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Can I Really Get Better Through Mindfulness?
For the past 35 years, I’ve had the great fortune of bearing witness to the incredible struggle and amazing resiliency of the human spirit. Day after day, year after year, patients have shared their most intimate stories with me — each one unique and each one special in its own way. Whether they were depressed, abused, worried, sad, unfulfilled, anxious, fearful, or just plain lonely—they all shared one common condition — SUFFERING.

Every one of them was suffering and every one of them wanted to know “Can I really get better?” Of course, I would always give them the same answer: IT DEPENDS. But actually, the correct and truest answer is ABSOLUTELY, yes you can get better. But whether you actually get better or not depends entirely on how you define “better.” For you see, there are many different ways of being “better.”

For many people, taking a pill and experiencing fewer symptoms is all they want. Whether the medication actually works or they just think it works—it makes no difference. They feel better and that’s all that matters.

But what if we define “better” not as symptom reduction but rather optimal physical and mental well-being? Now the answer “it depends” has a whole new meaning. The longer I practiced, the more I realized something was missing. So, after spending years in the psychological trenches dishing up delicious words to soothe the soul, I made a startling discovery — WORDS WERE NOT ENOUGH.

To get truly better we needed much more than just words. Psychotherapy was indeed helpful but it was not sufficient. So I embarked on a journey to learn as much as I could about how to achieve optimal wellness. I spent years studying Integrative Medicine and Nutrition, Nutritional Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics, Epigenetics and Nutrigenomics (environmental and nutritional influences on gene expression), the Microbiome and the Gut-Brain Connection, the practice of Yoga and Meditation, and finally, various models of Spirituality.

This extraordinary journey taught me that authentic healing could only occur if we were able to integrate all the parts of ourselves into a harmonious and cohesive whole. But first off, to do this requires an about face regarding our collective belief that all pain is bad and therefore must be avoided for a satisfying life.

We must be willing to look deep inside ourselves and surrender our most cherished beliefs. Beliefs that are so strong (think “defenses”) that they function like our best friends. We must be willing to bear the discomfort of letting go of these beliefs because they do not serve our highest purpose. And we must be willing to do the hard work that is necessary to rid ourselves of toxic emotions so we can transform our suffering into self-caring and compassion.

Now, it seems to me this “wellness” stuff is all fine and dandy but how the heck do you really get there? Simple — you need a road map. So I developed a unique road map (in conjunction with friend and architect Richard Chadwick) that will guide you down the road to optimal wellness. It’s called TheMindful Wellness Wheel and it was created to show how the process of mindfulness can be used to investigate the key aspects of your life objectively.

Many people find the concept of mindfulness difficult to grasp but it can be explained quite easily. Mindfulness simply means being aware of whatever thoughts and feelings you are having in the present moment with full acceptance (i.e. without judging them). Mindfulness can also be thought of as a special or particular way of paying attention. By using this technique, you can look at each area of your life and make whatever adjustments are necessary to correct imbalances. Practicing mindfulness will enable you to respond to life rather than react to it (reacting=mindless, responding=mindful). Developing the capacity to respond to situations with calmness, clarity of mind, and non-reactivity will improve your life in every way possible.

The Manifesto of a New Medical Model

To become healthy, you have to change the way you look at the world. It’s a sad but true fact that so much of what we’ve been taught is blatantly incorrect! This is especially true when it comes to health, nutrition, food choices, drugs, and the practice of modern medicine. Our present medical model is based upon detecting and treating symptoms of disease. This is a fabulous model for acute care. If you or your loved one has an accident or life-threatening emergency, this is the best medicine for helping you.

But if you or your loved one has any of the chronic diseases of modern high-tech civilization, modern medicine is an abysmal failure. The reason for this is twofold:

Modern medicine is treatment focused rather than prevention focused — it focuses on disease rather than health

Modern medicine is managed by huge corporations which control all aspects of how it is taught, practiced, and protected. Pharmaceutical companies fund and conduct their own research. They control what studies are published in medical journals and exert powerful influence through their advertising. Not only is this self-serving, but alternatives to drugs are kept hidden from the public. Most people have no idea that there alternatives to drugs, surgery, etc. which are more effective, safer, cheaper, and align with our bodies natural capacity to heal.

When we go to a psychologist, psychiatrist, etc. to get help with our emotional pain, we are confronted with an archaic system of treatment predicated on “specialization.” Our modern medical model is reductionistic and treats the body like a collection of separate compartments. Therefore, when you need help, you see a “specialist” who focuses only on their area of expertise. There is no attempt to understand the root causes of the problems or to integrate it into the bigger picture. Not only is this of limited benefit, but it doesn’t honor the great reality of the whole person — that is to say, everything is connected! Any type of emotional problem, no matter how mild or severe, depends on the whole body to produce its effects.

In order to overcome these limitations, The Mindful Wellness Wheel was created. I will briefly explain how this model works. As you look at the illustration of the wellness wheel, you will notice at the center of the wheel is “Your Mindfulness.” This is the core and everything is built around this. In this way, the practice of mindfulness can be used to explore each of the 8 areas of your life that are vital to effective and harmonious living. These 8 areas are:

How You Relate to Yourself

How You Relate to Others

What You Eat

How You Eat

How You Move

How You Relax

How You Work

How You Play

Your ability to be mindfully aware of all these interrelated aspects comprises the state of your wellness. Beyond this boundary is our connection to The Natural Universe Outside of Yourself. It is essential to recognize and honor the power of nature and our connection to it. For most of us, this is a lost element in our modern industrialized world. Finally, beyond the natural universe is our Spirituality. This model attempts to integrate all that is necessary for you to be wonderfully healthy and to appreciate your connection to all things, both big and small.

The time has come for a new medical model. One that will allow each of us to achieve our true potential and live healthy, loving, and satisfying lives without chronic disease and the feelings of dis-connectedness that is so pervasive in our modern world. I hope this discussion is helpful to all readers in ways that will lead to a new view of the way things are.

BE OPEN MINDED BUT NOT SO OPEN MINDED THAT YOUR BRAINS FALL OUT”- Groucho Marx

• • •

Dr. Stephen C. Fischer, grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a pharmacist and a homemaker. He studied Pre-Med in college majoring in Biology and Chemistry. Then spent 3 years doing graduate work in Psychopharmacology and Experimental Psychology before deciding he wanted to be a psychotherapist. Dr. Fischer then spent 4 more years getting his M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology and Psychiatry.

For the first half of his career, he focused exclusively on the psychological side of healing. Then, about 15 years ago, began to study nutrition, alternative medicine, holistic healing and integrative psychology. “As a psychologist first and foremost, I encourage nutrition, but never push it on my patients.” he says.

In his free time, he reads, eats healthy food, cooks healthy food, watches movies, exercises, does yoga, and enjoys sitting motionless in a chair for long periods of time doing absolutely nothing.

The post Can I Really Get Better Through Mindfulness? appeared first on Kelly Brogan MD .
Apr 10th, 2017
The Compassionate Way to Health & Fitness
Lots of us would like a better body, an amazing workout habit, and a diet that celebrities would die for.

OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but most of us definitely have an ideal when it comes to fitness. We want to be super healthy, and we strive for it. Maybe we strive and then fail and feel bad about it, but we strive.

What would it be like to not strive for these fitness goals?

What would it be like if we removed the striving, and found compassion instead?

The Problem with Striving

When we strive for a fitness ideal (which is usually what we do), there are a few fundamental problems to be aware of:
1. The ideal is one we will never meet. Even if we do great at our goal, it won’t be what we pictured. For example, I ran several marathons and an ultramarathon because of ideals I had in my head, and completed them … and they weren’t at all what I pictured. They were still worthwhile, but not at all what my fantasy was.
2. You have a good likelihood of failing at some point, not meeting your ideal, and then feeling bad about yourself for failing.
3. You don’t hit the ideal right away — most ideals are several months, if not years, in the future. So for the first few days, first few weeks … you will just do the activity but not hit any ideal. This is likely not fun. You might set ideals for each day (“go for a run today!”) but even then, you’ll go for the run and it won’t be what you fantasized it would be.
4. Once you reach the goal you’re striving for, you’re not content. You just find another goal to strive for. And another. Until you’re dead, having never been satisfied.
What we don’t realize is that there’s nothing to strive for. We’re already in the perfect place: a moment that is filled with beauty and wonder, a life that is filled with untapped love and compassion, a goodness in ourselves underlying everything we do. We’re already in the ideal moment, but we take it for granted and fantasize about something else instead.

We can just stop striving. Just find joy in this present moment, without needing the crutch of our fantasies.

The Compassionate Way

So if we stop striving for health and fitness ideals, does that mean we just lie on the couch, stuffing our faces with potato chips and slurping soda all day? Umm, yuck. And no.

What we can do is 1) realize joy in who we are, where we are, and our intricate connection to the wonderful people all around us, and find contentment right now; and 2) in that moment of joy and contentment, we can act out of love.

What are some acts of love that we can do, in this moment of joy and appreciation for what is right here in front of us?
1. Appreciating the gift of our bodies, we take care of them. The bodies we have are incredible, wonders of nature, and we take them for granted. We abuse them by being sedentary, taking drugs, eating junk food, not taking care of them. Instead, an act of appreciation for our bodies is to care for them. Exercise, walk, eat well, floss, meditate.
2. Appreciating the gift of life, we explore the outdoors. There is so much to notice and explore, to behold with absolute wonder, that it’s a waste to be online or on our phones all day. Instead, it’s an act of love to get outside and move our beautiful bodies.
3. Appreciating the gift of food, we nourish our bodies. Instead of abusing ourselves by putting junk in our bodies (just to satisfy cravings of comfort), we can find joy in the nourishment of our bodies with gorgeous, healthy, delicious food. And appreciate that the fresh food we’re feeding ourselves with is a gift, grown from the earth by people we don’t know who support our lives, a miracle not to be taken for granted.
4. Appreciating this moment, we meditate. This moment is filled with brilliance, and yet we often ignore it. Instead, we can sit and meditate, to practice paying full and loving attention. We can do yoga, moving while we meditate. We can meditate as we go for a run, lift a barbell, ride a bike, swim in the ocean, walk in a sunny park.
There is no need for striving for fitness and health ideals. Instead, we can let go of those ideals and appreciate what’s right in front of us. And in gratitude, act with love and compassion to take care of ourselves and pay attention to the moment we’re in.

Originally posted at Zen Habits
Feb 21st, 2017
Prebiotics Improve Stress Resilience and Sleep
Is stress the driver of your insomnia? Eating more high fiber foods—sometimes called prebiotics (different from probiotics)—may help both your stomach and your sleep.

In a new study on rats conducted at the University of Colorado, a high fiber diet promoted the growth of healthy gut bacteria, increased resilience to stress, and made sleep more robust following a stressful event. Here are the take-aways and what the study suggests about human sleep.

Stress, Sleep, the Gut, and Probiotics

Most of us sleep better when life is moving along on an even keel. It’s when we have to cope with stressors—a divorce, a bullying boss, sustained combat—that insomnia tends to occur. Chronic stress may eventually lead to chronic insomnia.

Likewise, stress has a harmful impact on the gut. A healthy gut has diverse beneficial bacteria spread evenly throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Stress makes the bacterial community less diverse and less evenly distributed.

One approach to reestablishing a healthy community of gut bacteria is to use a probiotic such as yogurt containing live bacteria, soft cheeses, or a probiotic supplement. Probiotics help repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria. They’ve also been shown in rodents and humans to reduce the effects of stress on both the body and the brain.

A Prebiotic Diet Has Beneficial Effects

Prebiotics are non-digestible fibers found in certain foods that promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria such as those found in yogurt and probiotic supplements. The researchers at University of Colorado wondered if feeding young rats a diet rich in prebiotics would increase beneficial gut bacteria and reduce the effects of stress, including its effects on sleep.

So they conducted a controlled experiment using 52 rats. One group was fed a control diet and the other was fed a prebiotic diet. After several weeks, half of the rats in each group were administered a series of tail shocks. The lead author of the study has described these shocks as “the equivalent of a single intense acute stressful episode for humans, such as a car accident of the death of a loved one.”

From analyses of the rats’ fecal material, body functions, and sleep before and after the tail shocks, the authors concluded that the prebiotic diet:

Increased stress-protective bacteria in the rats’ gastrointestinal tracts

Reduced measurable symptoms of stress

Cut down on stress-related wake-ups during recovery sleep

Increased beneficial REM sleep during recovery sleep

Overall, the prebiotic diet made the rats more resilient to stress and their sleep more robust.

A High Fiber Diet for Humans?

Would a diet high in prebiotics be similarly protective of the human gastrointestinal tract and human sleep? That, say the researchers, is what they’re going to study next.

For now, given prior clinical research and the fact that there are no known downsides to consuming prebiotic foods, it’s probably a good idea to incorporate more high fiber foods into your diet—especially if you’re prone to stress related insomnia.

Prebiotic Foods

Here are several foods high in prebiotics. You get more mileage from plant fibers when fruits and vegetables are eaten raw, but a light steaming may not do much to diminish their effectiveness.

asparagus

leeks

garlic

onions

dandelion greens

apples

bananas

jicama

Jerusalem artichoke

wheat bran

bread made of wheat flour

barley

oats

seaweed

flaxseeds

legumes

Originally posted at The Savvy Insomniac, 2/15/2017
Feb 20th, 2017
The Many Health Benefits of Bone Broth for Digestion, Arthritis, and Cellulite

Have you heard of bone broth? It’s starting to become the next health food craze.

What does this weird soup have to offer? According to bone broth fans, Grandma may have been right when she said it was cure-all for any and all illnesses.

To be honest, it sounded a bit disgusting to me at first but after hearing the details from many health gurus I tried it. I promise it’s much tastier than it sounds.

Today I’m going to get into the nitty gritty of the health benefits of bone broth. I bet you’ll find a reason or two to at least give it a shot.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is essentially a soup base made by boiling the bones of cows, pigs, chickens, or turkeys. It’s then strained to separate the solids from the liquid. The liquid, often salted and seasoned, is the famous bone broth.

Bone broth has been a staple in many diets around the world for a very long time. It allows us to use more of an animal, wasting less. It also contains many of the meat’s nutrients in an easy-to-digest liquid form.

What’s the Difference between Bone Stock and Bone Broth?

Bone broth is typically made with an acid (like vinegar), and is salted and seasoned already. It’s ready to consume plain.

This is the health food we’re discussing today. Its popularity is largely due to its palatable nature and the idea that the acid helps extract nutrients from the bones.

Bone stock is a lot like bone broth, only without the acid and seasoning. Bone stock makes a great, rich soup base, but it isn’t often known for its health benefits.

Where Can You Get Bone Broth?

Bone broth can be found at plenty of trendy restaurants nationwide. Strange as it may seen, it’s often thought of as a delicious, healthier alternative to morning coffee.

You can check out your local health food store and see if they offer fresh bone broth, or you can purchase various types of bone broth online.

You can also make your own bone broth. Even if you’re no gourmet chef, it’s fairly easy to construct. You simply boil bones in water with a splash of vinegar for 6-24 hours. The long cook time ensures that the nutrients in the bones make their way into your broth.

You can purchase bones at your local supermarket or butcher shop. Bones from wild game are also appropriate, if you have a hunter in your life. If you need additional guidance on making your own broth, there are a wealth of resources available online to help you on your way.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9NK2UzkJf4″ width=”780″ rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes” https=”yes”]

What is in Bone Broth That Makes it So Healthy?

Bone broth contains some important minerals, like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium. These nutrients are all good reasons to eat bone broth regularly, but there’s more.

This liquid health tonic also contains gelatin, collagen, proline, glycine, glycosaminoglycans, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate. These are all known for their contributions to connective tissue health – including hair and nails.

Digestive Health Benefits

There are plenty of people out there that say that bone broth is good for your digestive tract. The theory behind this is that the gelatin in bone broth helps soothe the tract and even potentially help its lining to heal.

The purported healing of the digestive tract is supposed to help heal leaky gut, a condition that modern science still doesn’t fully understand. Gelatin’s potential gut-healing properties are also largely unstudied.

Smaller bones are supposedly better for this due to their high gelatin content. Keep that in mind if you’d like to try bone broth to cure your digestive ills. While there’s little science behind using bone broth for this purpose, it won’t hurt to give it a go.

Improves the Immune System

Some of the minerals in bone broth play a crucial role in the immune system. First, calcium stimulates the release of white blood cells to allow the immune system to attack potential invaders like viruses, and also to begin the healing process.

While the relationship between magnesium and the immune system hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet, it’s undeniable that there’s a connection.

Research also shows a tenuous but undeniable connection between phosphorous and the immune system, as well.

While there’s no real evidence saying bone broth as a whole contributes to a stronger immune system, the fact is that many of the nutrients it contains absolutely do help strengthen your immunity. Whether it will actually help fend off your next cold is likely an issue of mind over matter.

Reduces the Appearance of Cellulite

The theory behind this particular health claim is that the collagen, hyaluronic acid, and gelatin in bone broth help to eliminate cellulite. Some gurus state that this is due to bone broth’s ability to eliminate toxins, which they say contribute to cellulite.

The ‘toxins cause cellulite’ theory has been debunked. Toxins aren’t really the cause of cellulite. Cellulite is caused by connective tissue under the skin contorting accumulated fat molecules to create a lumpy, cottage cheese-like appearance.

However, there is some real evidence that points to the dietary collagen and other compounds in gelatin reducing the appearance of cellulite. While these findings aren’t wholly conclusive and were dependent on body mass index, there’s a chance bone broth may actually help with this issue.

Reduces Joint Pain and Inflammation

Science also thinks that there’s some merit to the idea that bone broth is good for joint pain. The compounds found in the gelatin in bone broth may be active in this case. There’s even some evidence that compounds found in bone broth may help reduce joint deterioration.

The glycine and proline in bone broth may also help reduce the inflammation that often accompanies joint pain. In fact, joint pain is frequently the result of inflammation, so these compounds may provide a double whammy solution.

Inflammation is an immune response that sends white blood cells to the site of an injury or infection to fight off potential invaders and begin the healing process. Pain is one of the side effects of inflammation, with the others being redness, swelling, the area being warm to touch, stiffness, and loss of function.

Helps you Sleep and Contributes to a Calm Mind

Not sleeping well or not sleeping enough can lead to myriad health conditions, and it can make you feel pretty awful too. Bone broth might be able to help you out. Calcium and magnesium (both present in bone broth) have been found to alleviate insomnia.

Forget about chicken soup for the soul, bone broth is where it’s at. The glycine found in bone broth is often used as a supplement to promote a calm mind and restful sleep. Glycine is found in relatively small amounts in bone broth, so chances are it certainly won’t hurt to test this theory for yourself.

Helps Form and Repair Bones

The minerals in bone broth are crucial to the growth, formation, and repair of your bones. Dietary intake of these minerals definitely helps your skeletal system, as long standing data has shown. We’ll look at how each of them contribute.

Phosphorous is the second most abundant mineral in the body. Much of that phosphorous is found in our bones. This mineral works to keep bones, teeth, and joints strong and healthy.

Calcium, thanks in large part to the prolific dairy advertisements, is well known for its contributions to the health of our bones and teeth. Despite the corny commercials, adequate calcium intake has been shown to ward off osteoporosis, or a weakening of the bones.

Magnesium also plays a role in bone formation. It is responsible, at least in part, for directing the activities of osteoblasts and osteoclasts (types of bone cell). Studies show that adequate magnesium levels correlate to good bone density levels.

Improves Hair, Skin, and Nails

Supplements intended to help hair and nails grow strong and skin appear glowingly beautiful often contain collagen and gelatin. There is some evidence to support the theory that these compounds reduce the effects of aging.

Collagen is the main structural protein found in our bodies, and deficiency contributes to aging of our skin. Dietary collagen and supplements have been found by studies to actually help reduce the signs of aging and improve the appearance of hair and nails.

Likewise are the results of studies that use dietary gelatin as a beauty aid. While the research in this area is still lacking, preliminary results have shown that women who took gelatin supplements found their skin looked better and felt firmer.

Reduces Joint Pain from Arthritis

Many of the compounds found in bone broth are often used by arthritis sufferers in supplement form to help alleviate joint pain and stiffness.

Collagen, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine, and chondroitin are frequently recommended for arthritis sufferers.

Arthritis usually refers to the inflammation and/or degeneration of a joint, frequently accompanied by pain, swelling, and stiffness. Since bone broth contains compounds that we’ve already established help with inflammation, it makes sense that this healthy warm liquid could help.

Bone Broth Downsides

Bone broth consumption, sounds like a no-brainer, however there are a few concerns to consider too.

Glutamic acid, also known as glutamate, has potential adverse effects on the brain such as seizures. There’s likely not enough of this compound to cause any issue in most people. Cooking bone broth for a shorter period of time may reduce the amount of this potentially harmful substance.

There is also some concern that bone broth may contain lead. Since the levels of lead found in the broth are still below the levels deemed acceptable for tap water, this doesn’t seem to be too much of a concern.

Superfood Warning

As a general rule, I find that making your own inquiries before buying into miracle cure statements is always a good idea. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet, especially when it comes to your health, and make sure you are aware of the potential downsides of any natural cures you decide to use.

It’s very important to make sure that you’re getting your information from reliable sources, as well. Search for evidence supporting claims using only reputable sources. Use www.scholar.google.com to find genuine studies and their results.

Lastly, I’ll warn you to always check with your doctor before trying out any new health supplement. Drug interaction and a worsening of your symptoms are very real possibilities if you’re not careful. Speaking with your doctor first can help avoid these potential issues.

Is Bone Broth Really Good for You?

Overall, bone broth is most likely perfectly healthy. The evidence that supports the bone broth benefits on the health conditions mentioned above may vary, but the benefits obviously far outweigh the risks in my opinion.

The potential for bone broth to help your immune system, skeletal system, digestive system, and mental well being have convinced me.

I don’t always find these superfood claims realistic, but the benefits surrounding bone broth are fairly plausible. If you have any other questions about the health benefits of bone broth, don’t hesitate to ask!

And here is an interesting infographic from sheknows.com

Sources
http://naturalnews.com/040493_bone_broth_immune_health_nutrients.html
http://aminoacidstudies.org/inflammation/
http://www.webmd.com/arthritis/about-inflammation#1
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

Originally posted on Health Ambition

Jan 9th, 2017
Filter Out the Noise
It can seem like our lives are filled with busyness, noise, distractions, and often meaningless activities.

What if we could filter out all that noise, and focus on the meaningful?

What if we could find stillness instead of constant distraction?

I believe that most of us have that power. In my experience, most of the noise is there by choice, but we’ve fallen into patterns over the years and it can seem like we’re not able to change them.

Let’s talk about ways to filter out the noise, then how to find stillness and meaning.

Ways to Filter the Noise

Take the rest of today to notice what noise you find in your life. Even take a little time to make a list, whenever you find distraction or busyness.

For example, noise in my life comes from: email, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Twitter, blogs and other sites I like to read, text messages, Slack, and watching Netflix. You might have other sources: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, news, cable TV.

Once we’re aware of the noise, how can we filter it out? We have to decide that we want more quiet and meaning in our lives. That it’s important enough to “miss out” on some things in those noisy channels.

Then we can take action:
- Turn off notifications as much as possible. Including the unread messages count by each app on your phone.
- Decide to check on some things (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) just once a day. Others you can check twice a day, or three times if needed (like email or Slack). But set a limit.
- Delete accounts or delete apps that aren’t giving you real meaning (I deleted my Facebook account years ago).
- Unsubscribe from everything possible in your email account. And from Twitter or any other app where you’re “following” people or blogs/websites. If you use an RSS reader, unsubscribe from as many feeds as possible. Leave only a handful that give you meaning.
- Tell people that you are only checking your messages once a day, to set expectations. Don’t use an autoresponder — I find those annoying. Instead, just send a message to the people who matter most, and ask that they be understanding.
- Set a time each day when you watch TV or movies (if at all). Set a time of day when you read news or blogs (if at all). If you say, “I only watch TV after 7 p.m.,” then you’ve limited how much space this takes up in your life.
- If there are some things (like email, for example) where you need to stay connected because of work, try to negotiate with your boss or team so that you can find periods of disconnection. For example, ask if you can take a couple hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon to be disconnected, to focus on more important work.
If you take these actions, you’ll filter out most of the noise.

What’s left? Time for quiet, stillness, focus and meaning.

Finding Stillness & Meaning

Once you’ve filtered out the noise, you are left with a few interesting problems:
1. Changing your habits of busyness and constant movement.
2. Figuring out what’s meaningful.
3. Learning to stop and stay still.
I think those are wonderful problems to be faced with. Most people never even consider them. Find gratitude that you can work on this at all.

Take some time to notice your constant need for busyness or distraction. For example, if you have a moment where you’re not doing anything — you’re waiting in line, you’re alone at your restaurant table while your friend goes to the bathroom, you’re sitting on your couch — what do you try to do out of habit? This is your pattern of busyness and movement.

Now see if you can let go of those patterns. Catch yourself, and instead opt for stillness and quiet. Try to just sit there and notice your surroundings. Soak it all in. Savor the moment. Meditate on your breath. Reflect on your day. Ask yourself what you’re grateful for right now.

Start building new patterns of stillness. For example, try morning meditation on your breath, even if just for a few minutes every day. Try going for a morning or evening walk, without your phone. Try turning the phone and computer off and just journal.

Start finding activities that are more meaningful to you. This doesn’t have to be done in one day — you can slowly experiment to figure out what’s meaningful to you. You might start writing a book or screenplay, for example, or taking photos or drawing or making music. You might decide to start a business or charity that changes the world. You might start to learn something that’s meaningful, or teach others. Find ways to help others and make the world a better place. Journal, meditate, exercise, make healthy food, declutter, make dates with people who are important to you.

When you notice yourself running to busyness and distraction, pause. Turn instead towards stillness and your meaningful activities.

Build a life around stillness and meaning, and notice the difference it makes in you.

Originally Posted at ZenHabits.net
Jan 4th, 2017
5 Tips For When You Have Too Much to Do

Too much to do, not enough time.

This is a perpetual problem for a lot of people, but it seems to be especially pronounced during the holidays. With holiday events, shopping, travel, family visiting … things tend to pile on top of our already busy lives.

But no matter what time of year it is, the problem is the same: our list of tasks is neverending, and our days are too short.

How can we deal with this in a sane way?

I’ll offer five suggestions that work for me.

1. Use this as an opportunity to practice mindfulness. In the middle of your stress and feeling of being overwhelmed … you have the opportunity to be present. When you notice yourself feeling this way, drop in: notice how your body feels. Take a second to observe the physical sensations of your surroundings (sounds, light, touch sensations, etc.). Notice how your body feels as your mind is spinning with anxiety or busyness.

No, stress and overwhelm are not the two most pleasant feelings, but they’re also not the end of the world. And if you see them as an opportunity to practice, to learn, to get better, then they can actually be good news. They are your teachers, and this is your time to be mindful.

You don’t have to spend a whole minute dropping in, but just take five or 10 seconds. Just observe how you’re feeling, observe your surroundings, observe how your thoughts are affecting you. Just notice, briefly, and in that short time, you’ve woken up from the dream we’re in most of the time.

2. Realize that you can’t do it all right now. You might have 20 things to do, or 100 … but you can’t do all of them right now. You probably can’t do them all in the next hour even. How many can you actually do right now? One.

This reminder is meant to free us from the idea that we need to do everything right now. We can’t. So instead, this allows us to focus on just one thing. Just pick one task, and focus on that. Because the others, as urgent as they might seem, can’t possibly be done right now. You can delegate them, eliminate them, defer them, but you can’t do them all right now. So focus on one, and give it your full attention. This is the most helpful way to work, in my experience.

3. Pick a high impact task to focus on. When we’re busy, we often get into the mode of doing a lot of small tasks really quickly. It feels like we’re knocking a lot of things off the list, which can feel productive. But it’s just running around like a chicken without a head.

If you’re going to focus on just one task, it’s best to make it a good one. Something that will have a decent impact on your day, your work, your life. That probably isn’t answering a bunch of unimportant emails or checking Facebook messages. One important email that will close a deal, move along a key project, help someone’s life … that’s a higher impact task. For me, writing is almost always the highest impact thing I can do. It’s hard to figure out what the highest impact task might be, but if you give it some thought, you can see which ones are probably not that important, and which ones are more important. Pick one from the latter category when you can.

That said, you still have to do the smaller tasks. Answer the other emails, run the errands, clean the kitchen counter. I like to take care of those between the bigger tasks, as a way to take a break. Do something important with focus, then relieve my brain by cleaning or answering a few emails. The key is not to procrastinate on the bigger tasks by doing the smaller ones.

4. Be present with this task, with intention. Once you’ve picked an important task, set aside everything else for now. You can’t do them all now, so be here with the one you’ve chosen. Breathe. Set an intention for this task: who are you doing this for, and why? For me, I am often doing my work tasks for you guys (my readers), but I do personal tasks for my family or to help myself. Set a simple intention: I’m writing this article to help my readers who are struggling.

Then let that intention move you as you focus on the task. Be present with the task, noticing how your body feels as you do the task, letting yourself melt into the doing of it, pouring yourself into it as fully as you can. You might get the urge to switch to something else — just notice that and stay with the urge, not letting yourself follow it unthinkingly, then return to the task when the urge subsides. Remember your intention, then let yourself be fully immersed in the task.

5. Practice letting go, with a smile. Having too much to do, and wanting to get it all done as soon as possible … can actually get in the way of doing. This desire to get it all done is an obstacle. Luckily, it’s a great practice to work with this obstacle!

The practice is letting it go. Notice what you think you need to do (your ideal), and let go of it. Instead, tell yourself you don’t know, and instead be open to the reality that’s right in front of you: you can only do one task. Be open to that idea, and the stress will be lowered.

And as you let go of your ideal and open to the reality, smile. Be grateful for the moment you actually have, rather than wishing for the one you don’t have. Smile, and be happy now, rather than waiting for happiness to come at some unspecified date.

In the end, will these suggestions clear away your to-do list? No. You’ll always have a lot of things on your list, and not enough time to do them all. What this does is help you to deal with that fact, and make you more mindful and focused in the middle of that reality.

Life is too short to spend most of it stressed out by an unchangeable fact. We don’t have to waste our time and mental energy worrying about too much to do. Instead, we can smile and be happy doing what we can do now.

Originally posted at Zen Habits

Dec 21st, 2016
Two Essential Ingredients For An Optimal Diet

It seems like doctors, nutritionists, scientists, and other health experts are always at odds over the optimal diet. Should we be eating Paleo or vegan? What about raw or cooked food? Are carbs or fat the next “untouchables”? Are we avoiding gluten, dairy, sugar, or all three? The list of questions goes on and on…

However, there are two things that seems to be a mainstay in every recommended diet, and that all health experts seem to agree are an essential part of a healthy diet: fruits and vegetables.

It turns out, your mom knew what she was talking about when she told you to eat your vegetables, or reminded you that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. The rainbow spectrum of fruits and vegetables are one of our most powerful allies against a toxic environment, and provide protection against pollutants.

In my 21-day detox program, Whole Detox, I advocate for the power of a plant-focused diet to both protect the body against the toxic external environment and remove toxins internally. In short, a targeted, colorful diet of fruits and vegetables is a simple and effective path to reduce toxic exposure.

Many recent studies have also shown the protective and detoxing abilities of nature’s powerhouses. Here’s the latest:

Fruits and vegetables may protect against oxidative stress

We know that exposure to toxins can lead to problems like oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. However, a research article I was recently reading showed that pregnant women eating fruits and vegetables – especially those high in vitamin C like oranges, strawberries, and kale – were more protected against the oxidative stress associated with exposure to toxic polyaromatic hydrocarbons (toxins that are released when we burn things like coal, gas, trash, or wood).

Pregnancy is such a tender time, and there can be several environmental influences that can change the epigenetics of the fetus. From this study, it seems that fruits and vegetables can provide an added insurance for these women and their children.

Fruits and vegetables may reduce genetic damage and increase antioxidant levels

Along similar lines, coke oven workers in China were studied because they are known to be exposed to a wide variety of toxic, carcinogenic chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and benzenes. Their working environment is incredibly toxic! In this study, the researchers found that the consumption of fruits and vegetables increased antioxidant levels and decreased oxidative stress and genetic damage in the workers.

Fermented vegetables may support important detoxing antioxidant enzymes

And, finally, on a related note, another article from this year reported on how fermented foods (which are typically vegetables like cabbage) can produce a specific class of compounds called alkyl catechols in the fermentation process. These compounds have the ability to increase genetic expression of antioxidant enzymes in the body that are important for detox. It’s so important to bring back these traditional ways of food preparation! It’s not just the fruits and vegetables we eat, but how we prepare them, too.

When I look at the scientific research to support eating fruits and vegetables, it’s truly amazing to see such a wealth of information. Hands down, all foodie factions can unite with plants! While you may not be able to avoid all toxic exposures, you can reduce the inner pollution with colorful nutrition.

Learn more about plants, phytonutrients and detox in our next online, community-based Whole Detox program starting October 1. It’s 21 days and full of bursting color, inspiration, and information for your everyday life!

Sep 9th, 2016
What’s That Antidepressant Doing to Your Sleep?

Antidepressants are the third most commonly taken medication in the United States today, prescribed for depression and health problems such as insomnia, pain, anxiety, headaches, and digestive disorders. Most—but not all—antidepressants tend to suppress and/or delay REM sleep (the stage associated with dreaming). This can help people with depression.

It’s not necessarily helpful for people with insomnia—or for people who might be inclined to sleep problems if pushed in the wrong direction. There’s mounting evidence that REM sleep irregularities may actually be a causal factor in insomnia. So it’s worthwhile knowing about the REM and other sleep effects of antidepressants if you’re taking them now or before you head down that path.

Importance of REM Sleep

Intact, sufficient REM sleep has many benefits. They include the enhancement and consolidation of learned tasks and skills in long-term memory and the regulation of emotion.

Fragmented REM sleep, in contrast, may lead to the inadequate processing of emotion and then to hyperarousal, in turn giving rise to insomnia. Loss of the final REM period, a phenomenon identified in some “short sleepers” (often defined as those who sleep less than 5 hours a night), may increase your appetite and make you more vulnerable to weight gain and obesity.

In short, reduced or compromised REM sleep is not something you generally want.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (and Relatives)

SSRIs are widely prescribed because they’re effective for depression and have relatively few major side effects. But as a class, they tend to suppress REM sleep. (They may also bring about changes in the frequency, intensity, and content of your dreams.) They also tend to delay the onset of sleep and increase awakenings and arousals at night, reducing sleep efficiency.

If you have both depression and insomnia, it’s probably best to steer clear of SSRIs. But here’s a caveat. SSRIs and other drugs that act on the serotonin system (which is very complex) are known to have different sleep–wake effects on different people. Trying out a drug like fluoxetine (Prozac) may be the only way to ascertain for sure how it will affect your sleep.

The story is basically the same for serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Drugs such as duloxetine (Cymbalta) and venlafaxine (Effexor XR) markedly suppress REM sleep and tend to disrupt sleep continuity.

Tricyclic Antidepressants

TCAs aren’t prescribed as often as SSRIs because they tend to cause more side effects. However, like SSRIs, most TCAs (except trimipramine) markedly suppress REM sleep. Also, TCAs like desipramine and protriptyline give rise to increased norepinephrine, which tends to promote wakefulness rather than sleep. In studies of desipramine, the drug degraded the sleep of people with depression by extending sleep onset latency, decreasing sleep efficiency, and increasing their number of awakenings at night.

Most TCAs are not sleep friendly. However, low-dose amitriptyline is known to have sedative effects and is sometimes prescribed for people with depression and insomnia.

Low-dose doxepin has been shown to have sedative effects as well, blocking secretion of histamine, a neurotransmitter associated with wakefulness. Sold today as Silenor, it’s the only antidepressant approved by the FDA for the treatment of insomnia. Clinical trials suggest that Silenor is effective in treating sleep maintenance insomnia but not insomnia that occurs at the beginning of the night.

Atypical Antidepressants

Some antidepressants are atypical in that they don’t fit neatly into any category. Although not approved for the treatment of insomnia (the requisite trials were never conducted), low-dose trazodone (Desyrel) and mirtazapine (Remeron) are often prescribed for people with insomnia because of their sedative effects. Unlike most antidepressants, these drugs have not been found to markedly suppress REM sleep. And the results of a very few studies suggest that they may help people fall asleep more quickly and sleep more deeply.

If you’re taking an antidepressant now (for whatever reason) and you think it may be interfering with your sleep, talk about it with your doctor. And if you’re having sleep problems and considering an antidepressant, be selective about the one you use.

Originally posted at The Savvy Insomniac, August 31,2016

Sep 7th, 2016
Overcoming Insomnia at the Approach of Summer
It happens every year in the spring: someone writes in to The Savvy Insomniac complaining of an inexplicable onset of insomnia. No stress is involved, no abrupt change in circumstances.

Here’s how a reader described the problem this year:

“Every year at the same time (between the end of April and the end of June, I don’t know why?), my sleep becomes very capricious. I don’t sleep when I go to bed and, inexorably, I have to start again a new ‘sleep restriction.’ I feel pretty jaded because it’s difficult!”

Whenever you’re having trouble sleeping, it helps to tighten up your sleep window and stay out of the bedroom until you’re really sleepy. But if insomnia tends to strike at about this time every year, the problem may have to do with lengthening days. The solution may lie in reducing your exposure to sunlight.

Seasonal Variation in Light Exposure

The further away from the equator you live, the greater are the seasonal differences in your exposure to sunlight. Not many comparative studies have measured how these seasonal variations in day length affect people’s sleep. But one study published in 2012 compared the sleep timing and quality of people living in Norway (far from the equator) and others living in Ghana (close to the equator) in the winter and the summer.

Ghanaians rose and went to sleep at about the same time in both seasons. The Norwegians rose 32 minutes earlier (and went to bed 12 minutes earlier) in the summer than in the winter, suggesting that seasonal variation in day length can affect our internal clocks. When the days are longer and sunrise is earlier, people may tend to get up (and go to bed) a little earlier than they do in the winter.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

However, the Norwegians in this study experienced more insomnia and reported lower moods in the winter when the days were short. This finding aligns with the results of other research—from Norway, for example, and from Finland—showing that in the late fall and winter, insufficient exposure to daylight is associated with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, and trouble sleeping.

I see anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon every year. Readers write in complaining of insomnia that typically starts in November or December. The solution to this seasonal insomnia is bright light therapy, appropriately timed.

Too Much Light?

Other people report that their insomnia typically occurs in the spring and summer. There’s a dearth of research on this phenomenon, but I suspect that excessive exposure to daylight could trigger insomnia in those who, for whatever reason, are particularly sensitive to light. Light blocks secretion of melatonin, a hormone helpful to sleep, so restricting your exposure to bright light early in the morning and later in the evening may help.

Here are suggestions for how:
- Install light blocking curtains on bedroom windows so the morning sunlight doesn’t wake you up too early
- Draw blinds and curtains in your home before the sun sets and keep indoor lighting low in the evening
- Wear sunglasses if you’re outside in the sunlight very early in the morning or after about 8:30 p.m.
- Steer clear of devices with screens in the run-up to bedtime.
- Buy a comfortable eye mask and wear it when you sleep
If you find eye masks uncomfortable, perhaps a towel wrapped around the eyes and head will do the trick. A few years ago a neuroscientist–sleep researcher told me she was super sensitive to light at night, and this was her way of solving the problem. Do whatever works!

Originally posted on The Savvy Insomniac, May 31, 2016
Jun 8th, 2016
Around the World With the Toughest Woman on Two Wheels

This post was originally published by Outside Magazine

In December 2012, Juliana Buhring became the fastest (and first) woman to circumnavigate the world by bicycle, a 152-day feat that spanned some 18,000 miles, four continents, 19 countries, and 29 tire punctures. It earned her a Guinness World Record and fans all over the globe.

Buhring’s adventure—which was even more impressive considering her lack of prior cycling experience—served as compelling inspiration for her second book, This Road I Ride: Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything to Find Yourself (W.W. Norton), which will be released in the U.S. on May 24. (Her bestselling 2007 memoir, Not Without My Sister, chronicled her tumultuous childhood in a religious cult.) Buhring, who lives in Sorrento, Italy, describes the triumphs and tribulations of her round-the-world journey—among them, the kindness of road angels, a gastrointestinal disaster in India, and teaching herself how to repair her trusty bike, Pegasus.

Buhring, 34, took a break from a promo tour in Europe to speak with Outside about the writing process, give an update on Pegasus, and preview her next adventure: the Race Across America, her first supported event, this June.

OUTSIDE: Writing a book is a journey much like a long-distance ride. What was this one like for you?

BUHRING: During the ride, I had to keep a logbook for the record, and it was like a diary, with feelings I would jot down and things that would happen along the way. So when I got back, I had this book basically written. I started putting it in a better format, then I lost the desire for a couple of years. Then I got a book deal and I had to write it. The logbook triggered a lot of stories and emotions I’d forgotten about. Because I wrote the diary as it was happening, it gives you the impression that you’re on the journey with me.

The original title was supposed to be Falling Off Bicycles, which is the theme of my cycling career. But the publisher wanted something more dramatic and less comical. I think [the original] is pretty brilliant, and it’s still my first choice.

Pegasus himself was a central character. What happened to him?

It’s a sad story. I lost Pegasus. The bike manufacturer who gave him to me took him back at the end, which rather broke my heart, since by the end I had changed everything on the bike with my own money—all the parts and the tires and everything. The only thing that was theirs was the frame. And he was covered in all these bumps, scratches, and stickers.

It broke my heart to leave him. But that was the deal. They said they wanted him for their museum, but they don’t even have a museum, so he’s actually sitting in their warehouse. Poor thing, gone to pasture.

What are you most looking forward to about your first supported race?

Riding with good food, or at least readily available food. And I’m looking forward to having my particular crew behind me. They’re all long-distance cyclists and all hysterical comedians. I’m going to laugh across America.

What’s up next after that?

I’m planning a ride in November across Burma and Laos—not a race, but a ride. Some people want me to race more than ride, and I will eventually. But what I really want to do is ride from the tip of Alaska to the tip of South America. I have a list, and it’s growing ever larger. I have no plans of stopping.

This post was originally published by Outside Magazine

May 22nd, 2016