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Relaxing Yoga Poses To Do On The Bed Before Sleeping

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Start tomorrow today

An evening routine is a great way to set yourself up to experience an awesome tomorrow. A relaxing bath, a yummy glass of warm, spiced milk or maybe even some journaling are a few actions that could make the morning great. Another great choice is yoga, right there in your bed.

Asanas to do before going to Sleep:

Here are a few asanas that you can do before going to sleep that may help you rest better.

1. Jathara Parivartanasana

Jathara means stomach; Parivartanasana means turning or rolling about. If you come to my classes, it is no surprise that I love this pose. Of all the poses, I think this pose and its variations are responsible for keeping me flexible. I always practice this pose before going to sleep and have for the past 20 something years. Ease into it if it is your first time exploring this pose.

Steps:
1. Lie on your back with your legs extended.
2. Draw your knees up into your chest one at a time and wrap your arms around your legs, hugging them. Rock side to side to massage the back.
3. Continue holding onto your right knee with both hands and extend your left leg all the way out onto the bed.
4. With your left hand on the right knee, draw the right knee across the left side of the body towards the bed. Keep both shoulders down and extend the left arm straight away from the body.
5. Hold for a few breaths or until the back releases, (or relax and enjoy for a few minutes). Inhale, bring both knees and head back to center, and repeat on the other side.

 

Modifications and Props:
• Use a blanket under the knee if you feel you need some support (so your knee isn’t just hanging there).

Variations:
• Take both knees to the left and hold the right knee down with the left hand. Release your back. Hold for a few breaths and come back to center. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits:
• Stretches the spine and shoulders
• Improves digestion and circulation
• Strengthens the lower back
• Relieves lower backache, neck pain, and sciatica
• Opens the hips and chest

Contraindications: (or reasons not to do this pose)
• High or low blood pressure
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Menstruation
• High blood pressure

2. Thread the Needle Pose

I have really tight shoulders from biking, especially the rhomboids (muscles between the shoulder blades). This pose helps to stretch them so that prāna can have a head start in healing this tricky part of the back.

Steps:
1. Start in table position.
2. Weave the left arm under the right and place straight away from the body, as you twist through the lumbar and thoracic spine, place the shoulder on the floor.
3. Lift right arm up towards the ceiling and intensify the stretch.
4. Keep the majority of the weight on the shoulder to create the traction for the stretch.
5. Repeat other side.

 

Modifications and props:
• Place a blanket on the bed and place the shoulder on it if padding is needed.
• Can be made into a balance by lifting the leg on the same side as the arm that is lifted.

Benefits:
• Stretches shoulders and posterior rotator cuffs
• Stretches oblique
• Strengthens legs

Contraindications:
• Neck injuries
• Upper back injuries
• Migraines
• Pregnancy

3. Supta Virasana

Supta means lying down, vira means hero. I always say that “no pain, no gain” is such a washed up theory. You shouldn’t have to experience pain in order to manifest what you need. That is silly. This pose, however, shoots holes in my theory if the legs and back are not ready for it. So one of the best places to try it out is on your bed, where the mattress can give space when the muscles and tendons do not. Use blankets and pillows for comfort.

Steps:
1. Start in Virasana (Hero’s pose).
2. Exhale and lean back onto your hands, then your forearms and elbows.
3. Once you are on your elbows, place your hands on the back of the pelvis and release your lower back and upper buttocks by spreading the flesh down toward the tailbone.
4. Then finish reclining, either onto the bed or the support of blankets or bolsters. Take both arms out to the side.
5. Stay in this pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Gradually extend your stay to 5 minutes. To come out of the pose, inhale and press your forearms against the bed, exhale and bring your chin towards your chest and come onto your hands back into Virasana. As you come up, lead with your sternum, not your head or chin.

 

Modifications and Propping:
• If you’re not able to recline fully on the bed, set a bolster or one or more folded blankets behind yourself to fully support your spine and head.
• Use as much height as you need to make the position reasonably comfortable.
• To help release the groins, lay some weight across the creases of the top thighs where they join the front pelvis.
• Start with a 10-pound sandbag and gradually over time increase the weight to 30 pounds or so.

Variations:
• Before doing Supta Virasana you can start with its halfway variation, Supta Ardha Virasana (Ardhameans half). To sit in Ardha Virasana, draw just your right leg back into Virasana. You can keep your left knee bent with the foot on the floor, or straighten your left leg by pushing out through the heel. Then recline as described above, either onto a support or the bed. Come out as recommended for Supta Virasana, then repeat with the left leg back.

Benefits:
• Stretches the abdomen, thighs, and deep hip flexors (psoas), knees, and ankles
• Strengthens the arches
• Relieves tired legs
• Improves digestion
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menstrual pain

Contraindications:
• Serious back problems
• Knee issues
• Ankle problems
• Avoid this pose unless you have the assistance of an experienced instructor.

4. Viparita Karani

Viparita means turned around, reversed, inverted; karani means doing, making, action. This is every body’s favorite pose. It is not only good for relaxation, but I could write an entire blog on the benefits this pose has when it comes to your lymphatic (immune) system. Proper propping is a must here. Go for the joy, bliss and just ahhh factor.

Steps:
1. Take two folded blankets placing the raw edges against a wall. Sit with your right side against the wall or headboard and your back against the blankets. Exhale, and with one smooth movement, and swing your legs up onto the wall or headboard as your bottom comes up onto the blankets and your shoulders and head slide down onto the bed.
2. Your sitting bones don’t need to be right against the wall, but they can be “dipping” down into the space between the support and the wall or headboard.
3. Lift and release the base of your skull away from the back of your neck and soften your throat. Open your shoulder blades away from the spine and release your hands and arms out to your sides, palms up.
4. Keep your legs relatively firm, just enough to hold them vertically in place. Release the heads of the thigh bones and the weight of your belly deeply into your torso, toward the back of the pelvis. Soften your eyes and turn them down to look into your heart.
5. Stay in this pose anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. To come out of the pose, slide the legs down the wall (headboard), bend the knees and slowly sit up.

 

Variations:
• If you have enough wall space, you can slide your legs apart into a wide “V” to stretch your inner thighs and groins.
• You also can bend your knees, touch the soles of your feet together, and slide the outer edges of your feet down the wall, bringing your heels toward the pelvis.
• Then you can push your hands against the top inner thighs to stretch the groins.
• Remember, however, never push on your knees to open the groins.

Benefits:
• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Digestive problems
• Headache
• High and low blood pressure
• Insomnia
• Migraine
• Mild depression
• Respiratory ailments
• Urinary disorders
• Varicose veins
• Menstrual cramps (performing pose during menstruation)
• Premenstrual syndrome
• Menopause
• Relieves tired or cramped legs and feet
• Gently stretches the back legs, front torso, and the back of the neck
• Relieves mild backache
• Calms the mind
• Helps drain lymphatic system

Contraindications
• During menstruation
• Serious eye problems
• Glaucoma
• Serious neck problems
• Serious back problems

5. Savasana

Sava means corpse (Corpse Pose). This is a great way to balance your prāna before you move to your favorite sleep position.

Steps:
1. From a seated position, roll down one vertebrae at a time, flex the knees as you roll down. Once your back is on the bed, straighten the legs. Allow the legs to open naturally. Lightly lift your buttocks off the bed by pushing down with your hands and lengthen through the lumbar spine. Lower the buttocks back to the bed.
2. Dorsi flex the right foot and lengthen the leg. Plantar flex the foot and hold for a couple of seconds. Then relax muscles in the leg, the ankle, and toes. Do the same for the left leg. Allow the calf and inner thigh to release. Leg may turn outwards naturally.
3. Lengthen the arms above your head for a long stretch, and then take them towards the ceiling as you open up your back, allowing the shoulder blades to stretch away from the spine. Bring the hands down by your sides with the palms facing the ceiling. Spread the fingers and then relax the shoulders and hands.
4. Bringing the chin to the chest, stretch the neck. Then lay the head back to the bed. Relax the jaw and soften the tongue off the top of the mouth.
5. Taking long deep breaths, allow the body to release any tension that remains in the body.
6. Stay in Savasana for 5-15 minutes. When you are ready to come out of the pose, take a couple of deep breaths, wiggle toes and fingers, and when ready, roll to the right side for a couple of breaths. By pressing the left hand into the bed, slowly push yourself up to seated position.

 

Modifications and propping:
• You can use a folded blanket or towel under the neck for comfort. You can also use an eye cover to help with relaxation.
• If it hurts your lower back to keep legs straight, you can place a folded blanket or bolster under the knees.
• If it hurts legs to allow them to turn outward, you can use a strap around the feet to keep the hips turned forward.

I think you will enjoy your “before you go to bed” poses so much that upon waking, you will want to do a few more asana to transition into the day centered and balanced. Watch for my next article on Yoga Asanas to do in Bed when you Wake up.

Source: curejoy.com

Rehab For Your Health Habits: Detox Your Life

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Do you hate waking up to the sound of the alarm clock? Is the first thing you do checking your phone, calendar, the list of to-do daily things, and social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?

You are stuck in this morning routine, and then you wonder why your life is not any better? Why can’t you just wake up like in those movies and do productive things, rather than staring at another Instagram photo?

Let’s check what you should instead do.

Wake up Early!

Your alarm clock may go off at 6:30 on days when you have to go to work, but on weekends you just want to get as much sleep as possible, because you have been working all week and it’s your legitimate right to sleep until lunchtime. Right?

Wrong! You should rise early every single day. It is something successful people do.

You have all the day to complete your tasks, and be productive. If you want to sleep more, you should go earlier to bed, and get the full 8-hour sleep, rather than sleeping late, and waking up late, even with 10 or more hours of sleep. That will only cause more fatigue, and dullness.

And do you know what they say? One key to success is having lunch at that time of the day when other people are having their breakfast.

 

Smile!

I know, everyone says Smile. Smile even when everything goes wrong, and everything seems to fall apart.

And that “everyone” could not be more right. You have to smile, you need to smile, for yourself.

If you frown and get angry at things, and stay sad, you will not improve things, you will not solve any problem. Not that the problem will be magically solved when you are smiling.

But the fact is, you will be more optimistic and you will approach the problem in a better way.

If you are tired, bored, sad, or not feeling at your best, try to curve your lips as if you are smiling. Fake it till you make it, baby! When you fake a smile, in a couple of seconds, it turns into a real smile, and brightens up the day.

Have a cup of coffee!

Coffee is the secret weapon behind creation, imagination, ideas.

Coffee also helps to wake up, and not feel so puffy, as your morning eyes. But, do not drink coffee before bed, as it might leave you sleepless. Consuming coffee makes it less likely for you to get diabetes type 1 and 2, as well as dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. It is an immune system booster, and also helps with muscle pain.

And; If you want to be productive, have a cup of coffee.

Drink water and green tea! A lot!

Water has been called the elixir of life.

When combined with green tea, it is the best choice.

Both of them will keep you hydrated, at your best. Your skin will glow, acne will not be a problem.

They will keep you detoxified and not tired at all. Green tea will also boost your metabolism and help with weight control, and better digestion. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. Green tea has antioxidants, it will keep your breath fresh, and help with a healthy skin, healthy hair, and fight some seasonal allergies.

What’s there not to love about that?

Photo: collective-education.com

Photo: collective-education.com

Dry brush your skin!

Find some brushes that will not rip your skin, and find a nice scrub that you are not allergic to.

Use them. Every day if you can.

Dry brushing your skin, removes the dead cells, bringing glow and shine to the skin. It does look younger after the massage, which you will do with small circles. Do not go too hard, you will leave bruises on your skin, and we do not want that.

Dry brushing also helps in blood circulation. And it does help with cellulite, every woman’s nightmare.

Cover up on lotion!

After the dry brushing process, a body lotion is a must. The pores are open, the skin is hot, and it needs lotion to cool down and close the pores. It will also be well absorbed.

Wear lotion all over the body. Do not move your hand too fast on the skin.

Make it at a slow pace, enjoying your skin, your body curves. Enjoy the fact that the lotion spreads so easy, and makes your skin look heavenly soft and shiny and healthy.

The process of covering your body in lotion is also a self-appreciation and self-loving process. You soon will realize you should do it more often, and after a while it will become an everyday routine, one that you will not want to skip.

Have some Chocolate!

Chocolate is the most delicious dessert. Happiness hides in chocolate.

So have one, do not be afraid of weight gain. In fact, recent studies have shown that chocolate helps in digestion, and weight control, especially if it has 70% or more cacao.

But whatever, the same studies have shown other benefits of chocolate like lowering the blood pressure, saving the heart from attacks, etc.

Bringing smiles back to someone’s face is my favorite. Do not skip a day without tasting a bit of chocolate has been my best advice ever.

Source:  engelta.hubpages.com

 

8 things everyone should do before 8 a.m.

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Life is busy. It can feel impossible to move toward your dreams. If you have a full-time job and kids, it’s even harder.

How do you move forward?

If you don’t purposefully carve time out every day to progress and improve ,  without question, your time will get lost in the vacuum of our increasingly crowded lives.

Before you know it, you’ll be old and withered  —  wondering where all that time went.

As Harold Hill has said —  “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”

Rethinking Your Life and Getting Out of Survival Mode

This article is intended to challenge you to rethink your entire approach to life. The purpose is to help you simplify and get back to the fundamentals.

Sadly, most people’s lives are filled to the brim with the nonessential and trivial. They don’t have time to build toward anything meaningful.

They are in survival mode. Are you in survival mode?

Like Bilbo, most of us are like butter scraped over too much bread. Unfortunately, the bread is not even our own, but someone else’s. Very few have taken the time to take their lives into their own hands.

It was social and cultural to live our lives on other people’s terms just one generation ago. And many millennials are perpetuating this process simply because it’s the only worldview we’ve been taught.

However, there is a growing collective-consciousness that with a lot of work and intention  —  you can live every moment of your life on your own terms.

You are the designer of your destiny.

You are responsible.

You get to decide. You must decide  —  because if you don’t, someone else will. Indecision is a bad decision.

With this short morning routine, your life will quickly change.

It may seem like a long list. But in short, it’s really quite simple:

  • Wake up
  • Get in the zone
  • Get moving
  • Put the right food in your body
  • Get ready
  • Get inspired
  • Get perspective
  • Do something to move you forward

Let’s begin:

1. Get A Healthy 7+ Hours of Sleep

Let’s face it  —  Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) conducted surveys revealing that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders. Additionally, 60% of adults and 69% of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

In addition, “more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month — with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more.”

On the flipside, getting a healthy amount of sleep is linked to:

  • Increased memory
  • Longer life
  • Decreased inflammation
  • Increased creativity
  • Increased attention and focus
  • Decreased fat and increased muscle mass with exercise
  • Lower stress
  • Decreased dependence on stimulants like caffeine
  • Decreased risk of getting into accidents
  • Decreased risk of depression
  • And tons more … Google it.

The rest of this blog post is worthless if you don’t make sleep a priority. Who cares if you wake up at 5 a.m. if you went to bed three hours earlier?

You won’t last long.

You may use stimulants to compensate, but that isn’t sustainable. In the long run, your health will fall apart. The goal needs to be long-term sustainability.

2. Prayer and Meditation to Facilitate Clarity and Abundance

After waking from a healthy and restful sleep session, prayer and meditation can help you orient yourself toward the positive. What you focus on expands.

Prayer and meditation help facilitate intense gratitude for all that you have. Gratitude is having an abundance mindset. When you think abundantly, the world is your oyster. There is limitless opportunity and possibility for you.

People are magnets. When you’re grateful for what you have, you will attract more of the positive and good. Gratitude is contagious.

Gratitude may be the most important key to success. It has been called the mother of all virtues.

If you start every morning putting yourself in a space of gratitude and clarity, you will attract the best the world has to offer, and not get distracted.

3. Hard Physical Activity

If you want to be among the healthy, happy, and productive people in the world, get in the habit of regular exercise. Many people go immediately to the gym to get their body moving. I have lately found that doing yard work in the wee hours of the morning generates an intense inflow of inspiration and clarity.

Whatever your preference, get your body moving.

If you don’t care about your body, every other aspect of your life will suffer. Humans are holistic beings.

4. Consume 30 Grams of Protein

Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferris, in his book, “The 4-Hour Body,” also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after waking up.

According to Tim, his father did this and lost 19 pounds in one month.

Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevents spikes in hunger.

Eating protein first decreases your white carbohydrate cravings. These are the types of carbs that get you fat. Think bagels, toast, and donuts.

Tim makes four recommendations for getting adequate protein in the morning:

  • Eat at least 40% of your breakfast calories as protein
  • Do it with two or three whole eggs (each egg has about 6g protein)
  • If you don’t like eggs, use something like turkey bacon, organic pork bacon or sausage, or cottage cheese
  • Or, you could always do a protein shake with water

5. Take A Cold Shower

Tony Robbins starts every morning by jumping into a 57-degree Fahrenheit pool.

Why would he do such a thing?

Cold water immersion radically facilitates physical and mental wellness. When practiced regularly, it provides long-lasting changes to your body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems that improve the quality of your life. It can also increase weight-loss because it boosts your metabolism.

There is of course, an initial fear of stepping into a cold shower. Without a doubt, if you’ve tried this before, you have found yourself standing outside the shower dreading the thought of going in.

You may have even talked yourself out of it and said, “Maybe tomorrow.” And turned the hot water handle before getting in.

Or, maybe you jumped in but quickly turned the hot water on?

What has helped me is thinking about it like a swimming pool. It’s a slow painful death to get into a cold pool slowly. You just need to jump in. After 20 seconds, you’re fine.

It’s the same way with taking a cold shower. You get in, you heart starts beating like crazy. Then, after 20 seconds, you feel fine.

To me, it increases my willpower and boosts my creativity and inspiration. While standing with the cold water hitting my back, I practice slowing my breathing and calming down. After I’ve chilled out, I feel super happy and inspired. Lots of ideas start flowing and I become way motivated to achieve my goals.

6. Listen to/Read Uplifting Content

Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. It is common for the world’s most successful people to read at least one book per week. They are constantly learning.

I can easily get through one audiobook per week by just listening during my commute to school and while walking on campus.

Taking even 15–30 minutes every morning to read uplifting and instructive information changes you. It puts you in the zone to perform at your highest.

Over a long enough period of time, you will have read hundreds of books. You’ll be knowledgeable on several topics. You’ll think and see the world differently. You’ll be able to make more connections between different topics.

7. Review Your Life Vision

Your goals should be written down  —  short term and long term. Taking just a few minutes to read your life vision puts your day into perspective.

If you read your long term goals every day you will think about them every day. If you think about them every day, and spend your days working toward them, they’ll manifest.

Achieving goals is a science. There’s no confusion or ambiguity to it. If you follow a simple pattern, you can accomplish all of your goals, no matter how big they are.

A fundamental aspect of that is writing them down and reviewing them every single day.

8. Do At Least One Thing Toward Long-Term Goals

Willpower is like a muscle that depletes when it is exercised. Similarly, our ability to make high-quality decisions becomes fatigued over time. The more decisions you make, the lower quality they become  —  the weaker your willpower.

Consequently, you need to do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. The important stuff.

If you don’t, it simply will not get done. By the end of your day, you’ll be exhausted. You’ll be fried. There will be a million reasons to just start tomorrow. And you will start tomorrow  —  which is never.

So your mantra becomes: The worst comes first. Do that thing you’ve been needing to do. Then do it again tomorrow.

If you take just one step toward you big goals every day, you’ll realize those goals weren’t really far away.

 Conclusion

After you’ve done this, no matter what you have for the rest of your day, you’ll have done the important stuff first. You’ll have put yourself in a place to succeed. You’ll have inched toward your dreams.

Because you’ll have done all these things, you’ll show up better in life. You’ll be better at your job. You’ll be better in your relationships. You’ll be happier. You’ll be more confident. You’ll be more bold and daring. You’ll have more clarity and vision.

Your life will shortly change.

You can’t have mornings like this consistently without waking up to all that is incongruent in your life. Those things you despise will meet their demise. They’ll disappear and never return.

You’ll quickly find you’re doing the work you’re passionate about.

Your relationships will be passionate, meaningful, deep, and fun!

You will have freedom and abundance.

The world, and the universe, will respond to you in beautiful ways.

Source: businessinsider.com

Signs You Have Magnesium Deficiency and How to Fix It

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Are your chocolate cravings so intense that you feel like it screams your name? Do you ever jump out of bed in the middle of the night because of a muscle spasm? Or, no matter what you try, do you have difficulty sleeping? There’s a good chance you’re deficient in magnesium.

ThinkstockPhotos-153826787-1024x683 Photo:activationproducts.com

Substantial numbers of Americans are deficient in the mineral magnesium. However, most people have no idea that they’re missing this vital mineral. Nutritionists often call magnesium the master mineral because it affects over 300 different enzymatic processes that help your body function properly.

As a registered dietitian, I’d like to share seven of the most common symptoms of magnesium deficiency — backed up by research — I see when clients come for nutrition counseling:

1. Muscle cramps or spasms

Cramp in calf Photo:huffingtonpost.com

If you’ve had one of these, you know how awful they can be whether you’re sitting at your desk or awakened in the middle of the night with a painfully tight calf! Muscle cramps are a result of muscle spasms, which are involuntary muscle contractions. Magnesium helps relax muscles throughout your body, so when you’re deficient your muscles will contract involuntarily.

2. Trouble sleeping

Young Woman with Insomnia Photo:epictimes.com

Millions of Americans have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Magnesium plays an important role in the function of your central nervous system. Without sufficient magnesium, you may experience insomnia. Also, magnesium levels drop in your body at night, leading to poor quantity and quality of REM sleep, which is the most critical sleep cycle to recharge your body and mind.

3. Chocolate cravings

artisan_hot_chocolate_bar_dark_chocolate_1 Photo:tophdgallery.com

Dark chocolate is high in magnesium, and one square provides about 24% of your daily value of magnesium. Intense “I have to have it” chocolate cravings are another sign of magnesium deficiency. Your body actually craves what it needs sometimes.

4. Anxiety

anxiety1 Photo:gladstoneholistichealth.com.au

Magnesium is the most powerful relaxation mineral. If you experience anxiety, this is a common early symptom of how your central nervous system is affected by magnesium deficiency. When you feel anxious, taking 200mg of magnesium may make you feel more relaxed.

5. High blood pressure

o-HIGH-BLOOD-PRESSURE-RATE-facebook Photo:huffingtonpost.com

Many people wonder why they have high blood pressure even though they follow a healthy, whole food diet. Magnesium may be the answer; another important function of magnesium is relaxing and dilating your blood vessels. When you’re low in magnesium, your blood vessels constrict more, causing high blood pressure. Adequate magnesium levels also help balance your electrolytes. Unbalanced electrolytes can create high blood pressure as well.

6. Irregular heartbeat

HeartBeat-Wallpaper Photo:hdwallpapersos.com

It has become common for people to develop heart arrhythmias, then be put on medications. Your heart is a muscular organ, making the cardiovascular system highly dependent on magnesium to properly function. If your heart is deficient in magnesium, it can’t contract properly, which may cause irregular heartbeats.

7. Constipation

o-CONSTIPATED-facebook Photo:huffingtonpost.ca

If you experience constipation regularly, that’s another sign you’re deficient in magnesium. When you’re low in magnesium, your intestines contract more, making it harder for stool to pass. Not only will magnesium relax your bowel to create a more regular bowel rhythm, but it also has an osmotic effect. Magnesium pulls water into the bowels, softening the stool. Choose magnesium citrate to help constipation.

8. Muscle Pain / Fibromyalgia

A study published in Magnesium Research examined the role magnesium plays in fibromyalgia symptoms, and it uncovered that increasing magnesium consumption reduced pain and tenderness and also improved immune blood markers.

musclepain Photo:danielcameronmd.com

Oftentimes linked to autoimmune disorders, this research should encourage fibromyalgia patients because it highlights the systemic effects that magnesium supplements have on the body.

9. Osteoporosis

The National Institute of Health reports that, “The average person’s body contains about 25 grams of magnesium, and about half of that is in the bones.” This is important to realize, especially for the elderly, who are at risk of bone weakening.

EP-131029456 Photo:tbo.com

Thankfully, there’s hope! A study published in Biology Trace Element Research uncovered that supplementing with magnesium slowed the development of osteoporosis “significantly” after just 30 days. In addition to taking magnesium supplement, you will also want to consider getting more vitamin D3 and K2 to naturally build bone density.

10. Type II Diabetes

One of the four main causes of magnesium deficiency is type II diabetes, but it’s also a common symptom. U.K. researchers, for example, uncovered that of the 1,452 adults they examined low, magnesium levels were 10 times more common with new diabetics and 8.6 times more common with known diabetics.

-16858 Photo:iran-daily.com

As expected from this data, diets rich in magnesium has been shown to significantlylower the risk of type 2 diabetes because of magnesium’s role in sugar metabolism. Another study discovered that the simple addition of magnesium supplementation (100 milligrams/day) lowered the risk of diabetes by 15 percent!

11. Fatigue

Low energy, weakness and fatigue are common symptoms of magnesium deficiency. Most chronic fatigue syndrome patients are also magnesium deficient. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that 300–1,000 milligrams of magnesium per day can help, but you do also want to be careful, as too much magnesium can also cause diarrhea.

businesswoman with two laptops Photo:bnm-medical.com

If you experience this side effect, you can simply reduce your dosage a little until the side effect subsides.

12. Migraine Headaches 

Magnesium deficiency has been linked to migraine headaches due to its importance in balancing neurotransmitters in the body. Double-blind placebo-controlled studies have proven that 360–600 milligrams of magnesium daily reduced the frequency of migraine headaches by up to 42 percent.

dreamstimefree_4024410 Photo:migravent.com

Most of my clients have at least one of the above symptoms and have found great relief after increasing their magnesium levels.

How can you increase your magnesium levels?

First, stop eating foods that deplete nutrients, such as flour and sugar. Instead eat foods high in magnesium, such as meat, avocados, leafy green vegetables and nuts. If you’re eating chocolate to restore some of your magnesium, make sure it’s at least 70% cocoa, and keep your chocolate intake to one ounce or less per day.

Even if you eat a healthy diet, you will likely still need to supplement with magnesium. Look for a good-quality magnesium supplement in the form of magnesium glycinate, which is one of the most absorbable forms. Most people need about 400 mg, but you can go up to 1,000 mg per day if needed. Take magnesium at bedtime for best absorption and to provide deep, rejuvenating sleep!

 

Sleep On The Left Side Is Good For Health

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Source: themolas.com

Not everyone knows that the position that we take when we sleep has a significant influence on own digestion. It is no coincidence that, in ancient times, the monks decided to lie down after each meal just for ten minutes, and this served to make the entire digestive lighter. Nor is it a coincidence that the most ancient tradition of oriental medicine (ayurvedic) as well as the Indian suggest you go to sleep lying down on his left side. But what is the reason? For that reason is it necessary to follow this precaution?

Quite simply, our lymphatic system relies on the left side of our body, which means that both the stomach that the liver, but also the bladder and the pancreas, are able to dispose of waste products and they drain to the side digestion and produce at the same time the enzymes that the body needs by neutralizing fatty acids and without pressure.

This means that finally digestion there is no need of two or three hours, but ten or fifteen minutes at most: after this period, after lying down on the left side, you will feel immediately lighter. By adopting this simple measure, in essence, the body acquires the whole of the energy of digestion; when it digests normally, however, we tend to feel heavier, precisely because the digestion involves a consumption of energy.

Obviously, this does not mean that you can eat anything and everything, without careful grease, fried and greasy toppings too, in the absence of concerns. The restraint and moderation are important, but using the trick of rest on the left side you will no doubt have the opportunity to benefit from a greater calm and a more pleasant serenity, even over time.

Your Health Skeletons May Come Back to Haunt You

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Everyone has some sort of skeletons hidden away in the closets of their past. Things they’ve done, said, should have done or didn’t do that they don’t want anyone to know about or hide from themselves. Some call it guilt. Others chalk it up to that embarrassing and sometimes uncontrollable time in our lives called youth or our teen years.

Some of these skeletons we hide away may have been something we did that was illegal or just wrong. A sin which we are now ashamed of. Some may be bad habits that we finally grew out of or changed. They tell us that with age comes wisdom, but we’ve all met some people that seem to defy getting any wiser as they grow older.

If someone asked you about the skeletons in your closet, would you even consider the fact that they may be talking about health-related skeletons? How many of you ever consider the fact that these health-related skeletons of our past may have a significant influence on our future health?

Obviously, one of the first skeletons most people think of is smoking. Did you smoke in your youth or sometime in your past, but quit? Did you know that how long your smoked and how long ago you quit may still be affecting your health today or in the future? Ask yourself if you quit smoking over a decade earlier if you are safe now? According to a report released by Fox News:

“You smoked a pack a day a decade ago
Safe: (Eh, almost.) It’s better if you never did. But kicking the habit before age 39 cut men and women’s smoking-associated risk of death from any cause by 90 percent in a 2013 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. That’s the equivalent of nine extra years to pile candles on your birthday cake.”

What about your lack of activity? What if you were lazy or married to your desk job and just didn’t have time to exercise? What if you were a couch potato?

“Your butt used to be glued to your couch
Safe: A 2014 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that when older adults logged just one moderate or vigorous exercise session per week, they were three and four times, respectively, more likely to age healthfully — even if they used to be complete couch potatoes.”

What about your sleeping habits? The news has been filled for years with reports of how important it to your health to get enough sleep every night, but could your lack of enough sleep be one of your health skeletons hiding in your closet?

“You skimped on shut-eye regularly
Safe: Sleep deprivation is no joke. “You’re taking away vital energy that your brain needs to properly function,” Peterson, who also works with the digital health platform Zocdoc, told Fox News. “But luckily, most of the effects quickly disappear after giving your body the time it needs —and deserves — to rest and repair,” she said. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults younger than 65 aim for seven to nine hours per night.”

Trust me, I know firsthand the effects of too little sleep. Between living in constant pain and having 3 distinct sleep disorders, I feel extremely fortunate if I get between 4-5 hours sleep a night. It’s generally closer to around 3 hours of sleep in an 8-hour period. Consequently, I feel like I have chronic fatigue. I can fall asleep very easy but I can’t stay asleep. A result of my sleep deprivation and chronic pain has resulted in a suppressed immune system, leaving me susceptible to far too many of the illnesses that sweep through the area.

What about stress in your life? Is stress something you used to have, but have finally gotten away from it and hid it in your health closet?

“You let stress build up
Not safe: Unfortunately, getting keyed up from even minor things can drag down your health a decade or two in the future, a 2014 study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine suggests. However, having a better perspective on those stresses — not letting them bother you — can mitigate those ill effects.”

There are other health skeletons hidden in many closets that can have a direct impact on your current and future health. Too much exposure to the sun or use of tanning beds may have left your skin with enough damage that years down the road can develop into skin cancer.

Diet is another big skeleton in many health closets. Regardless if you are overweight, underweight or perfect weight, your past diet may still have an impact on your future health. Like those salty fries, potato chips and popcorn? If you have or are susceptible to high blood pressure, you need to consider cutting your salt intake as that has a direct impact on your blood pressure which can lead to other serious and fatal conditions.

“You loved your BBQ and burgers
Tie: Loading up on red meat is linked to weight gain and developing diabetes. However, over a four-year period, reducing red meat consumption by at least a half serving per day can drop your likelihood of the disease by 14 percent, a 2014 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests. Peterson advised eating no more than 15 ounces of red meat per week.”

“You considered cookies a food group
Safe: Unfortunately, the sugar industry has historically downplayed the health effects of sugar, research reveals. And while eating too much of the sweet stuff can boost your odds of dying from heart disease by nearly threefold, according to a 2014 study in JAMA Internal Medicine, other research from 2015, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests you can undo some of the metabolic damage in a week or so of cutting down your consumption.”

Eventually, our past habits, those health skeletons in our closets, may and often to come back to haunt us in the future. What skeletons are in your closet? Are there any that you can eliminate? If not, what can you do now to try to keep them in the closet as long as possible?

See your doctor and get regular check-ups. Be honest with him or her because the more they know of your skeletons, the better they will be able to help you keep them there or help you deal with the ones that won’t stay hidden.

Some of my health skeletons came back to haunt me. I let myself get very overweight, knowing there is a family history of Type 2 diabetes. Once I was diagnosed as having the same, I stayed on a diabetic diet for a while but then stopped. After nearly 2 years of not watching what and how much I was eating, I ended up in the hospital with a severe bout of vertigo. I found out that my blood glucose and blood pressure levels were dangerously high. Once I got home, I took action and made changes. With my doctor’s supervision, I went on a strict diet and began walking 1-2 times a day. I lost over 80pouds, brought my blood pressure and blood glucose levels down and my last A1-C was below the diabetic level.

A Midday Nap Could Reduce Your Blood Pressure

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Source:  iflscience.com

Here’s some news that nap enthusiasts definitely won’t get tired of. It turns out that a daily snooze is associated with reduced blood pressure and, even more significantly, may decrease the risk of a heart attack or other cardiovascular events.

The results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual conference in London. The observational study examined nearly 400 middle-aged men and women with hypertension, a condition where blood pressure is constantly abnormally high.

The study showed that midday sleepers had a 5% lower average 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure compared to patients who did not nap at midday. Even though this might seem like a minor difference, the lead researcher Dr Manolis Kallistratos said at the conference that even this small decrease “can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by up to 10%.” So a tiny drop is still of great significance.

Even better for the siesta snoozers, the study showed that a longer sleep was associated with a higher drop in blood pressure. One hour was found to be the time needed for the best results.

Kallistratos noted that there were a few limitations in the study that would be worth addressing for future research in the field. For starters, the study was only observational. It has to be assumed that it is the midday nap that is producing the positive effects in the patients, and not some other uncontrolled variable. Kallistratos is confident that this is the case since the blood pressure drop pattern seen at midday is similar to the drop people experience when they sleep at night.

The second is that the hypertension symptoms in the study participants were very well controlled, but that might not be the case for everyone. So in future it could be worthwhile including participants whose hypertension was not so well-controlled, as Kallistratos thinks they could experience an even more significant blood pressure drop with a daytime doze.

It must also be noted that a nap is superior to just resting. Kallistratos commented that the biggest drop in blood pressure kicked in just before the REM phase, which suggests actual sleep is required to lower blood pressure to the levels observed.

“Μidday sleep is a habit that nowadays is almost a privilege due to a nine to five working culture and intense daily routine,” said Kallistratos. However, given the potential benefits, making time for a midday nap might be an idea to sleep on.

The 6 Supplements You Need to Recover From the Holidays

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www.bodynutrition.org

Holidays, stress and travel. You are exposed to more germs, struggle to stay on track with exercise, splurge on party food and drinks and I’m guessing you feel sleep deprived too. By the time the holidays are over and it is time to go back to work, you might feel like you need another vacation to recover!

This time of year takes a major toll on your health. However, there are things you can do to help get your mind and body back on track after the holidays. Check out this holiday supplement survival guide for your healthiest holiday yet!

1.Probiotics


www.clevercultures.com

Taking probiotics all year is important and this is a reminder that your body needs consistency when it comes to probiotics. A minimum 50 B probiotic will help keep you regular, keep your digestive system operating smoothly, and will help keep your gut in check.

Recommended: Essential Flora 7 

2. Super Food Green Powder


www.adamvonrothfelder.com

Cookies, pies, mashed potatoes and cheese balls….these all make it a little tricky to get your nutrients in.  Chances are the veggies are the smallest portion on your plate. A super food green powder is the perfect way to pack vitamins, minerals, and photo-nutrients into your day to support detoxification and immunity.  

Recommended: Organifi 

3.Vitamin D


www.drlandsebring.com

Sunlight is our most important source of vitamin D and during the holiday season, for most of us, that is when we get the least amount of it. Vitamin D has several important functions. Perhaps the most vital are regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, and facilitating normal immune system function. Getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against certain diseases.

Recommended: Marine-D3 

4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids


www.newhope.com

What makes omega-3 fats special? They are an integral part of cell membranes throughout the body and affect the function of the cell receptors in these membranes. They provide the starting point for making hormones that regulate blood clotting, contraction and relaxation of artery walls, and inflammation

Recommended: Omega Flex 

5. Chamomile


www.stylecraze.com

Chamomile has been used for centuries in teas as a mild, relaxing sleep aid, treatment for fevers, colds, stomach ailments, and as an anti-inflammatory, to name only a few therapeutic uses.

Recommended: Shop for a variety of chamomile products at Thrive Market

6. Turmeric


www.shape.com

Turmeric is a bright, yellowish-green spice that comes from a root. It is used in traditional Indian and Asian dishes and has a few powerful health benefits that you don’t want to miss out including naturally relieving pain and inflammation.
Recommended: Purathrive Liposomal Organic Turmeric Extract 

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