Exercise for 5 minutes, try a pumpkin recipe and 6 more health tips to help you have a great week
Hello, Yahoo Life readers. My name is Kaitlin, and I am here to share the best wellness tips from around the internet this week.
Seeking some serenity after a nail-biting week? Yahoo Life spoke with experts about ways to calm yourself down quickly. One stress-fighting tip offered by Jenny Woo, an emotional intelligence researcher and founder and CEO of Mind Brain Emotion, is the 5-4-3-2-1 method. It’s simple: When anxiety strikes, identify and name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.
In the meantime, check out the weather in your area, and, if you are so inclined, consult your horoscope. Then read the wellness bites below.
?? Add pumpkin to your diet
Got any leftover pumpkins you didn’t carve up for Halloween? Eat ’em! The humble pumpkin ranked high on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of the most nutrient-dense produce, and for good reason. The winter squash boasts chronic disease-fighting antioxidants, fiber and potassium, the latter of which is known for blood pressure regulation. There are many ways to enjoy it: Whip up a sweet treat like pumpkin bread, make a pasta sauce with it or spoon some into a smoothie. Too lazy to carve one up? Canned pumpkin is just as nutritious.
?? Move — even for just 5 minutes
Replacing a sedentary behavior — like sitting or standing — with five minutes of exercise could lower your blood pressure, according to new research published in Circulation. Think of it as “exercise snacking,” or little bursts of physical activity that are easy to sneak into your day. Try it yourself: Get up from your desk to take a quick walk around the office, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or do jumping jacks while you’re in front of the TV.
?? Celebrate yourself
You may think that only major wins are worth celebrating, but honoring the small stuff can be a great way to keep yourself motivated and positive, licensed social worker Raven Stralow of Hello Joy Therapy told Teen Vogue. Doing so often, she explained, means you’ll start to see “celebrating yourself as a means of resiliency.” Did you ace a work project or get through a difficult but necessary conversation with a friend? Honor those experiences by jotting them down on a personal “win” board, or treat yourself to a night out or a fun activity.
?? Try some mindless entertainment
Watching reruns of a sitcom may not seem like the most productive way to spend your time, but it’s one strategy that can help you get some sleep when you’re stressed and overthinking, Cali Bahrenfuss, a clinical sleep health educator, told Time. In general, TV before bed has a bad rap from sleep experts, but Bahrenfuss says that when you’re ruminating, watching something light and funny can redirect your mind into a more positive space. “I’d rather somebody turn on their favorite episode of Seinfeld and relax than continue to sit there in their misery and let their brain go down that worry hole for hours and hours,” she said.
?? Stop telling yourself ‘scary stories’
Feeling stuck in your life? It may be because you’re living in fear, psychologist Craig Kain told Parade. Constantly catastrophizing about the worst-case scenarios and telling yourself “scary stories” may hold you back from making changes that are good for you. That could look like canceling your gym membership for fear of embarrassing yourself in a workout class, or even declining a job promotion because you’re worried about failing. Instead of living in fear, Kain says to practice “labeling” these stories you tell yourself as exactly what they are: works of fiction made up in your brain.” This moves these stories from the emotional part of our brain to “the part of our brain that can reason,” he said. At that point, it’s easier to push past those fear-inducing thoughts.
?? Work out harder to lose weight
One tricky thing about exercising for weight loss is that moving your body more tends to make you hungrier. However, new research from the University of Virginia found that intense exercise, specifically, may actually lead to a reduced appetite. Though the small study included only 14 healthy participants, it found that intense exercise was better than moderate exercise in lowering levels of ghrelin, the hormone linked to hunger. Just make sure you’re still getting enough protein in your diet, as it can help you maintain crucial muscle mass while exercising.
?? Try this tip to stop clenching your teeth
Clenching your jaw can lead to uncomfortable side effects, like sore teeth and even headaches. If you’re a nighttime clencher, your dentist can find out if a night guard may help — but for those who do most of their clenching during the day due to stress, Dr. Matthew Messina, an associate professor at the Ohio State University College of Dentistry, told Today that there’s a simple exercise you can do to stop clenching in its tracks. Take a deep breath in through your nose and hold it for a count of four, then slowly exhale through your mouth for another count of four. Place your palms on the sides of your face with your fingers spread, and gently slide your fingers down the sides of your face and onto your neck. Finish by taking one more deep, cleansing breath to fully relax your jaw muscles.
?? Eat your omegas
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are found in fish oil supplements, may help reduce the risk of various cancers, including those of the colon, stomach and brain, a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer found. Before you start popping a new supplement, talk to your doctor about whether fish oil could be right for you, as some research suggests there may be negative health side effects for healthy individuals. In the meantime, consider incorporating more omega-3- and omega-6-rich foods into your diet by eating fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines or adding walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds to your dishes. You can also use plant-based oils like flaxseed oil and sunflower oil in things like salad dressings for an extra boost.
More wellness tips:
Play Sudoku — it can improve your memory
Get light exposure early in the morning to help yourself fall asleep faster at night
Add apple cider vinegar to your diet — it may improve your blood sugar levels
Drink green tea for the potential cholesterol benefits