Category Archives: Wellness topic

Change, Mindfulness, Stress Management, Uncategorized, Wellness topic

Renewal

Spring seems like a great time to start back up with my blog posts. This Spring we are all in desperate need of some renewal. So far 2020 has been challenging. We are all experiencing something quite unique for our time. Humanity of course has seen and endured other pandemics but enduring a pandemic in the informational age is filled with easy access to ongoing death tolls and news that makes the calmest of us a little on edge. It is also, however, filled with easy access to all sorts of positive resources. After a week of seeing clients since schools and restaurants were ordered to close I have been able to gather suggestions from clients of things that are helping to keep them renewed and not drained with all the alarming aspects of what they see online. Here are some of the ideas I have heard this past week.

  1. Yoga with Adrien is a continued recommendation from my clients, https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
  2. limiting social media to only an hour a day
  3. Having friends call up and give them the news instead of hearing it on line.
  4. You tube projects
  5. Pinterest projects
  6. Online parties and meetups with friends
  7. Looking up old friends online and catching up.
  8. Starting an Etsy shop
  9. Getting rid of clutter by selling items on Ebay
  10. Online yoga classes and fitness classes that are being offered for free through gyms and places like yoga journal
  11. Online free virtual tours of museums
  12. Replacing 30 minutes of social media time with a podcast
  13. Finding online support groups via NAMI and local hospitals
  14. mindfulness courses and meditation through apps like “Insight Timer” and “Head Space”

This is the current list and I will continue to collect ideas and do a follow up post on this later. As we try to follow guidelines and stay safe, I ask you to take a moment to ground yourself and try to find some positivity for the day. It does appear that this may be a long haul for us and we are going to need some ongoing renewal as we keep moving forward.

Take Care and wishing you peace.

Wellness topic

Blocking blue light for a good night’s sleep

Gamma RAY Blue Light Blocking Computer Gaming & TV Glasses - 0.00x Magnification

My husband came to bed one night with these orange tinted safety glasses as he scrolled thru You Tube. Of course this led to me laughing at him and then to him sharing with me his research. So apparently too much blue light which is what is artificially illuminated from most of our lamps and devices can inhibit melatonin production so your body doesn’t know when it’s bedtime. Yellow to orange tinted blue light-blocking glasses and lens filters help block these blue lights and can help a person fall asleep on time despite late night screen usage. There’s a study out of the University of Houston College of Optometry that showed that wearing them for even an hour before bedtime had a positive effect in their study showing people whom wore the glasses slept 24 minutes longer and had 58% higher melatonin levels during the study than before they started wearing the glasses.

I have since started recommending the glasses to those clients having difficulty sleeping. I have had all positive feedback which is unusual with product recommendations. This past month I have started keeping a supply in the office to sell at a minimal price. Generic safety glasses – $3 and fancier more aesthetically pleasing frames for $15.

Resources: https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2017/july/07242017bluelight.php

brain, Nutrition, Wellness topic

The Gut and Depression

I am fascinated about all the research in the gut biome and our relationship with the microbes that live inside of us.  I am motivated to figure out how to guide clients in improving their mood through their nutrition.  I am not a professional nutritionist but I try very hard to stay up on the latest research.  Subsequently I ran across this article in Psychology Today, October 2017 issue, pg 31-32 on how the microbes in your gut affect your mood.

There were  2 studies mentioned that as I scanned the information grabbed my attention.  The first one was on the transplanting fecal matter from depressed patients into germ-free rats.  The rats then began to develop symptoms of anxiety and anhedonia (not taking interest in the usual things one finds interesting).  The other study involved giving patients prebiotics (material that enhances the grown of beneficial microbes in the gut.)  The researchers discovered one particular type of prebiotics ( galacto-oligosaccharides – GSOs) to decrease cortisol and increase a patient’s attention to positive events.

However what was most intriguing as I looked deeper into the article was the theory of how important fiber is to our gut biome.  Apparently  fibrous material from plants which are more difficult to digest help feed beneficial microbes.  This fermentation that occurs releases energy, gases, and metabolites called “short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).  These SCFAs are one of the ways our gut communicates with our brain, signaling molecules throughout the body to mobilize hormones and activate nerve pathways to everything from body weight to mood states.  Apparently the material present from these prebiotics in the fiber is extremely important for wellness and something our general Western diet lacks.  Per article our ancestors consumed around 100 grams of fiber while  we consume currently around 15 grams of fiber a day.   This is just another added point toward why nutrition is so important to limiting our stress and increasing well-being.