4 Steps to Nervous System Healing
4 Ways to Reduce Stress
Today I’m excited to share 4 things that deeply impact our gut-brain-axis, and how to support your nervous system to heal the effects of stress, reduce anxiety and feel more present daily.
Regulate Blood Sugar
Balancing meals with enough protein per meal will keep stress hormones regulated. If you tend towards feeling hangry or irritable between meals, eat a protein snack every 3 hours to prevent dips in blood sugar and spikes in cortisol. Unstable blood sugar can lead to mood swings, brain fog and fatigue.
➪ Generally we’re looking at 20-30 grams (palm-sized amount) of protein per meal. Focusing on getting in protein within 1 hour of waking will stabilize cortisol and set you up for healthy hormone and blood sugar balance for the rest of the day!
Nutrient-Dense Eating
We need ample amounts of quality protein, fats and complex carbs to provide the building-blocks for a happy nervous system. Eating mostly whole-foods instead of processed foods/empty-calories will replenish our body with important mood-boosting minerals, vitamins and amino acids.
➪ Try this: Instead of counting calories, fill half your plate with steamed leafy greens, broccoli, celery, asparagus etc. Fill one quarter with quality protein, and one quarter with a starchy veggie like butternut squash, sweet potato, beets. Drizzle your veggies with 1-2 TBS of healthy fat like olive oil, ghee or grass-fed butter.
Re-Mineralizing the Body
Minerals are what make every process in our body function optimally. ESPECIALLY our nervous system! I use an at-home hair mineral-test to understand individual mineral needs and jumpstart healing.
➪I run HTMA tests on all of my clients as a starting-point. This test is SO helpful for those of use experiencing fatigue, anxiety, depression or digestive problems. It’s a window right into your metabolic world, guiding us on the right ratio of macros you’ll thrive on, what level of stress your body is in, and what minerals/herbs will start improving your health.
Creating Safety in the Body
80% of information goes from our BODY to our BRAIN. So even if you know there's no current danger now, your body might be stuck in a hypervigilant state, daily sending signals of stress/alarm to your brain. Simple somatic and grounding techniques literally re-wire our brain so that our body can start sending signals of SAFETY to the brain again= calmer moods!
➪Try this: Cover your right nostril, breath in comfortably through your LEFT nostril. Next, cover your LEFT nostril, and breath out your RIGHT. Breathing in through the left nostril calms the nervous system, and breathing in the right is more stimulating.
In Health and Wholeness,
Annika