3 Do’s and Don’ts When Waking Up
Mornings are the perfect time to relax, set your intentions for the day and get your body in good shape. Unfortunately, many of us cannot resist the urge to reach for the phone to check mail and social networks. Thus, our brain makes a fast switch from peace to productivity. This might be stressful and even dangerous for our health.
To keep your body and mind relaxed from the start of the day, do these simple but essential morning routine practices.
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Reach for loved one’s hand instead of reaching your phone
Expressing love is the best way to start the day and it keeps you… in good health! Specialists at the University of North Carolina have discovered that hugging may lower blood pressure and boost blood levels of oxytocin, a relaxing hormone that plays a key role in breastfeeding, labor, and orgasms.
On the contrary American Psychological Association have found out that individuals who are continually taking a gander at their computerized gadgets (so called “steady checkers”), detailed larger amounts of stress contrasted with individuals who invest less energy interfacing with their phones.
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Refresh your mind instead of refreshing your news feed
Don’t be afraid, you won’t miss anything if you don’t refresh your Facebook account after opening your eyes. Wake up and stay 5 minutes in bed just thinking of killing it at work and how many good things will happen to you during the day! Afterwards, make something that fuels your soul and makes you real happy.
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Check your body balance instead of checking the email
Checking your email in the morning might tell you what’s new in the previous 8 hours, but it will also make your stress hormones to soar. Your recently resting mind suddenly has to process all this data, sending it into panic mode in order to wake up faster. Not only does checking your mail affect your biological chemistry, but it also potentially floods your brain with irritating information.
Do some yoga instead! After 7-8 hours of shut eye, our body responds affectionately to movement, and our mind is clear and receptive to positive ideas. Yoga practice in the morning will set your mental tone for the day.
7 Easy Yoga Poses for Stress Relief
Yoga helps us to work towards becoming a calm and peaceful human beings. Even 10 minutes of yoga daily can have positive benefits on your physical and mental health. The poses combine physical controller breathing, relaxation and meditation. That is why yoga is a mind-body practice that is a proven to be calmness provider.
Yoga can give you relief from chronic back pain and lower your blood pressure. Be aware that not all asanas are particularly effective for promoting tension relief, relaxation and restfulness.
Practicing these 7 positions will give you the stress relief you deserve. So slow down for a second and take a deep breath. It is time for some asanas!
Pose #1: The Bridge
Pose #1: The BridgeNot to be mistaken for the full wheel, this asana flow gives delicate extend of the back and legs muscles while easing stress and pressure. The pose reduces fatigue, headache, anxiety and insomnia. It is also helpful to overcome high blood pressure.
Pose #2: The Child
Pose #2: The ChildA gentle stretch is felt in the back when practicing the popular child’s pose. This calming asana flow eases anxiety and stress, helps cool the mind and is also good for the nerve system. The child’s pose allows us to come inward to ourselves.
Pose #3: Standing Forward Bend
Pose #3: Standing Forward BendThis position naturally calms your muscles and nerves. It’s perfect for your legs and many other parts of your body. By reversing the blood flow you are relieving tension in the neck, spine and back. Thus, your mind is totally relaxed.
Pose #4: The Corpse
Pose #4: The CorpseThis yoga pose comforts the body completely and is considered as the most calming asana flow. Practicing “the corpse” gives you a state of deep relaxation that lowers the blood pressure and calms your nerves. The pose encourages the body to come to a restful state.
Pose #5: The Puppy
Pose #5: The PuppyThe variation of child’s pose has a heart-opening effect. Because of the mild inversion, the asana flow can help you counter your tendency to crouch and slouch the shoulders when stressed. By improving flexibility, especially in the spine, it relieves symptoms of chronic stress and insomnia.
Pose #6: The Legs-Up-The-Wall
Pose #6: The Legs-Up-The-WallThis asana flow helps renew blood and lymph drainage back into the heart area. It is one of the most approachable yoga poses because it doesn’t require much strength or flexibility. But even though it’s a passive pose, its benefits are amazing – it helps lower anxiety, stress and insomnia.
Pose #7: The Cat
Pose #7: The CatThe cat pose soothes perfectly by stretching the lower back and gently massages the spine. Since it’s a breath synchronized movement, the asana flow helps relieve stress from menstrual cramps, lower back pain and sciatica. The cat strengthens and improves flexibility of the spine, through utilization of the reciprocal relationship between the primary and secondary curves.
The 3 Most Common Sleep Disorders
Do you experience difficulty getting or staying asleep? Do you wake up in the morning feeling as if you never truly slept at all or wake in the middle of the night unable to come back to rest? Or, perhaps you feel drained and exhausted every day? If so, you may have one of the most common sleep disorders – insomnia, narcolepsy or EDS.
Insomnia
Insomnia is the most widely recognized sleep disorder. Approximately 50% of all people having experienced symptoms once in a while, and the statistics show that about 10% of Americans are suffering from chronic insomnia.
This sleeping disorder is characterized by trouble falling asleep and waking up often. Individuals with insomnia have at least one of the following symptoms:
- Trouble falling asleep
- Waking earlier in the morning
- Waking up frequently in the middle of the night and having problem going back to sleep
- Feeling tired after waking
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control its sleep – wakefulness cycle. More than 200,000 Americans suffer from this sleeping disorder. The symptoms are:
- Cataplexy – in narcolepsy this is the term for muscles weakening when you feel strong emotions like anger, surprise or laughter.
- Daytime sleepiness
- Hypnagogic hallucinations – having nightmares or vivid, dreamlike experiences that seem real while falling asleep or waking up
- Sleep disruption
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)
Approximately 60% of adult drivers have driven a vehicle half asleep. More than 33% have fallen asleep during driving. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a side effect that can be found in several sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea and periodic limb movement disorder. People with EDS have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Difficulty waking in the morning.
- Dozing off during inappropriate times such as in the middle of conversations, or while driving.
- Poor school/job performance.
- Feelings of irritability or anxiety.
Sleep is a critical function and the lack of sleep can have severe consequences. Do you have any of the symptoms of the most common sleep disorder? If you suspect you have such a problem, it is important to seek the expert opinion of your physician.