myFM: How to navigate stress

Whether your stress is coming from back to school, sending your child off to daycare, caring for aging parents, financial issues, that stress that stems from your own thoughts (like me) or you have way too much on your plate, knowing how to navigate it with some foundational health tips, can make all the difference to when you come out the other side while saving your small but mighty adrenal glands bet beaten up during this time and ultimately suffer with burnout. 

1. Sleep - don’t fight it, don’t think that you have to stay up and get everything done. I know your mind is racing a million miles an hour, but get horizontal and find a way to calm your mind. I’ve been using the BrainTap before bed - an app and device that I talked about in episode 129 of EAT THIS with Lianne and it’s been working wonders for me.Magnesium is used up in a nanosecond during times of stress so up your game with that. I’ve been taking 400mg of magnesium bis-glycinate before sleep and some melatonin spray to top that off until you’re in a rhythm of sleeping long and deeply. 
2. Eat only cooked food - yes, I just said cook it all. Your gut-brain axis is a thing; as in your gut is connected to your brain, and while you are in full flight or flight, your gut isn't going to digest as it knows how to when you’re not stressed. Lightly wilt your greens, because you need them now more than ever. Handfuls of spinach, wilted in a frying pan, and then a quickly cooked egg in the same pan, topped with salsa is a fast and tasty meal. I’ve relied on clean canned tuna that’s super fast, along with broccoli and carrots that I drop into a bowl of boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. When you’re stressed you don’t digest, so take enzymes like HypoZymase to help you get nutrients, and ease the stress-gut-associated symptoms like bloating gassiness, and IBS through this period
3. Move your body.Studies show that regular exercise helps improve sleep quality and reduce stress, which can help lower cortisol levels over time. But there’s a double edge sword with exercise. Intense exercise can create stress in the body and also oxidative damage to cells. Protecting with superfoods and helps, which is where Kid Boost superfood powder and Alka C vitamin C come in. Supportive nutrients that are zapped during stressful times need to be supplemented. Hit that yoga mat and move in gentle and easy ways, even if it’s for 5 minutes. Go for a walk or if you need to box or go for a run, do, but with less intensity or time so you don’t stress those adrenals any more than they are now. 

I think we’d likely all say that being stressed is the norm, but when times hit a pique that are overwhelming and all fall by the wayside as you navigate the crisis, these three tips can help you support your body in the most fundamental ways. Find out more in episode 130. 

Listen to segment below