Healthy Living for Real People
Posts tagged stress
Secrets To A Healthy Sleep
Jan 26th
In our last post, Ann shared how stress became a major factor affecting her health.
What we saved until today is that insomnia plays an important part, too!
Watch the video to see how it all works together (and how we’re finding answers the problems) — then scroll down to see Ann’s list of tips for a good night’s sleep… including the one thing almost nobody does!
Ann’s Tips For Good Night’s Sleep
- Create your own pre-sleep ritual that goes beyond your normal teeth brushing and other practical activities.
- Design your bedroom primarily to support good sleep. Keep it clean and uncluttered.
- Have complete control of the lighting in your bedroom. Be able to make the room totally dark.
- Avoid turning on the light if you have to go to the bathroom. Any bright light will shut off melatonin production.
- Listen to relaxation CDs with nature sounds such as the ocean or forest.
- Dim the lights in your house around 8:00 pm. Light stimulates the release of cortisol and shuts down the release of melatonin.
- Stop watching TV or using your computer by 8:00 pm.
- Avoid snacking just before bedtime, particularly grains and sugars.
- Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F.
- Wear socks to bed.
- Eat a snack high in plant-based protein several hours before bed (like Hallelujah Acres’ Raw Non-dairy Blueberry Cheesecake).
- Keep electrical devices as far away from the bed as possible; their electromagnetic fields (EMF) can disrupt your nervous system’s electrical currents.
- Avoid foods that you are sensitive to.
- Don’t drink any fluids within two hours of going to bed so you won’t have to get up to go the bathroom.
- Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed if you have trouble falling asleep.
- Writing in a journal may be helpful if you often lay in bed with your mind racing.
- Remove your clock from view.
- Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician.
- If you are menopausal or peri-menopausal, consult a recommended natural medicine physician. Hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
- Make sure you are exercising regularly.
- … and the tip that almost no one does: Don’t change your bedtime (ideally around 10 pm)!
Your turn…
What’s your best tip for a good night’s sleep?
Click to comment!
My #1 Health Enemy
Jan 24th
Ladies, it’s Ann here. We’re going to do another post just for you!
As you will see in a video interview this Thursday, I’ve been struggling through a few health issues in the last year or so.
I mentioned the thyroid issue in our last post and there are some other nagging little matters on top of that; but I’ve discovered an interesting similarity between all of them.
As I sat down to figure out where I was going wrong (I knew it couldn’t be my diet), I wrote down each ailment and listed the contributing factors of each one.
Guess what?
The common denominator was stress!
Sure, there were lots of other reasons why I was not feeling 100%, but stress was a major, contributing factor to every one of my health issues!
And don’t let anyone tell you that stress won’t affect you — I mean you as a woman, specifically.
One recent survey from the UK found that women are twice as likely to consider their stress levels out of control compared to men. Boy, I can sure vouch for that one!
In fact, if left unchecked, stress can lead to a variety of serious problems:
- Mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety
- Obesity
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Abnormal heart beats
I’m now analyzing my life to eliminate as much stress as possible (I’ll share more in the video on Thursday).
Until then, I invite you to sit down and critique your own health and see if you found stress to be a major factor like I did. You may be surprised!
Your turn…
What’s your #1 health enemy?
Click to comment!
FREE Stress Test
Oct 25th
We are not sure exactly how this works, but it is amazingly accurate. It was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary ‘s Hospital.
IMPORTANT: Read the full description before looking at the picture below.
- The picture below has 2 identical dolphins in it.
- Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water (they should be identical).
- If you notice differences in the dolphins, it means you are over-stressed.
- The more differences you see between the dolphins, the more stress you are experiencing.
- If you find more than one or two differences you need to go on vacation.
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Seriously… Laughter truly is the best medicine!
A study in Portugal revealed that clowns assigned to accompany children on their way to minor surgery reduced preoperative worries and emotional responses in the children and in their parents!
Another study examined the effect of humor on 292 people who had recently lost their spouse. Experiencing humor, laughter, and happiness was strongly associated with favorable bereavement adjustments (lower grief and depression).
With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.
“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” ~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.
Stress spreads breast cancer
Sep 23rd
Hallelujah Acres has long advocated stress reduction for people battling cancer, but a new study from UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center shows exactly how stress can actually cause cancer (breast cancer in particular) to spread.
The researchers found that stress promotes proliferation of breast cancer cells in mice. In fact, there was a 30-fold increase in cancer progression in the bodies of stressed mice when compared to those that were not stressed.
In a story published by PsychCentral.com, researchers said, “What we showed for the first time is that chronic stress causes cancer cells to escape from the primary tumor and colonize distant organs. We not only showed that this happens, but we showed how stress talks to the tumor and helps it to spread.”
The study concludes by recommending “healthy lifestyle factors to reduce stress” which “may also have influence on these biological pathways.”
Elimination of stress, increased exercise, getting sunshine , and using supplementation to augment an aggressive juicing regimen are all part of an emergency immune boosting program we call The Hallelujah Recovery Diet. For more information, read page 26 in our current issue of Hallelujah Acres Health News magazine, which you can download here.
PS – Come see us at the Raw Spirit Festival at Watson Lake near Prescott, AZ, tomorrow through Sunday. We’ll be speaking at 1 pm on Saturday (Sept 25).
Want to have a baby? Relax.
Aug 12th
A new study has shown, for the first time, that stress levels affect a woman’s ability to conceive. Oxford University experts measured stress hormones in women planning a baby naturally and found the most stressed had a reduced chance of becoming pregnant.
Women with the highest levels of alpha-amylase (an indicator of adrenalin levels) had about a 12% reduced chance of getting pregnant during their fertile days that month compared with those with the lowest levels of the marker. Dr Cecilia Pyper, of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said, “The findings support the idea that couples should aim to stay as relaxed as they can about trying for a baby.”
We couldn’t agree more! Stress has a significant affect on health, which is why Hallelujah Acres promotes relaxation and meditation on God’s Word in addition to a plant-based diet, exercise, proper hydration, and plenty of sunshine. For more information on proper health during pregnancy, read Pregnancy, Children & The Hallelujah Diet by Olin Idol, ND, CNC.
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