensitive people need their sleep! When you don’t get enough of it, it can put your nervous system on even higher alert than usual. Better sleep can benefit every person, but it is crucial for HSP’s.  Make it a priority. 

     

    Create a Transition Ritual

    Interestingly, change can be tough for highly sensitive people. This can be a big change, such as a move or other major life event, or it can be a little change such as transitioning from working all day to being at home with the family.  Transition rituals for big and small changes can be extremely helpful. 

    Try this:  After you leave work, or finish working from home for the day, take a moment or two and just close your eyes and breathe. Acknowledge the activity you are finishing and then consciously transition into the new activity, trying to leave the previous activity behind.  I know this is way tougher than it sounds and you might not be able to make the switch so quickly. Do this exercise anyway.  Practice makes progress and it enables you to be truly present when you move to a new activity. 

     

    Pay More Attention to Your Sensitivities. 

    Does caffeine make you super jittery?  Do loud noises send you through the roof?  Does being in a crowd overwhelm you to no end? All of these things impact your nervous system and you may have varying degrees of sensitivity to different things. Start to pay attention to the things that seem to affect you the most.  When you have to do them/eat them/be around them you can expect to feel a little “off” or you can take steps to prepare yourself for them.  

    Let’s say you know you have to go to a large gathering of people (maybe not in 2020, but perhaps down the road) then you might take a little extra “me time” beforehand to be able to go in with a settled nervous system instead of diving in headfirst after an already crazy day.  Or, if you have to go into something already a bit frazzled, know that you are going to feel that way and that you will get through it.  Then afterward do what you need to do to settle down again. Acknowledging your sensitivities can help you better understand them and navigate times when they get triggered. 

     

    This post is just a small snapshot of information about being a highly sensitive person. If you want to learn more about the traits and symptoms of being a highly sensitive person, I highly recommend reading the book The Highly Sensitive Person.  Also, consider taking this highly sensitive person self-test for even greater insight.