2020 is shaping up to be a pretty crazy year. The current events have seem many adopting 'social distancing' and keeping at home as much as possible.
Many of my patients, friends and family have noted an increase in stress and anxiety, as individuals but also on a global level.
Whilst we are going through a tricky time, it's important to also think of the benefits in any situation. With a lot of us staying home, we have more time on our hands. This is such a great opportunity for some self-care and to address any health issues you may have! While we are forced into quieter living, it can be a fabulous time to learn how to reconnect with yourself.
If you have hormonal issues or digestive issues, below are my top three tips to get started on improving your health. They're easy and free! Take this opportunity and make the most of it- your health is the most important thing you have.
Start with these 3 to improve hormones and digestion:
Take time to breathe and/or start a meditation practice.
This probably sounds familiar to you- I'm sure you've heard people recommend this before. And while it may seem boring, the thing is that it actually can work wonders! Deep breathing and meditation is wonderful for reducing stress, anxiety and depression and therefore has a positive effect on your hormones and digestion.
Deep breathing/meditation stimulates your vagus nerve which is directly linked to your brain. Activating the vagus nerve switches on the 'Rest and Digest' part of your nervous system (also called the Parasympathetic Nervous System), and helps to down regulate the 'Fight or Flight' part (your Sympathetic Nervous System).
This reduces the level of stress hormones you produce, and focuses the body's attention on rest, repair and digestion.
Ten minutes per day of meditation has been shown to change the neural chemistry of the brain to promote a calmer state and an enhanced ability to deal with stress.
There are some great free apps you can easily download on your phone:
- Insight Timer has hundreds of free meditations of various lengths and styles.
- Smiling Mind and Headspace are great for beginners and offer guided meditations.
Get enough sleep- and good quality too!
Sleep is probably the number one remedy for balancing your hormones, yet, we all take it for granted and often put it last.
During sleep, your body undergoes major detoxification and cleaning- getting rid of all the waste that's built up through the day. Major repair and growth happens during this time.
Studies have shown that people who have a poor night's sleep have elevated cortisol and insulin the next day- long term this will cause havoc for your hormones and increase inflammation in your body.
So get your 8 hours a night, and aim to be in bed by 10pm. Sleep before midnight is actually better quality sleep and is worth more. If you find you're struggling with sleep then I recommend working with a Naturopath (you can get a free online health assessment with me here). There are so many causes for poor sleep- it's a blog post in itself! So seek support if you battle for the zzzs.
Include 'Simple Pleasures' in your life each day.
This is amazing for your mental health and for bringing down stress hormones that block your 'Rest and Digest' ability.
'Simple Pleasures' refer to activities in your life that you do purely for joy. Not out of committment (like cleaning the house), or for improving a skill (like doing a workout). These are simply fun things that make you happy- whatever that may be!
They don't have to take forever or be expensive. If you're a busy mum and you're time poor, just factoring in 15-30 minutes of 'you time' each day (and a little more every so often!) is so important for your wellbeing. Make the time for you by sharing child supervision with your partner or friend/family. Likewise, you can support your partner in having some time for themselves regularly too.
Here are some examples of simple pleasures:
Painting your nails, going for a walk in nature, sitting in the garden with a cup of tea, chatting on the phone to a friend, taking a bath with candles, baking something yummy, painting, drawing or any craft, listening to music, playing an instrument, getting a massage, decorating a room, arranging flowers, dancing, singing... the list is endless- it just depends on what you like.
So, start with those 3 things
They don't seem too impossible, do they? In fact, they seem overly simple and things that we may scoff at. We need to change this attitude because they make a huge difference while being really basic and achievable if we make the space for them. You can take all the supplements and eat the cleanest diet you want, but you need to have a good foudation of self-care.
Looking for more health support? Why not work with me to balance your hormones and improve digestion? Find out more here.