This is a truly stressful time for all of us. Every cable news channel seems to have a COVID-19 counter, and it’s easy to obsess over the numbers as they just keep going up, and up, and up… Yes, we are grateful for the extra time with family, and for the simpler things in life. But that underlying stress is just. always. there. Financial worries, job worries, health worries. There are plenty of them to go around.
And that stress has consequences. It leads to sugar and junk food cravings, poor blood sugar control, elevated blood pressure, autoimmune flares. Even if we are lucky enough to escape the COVID-19 infection, none of us will come out of this unscarred. On the other side of this, whatever chronic conditions we have will be worse. And many of us will get new diagnoses.
So what can we do to reduce our vulnerability to stress? To reduce the risk of worsening disease? This is the time to focus on fundamentals.
Sleep
Now more than ever, sleep should be paramount. It’s key to maintain resiliency and a healthy immune system. Shut the news off, read a book, do a free YouTube yoga breathing routine, cuddle with a loved one… Do whatever helps you wind down in preparation for sleep. All the adaptogenic herbs in the world cannot overcome a lack of sleep.
Nutrition
Getting healthy by subtracting the bad stuff can be really hard during a time of stress. Rather than focusing on what you shouldn’t do or eat or drink today, try the opposite approach. Choose to add something in today that will be beneficial for you… An additional 8oz of water? 2 cups of green vegetables? A handful of almonds mid-afternoon so you aren’t snacking up a storm before dinner? Focus on adding a new positive habit rather than subtracting a negative one. Small steps can equal a big impact over time. And any improvement in nutrition can help improve the body’s response to stress.
Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude
Having more dinners at home with your family? Try this exercise with everyone at the table: Name one kind thing someone did for you today. Name one kind thing you did for someone else today. Name one small thing that made you happy today. Bringing kindness into focus can change the energy of the entire house. It can also encourage those in your household to intentionally practice acts of kindness. And that’s bound to decrease the stress level for everyone.
Take a deep breath. We will get through this. Two Tree Integrative Health is still here for you. We are fully equipped for telemedicine visits. There is so much functional medicine can do to improve your health. Message us for more information.
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