Feel like your brain in is in a fog? Embracing the summer can also mean you are finally shedding the winter and spring months. The newness in nature can help us let go of one season and move onto the next and there are a few ways you can help it along - especially in your brain.
Energize Your Mind
Cleanse and Detox
You need to shed your winter coat and let the emergence of spring envelope you. An excellent way to do this is to cleanse and detox your body. This can help eliminate brain fog, improve focus and concentration, clear your mind, and get your creative juices flowing. Energize your mind and clear it for new and exciting ideas and experiences.
An easy way is to do a cleansing fast for a day or two, lightening your diet and giving your body a break from digestion. One fast would consist of a liquid-only diet, usually using warm lemon water, herbal teas, and broths. Green juice is also a great way to get antioxidants that will help to detox your body and help it renew itself. One day to three days is a good time period for this jump start into spring.
Do Nothing
Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing you can do for your brain. Daydreaming, silence, clearing your mind or even just "being" can reap huge benefits to your cognitive functions. Some ways to achieve this include:
- Unplug. Turn off your electronic devices. Simply not being online and taking a break can increase creativity, help your brain renew and rebuild. Improve relaxation and sleep. Come on, admit that sometimes you have mindlessly swiped through your phone knowing you should have gone to sleep an hour ago! Unplugging can help fill your mind with new ideas and energize it.
- Breathe. Just sit in one place for more than five minutes and breathe. Feel yourself breathing. Feel the life inside of your body and mind. Inhale deeply and exhale deeply. Breathing can help your mind detach and not wander from the present moment.
- Meditation. There is no rule. You can meditate for one minute or thirty. No one is keeping track. No matter how long you choose to meditate, it can help connect you to your higher self, support self-awareness and increase happiness.
- Be still and rest. Forget the to-do list. Forget your responsibilities. Just take a moment to enjoy the stillness around and within you. Your brain will feel refreshed and energized from taking a break.
Write it Down
Just write anything. Writing releases creative energy. Jotting down even a few thoughts per day has shown to decrease stress and anxiety. Start a journal. Freestyle write everything that is going on in your mind at the moment. Write a letter to someone; no need to actually send it. Start a dream journal and keep it by your bed. Or start a planner. Create a master to-do list and free your brain from those nagging tasks.
Exercise as Medicine?
The health benefits of exercise are well-known, but the longevity benefits of exercise were not seriously considered before because there wasn’t much proof. However, according to an article in Time Magazine, “The New Science of Exercise”, the science behind exercise as "medicine" is becoming more prevalent, not just for prevention but for people who are already sick.
Using a study on mice who had a premature aging disease, a genetic metabolic neurologist, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, proved that staying active can almost completely prevent premature aging. (1) Tarnopolsky found that those with sedentary lives were much more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression – all of which can cause “early death”. Whereas, an exercise involving “a recommended 150 minutes of strength and cardiovascular physical activity per week causes many positive changes to occur throughout the body during and right after a workout.” While this knowledge can help to further motivate change in Americans' health, unfortunately, its import has not been fully grasped by the medical community.
Simple Ways to Exercise
Many people find their lives are more sedentary. More and more adults are working in front of computers for many hours a day even during lunch. Schools have also had rapid uptake in the use of digital technology while at the same time decreasing recess periods dramatically or removed them altogether. (2) Add to this, the amount of time spent on digital devices for entertainment and socialization, adults and children alike find themselves wired 24-7. It's no wonder we feel we have little time to exercise.
Joining a gym has been the classic solution to motivate us to get more exercise, but soon after starting a membership, we realize we are going less and less while still paying the monthly fees. Gyms, in fact, rely on this happening as part of their business model. So what else can we do?
There are many ways to squeeze exercise into a busy schedule without spending money:
- Try some morning yoga at home - there are lots of streaming services and apps to help with a routine!
- How about a brisk walk during a lunch break or, with the family, after dinner?
- Take the stairs when available even if you get off a few floors earlier and walk up the remaining flights.
- Join a neighborhood running or exercise group to keep motivated.
- Go hiking or another outdoor activity.
- Take a bike ride.
The recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week can be broken down into 22 minutes per day or 37 minutes four days per week. Whichever way you divide that time up, studies have shown that in addition to diet, exercise will be the greatest prevention tool you can use for better health and well-being throughout your life.
Healthy Eating with Mindful Meal Prep
Dinnertime rolls around and you are tired from a long day. Then you realize that you need to buy groceries and prepare a meal. Often, when throwing something together at the last minute, dinner tends to be unhealthy or unbalanced. Microwave food and take out can be an easy go-to but do not support a healthy diet. So how do we create a system that fits our busy lifestyle and ensures we have all the nutrients we need? Mindful Meal Prep can be a great way to achieve this.
Mindful Meal Prep
Mindful Meal Prep is a method of meal planning that involves more than just creating a weekly menu. The primary purpose is to foster a healthy relationship with food being conscious of how food choices intertwine with health. It extends the principles of mindful eating to the wider range of activities involved in preparing meals, encompassing the entire process from beginning to end: planning, shopping, preparing, cooking, eating and even dealing with left-overs.
Planning beforehand can take the stress out of making breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Look at the workweek ahead as well as social commitments. Consider what meals you will need to prepare and how much time you will have available to prepare meals. Now plan your menu around your lifestyle. This will help to avoid overbuying food and reduce food waste.
Cooking meals on the weekend for the week ahead is a great way to deal with busy schedules while creating more time to truly enjoy meals instead of worrying about them.
Spend time exploring your kitchen. Over time, build an inventory of staples such as herbs and spices to help create variety in what you eat.
Try to purchase and prepare as many whole organic foods as possible - joining a local CSA can be a great way to do this. By using whole foods, you can interchange ingredients to create easy to prepare and healthy balanced meals on a regular basis.
Having healthier food at home on a regular basis will help you resist taking out or restaurant food and reduce the stress of deciding what to eat for each meal.
Get Started
Easy foods to get started include:
- Grains: Two cups of brown rice, quinoa, or farro can stretch meals further and be quickly heated up to compliment any entree.
- Beans and legumes: Cook 1-2 cups of lentils, chickpeas, black beans, or kidney beans to add to soups, salads, or even mix up a batch of hummus for lunch.
- Soup: Put a big pot of soup on and add rice, noodles, beans, meat, and vegetables to it as the week goes on. Eating on the go? Divide into mason jars to grab and go.
- Sauce: Make sure to have a little bit of sauce, salsa and salad dressing on hand to add to meals.
Make a dish you love and know that you won’t cave in to take out when even your best efforts are thwarted by life. A cauliflower stew, a pot of chili with lots of beans, or a vegetable curry can go a long way when it can be quickly heated up in a pinch.
Often, when we start meal planning, it is a lot of work. However, over time it becomes a habit. So take the plunge and spend more time in the kitchen planning so you can be eating healthy food all week long. Take the time to enjoy and be proud of the food you mindfully choose to eat.
References 1 2 Oaklander, M. “The New Science of Exercise”. TIME Magazine. 12 Sept. 2016 Web. http://time.com/4475628/the-new-science-of-exercise/
