If you suffer from headaches, you need to read this…
I am sure everyone knows that everyone needs to reduce their salt intake. This message from the government has been the cornerstone of their public health campaign for a number of years. It has resulted in food manufacturers producing “reduced salt” ranges of goods and reducing the amount of salt in our favorite brands.
We all know that too much salt in our diet raises our blood pressure which in turn can lead to heart disease, stokes and heart attacks. New research has shown that when people reduce their salt intake, their is a 31% reduction in the number of them suffering headaches. Interesting researches noted, that the differences between healthy and unhealthy diets had no significant effect on headaches. Importantly the reduction in headaches was the same in people with high blood pressure as normal blood pressure. (see full article http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/12/e006671.full)
It is estimated that just under half off all adults suffer from regular headaches, if you are one of them, maybe its time to consider the levels of salt in your diet.
Anyone looking for more information on the impact of salt in their diet should visit http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/index.html a government backed website.
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Power Poses
Like most people I am interested in body language. Like most people I noticed awkward social interactions in day to day life. Until recently I considered that body language is about
- what you are communicating others
- what they are communicating to you
By adopting the Wonder Woman pose for 2 minutes, social scientists have proven that it will increase your confidence, assertiveness and help you feel more comfortable in a situation. This is due to the impact holding this "high power" pose for two minutes has on your body, its reduces your cortisol levels and increases your testosterone levels. Meaning you are less reactive to stressful situations.
So can you apply this in real life. Last weekend I was on my sports massage course and each weekend we have a written test we need to pass. For some reason I had misunderstood what the test was on and forgot to review the whole subject. I discovered this about 30 minutes before the test. So I was in a highly stressful situation. So I decided to give this power pose a try and did it during the next 30 minutes while revising. The science says 2 minutes but I felt I needed all the help I could get. It turns out that I passed. While this isn't irrevocable proof, I would recommend people try it.
As Amy Cuddy says "our body's change our minds, our minds change our behavior and our behavior changes our outcomes." For a more detailed understanding of power poses, the science behind them, watch Amy Cuddy's Your body language shapes who you are.
Is it time to talk about sleep?
While it may not seem the most obvious time of year to start talking about sleep, we can often forget when the sun is out our natural instinct is to go out and play sport or socialise. In addition summer is often a time when things naturally slow down in the business world so we can be tempted to pack in as many things as possible before it gets busy at work. This means at this time of year we can often find out ourselves feeling depleted and short on sleep due to hot summer nights which are not condusive to a good nights sleep. I know I have blogged in the past about sleep, here are my tips for a good nights sleep . I have talked in the past about how we feel good if we get a good nights sleep but the medical profession is still unclear about why we need sleep. What is clear is that sleep is a huge clear out of thoughts and feelings that accumulated during the day - and this is critical to our health. The medical profession has many theories about why we dream or need to dream - what is agreed on is that parts of our brains are very active when we dream and that dreaming improves our ability to solve problems and be creative. The key question about sleep is often how much sleep do I need. I don't focus on a figure but go by how my body feels. That means sometimes it needs more sleep and sometimes less sleep. What I focus on is the quality of sleep which I judge by how refreshed I feel in the morning.
Mundane superfoods – part 1
The list of superfoods grows longer each day and they all seem to come from far off exotic locations and they can be quite pricey. So I want to share with you a few more humble, even mundane foods that are good subsititues for some superfoods.
Swap: Lemon Balm for Cacao
Ok the flavors aren't similar but the effects are. People crave chocolate because it is soothing and even slightly stress relieving. The appropriately named lemon balm, lifts your spirits but without the stimulation from caffeine. Native to the eastern Mediterranean and West Asia, Melissa officinalis, like so many other herbs, has been used for centuries as a therapeutic remedy due to its antiviral, antibacterial, antispasmodic and antidepressant compounds. Its modus operandi, according to Natural Living Ideas, includes stress relief, relief of pain from indigestion and improving your appetite. Another use for lemon balm is to promote sleep. You can chop the leaves and steep them in boiling water to make a tea or rub a few leaves on your skin to allow the natural oils to seep into your bloodstream, which helps you relax. In fact, a University of Maryland study found that 81 percent of the participants who used lemon balm with valerian root got a better night's sleep than those on a placebo. And a Northumbria University study reported that experiments with lemon balm returned memory-strengthening and improved problem-solving abilities when they took capsules filled with the dried herb. The subjects also performed "significantly" better when taking standardized computer tests on memory in comparison with those given a placebo. One of the great things about lemon balm, a perennial herb and member of the mint family, is how easy it is to grow, particularly in the spring. It can be sown from seed, or you can buy a small plant from a farmers market or nursery, and you'll be amazed how quickly it grows and spreads. References Natural Living Ideas March 8, 2017 UMM 2017 Northumbria University April 29, 2016
