What’s your list look like?
I believe everyone has different things that fill their cup, and what works for one person won’t work for everyone.
But I encourage you to be open-minded.
If you’ve never tried sticking to a morning routine (or breaks for deep breathing or an evening wind-down), how do you know you won’t love it?
Drop me a ❤️ if you found this helpful! Look below for some ideas for self-care!
#selfcareroutine #selfcaredaily #morningroutine #holisticlifestyle #elementsnatmed
Nutrition for the Vagus Nerve?
It’s true!
Foods can increase vagal tone through the gut-brain axis. For example:
🥦 Fiber sends signals through the vagus nerve to the brain and back to slow gut movements and make us feel full.
🥗 The Mediterranean Diet is associated with higher heart rate variability, which is a measure of vagal tone.
🐟 Probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, and B vitamins improve heart rate variability too.
The vagus nerve regulates everything from heart health to metabolic health to immune function, and it is strongly influenced by what is going on in the gut! That means that anything you do (or eat) to affect gut health will probably also affect vagal tone.
We love to nerd out on how everything in the body is connected. If you are trying to make sense of what is going on with your own health or how your symptoms relate, we can help.
Visit our website to schedule an appointment today! 📱
Young HA, Benton D. Heart-rate variability: a biomarker to study the influence of nutrition on physiological and psychological health?. Behav Pharmacol. 2018;29(2 and 3-Spec Issue):140-151. [link]
Have ONE minute for an energy boost?
Stop the scroll and try ⭐Belly Breathing⭐
Lots of people don’t even realize their breaths are short and shallow. It’s how we breathe when we’re anxious, but for some it becomes a pattern. Shallow breathing decreases oxygen to the brain and can make you feel tired and distracted.
For a quick energy boost, try taking one minute for intentional belly breathing:
1️⃣ Inhale through your nose for a count of 4. Make sure your belly expands rather than your chest.
2️⃣ Exhale through your mouth for a count of 4.
3️⃣ Repeat for one minute.
Taking action to improve your health and feel better does not need to be hard! Even one minute makes a difference.
How to stop negative thoughts ⬇️⬇️
“Change your thoughts, change your life!”
“What you think, you become!”
“Positive vibes only!!”
While all these affirmations are true, and positivity does attract good things into your life…if you’ve ever been in a spiral of negative thinking, you know that breaking the cycle is easier said than done.
Here’s something that might help:
A newly published study showed 🔅mental imagery🔅 to be an effective distraction from negative thoughts.
The study involved 145 teenagers who were triggered into negative thinking and then guided to break that cycle with either verbal or visual mental imagery.
🍋🍋The visual imagery exercise was as simple as imagining what a lemon looked like in different conditions.
While both verbal & visual distraction improved the teenagers’ moods, the visual imagery also lit up the brain in ways that showed it helped to regulate the nervous system.
That’s a big win 🧠
Everyone will have negative thoughts sometimes. But the skills we have to stop them will determine whether it becomes a lifelong pattern or a mere fleeting moment.
✨ 3 Meditation Apps to Try ✨
There is no shortage of science-backed benefits of meditation.
Meditation can help with…
🔅 stress & anxiety
🔅 blood pressure
🔅 pain & inflammation
🔅 self-awareness
🔅 sleep
Lots of people think meditation is hard or overwhelming, but you can start reaping its benefits even if you only commit to 5 minutes a day!
Here are 3 apps to check out that can help:
1️⃣ Headspace
Complete with explainer videos about mindfulness and options for all ages, Headspace is a simple place for anybody to begin.
2️⃣ Calm
Based on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques, Calm offers meditations that last from 3 to 30 minutes.
3️⃣ Ten Percent Happier
To complement the book and podcast by the same name, this app includes teachings, meditations, and challenges.
Have you tried any of these apps? What do you think? ⤵️