Lifestyle
5 Home Remedies & Tricks For A Clear And Focused Mind
There could be a dozen reasons you have been waking up on the wrong side of the bed lately. It’s common for life-stress, underlying health conditions, or a poor diet to make you feel way-less-than-perky. But life carries on and so must you. If you have been experiencing persistent tiredness, a foggy brain, or just low-life-enthusiasm we have some super-duper-easy home remedies and tricks for you to try!
- Cook with olive oil. Animal studies have shown regular use of olive oil could help prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease. But it also will lift that dreaded brain-fog with its anti-inflammatory properties that combat chronic fatigue caused by inflammation in the brain. You’ll want to make sure you use an appropriate amount of olive oil, as it packs a decent amount of calories in a small drizzle. Alternatives to cooking with olive oil include drizzling it onto salads, over pasta, or soups (like the Italians do.) The journal Aging Cell published a study that showed how extra virgin olive oil lit-up the brain by improving, “synaptic activity, short-term plasticity, memory, and neuropathology in a tauopathy model.” In short, olive oil works diligently to keep your brain young and agile.
- Journal before bed. This one is all about increasing the quality of your sleep. If you have been tired from an ever-growing number of sleepless nights, this might do the trick. It’s not uncommon for our brains to try and work out our worries in our sleep. By taking the time to journal your concerns before sleeping you give your brain a chance to stress-dump its worries, before sleep.
- Drink more water. Let’s do some math. How much water do you drink in a day? Less than six cups? More than seven cups? If you are drinking around seven cups you could assume it’s enough, but we are doing math so we can’t stop there. Next, ask yourself how many caffeinated beverages per day are you drinking? Caffeine dehydrates you so you need to replenish by drinking extra water. Dehydration can negatively impact your cognitive function, making your day seem less than productive. Extreme dehydration could put you in a bad mood, leave you listless, and unable to concentrate. Not enough water could also impact brain structure! Keep in mind that other activities like exercise, cycling, and sun-bathing can dehydrate you as well. Always account for sweat and caffeine, when hydrating.
- Take a power nap after drinking coffee. Okay, so this one is a one-two knockout punch. There are a couple of things happening within the body as you progress through your day. The first thing is the steady release of a neurotransmitter called adenosine, which acts as “a central nervous system depressant.” News Medical describes adenosine like an IV drip, for every hour that you are up levels rise in the brain. This IV drip promotes sleep and suppresses arousal, which is great for when you’re trying to sleep. Anyway, a nap will naturally clear adenosine from the brain, so that’s the first punch. The second punch is drinking coffee or a caffeinated beverage BEFORE you nap. It takes about 45 minutes for the caffeine boost to hit you, says Coffee and Health. When you nap for 20 minutes after ingestion, you clear the competing adenosine from your brain, giving the caffeine more room to do its thing!
- Find/or create a “good mood” playlist. It might not be your first choice, but classical music is brain energy! The soothing melodies of classical music trigger your brain to release dopamine. With dopamine in charge and stress sedated, your brain becomes more focused and your mood more serene. Less scientific explanations have been brought forward. One researcher founded the ‘Mozart Effect,’ his student seemed to have an elevated IQ after listening to the famous composer. Dr.Shaw explained to Symphony Central Coast that he believes classical music opens your brain up to abstract thought. So if you have a long list of to-do’s ahead of you, we recommend some music to cheer you on. We offer everyone a Body Complete Rx Listening experience with our BCRX Groove Workout Playlist. For a listen, find the link on our Instagram Linktree! Let us know if it made you feel all the vibrations.