As women, we do too much.
And self-care is easily lowest on the priority list due to lack of time and straight up guilt.
Between working your job, sitting on boards and planning parties, volunteering at school and caring for the family and their schedules, and household chores – the hustle is real and totally overwhelming.
Amiiiiiiright??
In fact, Statistics Canada reports that 30 percent of people aged 35 to 54 say that most days are stressful. Yet who has time to add in the self-care needed to deal with this stress? I’m guessing you don’t, and neither do I.
Studies have shown that stress also has a large impact on your health. In fact, in this 2017 study they found that stress affects your brain function, memory, cognition and learning, immune system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, and hormones – throwing off your entire body.
HOW SELF-CARE REDUCES SYMPTOMS
Under stress, your body activates the sympathetic nervous system, also known as your fight-or-flight response. This causes all systems to slow down in an attempt to save what’s needed for the upcoming emergency. This affects your entire body, including digestion and hormones, and is a key root cause to many symptoms that my clients have these days.
Whereas self-care activates the parasympathetic nervous system, often referred to as the rest-and-digest response. This is when the body is relaxed and all systems are able to function normally and digestion occurs appropriately.
Taking time to disconnect from life for a little self-care is an effective way of reducing stress, which also reduces the impact that stress has on your overall health. It’s a win-win!
5 SIMPLE WAYS TO INCLUDE SELF-CARE IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE
Adding in a little self-care each day might seem like an impossible task (I mean, who has the time??!). But I promise you, once you start including it regularly you’ll see improvements quickly in your health, mood, and outlook on life.
Here are some simple ways I add it into my daily routine:
1. Epsom Salt Bath
Because stress can be a huge contributor to poor sleep and insomnia, disconnecting from work, family, and your phone or tv for 30 minutes before bed can make a world of difference.
I’ve been doing this for years to force me to disconnect at night and train my body that sleep comes after a bath. Plus, epsom salt is a mixture of magnesium and sulfate, which helps to reduce stress and aid in relaxation (as well as many other health benefits).
2. Deep Breathing
A year ago I decided to try deep breathing every morning and night to see if it helped improve my adrenal health – and I was amazed at the difference.
I simply take 5-10 minutes to do some square breathing or timed breathing, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system and calms me right down (plus it helps with digestion too!).
Try it before bed tonight by slowly breathing in for a count of 10 and slowly breathing out for a count of 10. Repeat 5-10 times. See for yourself what a difference it can make in helping you relax, stay focused, and feel happier.
3. Exercise
It’s important to get some fresh air and activity in each day to help reduce stress. I have found that by squeezing in at least 30 minutes of movement daily, it’s improved my productivity ten-fold.
I aim for a 30 minute workout 3 times a week and I walk the dog at least 2 times a day for 30-45 minutes. Do I have time for it? No, but doing it sure helps with stress and efficiency.
4. Staying Hydrated
This one seems silly, but drinking enough water often gets forgotten with the philosophy of “drinking coffee until it’s acceptable to drink wine” that seems to be so popular these days.
Staying hydrated is one of the best forms of self-care because it helps you to focus better, improves your mood and digestion, flushes out toxins from your system, and is beneficial to your entire body. Plus, you just feel better knowing you’re doing something great for your health.
5. Face Mask
I recently fell in love with doing face masks 3-4 times a week because it’s 10 blissful minutes to myself! I’ve been whipping up this Naturally Nourishing Face Mask by my girl Emmaline Tsui, an amazing holistic facialist … and I love it!
I also love to take a few minutes to read a book, buy fresh flowers for my house, write in my journal, or enjoy a hot cup of tea – but those don’t seem to happen as often!
And while you can go bigger with things like spa days, weekend getaways, and the works – those only happen every now and then. Adding in 10-30 minutes daily of self-care will help reduce your symptoms and prevent burnout and adrenal fatigue, while also improving your overall health.
If you’re concerned over your stress levels and its impact on your health and need help to improve your self-care and reduce symptoms – book in a consultation with me and let’s get you on the right foot for September! (Testing is also available)
One of my favourite forms of self-care is to simply feed my body nourishing foods that don’t require hours in the kitchen or a lot of thought – and vegetarian stir-fry’s are my go-to.
