Hello health and wellness enthusiasts. My name is Kaitlin and I’m here to help you start your week off right. To get started, read your horoscope and check the local forecast (hopefully it’s cooling down after a heat wave hit most of the country). So read on for some easy tips and tricks that can improve your life.
Sleep more
We’d all be grateful for a little more nap, but getting it might make you feel more gratitude in general. According to a new to study from Baylor University, participants who slept more also had greater feelings of gratitude, resilience, and well-being. Eager to feel higher levels of happiness? Focus on improving your sleep hygiene — and I have full permission to splurge on that expensive sleep mask.
Update your diet
There are few things in this world I love more than a brownie, but unfortunately, baked goods may not be the best food for your mental health. (Even though, yes, it seems very comforting at the moment.) to study published in Nutritional Neuroscience found that following a diet high in sugar and saturated fats can lead to changes in the brain associated with rumination – a symptom of depression and anxiety that includes focusing on negative thoughts and feelings. The study also found that participants who followed a predominantly Mediterranean diet (lots of vegetables, fish and healthy fats like olive oil) did not experience these brain changes – so while cake is great, if you can fall equally in love with salmon and asparagus , your mental health may thank you.
Eat blueberries
Fruit is good for you – but apparently there’s one fruit that’s the best berry better. Nutritionist Samantha Cassetty analyzed the research for the “Today” show and declared that antioxidant-rich blueberries are the healthiest fruit. Eating them can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes as well as heart disease — and luckily, they’re delicious, too. Sprinkle some on oatmeal or blend into a smoothie.
Use your menstrual week to up your game
Look, I get it: the last thing you want to do while you’re on your period is exert yourself. New research, however, suggests that doing so may not be the worst idea in the world. (Sorry!) A new study published in Neuropsychology found that people who were menstruating performed better on tests measuring reaction time, attention, mental agility and spatial skills during menstruation – even though they thought they would perform worse.
Adopt healthy habits to prevent Alzheimer’s
Everyone from Chris Hemsworth to Lauren Miller Rogen is talking about preventing Alzheimer’s these days — but you don’t have to be a celebrity to help prevent this cognitive disease. Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, asked 49 people with mild cognitive impairment or early-onset Alzheimer’s dementia to participate in an intensive program of diet, exercise, stress reduction, and social interaction to see how it would affect them. your symptoms. Although the study is small, Ornish and his team of scientists have obtained some encouraging results. Here’s what they believe can improve brain function:
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A plant-based diet
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30 minutes of exercise a day (and yes, walking counts!)
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Strength training three times a week
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Manage stress through meditation, yoga, and other relaxation exercises
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Find some mental and emotional support (Ornish participants went to a support group three times a week)
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Take supplements that can improve cognition, such as omega-3s, a multivitamin, lion’s mane mushrooms, and probiotics (as always, consult your doctor first)
