Lifestyle Archives - Page 10 of 17 - Plattsville Natural Health Clinic

Sleep Hygiene: How to get a better night’s sleep

October 27, 2015 by elisha

What is Sleep Hygiene?

Sleep hygiene refers to good sleep habits. Just like you might have good oral hygiene practices (i.e. brushing your teeth or flossing), you can also have good or bad sleep habits that contribute to the quality of your sleep. Though there are sleep medications that can aid sleep in the short term, adopting good sleep hygiene practices can help in the long term with sleeping difficulties.

Why is sleep important?

Sleep can have several health benefits that include, but are not limited to:

Clearing the brain of toxins
Restoring the body physically
Processing information and memorizing
Regulating mood
Strengthening the immune system

What is “Good” Sleep Hygiene?

The following is a list of tips and tricks to develop a better sleep hygiene and routine around sleep. It may be challenging for individuals to adopt all of these sleep habits, but even a couple can make a difference.

Routine – Go to bed the same time every day and get up at the same time every day (including weekends and days off).
When you are tired, go to sleep – It is better to only go to bed when you are tired rather than lying awake for an extended period of time.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco – If you are going to have coffee, best to consume it in the morning and not into the evening. If you are going to have tobacco or alcohol, it is best to avoid it 4-6 hours before going to bed.
The bed is for sleeping and sex – Avoid using the bed for watching television, eating, working, etc.
Avoid taking naps during the day – This will make sure you feel tired when you do go to bed.
Develop a sleep ritual – This might involve having a calming tea, breathing exercises, or relaxing stretches before bed. This will look different for everyone.
Do not watch the clock – Watching the clock when you are trying to sleep can reinforce negative thoughts regarding sleep.
Use a sleep diary – Sleep diaries allow you to track progress and know how well or not so well you actually sleep. They also allow you to notice patterns that could be adjusted. They can also be a helpful tool for your health care provider when discussing where treatment needs to go if you still struggle with sleep.
Exercise – Exercise is a good lifestyle habit to develop, but should be avoided at night. Exercise is best done in the morning or early afternoon.
Regular healthy eating – Having a heavy meal too close to bed can disrupt sleep. Therefore, avoiding heavy meals before bed can be beneficial.
Make the bedroom a sleep healthy environment – Making the bedroom as dark as possible and quiet as possible sets the stage for good sleep.
Keep your daily routines the same – If you have a disrupted sleep, try to keep the activities you planned the same as it can reinforce the sleep disturbance.
Avoid Screens – It is important to avoid screens when you are trying to fall asleep. The lights from a TV screen, computer screen, or cell phone can be stimulating and keep you awake as opposed to helping you fall asleep.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact Elisha Cook via the contact portion of this website.

Halloween Treats for Children with Food Allergies

October 13, 2015 by elisha

Halloween is fast approaching, and many households are preparing for the arrival of many ghouls, princesses, and superheroes by purchasing some tasty treats. However, not all children are able to have the variety of treats that may be available. This notion is how the “teal pumpkin project” began. For those of you who do not know, the teal pumpkin project involves placing a teal pumpkin on your porch to let other families know that you have safe alternatives for children with allergies. Many families will project the usual chocolates and chips for those who can eat these treats, but will place alternative choices in a separate bowl (to avoid potential contamination [though the risk is quite low]).

By providing alternatives, it gives all children an equal chance to participate in Halloween. This project also shines light on the issues of food allergies and other conditions such as diabetes. Food allergies are vast and can include many different items including:

Gluten
Dairy
Chocolate
Egg
Red Food Colouring
Yellow Food Colouring
Nuts
Seeds
Sugar

It can be challenging to find food items that avoid all of these particular foods, but below are provided some different options that you might choose to provide as an alternative if you are participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project.

Stickers
Pencils
Erasers
Temporary tattoos
Rings
Small Pads of Paper
Coconut Water

Food items that you may be able to provide for some trick-or-treaters with food allergies (but possibly not all) may include some of the below ideas:

Gum (avoid coloured gums to avoid the dyes and food colouring)
Juice (depending on the brand or type it may contain food colouring, and most likely sugar)
Lara Bars (these may contain nuts)
Plain Chips (avoid flavoured chips as it may contain hidden forms of milk i.e. whey
Gummy Candies (these are not always void of gluten, dairy, eggs, or food colouring)

In summary, the teal pumpkin project is ultimately a way to help children feel included despite their medical situation. I would encourage all households to attempt to be able to provide some form of alternative that may be safe for all youngsters!

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Gratitude Practices

October 6, 2015 by elisha

As Thanksgiving approaches this weekend, it is important to consider what one is thankful for. However, as some may have heard before, an “attitude of gratitude” is a type of attitude that should be adopted year round. This type of grateful thinking on a regular basis can have many health benefits including, but not limited to:

Increased ability to achieve life goals.
Increased happiness
Strengthened and built relationships
Increase alertness and energy
Longer and better quality of sleep
Increased immunity
Increase overall physical health

For more detail on the mechanism and precise estimates on how much gratefulness can benefit your health, see my previous blog on the health benefits of being thankful. Now that we know what being thankful can do for our health, one needs to know how one can adopt this gratitude mindset. Different individuals may choose to do this differently. For some it will be more of an outward expression, for others it may be more internal. The bottom line is choose what suits you best, and go from there. The list below provides some examples of what has been researched and shown to have positive health benefits, but you do not need to limit thankfulness practices to these suggestions. Get creative and get thankful in the way you deem best! I challenge you to try and conduct a thankful exercise of your choice every day and see how it benefits you.

Record happy events – improve well – being and positive emotions
Express gratitude – improve well-being and positive emotions
Give thanks to God for all you have both tangible and non-tangible – In some studies when expressed toward God caused decreased stress and improved health in stressful situations
Record things grateful for – improve emotional well-being and interpersonal benefits
Look in the mirror and say I appreciate you and am thankful for you – For the health benefits of positive self-talk and for some other self-affirmations you can speak over yourself, refer to my past blog on positive self-talk.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Sources:

http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/29/6/12.full

http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-XLKX200903022.htm

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/84/2/377/

http://roa.sagepub.com/content/28/2/163.short

Why a lot of quick – fix weight loss programs and supplements DO NOT work

September 16, 2015 by elisha

Billions of dollars are made in the weight loss industry. Many people strive to gain the perfect physique and pay much in order to reap the gains. Unfortunately, amongst many programs that do work to help people lose weight and keep it off, there are many programs that do not work in the long run. As a result, I hope to help debunk some of the mythical ideologies that some of these programs purport to work.

The Myths:

You can lose weight without diet changes and exercise.

In order to maintain weight loss goals, you need to change your diet and increase exercise to a level that balances energy in and energy out. This differs between everyone, and so, you may require more or less calories, and more or less exercise than another individual.

You can lose a lot of weight all at once and keep it off.

Unfortunately, this myth is the worst one of them all. In order to achieve weight loss that will last, an individual should not exceed losing 1-2 pounds per week. That being said, when an individual initially undertakes changing their diet and exercise patterns, they may undergo more than 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week, which is normal. Anything beyond the 1-2 pound weight loss puts an individual’s body into what I call “starvation mode”. As a result of this state, the body is more likely to accumulate weight because of fear of when it will get its “next meal”. In addition, if the individual “falls off the tracks” in regards to their weight loss program and gains back the weight they lost, they will most likely gain back more than what they initially lost, because once again, the body fears that it will not survive if put into another “starvation mode” and so uses the increased weight to protect itself.

You can go back to the way you were eating after discontinuing the program.

As was mentioned above, without appropriate diet and lifestyle changes, one cannot maintain weight loss. Therefore if you are eating more restricted and suddenly go back to the way you were eating before, you are more likely to gain weight. That being said, that does not mean you can never have a treat or have a cheat day. As I tell many patients, everything in moderation, including exercising and diet. You have to adopt a diet and lifestyle that will ultimately be realistic for you.

You can severely restrict calories for some time and still be healthy.

Once again, this myth is debunked by the explanation behind the debunking of the second myth. You will put your body into a starvation mode with severely restricted calories, resulting in an overall weight gain.

You can take a pill and it will help you to lose weight and keep it off.

Anything that causes you to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week is not sustainable. This includes various weight loss supplements. In addition, many of the weight loss supplements that do have profound effects have ingredients in them that can be harmful when taken long term. A naturopathic doctor may choose to put you on a supplement to help you through a plateau season, but beyond that, supplements will not help you maintain weight loss in a realistic manner.

Bottom Line: Aside from changing your diet, exercise and lifestyle, you cannot be guaranteed to maintain the weight loss that you gain. In order to keep it off, you need to maintain a lifestyle that consists of healthy dietary habits; adequate exercise; and appropriate lifestyle measures including adequate sleep, stress management, and everything in moderation. If you are interested in achieving weight loss that will work for you, consider contacting myself, and let me help you develop a weight loss strategy that will help you maintain the weight loss that you acquire.

Have you benefitted from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.