Stress Archives - Chasing Sunrise

June 1, 2017

Tired all the time? Get some sleep.

So how did you sleep last night? What about the night before that? Did you go to bed before 10pm in a cool, darkened room and sleep without waking for 8 gorgeous hours? Did you wake naturally, feeling refreshed, energised, calm and positive? No? Really? Well this sadly is the reality for a very large number of people who in fact rarely experience this. Unfortunately the complaint of “I’m exhausted all the time” has become perfectly normal. How wrong is that!

I attended a talk the other night presented by the super brain and very awesome Dr Libby Weaver ‘Sort Your Sleep – Understanding Mood, Stress and Fatigue.’ It struck me just how many of us struggle with getting enough shut eye. Anyhow, it inspired me to share a bit about how absolutely central sleep is to good health.

Too busy to sleep.
No matter how tired we are sometimes, it feels like it’s impossible to get the sleep we need. Feeling that there aren’t enough hours in the day, we look for something to cut. And sleep is an easy target. Ironically, the more tired we are, combined with the sleep we are too busy to have, the more we come unravelled…big time!

Burning out.
I can speak from personal experience when I recall a time where anything over 5 hours felt like a bonus. Waking to an alarm after minimal sleep would send my adrenalin pumping. Like a robot I would sit up, tie my laces and head out into the dark to get my exercise in before the rest of the world woke. I was totally knackered. Wired and tired! I am here to tell you that if you are getting by on minimal sleep and feel like you are coping okay then it is time to reassess. Burning out is not the necessary price for accomplishment and success.

Just getting by.
Sleep is often the first thing to go when we are busy. You think you can just ‘get by’ with five hours sleep and you’ll be fine. Right? WRONG! We need sleep to function well. It is absolutely vital for our mental, physical and emotional well-being. Getting good-quality sleep (and enough of it) should be as high on your priority list as regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Why lack of sleep is bad for our health…REALLY BAD!
There is a wealth of evidence showing that too few zzzzs can have a significant and very negative impact on our health and wellbeing. Sleep is absolutely the key to better health. Sleep affects our physical and mental health enormously. A bad night’s sleep massively impacts alertness, concentration, memory, mood and productivity. It can also lower our immunity, contribute to weight gain, affect our hormone function and increase our risk of serious disease. Without enough sleep, we may well continue to function but we certainly do not continue to function well. Sleep is the key to feeling great and functioning at your personal best.

Today we know more about the science of sleep than ever before and how important it is to every aspect of our wellbeing. However, getting enough sleep seems harder and harder. It’s also the delusion that overwork, stress and burnout are the inevitable prices we must pay in order to succeed. There are some very real medical reasons why people may not be able to achieve deep restorative sleep, so if you feel like you have ‘tried everything’ then it may be a reason to consult your GP. For most of us though there is a great deal of hope around sorting our sleep.

Here are some suggestions for getting a great night’s sleep:

Sleep in a darkened room. This supports the body’s natural hormonal patterns to send you off to sleep and keep you that way.
Get to sleep by 10pm. Most of the body’s repair work is done prior to 3am so the more sleep you can get before this time, the fresher and more vital you will feel on waking.
Switch off! Computers, televisions and phones interfere with your natural sleep hormones and affect your sleep big time. Ideally have technology free time for at least an hour before bed.
Avoid doing work for 2 hours before bed and engaging your brain in this way.
Avoid stimulants in the afternoon. Eliminating caffeine after 12pm is a good idea.
Avoid excessive alcohol. Although alcohol is a sedative, it disrupts quality of sleep by causing us to wake when our blood sugar levels start to fall.
Keep the temperature in the bedroom at a comfortable level. Don’t overheat with piles of blankets and keep some fresh air coming into the room during the night.
Find a way to relax before bed. Restorative rituals like a bath, a cup of herbal tea, a book, some light stretching or even some slow deep breathing can help to clear your mind and enable you to fall into a deeper sleep.

So how much sleep do we need?
Seven to eight hours. Most experts consider this the optimal level of sleep and it should lead you to wake feeling rested and ready for the day ahead.

So it’s about time you got some serious shut eye.
It is so important to schedule maximum (quality) sleep time for yourself if you want to start feeling amazing from the inside out. Rather than trudging through your day, wake up feeling calm, clear and rested. There is a new kind of normal – just go to bed!

I would like to challenge you to find one thing you could do differently over the next week to set yourself up for a better nights sleep. I’d love to hear what works for you. Contact me here.

July 28, 2016

Breathing to Reduce Stress

Ever felt tense, anxious, frazzled or overwhelmed? Never underestimate the power of a slow, deep breath. Deep breathing is when we breathe in air slowly through our nose, fully filling our lungs, then exhale slowly through our mouths. It is a great way to reduce tension and relieve stress. It can help us feel calm and focussed. It can be life-changing!

What’s Happening to Me.

Nervous, overwhelmed, panicked? We’ve all been there…sweaty palms, tight chest, pounding heart and shallow breathing. It’s awful. Our stress and anxiety nervous system is called the ‘Sympathetic Nervous System’ and it is activated by shallow breathing. When we take small, sharp breaths our body thinks we are in a state of alarm. The result is an elevation in heart rate, our blood pressure increases, it triggers the release of nasty stress hormones including cortisol and adrenalin which all combine to make us feel anxious and uptight.

Fortunately there is a way to switch off the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism in our body. We have the power to deliberately change our own breathing. Studies show that slow, controlled breathing can help us manage stress. Our ‘De-stress’ nervous system, the ‘Parasympathetic Nervous System’, is effectively able to be activated by deep breathing, triggering a relaxation response and as a result we feel calmer, less anxious and more focussed.

Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. When we breathe deeply, it sends a message to our brain to calm down. The brain then sends this message to our body. The things that happen when we feel stressed like an increased heart rate, fast shallow breathing, a tight chest and high blood pressure all decrease as we breathe deeply to relax.

When.

Breathing exercises are an ideal way to relieve stress. They can be done anywhere at any time like on the bus on the way to work, before picking children up from school, when stuck in traffic or before a work presentation. The fact that it is simple, free, accessible and can be performed by just about anyone, anywhere is a total bonus!

How.

Here is how basic deep, controlled breathing works:

Sit, stand or lie in a comfortable position.
Slowly inhale through your nose for four seconds, fully filling your lungs.
Pause or hold the breath for two seconds.
Release the breath slowly, counting to six as you exhale from your mouth.
Repeat the sequence several times. That’s it!

Learning deep breathing is one of the kindest things we can do for ourselves. It can also have a profound effect on our health and the way we manage stress. So next time you are feeling anxious, stressed, fatigued or just need a little more focus give it a try.

Need Support?

If you are feeling overburdened, overwhelmed and overloaded with life and the desire to change is lurking… don’t hesitate to contact me for some simple, effective stress management techniques that will help bring some more calm, focus and fulfilment to your daily life.

http://www.chasingsunrise.com.au/contact/

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016

Reduce Stress and Improve Health.

Traditional stress management strategies can focus on optimum nutrition, exercise rituals, yoga and meditation. However in real life, health retreats, green juice cleanses and a raw food diet is just not real or practical for highly stressed people who just have to get on with things. Time consuming, idealistic strategies are not only hard to maintain but they can be difficult to even begin.

Busy, stressed and overwhelmed people need real-life solutions. We need changes that are workable, practical and achievable that assist and support improved health and wellbeing. Here are my top ten ways to help you reduce stress and improve your health immediately.

Aim to gain health with nutritious food.

When we are stressed we tend to crave chocolate, ice cream, cheese…Unfortunately, indulging these cravings just end up adding to our self-sabotage. Strive for plenty of fresh, colourful and unprocessed food. Ideally we should be aiming to eat 5 serves of vegetables per day and around 2 serves of fruit. Combine this with lean protein and wholegrains to stay healthy and function with energy and improved mood.

Get more sleep.

For busy people with not enough hours in the day – sleep can seem overrated. However without enough sleep we can’t function well. Most adults need between 7 – 9 hours of sleep a night. Much less than this affects our ability to cope.

Exercise.

Hands down the best thing you can do right now to help yourself settle. Not only does it fire off its own set of physiological processes that promote relaxation and positive feelings, it enables us to get rid of that unwanted tension and the build-up of adrenalin pumping through our body. Simply start with small steps of something you enjoy.

Learn to say no.

Accept that you are never going to be all things to all people. Ask yourself, is this something I want to do, something I need to do or something I have to do? If you can’t answer “yes” to any of these questions, your answers should be a definite “no

Breathe.

Breathing engages our relaxation response which turns off our reaction to stress. Try breathing in slowly for four counts and exhaling slowly for four counts. Repeat this five times and notice how much more calm and present you feel.

Clear the clutter.

It’s much easier to have a calm, clear mind when you live in a calm, clear environment. Try not to hold onto things you don’t need.

Practise Gratitude.

When we are ‘busy’ it is easy for us to get bogged down, complain a lot and feel sorry for ourselves. Being grateful can put us in a very different state of mind. Taking some time out to be mindful of things we are grateful for (big or small) can really help us appreciate what we have. Start a new ritual of writing down or saying out loud each day three things you are grateful for. Watch your perspective change.

Make ‘Me’ Time a Priority.

For ‘busy’ people nurturing ourselves can feel selfish or indulgent; but sooner or later unless we start prioritising ourselves we can start to feel frustrated, fatigued, self-loathing with an overall lack of fulfilment. Self-renewal leads to a more balanced, happy and satisfied life. Book personal time in like you would for a meeting and do things that make you feel rested, cared for and peaceful.

Watch the Coffee and Grog.

Warming up with coffee and cooling down with a glass/es of wine…everyday? I would never suggest to anyone under enormous stress to give up these things entirely however the secret is to consume them wisely, to ensure they enhance our day and not destroy it. Make sure you control ‘it’ and ‘it’ doesn’t control you.

Spend time with the people you love.

At the end of the day it won’t matter if you were a size 8, had the big job, got the promotion or had a tidy house. What will matter is that you lived a life with connection, meaning and had real relationships filled with laughter and joy.

If you’re ready to commit to change and know you need some support, I’m here to help. Why not book a free 20 minute discovery session with me – let me help you get clear on what your next steps need to be so you can feel less stressed and empowered on how to take back some control.

Contact Me