For the sake of better health, I want you to think seriously and honestly about what habits are impacting negatively on your health and what can you can do to avoid those triggers.
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If you, your child, or someone you love has been diagnosed with ADHD, you will be familiar with the memory problems, anxious thoughts, difficulty concentrating, agitation, moodiness and irritability.
These are also signs of stress in (apparently) neuro-typical individuals. Children with ADHD particularly are more prone to stress than other kids which can compound symptoms, making symptoms worse and increasing stress further still. This is because executive function is located in our prefrontal cortex, which is especially vulnerable to the elevation of brain chemicals caused by stress. The prefrontal cortex matures later in childhood. This maturity is delayed in kids with ADHD. In short, stress makes ADHD worse.
Reducing stressors is an absolute must for all beings, but especially our neuro-divergent loved ones, particularly our children. Spending time in nature with our feet in the grass or sand. Fun and laughter. Interaction with friends and family. Daily exercise in the sunshine. Avoiding processed foods, artificial colours and flavourings and prioritising good sleep are essential for healthy brain function and development.
This is where adaptogenic herbs can gently help reduce stress response and improve cognition, memory and learning. Depending on the individual, there are a range of nutraceuticals that also show good results in improving ADHD symptoms. You can read about some of these here. It’s pertinent to note that there are a range of pathologies and intolerances that contribute to ADHD, or that may exist as a co-morbidities to ADHD, and taking a bottle of vitamins off the shelf may include ingredients that elevate symptoms rather than calm them.
Natural medicine is effective at improving ADHD symptoms. If you’d like to explore the options available to you please book an appointment. Through Wild Grace Health you can access extensive testing and a full health assessment to determine a personalised treatment plan for you.
If you need to be woken up in the morning – either by an alarm clock or by another person, then you’re not getting enough sleep. Many of my naturopath and massage clients report they have trouble sleeping. You can give yourself a better chance of a good night by following your body’s natural rhythms and these guidelines. .
Below I’ve listed nineteen - yes that’s NINETEEN - things you can do to improve your sleep at night.
Have a regular time of getting up out of bed. Regardless of what time you were in bed the night before get up at the same time each day.
Avoid lying in bed for long amounts of time worrying about sleeping. If you’ve been in bed for more than 30 minutes – or what feels like 30 minutes and your worried about sleeping – get up and go do something else in dim light (a few yoga stretches are ideal here) and then go back to bed when you’re sleepy.
Avoid napping during the day – limit to a 20 minute powernap in the afternoon if necessary.
Spend time outside in natural light during the day
Avoid eating foods that may interrupt sleep such as acidic citrus, wine, beer or fatty foods that may cause indigestion.
Avoid Bright light exposure late in the evening, particularly blue light from electronic device screens. Turn off your devices at least half an hour and ideally an hour before bed. Sorry, no more scrolling your phone in the middle of the night.
Avoid big heavy meals or sweaty workouts in the three hours before bed as the can be stimulating for your body and brain.
Make your room as dark as possible – remove all sources of light, such as digital clocks and the little lights that might be admitted from electronic equipment such as stereos or laptop charging plugs. This is because light interrupts your production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Use a comfortable mattress and pillow for comfort and support
Reserve your bedroom for sleeping and making love
Avoid thinking about troubling issues before bed. Allocate time earlier in the evening or day to worry and problem solve
Eliminate all stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, soft drinks and nicotine, completely if possible but particularly after 3pm
Reduce or eliminate alcohol – even one glass of wine interferes with healthy sleep and you wake feeling tired.
Avoid illicit drugs – these mess with you and your sleep
Avoid having pets in the bedroom, and children (joke!). This is a tough one, obviously this comes down to personal choice and many of us choose to sacrifice good sleep in order to make our loved ones feel secure. The kids may take a few years to grow up and forgo their midnight cuddles, but if you can at least make a special sleeping space for your pets that’s not on your head, your health will be better for it.
Try drinking a herbal tea before bed. Chamomile is wonderful, so is lavender, passionflower, lemon balm and oat straw. I’ve put all these gorgeous sleepy herbs in a delicious Sleep Tea blend, available in the Wild Grace Tea Shop.
Have a warm bath before bed – extra points for placing Epsom or magnesium salts in the bath, lavender essential oil is wonderful for inducing sleep also.
19 degrees celsius is the optimal temperature for good sleeping.
Create a bedtime routine for yourself: Set aside 30 – 60 minutes for winding down with a bath, self massage, breathwork, yoga, a meditation and listening to sleepy music. Spotify have some great playlists.
Naturopath and Shiatsu Massage therapist with a great wellness blog
The part of this story I am thinking about the most though, is the way my hand jumped when writing his name.
When a high-profile case like this becomes news, the language used by the media and the outspoken medical professionals is around holistic medicine being 'alternative' and not effective.
It’s extraordinary that I was present when my father passed suddenly. Mainly because we live on opposite sides of the country, and I’ve only seen my dad for a handful of days in the last 15 months. I have shared the story of our last day here.
Flowers are the fertile expression of plants, they are the nectar, they are creative manifestations of divine love and life force. Flower essences capture the subtle healing properties of flowers in a safe and affordable way. It’s incredibly easy to make your own flower essences, and you can do so safely with any flowers you have in your garden.
This is a great example of how chemicals in many household cleaning and personal care products are assumed safe until proven harmful, when perhaps they should be assumed harmful until proven safe.
Both ultra processed foods and tobacco 'are legal, easily accessible, inexpensive, lack an intoxication syndrome, and are major causes of preventable death."
Some 'to-do's' have significantly more positive impact on your life than others.
This is a really simple, nourishing and easy one pot dinner, with plenty of protein and fibre and some healthy fat.
It's the kind of soup where you know you're looking after yourself with every slurp. The spices and ginger have some wonderful anti-inflammatory properties. It's inexpensive, easy, and counts as self-care points for the day.
A shiatsu at Wild Grace is a spiritual experience. Healing occurs in both physical and spiritual planes. A shiatsu involves breathwork, massage to physically manipulate and stretch muscles, and the use of healing sound to move energy out and through. At times I may guide you through healing imagery, and you may receive guidance from your spiritual support crew.
Here are some of most medicinal foods for your immune system, chosen for the phytochemical properties:
New research with some surprising new information on preventing and treating long covid, with some tips to make it accessible at home.
I’m always on a mission to eat the healthiest foods possible. Here’s twelve of the most nutritionally dense foods in our supermarkets and tips on how to eat them.
Have you noticed that you're gaining weight but don't think you've made any change to diet and lifestyle? Or it used to be easy to drop a couple of kg by cutting out snacks and exercising a little more but now that doesn't seem to be working. In fact, your jeans just keep getting smaller.
If you have chronic disordered digestive function, irritable bowel, weight gain, inflammation, low energy, autoimmune or chronic mental illness a thorough investigation into your microbiome can provide a very solid basis upon which to build a treatment plan and resolve your symptoms.
and maybe it was a missed opportunity to role model healthy self esteem and masterful life skills.
a gentle reminder to bring mindfulness to your dinner table and as an in-depth guide to how you can nourish yourself and your family with ease and joy.
Some herbs, like licorice, can interfere with the attachment of viruses to host cells and prevent their entry into the cell, helping prevent an infection from taking place.
I woke up minus the sore throat albeit with a husky voice, and no snot has overcome me.
Shiatsu is it's a combination of lightwork and deep physical manipulation of musculature. Rhythmic breathing and meditative music means you float out of the massage room feeling like you're walking on a cloud.
We all have a dialogue in our heads with a running commentary about our lives and opportunities. Do you let that voice diminish and debase you? Or do you train that voice to be on your team?
For the sake of better health, I want you to think seriously and honestly about what habits are impacting negatively on your health and what can you can do to avoid those triggers.