“How do I go to sleep, Mommy?”

Apparently, my childhood inquiry is just as valid today.

“How do I go to sleep?”

My mom said, “just close eyes and be still.”

Well, a lot of help that gave me.

I can still hear her saying, “close eyes,” as she left my room at night. My little eyes popped open as soon as she closed the door.

But think about it: the steps are to get into bed, close my eyes, and be still.

Mom got me into bed; now, I am responsible for that.

How about you? Binge-watching just one more show? Reading just one more story on your phone?

Many of us have not absorbed the message that sleep is a priority or how to get to sleep, it seems, because an article this week shared graph after graph of evidence showing that Americans are getting even less sleep than ever.

And it’s mostly the women who are faring the worst in each comparison.

Stress is being cited as the culprit, and that’s easy to see, but the effects of a lack of sleep must be seen as major contributors to the stress levels being felt.

What’s the purpose of sleep, anyway?

Let’s summarize:

Tissue repair and healing – in ways we can see externally, and moreover, in ways we cannot see internally. Daily life creates a lot of wear and tear on our bodies and minds – it takes 7-9 hours of sleep to clean up, mend, renew, and heal.

Regulation of body processes – especially seen with hormones, the hours of sleep allow the body to have time to reset back to normal levels. When hormones are regulated, body systems function smoothly.

Brain function – we’ve all experienced sleep-deprived fuzzy-brain feel from time to time. Looks like most of the country is having a rough time of right thinking. Just watch the nightly news. Memory function and clear thinking are contingent upon consistently getting enough sleep.

Normalizing blood sugar levels – in addition to right eating, blood sugar levels are greatly affected by our getting regular adequate rest.

Weight management – another part of that hormone regulation mentioned above is the role of appetite suppressing and appetite stimulating hormones that can get unbalanced when there is not enough sleep time.

Stress reduction – did you have a stressful day? Not getting enough sleep causes even more stress hormones to be released. This creates a textbook example of a vicious cycle.

Reduce inflammation – here’s my favorite topic. Remember, all diseases have some major causative factor rooted in inflammation. Sleep helps to regulate some of the factors that would cause inflammation.

Is it a coincidence that along with inadequate sleep, we are seeing an uptick in obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and more?

There is no one answer or approach to solving the tsunami of sleep deprivation being experienced across the country – and probably the world.  But making a difference in our singular lives, doing one thing less every night that’s keeping us from going to bed in a timely fashion would help.

Now, close eyes.

In health –

Deidre

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“Well, I didn’t make it to the gym today like I’d hoped.”

Ever said that?

“In fact, today is a bust, as well.”

Welcome to my world.

So, that means what? I keep plugging away, sitting at my computer, suffering from the effects of limited movement?

I could have taken that path, but several workouts today have left me feeling invigorated, stretched out, and standing much taller – and it took almost no time at all.

Cumulatively, I’ve logged a whopping ten minutes of stretching exercises taken in three small intervals while I was waiting.

Waiting for the coffee to brew.

Waiting for breakfast to cook in the pan.

Waiting for the water to boil and the tea to brew.

Sure, there will be sustained effort in the gym this week, but when I do these few movements, I am a new person right now, at home.

After a recent workout that focused on upper body, my shoulder girdle was still feeling tight, so I returned to this favorite twist on arm circles:

Arm Circle Variation:

Standing with feet a shoulder width apart, stretch out arms to the side, horizontally to the floor.

Turn palms UP facing the ceiling. This is the trick.

Stretch your arms out as far as you can comfortably, as if trying to touch the walls. Do not drop your arms between any of the repetitions.

Make 8 small arm circles going forward, followed by 8 going backward.

Make 8 medium circles going forward, followed by 8 going backward.

Make 8 large circles going forward, followed by 8 going backward.

Now you may lower your arms.

This sounds so simple, but by turning the palms to face the ceiling, the dynamics are totally changed! You will find a surprising challenge and a great movement to open up your body just by doing this variation.

Okay, that should take a minute and a half – plus or minus. Make sure to keep reaching for the walls as you do the arm circles, and make sure to create the large one as big as you can comfortably do.

Next, I do a series of head/neck and torso movements that instantly loosen up and increase range of motion for my upper body, releasing tension:

Head turns to the right and left

Head nods up and down

Torso twists to the right and left

All movements are done slowly with a pause at the neutral center position.

Each repetition is done very gently, stopping at the slightest resistance, and seems to yield a bit more range of motion each time until I feel limber. Usually, five reps will yield the desired results.

The final minutes to my morning warm up come during brewing our pour-over coffee. Lifting the full glass hot water kettle to slowly pour the steaming water over the grounds offers yet another opportunity for weightlifting – especially using my nondominant hand.

During the pouring pauses, raising the kettle up/out/or across is easy using my right arm, but harder to do with my left.

I hope you enjoy these easy, subtle opportunities to squeeze in a stretch outside of the gym. We have the time – right where we are.

If you like these ideas, please share using the options under the MORE button below.

In health –

Deidre

We’re here to talk about the important ones!

Everything has initials. Back in the day, it was people’s names and organizations being shortened for the headlines: JFK, LBJ, GOP, Dems, ABC, NBC, and the like. Today, not only names but locations, words, whole phrases, diseases, and everything else are being reduced to a chain of letters.

And, apparently, even for things people drink – like SSB.

Do you drink SSB?

Do you have CVD?

Well, if you exercise thinking you can mitigate the physical effects of SSB in hopes of not having another MI – you may be sadly mistaken.

Okay – back to complete words.

A newsletter I received from Chris Kresser, which contained a link to a study that looked at the idea of using exercise to offset risk of coronary vascular disease (CVD) brought on by drinking sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs).

In other words, couldn’t the cardioprotective effects of exercise undo the harm of drinking SSBs?

Wouldn’t it be cool to throw back the SSB of your choice – sweet tea/coffee, soft drink, or any drink using sugar or high fructose corn syrup – and then head for the gym to “work it off?”

Longtime foodtalk4you readers probably can guess the answer: no.

To quote the study:

“The underlying biological mechanism by which SSB intake is associated with an increased risk of CVD includes not only their capacity to induce weight gain but also the high amounts of quickly absorbable carbohydrates (i.e., sugar or high-fructose corn syrup), contributing to an increase in blood glucose and insulin levels and thereby glycemic load [13]. This process exacerbates inflammatory biomarkers and overall inflammation, which are linked to atherosclerosis, ultimately leading to risk of CVD.”

When we talk about an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, that includes:

• choosing food/drinks that nourish our whole bodies without causing stress and strain.
• choosing to exercise regularly in ways that promote growth, healing, and circulation.
• choosing to use coping strategies that promote mental balance.
• choosing a personal community that promotes joy, respect, and common values.

Sugar is not our friend. It promotes inflammation on every level.

Yes, we all had our sugar hit over Valentine’s Day, but let sugar be the treat, not the main course or continual source of dietary pleasure.

So, sorry to burst the bubble of those thinking that exercise could rewrite the script of what we put into our bodies on a regular basis. Exercise can do a lot, but we still need to put quality fuel into our engines.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going for a walk.

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In health –

Deidre

Adding dehydrated mushrooms to all my soups, stews, and chilis has added a new dimension to our warmth-giving winter dishes.

Not only do I find the toothy chew of these dried mushrooms delightful, but there is that undeniable “something” they impart with their flavor factor, aka umami. It is like the fifth flavor after: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty – followed by that savory, yet unidentifiable umami wonderfulness.

ADAPTOGENS:

For several years there’s been a whole thing about mushroom coffee: brews enhanced with adaptogens from certain mushrooms.

Adaptogens are herbs, roots, and other plant substances such as mushrooms that help our bodies manage stress and restore balance. Learn more here.

Some of us think we need that caffeine boost in the morning to sharpen focus and to be our most alert selves, but often find a feeling of being “wired” plaguing us. Yet, there we are, reaching for another cup.

Mushroom coffee mixes are a combination of ground coffee beans and ground mushrooms that are reputed to help us with their adaptogenic effects, including these mushrooms:

Lion’s mane

Chaga

Reishi

Cordyceps

Turkey tail

Therefore, by definition, there is less coffee and caffeine per cup – but always read the labels for the caffeine content.

Each different kind of adaptogenic/medicinal/functional mushroom boasts qualities that help various health concerns HERE. But in general, these ancient Chinese sources of healing are anti-inflammatory, decrease our stress response, and are beneficial to healing, natural immunity, and proper functioning of every body system.

Users report less of a desire to have a second cup of their reduced caffeine brew because they are totally satisfied with how they are feeling – there’s no need for more and there are no nervous jitters – only mental clarity and a certain calm. HERE.

We are reminded by experts to always check with health professionals for recommendations on ingesting any kind of supplement. Medicinal mushroom powders are considered to be supplements and their content is not strictly controlled by the FDA.

If kidney stones or digestive troubles are possible for you, UCLAhealth.org advises:

“In addition, certain types of mushrooms often used in mushroom coffee (notably, the chaga variety) contain high levels of compounds called oxalates. A diet that contains too many oxalates puts you at risk for developing kidney stones.”

Today, I did not use expensive mushroom coffee powder. Rather, I grabbed a dehydrated shiitake mushroom cap and used the microplane grater to reduce it to a powder.

After frothing a splash of half and half along with a few drops of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of mushroom powder, and maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of turbinado sugar, I poured my freshly brewed coffee on top and stirred.

The results were yummy. There was a just bit of mushroom powder sludge at the bottom of the cup because I had not used a food processor, but then, I only had a microplane to wash – that’s a win, any day.

We’ll see how I like doing this. I may convert to a more traditional selection of healing mushroom varieties to add to my own brew. I would love to know if you are using mushroom powders, especially in your coffee – please make sure to comment below.

The relaunch of the latest updated version of Toolkit for Caregivers is moving to the formatting and production stage, and the work that Sheree is doing on some of the supplementary materials we will be offering readers is so beautiful!

I can’t wait to show you the covers for the audio download and complementary materials that will provide caregivers with additional strategies for their own wellbeing. Soon. Very soon!

If we ever needed a boost in mental clarity and destressing, that would be now and in the coming months.

In health –

Deidre

Can you relate to these two things I am discovering about myself?

1. It’s hard to sustain all the good things I want to do for my health all the time without reminders.
2. While I don’t believe in a ‘magic pill’ approach to anything, there’s a part of me that wants to.

Take lunges, for instance. I’ve written about them in foodtalk4you and in my books several times. Lunges are a great movement to do to stretch those muscles that tighten up from too much sitting.

If you have a watch or device that reminds you to stand and move every hour, just take a minute to lunge.

Why did I forget that?

For now, my goal is to do lunges several times a day when I get that reminder. Lunges keep us tuned in to balance and stretching.

Out of practice? Make sure to start out easy, no big deep knee bending, but enough to get you going. Check out this link for beginner lunge techniques.

On to the “magic pill” mentality.

In the October 10^th post last year, I was sharing various fiber sources in foods and the benefits of stir-in fiber goodness found in seeds and products like Metamucil. As faithful readers know, fiber feeds the ‘good guy’ inhabitants of our microbiome, adds bulk to the end product of digestion, and making stool easier to pass.

Our household was consuming a lot of fiber, but the results were less than stellar in terms of time spent in the bathroom.

What we neglected was remembering that there are other ways to feed gut bacteria: ingesting live bacteria found in yogurt, unpasteurized sauerkraut, and supplementation of live probiotics in capsules.

So, when recently taking an antibiotic to put the kibosh on my 5 week URI/crud, I naturally turned to an old friend, a probiotic pill briming with live bacteria, to repopulate my gut from the effects of the antibiotic.

Not only did I get my voice and overall health back, but my digestive system was functioning like a champ. Eureka!

And no Metamucil!

One easy to take capsule every morning. I used to do that way back when.

Why did I forget?

See discovery #1 which so conveniently ties into discovery #2.

Our good health is so interrelated to everything. Yes, there’s a lot we can do on so many levels that we may feel it’s hard to work it all in most of the time.

Will my “magic pill” be the sole answer to “keep me going?”

Not without daily exercise, adequate hydration, good sources of fiber from whole food, and creating an inner balance to managing stress.

So, here’s a friendly reminder to consider adding or beefing up probiotics from various sources to your daily diet along with the many other things you are already doing. Oh, and try some lunges when your device reminds you to move.

I may secretly long for that “magic pill,” but answers come from understanding the bigger picture and applying myself every day.

In health –

Deidre

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I remember a grade school scientific experiment in which a young seed sprout was planted in a small pot and placed at the bottom of a box with overlapping half shelves above it. When the box was closed, the little seedling received no direct light, even though there is no lid on the box.

Yet, with watering, it grows.

Its pale stem grows around each half shelf above it until it finally wiggles around the last overhang that separates it from the direct light it needs for photosynthesis.

It’s life sustaining light is found!

One of my regular sources for uplifting thoughts is Amit Sood.

His recent post was this: “Just as trees grow their branches toward the sun, spend more time with the people who are your source of light.”

We need light, too.

We love sunlight, not for photosynthesis – but for warmth, clearer vision, and for that mental/physical/spiritual uplift we get from being in the light.

People can have the same effect on us.

Some people seem to block out the light and drain our energies like those shelves in the dark box, while others literally brighten up our day like sunshine after a storm.

Amit Sood suggested that we consider what is special about the people who are our source of love and light.

Have we noticed what it is about them that, “lights up our life”?

Do others feel that way about us?

As plants and trees seek the sunlight, we too should be seeking the company of others who lift us up. It’s good for us, normal, and healthy.

And – we should be that ray of sunshine for others, as well. What are the traits that we possess that are helpful to others?

So, yes, let’s be more like a tree seeking life-giving sunshine more regularly and let’s be more like the life-giving sun to those around us.

In health –

Deidre

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