If you’ve ever found yourself in a stressful situation, you may have experienced symptoms associated with the common “fight or flight” response—such as heart pounding, heavier breathing, muscles tensing, and increased sweating. This is a spike in cortisol and is your body’s way of reacting to stress. Prolonged stress can impact your body the same way other toxins do… with thyroid disorders, adrenal fatigue, hair loss, inflammation, insomnia and other chronic illness. Stress is a toxin, and I’m here to provide some simple ways to de-stress throughout your day. Try them out!

Truth be told, over the last 50 years, the pendulum has swung so far to one side in favor of “modern” everything. Everything has been modernized to be quicker, faster.. we have less time but we are expected to do more. Our nervous systems were never meant for all this bombardment, busy schedules and multitasking. It’s not sustainable and it’s contributing to major health issues, especially in women.

Living a more stress free life means different things to different people, but I believe that everyone can benefit from brining calm in to more areas of their life. It’s a process and it takes time, but it’s worth it. Keep reading and learn about the simple habits you can bring in to your daily routine that will bring you closer to a stress free you.

7 WAYS I’VE LEARNED HOW TO REGULATE MY NERVOUS SYSTEM

#1: GET PLENTY OF SLEEP

We sacrifice our rest and sleep to get further in the ‘rat race’. But doing that on a regular basis will severely impact your health. Deep sleep helps to heal your body. You need to rest at other times as well to rejuvenate physically, mentally, and emotionally. To maintain holistic health you must give your body 7-8 hours of sleep on a daily basis. I have a night time ritual that includes rolling a Tranquil blend of essential oils on my shoulders to reduce tension and diffusing lavender with a Peace & Calming blend in my bedroom to support a quality deep sleep. You can snag everything in my night time routine here.

#2: GET MOVING

Regular movement and exercise is good for your physical health and we need it daily. Your overall health will improve with physical activities. And by exercise, I am not suggesting just going to the gym or going for a walk in the morning. You have to be more physically active throughout the day. In modern times, most of us have a sedentary lifestyle. In the holistic approach, use the stairs instead of elevators, park at a distance to walk for a while, limit your time on the couch. If you suffer from adrenal fatigue, thyroid disorder or an autoimmune condition, it is best to avoid high intensity workouts. Opt instead for low impact activities like walking, yoga, Pilates, and weight training.

#3: GET SOME SUNSHINE

The sun is the ultimate healer. An hour of natural light in the morning will help you sleep better because sunshine regulates your circadian rhythm by telling your body when to increase and decrease your melatonin levels. Humans need sunshine to thrive. The more daylight exposure you can get, the better. Research also shows that more sunlight equals better health, lower incidence of depression, it improves your immune system and will even help you live longer. Avoid toxic sunscreens while in the sun, choose a non toxic mineral sunscreen instead and try to get at least 10 minutes of unblocked morning sun.

#4: GET GROUNDED

Grounding is all about electrons. Every system and organ in your body functions best when it has an adequate source of electrons. Activities that deplete your electrons include blue light form phones and computers, being inside most of the day, inflammatory foods, and wearing shoes every time you go outside.

The earth is the ultimate source of electrons, which means that stepping outside on the ground with bare feet is like putting your phone on the charger. The earth and sun are the chargers for your body and you are living off a dead battery if you are never putting your feet on the ground or getting sunshine on your skin.

Just 10 minutes a day of grounding can reduce inflammation and cortisol, increased energy, quicker healing and decreased pain. There have now been thousands of studies and scans showing the before and after of people walking barefoot on the earth for 10 minutes. You can physically see inflammation decreased, cortisol lowered and the hormonal and autonomic nervous system balanced! Awesome, right?!

#5: CREATE A DAILY SAFE CARE ROUTINE

Choose to live in such a way that you are a priority to yourself. Have a love life with yourself! Listen to your body and treat it with great care and respect and honor your intuition. To understand self care you have to change your way of thinking. Many people will even argue that in this fast-paced life such sacrifices are unavoidable. But in reality, balance is a choice. Take inventory of your schedule and choose only those things that are necessary and use your time wisely. In a balanced life you know how to manage time and what your priorities are. When you have a holistic approach to life you learn balance and moderation.

#6. GET MINDFUL

Meditation has so many benefits and while a practice can take time to learn, you can use apps like Insight Timer to help you along the way. Mediation and a gratitude practice is known to reduce stress, improve memory, increase attention span, improve sleep, reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and decrease anxiety as well depression. It takes time to master our busy minds that are used to a constant stream of information, but it is well worth it.

#7. STOP CHASING SYMPTOMS

This is a big one. Maybe the biggest. How many of us grew up hearing that chronic disease was genetic? That is actually a false belief that keep many of us sick and stuck in a health care system that manages symptoms with pharmaceuticals but never addresses the root cause. What if I told you that over 80-90 % of chronic disease is actually environmental, meaning our daily choices and habits are what directly impact our health.

So much of what has been labeled as the “disease” is actually just the symptom. High cholesterol is a symptom. Candida is a symptom. PMS is a symptom. Infertility is a symptom. Insomnia is a symptom. PCOS is a symptom. Anxiety is a symptom. Hair loss is a symptom. If so many of these health issues are just the symptom, what is the bigger picture? What do these symptoms point to? Every single one of these things is linked to your metabolic health and your endocrine system. All of them. Start adopting these holistic living habits and start addressing those root causes and heal it at its source.

WRAP UP

Adopting new habits doesn’t happen over night. It happens slowly, with intention. I challenge you to choose one of these areas in your life and commit to it for 30 days. Then choose another one. Within a year’s time, you will find yourself to be a happy, healthier, more vibrant version of yourself with these ways to de-stress.