Tag: stress

How to lower levels of cortisol to elevate your health

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Today’s post is a summary of my recent social media posts on how to lower levels of cortisol through nutrition and yoga. In my nutrition and wellness coaching practice, I help women who are struggling with hormonal imbalances expressing as missing periods, unexplained infertility, PCOS, PMS or hypothyroid symptoms. These are all caused by levels of hormones which are either higher or lower than they should normally be.

As all hormones interact within the body, when one is off this can cause a cascade effect throughout the whole system. One of the main root causes of all of the hormonal conditions above is an imbalance in cortisol. In particular, high cortisol can impact levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid hormones through the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. This hormonal system has impacts on our metabolic, reproductive and immune systems just to name a few!

What is the problem with cortisol?

Cortisol is well known as the stress hormone but it actually does an important job keeping us alive. It helps us to manage the stresses of daily life by raising blood sugar and blood pressure to get energy and oxygen to our cells and by modulating inflammation. We are designed to experience a peak of cortisol to wake us up in the morning as well as surges whenever we need to respond to an emergency. Towards the end of the day or once the stressor has passed, cortisol levels should drop allowing us to relax and sleep well.

The problem is when we experience high levels of physical or mental stress over a long period of time, our cortisol levels can remain chronically high. Our body remains in an alarm state and is hyper-vigilant, ready to respond to any attack or urgent situation. We feel agitated and anxious, we can’t sleep and our mood, energy, digestion, libido and fertility can all suffer as a result. We can also experience blood sugar instability, high blood pressure and accelerated aging – eek!

Signs of high cortisol

So how do we know when we might want to focus on ways to lower cortisol levels? Some of the most common signs of high cortisol levels are a rapid pulse, racing thoughts or a sense of restlessness and urgency. However, high cortisol can manifest a huge variety of physical, energetic and psychological symptoms including disturbances to your digestion, mood and sleep.

lower levels of cortisol signs

You can test your cortisol levels through a saliva test. But if you experience 5 or more of the signs above then it wouldn’t do any harm to focus on ways to reduce stress and lower levels of cortisol, regardless of whether you test or not.

Causes of high cortisol

As I mentioned earlier, cortisol is a stress hormone. It is released by our adrenal glands when they receive the signal that there is an emergency and we need to be on high alert. We usually relate stress to psychological factors such as work pressure, family issues, moving house or other worries. But stress can also be caused by other lifestyle factors, especially how we move, eat, think and breathe. Some of the top “sneaky stressors” that I see in my clients are:

  1. Eating inadequate energy (calories) to support their activities
  2. Restrictive dieting e.g. cutting out food groups, low fat, low carb, vegan
  3. Not eating regularly e.g. intermittent fasting or having long gaps between meals
  4. Excessive exercise especially cardio e.g. running, cycling
  5. Shallow or mouth breathing
  6. An overly active inner critic

Sometimes simple changes can really make a difference to our bodies’ experience of stress and help to reduce cortisol levels. Especially making sure we are eating enough nutritious food and OFTEN as well as moving, thinking and breathing in a way that keeps us out of fight or flight stress mode as much as possible.

Diet to lower levels of cortisol

When it comes to eating to support lower levels of cortisol, it is important to focus on lowering physical stress by nourishing your body as best as you can. This means letting go of strict diet rules, eating enough calories and making sure to support your body with the macro and micro-nutrients it needs to thrive. When we are under a lot of stress, our bodies burn though energy and specific nutrients faster than usual so it is important to make sure we are fueling and replenishing regularly.

Some of the key nutritional strategies I recommend to my clients for reducing stress are:

  • Consuming plenty of carbohydrates from natural sources e.g. fruits and roots
  • Making sure to eat magnesium rich foods or supplement with epsom salt baths or transdermal magnesium
  • Eating foods rich in B vitamins, particularly B5 and B6
  • Consuming oily fish such as sardines or salmon or adding in a high quality fish oil supplement

If you are following a low carb diet – forget it! Including plenty of natural carbohydrates and especially sugars from fruits, roots and honey will support your higher energy requirements during a stressful period and help to reduce physiological stress on your body from lack of energy. Giving your body the calories and carbohydrates it needs will help to lower cortisol levels and will also help to reduce cravings and over eating due to stress. Your body is smart and it sends those signals for a reason!

Adding in foods containing magnesium and B vitamins is also helpful as we burn through these important nutrients much faster when under stress. Foods containing magnesium include dark chocolate, sesame seeds and dark leafy greens. B vitamins can be found in dairy, legumes, meat and wholegrains. Cod liver oil is a good all round supplement that can reduce stress related inflammation and support mental health.

Yoga to lower levels of cortisol

Yoga and meditation are amazing ways to lower cortisol levels naturally. Moving and breathing in a way that reduces activity in the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system and activates the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system will lower stress in your body and mind. Below is a simple 20 minute sequence you can use daily in the evening after a stressful day or before bed to wind down and get a healing night’s sleep.


From left to right:

  1. Extended child’s pose – hold for 3 mins with forehead resting on the mat or a block or pillow

2/3 Cow pose/Cat pose – flow between these 2 poses for 1 min syncing with the breath

4. Legs up the wall – 5 mins with legs resting against the wall if possible

5. Reclining twist – 3 mins per side option to place a pillow under the knee for support

6. Savasana – 5 mins focusing on deep belly breathing

Practice this simple sequence regularly, focusing on slowing down and being present, to reduce cortisol levels naturally.

Lifestyle to lower cortisol

Implementing the simple strategies in this post is an amazing first step if you are experiencing any of the symptoms of high cortisol above. Other supportive activities for lowering cortisol include gentle walks in nature, listening to music, journaling, creative work or any other way you like to slow down, let go of busyness and be present.

It’s so easy in today’s world to get swept up in work, tasks, social media and to be constantly doing, learning and taking in more and more information. But our bodies were designed for a much slower pace of life and we have to honour that from time to time. This doesn’t mean that we have to abandon everything and go and live in the mountains far away from civilisation. It just means that we need to become aware of our bodies’ signals of stress and find small ways to ground ourselves and connect within daily.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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What I did to stop feeling tired and dizzy

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I dealt with chronic insomnia and fatigue for several years in my mid-twenties. Just when I should have been at my peak health I felt like everything started to fall apart. I would struggle to sleep through the night (sometimes not at all – eek!). Then I would spend the day in a haze of brain fog and physical exhaustion feeling tired and dizzy. Thankfully I discovered a healing lifestyle and I am now fully recovered!

Healing is never linear and I still feel like my body is still sensitive at times. But overall, I am very happy with my health right now and how dramatically I have been able to increase my energy over the last three years. I no longer am feeling tired and dizzy on a daily basis. I rarely experience sleep issues and I have the energy to follow my passions, work, move my body and have an active social life too.

How a low metabolism can leave you feeling tired and dizzy

Now you’re probably wondering what I did to get here and I have to say it was quite a journey. There wasn’t one simple change that fixed everything but rather a complete lifestyle overhaul. But the element at the centre of all of the changes I made was focusing on energy and metabolic health. Most importantly, I learned that feeling tired and dizzy can be a result of a low metabolic rate.

Like many women who grew up in the 90s, I spent my teenage years dieting and working out trying to stay skinny. On top of that, I was a high achiever. I threw myself wholeheartedly at getting top marks at school and university. The combination of coffee fueled library and gym sessions followed by late nights of with friends drinking eventually led to my body to crash and burn big time.

Even after I left university and settled into a calmer work life, my health didn’t improve. I was still feeling tired and dizzy on a regular basis, although I continued to act like everything was normal. During this time I switched to a high carb vegan diet. I thought that it would help me to heal my body but actually the opposite occurred. Without realising, I continued to spiral down into a metabolic hole.

Eventually I discovered the basic fact: our bodies need A LOT of energy and nutrients to function and thrive. The attitude of deprivation that is so prevalent amongst women (i.e. the idea that we should constantly be fighting our natural appetites and cravings) coupled with the “do it all” mentality is exactly what is causing us to feel fatigued, irritable and miserable. We are asking too much of our bodies and not giving enough in return!

How I stopped feeling tired and dizzy: phase 1

Once I discovered that my body was seriously in need of support, I took the first steps towards restoring my energy balance by:

  1. Eating more and good quality food (I was still mostly vegan at this time)
  2. Quitting intense exercise
  3. Daily walks outside and gentle yoga
  4. Implementing a supportive morning routine
  5. Practicing yoga nidra or guided mediation daily
  6. Taking a break from caffeine
  7. Releasing emotional stress through journaling and TRE
  8. Tracking and syncing with my menstrual cycle

These steps worked synergistically to increase my energy input (through food and constructive rest) and decrease my energy output (from physical, emotional and mental stresses). This really helped take some of the load off my body. It got me to a point where I was more stable with my energy levels and moods. I stopped feeling tired and dizzy so often and having a total meltdown every month before my period. Best of all, I was able to get enough sleep to make it through the day.

However, I knew I wasn’t where I wanted to be long term. Firstly I had a vision for my health which included being active on a regular basis and spending quality time with friends. I love hiking, dancing and of course yoga. But at this time I was quite limited as to what I could do and without feeling wiped out afterwards. I never stopped these things throughout my healing journey but I wanted to fully enjoy them without feeling limited by my energy levels.

I also felt like my health issues were showing in my physical appearance too and I really hoped that healing would improve this. My skin was dry and I often got minor acne breakouts. My hair had become noticeably thinner and broke more easily. I would get upset when I looked in the mirror because I saw the the fatigue was aging me rapidly, especially around my eyes. Call me vain but I didn’t like it – the eyes are the window to the soul and I felt like mine looked dead!

How I stopped feeling tired and dizzy: phase 2

So once we moved to Greece in October 2020, I decided to take my healing journey to the next step. By this time I had discovered Morley Robbins and the Root Cause Protocol as well as the work of Ray Peat and Broda Barnes on the importance of optimal thyroid function and good metabolic health. They were all speaking about minimising the stress load on the body as well as increasing mineral availability through diet which really made sense to me.

I started to implement some of the supportive practices that were recommended, particularly:

  1. Reintroducing high quality organic dairy
  2. Drinking daily adrenal cocktails (orange juice with salt and potassium)
  3. Adding back coffee but in a supportive way
  4. Eating liver and seafood on a weekly/monthly basis
  5. Reducing refined vegetable oils and processed food
  6. Eliminating all unnecessary supplements
  7. Adding in magnesium supplements (transdermal then oral form)
  8. Focusing on specific breathwork practice to increase CO2

It’s important for me to say here that I wasn’t obsessive about these things. I knew that being too strict would only lead to further stresses so I did my best each day and focused my attention on enjoying life. During the never ending lockdowns I threw myself into hobbies including gardening, learning to play guitar and sewing projects as well as my work supporting women through teaching yoga and nutrition and wellness coaching.

It has been a gradual, continual improvement over the last year and a half. I would say that it was after about 6 months of implementing these things that I really started to feel like my body had healed. Eventually I stopped waking up in the night completely and now get 7-9 hours of sleep per night (unless life gets in the way). Rarely am I feeling tired and dizzy as I was before.

I feel passionate about my work and hobbies plus have energy left over for my friends and family. Finally life looks bright again and I am excited for the future!

Over to you…

If you have any questions or if you would like to work with me to overcome fatigue and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach and we work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs. You can read more about my training and qualifications here.

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I want to improve my health!

what's the definition of compassion

How to choose compassion over judgement

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Following on from the previous topic of self-compassion, today I want to talk about choosing compassion for others over judgement. Showing compassion has positive impacts on our wellbeing as individuals but also for society as a whole. It helps to strengthen our character and build resilient and connected communities which support our health and wellbeing.

Compassionate thoughts and behaviours help to:

  • Improve your mood
  • Reduce anxiety and stress
  • Increase feelings of connectedness
  • Promote trust and bonding in relationships
  • Increase your overall happiness and wellbeing
  • Boost your life and work satisfaction

See Psychology Today: 20 Reasons Why Compassion Is So Important in Psychology

Why is judging others bad for our wellbeing?

On the other hand, judging others leads to conflict and separation. Instead of healthy and supportive communities, we create divided ones that feel unsafe and untrustworthy. Not only that, if we think unkindly about others, those thoughts remain inside of us. If we critise others, we are more likely to criticise ourselves and attract criticism from others too. Next time you feel like judging someone, ask yourself how you would feel in their situation? We are all part of common humanity and yet we have our individual differences and life circumstances which shape our beliefs and drive our behaviours.

When someone says something we don’t agree with, we can often mistake these feelings for a dislike of the person as a whole. They could be the kindest, most interesting person but if we disagree on a core level (e.g. religion, politics) we can disregard them and even feel hostile towards them. We are seeing this today with the “vaccine wars” with friends and neighbours becoming aggressive towards each other because they disagree on a fundamental level about this one thing. Such conflict is driven by fear and by not seeing the whole picture. We tend to focus in on the small things and forget the things that do connect us.

Can we become more compassionate?

Compassion is a natural trait that we are born with as a result of evolution. Children show compassion to different degrees but research shows that compassion is also a skill that can be learned and refined. There are many education programs aimed at increasing compassion amongst school children or in the workplace. The outcomes of these interventions show increased levels of compassion and wellbeing amongst the participants.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, check out this interesting report on compassion and wellbeing from the Dalai Lama Centre for Compassion.

Ways to show more compassion to others

We don’t have to become Mother Theresa or Gandhi to receive the benefits of compassion for our own wellbeing and that of those around us. Small actions that we take daily can have a huge effect. Some ways in which we can show kindness compassion to others:

  • Truly listen to a friend (without distraction or interruption)
  • Smile and say hello to a neighbour
  • Volunteer for a local charity
  • Help an older relative with shopping or housework
  • Support a colleague with a difficult task at work
  • Celebrate and share the joy in others’ successes
  • Comfort someone going through a difficult time
  • Buy a hot drink for a homeless person
  • Donate old clothes to a charity
  • Adopt a stray animal and show it love

Sometimes it might feel like we don’t have time to show compassion. We are so busy with work, families and the thousands of other demands of modern day living. But simple acts of support and kindness to others will energise you and boost your mood, helping you to get these things done with a smile. In addition, as the old saying goes, what comes around goes around. If you offer compassion to others, they are more likely to behave compassionately towards you too.

Rather than a negative spiral of judgement and conflict, you will create a positive spiral of understanding and mutual support!

Today’s challenge: Random act of kindness

Today’s task to improve your wellbeing is to choose one small act of kindness you can do to show compassion to someone in your life. You can use the list above for ideas or think of your own. Pay attention to your feelings before and after – hopefully you will experience a boost in your mood and happiness as a result of showing kindness to another human!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
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  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

I want to improve my health!

The power of connecting with nature

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To finish off week two of the Women’s Wellness Challenge, which is all about connection, I want to share the importance of connecting with nature for our wellbeing. Connecting with yourself, with others around you and with the natural environment are all essential elements of creating a healthy and balanced life. When we are feeling low or stuck in a rut, getting out into nature and remembering we are part of this greater whole can be just what we need to come back into alignment.

These days, it’s so easy to get caught up in the artificial environment we have created in cities and through technology. We can spend all day working in front of a computer and our leisure time on the phone or watching TV. If we aren’t careful, we can easily go a whole day without seeing the sun. Especially at this time of year in Northern Europe! However, making the effort to get out into nature, to feel the sun on our skin and breathe fresh air (i.e. life!) into our bodies is so important.

We are a part of nature

Despite being highly evolved beings, we are still a part of nature and our bodies are designed to operate within her cycles. We have our circadian rhythm which pushes us to be active during the day and sleep at night. We are also influenced by the lunar cycles, especially in the case of menstruating women who experience monthly cycles with phases which can align with the phases of the moon. Every year we experience several seasons that impact us in obvious and more subtle ways.

As much as we try to separate ourselves from nature and make our lives more convenient and predictable, we ultimate depend on it and remain part of it. We rely on natures’ eco-systems to provide the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. The energy from the suns’ rays brings life to our planet and to us humans too. Sunlight regulates our endocrine system and helps us to make vitamin D to keep our bones strong and preserve our immune system.

Nature represents the feminine energy that we all have within us that brings the qualities of surrender, flow and spontaneity. It reminds us not to take everything so seriously and to live in awe in the wonder that is our Earth. Not only that, but spending time in nature has been proven to improve our health by lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety and calming our nervous system. Distancing ourselves from our home, the natural environment, can leave us feeling lost and spiritually empty, whether we realise it or not.

Ways to connect with nature

The beautiful chaos of nature is the perfect antidote to the over-rational, linear lives that most of us live these days. If you feel like you need to connect with nature, here are a few simple ideas of how you can do so:

  • Watch the sun rise or set whenever you can
  • Ground your bare feet on the earth
  • Go walking in any natural environment you have access to such as the forest, mountain or beach
  • Watch out for wild animals in the area that you live
  • Take note of the changing phases of the moon
  • Go out on a clear night and look at the stars
  • Let go of artificial lights in the evening and try candles instead
  • Open the window and let in fresh air every morning
  • Try a weekend break in the countryside with no smartphones
  • Do a nature photoshoot in your local area
  • Plant a seed and watch it grow

If you have any other ways you like to connect with nature, please share in the comments below!

My natural world

I love going for daily walks in the local park and getting out to hike in the mountains or stroll along the beach whenever I can. With my partner we also like spending time with the garden and have been experimenting during the pandemic with growing our own food. There is nothing better than drinking fresh juice made with fruits you just picked from the tree. Or maybe building a salad with vegetables and herbs you watched grow from seeds. For me, it connects me to the magic of nature and makes me feel like a kid again

Today’s challenge: Get out into nature

Your challenge for today (and over the weekend as it is Friday!) is to pick at least one way to connect with nature and go out and do it. Even if it’s cold and rainy, get yourself out there and connect with Mother Earth. Pay attention to how you feel in the natural environment. Watch your breathing slow, your nerves soothe and a smile arrive on your face.

Over to you…

  • Comment: What is your favourite way to connect with nature?
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breathing for stress

Breathing for stress and anxiety relief

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One of the pillars of health is learning how to breathe properly. The fourth of the 8 limbs of ashtanga yoga is pranayama which translates as extension or control of the breath. Yogis view the breath or prana as your life force energy. Therefore, when your breath is restricted, your life force energy is also restricted. In this post I will share some common breathing mistakes and my tips for breathing for stress relief.

When we are stressed, we tend to alter our breath in such a way that sends further stress signals to the brain. this creates a vicious cycle where stress causes stressful breathing which in turn causes further stress. Living in a chronically stressed state causes all sorts of problems including high blood pressure, insomnia and fatigue, poor digestion and mismanaged blood sugar.

Breathing for stress and anxiety relief involves slowing and lengthening the breath. This calms the nervous system, stills the mind and helps the body function as it should.

breathing for stress

In this article, I will dive into some of the common breathing mistakes and introduce you to breathing for stress and anxiety relief. Starting on Tuesday 9th November at 5.30pm UK/7.30pm Greece I am also offering monthly Introduction to Breathwork online workshops where we will dive into this topic and I will guide you through these powerful techniques. Click HERE to reserve your place!

Before I explain the basics of breathing for stress relief, I will describe four common breathing mistakes that most of the population make. These are mistakes that are often triggered by a stressful lifestyle or situations. They also cause a stress response in your body which prevents that stress response from completing. This means that your nervous system remains in that stressed state chronically, which is how your wellbeing can be affected over time.

Mistake #1 Breathing too shallow

One of the most common breathing mistakes is breathing too shallow. By this I mean breathing high up in the chest around the collar bones. A natural, relaxed breath should be controlled by your diaphragm. This is a dome shaped muscle that sits at the top of your abdomen that moves up and down to draw in and release air from your lungs.

However, many people instead use the muscles of their chest and shoulders to breathe, especially when chronically stressed. Breathing in this way can cause tension in these muscles as well as fatigue and further stress throughout your body. This is breathing for stress not stress relief!

You can easily check if you are making this mistake. Place a hand on your chest and one hand on your belly and breathe naturally, observing the movement of your hands. If the hand on your chest is rising and falling with your breath rather than the hand on your belly, then you are breathing too shallow.

This means you are only using a small fraction of the capacity of your lungs as you breathe. It is important for you to learn how to breathe to relax and reduce stress. You need to learn how to breathe using your diaphragm instead so that the hand on your belly moves while the hand on your chest is fairly steady.

Mistake #2 Breathing too quickly

If you are making the first mistake of breathing too shallow, you are probably making the second mistake too. That is breathing too quickly aka hyperventilating. You might associate this with asthma or panic attacks which is an extreme version of hyperventilation. However, most of us are constantly breathing too quickly in a mild hyperventilation.

Breathing in this way sends a major red flag to your nervous system that you are in danger. Fast breathing is reserved for extreme states when it is important to activate your fight or flight response. A normal breathing rate is around 10-15 breaths per minute, any more than this and you are over-breathing. In yoga we encourage an even slower breath, sometimes as little as 6 breaths per minute.

This rate of breathing activates the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system state. Slow breathing also slows heart rate and can reduce blood pressure. You might think that breathing more quickly will get more oxygen into your body but this is not the case. For optimal oxygenation and energy, you want to breathe better not harder.

Mistake #3 Breathing through your mouth

Another extremely common breathing mistake is mouth breathing. Remember in Stranger Things, Mike explaining to Eleven that a mouthbreather was a “dumb person, a knucklehead”?

Ok so maybe this is kind of mean but there is an element of truth in it. Breathing through your mouth leads to lower quality air reaching your lungs and reduced oxygenation of your cells. This means higher stress and lower energy and vitality. B.K.S. Iyengar, a world-famous yogi once said “the nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating”. He was absolutely right!

Your nose is designed to heat and filter the air you breathe. It is there as your primary breathing apparatus. Breathing through your mouth is there as a back up and should not be your primary way of breathing. Mouth breathing is the opposite of how to breathe to relax and reduce stress. If you observe that you breathe through your mouth on a regular basis, it is important to learn how to breathe through your nose.

It might be difficult at first as you build a new habit. Even more so because “if you don’t use it you lose it” meaning that chronic mouth breathing can lead to clogged up nasal passages making it harder to breathe through your nose. But with time and practice, nose breathing will become easy and natural for you. Once you are consistently breathing through your nose, you will see your stress levels decrease and your energy levels soar!

Mistake #4 Holding your breath

The final common breathing mistake is actually to not breathe at all. Holding the breath is something that we instinctively do during a stressful situation or when we are anxiously waiting for something (“don’t hold your breath!”). Unconsciously holding the breath is also something that many people do whilst concentrating. It can also be caused by tension in the abdomen as a result of chronic stress.

There is a phenomenon known as email apnea which affects many screen users i.e. most people today! Email apnea is when you unconsciously hold your breath whilst reading something on a screen or focusing on your work. I previously wrote about another phenomenon called continuous partial attention which can cause stress. These two habits go along with each other – holding your breath whilst flitting between different tasks.

Another scenario in which breath holding occurs is in sleep apnea. This is when your airway becomes blocked during the night causing you to temporarily stop breathing. Sleep apnea cause cause daytime fatigue, mood swings, difficulty concentrating and headaches. Therefore, it is important to also learn how to breathe to relax during the night to improve your sleep. I will also cover this is the upcoming workshop.

The basics of breathing for stress relief

Simply put, breathing for stress relief is to avoid the four mistakes above. In fact, it is to do the opposite! This means your breath should be:

  1. Deep and diaphragmatic
  2. Slow and steady
  3. Through the nose
  4. Consistent and smooth

To learn exact techniques for breathing for stress relief, join me for a Introduction to Breathwork online workshop.

Perhaps you are wondering whether you can simply research these techniques and practice them yourself? Yes, you can do that. But how many times have you tried to incorporate something like this into your lifestyle and lost interest or motivation before you even saw the benefits? Whether you join me for a single session or every month, you will receive guidance but also accountability to show up for your practice and for yourself.

What will happen in the Introduction to Breathwork online workshop?

First, we will take time to settle into the practice and you will observe your natural breath. I will teach you the yogic mindset it is important to maintain throughout this practice. Then, I will guide you through yoga poses and stretches to open up your chest and shoulders and release your diaphragm. Next, we will practice a series of breathwork techniques together.

These will be perfectly accessible techniques, suitable for all levels. If you have any specific conditions, I advise you to email me beforehand at lovemoonlife.mail@gmail.com so that I can offer you any personalised advice you need. during and after the workshop, you can expect to feel extremely calm and relaxed, both in mind and body. Once you learn the techniques, you will be able to practice them yourself daily to continue reaping the benefits.

Regular practice of these breathwork techniques can help you to decrease your blood pressure, improve your digestion and blood sugar regulation and give you an overall sense of calm and wellbeing. Lowering your stress and finding a sense of inner peace has a knock on effect on the other areas of your life. You can expect to improve your sleep, boost your productivity and creativity and maybe even improve your relationships.

I hope you enjoyed this article, to find out more, join me for the first workshop next week! If you are attending the workshop, click attending on the Facebook event to be updated about any changes or requirements for the class. If you don’t use Facebook, let e know so that I can email you any information directly.

References

https://www.headspace.com/articles/shallow-breathing-whole-body
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137615/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42552-9
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/body-sense/201009/waiting-exhale
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-apnoea/

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

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Morning mindfulness meditation for full body awareness

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Good morning everyone! Today I wanted to share a guided morning mindfulness meditation. Use this practice to start your day with mindfulness and cultivate full body present awareness. Meditation is great to incorporate into your daily morning ritual before the action of the day begins. Make the most of the calm and quiet of the morning to find time to connect with yourself and your breath.

guided-morning-mindfulness-meditation

Just a few moments of mindfulness at first thing can ahead how you feel for the rest of the day. Starting your day with meditation can help to:

  • Reduce stress
  • Increase energy
  • Open your heart space
  • Release tension
  • Create a sense of wellbeing
  • Boost productivity
  • Inspire creativity

Guided morning mindfulness meditation

In this 15 minute meditation, I will guide you through a full body scan. This will help you to tune into your physical sensations and connect mind and body at the start of your day. You can practice in bed, in a chair or on a meditation cushion. All you need is a quiet space where you will not be disturbed. Make sure to wear a jumper or cover yourself with a blanket as your body temperature can drop during meditation. It’s preferable to listen using headphones for the best experience.

If you try out this guided morning mindfulness meditation, let me know how you feel afterwards in the comments below. And why not share this practice with friends and family who could benefit from this practice? Wishing you a wonderful start to the week and thank you for meditating with me this morning.

If you live in Athens and want to join me for group yoga classes, you can check the schedule and book your space HERE.

Until next time, Namaste…

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

morning meditation for mindfulness and present awareness

Guided morning meditation for mindfulness and present awareness

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Good morning everyone! Today I wanted to share a guided meditation practice that you can use to start your day with mindfulness and cultivate full body present awareness. In this 15 minute practice, I will guide you through a full body scan to help you to tune into your physical sensations and connect mind and body at the start of your day. If you try out this practice, let me know how you feel in the comments below. And why not share this mindfulness meditation practice with friends and family who could benefit from this practice? Wishing you a wonderful start to the week and thank you for meditating with me this morning.

Over to you…

Why not share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below? Please like and share this post to support my business and follow my blog for more useful posts on nutrition, yoga and lifestyle for holistic health and fertility.

If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on your holistic health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and health coaching packages I offer. My specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after chronic or restrictive dieting but I also help anyone who is looking to improve their overall health and find the perfect balance for their body. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!

Other posts you might like

holistic health coaching 6 elements

Feel fantastic with 6 elements of holistic health coaching!

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As a Women’s Wellness Coach, I love to support women to improve their overall health and wellbeing. I have come a long way in my own view of health and it has taken me many years to get to where I am now. I used to think health meant restricting your diet and exercising like crazy to maintain a low body weight. After my own health breakdown I learned that there was much more to health than that! Now I run a holistic health coaching practice where I help women to truly take care of their bodies.

What is holistic health coaching?

Holistic health coaching incorporates more than just the usual diet and exercise program that we associate with health coaching. It is about building all-round health which will leave you feeling confident, energised and enthusiastic about life again. A holistic health coach helps you to set goals and design a personalised program to help you reach them. The exact format depends on the education and training of the coach. In my holistic health coaching practice, I include nutrition and yoga as well as menstrual cycle awareness. I help women to let go of restrictive dieting and find true health, balanced hormones and natural fertility.

Holistic health coaching focuses on 6 main elements which I will explain in more detail in this post. At the end of the article I will provide a Holistic Wellbeing Assessment questionnaire. Download the file and carry out your own holistic health assessment at home! This is the same questionnaire that I use with my holistic health coaching clients in our initial session to help us set direction for our work together.

holistic health coaching 6 elements

6 elements of holistic health coaching

Physical health

I fully believe that we are more than our bodies. Despite this, our physical bodies are the way we experience life therefore physical health is a foundation of holistic health coaching. This is not necessarily about being in a perfect state of physical health. Rather, it is important to maintain an adequate state of physical health to live the life you choose. Physical health includes:

  • Good functioning of your bodily systems
  • Healthy immune function and rapid healing
  • Normal metabolic markers such as blood sugar and blood pressure
  • Relatively free from disease and pain
  • Ability to participate in life including social and work activities

Holistic health coaching to improve physical health starts with creating a vision of what health means to you. This could simply be having an adequate level of health to work, play and enjoy life. It could mean healing from chronic disease or having health markers in the normal range. You might see physical health as making healthy lifestyle choices. For example, quitting smoking, not drinking alcohol in excess or drinking enough water. Or you might view physical health as a feeling.

Either way, in holistic health coaching, we work with approach based goals rather than outcome based goals. This means focusing on behaviours rather than a specific end result such as a weight goal. I help my clients to identify behaviours that are harming their health and replace them with supportive habits. Measurements and markers can be a helpful motivator but they are not at the centre of holistic health coaching. My women’s wellness practice is influenced by researchers such as Linda Bacon, Dr Ray Peat and Dr Sara Gottfried.

Sleep and energy

Anyone who has experienced poor sleep (calling all Mums and insomniacs out there!) will appreciate the importance of good sleep. It is a fact that you need to sleep well in order to function at your best and enjoy life. When we don’t sleep well we can feel like we are constantly dragging ourselves through the day. And even for those who sleep well, the stressful and busy lives we lead can lead to fatigue and low energy levels.

A holistic health coaching assessment of sleep first looks at the amount of sleep that you get. For adults, sleep experts recommend anywhere from 7-9 hours sleep per night for optimum health and wellbeing. It also look at the quality of that sleep and the energy that you experience. For example, do you wake feeling refreshed and rested? Or do you start the day already feeling exhausted and wondering how you will make it through to the evening? I typically use a sleep journal with my clients to help them to identify patterns and factors which influence their sleep.

Holistic health coaching includes working to create space for sleep and developing helpful sleep routines. We all know it is important to relax and wind down to ensure you get a good quality sleep. Often, we know what we need to do to improve our sleep. However, prioritising and staying accountable to these actions is the hard part. That is where holistic health coaching comes in! We also explore how you are using your energy throughout the day. We identify “energy drains” that might be zapping your life force and leaving you fatigued and unmotivated.

Dietary habits

Nourishing your body with a wholesome and varied diet is one of the cornerstones of holistic health coaching. We literally are what we eat as all of the substances we consume eventually become the building blocks for new cells. Our diet also provides the energy that we use to create our personal reality. In my practice, I don’t focus on counting calories or macro-nutrients. Rather I help clients to develop a positive relationship with food and understand the basics of a nutritious diet. From this foundation they are able to intuitively eat a balanced diet which is nourishing on both a physical and emotional level. I described in a recent post the key principles of a healthy diet which include: balance, variety, wholesomeness and individuality.

I work with holistic health coaching clients using a Non-Diet Approach to Coaching. This takes the focus away from dieting to lose weight or change your body towards an enjoyable and relaxed attitude towards nourishment. We work on tuning into hunger and fullness cues, accepting all foods and the diversity of body shapes and sizes. My clients learn how to eat nourishing food that supports their body without restricition, rules or deprivation. This includes diving into their history with dieting, unpacking beliefs around food and nutrition, using a food diary to identify unhelpful eating patterns and creating a pathway to overcome them.

For all my clients, I hope for them to feel liberated and empowered around food. I want them to feel able to make food choices that work for their unique body and life situation. No more obsessing over every bite, weighing and tracking every mouthful or living in fear of food. Instead, pure pleasure and nourishment from food on a daily basis!

Movement and physical activity

Moving your body is of course an important part of a healthy lifestyle. We know from many years of research that physical activity helps to maintain our physical health. It also protects us from disease and helps to maintain a sense of wellbeing. Unfortunately, for many people exercise has become either a chore to avoid or a way to punish our body. Either for over eating or for not being the perfect shape or size that we have learned is appropriate for society.

In holistic health coaching, we work together to dive into your beliefs and values around exercise and their physical body. We work together to discover activities that bring pleasure and joy back to movement. I encourage you to cultivate a sense of appreciation for your body and everything it allows you to do. Not only that, I help you to stay accountable to your goals and action plans around physical activity. Together we identify potential barriers and road blocks to physical activity. From there, we develop solutions to make movement a more natural and habitual part of your life.

I also work with clients on the opposite end of the spectrum. Those of you who exercise too much and suffer consequences such as fatigue or hormonal imbalances. In this case, we again dive deep into your beliefs around exercise and body image. We create a safe container for you to shift your attitudes towards your appearance and develop a positive self-image. This enables you to shift your perspective of movement to a more postive one. I help you to find the joy in moving your body once more and let go of all of the negative emotional baggage. After years of over-exercise and punishing your body, it is possible to find lightness and fun around movement again.

Stress management

Stress.. unfortunately in today’s world it is something that we all experience more than we would like. The simple fact is that the pace of modern life with all of it’s pressures and demands can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious and exhausted. Stress can be responsible for many of the health issues we experience from insomnia to high blood pressure. Cortisol, a major stress hormone, can affect all of our bodily symptoms wreaking havock on our digestion, metabolism and fertility. It can leave us feeling on edge, moody, tired and lacking spark.

Holistic health coaching does not claim to get rid of stress. Rather we look at your attitudes towards stress and coping mechanisms you have in place to deal with life’s stresses. You learn how to stay mindful of your stress level and strategies to prevent overwhelm and burnout. Working with clients on stress management is extremely rewarding. This is because with just a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle, you can often experience huge reductions in the amount of stress you feel. This greatly improves your life experience day to day and reduces symptoms caused by stress.

I help clients to identify the different types of stressors in their life and the effects they are experiencing. We then work to find ways to either eliminate the stressor, change the situation or adapt to cope with the stress for things that cannot be changed. You create positive daily routines to help you feel more organised and in control. I teach you yoga and meditation techniques which promote deep relaxation and restoration.

Life balance

The final element of holistic health coaching is your life balance. In other words, how you feel about your life and your place in the world. This element of holistic health focuses on you and how you feel about yourself. As well as how you experience life and how you interact with others and the world around you. Life balance includes the often forgotten elements of wellbeing such as connection, compassion, wisdom and fulfilment. Sometimes we get so wrapped up with “fixing” ourselves or our problems that we forget life is to be lived and enjoyed. This can leave us feeling lost and at sea in life.

In holistic health coaching, we look at strengthening your connection to your self. This includes understanding who you are at your core and developing appreciation for your unique personality and skills. You will build your confidence so that you can show up as your best self and go for your goals. We also shine a light on your relationships with others. I encourage you to ensure that you have positive relationships in your life which support your wellbeing and personal development. You learn healthy communication strategies to help you voice your needs and boundaries in a positive way.

Holistic health coaching summary

Remember that all of the elements of holistic health overlap with each other. This means that implementing positive habits in one area will have a domino effect on the other areas of your wellbeing. For example, eating healthy, moving your body and managing stress will help to improve your sleep and energy levels. Getting better sleep makes it easier to make healthier food and exercise choices. We are moving away from this reductionist view of health as a set of behaviours or a particular appearance. Instead, we are heading towards a new paradigm of holistic health as wellbeing and thriving!

Holistic Wellbeing Assessment

Download the free Holistic Wellbeing Assessment questionnaire below to gain insight into your health and wellbeing. This is the exact one I use with my 1-2-1 holistic health coaching clients!

wellbeing-assessment-questionnaireDownload

If you live in Athens and want to join me for yoga in Holargos or Filothei, you can check the schedule and book your space HERE.

Until next time, Namaste…

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

6 elements of holistic health coaching

Leave a comment

As a Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher and Women’s Wellness Coach, I love to support women to improve their overall health and wellbeing! Wellness coaching incorporates more than just the usual diet and exercise program that we associate with health coaching, it is about building holistic health which will leave you feeling confident, energised and enthusiastic about life again. Holistic health coaching focuses on 6 main elements which I will explain in more detail in this post as well as how I work with clients who are looking to make improvements in this area of their health.

At the end of the article I will provide a Wellbeing Assessment questionnaire so that you can carry out your own holistic health assessment at home. This is the exact same health assessment that I use with my health coaching clients in our initial session to help us set direction for our work together.

Physical health

Even though, I fully believe that we are more than our bodies, our physical bodies are the way we experience life and therefore it is a foundation of holistic health coaching. This is not necessarily about being in a perfect state of physical health but it is important for us to maintain an adequate state of physical health to live the life we choose. Physical health includes:

  • Good functioning of our bodily systems
  • Healthy immune function and rapid healing
  • Normal metabolic markers such as blood sugar and blood pressure
  • Relatively free from disease and pain
  • Ability to participate in life including social and work activities

Some clients who want to improve their physical health are under the supervision of a doctor and need support and accountability from a health coach to help them stick to their health management plan, for example quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption or a lifestyle program to manage diabetes or high blood pressure. Other clients prefer to focus on the other elements of holistic health and as a result see improvements in their physical health markers. Either way we work with approach based goals, concentrating on building positive habits for physical health rather than outcome based goals which focus on the end result such as weight.

Sleep and energy

Anyone who has experienced poor sleep (calling all Mums out there!) or suffered with insomnia, will appreciate the importance of good sleep and energy levels. We need to sleep well in order to function at our best and enjoy life rather than feeling like we are constantly dragging ourselves through the day. For adults, sleep experts recommend anywhere from 7-9 hours sleep per night for optimum health and wellbeing. A holistic health assessment of sleep looks at both the amount of sleep that you are able to get as well as the quality of that sleep and the energy that you experience. For example, do you wake feeling refreshed and rested or do you start the day already feeling exhausted and wondering how you will make it through to the evening?

For clients who focus on improving sleep and energy levels, we work on creating space in your life for sleep and developing helpful routines to help you relax and wind down to ensure you get a good quality sleep. Often, we know what we need to do to improve our sleep but prioritising and staying accountable to these actions is the hard part, that is where a health coach comes in! I typically use a sleep journal with my clients to help them to identify patterns and factors which influence the amount of quality of sleep they are able to get. We also explore how you are using your energy throughout the day and identify “energy drains” in your life that might be zapping your life force and leaving you feeling fatigued and unmotivated.

Dietary habits

Nourishing your body with a wholesome and varied diet is one of the cornerstones of holistic health. We literally are what we eat as all of the substances we consume eventually become the building blocks for new cells as well as the energy that we use to create our personal reality. In my practice, I don’t focus on counting calories or macro-nutrients but rather on helping clients to develop a positive relationship with food and the ability to intuitively eat a balanced diet which is nourishing on both a physical and emotional level. I described in a recent post the key principles of a healthy diet which include: balance, variety, wholesomeness and individuality.

I work with clients looking to improve their dietary habits using a Non-Diet Approach (read my post on NDA here) which takes the focus away from dieting to lose weight or change your body towards an enjoyable and relaxed attitude towards nourishment. We work on tuning into internal cues of hunger and fullness, accepting all foods and the diversity of body shapes and sizes. Our work focuses on developing your intuition and self-confidence so that you can eat the foods that support your body whilst still enjoying all of the pleasures that food has to offer. This can look like diving into your history with dieting, unpacking your beliefs around food and nutrition, using a food diary to identify unhelpful eating patterns and creating a pathway to overcome them.

For all my clients, I hope for them to feel liberated and empowered around food, able to make food choices that work for their unique body and life situation. No more obsessing over every bite, weighing and tracking every mouthful or living in fear of food. Instead, pure pleasure and nourishment from food on a daily basis!

Movement and physical activity

Moving your body is of course an important part of a healthy lifestyle. We know from many years of research that physical activity helps to maintain our physical health, protect us from disease and maintain a sense of wellbeing. Unfortunately, for many people exercise has become either a chore to avoid or a way to punish our body for over eating or for not being the perfect shape or size that we have learned is appropriate for society.

For clients who feel that they would like to be more physically active and improve their level of fitness, we work together to dive into their belief and values around exercise and their physical body. I work with you to discover activities that bring pleasure and joy back to movement and help you to cultivate a sense of gratitude and appreciate for your body and everything it allows us to do. I help you to stay accountable to your goals and action plans around physical activity and together we identify potential barriers and road blocks to physical activity and develop solutions to make movement a more natural and habitual part of your life.

For those clients on the opposite end of the spectrum who exercise too much and are suffering the consequences such as fatigue or hormonal imbalances, we again dive deep into our beliefs around exercise and body image. We create a safe container for you to shift your attitudes towards your appearance and develop a positive self-image that allows you to shift your perspective of movement. I will help you to find the joy in moving your body once more and let go of all of the negative emotional baggage after years of over-exercise and punishing your body to find lightness and fun around movement again.

Stress management

Stress.. unfortunately in today’s world it is something that we all experience more than we would like. The simple fact is that the pace of modern life with all of it’s pressures and demands can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious and exhausted. Stress can be responsible for many of the health issues we experience from insomnia to high blood pressure. Cortisol, a major stress hormone, can affect all of our bodily symptoms wreaking havok on our digestion, metabolism and fertility. It can leave us feeling on edge, moody, tired and lacking spark. Holistic health coaching does not claim to get rid of stress, rather we look at your attitudes towards stress and coping mechanisms you have in place to deal with life’s stresses and prevent overwhelm and burnout.

Working with clients on stress management is extremely rewarding because with just a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle, you can often experience huge reductions in the amount of stress you feel day to day and the symptoms that can go along with that. I help clients to identify the different types of stressors in their life and the effects they are experiencing. We then work to find ways to either eliminate the stressor, change the situation or adapt to cope with the stress for things that cannot be changed. We create positive daily routines to help you feel more organised and in control as well as prioritising activities such as yoga and meditation which promote deep relaxation and restoration.

Life balance

The final element of holistic health coaching is your life balance, that is how you feel about your life and your place in the world. This element of holistic health focuses on you, how you feel about yourself, how you experience life and how you interact with others and the world around you. Life balance includes the often forgotten elements of wellbeing such as connection, compassion, wisdom and fulfilment. Sometimes we get so wrapped up with “fixing” ourselves or our problems that we forget life is to be lived and enjoyed and this can leave us feeling lost and at sea in life.

With clients for whom shifting life balance is key to improving their holistic health, we might look at strengthening your connection to your self, understanding who you are at your core and developing appreciation for your unique personality and skills. I help you to build your confidence so that you can show up as your best self and go for your goals. We also shine a light on your relationships with others and I encourage you to ensure that you have positive relationships in your life which support your wellbeing and personal development as well as healthy communication strategies to help you communicate your needs and boundaries in a positive way as well as be more accepting and understanding of others.

As a final note, I want to highlight that as all of the elements of holistic health overlap with each other, implementing positive habits and routines in one area will likely have a domino effect on the other areas of your holistic health and wellbeing. For example, making changes to your dietary habits, physical activity and stress management can also help to improve sleep and energy levels or adjusting your life balance can help to dramatically reduce your stress. We are moving away from this reductionist view of health as a set of behaviours or a particular appearance towards a new paradigm of holistic health as wellbeing and thriving!

Over to you…

If you would like to gain insight into your holistic health and identify areas you might like to improve on, download the free wellbeing assessment below from Well College Global which is the exact one I use with my 1-2-1 clients! Please like and share this post to support my business and follow my blog for more useful posts on nutrition, yoga and holistic health.

If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on your holistic health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and health coaching packages I offer. My specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after chronic or restrictive dieting but I also help anyone who is looking to improve their overall health and find the perfect balance for their body. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!

wellbeing-assessment-questionnaireDownload

Other posts you might like

Top tips to improve your sleep

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Sleep is one of the major players when it comes to transforming your health. Not only can a better nights’ sleep help you to feel more energised and happier but it also has a knock on effect on your other decisions throughout the day. Ever experienced that feeling of being constantly hungry after a night tossing and turning? Research shows that poor sleep affects blood sugar regulation which can cause increased cravings for sweet foods and a tendency to over eat. Feeling tired is also not exactly conducive to a good workout either, we are less likely to want to move our bodies when we haven’t slept well and even the best intentions can go out of the window.

That said, here are my top tips to improve your sleep and wake up feeling rested and refreshed!

1. Create an evening routine

Allowing yourself time to wind down before bed is one of the best things you can do to improve your sleep! It might seem obvious but how many times have you found yourself lying awake in bed after checking emails one last time or watching an intense TV show? Our body and mind need time to shift into relaxation mode before bed and an evening routine can help to send the signal that the day is over and it is time to sleep. It doesn’t matter what you do for your evening routine but spending at least half an hour, or an hour if you can spare it, on a relaxing evening routine can reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep and greatly improve your quality of sleep. Some examples of calming activities you can do before bed include gentle yoga, meditation or breathing exercises, journaling, reading or listening to music. You can also build in another self-care habit by using this time for a relaxing skin-care routine or epsom salt bath. Having a set sleep window has been shown to help you fall asleep faster and spend more time in supporting deep and REM sleep so try to start your sleep routine within the same hour each night for optimal results.

2. Say no to technology

One of the most challenging but most supportive things you can do to improve your sleep is to have a cut off point for technology at least one hour before bed. Phones, laptops, TV can all be stimulating for the mind and the blue light that they emit can also confuse our brains into thinking it is still day. Ideally, switching off all devices and wi-fi before bed will help you to get a better nights’ sleep and improve your sleep pattern. However, if you cannot avoid using technology before bed, a good option is to install a red light filter such as Flux onto your phone or computer which will block the disruptive blue light which is so harmful to your sleep cycles. You can set them to gradually shift to red light from sunset to mimic the natural changes in sunlight throughout the evening which I find really useful. Avoiding sleeping with your phone by your bed will also help you to feel more relaxed and avoid the temptation to check social media or browse the internet if you find you can’t sleep. If you use your phone as an alarm you can still keep it in the room but move it far away from the bed. This will also help you to get out of bed in the morning so it is a win-win!

3. Manage your blood sugar

Instable blood sugar has many consequences and is a hidden but common factor in insomnia, particularly early morning waking or sleep maintenance insomnia. This is a condition where you are able to fall asleep but unable to stay asleep and find yourself awake in the early hours of the morning. When there is no acute or chronic psychological stress present, insomnia can be caused by the physical stress of poor nutrition and imbalanced blood sugar. When our blood sugar levels drop low during the night, either because we haven’t eaten enough during the day, limiting carbohydrates (e.g. keto diet) or due to raising our blood sugar too high during the evening resulting in a blood sugar crash, the stress hormone cortisol is released to bring our blood sugar levels back up. This is a normal process that also happens during the day but in some cases the cortisol levels can raise to the point where it wakes you up and gives you a “wired but tired” feeling where you are unable to fall back to sleep. Having a small, balanced snack containing carbohydrates, fat and protein before bed or if you wake up during the night is often enough to resolve this issue and improve sleep duration and quality.

4. Avoid stimulants in the evening

Any food or drink containing caffeine act as stimulants in your body which can prevent you from falling asleep or getting good quality sleep. Most people know that coffee, energy drinks and black tea both contain caffeine but green tea, some herbal teas, cola and chocolate also contain this sleep disrupting chemical! We are very individual when it comes to caffeine metabolism and some people have a higher tolerance and faster clearance of caffeine than others so it’s best to experiment yourself and find out where your limits are when it comes to consuming these foods. Generally it’s a good idea to avoid high caffeine food and drink after 2pm and limit even low caffeine food such as chocolate in the evening hours. You might find though that you sleep better avoiding caffeine all together so if insomnia and low energy are a problem for you, maybe give going caffeine-free a shot for a week or two. Aside from caffeine, other stimulants include heavy TV shows and movies, loud music and stressful conversations so where ever possible try to avoid these in the hours before you sleep and opt for your relaxing evening routine instead.

5. Supplements for better sleep

Natural substances which help your body to relax can be a helpful ally in getting better quality sleep. One of my personal favourites is herbal teas containing chamomile, passion flower and valerian root. These are traditional remedies known to support a calm nervous system state and help to improve sleep. Another useful remedy is aromatherapy, especially lavender oil which can been used for centuries to aid relaxation and help to overcome sleep problems. You can use this as part of your evening routine in the form of essential oils, scented candles or a pillow spray to create a calming environment in your bedroom. When it comes to supplementation, I prefer to keep it simple. One of the key nutrients which aids in relaxation of the physical body is magnesium and it is becoming more popular to use magnesium supplements to support a better nights’ sleep. Again there are several ways to use magnesium including liquid or pill-form oral supplements, body sprays or oils and also as bath salts.

As you can see, these are 5 tips but they can also fit together very nicely. You can create an evening routine which includes avoiding technology, drinking herbal tea or eating a healing snack and using sleep supporting supplements to create the perfect environment for a deep and restful sleep. Reflect on which of the tips you think work best with your lifestyle and your current situation and test them out to see if you can improve your sleep and wake up feeling happier and ready for the day ahead!

Over to you…

I hope you found this article interesting and feel inspired to give these tips a go. Let me know in the comments below your thoughts and experiences, I’d love to hear from you. Please like this post and follow along with my blog for more post on nutrition, yoga and holistic health practices to support balanced hormones and overall better health.

If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on you health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and holistic health coaching packages I offer. I am a qualified Public Health Nutritionist and hatha yoga teacher and my specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after chronic or restrictive dieting. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!

Other posts you might like