Balance

We are often told that we need to have balance in our lives.  That could be a balance between your diet and exercise, work and family, sleep and school, or between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Okay maybe it’s just me on the last one.  In reality, all of these things are equally important for our health and if not given the proper attention can contribute to more serious health issues. In order to manage these imbalances we should start by building small, daily habits. Setting yourself up for success by reflecting on where you currently are and starting small from there are very important things to consider before incorporating new daily habits. We will start by discussing some key points on the importance of sleep, managing work stress & food hygiene as well as how you can start to improve your daily habits in these areas.

First, it’s important to give you a brief introduction to stress from a biological standpoint. The nervous system is a complex wiring of billions of neurons that send and receive electrical signals throughout the entire human body. These signals are critical components in muscle contraction, hormone production, digestion, breathing, and well...everything else you do on a daily basis - consciously or unconsciously. In order to keep things simple, we will only be focusing on the autonomic nervous system and its basic functions in the body.

The autonomic nervous system is a highly complex system that involves a perfectly choreographed dance between the Sympathetic (SNS), Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS) and Enteric Nervous System (ENS), but for the sake of simplicity we will only be discussing the first two. The SNS and PSNS are basically opposites in their function.  The PSNS allow for daily functions and normal unconscious automatic bodily operations. This system is active primarily when we are resting, recovering and from a primal standpoint not in immediate danger. It is commonly described as the rest and digest part of our nervous system. The SNS on the other hand is our quick reaction system which is responsible for keeping you safe by initiating the fight, flight, or freeze response. When this system is overactive it’s as if your body is a car, and you are slamming on the gas pedal and holding the break at the same time. Essentially overworking two processes that are designed to compliment one another.

Our bodies are not designed to handle chronic stress or be stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode but unfortunately it has become a “normal” state for a lot of people. From an early age, we are taught that we need to work hard in order to get the best things from life - a great life principle.  But within our society, we go so far as to praise those who work the most hours, get the least amount of sleep, and continually sacrifice themselves in order to achieve success. You know, “praise the hustle.” Sadly, we are never taught about what happens when we stress our body and mind so much that we aren’t able to enjoy those things we worked so hard for. Research has shown that chronic stress can cause a number of health issues. To name a few…

- Cardiovascular disease 

- Kidney Disease

- Type II Diabetes 

- Obesity 

- Metabolic Syndrome

- Hypertension

- Chronic Pain

So what can we do if we have no chill, work is running your ragged, your kids are in 36 different activities or you just can’t seem to hit the “off” switch? Great Question. Next, we will discuss simple tips that can help with balancing and reducing stress. As a reminder, we can only tackle one habit and one day at a time so choose 1-2 things as a starting point.

Sleep:

All nighters in college? Four hours of sleep because kids and after school programs? Binged the last season of your favorite show and you’re too disappointed to sleep? We’ve all been there but making sleep a daily priority is essential to recover from those daily stressors. Risk of injury, illness, muscle loss and neurological disease can be greatly decreased with a good 7-9 hours of sleep. Yes 7-9. Activity level and age also dictate the amount of sleep you will need - younger, more active individuals need even more sleep.  Slumber is coming… and here is how. 

Tips to Improve Your Sleep Routine

• Put away electronics 2 hours prior to bedtime

• Sleep & wake at the same time everyday

• Bed should only be used for intimacy and sleep

• Sleeping in a completely dark room

• Set the thermostat to 60-66 degrees

• Meditation or breathing - get the mind ready to rest

Work:

With office jobs that are making most people sit at a desk all day it is vital to get outside and disconnect from technology whenever you can.  We live in a wirelessly tethered world that almost makes it mandatory to be connected to work at all times. This can create excess stress or anxiety along with a constantly active FFF response  which creates a hypervigilance that does not leave room for proper balance of the NS. Understanding that FOMO is a real thing we need to understand how we can bring some balance into our work day to help our overall long-term wellness.

Tip to Improve stress reduction at work.

• Whenever you leave your office/desk leave your phone.

• Taking mid-day walks for 10-30 minutes. 

• Sun exposure and blood flow will help with long term vitality and health.

• If you are unable to go outside walk your hallways or stairs for 10- 30 minutes

• Stay hydrated. At a minimum we should try to drink .5oz/lb of bodyweight. 

  • 200lb= 100oz of water through the day

• Put screen time limits on your device.

  • Yes you can do that on your phone/computer/tablet and limit specific applications as well. 

  • Do not take your phone with you to the restroom. 

    • It shouldn’t take you that long to go. If you can update your Facebook post, a tweet and Snapchat a curse word from the stall you have bigger digestive issues to worry about.

Work can be stressful, but it does not need to run you into the ground. It’s important to focus on what you can control and set yourself up for success.  It won't be perfect every single day but the effect of small, consistent efforts compounding over a lifetime cannot be beaten.

Food Hygiene:

Food hygiene is also one of these foundational practices that can help us slow down throughout our day.  Where your food comes from, how it is prepared, how you eat and how food makes you feel should not be overlooked. Food is meant to be an ingredient to the recipe of daily rhythm and human interaction. From thanksgiving to food festivals food is meant to be prepared and shared.

Tips to Improve Food Hygiene

• Eating food should be in the form of meals

  • Taking time to prepare consume(chew) and share the meal should be an everyday occurrence 

• Buying your food from grocery stores and having a balance of whole food sources. 

  • Knowing exactly what goes into your food can be difficult to approximate 

    • Nutrition labels have an inherent degree of error to them. Especially when someone else is preparing the food for them.

• If daily meal prepping isn’t feasible, try prepping every 3-4 days.

  • Find some meal plans or cook books that you enjoy. We love InstantPot Recipes. 

  • Get some glass containers and portion them out for a few days at a time

• Enjoy the process. Give you body time to figure out that you are going to consume food. 

  • Smelling and chewing your food gets the digestive processes going.

  • Take your time chewing. 

  • Try not to consume any liquids with your meal in order to speed up the eating process unless eating dry food and you might choke.

• Disconnect from technology and have a conversation with those around you.  

  • If you don’t share a meal with someone you still have yourself.

  • Be present with your minds and thoughts. Enjoy your meal and become aware of what food does for you.

    • Do you get sleep, bloated, or brain fog after your meal?

    • Do you feel energized, happy, mentally sharp?

As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat”. With new research showing diet having a multigenerational effect the saying should be ”your kids and grandkids are what you eat”. Being conscious and taking care of your nutrition could have lasting effects well after you are gone. 

So you have the information, now what are the ways you can start to incorporate these habits to find a become more balanced?  Research shows that when trying to incorporate a new habit it is best to attach it to something you already do. Here are a few simple examples: Listen to a new podcast or audiobook on your drive to work. Using the restroom first thing in the morning then taking your daily vitamins. When you wake up, open up your gratitude journal.  Every time you check your social media, take a drink of water - this might lead you to drinking more water (.6oz/lb) and showing gratitude for your need to frequently urinate.

Whether you feel you have a balanced life or things are chaotically out of control there is always room to improve one day at a time through one thing at a time. Picking something that is attainable and realistic for you is the best place to start. Balance and habit forming is not a destination, it's a lifelong journey along one of the bumpiest roads.  Taking some of these ideas and seeing what works for you can hopefully fill in some of those potholes on that journey. 

Sources

Fisher, James P et al. “Central sympathetic overactivity: maladies and mechanisms.” Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical vol. 148,1-2 (2009): 5-15. doi:10.1016/j.autneu.2009.02.003

Halson SL. Monitoring training load to understand fatigue in athletes. Sports medicine. 2014 Nov 1;44(2):139-47.

Martins Terra, M., Schaeffer Fontoura, T., Oliveira Nogueira, A., Ferraz Lopes, J., De Freitas Mathias, P., Andreazzi, A., . . . Maria Peters, V. (n.d.). Multigenerational effects of chronic maternal exposure to a high sugar/fat diet and physical training. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 1-9. doi:10.1017/S2040174419000503