Self care that benefits your brain (free for you & me)
Sleep is really important for a healthy, balanced, and regulated brain. Neurofeedback is proven to be very effective with improving sleep cycles. Falling asleep, staying asleep, getting quality sleep, and feeling more rested are often the first measurable improvements. With proper sleep comes a clear, focused and regulated mind. Without proper sleep we will struggle with energy, mood, focus, performance and effective communication in all relationships.
Movement is also vital to a well functioning and regulated brain. Many studies show how daily & weekly movement routines will have a positive impact on sleep, energy, and mood. Some people struggle to create and follow a routine, while others struggle to find the time or energy. A large percentage of us spend most of the day sitting. Whether we choose walking, running, yoga, membership to a gym, or sports; having some regular movement routine is very important to physical as well as mental health. Breath work and meditation are also good to consider for regular practice and in cases where movement is not possible or likely these are good areas to begin.
Water makes up 70-80% of our brain. Hydration is critical to your health, especially related to brain health. To get the best performance from our brain, and to flow through our day with the most possible comfort we should make hydration a key focus of self care daily practice. Setting reminders can be an effective way to slowly add more water into your day. Having a glass or two of water first thing in the morning, and about an hour following meals can be a good standard. Recommendations are for eight 8-oz glasses per day (or about a half-gallon), but individual needs may vary.
Without a good night’s sleep, movement, and daily hydration on a regular basis we are likely to be faced with dysregulation issues related to the brain’s performance. It can be challenging to create and maintain a healthy self care practice. Sometimes we tend to overlook simple small changes we can make in our daily routine that will have a positive overall impact on our health.
While we work on improving brain performance we will focus on reminding clients the importance of valuing and improving sleep, movement, and hydration routines. It’s so wonderful that sleep is often the first thing to improve with measurable results shortly after beginning Neurofeedback.
One more important thing to mention is how habits shape who we are. Few of us have been educated on how repeating behaviors and thought patterns will create strong neural pathways. Learning a new skill or practicing a new habit can take 2-4 weeks to become easier and more automatic. We will discuss how this can be applied to your goals in life to improve regulation gains following sessions
And by the way, the vagus nerve is the most important nerve you probably didn’t know you had, watch this video to know more about the Vagus Nerve and its links to the brain, the heart, lungs and other organs.
