Charis Nervous System
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Charis: [00:00:00] But most of the nervous system activity comes [00:00:05] from your body to your brain, not the other way around.
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Charis: [00:00:15] Welcome back to the Harness Your Health podcast. I'm Charis Sederberg, and I'm doing a [00:00:20] solo episode today, which is a little different than what I've been doing. So I [00:00:25] just wanted to continue this series of really trying to bring everything [00:00:30] together of how I view health, how to influence your health, improve your [00:00:35] health, all of those things, and this episode is really gonna be focused on the nervous [00:00:40] system.
I get a ton of questions about this, both from my clients from people on the [00:00:45] internet that send me messages through social media, and so I really wanted [00:00:50] to bring this viewpoint to light so that you can see how I view [00:00:55] this. And this has all come from years of working with clients. And [00:01:00] if I can be really honest, it's also comes from my own experience.
I [00:01:05] had seen, many different practitioners over the years, maybe in the last 10 years or [00:01:10] so, and every single one of them mentioned my nervous system as a contributing [00:01:15] factor to the things that I was going through.
And it really wasn't for many years until [00:01:20] I truly took that to heart and started to think about my own [00:01:25] situation, my own rhythm and awareness, and all the things we're gonna [00:01:30] talk about today, and how that was influencing my nervous system and influencing the [00:01:35] rest of my health.
So that's what I want you to take away from this today. So [00:01:40] the first thing I really wanna talk about is that I have multiple [00:01:45] episodes towards the beginning of my podcast that are featuring someone [00:01:50] a couple of them are people who worked in conventional healthcare and now also [00:01:55] work in holistic health.
That was really the feature point of those [00:02:00] episodes, but these episodes are about things that can [00:02:05] support your health, can support your nervous system. And so I just wanna call those out and say, [00:02:10] I'm not saying that those episodes aren't worthwhile. I'm not saying [00:02:15] that you shouldn't be doing breathwork.
I'm not saying you shouldn't use herbs or medicinal [00:02:20] mushrooms. I'm definitely not saying that. What I'm saying is that there's something that comes [00:02:25] before that, and that's what I think everyone is missing. We are [00:02:30] so conditioned in our society through our healthcare system in the Western world [00:02:35] to think about symptom management.
And when many people are thinking about the nervous system, [00:02:40] that's the way they're thinking about it. They're thinking about what should I do? I'll [00:02:45] meditate. I'll do breathwork. I'll exercise." Yes, all very important, [00:02:50] amazing things to support you, but we're not thinking about [00:02:55] what is really gonna help us at the root, the way that our body [00:03:00] works physiologically, i'm definitely not, going back on any of my guests or [00:03:05] anything like that. I think that all of these things happen in layers, and the very first [00:03:10] layer is the foundations, and this is what we're gonna get into today. I was trying to [00:03:15] think about how to make this as concise as possible, because I know that when I [00:03:20] listen to information, especially if it's something new, I really struggle [00:03:25] with the complexity and depth of information.
I have to take it in and [00:03:30] think about how would I implement that?" or, "How does that affect me?" And so I'm [00:03:35] constantly thinking in that way for you, my listener, because I want this to be [00:03:40] something that you really can use, and it can be something actionable in your life. [00:03:45] So I have broken this down into awareness and rhythm, okay?[00:03:50]
So that's really what we're gonna focus on today. Awareness is knowing what's [00:03:55] actually happening in your day. You cannot support something that you don't [00:04:00] understand and... or even acknowledge. And I just wanna bring this [00:04:05] to a very personal level and say that this was me. I [00:04:10] literally was just going through all the motions of life.
I was doing all the things, very [00:04:15] busy, raising my kids, starting my business and in the early [00:04:20] parts , working as a nurse, and I just had zero awareness that [00:04:25] I was really actually fried and burnt out. And it took me a [00:04:30] long time, as I mentioned in the beginning of this episode, to really come to terms with that [00:04:35] and to realize that was what was happening for me and that I really [00:04:40] needed to do something about it, and it wasn't just to do breathwork or [00:04:45] meditate.
I did those things. I do those things today. But it really... I had to figure out [00:04:50] how to create these foundations, and that's why I'm sharing this with you today So [00:04:55] with awareness, step one is to know what are your rhythms like, [00:05:00] what . is your day like, and we're gonna talk about that a little bit more as in coming up in [00:05:05] the next few minutes.
But that is step one. Step two is your rhythms. So [00:05:10] your body functions on a 24-hour clock. I have talked about this in multiple [00:05:15] episodes, and I'm sure people potentially are rolling their eyes "Yes, Charis, we've heard [00:05:20] this before." But the reason it keeps coming up is because it is that important.[00:05:25]
You literally cannot change your physiology when it comes to the way [00:05:30] that we are wired in that way. Now, if you are a shift worker or [00:05:35] have a very different type of schedule, then yes, it's gonna be a little bit more challenging for you. [00:05:40] I don't specialize in helping people like that, but I know that there are people that do.
[00:05:45] And so I just want you to know that you can adjust to what your life needs. [00:05:50] We live a modern life. There's nothing we can do about it. Unless you wanna move to [00:05:55] the backcountry and not have any access to the outside world, you can [00:06:00] certainly do that, and your life is probably gonna be greatly different than mine.
But the large majority [00:06:05] of people are living in this modern life, and we just need to accept that but [00:06:10] also know how we can adapt to, or our body and our [00:06:15] physiology to that, and what things could potentially be triggering from our modern life, [00:06:20] right? So we're gonna get into a little bit more some of these actionable [00:06:25] things.
But I just want you to be thinking of it from this starting point. And I've probably [00:06:30] mentioned this in other episodes, but if you are doing breathwork, [00:06:35] doing cold plunge, doing sauna, exercising, eating really well, [00:06:40] I see this a lot in people that come to me for help, but you aren't sleeping [00:06:45] at all.
Or maybe you aren't eating well, or you're just drinking [00:06:50] coffee or caffeine all throughout the day to get energy. Doesn't really give you energy, [00:06:55] but to keep you going That is a disconnect. So I want [00:07:00] you to stop thinking about doing everything perfectly, [00:07:05] and think about more of the encompass of all of [00:07:10] the, the parts of your day, and just [00:07:15] making them happen, if you will.
So what I mean by that is having the [00:07:20] perfect workout, the perfect diet, the perfect sleep schedule. None of that is gonna [00:07:25] happen, okay? But if you literally just have a short checklist of every [00:07:30] day I wanna do some sort of movement, one day that might be going up and down your stairs [00:07:35] 10 times. One day that might be doing squats after every hour that you sit at [00:07:40] your desk.
That is movement. That counts. Going outside and viewing [00:07:45] morning light. I will never stop talking about this because it has been life-changing for [00:07:50] me, and it will be for you too if you bring it into your life Figuring out [00:07:55] what you're eating. So the whole diet culture is a whole [00:08:00] another story,
I am a nutrition therapist. I went to holistic nutrition school. [00:08:05] I am trained to help people with nutrition. The thing that we have to remember [00:08:10] is that nutrition connects and correlates with every other part of our health and [00:08:15] wellness.
And because I'm also a nurse, and I also have a degree in exercise [00:08:20] science, I just have found this really coming together in this whole [00:08:25] wellness picture, and you can't separate any of it out. [00:08:30] And the reason that my entire podcast hasn't really gone into the [00:08:35] depths of nutrition yet is for this reason.
I want you to realize [00:08:40] that we have to set this all up, and then we bring [00:08:45] nutrition in. Now, some people might disagree with me and say nutrition is the foundation. You [00:08:50] need to get your diet right first." But what I've learned in working with clients and with my [00:08:55] own situation, if you can get your rhythms in place first, [00:09:00] everything else is easier.
Because if you don't have any energy or [00:09:05] any, a mental capacity to think about what you wanna eat, plan your [00:09:10] meals, shop, prep, cook, the nutrition piece isn't gonna come into [00:09:15] play. And so this has all been from my personal experience like I said, for [00:09:20] myself, but also working with clients, and this is the whole reason that we haven't even talked about nutrition, [00:09:25] really on this podcast.
It's coming, but it's not there yet. [00:09:30] So I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that your routines [00:09:35] and rhythms matter, and I want you to think about this as a short [00:09:40] daily checklist. What does the beginning of my day look like? What does the end [00:09:45] of my day look like? How was my energy? Did I do some sort of [00:09:50] movement during the day?
Preferably, did I get morning light? That's part of the beginning of the [00:09:55] checklist. Start with that. That is literally the starting point, so if [00:10:00] you're asking yourself questions and trying to create some awareness about this, start with [00:10:05] that. Those four things are the most important things.
What does the [00:10:10] beginning of my day look like? What does the end of my day look like? Did I get [00:10:15] movement in my day today? And remember, that can literally be anything. What has my energy [00:10:20] been like throughout the day? These are really the focal points, and [00:10:25] I don't know if you have gone and taken my assessment online, but if you go to my website, [00:10:30] primetonourish.com, the assessment that's on there, the foundations assessment, [00:10:35] is a great starting point for this.
It's 37 questions. It'll take you about five minutes. [00:10:40] It gives you a great focus point for yourself. But these four [00:10:45] questions are the awareness piece. This is where we start to [00:10:50] understand what you really need to focus on, and this is laying the [00:10:55] foundation for your nervous system.
Wanna bring this up here because this is [00:11:00] really what I'm talking about, and maybe this will help people to understand it in a little bit different way. [00:11:05] I talk about symptom management, so I'm talking about breathwork, herbs, [00:11:10] CBD drinks, cold plunge, sauna. What are you doing or think you're doing for [00:11:15] your nervous system?
But most of the nervous system [00:11:20] activity comes from your body to your brain, not the [00:11:25] other way around. And that is why some of these modalities are really effective. [00:11:30] But what your brain and your nervous system is doing all day long is [00:11:35] checking. It's checking for safety. It's checking for rhythms [00:11:40] and routines and inputs It's not checking the [00:11:45] box of the breathwork.
It's not checking the cold plunge, the sauna, whatever. It's [00:11:50] not checking those things. It is literally responding to those [00:11:55] things, but it is checking for safety. And so this is the whole reason that [00:12:00] rhythm, your daily rhythm, is so important to know [00:12:05] that your body is safe. So the food example is a great [00:12:10] example.
So many people think that intermittent fasting is really healthy, [00:12:15] and it can be for lots of people. But if you have a very dysregulated nervous [00:12:20] system, if you cannot withstand the amount of stress in [00:12:25] even, your daily life, you should not be intermittent fasting. Also, [00:12:30] anyone with a thyroid condition that is not well managed, there's all kinds [00:12:35] of groups of people that shouldn't be fasting.
But if you don't feel good fasting, [00:12:40] you shouldn't be fasting. And yes, you are fasting overnight, and [00:12:45] I stand by that, start your fast after your dinner, go overnight, [00:12:50] stop your fast in the morning, but you need a good nourishing breakfast. So that's one of the safety [00:12:55] signals to the nervous system, is having food and calories.
Now, [00:13:00] I haven't talked about this really on this podcast very much, but I have a [00:13:05] pretty extensive history with fasting. I have done a lot of extended [00:13:10] fasts. I've researched and read Jason Fung's books and followed him for a very long time, [00:13:15] and there was a period of time in my life where I was able to do that.
I am not in that period of [00:13:20] time right now. I cannot do longer fasts or even have [00:13:25] a longer window where I'm fasting every day, and that is just [00:13:30] because of what's going on with my health and my body. So if you're doing those things [00:13:35] and thinking that's healthy and trying to white-knuckle it, I'm telling you to try a [00:13:40] different strategy.
Try eating instead to signal safety for [00:13:45] your nervous system. And we've talked about this in previous episodes, specifically episode [00:13:50] 15, the bookends episode, we were talking about when people only eat carbohydrate [00:13:55] for breakfast, and so that is a great one to go back to. But this is [00:14:00] very simple.
Protein and fiber at breakfast as an anchor for your [00:14:05] breakfast, preferably within an hour of getting up. Do not [00:14:10] get hung up on that number. I'll give you an example. I woke up this morning at [00:14:15] 4:45. I didn't eat by 5:45. I wasn't hungry. It was barely even [00:14:20] light. I started going outside, I think it was, like, 5:45, 6:00, to get my [00:14:25] morning light, which I do every single morning, and then all of a sudden, I was kinda starting [00:14:30] to get hungry.
That's typical for me. And so my cortisol is rising , my hunger hormones are [00:14:35] coming into play because of the signal of the light, and I was starting to get hungry. And [00:14:40] so I went in and made myself breakfast and ended up eating another 45 minutes later. [00:14:45] It didn't take that long to make my breakfast.
I just was doing other things and talking to my [00:14:50] kids in the kitchen. So I don't get hung up on that one hour, but the one hour [00:14:55] is a good gauge. If you're sleeping till 6:00 or 7:00 and then, eating about an [00:15:00] hour later, great. Sometimes I wake up super early in the morning. That's just the way that my [00:15:05] body works.
So let's bring this together a little [00:15:10] bit more and talk about, or maybe just review, some of the other [00:15:15] points of nutrition and the digestive tract, the gut. We just did a whole [00:15:20] series on this, so if you're in my world for the first time listening to this episode, I would [00:15:25] highly suggest that you go back and listen to the gut series.
It's a three-episode series. It [00:15:30] talks about the gut in no way that you have really heard before, and it is my [00:15:35] favorite way to teach anyone about it, including students. I think most people know that [00:15:40] I teach at the Nutrition Therapy Institute, and so I get so many questions, [00:15:45] and there's just so much confusion about the gut and the importance of different [00:15:50] things, and there's so many different elements to it, and so that is just a great thing to go back and [00:15:55] review.
But remember, the other things that are stressful to the nervous system [00:16:00] are nutrient deficiencies. If you're extremely nutrient [00:16:05] deficient in any area, it could even be one thing, which rarely happens, [00:16:10] your body is searching, and it needs nutrients. Remember that nutrients run [00:16:15] biochemistry in our body.
There's no biochemical process in our body [00:16:20] that doesn't require at least one nutrient, and then there's almost never one. [00:16:25] It's always multiple ones, and we call that co-factors. They work together [00:16:30] to do whatever they need to do. So this is, I don't know what the number is, billions and [00:16:35] trillions of different actions in the body.
And so if you are nutrient [00:16:40] deficient, that is a s- huge stressor for the nervous system. The nervous system [00:16:45] needs, like, serious support. It needs vitamin C, it needs [00:16:50] magnesium, B vitamins, all kinds of different things to run the actual [00:16:55] nervous system. But remember that our body is connected in every [00:17:00] way , so our blood sugar response, our hormones, everything, our [00:17:05] hunger is all connected to our nervous system.
So if we literally just think [00:17:10] about supporting our nervous system from a nutrient perspective, that's another great [00:17:15] thing to think about.
So if you are wondering about your nutrient [00:17:20] status and what nutrients are really the most important, because [00:17:25] they all have their importance, right? For the nervous system, I already named a few. Vitamin C [00:17:30] is a huge one. Vitamin C and magnesium are really important [00:17:35] for your adrenal glands, which are at the end of that brain body [00:17:40] axis, your HPA axis.
And so those two nutrients are, in [00:17:45] particular, really supportive for people. And a lot of times people are just so depleted [00:17:50] when they get to that point they really have to use them in a very intentional way. And [00:17:55] so it's really helpful to just start thinking of them nutrient by [00:18:00] nutrient. If you do feel like you're depleted and you want to support your nervous system from a [00:18:05] nutrient perspective , I would just start with those two things.
Start with vitamin C and magnesium. [00:18:10] B vitamins would be up on the same level of importance, I would say. [00:18:15] So nutrients are really important. We have to think about our nutrient status.
I already [00:18:20] mentioned this about eating within an hour of waking up, or [00:18:25] give or take an hour, but really meal timing is another [00:18:30] thing that is super, super helpful for the ner- nervous system. If you are running [00:18:35] on fumes or running on bars or just quick little things, peanut [00:18:40] butter and apples, things like that, I eat that stuff too, but I don't [00:18:45] do it on a regular basis outside of eating three solid meals [00:18:50] a day.
If I'm not eating three solid meals a day and I'm just trying to exist on [00:18:55] those things, snacks and bars and things like that, I'm not helping [00:19:00] my nervous system whatsoever. Now, if you need snacks, that's a whole nother story, [00:19:05] and maybe at some point I'll do an episode about that. But really, [00:19:10] the whole important thing to think about is a well-rounded meal, three meals a [00:19:15] day spaced apart so that you can make it through your day and that you [00:19:20] have solid energy.
Remember, I'm not demonizing fasting in any way [00:19:25] or people that can eat with a shorter eating window and a longer fasting window. If [00:19:30] that's you and you can do that, great. Then this is not the strategy for [00:19:35] you. But if you're struggling with your energy, I would start with three meals a day and [00:19:40] go from there.
And then just remember that we talked a lot about microbiome signaling [00:19:45] last week in the last episode of the gut series, and the microbiome is so connected to [00:19:50] the nervous system. The nervous system is so connected to your digestive tract, and so we [00:19:55] just cannot ignore that part of the nervous system. When we're thinking about support for the [00:20:00] nervous system.
So let's talk a little bit about [00:20:05] resilience. I wanna shift gears a little bit because this is a w- the way [00:20:10] that we think about stress and managing stress. I am not a stress [00:20:15] expert. I am not a therapist or a mental health practitioner at all. [00:20:20] But what I've learned is that our physiology, as I've mentioned [00:20:25] throughout this episode, supports or doesn't support our nervous system.
So that's what [00:20:30] we're talking about. That's why I detailed the things I just mentioned about eating timing and the [00:20:35] how, what you're actually eating and those kinds of things. That is support for your nervous [00:20:40] system. It is a signal of safety. And so that is [00:20:45] my lens on your nervous system. It doesn't matter how much [00:20:50] meditation, therapy, other nervous system modalities you do.
If you are eating [00:20:55] one meal a day and struggling doing that, if you are not [00:21:00] sleeping and doing those things, none of that is really gonna help you very much. That's why [00:21:05] you need the rhythm, and that's why you need the starting point. So I would say back to the [00:21:10] beginning, the starting point, as I mentioned, beginning of the day, end of the day, energy, [00:21:15] movement.
You can even drop the movement piece here if you want. Second [00:21:20] layer to think about how are you eating and when are you eating? We cannot [00:21:25] ignore eating in a parasympathetic state. If we are eating in a sympathetic [00:21:30] state, which I'll explain in a minute, you're not digesting and your nervous system is turned [00:21:35] on and your digestion is turned off, and those things can't exist at the same [00:21:40] time.
And so what I'm talking about is eating in the car, eating on the go, [00:21:45] standing up walking around your kitchen. This was me, is me, sometimes still today. [00:21:50] Distracted eating in front of your computer, in front of your phone, the TV. [00:21:55] Any of those things are usually causing you to eat a lot faster, and [00:22:00] that puts you in a sympathetic state.
So most people go into [00:22:05] eating, they're already in a sympathetic state, and then it will just continue. But let's say you [00:22:10] were super relaxed, but then all of a sudden you just jumped in the car and started to chug [00:22:15] your smoothie. That's a sympathetic state. Your body cannot prioritize digestion, [00:22:20] and so the nervous system is gonna struggle because you're not [00:22:25] getting the nutrients you need from your meal, and that supports the nervous system.[00:22:30]
Do you see how those two things go together? This is really something important to think [00:22:35] about. But when we're talking about resilience, what I'm talking about [00:22:40] is your... You need to be able to adapt to your life, and [00:22:45] certainly people have extreme stressors. I've talked about this on my podcast. My [00:22:50] husband was diagnosed with cancer several years ago.
Definitely one of the biggest [00:22:55] stressors that I've ever had in my life. Losing my parents, my dad, [00:23:00] my mom right now is at the end of her life. Huge stressors. Raising [00:23:05] children can be stressful too. My kids are wonderful, but they're still teenagers. They're [00:23:10] driving, they're stressors. And we have to be able to adapt to our [00:23:15] daily life.
Let's just say level one stressors, which are more [00:23:20] moderate stressors. I'm late, there's traffic my kid called me, [00:23:25] something's going on, my mom had a fall. Those kinds of things are just what I would [00:23:30] consider first level stressors. We need to be able to adapt to these [00:23:35] stressors because they are not gonna go away.
We can't ever avoid them. They are [00:23:40] just literally a part of life. And so I had a client say to me once [00:23:45] that she felt she has no resilience to adapt to these kinds of things, and [00:23:50] this is a person who has had a sister diagnosed with cancer recently. She [00:23:55] has a decently stressful job. She has some other things in her life that are more of those [00:24:00] bigger stressors, level two, level three stressors.
But she was saying that she [00:24:05] didn't feel like she could adapt in a very healthy way or [00:24:10] without feeling fried. When her kids are late and not ready to [00:24:15] go, when she's rushing to the airport, when she [00:24:20] is dealing with something that came up at her house, she has a leaky faucet that [00:24:25] leaked all over the floor or something like that.
These are things that happen in everyday life. This [00:24:30] is the whole point of why we need to have these foundational rhythms [00:24:35] so that we can be able to adapt and have that [00:24:40] resilience. Then when you have a better base of resilience, you can [00:24:45] adapt better to a huge stressor. I don't think I had the [00:24:50] best resilience when my husband was diagnosed with cancer.
It [00:24:55] literally shut me down, to be honest. I honestly don't remember anything [00:25:00] personally about what I was doing or not doing, did I keep exercising? Did I keep eating? I don't [00:25:05] even know or remember. But I can tell you that I basically stopped [00:25:10] everything in my business. I told my clients, "I'm on hold for a minute right now."
[00:25:15] I literally couldn't focus on that, which is probably understandable for a short period of [00:25:20] time. But for me, it lasted three or four months because I didn't have very [00:25:25] good resilience. So I'm telling you this from a very personal [00:25:30] standpoint and from what I see in all of my clients, which most of them are women [00:25:35] in midlife, in that kind of perimenopause time.
[00:25:40] And this is from multiple factors, but there are so many things we can [00:25:45] do with daily rhythms and physiology like we're talking about in this episode that [00:25:50] can support you. So this is the entire goal is to have better [00:25:55] resilience, to be able to withstand life and [00:26:00] simply stated.
So I just wanna bring up here really quick here, because I've had a couple [00:26:05] questions recently about this. People have said I'm just built this way. I'm [00:26:10] just high-strung," or, "I ... This is a personality feature." I used [00:26:15] to think this about myself, too, that I just was a type A person. I was a [00:26:20] go-getter. I could handle it.
I worked 60 hours a week as a nurse for many years. [00:26:25] Fine. Need to pick up a shift, need to pick up a call, I could handle it, right? But [00:26:30] what I realized is that I was conditioning myself to be that [00:26:35] person. I don't know that is actually how I'm wired. I don't know [00:26:40] that it's fair to say the way I'm wired right now based on my current [00:26:45] situation, but it doesn't really matter.
What matters is that [00:26:50] your daily rhythms support your nervous system. And so when you [00:26:55] can create those rhythms and get those foundations in place, you're gonna notice a [00:27:00] huge difference in your ability to be resilient and your ability [00:27:05] to withstand some of the things you're dealing with. I also wanna bring up [00:27:10] here, I think in the holistic nutrition world, in [00:27:15] functional medicine, functional nutrition, whatever you wanna call it, there is a lot [00:27:20] of practitioners who run super in-depth [00:27:25] programs, heavy testing, heavy protocols, lots of things to [00:27:30] do and buy.
And I just wanna say that I did one of those [00:27:35] programs. I went through it as a practitioner to learn that [00:27:40] process, and we had to do our own testing in the program, which is a excellent [00:27:45] way to learn, and I could not finish the protocol. I could not [00:27:50] finish the four months Like, at the time, I just felt super [00:27:55] defeated 'cause I was like, "What's wrong with me?"
And this was before my husband was diagnosed with [00:28:00] cancer. This was about five years ago. And at first, I was kind of like, "Well, maybe it's just [00:28:05] me. There's a lot going on with my body. I can't handle it." I tried [00:28:10] using these strategies with a couple other of my clients, and it [00:28:15] was the same thing. It was way too much.
It was way too overwhelming. [00:28:20] So we need to pay attention to these things. This is not something [00:28:25] that signals safety to your body, and this is why I have tried to [00:28:30] teach in this podcast and everything I do literally a [00:28:35] step-by-step, layer-by-layer process of how you add things into your [00:28:40] life . And so the whole point of this episode is to really help you feel [00:28:45] like, number one, you can become aware of where you're at right now, and number [00:28:50] two, you can start making changes to your daily rhythm.
One thing at a [00:28:55] time is enough, and do that until you feel like you have a handle on it and it's [00:29:00] part of your daily routine. There is no right or wrong for how and when that needs to [00:29:05] happen. It doesn't need to happen every week. It doesn't need to happen every month. [00:29:10] Just keep making forward progress.
This is so important and [00:29:15] so necessary in our life right now. People are overwhelmed. [00:29:20] They have a lot going on. We don't need to add to that. And so if you are a student [00:29:25] or a practitioner or anyone, I want you to think very hard about this, because [00:29:30] I have gotten more and more vocal about this because I just see [00:29:35] over and over again...
so I'm gonna try and summarize this maybe a little bit different [00:29:40] way to wrap up this episode. Hopefully, you haven't felt overwhelmed by [00:29:45] any of this information.
Yes, there's a lot of different things you can do, but it [00:29:50] doesn't matter where you start. It literally doesn't. Just start with one thing. So [00:29:55] let's go through some of these things to think about. How are you eating? Not what you're eating, but [00:30:00] how. Are you eating in the car? Are you distracted while you're eating?
Are you [00:30:05] eating in front of the TV? Think that through. When are you eating? I've already [00:30:10] talked about this a lot. I talked about this in many other episodes, but really making [00:30:15] sure that your body is getting fuel and nutrition in the morning [00:30:20] when you start your day. That is an incredibly important anchor point.
And [00:30:25] then you can, after you address that, you can go on and look at the rest [00:30:30] of your meals the rest of your day. Just start with the beginning of the day. What does that meal look [00:30:35] like? Does it have protein and fiber? Does it have enough calories? Does it have enough [00:30:40] nutrition, nutrients in it? Another thing you could think about if you already have [00:30:45] a pretty good handle on eating three meals a day.
Morning light. I [00:30:50] mentioned earlier, I'm never gonna stop talking about this. It is really that important. It was [00:30:55] life-changing for me with my sleep. When does light hit your eyes [00:31:00] based on when you get up? And are you looking at your phone or computer or some sort of device before [00:31:05] that? Because the best way to get the fastest results [00:31:10] is don't look at any devices.
Go outside as soon as you can. [00:31:15] If it's already light out, just go straight outside. If it's not light, just wait for it to be light. [00:31:20] Go outside. And being out there when the sun is coming up [00:31:25] is even a different kind of a light profile, which can be really effective, too. So [00:31:30] don't overcomplicate it. Just go outside.
What does the end of your day look like? [00:31:35] Are you literally crashing and burning into bedtime? Are you... And [00:31:40] I laugh because this was me. Are you using alcohol or other downers to down [00:31:45] regulate at night? This is a really important part of it, and I talk about this in the Bookends [00:31:50] episode, but this is step two after the morning.[00:31:55]
If you got your morning handled and you're doing good in the morning, the next thing to do is [00:32:00] look at your evening What about the rest of the day? What does your energy look like? Do you [00:32:05] always have a crash in the middle of the day? That can be from lots of different things. [00:32:10] Physiologically, we down regulate about eight hours after we wake up.
[00:32:15] That doesn't mean that we always have to take a nap, but we need to be in tune to [00:32:20] our rhythm. So just think about your energy a little bit, and what are you doing to [00:32:25] maintain your energy These are some really actionable things you can do. Just [00:32:30] like I said, you don't have to do them all at the same time.
I would start with one and [00:32:35] build on that, and just weave them into your life. What you [00:32:40] want is for them to just be a part of your life that you wouldn't do anything differently, no [00:32:45] matter if you're on vacation, in another part of the world, it doesn't matter. This is [00:32:50] literally what you would do.
I have a great story about this. So this is way before I really [00:32:55] knew about morning light, but I was, when I worked at Children's Hospital, [00:33:00] I worked on the bone marrow transplant unit and the oncology unit, and so there was [00:33:05] unfortunately, kids. It's a place taking care of kids with cancer. And so these kids [00:33:10] would be in the hospital for sometimes weeks on end, and their parent, usually the parents would trade [00:33:15] off or they would have another family member that would stay with the child, depending on the age of the child.
[00:33:20] But this kid that I'm thinking about was around 10, and the mom, when the mom was there, [00:33:25] she was a runner, and she would always go running first thing in the morning. And she didn't really [00:33:30] feel like she had the capacity to do that and the energy to do that. She was sleeping in a hospital. Her [00:33:35] child is obviously not well, and she had a lot on her plate, but she still went outside every single [00:33:40] morning, and that was just her thing.
It was almost always at change of shift. We would be changing [00:33:45] from night nurses to day nurses, and I would either see her in the elevator or going down the [00:33:50] hall or whatever or even outside, and that was her thing. She had to do that. That was part [00:33:55] of it, and she had that built into her routines.
That's what I want you to think about, is like [00:34:00] how can you build these things into your routines so they literally just become a part of you? [00:34:05] They're not something you have to put a lot of extra thought into. So I [00:34:10] hope that this is helpful for you. I would love to hear what questions you have [00:34:15] about this.
But just know if you are struggling with [00:34:20] stress, if you have been told that your nervous system is dysregulated [00:34:25] or you know your nervous system is dysregulated, just start [00:34:30] implementing one of these strategies and build them on top of each other. [00:34:35] They will compound, and you will be shocked at how [00:34:40] supportive it is for you, your body, your mood, [00:34:45] everything.
It literally affects everything. As we know, our bodies are intimately connected, [00:34:50] and The nervous system is a great focal point because it is such a [00:34:55] high priority for the body. If you are not safe, a lot of other [00:35:00] things are gonna suffer. You're not gonna be able to get a lot of traction. So you have [00:35:05] to feel safe, and this is such a great way of looking at it, not just [00:35:10] do a daily meditation or do a breathwork.
Those are amazing things, and don't [00:35:15] stop doing them. Don't stop seeing your therapist. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying [00:35:20] build a rhythm and then also do those things and watch [00:35:25] how it compounds. I'm so happy that you're here. I would love to hear from you. [00:35:30] If you can send me a DM on Instagram, tell me your thoughts about this Inst- [00:35:35] send me a DM on Instagram, tell me your thoughts about this episode.
Send me a [00:35:40] message. You can write me an email from my website. Take my assessment. There's a lot of [00:35:45] different ways that you can interact and tell me how y- these episodes [00:35:50] are landing for you. Are they helping? Do you get something out of them? How [00:35:55] is it helping you? I would love to hear from you. And that is it for today.
[00:36:00] Thank you again for being here. Next week, we are gonna close out with our hormones [00:36:05] episode. It's gonna be very similar to this. It is not gonna be me [00:36:10] listing out the different hormones and what they do. It's gonna be the understanding [00:36:15] of how your daily rhythms and foundations support your hormones [00:36:20] and how your hormones have a hierarchy, and we have to respect and [00:36:25] honor that hierarchy so that we can actually get some traction and [00:36:30] have hormones that are functioning the way we want them to.
So thank you for being here. [00:36:35] Have a great day
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and [00:36:40] informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. I am not a [00:36:45] medical doctor, and this content is not intended to diagnose, treat, [00:36:50] cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult with a qualified healthcare professional [00:36:55] before making any decisions related to your health, especially if you have a medical condition [00:37:00] or are taking medications
