Tag: Self-Care

Stress Less

Stress is the “State of tension that arises when you experience demands from your environment or from inside yourself.”

Acute Stress – Is often sudden, generally short-lived physical or emotional challenge or threat.  For example: theft, car accident, giving a speech or a wedding.

Chronic Stress – Ongoing exposure or demand such as family conflict, work stress, financial stressors.  Examples would be high-pressure work environment, relationships, indebtedness. These stressors are subtle in nature so they are more difficult to recognize.

We often don’t correlate stress with the impact it has on our bodies.  Our bodies are uniquely designed to handle stress. When presented with a threatening situation it is our most basic survival instinct to either engage in a fight or run for our lives.

It is important to have a self-care toolbox to help with coping with stress.  Keep such things as exercise, meditation, breathing, and stretching in your toolbox.  Set aside 10 minutes a day where you don’t really think about anything and clear your head.  Create small moments in your day to help cope.

By: Brenda Langdon

The Power of Sleep

Sleep has a major impact on overall health and quality of life, including the way we feel, look, and perform on a daily basis. Your body needs sleep to repair muscles, consolidate memories, and regulate hormones and appetite.

Sufficient sleep positively affects our learning and memory, metabolism and weight, safety, heart health, and mood. Sleep needs for adults range between 7 and 9 hours. If you’re having trouble getting quality sleep, try a few of the following tips:

  • Maintain a consistent bedtime routine.
  • Turn off the TV and other electronic devices before bed.
  • Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing at bedtime.
  • Keep a sleep journal.
  • If you can’t sleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed and participate in a quiet, relaxing activity.
  • Eat a balanced diet and don’t eat heavy meals before bedtime.
  • Exercise in the afternoon or early evening.
  • Do not lie in bed once awake in the morning.

By: Ashley Svaty

Prioritize Self-Care

Life is busy and as a result you may neglect your own well-being which can lead to stress, irritability, moodiness, and even depression. By taking care of yourself you will be more relaxed, content, stronger, better able to help others, and more confident.  Slipping away from your daily routine doesn’t have to occur for extended periods of time-it can mean taking a bath, reading a book, walking your pet, playing with your kids or grandkids, or going to your bedroom with your door closed to sit in solitude for a bit. Below are various examples of self-care, feel free to try as many as you wish!

  • Relax. Relaxation allows you to experience more energy, sleep better, build up your immunity, concentrate better, and much more.  Relaxation can occur through taking a hot bath, reading a book, getting a massage or even taking a few deep breaths.
  • Eat a nutritious diet. Wholesome, nutritious foods provide you with more energy, combat depression by keeping your brain functioning at its best, and prevent numerous other health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancers.
  • Increase your physical activity. Exercise affects overall physical and mental well-being.  It increases strength, cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, balance, and muscle mass.  It also boosts self-esteem along with confidence and helps lower stress and anxiety. Adding a 10-minute calming walk to your to-do list is a fantastic way to sneak in daily self-care.
  • Finding humor in daily situations and laughing more throughout your day is truly the best medicine. Laughter has the ability to increase the “feel good” hormones in the body, called endorphins and can reduce stress, lower depression and help your body heal. Watch a funny movie or show, go to a comedy club, take a comedy class, or simply laugh with a close friend or loved one.

To view more on taking time for yourself, access a downloadable Self-Care 2020 September calendar.

By: Ashley Svaty