A healthy Nana says

The wonders of water for your brain

The wonders of water for your brain

Have you ever been dehydrated? I bet most of us have been to some degree at some time in our lives . Over seventy percent of our bodies are composed of water and every body function is dependent on water. I can feel tingling in my lips and stiffness in my big toe when my water consumption  is too low

We lose on average 80 ounces of water through everyday functions like breathing, sweating and eliminating waste, yet the average person in the US drinks less than a quart a day. That is creating a deficiency which can cause problems with focus, memory, brain fatigue, brain fog as well headaches, sleep issues, anger, depression and many more.

The brain is very dependent on water. Water gives the brain the  electrical energy needed for all functions as well as proper hormone and neurotransmitter production. We want to drink water throughout the day because the brain does not have any way to store water.

If you are properly hydrated

 1. Your brain will work faster, try to drink a glass when you first get up.

2. Your concentration will increase, aim for some water every 45 minutes to stay focused.

3. Your memory will improve, as even slight dehydration will cause homeostatic imbalances

4. Your mood and emotions will balance out as water will help regulate stress and anxiety

5. It will help you sleep better but, this is only if you drink your water throughout the day and not all at night.

Every person is different for their water needs but here is a simple formula for creating a personal target. Take your body weight divide it in half and that is the amount of ounces you can set as your goal.

 For example if you weigh 180 pounds you would aim to drink 90 ounces each day.

Here are some ways I add variety to my water consumption throughout the day. 

  1. Swap out your morning coffee for hot water with a drop of lemon vitality oil.

  2. Add YL vital drops to your mid-day water. https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/product/yl-vitality-drops-variety-4pk

  3. Make a cup of Thieves tea after work.

  4.  Make a ‘Red Drink’ this special drink counts as water but has a healthy kick. Learn more here https://youtu.be/vQhvwNazie0

Try the seven day sip and shine challenge here to boost your water habit.



Sleep your way to better health

Sleep your way to better health
A lack of quality sleep will affect every major body system and your mind, affecting your future health. Today one-third of adults do not get the recommended amount of sleep. Are you one of them?
 
Sleep affects every major physiological system. People who only average 5 hours a night have a 65% increase in all-cause mortality. In other words, they have a 65% higher chance of dying for any reason compared to people who get sufficient sleep. Sufficient sleep would be considered 80% of the time you get good quality 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, we cannot push the limits all week and then recover on extra weekend sleep, the damage that is done daily when we shortchange our sleep, is not repaired by weekend binges. Although the binges do feel great! :)

A shortage of sleep will affect our anxiety levels, can cause depression, it will affect our digestive system, and create digestive problems, and we all know that is no fun.  A lack of sleep can cause headaches and heart disease. Not getting enough sleep will affect our hormone levels impacting our reproductive process as well as causing weight gain. 
 
Your immune system will be affected. Just one night of four hours of sleep will create a 70% drop-in natural killer cell activity. Killer cells are just what they sound like, they go after and kill the cells that cause illness. This is a huge compromise for our immune system, so if you did not get enough sleep last night be sure to take extra precautions to stay healthy the next day.

 In another study where DNA was measured in people when they got 6 hours of sleep compared to when they got 8 hours of sleep, there were 711 genes with distorted activity when they only had 6 hours of sleep. This means a lack of sleep will affect our DNA expression, which will ultimately affect our health. 

1.6 billion people participate in an experiment twice a year and we call that Daylight Savings time.  When we spring ahead there is a 24% increase in heart attacks and accidents and in the fall when we gain that extra hour there is a 21% decrease. Hmm, that should tell us something! 

Are you ready to take some steps to get quality sleep and help your body heal?





 
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