Lifestyle issue23 april

Page 52

Your cells need fuel for energy— and that includes a careful balance of glucose and electrolytes, including sodium—this is the stuff your cells’ “batteries” are made of. That means your diet needs to be balanced between sources of caloric energy, sodium, and fluids. Drinking too much water, and not eating enough sources of glucose and salt, can cause your metabolism to crash, and your body temperature to plummet.

Sleep Get into a sleeping schedule. Everyone knows that you should be getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night, but if you don’t plan for it, it won’t happen. Making sleep your top priority is a great way to see big improvements in your health, in a relatively short period of time. Start a calming bedtime routine that includes turning off stimulating lights from your computer and other screens, taking time to wind down, and eating a blood-sugar levelling snack to keep things stable through the night. A piece of cheese and some fruit works great!

Activity If you’re sedentary, find ways to work in small amounts of physical activity, and continue to make progress from there. Make the activity you do enjoyable — it doesn’t have to be a “work out!” Just going for a short walk each day may be all you need to start working in a healthy level of activity to support metabolic function. Don’t overdo it. Exercise can backfire on you — if it’s too much physical stress on your body, it can hurt your metabolism.

Stress Address psychological sources of stress — emotional disturbances, unhealthy relationships, or stressful situations. If you can make a change in these for the better, do it. Adopt therapeutic lifestyle habits. Allow time every day for downtime and relaxation, and even stress management activities and techniques like meditation, yoga, aromatherapy, or calming baths. Work on managing the environmental stressors in your life — even something as simple as spending too much time indoors and not getting enough sunlight, or being exposed to things which you are allergic to, can be sources of physiological stress.

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Don’t put up with a low body temperature as it can quite easily be rectified and the difference in the way you will start to feel will be well worth those simple lifestyle changes!


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