Category Archives: Stress Reduction

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Happy Hour!

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A listener to my webinar, Unique Tips for Family Caregivers That Will Amaze You, recently confided in me that my tip to, “bring the party home,” in a caregiving setting – imparted a special message to her even though she was not currently a caregiver.

She and her husband both work; and apparently, they have been morphing from working, to doing their evening time routine without any fanfare. No pause. No exchange of thoughts.

When she heard me describe how happy hour was such a lifeline to both me and my loved one, and how it gradually changed over time but was always maintained, she got to thinking about her own life.

That very night, she asked her husband to stop what he was doing so they could sit on the front porch together for just a few minutes. To pause. To reflect on their day.

Ten minutes.

No alcohol.

Soda and iced tea.

They got out of their respective work selves to just be them. Together. Having a moment.

She practically had tears in her eyes as she related to me how this simple idea – although golden for caregivers – transformed their evening and blessed their relationship as well – and is really a golden idea for everyone.

So, remember happy hour – every night.

Alone? Call a friend over.

Want to socialize a bit extra? Call some more friends over.

Fancy charcuterie trays are optional. A bowl of gluten-free pretzels will do nicely.

Also optional is alcohol. Hot or cold coffee, tea is great, or try sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice.

Want to be alone tonight? Find a special spot to relax, reflect, and to tie up the busy day before jumping into dinner prep.

No cell phones.

Just sayin’.

In health –

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

May Thoughts

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Thoughts?

Maybe ‘random thoughts’ would be more appropriate.

My mind is wandering in several directions about things I want to share with you.

First, I hope everyone was able to enjoy beautiful moments this past weekend as Mother’s Day was celebrated in the United States. Whether in a shared event together, or in a precious memory of your own mother or mother-figure in your life, I hope you were able to honor that mothering influence.

Second, because of a great conversation with my dental hygienist recently, I am re-reading Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor.

In 2021, I wrote two posts about breathing, HERE and HERE, because his message was life changing in its simplicity and in its depth.

“What do you mean?” you ask. “How hard is it to breathe?”

Whether you are a new or old subscriber to foodtalk4you, I urge you to read those two posts. I also hope you will be intrigued enough to purchase and dive into his book.

My hygienist understands the very tight connectivity of all the elements that affect our health, and we both agreed that those connections are probably even tighter than we had imagined.

To wit – could my reflux be tied to other issues in the GI tract, and is it causing the need for throat clearing at night, and could that all be due to breathing abnormalities while asleep?

Oh, my. So many questions.

But I do know to look inward for most of my cures – both from exploring my mindset and in exploring my actions in eating, moving, and living.

A couple of months ago, I was relieved to hear that I could safely take my antacid twice a day. Man! That second dose around 5 pm really helped with late evening reflux – for a while.

After that conversation with my hygienist, a switch flipped in my brain. Our stomach is supposed to maintain an acidic environment.

What was I doing while trying to neutralize everything?

What was that doing to the rest of my GI system? The balance in my small intestine – home to my microbiome – would surely be affected.

And how about the quality of my sleep? While not a mouth breather, maybe I was just not taking in enough air because of my poorly constructed nasal passages.

Should I resume wearing a nose strip to keep my nostrils more open?

Hey, I stopped using those nose strips a couple of years ago … just when that reflux started to ramp up!

In truth, I cut my nose strips into three strips because that was enough to do the job.

That very day, I had a different mindset. Following the creed that ‘we are designed for health,’ I rooted around to figure out what action I was doing impeding my health.

So, I resumed my nightly nose strip ritual and have not taken a single antacid since.

Continuing to closely monitor normal dietary reflux triggers – spicy foods, bending over too soon after eating, and excessive alcohol – I am feeling I am on the road to straightening out some health issues.

My message to all is, how we breathe makes an enormous difference in health matters that may seem far removed from the nose.

If you or someone you know is frequently clearing their throat, there is a strong likelihood there may be a reflux issue involved. There may also be inhibited breathing.

Maybe a sleep study will be needed for some people if the recommendations in Breath do not help, but it’s worth checking out, getting informed, and following up.

It’s a beautiful day to breathe freely and clearly. As always, sharing this post is easy using the options under the MORE button below.

In health –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

It Happens Every Day

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There are so many ways we become caregivers for our loved ones. Each pathway carries with it unique challenges family caregivers must hurdle.

An everyday walk in the park with grandma can turn into a fall that results in a potentially life -changing broken bone. Suddenly, there is an ambulance, surgery, and, hopefully, recovery and a successful rehab.

Other families are dealing with the cumulative effects of a long decline.

Whatever the path or circumstance, people all over the globe are becoming caregivers to loved ones. Even those who consider themselves prepared, find themselves at the base of a very steep learning curve.

Recognizing that most family caregivers do not have the luxury of time to leisurely figure things out, I have continued with my efforts to effectively flatten that learning curve – both in my books, and at various speaking engagements.

With a mantra, “No one should have to reinvent the wheel,” tucked into my heart, I shared “Unique Tips for Family Caregivers That Will Amaze You,” to save others the struggle of solo learning. This fifty-five-minute program hosted by Minerva Villarreal and facilitated by Evalyn Greb, is a part of the outreach program by the WellMed Charitable Foundation. 

Another program they do to support caregiver needs is their shorter, “Caregiver SOS On Air” podcast. I will be doing a return visit on June 25th to this great podcast.

HERE is the link to my first Caregiver SOS On Air podcast on December 19, 2024. Scroll to the bottom of their page to find it, but also check out the other titles to see what a rich resource they provide caregivers.

While no longer a caregiver, I am always on the lookout for any resource that could help others, and I have found Family Caregivers Support Group on Facebook to provide an excellent venue for caregivers to connect and support each other.

In the steady stream of postings, I not only see the despair and self-sacrifice of overwhelmed caregivers – but also an abundance of love, understanding, and great wisdom from others readily, lending their support and ideas.

Not a caregiver?

That’s great, but I bet you know one.

Did you ever tell them, “Call me if you need anything?”

We’ve all probably said that. When they don’t call, we think everything must be okay.

Meh.

That’s probably not the case.

Often, caregivers don’t know what they need. They probably are not used to asking for help or being on the receiving end of a kind gesture.

In my recent webinar, I was advising others that being a caregiver could mean all kinds of tasks, and what those who would like to help them could do:

  • Decorate their loved one’s room with simple seasonal decorations.
  • Put up a birdfeeder for their loved one to watch, and keep it refilled.
  • Either take them out for a coffee or offer to stop by and bring the coffee and a treat.
  • Offer to stay with their loved for a few hours one so they can go for a walk or run errands.
  • Just stop by and sit with them. No special conversation is needed.
  • Maybe pray with them.

Sometimes, the caregivers are a little hesitant to reach out with requests. I encourage them to do so, but those of us on the outside might need to be more proactive in doing something seemingly small, but which becomes giant-sized because of its loving consideration.

We’re all in this together!

In health –

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Who’s Sleeping?

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“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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Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

The Potion is Motion

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Are you a note taker?

I take notes when listening to speeches all the time – there’s always some new idea I want to remember or refer to again. Note pads and notebooks abound at home.

It’s like I can’t listen without taking notes – the same way some people can’t talk without using their hands. (Oops, I may do that, too!)

While rummaging through my desk drawer in search of …  a notepad – what else? I rediscovered some old scribbles I have referred to several times:

The more emotion you are in, the more motion you should be in.

Wish I could give credit to the lady speaking to our group back then, but her name was not in my notes. She shared with us how stress hormones directly affect our physical health, and how we could counteract natural reaction through movement.

Her introduction to the connection between stress and physical disease was, “the more signs and symptoms we have of stress, the more we need to do something different.”

What are your signs of a stress reaction?

For many, ground zero may be the stomach:

The stomach is one of the most common places people hold stress. Stress in the abdomen/stomach usually manifests itself in maldigestion, changes in appetite, and even stomach pain. If you’re someone who tends to resist change or feels like you don’t have power over their life, you might hold stress in your stomach.

Our speaker described the stress hormones we release as, “getting caught in the body, wrapping around internal organs … and killing us.”

Now, there’s a graphic image to remember.

Then she crystalized the knowledge that exercise increases the production of our feel-good transmitters, called endorphins, by saying that getting our bodies in, “a new motion would result in a new emotion.”

Today’s simple reminder is to:

Use our “magic potion”

of getting our bodies in motion

to create better emotions

that will slay that thing wrapped around our innards.

—————————

In health and still doing planks and wall sits –

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

April – The Month For Isometric Exercises!

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Are you up for an April challenge?

Grab a wall and sit down.

I’m committed to revisiting an old friend that’s been neglected – the plank trifecta – and to embrace an isometric exercise I’ve never done consistently before – the wall squat, or wall sit, if you prefer – because that’s what it looks like.

If you are a long-time reader, you know my passion for planks – they have done me well over the years and have proven to be transformative to tighten my core. And yet, I have allowed planks to fall by the wayside from my daily routine.

A great way to start a habit/routine is to incorporate it into another one that is already established – like I do every morning with arm exercises while using my pour-over method to brew coffee, (explained in a recent post, February 27th).

The coffee making process is firmly established. All I had to do was tweak it a bit to give my biceps and shoulders a great workout.  

It’s been just a few weeks, but I can feel the difference; and my non-dominate arm is now much stronger than when I started.

So, to successfully start a new habit, I have added a simple sticky note in view of my office desk, that reminds me to do my planks and wall sit before I get deeply involved in daily writing projects.

I can report that today’s initial return to planks was quite acceptable: thirty seconds each of straight arm, forearm, and knee planks. Beginners may start with as little as fifteen seconds of the easier knee plank, and gradually lengthen time before adding another position.

What a workout! After only a minute and a half, I experienced a more rapid heartbeat and shaky muscles. Awesome!

Please check with your health care provider before starting any kind of new exercise, and if pain is experienced at any time, stop exercising.

A review of plank techniques may be found HERE.

That smooth surface on the Murphy bed in my office is the perfect place to do my wall sits.

Somehow, the idea of using a painted wall to scooch down into the wall sit position didn’t seem proper to me – I mean, what if my back were to sweat or the color of my clothes were to mar the paint?

Now, the perfect set-up is staring at me every day. No excuses.

If you are not used to the wall sit – and I am not – it can be a bit of a challenge. I eked out 30 seconds today, and my thighs were definitely talking to me.

And that’s okay.

Eventually, I will do my first set of three, thirty-second wall sits.

In time.

A review of the wall sit exercise may be found HERE.

Planks and wall sits are called isometric exercises, and they can be an important part of our regular routine for strengthening core muscles and increasing joint stability.

Isometric exercises produce no movement – muscles are held in a certain position which creates muscle fatigue, but is less challenging to the joints than regular exercises.

Here are five benefits to incorporating isometric exercises:

They help us get in shape without a high intensity workout and are a good start for an exercise program.

Isometric exercises help maintain muscle and joint strength.

Wall squats, especially, have been shown to lower blood pressure.

Rehabilitation after injury or surgery is helped with isometric exercise.

Those with osteoarthritis can build strength and increase range of motion doing isometric exercise as a warm-up to traditional exercise.

The Cleveland Clinic has a great summary about isometric exercise and offers additional exercises to try out HERE.

For now, planks and wall sits are my April challenge. How about you?

In health –

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Turning Away From The Noise

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Imagine Little Orphan Annie singing, “It’s the hard knock life,” except with different words:

“It’s the cell phone life for us.

It’s the cell phone life for us.

‘Stead of newspapers,

We get tweets.

‘Stead of hugs,

We get emojis.

It’s the cell phone life for us.”

After putting up a valiant level of resistance, I must admit, turning to my cell phone for communication, reading, and research is becoming mainstream.

FOMO, (fear of missing out), leads to a quick check of all platforms I use – which leads to reacting to various messages. We feel compelled to throw our two cents in at every turn.

This is taking time. My time. My life.

I am seeing trends where reactions dominate, rather than thoughtful responses. Knee-jerk reactions seem to rule the day, overshadowing the rarity of creative and well-reasoned thinking.

Personal creativity is usually not born from a quick response or by simple emulation of others, and it can’t come by living in a swirl of see-this-now messages.

Creative moments come when we turn away from the noise. Letting our minds wander, free from distractions.

Dare we take the challenge of scheduling twenty minutes a day without technology?

If you are a parent of adult children, remember the days when you longed for just a few minutes of quiet to glue your thoughts together? Parents of today seem to be wishing for a few minutes to scroll through their phones, dropping reactions as they swipe.

Today, I am being a voice calling in the wilderness perhaps; but could we claim regular time away from the noise of the chatter to develop some creativity of our own?

In health –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Which Way To The Gym, You Ask?

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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

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

What’s An Acronym and Why Is It Important?

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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

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Umami and What Else?

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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.

Turkey Tail Mushroom

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.

Turbinado Sugar

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