What’s your ideal position – for SLEEPING? Pre-back surgery I was a stomach sleeper, and while pregnant, a side-sleeper. Now – definitely a back sleeper. I guess I’ve tried it all. What have I learned? Sleeping on your back is a position that one can adapt to – even if you’ve never been a back sleeper before. So why would someone want to adapt?
Pediatricians recommend that babies sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That may be due to the health issues for stomach sleepers, which include nasal bacterial load, respiratory breathing difficulties, and upper airway secretions.
It turns out that sleeping on your back can be a solution for a host of health issues like this and more. Back sleeping:
As one of the most nutritious drinks in the world, green tea is delicious and reached for globally to calm the spirit, and fill up with phytonutrients, antioxidants, and reputed anti-cancer properties.
We all may drink tea differently (milk-no milk, sweetener-no sweetener, lemon-no lemon, etc), but it’s a great way to enjoy a beverage that has been used to improve health over centuries.
Here are some of the benefits from drinking a cup of green tea/day:
Hydration: important for skin, weight, brain, digestion, and kidney function
Antioxidant-rich: Antioxidants may be protective against chronic illness such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.
Immunity Boosting: EGCG is one of the antioxidants from green tea that seems to improve immune function
Weight Loss: Several studies suggest that green tea supports weight loss and boosts fat burning.
Energy Boosting: Green tea has caffeine, which is a stimulant and energy booster. It may also boost athletic performance and endurance.
Cancer Protection: science shows that regular green tea drinkers may have a reduced risk of cancer – specifically bladder, breast, colorectal, and prostate.
Diabetes Protection: Green tea may help better manage blood sugar and protect against Type 2 Diabetes, while also reducing inflammation and better utilizing insulin. This has shown to reduce insulin resistance in some folks.
Heart Health Booster: science shows that regular green tea drinkers have a lower risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes
Promote brain health: science shows that regular green tea drinkers have a reduced risk of dementia and other cognitive impairments
Prevent kidney stones: science shows that green tea drinkers may have a lower risk of developing kidney stones, especially with men
To make Green tea:
Boil water, and allow it to cool 3 minutes before pouring it in your cup.
Add a green tea bag to your cup. Pour heated/cooled water to your cup and steep 1-3 minutes.
Our nervous system has 3 different modes of operation. The Parasympathetic Nervous System response which is often referred to as the fight or flight mode, the Sympathetic Nervous System response which is often referred to as the rest and digest mode, and the Freeze response.
The freeze response happens when your body experiences overwhelm. It then shuts down to go into an energy conservation state. This is the freeze response. A person can feel like they are in a daze, have brain fog, are challenged to find the energy to get things done, struggling with focu to be productive, and seem emotionally numb. The tendency in this mode is to reach out for caffeine, food, exercise, or anything to motivate oneself out of this mode.
If this model sounds familiar to you, then know that self-care will activate your parasympathetic nervous system and get you back into a rest & digest mode. Things like:
Reading
Meditating
Breathing exercises
Soaking in a hot tub bath
Sleeping
And a slew of other mind-body practices
If you find your bounce back and forth between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and stay chronically stressed, maybe it’s time to reach out and learn more about stress relievers and how best to manage your stress response. Reach out and schedule a talk with me and we’ll do an assessment to see how stressed you are, and brainstorm all the ways you can self-care.
Coffee drinkers may have a reduced risk of heart failure according to the latest research… as long as it’s caffeinated. The American Heart Association published the results showing that the more coffee people drank, the lower their risk for heart failure – with the exception of decaf drinkers.
Prior to this research, people thought that coffee may not be great for the heart because its sometimes associated with palpitations or high blood pressure. So if you drink between 1-3 cups of caffeinated coffee, then you may be benefitting from this. But if you are not a regular coffee drinker, there is not enough evidence to suggest that if you increase your coffee consumption, that you would reduce your heart disease risk as much stopping smoking, losing weight, or exercising. This means the most high-impact action for someone wanting to minimize heart disease is to stop smoking, or lose weight or exercise regularly.
I’ve been Libby-ing (an app that reads you library books) Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s book, Keep Sharp- Build a better Brain at any age. And I’ve been thinking about the nutrition that helps fuel the brain. If we provide all that an organ needs, it serves as optimal fuel for optimal function, right?
So what fuel does our brain need for optimal memory and focus? And how does that translate into ideal foods for us to eat? I have to admit I don’t eat all these things, but understand the value of the basic nutrition in boosting brain function:
The first question about optimal fuel has to do with the brain and its composition. It’s 60% fat – so healthy sources of omega-3 fatty acids (the anti-inflammatory promoting fat) are a great idea! Caffeine shows positive effects on the brain, and antioxidants are helpful in neutralizing damage from free radicals. Vitamin C is key in preventing mental decline so that’s a powerful antioxidant to consume daily – it may even help protect against depression, anxiety, or Alzheimer’s disease. Also vitamins B6 and B12 help with regulating mood and memory.
The second question about which foods is listed here:
Fatty Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but if you don’t eat fist, then look to pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flax seeds, spirulina, edamame, and beans.
Caffeinated Coffee or green tea may sharpen your focus and increase alertness. The combination of the caffeine and antioxidants are astounding. Just ensure that you don’t sugar up that brain boosting beverage. Sugar is not helpful to the brain.
Dark Chocolate also contains both caffeine and antioxidants. Studies show this is also useful with mental tasks and mood boosting.
Berries, especially blueberries are loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
Turmeric or Curcumin (active ingredient in turmeric) has brain boosting aspects specifically with memory, mood, and cell growth.
Oranges are known for good vitamin C nourishment, and there are many more fruits that can provide it too.
Eggs are a good source of vitamins B6 and B12 which can support optimal brain function too.
If you are looking for help with creating an optimal meal plan for brain boosting, contact your local nutritional therapist or give me a quick email and we can talk more about how nutrition can help you be the best you! I look forward to your call!
Our brains have the capacity to continually improve regardless of age or deterioration. The following highlights some of the best strategies to improve your brain health:
Use it so you don’t lose it. Find new brainy activities to stimulate new connections between nerve cells. Learn a new language, do daily crosswords or jigsaw puzzles.
Shake it. Get moving by increasing the number of minutes you move or adding new ways you can move that body. Cardio activity allows the brain to be more efficient and “plastic” which means how it can adapt. While movement is so important, we must ensure that the head is protected – especially during contact sports.
Clean eating. Improving your diet impacts brain function. Studies show that eating more of a Mediterranean diet, focused on fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, and plant-based proteins is most beneficial to the brain.
Relax. High blood pressure is associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline, so chill. Take deep breaths, and pamper yourself with something relaxing. This may also reduce the anxiety and depression tendencies which can lead to poorer cognitive function.
Be sweet enough. Diabetes can be a risk factor for dementia. So with clean eating, reduce the amount of processed sugars because you are already sweet enough…right?
Lower cholesterol. More focus is placed on plant-based proteins which can nourish those muscles yet keep the cholesterol intake very low. This helps since higher LDL cholesterol is associated with dementia.
Baby Aspirin. Check with your doctor, because this item is controversial and dependent upon your bio-individual health. Taking a baby aspirin may reduce the risk of dementia, so get the guidelines from your doc.
Don’t smoke. Avoid tobacco. (sweet, simple, concise, & no confusion on this message!)
Minimize alcohol. Excessive alcohol is a major risk of dementia. Limit yourself to 1-2 drinks/day.
Socialize. Now that people have more information and control over covid19 transmission, take the necessary precautions and LIVE life. That means meeting with other friends and family and networking with others again face to face. It’s time to feel normal again.
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