Stress often gets a bad rap, but it’s necessary for human functioning and survival. However, there is a fine line between necessary stress and too much stress. Feeling stressed out can have profound effects on overall health and wellbeing, including sleep. But, since stress and sleep are so deeply connected, when one is off-balance, the other is, too. This means that high stress levels can lead to a poorer quality of sleep, which, in turn, can increase stress levels, again.
Walking, specifically hot girl walks, are all the craze right now. We get it: lacing up your sneakers, grabbing a coffee, tuning in to your favorite podcast or audiobook, and getting in your steps makes us feel oh, so good. Walking is the most basic necessity; the upright configuration of our bodies were literally designed to help us walk!
Research shows that the food we eat has a major impact on our entire body, especially how well our digestive system is working, and another function, sleep, has also been shown to be highly correlated with healthy digestion. This means that digestion and sleep go hand-in-hand; keep reading to learn more about what consequences this has for us, why we should use both Bloat and Sleep to maximize our health, and which ingredients help us do just that. How do we optimize both of these systems to feel our best?
Research is now showing that what we eat has a major impact on our body as a whole, including feeding the microorganisms that live in our gut. One of the most important bodily functions, sleep, is highly correlated with healthy digestive health.
During sleep, our body repairs and regenerates itself, the brain stores information, and toxic waste is filtered and sent to our digestive system to be excreted. Hence, when we don’t sleep enough or when our quality of sleep is poor, our digestive system feels it, too.
We all know that sleep is one of the most important building blocks of good health. But with busy schedules, daily stressors and “just one more episode” of Stranger Things leading to a full on season binge, tossing and turning all night long may feel normal for many of us.
Have you ever experienced bloating at home, only to go on a (much deserved) vacation and realize your bloat is nowhere to be found? Or maybe you’ve noticed that in times of stress, no matter what you eat, your belly hurts like never before? That’s because our brain and gut are connected in a bidirectional way; this means, whatever we’re thinking or feeling emotionally can have direct and drastic effects on our digestive system!
Have you ever wondered how our bodies know it’s time to wake up? Or how we get tired at around the same time each night, why jet lag takes such a toll on our bodies, or why we feel that afternoon slump around 3 in the afternoon? We can blame all of this on our body’s circadian rhythm, or internal biological clock.
We’ve all heard the downsides of elevated cortisol levels. But did you know that cortisol isn’t all bad? Our bodies make cortisol to help us get out of bed in the morning, maintain energy levels throughout the day, and assist in our overall health and wellbeing. But, when our cortisol levels are out of balance, our whole body is, too.