If I could have said this to my younger self I could have made life so much easier.
Slow down, stop pushing yourself, sleep more, do lower impact cardio and stretch more. Breath deeper, drink less coffee, let things go that don’t matter, and the list goes on.
So those were my mistakes. What’s done is done. Now I need to focus on what I can do to improve my health, mentally and physically.
How to incorporate simple lifestyle changes with long-term impact.
Let’s just start with why it’s a good idea to eat prior to coffee. It doesn’t need to be a meal if you’re not up for it – just a small bite of something.
I know it’s oddly satisfying to drink coffee on an empty stomach however when you do that you spike your cortisol levels and cortisol levels are already high in the morning. Higher cortisol levels in the morning help wake you up and make you less sleepy so that’s a good thing however we don’t need to keep them elevated or make them higher than need-be.
Elevated Cortisol isn’t good when it’s too high. There is lots of information on the long term effects of elevated cortisol levels and the relationship to thyroid and hormone problems. Read here for more info.
At the very least have a small snack, a bite of banana or one of my peanut butter banana muffins.
Hydrate
- Water! Add a squeeze a lemon if you have it (lime works too). I usually warm my lemon water and when I’m almost finished and it’s cooled down, I a half scoop of electrolyte powder. To make sure I’m dissolving the electrolytes I froth it. There are two electrolyte powders I use. The Skinny Confidential Beauty Hydration Powder contains grass-fee colostrum, electrolytes and Pearl powder to support glowing skin and hair. The other product is called Redmond Electrolyte powder. It’s naturally sweetened and contains electrolytes and coconut powder.
Eat before coffee
- I’m not hungry in the morning so this practice was challenging for me. If I don’t make a smoothie, I’ll have a slice of apple with a few almonds, 1/2 a banana with peanut butter, or mini protein muffin.
- After water and a small amount of food I will finally sit down to have my coffee. During my younger years I drank A LOT of coffee. Now drinking 2/3 decaff and if I need a pick-me-up later I brew green tea. There’s still caffeine in green tea however there’s also L-theanine, an amino acid that is said to have calming effects. It’s primarily found in green tea and matcha and may help to improve mental focus and sleep quality.
Morning light
- This is so important to set your circadian rhythm also known as your internal body clock. Simply put your cortisol levels should be higher in the morning and gradually fall as the day goes on. This will help us to wind down at the end of the day and sleep better. Having a healthy internal clock will influence various physiological processes including hormone release, our body temperature, and sleep-wake patterns. If you can’t get outside open the blinds or curtains and get some fresh air inside.
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