Most of us spend a good amount of time inside. We work inside, eat inside, sleep inside, and even often exercise inside. While winter months may be more difficult to spend time outside in nature, bundle up and get some fresh air! Spend time in nature daily. It will do you more good than you know.
Sun: 10 minutes on lower back or belly daily. In winter months this may not be possible so make sure to take some high bioavailalbe D3 and K2. Get my favorite here.
Earthing: Walk barefoot on grass or dirt. If it is too cold outside, you can simulate this indoors in a large planter.
Gardening: Work with soil without gloves.
Hike/Walk: Be in nature many times a week.
Breathwork: Practice outdoors in nature.
Marvel: Take time to stand in awe of the beauty that can be found all around you in nature.
The benefits of exercise is often overlooked. More and more people are dealing with being overwhelmed, too busy, and highly stressed. Exercise may not be your go-to in order to help ease tension and calm you down, but there are 30 reasons you should consider adding a more robust exercise routine into your day and week.
Improves brain health
Improves mood
Strengthens bones
Strengthens muscles
Strengthens joints
Improves posture
Improves sleep patterns
Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease
Improves circulation
Improves lymphatic flow
Supports cellular detoxification
Helps manage proper weight
Reduces risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Oxygenates cells for mitochondrial activity
Reduces stress
Improves fertility
Reduces risk of cancer
Lowers high blood pressure
Improves longevity
Supports eye health
Improves skin health
Builds agility
Improves motivation
Improves creativity
Improves confidence
Increases energy
Decreases anxiety and depression
Reduces the risk of stroke
Increases healthy stem cell activity
Decreases healthcare costs
What should you do? Perform sweat-inducing activities daily.
Walk: Walk briskly for 10-20 minutes per day.
Stairs: Climb 3-5 flights of stairs per day.
Stretching: Stretch often. Make it a habit.
Lymphatic: Stimulate your lymphatic system by doing brief exercises every hour.
Cardio: Perform 30-60 minutes of sweat-inducing activity 2-3 times per week.
Weight Bearing: Use weights 2-3 times a week to strengthen bones.
Sleep deprivation (getting less than 7 hours per session) is a major contributor to your body’s inability to adapt to stress. The more sleep you get, the better you body is able to combat stress. When you are chronically sleep deprived, you are operating as if you had two glasses of wine (source).
Two key elements to proper sleep is to get 7-9 hours of solid sleep per night, and during the day take breaks often and remember to rest.
Sleep training: If you have not been able to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night, go to bed one hour earlier than normal for one week at a time until you are getting proper sleep. For example, if you tend to only get six hours per night and would like to get eight, go to bed one hour earlier than normal for one week and then on week two go to bed two hours earlier.
Ways to improve the quality and duration of your sleep:
Consistency: Keep on a consistent schedule.
Disturbances: Wear earplugs if necessary.
Media: Limit media 1-2 hours before bed. Remove cell phone and router from bedroom.
Light: Remove all blue lights from room.
Sunlight: Open the shades at night. Wake up less groggy by looking at daylight.
Food: Do not eat a large meal just before bed. A small snack is alright as long as it is under 6 grams of total sugar.
Water: Drink a full glass of water when you wake up in the morning to oxygenate cells.
Women: Women need 15-60 minutes more sleep than men due to multitasking.
What we eat says a lot about us, emotionally and culturally. Emotional and cultural eating may derail your ability to make wise nutrition choices. Change your identity surrounding food and claim a new identity as someone who makes excellent nutrition choices!
There are two main objectives to eating a more healthful diet: eat lots of colorful veggies and limit processed foods. Blow are five tips to help you master the nutrition foundation of health:
Rainbow: Focus on eating the rainbow – lots of color.
Processed Foods: Limit processed foods. Read all labels. See our “Avoid List”.
Carbohydrates: Limit to around 25-40 grams per day.
Sugar: Remove all straight sugar and added sugar. Limit hybridized fruits (most fruits).
Organic: Eat organic when possible.
Supplements: Use only food-sourced supplementation when needed.
Did you know water is one of the most important elements for foundational health?
It oxygenates and detoxes your cells.
Water makes up 60% of your body and 70% of your brain.
It lubricates your joints.
Drinking enough water helps your skin look younger.
It helps your blood be less sticky (water is 90% of your blood)
It helps your brain function faster.
Water helps maintain blood pressure and regulates temperature.
It flushes toxins from your body.
It helps to make vitamins and minerals more bioavialable.
Water helps with weight reduction.
Water helps to protect your spinal cord.
One of the most overlooked reasons to drink more water is dementia. Lack of oxygen to the brain is a key factor in brain deterioration and proper hydration is necessary for the cellular oxygenation of the brain. Sadly most of our elderly are grossly dehydrated due to incontinence issues. The solution is simple: drink less more often!
How many ounce of water do you drink per day? Be honest! Most people think they are getting enough water per day, but even if you drink half your body weight in ounces, you most likely are not properly hydrated.
Common issues:
Did you grow up being told 8 glasses per day is enough?
Maybe you heard half your body weight in ounces?
Perhaps you were told one liter per 50 pounds of body weight?
Are you carrying around one of those 1 gallon jugs and you drink that each day but still don’t feel hydrated?
Have you been told to wake up in the morning and down 16 ounces right away?
All of the above issues may be wrong if you are drinking more than 5 ounces at one sitting.
I was always told, and have always taught to drink half your body weight in ounces every day. Because I am super busy all the time, I usually down 16 ounces at a time every couple of hours. THIS IS COMPLETELY USELESS AND OVER ONE THIRD IS GOING RIGHT DOWN THE DRAIN!
The reality is, your body can only absorb 4-5 ounces of water every 30 minutes. Read that again.
If you seem to be on the toilet all the time it is simply because you are drinking too much at one time.
If you want to try a HYDRATION CHALLENGE, get your phone out and set a water drinking alarm to beep at you every 30 minutes. When it goes off, take THREE BIG GULPS OF WATER. That’s it.
Every 30 minutes, take three big gulps. This will ensure your cells are properly hydrated and that your body is actually utilizing all of your water intake for the day and you will be naturally getting half your body weight in ounces in per day if you use this method. If you don’t believe me, do the math. 4-5 ounces every 30 minutes during your waking hours is more than enough and you can even pull it down to one sip every 30 minutes for the 4 slots before bed. You will thank me for this one!
Drink up! Not too much, not too often, but just right!
