3 Simple Habits You Can Do Now to Feel Amazing (Adrenal Health Part 2).
Last time I talked about the importance of nourishing your adrenals because they are going to be in charge of producing and balancing your sex hormones in the menopausal years (and, honestly, pre-menopausal years as well). If you are under stress your awesome adrenals will prioritize making stress hormones over your sex and relaxation hormones and we really don’t want that, do we?
So what can you do now?
Breakfast. Eat a robust breakfast including a protein and fat within an hour after waking. Why? Your first meal and its timing set the tone of your blood sugar system for the rest of the day. The protein and fat will give your body a long-lasting source of energy (think logs on a fire rather than kindling on a fire which is what what happens when you eat a carby breakfast). If you wait a long time to eat, your adrenals will have to get more involved to keep up blood sugar levels until you eat. You don’t want to pull on your adrenals unnecessarily here. Let them do their other duties in the morning.
Stop skipping meals and snacks. Go no more than 3 hours between feedings. I know a lot of us are really busy and it gets hard to stop. If you wait a long time between feedings, your body is going to do its absolute best to keep your blood sugar level in its optimal range. No food? Blood sugar levels dip, so adrenals step in to bring up blood sugar. If blood sugar gets too low, the harder the adrenals have to work. This involves tons of nutrients and is a stress response. Feed yourself.
Get to bed early (by 9 or 10pm) and sleep 8-10 hours. Seriously. I know it is easier said than done, but it is so necessary for hormonal health. Your adrenals (and thyroid) are restored in sleep…primarily between the hours of 11 and 1am. Additionally, cortisol lowers, insulin is reduced, relaxation and feel-good good hormones increase (serotonin and GABA), growth hormone is released, we shift out of a catabolic (break-down) state and into an anabolic (building-up) state.
These are all things we’ve heard before, but hopefully now you can see another reason why they will actually help you shift out of that stressed state and into more of your relaxed, sensual state of being. (Side note here….when I say “sensual” I do not simply mean wanting more sexual activity. Rather, I mean all your senses enlivening to enjoy everything around you, which may or may not include sex.)
Funny isn’t it? Healing can come through eating quality food frequently and resting. Sounds like vacation? No, it is how we are to live all the time. Begin now….
