We all know that we should sleep for seven to eight hours a day. Not completing the hours can significantly impact our ability to perform our daily tasks properly. You can get fatigued and feel too tired to work. Moreover, your body might not function well if you’re not getting enough deep sleep. 

Fortunately, there are practical ways you can improve your sleep quality, starting with understanding what’s keeping you from reaching deep sleep. You can adjust your nighttime routine to explore calming sounds like white noise for infants, which also work wonders for adults. Small changes in your habits can make a big difference in how well you sleep and how energized you feel the next day.

Introduction: The Critical Role of Deep Sleep in Brain and Body Health

Deep sleep stage is also known as delta sleep, slow-wave sleep, or, more recently, N3. It is called delta sleep because of the presence of high-amplitude, low-frequency delta waves that are seen to occur in the EEG. 

It has a major role to play in maintaining overall health. Without proper sleep, your health will start deteriorating slowly. The following are just some of the ways good sleep helps your body stay active. 

• It helps enhance your metabolism

With deep sleep, your metabolism rates get increased. Proper digestion is also ensured with quality sleep. 

• It helps improve memory

Your short-term and long-term memory will also improve if you indulge in deep sleep every day. 

• It simplifies cell regeneration

Cell regeneration gets easier with deep sleep. A regular deep sleep keeps you healthy, and you will be unlikely to suffer from any diseases. 

• It boosts your immune system

Individuals with a weak immune system are likely to suffer a lot of problems. When you sleep for 8 hours regularly and ensure a deep sleep, your immune system will gradually improve.

What is “Enough”? Understanding the Ideal Percentage of Deep Sleep

Deep sleep is the third stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. It usually lasts between 70 to 90 minutes, taking place during the first hours of the night. It is characterized by moderate muscle tone, slow or absent eye movement, and lack of genital activity. Deep sleep is considered important for memory consolidation, declarative memory, and the recovery of the brain from daily activities. 

For healthy adults, 13% to 23% of sleep should be deep sleep. For an average of 8 hours of sleep, that is roughly 60 to 110 minutes spent in deep sleep. Most adults spend close to 25% of each night in REM sleep.

The Prime Suspects: Common Lifestyle Habits That Are Stealing Your Deep Sleep

If you’re not getting enough deep sleep, your daily habits may be the real culprit. Even small lifestyle choices can disrupt your body’s ability to enter and maintain deep sleep. Here are some of the most common lifestyle habits that are stealing your deep sleep: 

• Late-night screen time
• Caffeine and alcohol consumption
• Irregular sleep schedule
• High stress and overthinking
• Poor sleep environment
• Lack of physical activity

The Melatonin Connection: How Light Exposure Disrupts the Deep Sleep Signal

Did you know that exposure to light during sleep makes it difficult for your brain to achieve deeper stages of sleep? The more shallow or light sleep you get at night, the more your brain oscillations that allow you to get to deeper sleep are negatively affected. 

When you’re exposed to light at night, your body’s circadian rhythm is thrown off. As a result, your brain produces less melatonin hormones which otherwise allows you to get sleep. It may be difficult for you to fall asleep and stay asleep because your brain won’t produce enough sleep-inducing melatonin. 

Even if you were able to sleep with lights on, you may not get enough REM sleep. The other stage of sleep is non-REM, which includes light sleep and deep sleep. A lack of deep sleep from light exposure has been linked to the following side effects. 

• Depression
• Obesity
• Accidents
• Increased risk of chronic illnesses

Environment Matters: Optimizing Temperature, Sound, and Darkness for Stage N3

The Stage N3 depends heavily on external factors like temperature, sound, and light. So, if you’re not getting enough deep sleep, these factors might be the reason why. Here’s how you can help your body enter and maintain this stage more easily.

1. Set the right temperature

One way to promote deep sleep is having a cool room. Sleep experts suggest keeping your bedroom between 60°F and 67°F (15°C–19°C). During deep sleep, your core body temperature naturally drops, signaling your brain it’s time to wind down. On the other hand, overly warm environments can interrupt this cooling process. 

2. Control the background noise

Noise disruptions like traffic, snoring, or noisy households can prevent your brain from reaching deep sleep. Consider using white noise for infants, which world just as well for adults, to mask background disturbances. 

3. Implement total darkness

As mentioned before, light exposure can interfere with melatonin production and fragment your sleep cycle. Invest in blackout curtains, eye masks, or dimmable lamps with amber tones to maintain darkness throughout sleep.

Diet and Timing: The Impact of Late Meals, Caffeine, and Alcohol on Sleep Quality

What you consume throughout the day has a direct effect on how easily your body transitions into deep sleep. 

Eating heavy meals too close to bedtime can make it difficult for your body to fully relax. When your digestive system is still working, it raises your core body temperature, which interferes with the natural cooling process needed for deep sleep. It is suggested that you finish your last meal two to three hours before bed. 

Caffeine is another reason why you’re not getting enough deep sleep. It has stimulating effects that can last for up to eight hours, delaying the onset of deep sleep and shortening the amount you get. Consider cutting off caffeine after lunchtime and replacing it with water or herbal teas instead. 

Alcohol, on the other hand, can be sometimes deceptive. While it may help you fall asleep faster, it disrupts the sleep cycle by reducing both REM sleep and deep sleep during the first half of the night, then causing frequent awakenings in the middle of the night. Limit alcohol intake, especially within three hours of bedtime.

Stress and Anxiety: Addressing the Mental Barriers That Keep Your Brain Active

Stress and anxiety can also be the reasons why you’re not getting enough deep sleep. 

When your mind is racing with thoughts, your body remains on high alert, releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that prevent you from fully relaxing. This heightened state of mental activity makes it difficult for your brain to transition into Stage N3, the deep sleep phase responsible for restoration and recovery.

Chronic stress also disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm, causing irregular sleep patterns and frequent awakenings throughout the night. Even if you manage to fall asleep, your brain may stay semi-active, limiting the amount of truly restorative deep sleep you get. Over time, this can lead to fatigue, mood swings, and reduced focus, creating a frustrating cycle where sleeplessness fuels more stress and anxiety.

Simple, Science-Backed Strategies: Actionable Steps to Boost Your Deep Sleep Tonight

If you’re not getting enough deep sleep, try these simple, science-backed strategies to help you achieve those deeper stages of sleep. 

• Stick to a consistent sleep schedule
• Limit screen exposure before bed
• Create a sleep-friendly bedroom
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evening
• Exercise regularly
• Watch your evening meals and drinks
• Wind down gradually

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Maybe you feel distracted at work because of the pain, or maybe you avoid going out because you simply don’t feel up to it physically. The discomfort that is invisible to everyone around you is something you can’t ignore.

Don’t give up just yet! Did you know that magnesium plays a powerful role in your digestive health? It impacts both your digestive lining and muscle movement, helping relieve discomfort and restore function. It may just leave you feeling inspired and equipped to solve your constipation woes after all.

There are many forms of magnesium, all of which support the body in different ways, including your digestive tract. Consuming an adequate amount of magnesium from a variety of foods, such as leafy greens, nuts, seeds, avocado, bananas and potatoes, is ideal to ensure that your total intake meets your body’s needs.

When it comes to digestive health specifically, there are two forms of magnesium that powerfully relieve symptoms: magnesium citrate and magnesium glycinate. These forms target your gut lining and muscles specifically to support calm and healthy digestion. If you eat an array of magnesium-rich foods and still don’t experience symptom relief, supplementing with citrate and/or glycinate may help restore a calm digestive tract.

Whether you are getting your magnesium from food or find yourself supplementing to meet your digestive health needs more specifically, here are five ways this powerful mineral relieves your pain and restores healthy digestive function:

1. It exhibits anti-inflammatory effects. Magnesium can help reduce inflammation throughout your digestive tract, reducing your risk of developing more severe digestive disorders. Decreasing inflammation in the digestive tract also allows your gut to do what it does best: digest and absorb food and nutrients.

2. It activates enzymes and cofactors. Magnesium plays a powerful role in activating the enzymes and cofactors in our food that help us break down protein, fats, and carbohydrates and decrease gas and bloat while doing so. Without magnesium and these cofactors, we can’t absorb as much of what we eat. Consuming adequate magnesium is essential for optimal nutrient absorption.
3. It controls muscle function. Magnesium regulates muscle function (peristalsis) in the digestive tract (and elsewhere). Magnesium is responsible specifically for muscle relaxation, which helps relieve tension, constipation, and bloat. Relief.

4. It regulates our nervous system. This role that magnesium plays is connected to our digestive muscle function. Our nervous system is often referred to as “the second brain” of the gut, and it impacts how our digestive tract moves. Adequate magnesium can help to calm the nervous system, ultimately stimulating peristalsis (digestive tract muscle movement) and the secretion of digestive juices, which boost nutrient absorption at meal time.

5. It helps maintain the integrity of our gut barrier. Magnesium strengthens the tissue of our digestive tract lining, which boosts nutrient absorption and decreases the risk of developing leaky gut syndrome (when harmful substances leak through the gut barrier into our bloodstream). It also may stimulate the proliferation of different probiotic strains in the gut, possibly reducing gas and bloat while boosting nutrient absorption from food.

Constipation is a literal pain to live with, but magnesium could be just the mineral you need to bring you relief and restore a balanced digestive system.

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Being diagnosed with a major medical problem thrusts you into a world that most have had little preparation to cope with. It’s an intense ride filled with medical specialists, information, and recommendations that involve time-sensitive and high pressure decision-making.

When the initial crisis subsides and the team of medical professionals move on to their next case, patients are left wondering- what just happened to me? The aftermath of medical intervention is a vulnerable time.

As a psychotherapist and breast cancer survivor, I’ve experienced this first hand. The hidden trauma of life-threatening medical problems can create deep anguish when you’re not sure of how to deal with it.

To navigate the psychological minefield of major medical problems, the first step is to assess the impact and needs of your body, mind, spirit, and self. Let’s talk about why you want to consider all 4 of these areas to successfully address your needs.

1. The Body. The impact of a medical intervention is often visible to you and everyone around you. There are tests, scans, procedures, and perhaps scars that all come with data and information that you can see and feel. A plan for rehabilitation is often recommended once the crisis has stabilized, which is an important step.

However, what’s often not spoken about is the role the body plays in negotiating traumatic experiences. The stress of the experience is held inside of your body so that you can survive it. As things calm down, you can be blindsided when your body releases what it’s been holding onto.

2. The Mind. Unlike the body, the impact on your mind is much harder to assess. There’s no test tube of blood that can break down into percentages how much anxiety, depression, grief, or uncertainty you feel. Therapists have screening tools that measure by self report the intensity and frequency of mental health symptoms. While important, what the mind needs is the ability to work through what’s happened.

The mind plays a role in helping us survive traumatic experiences. It collects and codes information about your experience, so that it can take action in the future. Your mind can end up being consumed by the desire to feel in control. Without resolution of the trauma you’ve experienced, your mind can become a place where feeling at peace becomes nearly impossible.

3. The Spirit. Independent of how you personally define the spirit, the purpose is often the same. The spirit is a life force that helps you face uncertainty. It’s what brings us hope, and helps us to feel capable, confident, and connected. Your spirit is often tied to your values, purpose, and helps you to make sense of your life and the world around you.

Yet, when a major medical problem occurs, it rocks your sense of safety and security. Some experience this as a loss of faith, of the way things should be, or even a broken promise. All of these factors can challenge your relationship with your spirit at a time when you need it the most.

4. The Self. Your self is your identity- how you perceive who you are and the role you play in your life and the lives of others. A major medical problem can lead to temporary or permanent changes in how you live your life, your routine, your work, and how you take care of yourself and others. It’s not uncommon for people to fear that they’ll never feel like themselves again.

Allowing yourself to grieve is an important part of processing the losses you experience and how it changes your self-perception. It can be incredibly isolating to work through this kind of grief, and you feel guilty or ashamed. If this is happening for you, it’s a red flag that you need to take seriously.

As you can tell, navigating the psychological minefield of major medical problems is a complex process. What’s important to remember is that it’s not impossible. By taking time to slow down and create emotional space for reflecting, you can begin to understand what you need and from there find the support, resources, and guidance you need for healing.

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There are many types of treatment, therapies, and lifestyle modifications that can be made to help improve sleep quality and quantity, but a melatonin supplement is often the first thing that comes to mind when people are looking for better sleep. While it doesn’t require much effort to start taking a melatonin supplement, is it the best option to turn to?

Melatonin Supplement Safety

First, it’s important to be aware that melatonin products are not approved or regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. They’re sold as dietary supplements and under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, the FDA set the regulatory framework for supplements but they do not set standards for the contents or nutrient composition of a product, or take responsibility for their labeling claims, safety or effectiveness. Instead, it’s the responsibility of the dietary supplement company to ensure they meet safety standards and labeling requirements.

A recent analysis that appeared in the Journal of American Medical Association, found that out of the 25 melatonin gummies they tested, 22 of the products did not contain the amount of melatonin that was listed on the respective label. The doses of melatonin ranged from 74% to 347% of what was listed on the label, while one of the products didn’t contain any melatonin at all despite advertising it did.

Variations in melatonin dosage have even been found within different pills from the same bottle. These dosage differences can occur because there isn’t strict regulation from the Food and Drug Administration.

Melatonin & Sleep

Melatonin is a natural hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles and is released in the evening when the eyes begin perceiving darkness to help prepare the body for sleep. Once light appears in the morning, melatonin production decreases so the body can begin to wake up. Levels of melatonin start to decline at puberty and as we age, sleep periods become much shorter due to less melatonin production.

While a melatonin supplement can be a great solution when we need to adjust the sleep-wake cycle due to jet lag or temporary sleep routine disturbances, it’s not a great option for long-term use. Headaches, sleepiness during the day, dizziness, irritability, and feelings of depression are commonly reported side effects with long-term melatonin supplement use.

You can actually get melatonin, plus additional nutritional benefits, from certain foods such as tart cherry juice, tomatoes, pistachios, and egg yolks. A 2018 study found that adults reporting insomnia that drank an 8-ounce glass of tart cherry juice in the morning and 1-2 hours before bedtime, were able to extend their sleep by 84 minutes. The Montmorency variety of cherry is the specific type of cherry used to make this juice, and in addition to providing melatonin, it also contains polyphenols that can help with sleep and reduce inflammation.

A melatonin supplement won’t address the root cause of insomnia so while it may help with sleep initially, it’s not the ultimate solution. The truth is, there most likely isn’t one solution to getting back to better sleep for most people. It’s a combined effort of addressing dietary choices, physical activity, stress management, and sometimes will require cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, referred to as CBT-I.

Working with a healthcare professional to address the underlying reasons for the sleep troubles will provide longer lasting results than relying on supplements and risking additional adverse effects that could impact your daily life.

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What would “expanded living”, or living your life fully, look and feel like to you? When I’ve asked that question, I’ve heard answers like these:

“I’d be experiencing more joy and spontaneity, doing more of what I really love to do”

“I would be having lots of love and closeness”

“I’d be sharing my creative or spiritual gifts with others, bringing more beauty and healing into the world”

Statistics show, however that these are fleeting experiences for most people. According to the US Census Bureau’s report from February 2023, 32.3% of all U.S. adults reported symptoms of depressive and/or anxiety disorders. The percentage swung up to 49.9% for young adults 18 – 24. Sadly, many struggle with feelings of their life being broken.

Here are 3 proven secrets to help you release the burden of trauma from your body and mind, and revitalize your life. They are simple, yet extremely powerful.

1. Feel the Field

Quantum Physics has shown us that everything is composed of energy and is inter-connected to everything else. This field of pure energy and consciousness fills the Universe. Doesn’t matter if you call if God, Tao, Christ, Universal Love or the Quantum Field.

In my view trauma, depression and anxiety, at their root, are based in beliefs and feelings of separation from this universal field. Yet the amazing truth is that you can sense this inner radiance within your own body.

All you need to do to feel it is to stop, relax, step back from your thoughts and center within. Allow yourself to feel the tranquil, tingly energy that is your essence. Affirm to yourself that you are always connected to this source of all good, and could never really be separate. Seek out friends or mentors who will support you in this truth.

2. Ground Your Good

Stress is associated with ungrounded energy in your body. Ungrounded energy tends to scatter all over the place, creating chaotic thoughts and feelings.

The Master Hookup is an easy method for grounding yourself. Gently touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, slightly behind your two front upper teeth. Now breathe deeply into your lower belly. It is very difficult to feel anxious or stressed while you are doing that!

3. Embrace Your Essence

Hugs work wonders. Here’s a way to hug hurting parts of yourself, called the Inner Embrace. It is based on the truth taught by Buddha that every thought or emotion you have is connected to a specific part of your body.

Whenever you’re feeling stressed or even mildly traumatized, try to slow down your thoughts and stories about the upset, and instead ask yourself  “in what location in my body am I most feeling this?” Trust where you are guided.

Another strategy is to place the palm of one of your hands over that area. Drop your attention there consciously breathing in and out of it.

Also practice the Master Hookup. While continuing to breathe into this part of your body, gently contract your muscles around it, giving yourself an internal hug. For example, if you feel the hurting part in your lower belly, gently tighten the muscles of your lower belly and lower back at the same time. Decide to send your love into this area. Continue for the inner embrace for a few minutes until you feel more calm and cozy.

These 3 secrets retrain you to rely less on the thoughts of your mind and more on your body when you are starting to feel stressed. By committing to these practices you discover how you can take charge of your inner state of mind. This is self-mastery.

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Is this you? Go on a diet, lose weight. Go off the diet, gain the weight back. Feel like a failure for not having the willpower to stay on a diet. Decide you are destined for a life of battling your weight.

I could never stay on a diet for more than a day. I always felt miserable and desperate to go back to eating whatever I wanted. I was obsessed with being thin, but I could rarely get there and was never able to stay there. It was a constant battle for me. I even went to Overeaters Anonymous for a brief 35 years. I remember my teens and twenties in increments of weight and pants size. I hovered somewhere between 115 and 175.

I finally realized that if I was going to be thin, it wasn’t going to be from no stinkin’ diet: It was going to be when 100% of me wanted to be thin. I am now 125 at 5’3″, and I never weigh myself, because it doesn’t matter. Here is my gift to you:

1. Love Your Body Just As It Is: Start by loving your body – the miraculous vehicle that houses your spirit and takes you from point A to point B on this great earthly adventure and for purposes of growing your soul – just as it is. It’s no one’s business what size you are, and all bodies are perfect and beautiful exactly the way they are. You can feel beautiful at whatever size you are and simultaneously have a goal for sometime in the future.

2. Understand Schizophrenic Weight Conundrum: Your body instinctively knows what your ideal weight is for health and for protection. And it’s not necessarily the same number. The answer to the “I want to be thin I can’t lose weight” conundrum is getting to the root of the conflict going on inside you.

3. My Schizophrenic Weight Conundrum: My father made it clear to me that he did not want me loving anyone other than him. He criticized all my boyfriends and best girlfriends up one side and down the other. When I was 21, he became enraged after I spent the night with another man.

When I was 16, my father started telling me way TMI about his sexual prowess and all the women he was “sexually attracted to” and why – what 16-year-old wants to hear that? Add to that his lectures on how men are only attracted to ‘slender’ women (translation: I am only attracted to slender women; get slender for me).

I needed to be heavy so Daddy wouldn’t be attracted to me, and I needed to be thin so Daddy would approve of me. Plus, being thin meant, according to Daddy, being attractive to men, and I knew that would upset him horribly.

In addition, I was sexually assaulted, during which the man told me I was a “tease with my tight little ass in my tight little jeans.” I gained 50 pounds in a month after that.

4. Think Back on the Hidden Messages: When something happens to traumatize you when you are thin because you are thin, or when things happen to convince you that you are safer with extra weight on your body, the part of you with the more pressing need wins.

5. The Formula for Healing: Get a journal. Write down why you want to be thin and also what that scares you about being thin. Write about all the times you were hurt in a relationship and/or inappropriately brought into someone’s sexual energy field. Describe how it felt each time it happened. Write angry letters and then rip them up. Make a list of all the emotions that have been churning around causing you to be conflicted in the area of weight, food, and love. Get with an EFT Practitioner or tapping partner and tap on those feelings, saying what triggers you to feel those feelings and when you first remember feeling them, and do some inner child visualization re-do’s. Forgive yourself for not knowing how to fend off hurtful behavior by parents or others, and understand that you have done your best to take care of you.

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When was the last time you paid attention to your feet? Chances are, unless you are getting a pedicure, a massage or are experiencing pain, your feet are the last thing you think about. We shove them into shoes, elevate our heels, slam them into pavement as we run, and expect them to carry our entire weight all day, (or all night) without a second thought…until we develop bunions, hammer toes, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs or any number of other foot “issues.” These painful and expensive problems don’t happen by accident. They are connected to how you walk, stand, and move through your life.

There’s a saying, “How you do one thing is how you do everything.” What is happening to your feet is the result of different life choices, you were not born this way. Your feet are full of information. Everything that happens “down there” impacts your hips, back, your thoughts and your mood. Think about how cheerful you feel after stubbing your toe.

Everyone, from Oprah to the National Institute for Health tout walking as the new elixir of life. But how can you start a walking practice if you are in pain? It doesn’t matter how beautiful the scenery is if it hurts with every step. Americans spend millions of dollars on special shoes, treatments, orthotics and surgeries every year to correct problems that could have been avoided with just a little attention.

Here are a few simple things you can do to keep your feet happy.

1. Find your balance point. In standing take a few minutes to feel how your bare feet touch the ground. What are the clear points of contact? Does it feel heavier to the inside or the outside of your feet? Is it different on one foot or the other? Is it heavier in the heels or the balls of the feet? Your feet have three balance/push off points – under the ball of your foot behind your big toe, your fourth toe and your heel. Play with shifting your balance along those three points and see how it feels up in your hips. Experiment with how you hit the floor and push off as you walk.

2. Play with your toes. Wearing toe separators is not always the solution because your metatarsal bones actually have many joints that connect with your arch and other foot bones. Trying to force a change will only confuse your feet. Instead, take a few minutes every day to gently rotate, bend and lengthen each toe. Without using force, explore interlacing the toes of a foot with the fingers of your hand, from the top and then the bottom of your foot. Bend and straighten your toes. It may seem impossible at first, but if you pay attention and take your time, your toes will eventually relax and create space.

3. Free up your ankles. Just doing a bunch of ankle circles doesn’t do much, although it can feel good if you’re stiff. Instead, try this either sitting in a chair, or lying down with your legs bent with your feet flat on the floor. Try with one foot at a time to lift the inside of your arch. Hold onto your leg so your knee doesn’t move. Do it gently, allowing your ankle to move out while your knee stays still. If it feels easy, you can speed it up. Try the other foot and see if it feels different. Then try lifting outer edge of your foot. You’ll notice that your toes want to do the job. See if you can keep your toes relaxed and your knee still. You need to move slowly and delicately at first to release the ankle. Your ankles are crucial for aligning your feet as you walk.

4. Do the chicken scratch. Stand, holding onto a chair or the wall for balance, Kick one leg backward as if you were scratching the earth like a chicken. Or maybe kicking sand at something behind you. Let your foot sweep the earth going backwards and let your knee go backward as well. When you’ve tried it with each leg, try taking a few steps doing the “chicken scratch walk.” This will help your push off and give more power to your walk.

5. Master silly walks. It may sound crazy, but spending a few minutes finding different walking patterns lubricates your hips, frees up your back and changes how your feet hit the ground. Not only that, but according to a study conducted by Arizona State University, silly walking also burns more calories. Try walking pigeon toed or duck footed for a few steps. Lift your knees high or play with the chicken scratch above. Swing your arms and hips in a crazy fashion. You might start a trend. And your feet will find new ways of connecting with the ground.

Walking is a human birthright. And with happy feet, you’ll find that every part of you feels a little happier as well!

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Coffee connects with your brain, potentially cranking it up and helping you to think more clearly. It can also lift your mood by, for instance, boosting levels of certain feel-good neurotransmitters. Accordingly, some studies show that drinking more coffee (and green tea) lowers the risk of depression.

1. Coffee Supports Gut Health

Now we’re learning some of these benefits may spring from coffee’s impact on your gut bacteria. The gut is your “second brain:” The two are connected by a biological superhighway known as the gut-brain axis. Gut bacteria manage the flow of chemical messengers on this two-way route. They also produce some mood-enhancing substances themselves — for instance, about 90 percent of your body’s supply of serotonin (known as the happy hormone).

Coffee plays on this team because it’s high in phytonutrients, including polyphenols. Polyphenols are establishing a reputation as “superfoods” for your friendly gut bacteria. Research shows that drinking coffee diversifies these bacterial settlers, which supports emotional equilibrium.

Coffee is also high in antioxidants, which support the growth of bacteria that fight inflammation. Not only are people suffering from depression likely to show markers of inflammation, but their gut microbes also differ from those residing in healthier individuals.

2. Microbes Shape Your Mood

Research shows that supplementing with specific strains of bacteria diminishes depression in certain individuals. Moreover, numerous studies indicate that fecal transplants of “healthy” or “depression-related” bacteria can alter behavior accordingly. Some researchers believe that unhealthy guts spark depression, in part by disrupting how the body processes certain nutrients.

Consider tryptophan. This essential amino acid that stimulates activity on the gut-brain axis, sparking serotonin production. Tryptophan helps to control inflammation and low blood levels of tryptophan are associated with anxiety and depression.

Basically, your gut bacteria mediate how your body processes tryptophan. A healthy microbiome makes efficient use of the tryptophan you provide but bacterial imbalance compromises your body’s ability to process the nutrient. Unsurprisingly, one study showed that supplementing with a specific probiotic fuelled the production of tryptophan.

3. A Healthy Gut Keeps You Grounded

When your microbial ecosystem is humming along (with friendly bacteria in control), it’s producing neurotransmitters that help to keep you grounded. On the other hand, when “bad guys” dominate you are more vulnerable to losing a battle with the blues.

And here’s an ironic twist:  Stress makes you vulnerable to craving foods that upset your microbial applecart. Studies show that distressed people prefer sweet or high-fat foods because they stimulate pleasure centers in the brain. Unfortunately, they can also reshape the bacterial composition of your gut, eroding your ability to handle stress.

Scientists have been surprised by how quickly a fast-food diet triggers an inflammatory response and sends your microbes heading south. After 10 days of eating only processed foods, one subject lost nearly half of the bacterial species residing in his gut. Predictably, research has linked fast food intake with the probability of feeling depressed.

4. A Mood Boosting Diet

We’ve long understood the connections between mood and food — for instance that consuming complex carbohydrates like whole grains and legumes helps to keep you on an even keel. But now branches of science like nutrigenomics are identifying how these biological pathways work. The possibility of using “psychobiotic diets” to treat mood disorders is looming on the horizon and a new specialty, “nutritional psychiatry,” is springing up at medical institutions around the world.  

While beneficial bacteria can support the brain, the body is an extremely complex system. Scientists acknowledge it’s doubtful we’ll find a magic microbial bullet that works for everyone. Similarly, if you’re keen to keep the blues at bay, focusing on specific mood-enhancing foods like coffee, green tea and dark chocolate is too limited. For many reasons the best strategy for buttressing emotional health is simple and two-pronged: avoid ultra-processed foods and eat a balanced diet featuring plenty of plant foods.

Research shows that eating a plant-focused diet for as little as one day boosts the ratio of “good guy” bacteria in your gut. The Mediterranean diet (focused on plant-based foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts, plus healthy fats obtained mainly from fish and olive oil) is one of the most studied dietary approaches. It’s been shown to raise the ratio of beneficial gut bacteria and build resilience to stress.

Moreover, the Mediterranean Diet has been specifically linked with relief from depression. Nutritional psychiatry is rapidly developing but the preliminary findings are compelling. You can eat to beat the blues, in part because the friendly critters residing in your gut will help you to achieve that goal.

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There is often a correlation between the greater success or goals we have in our professional life and our health taking the back burner. Quotes like “nobody cares, work harder” and “I’ll sleep when I am dead” may have a purpose in driving you to go all in on yourself; However, we seem to forget that without our health everything we are working for will cease to matter.

What if I told you that you can create more success if you found balance and included investing in your health and well-being? That’s exactly what I am here to do.

Here are 4 reasons why the healthier you are, the more success you achieve.

1. Mental Clarity and Energy: When we have brain fog and are running on empty, we are less productive and our attention to detail as well as efficiency usually suffers. If you start to prioritize sleep, hydration, and even 30 minutes of movement in the morning everything will shift. Once a zombie pushing through-the-day attitude will turn into having more joy throughout the day, you will have more clarity on your goals, plans, and structure. You may even find more time to complete tasks because you implement these into your daily life.

2. Confidence: This is a big one. There is no question that the more confident we are, the more success is to follow. Investing in your physical and mental health will bring you more confidence. You can put on any outfit you choose with no second looks. You will show up to presentations or to close deals with a more vibrant demeanor. Even your intimate relationships get deeper because of the confidence you now have in your skin. There is no downside to increased confidence in personal or professional settings.

3. Retirement: Why work so hard to retire just to be so burnt out and unhealthy by the time retirement comes you can’t enjoy it? Focusing on your health now will allow you to reap the benefits of a fruitful retirement later. If you think investing in your health is expensive now, wait to you see what the medical costs are.

4. Success: Ultimately when you take care of yourself you have more to give to everyone else. Your relationships, profession, networking, and even goals will start naturally being more successful when you aren’t living from a place of low self-esteem, and low energy and then ending the day not wanting to invest in the people closest to you. Invest in yourself, you are your greatest asset.

Focusing on your health, when done correctly can bring you more joy and success in every area of life. There are no good reasons not to and unlimited reasons to do it. It starts with you!

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We need our habits. Without good habits, you’d have to plan every step you take: how to hold your toothbrush, put on your shirt, or even how to start your car and back out of the driveway. Without them, the simple tasks would become overwhelming.

Along with these practical habits, other habits develop over our lifetime. These aren’t just the behavioral habits we struggle with, like “I need to eat less” or “I have to start going to the gym.” Even the way you choose to walk or stand is a habit. So is how you listen to others and how you use your voice.

Some choices were useful for a time but now are not only unnecessary—they could even be robbing you of energy and happiness. These habits are so invisible that they feel like a part of you. How could they have anything to do with your well-being?

For instance, a person who grew up in a family where “wiggling the hips” was frowned upon might later discover that holding the pelvis still for many years caused back pain or even arthritis in the hips. There are many good reasons for rounding the back or hunching the shoulders: emotional trauma, carrying a backpack, imitating an adult role model, and more. Even if you want to change, it might seem impossible. “Whenever I tell my shoulders to go down, thirty seconds later, they’re back up again!”

Whether you want to improve your posture, overcome anxiety, or relieve back pain, using force will only take you so far. However, there is another way—one that is pleasurable, interesting, and just a bit revolutionary. It involves doing less, not more.

Current wisdom advises that you should move more—walk, exercise, do yoga, etc. After all, humans have been moving for at least a million years. The human body is designed to move, not to stand (or sit) still for long periods. But movement alone is not enough. Your movement habits can actually contribute to injuries—from torn rotator cuffs to plantar fasciitis.

So how do you create new ways of moving? And how can this help with something like anxiety? The truth is, how you move is how you move through life. The way you walk, your facial expressions, and where you hold your tension all tell the story of your life. And these habits are often the reason for physical discomfort. By learning to become aware of your movement habits, you can begin to reprogram not just your physical habits but your mental and emotional ones as well.

Try this: Sense the distance between your shoulders and your ears. Does this area feel relaxed or tense? Notice your breath. Very slowly, begin to raise one shoulder in the direction of your ear. Then, just as slowly, lower it. Repeat this a couple of times. Notice how you breathe, and where you tense or relax in other places as you do this. After a few repetitions, hold your shoulder as close to your ear as possible. Then slowly lower it. Sense how that shoulder feels now, and notice the difference between the two shoulders.

What you just experienced is a tiny experiment in movement and attention—what is called somatic movement. Some call this mindful movement, but you’re not just thinking. You are intentionally sensing and feeling as you move. “Somatic” comes from the Greek word soma, which means body. Somatic movement uses small, slow movements that give you time to actually experience your movement habits. You will learn to relax, use less energy to accomplish more, and even stay calm in tense situations. By slowing down and paying attention, you will begin to recognize the habits that get in the way of your well-being and happiness—one movement at a time.

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