Every single month, my body sends me a signal that I need to slow down. Yes, I’m referring to my menstrual cycle. This cycle is biologically necessary in the bodies of mature females if life as we know it is going to continue.

I wish I could go back and tell my 16 year old self that nothing had happened to justify calling the police. Instead, I can only watch the playback in my mind of the call I placed to my mom to let her know what was happening.

What is it that makes resting so hard? Is it the fact that we feel we’re letting others down? I think it is. I know whenever I get sick there’s a complicated reaction that takes place in my gut.

You might not like coffee, but you drink tea, or soda, or energy drinks. We all consume caffeine pretty regularly, so let’s talk about what it does to our brains - the good and the ugly.

So what happens when there is too much sugar in your diet? Well, a lot. Too much sugar can affect your mood, weaken your body’s ability to cope with stress, and increase your risk for developing depression. Cutting back on sugar can trigger withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, irritability, confusion, and fatigue (Lindberg, 2020).

The brain undergoes lots of development and change during the teen years. Introducing something like alcohol can lead to lasting consequences. When you drink, your hippocampus is immediately affected; however, drinking can have long-term effects too. Alcohol has the potential to damage or kill cells in the hippocampus, which helps with learning and memory.

One was that I didn’t change everything about what I was already doing, I actually started with what I already had. I didn’t go and buy a bunch of specialized diet food, but instead took a look at what I was already eating and started cutting down my portion size based on what I actually needed instead of going by my cravings. This, along with buying a kitchen food scale to help me measure portions, made me come to terms with what my body would use in relation to how much exercise I was getting, and the nutrients that were right for me for each day.

Being sick always comes at the most inconvenient times. It never seems to come on a rainy day when no one wants to be outside. Instead you always find yourself stuck indoors on the most beautiful days feeling terrible with only the desire to lay in bed or on the couch. For most of my life I would turn to watching movies when I was sick. You don’t really feel like doing anything else, so you just stare at a screen, not really enjoying the movie or even processing what is going on. It took me a number of years to realize that this type of behaviour wasn’t even restful for me while I was sick. It usually made my headache far worse and my sickness would just be drawn out. What your body really needs is a rest from your normal everyday habits. 

Do you ever have recurring dreams? You wake up in the middle of the night or the early hours of the morning and remember distinctly what happened in the dream and then you say, oh I have had this dream before, multiple times actually. This happens to me all the time. One dream in particular that I have been having recently is getting locked out of my locker from high school. Now I should tell you that I have already been out of high school for over 10 years, so why does this dream keep coming up and why am I gripped with such terror when I am in the middle of this dream?

We’ve all had those days where we take a water bottle to our work day or school and at the end of the day, the water bottle is only half gone. In 8 hours, you’ve only drank maybe 8 oz of water. Drinking lots of water doesn't seem like a big deal unless you’re thirsty. We can all manage with just a little water everyday, but we should really be prioritizing this small part of taking care of ourselves. Creating and keeping up with this goal can make a huge difference.

In today’s world, there are countless distractions to keep our minds running and our bodies on the go. When it’s time to finally rest, the cards are stacked against us. If you’ve found it hard to turn off the fast-flying thoughts or to get that heart rate down when it’s time to sleep, here are a few ideas and why they will help. 

Exercise works wonders on the brain. Our bodies were created to move! Whether through dancing, swimming, running, weight training, boxing, etc., something beautiful happens when you choose to make activity a consistent part of your week. Walking is often underestimated as a way to exercise, but it is a great and simple way to take care of your body and improve brain health. It is also a great starting point if you’re wanting to get into other forms of exercise too.