Category: Health

Food cravings are strong enough to make you indulge in eating a little more than you should. Interestingly, such cravings are not only related to satisfying your taste buds and hunger but also say a lot about your health. For instance, your craving for certain foods can indicate that your body is actually in need of certain minerals or nutrients. Satisfying your cravings by eating the relevant foods can help replenish your body’s nutrient requirement as well as give your energy levels a great boost. Therefore, it is essential to satisfy your cravings for a healthier wellbeing. So next time when you have a food preference, indulge in some healthy delicious treat.

Why Do You Get Food Cravings?

There are several factors that propel the intense desire for a food. The part of your brain responsible for reward, pleasure, and memory also controls your food cravings. The memory area of your brain associates specific food with rewards. New research and brain tests suggest that the memory region plays a more crucial role in food craving than the reward center region. When your body detects any imbalance, it sends out messages in the form of cravings. Cravings can be caused due to various factors.

Here are some of the major reasons that are known to cause cravings:

Dehydration

Over 70 percent of the human body is comprised of water. Inadequate water content can leave you feeling thirsty and dehydrated causing hunger. Drinking a glass of water is the first thing you need to do during cravings.

Stress

Besides satisfying your hunger, food also provides you with emotional support. Stress and anxiety can lead to sugar and fat cravings. The NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response of your body functions as a natural protective agent against stress. When your body detects stressful situations, the brain signals your adrenal glands for secreting cortisol, an anti-stress hormone to combat stress. However, repeated stress puts more pressure on your adrenals for increased cortisol secretion. As a result, your adrenals get overburdened causing a decline in cortisol levels and reducing your body’s stress-fighting ability.

Carbohydrates help boost the level of the serotonin hormone which produces a calming effect. To explore the effect of stress on food cravings, researchers conducted a study on stressed-out rats which revealed that the stressed rats preferred eating sugar and fat. The research also showed that feeding on sugar and fat reduced secretion of stress-related hormones.

Hormonal Imbalance

Hormonal imbalances can also lead to cravings. An imbalance in the level of leptin, serotonin, and endorphins can make you crave for food. Fluctuation in hormone levels is high during pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause which can give rise to some unique cravings. People with adrenal fatigue have high cortisol levels and crave salty and fatty foods.

Nutritional Deficiency

Your body requires a variety of micronutrients, macronutrients, and minerals for optimal functioning. Nutrients also play a significant role in nourishing your adrenals as well as accelerating your process of adrenal fatigue recovery. However, when your body does not get the required nutrients, it sends signals in the form of cravings. Craving for particular foods reveals the type of nutrients your body is lacking. For instance, insufficient mineral levels can cause salt cravings which can be satisfied naturally by including unprocessed sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, goat milk, tuna and salmon in your diet. Inadequate nutrition can also produce cravings for non-nutritional foods such as caffeine or sugar.

Genes

Individual food preferences can also largely depend on a person’s genes and upbringing. Studies suggest that genetics can affect a person’s intake levels of sugar and salt as well as preferences for food such as dark chocolate, blue cheese, artichokes, bacon, coffee, and broccoli.

Food Cravings: What Are They Actually Telling You?

Cravings can range from salty, sweet, and fatty to sour. They signal you that your body is in need of something. Food cravings can have an underlying cause and maybe symptom or signs of an imbalance. Certain cravings can also be your body’s response to nutrient depletion. In fact, each type of food craving indicates what nutrient your body is actually in need of. Therefore, being aware of your cravings and understanding its real meaning can prove helpful in finding out what your body actually needs. Thus satisfying your cravings is pertinent to meet your body’s nutrient requirement.

Cravings actually help you in identifying the nutrients that your body is lacking. Here is a list of some of the commonly experienced food cravings and the nutrient depletion they indicate:

Craving for Protein Foods

Inadequate protein can make your body crave for protein-rich foods such as chicken, fish, and meat. Proteins help in keeping you full and energetic throughout the day. Starting your day with a protein-rich diet can also help fight fatigue.
If you frequently experience fatigue along with one or a set of symptoms that include low energy levels, anxiety, brain fog, a decrease in concentration level, insomnia, difficulty in waking up, or salty and fatty food cravings, then chances are high that you might be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). People usually have reactive hypoglycemia in advanced stages of adrenal fatigue during which a high-fat diet can help minimize tiredness and irritability but can often produce protein cravings. In such cases, a combination of a fat and protein-rich diet can help alleviate the symptoms.

Craving for Salty Foods

This indicates that your body requires chloride which is essential for healthy digestion and maintaining electrolyte levels. Raw goat milk and yogurt, Himalayan pink salt, sea salt and fish are great foods to satisfy your salt craving. A tuna fish sandwich along with goat’s yogurt make a great meal. You can also make salmon and crumbled goat cheese salad drizzled with olive oil, mixed herbs and sea salt. Make sure to avoid extremely salty junk foods such as potato chips.

Craving for Fatty Foods

If you crave for fatty foods such as pizza, French fries and soda then your body is in need of calcium. A healthier alternative to satisfy such cravings includes unprocessed cheese, avocado, mustard, sesame, kale, turnip greens, broccoli, legumes, olive oil, coconut oil and organic butter. Toasted sesame, almond and flax seeds sprinkled with sea salt and fresh ground pepper make a tasty and healthy snack to satisfy your salty and fatty food cravings.

Craving for Sweets

If you are craving for sweets then your body needs phosphorus, chromium, sulfur, tryptophan, and carbon. To get phosphorous, consider eating nuts, grains, legumes, chicken, eggs, and fish. Beans, broccoli, unprocessed cheese, chicken, and grapes are sources of chromium. Cruciferous vegetables, cabbage, kale, horseradish, and cranberries are great sources of sulfur whereas unprocessed cheese, spinach, sweet potatoes, and raisins are rich in tryptophan. For carbon intake, include a variety of fresh fruits in your diet. Sweet cravings can also indicate that you are tired and lacking sleep. In such cases, taking a nap or going for a short walk can help boost your energy levels. Read More Article Here

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The sounds of nature tend to be lost in our modern lives. It seems as though all we do is drive around and travel from place to place, thinking of nothing but our responsibilities and tasks. Recent research suggests that listening to relaxing environmental sounds can help to calm our minds as well as elicit a calming effect throughout our bodies.

This phenomenon takes place for numerous reasons starting with our initial exposure to stress and extends to the inevitable physical response during the latter stages of the stress process.

Relevant Studies on Relaxing Environmental Sounds

There was a recent study completed at the University of Sussex which was put together with the aim of determining the relationship between nature and stress. The results were quite interesting as they found that when a person takes a long walk on the beach, listens to birds, or merely has the sound of flowing water nearby; there are actual physical changes to the body.

This new information suggests a relationship between relaxing environmental sounds and real health benefits. This is exciting news indeed. There are several different ways to which society suggests we cope with our stress and there is no shortage of poor ideas. Any natural medicine approach to aiding in the stress recovery process usually has lower risk as well as the lower potential drawbacks when implemented into your routine.

Nature and Stress

To come to their conclusions, the collaboration between artists and physicians studied the impact of sounds recorded from artificial and natural environments and corresponding levels of brain activity. When artificial sounds were played, there was a tendency for the brain to show an inward-directed attention focus which is common in states of anxiety, high stress, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.

Interestingly enough, when natural sounds were played to the same participants, there was a different increase in nervous system activity. This type of activity is usually associated with relaxation as well as a higher propensity to perform well with external attentional monitoring tasks.

Along with this evidence for the benefits of relaxing environmental sounds, another important variable came forward during the study. This variable was the fact that those who showed the highest levels of stress prior to the introduction of natural sounds tended to experience the greatest levels of calming effect when they were introduced. This would lead one to believe that using sound therapy to help you recover from stress is not only beneficial but progressively more so the worse your condition is.

Even though there is compelling evidence in this study to suggest that this type of program could work well for everyone experiencing high levels of stress, it should be noted that each individual is different and that there isn’t a solution that will necessarily work for everyone. If you have any questions about whether this is the right approach for you, please contact your healthcare provider before making any changes to your routine.

For some, stronger measures will have to be put in place to ameliorate their stress levels. All of these things being considered, it is worth taking the time to look into whether the use of relaxing environmental sounds could be helpful for your personal stress levels.

Stress Response Relief with Relaxing Environmental Sounds

When considering how using relaxing environmental sounds can help you recover from stress, it’s necessary to understand the process through which our bodies react to stressors. The NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response carries the burden of stress reaction and mitigation throughout our bodies. This system is triggered whenever a threat has been detected by the brain and readiness is deemed prudent to keep us safe.

The problems begin to occur when the NEM Stress Response is activated on a frequent basis and the body is unable to recover correctly or sufficiently before more stress is incurred. The neuroaffective circuit of the NEM stress response is regulated by the central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, and gastrointestinal system. When stressed, the neuroaffective circuit is balanced out by various neurotransmitters.

The initial neurotransmitter response that takes place can be affected by numerous stimuli, both internal and external. Someone who is attempting to lower their burden of stress needs to take into consideration the different ways that their personal stress response is triggered and set their goals accordingly.

Once you can become more aware and pinpoint the direction that the stress is arriving, you can begin to take steps to lessen the introduction of stress in the first place see here now
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This can be a difficult task to complete and some people are never quite able to ascertain from where their stress derives. If this is you, don’t be overly concerned with ways that you can pinpoint the trigger as that can be particularly difficult to do when you are experiencing stress.

One of the first things you can do is begin a program where you listen to relaxing environmental sounds and see if that has positive effects on your overall stress burden. As the study shows, soothing natural sounds have the ability to modulate your nervous system and thus your neuroaffective circuit.

Everyone will have different reactions to the things that they try and everything works differently depending on the situation. You may find that this is not a terribly effective way to reduce your stress and you may find that it’s something you wish you had implemented years ago.

Either way, the beauty of implementing a technique of stress reduction like relaxing environmental sounds is that there aren’t a lot of costs involved with giving the opportunity a try. There are sound recordings online that you can try for free if you can’t get outside and if you’re fortunate enough to be able to go out into nature, the real thing is usually the best.

Using Nature to Combat Adrenal Fatigue

When you are experiencing chronic stress over a long period of time, a common issue is an Adrenal Fatigue (AF). Suffering from AF can have several accompanying complications that often have a cyclical effect, making the stress that caused it even worse. People develop AF in a variety of ways but the most common is due to high levels of stress that cause a large workload to fall onto the adrenal glands.

There are steps you can take to lower this workload on the adrenal glands and even fight back against AF when you begin to use a mind-body approach to lower your stress levels. Using relaxing environmental sounds is a great way to begin this type of method of stress reduction.

Not only does the implementation of sound therapy help to directly lower stress levels and thus help to reduce AF, it also will help you relax because you’re taking steps in a direction to mindfully reduce your stress.

The variable of mindfulness in stress recovery is often overlooked but very important in the journey to better well-being. When you are actively taking steps to improve the condition of your health that will cause you to experience therapeutic calmness and stress reduction by itself. This is great because it contributes to a cumulative effect for AF recovery.

The Future of Sound Therapy

Even though there isn’t a complete understanding of how artificial stimuli can affect change for our health, there is a reason to believe that because the benefits of natural sound are so compelling, there can also be a bright future for designed sound therapy.

Though this is a relatively new field, the cooperation between artists and the scientific community to see how people may be able to better recover from stress through a film, or even multimedia, is exciting.

There is no single solution for most individuals who are attempting to recover from stress or AF but the sound is an interesting first step. For now, we must all be content with the progression that science has made to point us in the direction of a natural sound.

Overall Perspective for AF Recovery

It’s important to look into all of your options when making changes to your health plan, not just sound therapy. There are things that will work wonders for some that may not have any impact on others when it comes to solutions for stress recovery.

Getting your body back to a normal functioning unit is the most important focus that we should all maintain. Whether that means that you need to use relaxing environmental sounds for stress mitigation and recovery or make other changes to your diet and exercise routine, something needs to be done.

A complete health approach to AF recovery is the only way that you will win the battle against chronic stress and the issues that come with it. There are different things that are just as important as relaxation that can cause your body to insufficiently respond to stress.

If you don’t have enough proper nutrients to create vital hormones in the body, then you will have an imbalanced stress response which can lead to AF and even adrenal exhaustion. All of the building blocks must be present in order to have an adequate functioning stress response.

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There is no scientific evidence that stands behind the old saying “age ain’t nothing but a number”. Up until now, there were certain conditions that were generally associated with the aging process. Wrinkles, gray hair, diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, and joint pain just come with aging and are written off as such. No one thought much of it; they just assumed with age comes deterioration of the body and cells, and it was something they just had to live with.

Heart Disease Prevention

Fortunately, that is no longer true. With the help of modern technology, tremendous research and brilliant doctors and scientists, people are now able to live longer, live wiser, and live more comfortable lives.

The Human Body’s Biological Age Vs Chronological Age

We now know that there are two ages to account for: a biological age and a chronological age. Medical Daily refers to “Chronological age as the actual time a human has been alive, while biological age refers to how old that human seems.” Experts in the field use telomeres to calculate the difference in age. Telomeres are the tips of the chromosomes that work to protect our DNA, keep the ends from deteriorating or infusing with other chromosomes. This affects how quickly a cell ages and dies.

Researchers have found a direct correlation between biological age and telomere length. The larger your chronological age, the shorter the total length of your telomeres. Those with shorter telomeres are more likely to experience an early death or develop illnesses – such as heart disease or neurological disorders.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle (including a healthy diet and regular exercise) may also maintain telomere length. Unfortunately, the majority of people have no idea of the length of their telomeres, nor do they have means to go about finding out. Thankfully, there are obvious biomarkers – things such as gray hair and lack of skin elasticity.

A Precursor to Heart Disease

The body is amazing. If we listen closely, it truly gives us all the answers we need for our health and wellness. There are signs the body gives us inside and out, that allow us to take preventative measures before disaster strikes, but we must be informed and knowledgeable of what to look for. It truly is a gift that so much information is available right at our fingertips and free for our learning and betterment.

Research through the European Society of Cardiology has given us more new knowledge on health. They have discovered that there are precursors to heart disease, independent of age or risk factors and they reside in the gray hair on a person’s head.

While they have not solidified a cause and effect relationship, there is enough evidence to suggest gray hair is indeed a predictor of heart problems. Specifically, they stated, “our findings suggest that irrespective of chronological age, graying indicates biological age and could be a warning sign of increased cardiovascular risk”.

The presence of gray does not signify that one will have a heart attack tomorrow or anytime in the near future, only that there is an increased risk for coronary artery disease.

The Study of Gray Hair Linked to Heart Disease

The aforementioned study conducted by the European Society of Cardiology consisted of 545 men who were tested for heart disease. They were then divided into subgroups based on the results of that test and the amount of white or gray hair they had. The gray hair was assessed on a scale of 1-5, 1 being no gray, and 5 being pure white.

The research was found that individuals who scored a 3 or higher were associated with an increased risk of heart disease independent of age or other factors of risk such as smoking, obesity, and alcohol consumption.

The study concluded that even men with partially gray hair were at a higher risk. In summary, those who already had heart disease received heightened scores of white hair.

What is Heart Disease?

Heart disease includes a wide variety of problems, many of which are associated with the process of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the artery walls due to plaque buildup. As the plaque builds up, the blood flow is restricted and clots can form – stopping the flow altogether and causing a heart attack or stroke.

According to the American Heart Association, a heart attack occurs when a blood clot forms and cuts off the blood flow to part of the heart and a stroke occurs when a blood restricts blood flow to the brain. These are two of the major forms of heart disease, but there are others.

Heart failure (also called congestive heart failure) means the heart isn’t pumping blood as well as it should. Arrhythmia is the abnormal rhythm of the heart. The heart can beat too slow, too fast or irregularly. When the heart beats less than 60 beats per minute it is called bradycardia. When the heart beats more than 100 beats per minute it is called tachycardia. Yes, genetics can play role in overall health and wellness, however, having too much stress for too long can be a primary cause of heart problems view details.

Stress raises the blood pressure and results in excess stress-induced hormones and inflammatory cytokines. The cytokines over activate the immune system, leading to autoimmune disease and chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and depression.

Studies have also linked stress to changes in the way blood clots, making heart attacks and strokes more likely. All these forms of cardiovascular disease can now be correlated with gray hair, and can soon be detectable and preventable when found early on in the illness.

Stress-Induced Illnesses

Stress has been considered the silent killer for many years and linked to more body malfunctions than most know, including hair graying. Scientific Magazine has reported that stress hormones produced by cells in the hair follicle could produce inflammation that enables the production of free radicals which could in turn influence melanin production or induce bleaching of melanin.

The magazine also states dermatologist, Dana Farber, of Harvard Cancer Center in Boston has found evidence that stress hormones also mediate the signals instructing the pigment to be delivered to your hair. Thus, more and more research is conclusive of how damaging stress is to the body, and how interrelated it is with gray hair and heart disease.

The ability to handle stress is a key to survival and pertinent to our health. The body has a built-in mechanism to deal with stress; it has its very own personal control center called the adrenal glands. When these glands become exhausted, fatigue sets in, leading to a condition known as Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS).

AFS is one of the most prevalent of stress-induced conditions, with most people experiencing it at one point or another in their lives. Symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, insomnia, inability to lose weight, feeling anxious, allergies, or brain fog are just a few stress caused symptoms that stem from the adrenals. There are many more nonspecific and debilitating symptoms related to this condition.

Adrenal fatigue is also connected to heart health and the body’s ability to control blood pressure and fluid retention. Stress increases the release of aldosterone, the main mineralocorticoid hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. Aldosterone regulates electrolyte and water balance by retaining sodium and water, and then excreting potassium, leading to high blood pressure.

Potassium and magnesium are both lost in the early stages of adrenal fatigue, and when the body lacks sufficient amounts of magnesium, cardiac arrhythmias and other symptoms may arise.

A better approach is to consider our body’s entire stress response from a NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) perspective, involving multiple organs such as the thyroid, adrenals, heart, autonomic nervous system, brain, and the GI tract. They are all called into action to help in the body’s anti-stress response when needed. This is a large series of systems, pathways and chemical reactions all working together to combat stress when it is presented.

Stress in itself is enough to shut down the entire body and can, over time, lead to debilitation, chronic illness, and even death. The cardiotoxic circuit, in particular, can have an effect on your heart health. The heart, central nervous system (CNS), and autonomic nervous system (ANS) interplay with each other during times of stress. If the stress is prolonged, neurotransmitters along with your heart may become dysfunctional.

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Women have a lot to battle in their daily lives. The combined challenges of work, daily responsibilities, and still finding the energy to raise well-rounded children can be daunting. During pregnancy, these tasks can create an overwhelming level of fatigue and stress. There are a few different ways to take time for yourself and boost energy levels. Adrenal yoga is one. Here you will learn how it can help to alleviate causes and concerns associated with Adrenal Fatigue (AF).

Pregnancy Can Drain You

While pregnant you provide nutrients for new life. This divides your ability to absorb nutrients by half and can make it difficult to maintain your health. This is the reason why women are advised to use dietary supplementation in the form of prenatal vitamins during pregnancy. While pregnant, it is important to listen to your body. If you think you are becoming too exhausted to perform a certain activity, then you should rest. There needs to be a reserve of energy for you to continue to grow your baby. Resting will help you contribute to this.

If you are experiencing AF during pregnancy, be careful when you consider adding things to your routine such as exercise. You may think that because you are pregnant, your ability to exercise is limited, but that’s not necessarily the case. You should look at the things you can still do and maintain a positive outlook regarding your health and fitness. A perfect example of this is adrenal yoga. It is a great way to help yourself stay active and to recover from your new role of supporting your pregnancy.

Techniques and Benefits of Adrenal Yoga

The first technique we’re going to discuss is called “Bharadvaja’s Twist”. It works to relieve stress in the spine and abdominal organs. To practice this pose, sit on your knees with one leg behind you. The other leg should rest on your thigh. Start by placing one hand on your knee and the other slightly behind you. Proceed with a gentle stretch.

This stimulation will help to relax the tension on your back and an abdominal area where your adrenal glands are located. Focus on deep breathing and keep in mind that this is a gentle exercise. It’s okay to modify this position to ensure your comfort. The purpose of adrenal yoga is to help you feel restored and refreshed, so make adjustments when needed. It is common for people, who are experiencing AF, to report difficulty falling asleep. These exercises, which lower stress and tightness, can help you overcome that problem.

The second technique: “Sukhasana” or “Easy Pose” encompasses both aspects of mental and physical practice for adrenal yoga. During this pose, you need to sit on the floor and cross your legs while ensuring that your spinal cord is aligned straight up and down. Focus on your breathing, and inhale at a normal rate, while practicing slow and elongated exhalation. This pose will help to open your hips over time, naturally contributing to a more successful birthing experience more hints
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If this type of yoga is done correctly, it will not only help in the form of meditation, but it will also slow your heart rate as well. Yoga has been taught as a great form of alternative medicine for thousands of years. Adrenal yoga is no different. One of the best aspects of this form of exercise is that it isn’t a substantial detraction from your energy levels. It is restorative in nature. In total, there are 21 adrenal yoga positions.

Immunological Strength from Light Exercise

When you are exhausted and run-down, you are more susceptible to illness. Limiting the effects of exhaustion should be a priority if you are pregnant because there are many risks involved in pregnancy. When you participate in light levels of exercise and yoga, for the purpose of relaxation and other health benefits, you can lower the concentrations of excitatory neurotransmitters in your system. These are the neurotransmitters that help in times of stress.

Lowering your stress levels is important overall, but especially when pregnant. During continued times of stress, your body cannot absorb sufficient nutrients to keep you and your fetus healthy. Chronic stress affects the gastrointestinal tract by slowing nutrient uptake. This reduces what you and your baby are receiving, spiking levels of cholesterol and blood sugar, and putting stress on the liver and heart.

The biggest goal, in implementing light exercise into your routine, when pregnant and experiencing AF, is to help the body find balance and utilize healthy stress response processes. If you have concerns relating to how much and why types of exercise are safe for you, contact your doctor and inquire about options for your personal situation. Safety is always the most important first step, so be sure to ask questions whenever you have them.

Adrenal Fatigue Recovery and NEM Stress Response

Our bodies have a built-in mechanism for managing stress and keeping us aware of possible danger. It is known as the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response. NEM starts when neurotransmitters in the brain signal that there is a threat. This was a traditionally physical danger, but in modern times, ti has transformed into job stress, relationship problems, and, in this case, pregnancy.

From the neurotransmission stage, there is a hormone response in the pituitary gland which alerts the adrenal glands to react. These responses make up the NeuroEndocrine portion of NEM. There is another side of the NEM that is comprised of physical responses that engage mostly with our organs. This physical side includes inflammatory, detoxification, and metabolism reactions.

The stress that your body undergoes, throughout a pregnancy, can contribute to AF in different ways. During pregnancy, the body’s hormone production is in overdrive, making you more susceptible to the possibility of experiencing AF. If your hormone levels are depleted before your NEM is triggered, you will have difficulty coping with demands once engaged. With the high levels of hormone production during pregnancy, it’s not as simple as just producing more. There are limits.

The concepts can be overwhelming because they are so broad, so let’s dissect NEM a bit more. When the NEM is triggered, your body halts processes like detoxification and inflammation, causing terrible imbalances and suppressing your immunological response. When you are pregnant, it is even more important to keep your immune system strong because of the complications that can arise from being compromised. Combating stress as much as possible, to halt the frequency of NEM, is a must. Once this damage has been done, your body is less able to maintain healthy gut bacteria. Added stress is put on the liver and kidneys.

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( View Souce )You are bound to encounter a handful of setbacks at some point in your life. It can affect you drastically, possibly compromising your career, relationships, financials, or even health. In the face of a setback, some refuse to be knocked down completely and find a way to keep going. Others, however, shut down completely and give up altogether, leading to greater long-term stress. Just what exactly allows you to be the former rather than the latter? The answer is simple, resilience. This is why improving resilience must become a priority in your life.

Resilience is a trait that can allow you to face difficulties with a more positive perspective in mind. While you may still encounter a great deal of hardship and even pain, resilience allows you to get past it and even overcome it. It propels you to move past your current situation while believing that things will eventually get better. What you may not realize is that resilience improves not only your spirit but your overall health and wellbeing as well. That’s because this trait may help keep chronic stress from attacking your body with devastating consequences.

How Your NEM Stress Response Works to Take on Life’s Setbacks

When you are determined to get past a setback and achieve a positive outcome, your body also becomes able to handle stress much better. This, in turn, benefits your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response system.

Generally, your NEM Stress Response system refers to the way your body copes with stress. When stress is still mild to intermittent, it triggers the release of certain hormones in the body to allow you to defeat it. Among these is a stress hormone known as cortisol. During times of stress, cortisol prompts your body to respond accordingly by increasing your heart rate, respiration, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Essentially, it prepares you for fight or flight.

When Kept Unchecked, Stress Can Trigger AFS

The problem is, this type of response does not work well when it comes to chronic stress. Because this type of stress tends to persist over a long period of time, it can cause a dysregulation in your normal hormonal output. During the earlier stages of the stress response, cortisol levels will keep rising to help you get back to normal. If the stress is not alleviated, however, your cortisol output will eventually reach its maximum level and subsequently drop because your adrenals are no longer able to keep up with the body’s cortisol demand. When you do nothing to relieve your stress your body may bear the consequences. In fact, your health may rapidly deteriorate as you experience Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS).

How AFS Progresses Without Resilience

When you allow stress to take hold of your entire life, your AFS may get worse. You may as if your body is turning itself against you. For starters, even when you know you got enough to sleep the night before, you would still have difficulty getting up with AFS. You can also wake up feeling ‘foggy’ or even extremely tired. You may also suffer some mental impairments, particularly when it comes to your memory.

Physically, you would also notice that something is wrong. You could be losing hair for no apparent reason. Your skin would also become thin and feel dry or you may suddenly experience significant pain in your neck or upper back. Aside from this, you may experience sudden weight gain that is particularly evident in the waist area and finds that shedding it is almost impossible.

When you allow AFS to progress, you may encounter even worse symptoms, such as heart palpitations, mild depression, and hypoglycemia. Fortunately, may be a way to keep this from happening without the need for drugs – change your outlook on life. ( https://www.drlam.com/articles/adrenal_fatigue.asp )

Research Shows Resilience Can Stop Stress from Weakening You

One of the best ways to avoid AFS or keep it from getting worse is to work on improving resilience. When you believe that things can turn out better, your mood improves. As this happens, your stress levels go down and your body becomes healthier. This is what prompted experts to explore the role that resilience plays in fighting off chronic stress and possibly its related conditions such as AFS.

According to a research conducted by Vassar College in New York, people who maintained a positive emotional state while dealing with a stressful experience show improvements in their immune function. In addition, another study also shows that those who cope with stress using humor have greater levels of salivary immunoglobulin A (S-IgA). This is an immune system protein that serves as the body’s first line of defense against several respiratory illnesses.

Positivity and resilience have also been shown to benefit those already suffering from cardiovascular disease. One study found that elderly patients who reported greater happiness for 90 days following their hospital release had significantly lower hospital readmission rates.

As you can see, having a good dose of resilience is certainly beneficial to your health. But, how can you go about developing and improving resilience within yourself?

Steps to Building Resilience

Resilience is a trait that you can gradually develop in yourself. Here are some steps that you can follow to help you get started:

Forge some deep connections. Whenever problems arise, it helps to have a network of family and friends that you can lean on for emotional support. Some people find that joining faith-based organizations, civic groups, or other groups that provide social support is also of great benefit.

Avoid looking at crises as a problem that won’t end. You must keep in mind that at some point, your situation will be resolved or at least, improve. Keep looking forward to that day and never lose hope that it will happen.

Take some decisive actions. Sometimes, the best way to resolve a big issue to take decisive action to work on resolving it. Weigh the pros and cons of the situation and proceed to respond appropriately.

Be determined to work toward your life goals. Life goals are supposed to excite and inspire you to be better. Every time you face a setback, keep these goals in mind. Remind yourself that you are working towards these goals and that a single problem can’t stop you from achieving them.

Ways to Keep Improving Resilience in the Future

Improving resilience continuously is key to making sure you are always ready to face setbacks in life with optimism. Here are some ways to keep working on your resilience over time:

Learn to become independent. You may, at some point, have allowed yourself to be surrounded by unhealthy influences and situations. Make a conscious effort to start distancing yourself from these. It’s all part of making yourself an emotionally strong individual.

Take better care of yourself. Make sure you always get enough sleep and eat properly. Exercise daily to improve your muscle strength, endurance, and form. Consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements. These are all great ways to acknowledge your self-worth. At the same time, being in a good mental and physical condition means that you are better prepared to face any problem.

Always look on the bright side. It never hurts to look at the silver lining when something does not turn out your way. For instance, if you don’t end up getting a promotion you’ve been expecting, you can choose to see it as the perfect time to seek employment elsewhere.

Before trying any remedy for AFS or for improving resilience, it is always best to be aware of any of its possible side effects. In fact, it would be better to first consult your healthcare practitioner before embarking on any form of treatment.

Setbacks do not seem as difficult to overcome if you have resilience. Because of your newfound optimism, you will also become much less prone to stress. This, in turn, will help lower your risk of developing AFS.

At DrLam Coaching, we have trained staff specializing in Adaptive Resilience Training ( ART) that can be helpful in assisting you as you recover from AFS.

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