1) Go for a walk
Not only is walking a great mood-booster, but researchers at Dalhousie University found that 30-minute walks were effective at reducing tension, anxiety, and mood disturbances and increasing energy and vigor.
* Going for outdoor walks has an added benefit: the natural light stimulates the brain to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter known to improve your mood.
2) Make it an early night
Getting less sleep than you need can increase anxiety, tension, and sadness. Studies have shown that lack of sleep reduces emotional and physical well-being, reduces optimism, and even contributes to the onset and worsening of physical pain.
3) De-clutter
It's almost impossible to relax and feel great when everywhere you look, there are bills, papers, and appointment cards piled on workspaces and spilling out of drawers. Organizing your home and office is a great way to help calm anxiety, and some people actually find the de-cluttering itself therapeutic.
4) Listen to music
Music has a powerful effect on mood. It activates areas of the brain involved in the feeling of happiness. Relaxing music can lower blood pressure, heart rate, stress hormone levels, and may even improve cognitive abilities; while an upbeat song can bring a smile to your face, make your feet start tapping and maybe even start you dancing!
5) Use some aromatherapy
Aromatherapy involves the use of concentrated, aromatic plant oils called essential oils, you have probably seen it in the form of naturally-scented bath salts, body lotions, and massage oils. A recent study found that people exposed to the scent of lavender or rosemary essential oils felt more content than people who didn't use essential oils. Make sure they are pure essential oils - not artificially scented ones.
Welcome to Healthy Living!
Most of us want to live a healthier life, but it is sometimes a daunting task trying to sift through the often-conflicting information we are given, in an effort to find what will work for us. We have all heard the ongoing debate about whether low-carb diets are healthy or bad for us and the varied opinions about which carbs we should be eating. There is the accepted opinion that coffee/caffeine has a harmful effect on your life and then the newer opinion that it is actually beneficial. The same is true for alcohol - red wine to be specific - does it kill brain cells or does is that negated due to the positive, healthy effects it seems to have on the heart? These debates are only the tip of the iceberg . . .
While the previous issues address what we should and shouldn't be eating, there is also the question of what to do if we have developed some ill effects (not feeling well, no energy, weight gain, disease) and want to reverse them. There are so many possible solutions. Do we fast - and if so what kind of fast (juice, water, fruit)? Do we need to detox? If so - how? Herbal cleanses, colonics, saunas, body wraps, sea water baths, Epsom salt baths? What herbs will help heal our bodies and in what quantities? And what about the alternative therapies: massage, Reiki, bio-feedback, hypnotherapy, meditation, light therapy, aromatherapy (to name only a few!)? Which of these would help us in our particular situation?
How to make sense of all this information? We would like to have this site be a place to discuss which things have worked for us (or haven't) and hopefully by sharing our experiences we will be able to help each other wade through all the possibilities and find our own paths to a Healthy Life!
While the previous issues address what we should and shouldn't be eating, there is also the question of what to do if we have developed some ill effects (not feeling well, no energy, weight gain, disease) and want to reverse them. There are so many possible solutions. Do we fast - and if so what kind of fast (juice, water, fruit)? Do we need to detox? If so - how? Herbal cleanses, colonics, saunas, body wraps, sea water baths, Epsom salt baths? What herbs will help heal our bodies and in what quantities? And what about the alternative therapies: massage, Reiki, bio-feedback, hypnotherapy, meditation, light therapy, aromatherapy (to name only a few!)? Which of these would help us in our particular situation?
How to make sense of all this information? We would like to have this site be a place to discuss which things have worked for us (or haven't) and hopefully by sharing our experiences we will be able to help each other wade through all the possibilities and find our own paths to a Healthy Life!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Feeling Down? Try these Natural Mood Boosters
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