Category Archives: Mental Health

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Compelling Reasons Why You Should Smile More

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Compelling Reasons Why You Should Smile More

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Often you may think that smiling is a reflex reaction in response to things that inspire laughter. However, this may be untrue because there are many health benefits of smiling. A beautiful smile begins with beautiful teeth. Beautiful teeth are the sum total of good oral hygiene and some procedures that http://www.theriversedgedental.com may advise you to do to ensure yours is a perfect smile. 

Smile To Live Longer

Smiling to live longer may be by far the most compelling reason for you to smile. According to research, smiling associates with living longer because happy people enjoy better health. Smiling can be an intentional choice that boosts your health, mood, and other people’s mood.

Smile To Relieve Stress

These days stress is inevitable at times. It would be best to smile more to avoid being bogged down by life’s daily challenges and stressful things. Smiling will prevent you from looking overwhelmed, worn out and tired. More importantly, it reduces stress. Even a fake smile helps to relieve stress. 

Smile To Feel Positive

It is difficult to think of something negative with a smile on your face. Smiling, whether forced or not, helps you stay positive. It sends positive information to your brain and the rest of your body.

Smile To Elevate Mood

Smiling whenever you feel down will boost your mood positively. This is because smiling activates brain paths that influence your emotions for the better. By smiling, you trick your brain into entering a state of happiness. It triggers neuropeptides’ release essential for improving neural communication and neurotransmitters like dopamine that boost your mood.

Smile To Make Other People Smile

Smiling can be contagious and can light up a room. It can change the mood of others around you positively. Your brain notices and even interprets the facial expressions of others. So you may find that you smile after seeing someone else smile.

Smile To Boost Your Immune System

Smiling improves your general health by boosting your immune system, making it function effectively. In addition, it makes you more relaxed and contributes to the release of neurotransmitters that help improve your immune system’s functioning.

Smile To Lower Blood Pressure

Smiling causes an increase in your heart rate and breathing which can reduce your blood pressure. You can try measuring your blood pressure before and after smiling to see the difference in the monitor’s readings.

Smile To Reduce Pain

Endorphins and serotonin released when you smile act as natural painkillers. These brain chemicals will make you feel good and reduce physical pain.

Smile To Be Attractive

People tend to draw to those who smile and repel those with frowns or scowls on their faces. You may assume someone has positive personality traits because they smile often. In addition to making you look attractive, smiling can make you feel younger. You might not need that facelift after all. Try smiling throughout the day to see the positive changes.

Conclusion

Smiling can have tangible benefits to your health and can even make you look successful. Additionally, smiling gives an impression of confidence and makes you approachable. Try smiling, and you will notice that people react to you differently.

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How To Get Back On Balance After COVID19

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This last year has been a draining experience for just about everyone. If you’ve found it a continual struggle, you’re definitely not alone. Lockdowns have created a perfect storm of physical, mental, and financial challenges. The good news is that it’s now time to start getting back on balance after COVID19. Here are some tips to help.

Start with sorting out your body

The old saying is “a healthy mind in a healthy body”. Getting your body back on track can help get your mental health moving in the right direction too. Realistically, your fitness is probably going to have taken some kind of hit during COVID19. Gyms were closed and outdoor exercise was either banned or limited. Home exercise had to be fitted around all the other demands on your space.

Recognize reality and deal with it. Take an assessment of your fitness now or get someone to help you with it. Then figure out the best way to go forward to where you want to be. It doesn’t matter where you were before. Focus on where you want to go now.

Remember that getting back into fitness may well involve ditching some of your pandemic habits. For example, if you’ve developed a taste for comfort (junk) food, then you need to start eating properly.  

“You are what you eat” may be a cliche but it’s grounded in truth. The higher-quality fuel you put into your body, the better it will perform. In fact, if you really want to get the best performance out of your body, then you may want to look at natural supplements such as deer antler velvet.

Make sure you take care of your mind

Transitions can be difficult even when they’re welcome. For example, you may have struggled with loneliness and boredom during the lockdown. Now, however, you may find yourself struggling with the prospect of meeting other people in real life again. You may very much want to but not feel confident about interacting with people again. Alternatively, you may still not feel safe (or both).

You can only start to deal with the mental-health consequences of lockdown if you recognize them and acknowledge them. Sometimes this can be enough to get you on the right track again. If it isn’t then there are all kinds of resources to help. What’s more, a lot of them can (still) be accessed online.

Remember health and fitness can be affordable

It’s all very well saying that “self-care isn’t selfish” and that “it’s fine to invest in your health and fitness”. In the real world, however, if money is tight, then it can seem difficult to justify spending any money on this. Fortunately, there is a happy medium most people can manage. That’s to invest your money where you can get the best return.
For example, if something goes in your body, it’s definitely worth getting the best you can afford. If, however, you buy raw ingredients and cook at home, you can get most of your nourishment very affordably. Then you can invest your savings in helpful extras like supplements, classes, or new fitness gear.

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The Health Benefits of Smiling

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A smile can brighten up anyone’s day, so it maybe isn’t too surprising that smiling can also be great for your health in a variety of interesting ways. Let’s take a look at a few of them now.

Boost your mood

Smiling releases chemicals known as endorphins into the bloodstream. Endorphins are often referred to as happy hormones because they can improve your mood and help you to reach a more positive mindset, so even if you aren’t really feeling it, cracking a smile could just make your day start to feel better.

Lowers pain levels

Another thing that smiling is very good at doing is lowering pain levels. This, again, is down to endorphins, which as well as boosting mood, can also help your body to fight pain without any medical intervention. Laughing is particularly good for this, but even smiling is a great natural painkiller, so don’t be afraid to open up and show those pearly whites.

Boost immune system

If you’re one of those people who hate to smile because you don’t like your teeth, you may want to take a trip to The Smile Spa who can have your teeth looking amazon in no time. Why? Because smiling is able to boost your body’s immune system, and right now with the pandemic and everything, it has never been more important to have a healthy functioning immune system. Smile more and you will feel better for sure.

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Lower your blood pressure

If you have high blood pressure, you may be interested to know that a piece published by  The College of Family Physicians states that laughing, in particular. Can immediately increase oxygen consumption and get your heart rate level up. Once you’re done, your heart rate will get slow down and your blood pressure will be lower. It’s amazing what something so simple as laughing and smiling can do, isn’t it?

Bust stress

Smiling, unsurprisingly, is able to activate your body’s natural stress-relieving response, which is why smiling when you’re having a tough time can really work out for your mental health. Obviously, it’s not the whole answer, but it does help.

Improve relationships

As if all of the above benefits of smiling were not enough, there is also evidence to suggest that people who smile are considered to be more likely by just about everyone, which means people are more likely to gravitate towards you, and since socializing is so vital to good mental health, this is not the frivolous benefit that it might first appear to be.

As you can see, smiling really is amazing. It has so many health benefits that we should all be doing it more. Some people naturally have resting faces that frown, and other hate to show their teeth due to their condition, but you really shouldn’t let these things hold you back because you can get good dental treatment or train yourself to smile more, and by doing so, not only will you be more healthy, but you’ll be more approachable too.

Keep smiling!

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Why Treating Your Meals As Special Occasions Can Improve Your Life

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It’s probably fair to say that everyone enjoys a nice meal that was put together with care, attention, and a degree of skill that makes it really stand out.

Restaurants are partly driven by the social aspect, partly by the fact that they allow us to relax and let go of our own responsibilities a bit, and partly by the fact that good restaurant chefs can create delicious meals.

But whether you are investigating a broccoli casserole recipe by Yellow Bliss Road, or are trying to recreate your grandmother’s spaghetti Bolognese, there are benefits to treating your meals as special occasions that can improve your life, beyond the question of tasty treats.

Here are a few reasons why treating your meals as special occasions can improve your life.

Because it can significantly enhance your ability to savour the moment and experience a sense of gratitude and positivity

When you treat each meal as a special occasion – something to prepare with care, set aside time for, and enjoy mindfully – you open yourself up to the experience of the meal in a way that is a lot more positive, and allows you to savour it.

From this, your sense of gratitude for the meal – and for life in general – is almost sure to be significantly greater.

Everyday life is full of all sorts of small blessings that are overlooked because we are simply too busy and distracted.

Treating each meal as a special occasion is a way of escaping from this trap.

Because cooking can be a keystone habit that creates a cascade of positive change in your life

When it comes to creating new habits to restructure and improve your life, looking for effective “keystone habits” to implement can be a very powerful step to take.

In short, a “keystone habit” is a habit that has a more or less automatic “cascade effect” on other habits in your life, and can therefore have a disproportionate impact – either good or bad.

When it comes to positive keystone habits, taking up home cooking with a high degree of appreciation for the art of it can be the first step in moving your life into a more harmonious direction, automatically.

Because it can reduce stress and add a sense of rhythm to your everyday life

To reduce the stress that often arises in everyday life, having regular routines and rituals that can help to create a sense of harmony and balance can be very powerful.

At the same time, taking some time out of your day to really “celebrate” your meals – and to prepare and enjoy some delicious food – can also have a significant stress-reducing effect.
You owe it to yourself to add some of these feel-good, stress-busting moments to your everyday life.

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#BrainPower: 8 Supplements for Focus and Energy

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#BrainPower: 8 Supplements for Focus and Energy

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How Supplements Boost Energy 

Balancing life should be as simple as getting enough sleep, eating a healthy (in-moderation) diet, exercising regularly, and relaxing. In a perfect world, this is easy to accomplish but it isn’t always that simple. Life has plenty of demands, often ones that we can’t control. It is extremely common to feel burnt out from your everyday routine, especially when you feel as if you can’t maintain your energy. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to pretend to be a superhuman. There are natural supplements that can boost your energy, memory, and focus. More individuals are turning to “brain-boosting” supplements called nootropics, paired with standard healthy lifestyle choices.

What are Nootropics?

Nootropics are natural supplements or drugs that increase brain performance specifically in energy, memory, and concentration. The use of some of these supplements are still relatively recent but there are enhanced studies that have proven the benefits of nootropics when it comes to mental performance and improvements in overall brain health. 

The term might be unfamiliar but nootropics are naturally everywhere. They are widely accessible in dietary supplements to help harness brain power directly. There are plenty of options when it comes to consuming nootropic supplements, whether it is capsules, oils, powders or foods. 

Read on to learn more about supplements for focus and energy.

 8 Supplements for Focus and Energy 

 B12

Vitamin B12 helps transform the foods you eat into energy that your cells can use. It is found naturally in animal proteins, like meat, fish, and dairy products. Some people are already B12 deficient which can depend on your location and the type of diet you have (vegans and vegetarians may be at risk due to decreased animal consumption). B12 supplements can help maintain adequate levels and boost overall energy. Furthermore, some IV therapy options can include B complex vitamins in their drip services. Although B12 is a great natural nutrient, there is no evidence that suggests B12 can boost energy in people who already have adequate levels.  

Caffeine 

The most widely used nootropic, caffeine, works by blocking the adenosine receptor in the brain, which causes you to feel less tired. It is naturally found in coffee, cocoa beans, tea, and kola nuts. It is artificially added to sodas, energy drinks, and medications. A moderate intake of caffeine is recommended as it can increase alertness and attention over time. Although caffeine is a simple way to combat fatigue, it is easy to overdo it. Taking caffeine in pill supplements or consuming more than 4 cups of coffee a day can be toxic. Make sure you are taking the right amount to avoid negative side effects. 

Curcumin 

Turmeric is the spice that gives curry a yellow color and is found in most Indian cuisine. The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Additionally, it has been proven to help with memory and focus. In a study conducted by UCLA, participants who took curcumin experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities compared to those who took a placebo. Unfortunately, curcumin only makes up about 3% of turmeric and is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream. Due to this fact, dietary supplements of curcumin are widely available.

Fish oils 

The fatty acids from fish oils are linked to many health benefits, including improved heart and brain health. DHA and EPA are two types of omega-3 fatty acids that can be found in fish oil. DHA helps to maintain brain function, as it accounts for 90% of the omega-3 fat found in your brain cells. On the other hand, EPA has anti-inflammatory effects that help protect the brain from damage and aging. Both are associated with improved mental processes, memory, and concentration. EPA may also be linked to improved mood in those with depression. 

Ginkgo biloba 

Ginkgo biloba is a herbal supplement from the Ginkgo biloba tree. This herbal supplement is claimed to improve brain functions like focus and memory. The Ginkgo supplement can help increase blood flow to the brain, which can help increase overall brain metabolism. Gingko biloba can be found in capsule, powder or oil supplement form. 

Ginseng 

Asian ginseng is one of the most popular herbal supplements in the world. This herb comes from the Ginseng plant. Ginseng has been found to help reduce stress, improve brain function and increase antioxidant support. It is popularly used in tea but can be consumed in the form of powder, capsule, or oil. Ginseng can also be consumed as a root added to food. 

L-theanine 

L-theanine is an amino acid that can be found in black and green tea. A study found that consuming L-theanine can help increase both mental focus and creativity. Green tea contains L-theanine and caffeine, in-fact, this amino acid is observed to enhance the mental effects of caffeine while counteracting caffeine jitteriness.

NAD+

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD+, is a newer nootropic supplement. NAD+ helps turn nutrients into energy as a key player in metabolism and works as a helper molecule for proteins that regulate other cellular functions. In other words, NAD+ has optimal aging effects that are related to longevity, brain function regulation, and age-associated diseases. Our natural NAD+ levels begin to decrease over time, and many human diseases are associated with changes in NAD+ levels. NAD+ supplements are available predominantly online. You can also request an NAD+ IV therapy drip session.

 Consult Professional Guidance

Maintaining your motivation doesn’t have to be hard. The best maintainable lifestyle changes, as well as, supplements for focus and energy can help. Due to this fact, the use of certain nootropic supplements without any professional guidance may be unhealthy. Every supplement has side effects that differ between individuals. If you have any pre-existing health conditions, or are unsure about your current health situation, please reach out to a healthcare provider for more information on how these supplements may affect you. Although many of these supplements are readily accessible online and in-stores, we recommend you consult with a doctor before use.

This article was originally published at iveeapp.com.

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How To Be A Responsible Carer

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As we get older in life, our responsibilities change throughout, and sometimes we have to take on the responsibility of caring for others. Not everyone is prepared to care for other people, and it can be a stressful ordeal if it came unexpectedly. For a lot of people, the idea of having to take care of your elderly relatives is inevitable, and only a matter of time, but how do you tackle that when the time comes? It’s not like you’re trained for it, and there’s a lot of emotions involved too. You must know how to handle the situation, and it can be different based on the individual.

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Elderly care

When it comes to elderly care, there’s a lot you need to know if you’re going to take on the role of their carer. For example, if a relative is dealing with Alzheimer’s, it can be very difficult for both parties involved. You’ll need to know how to act and treat them daily, and failing to do so can cause a lot of stress. You need to take it upon yourself to understand the whole situation and understand their needs. If they can no longer care for themselves, those needs need to be taken care of by someone else – is that something you can do? 

Making hard decisions

Many people find it very difficult to make time for their elderly parents to care for them, and that comes with difficult decisions. There are carers you can hire to take care of things while you’re not around, but that in itself can be difficult to trust.

Trusting the care of your relatives to another person can be difficult, but making sure their needs are met is very important. Sometimes elderly care homes are the better choice, as they offer many benefits. Living alone without the ability to care for yourself can get lonely, and living in a home where employees care for seniors can remedy that. With peers around, and many employees who are trained in elderly care who are available at all times ensures the safety of your relatives.

Selfcare

You aren’t trained for this, and you still need to have a life of your own outside of all of this, so it’s important to recognize when you’re being pushed too hard. You have to remember your needs are important too, and you still need to be the one to care for them. A lot of people feel guilt when it comes to caring for their relatives, as caring for yourself can feel selfish if you don’t have the time.

Pushing yourself too hard not only impacts your happiness, but it can cause you to feel what’s called caregiver burnout, which will only negatively impact your relationship with your relatives. You must learn when to take a timeout and when you need help with your responsibility.

Not everyone is prepared or able to care for their elderly relatives, and what’s important is making sure they get the proper care, from you or someone else.

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Feeling Low? Seize The New!

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There are many methods used to beat those low feelings. A lot of people suffer low moods. From all walks of life. People on different incomes, who do different jobs and live in different places. It doesn’t matter who you are, sometimes you’ll feel low. The key is to act when you feel like it all of the time. If it happens once in a blue moon, you know it’s something you don’t really need to worry about. If you’re feeling like it all of the time, it might be the right time to change something. To focus on something new. You might just need to make a lifestyle change, or you could try something like THC gummies for anxiety and depression. If the problem continues, even after you have tried to fix it, then you need to consider a trip to your local health provider. They can use and suggest all kinds of remedies for treatment. But before it comes to that, these tips can give you a few things you might want to try to shift the low mood permanently.

Move House

Sometimes the scenery gets a little samey. Not just the house, but the area around the house. This is certainly the case if your friends and family have moved away. It might be time for you to consider moving too. It might just be time for you to buy the perfect home, contact Bekins Moving and skip town. Move to a place nearer to the things you cherish and love. Whether it’s a theme park that cheers you up or nearer to friends and family. It might just be that you want to cut down on your commute to work. Moving home is a pretty big commitment so you need to be sure it’s exactly what you want before taking the plunge. Even so, it’s always going to be worth it if it results in extended happiness for you and your family. 

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Check Your Lifestyle

Mood is directly impacted by your lifestyle. If your diet is awful, you might want to change it up. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and drinking more water, can directly contribute to a healthier you, and that means a happier you. At the same time you need to make sure that you get the right levels of exercise. Start going for daily walks. Might be before you start work, or maybe afterwards. Then scale up to the odd run. Maybe you join a gym or go cycling, or buy some weights for your home. When you get into it and it becomes normal, you’ll feel much better.

Change Your Job

It’s one of the biggest causes of low mood. If you’re not happy in the job you’re in, it might be time to change. Whether you’re simply looking at moving to another field, or you’re considering setting up your own business. Changing what you do for a living is another large scale commitment but if it leads to you doing something you’ve always wanted it’ll be worth it. You may have to go back to college, meaning you study at night or on weekends. Maybe it means sacrificing your hobby time or time with your family. There’s a lot to think about. It could be as simple as asking your existing boss whether or not there’s scope for you to try something new at the office. A change in job is certainly something which can lead to a happier life…the key is to take your time and not to snatch at a perceived opportunity

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3 Tips to Help You Stay Productive At Home

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The pandemic has been around for a while, and many of us have chosen to spend more time staying at home to protect ourselves. Especially in winter months, everyone loves the cozy couch at home instead of the freezing weather outside. While it might be a good time to relax, we can definitely utilize the leisure moments to improve ourselves. After all, we will go back to our normal life eventually. To make the most of our time, we can use the following tips to help us. 

3 tips to stay productive at home.jpg

Read more books

This might sound discouraging as we have been used to staring at our television all day long and watching the unexhausted Netflix shows. However, we also need to push ourselves to study and learn new knowledge through books. The awkward thing in our era is that knowledge becomes so accessible and cheap, but people still want to consume expensive stuff like designer bags or luxury trips. The happiness from materialistic things goes away fastly, but the satisfaction from absorbing and learning from books can be life long.

Moreover, reading books can bring you real relaxation, focus and peace in mind. You don’t have to read difficult and boring books, and even if you choose to read fiction, you can benefit a lot more than watching a TV show.

Start some passive income

Everyone wants some passive income, but you will never get any unless you start to do it. It is extremely easy to set up a YouTube Channel or personal blog. The services are free online, and all you need is to do some research and get yourself started. It is true that earning a passive income is a long term process, and you will not get thousands of followers without continuous effort. However, as long as you step into the industry, you will be exposed to many other opportunities. Sometimes, you will not need many subscribers to earn some income as long as you acquire the right audience.

Meanwhile, you can also learn a new skill to open the source of income. For example, you might think that programming is so difficult and only professionally trained intellectual people can do it. However, you can find coding books and beginner guides online so easily now. Learning some new programming language will open a new door for you, and you don’t have to be an IT expert. As long as you expand your knowledge, you are increasing your personal value, and you might get potential job opportunities.

Keep home clean and comfortable

The condition of our home is a reflection of our life. We need to organize and clean it on a regular basis to ensure that we are in the most comfortable status. In return, a tidy home will bring you good luck and positive influence. In addition to the cleaning and maintenance, we should also replace malfunctioning appliances. For example, a leaking window will cost you a lot on a monthly energy bill, so it is important to replace it with an energy efficient window in time.

Life can be short. When we are enjoying the leisure time at home, we can also encourage ourselves to improve and make progress every day.

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Vitamin D & Depression: Fighting the Winter Blues

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What Does Vitamin D Actually Do?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble that is naturally present in certain foods and is also produced when ultraviolet rays from sunlight land on the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. The body producing vitamin D in response to sun exposure is why vitamin D is nicknamed the “sunshine vitamin”. Vitamin D has many important functions in the body, including maintaining healthy bones and teeth through calcium absorption, promoting bone growth, protecting against diseases and conditions, and reducing inflammation.

Vitamin D and Depression

Research has connected a link between people with depression and vitamin D deficiency. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and spikes in colder months, known as seasonal affective disorder. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is not considered a separate condition, but a type of depression with a seasonal pattern. Weather affects people’s moods. Dull, cold, rainy days make us feel gloomy and unmotivated, while sunlight breaking through the clouds can lift our spirits and give us a little feeling of hope. In fact, the vitamin D receptors in our brain are in the same locations in the brain associated with depression (i.e. the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and substantia nigra)

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

Limited Sunlight

Sunlight can be an individual’s primary source of vitamin D. During colder, darker months there is less access to the sun’s ultraviolet rays to trigger the vitamin d synthesis in the body.

Diet

There are actually very few foods that have high amounts of vitamin D. Without adding any of these foods into your diet there is a high chance that you are not getting proper amounts of vitamin D in your meals.

  • Milk
  • Fish
  • Red meat
  • Egg yolks
  • Fortified foods – certain cereals and juices

Age

Older adults have an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency because the skin’s ability to synthesize vitamin D declines with age.

Greater Amounts of Melanin

Greater amounts of the pigment melanin in the skin reduces the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D from sun exposure. 

Obesity

Obesity does not actually affect the body’s ability to produce vitamin D, but the higher levels of body mass and fat sequestered requires higher levels of vitamin D for the vitamin to work properly.

Diseases/Conditions

Since vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, conditions that affect fat absorption also affect the production of vitamin D. For example, conditions such as liver disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, and Crohn’s disease all have a negative effect on vitamin D. 

Signs of Deficiency:

  • Aching bones
  • Fatigue or drowsiness
  • Weak muscles
  • Headaches

Signs of Depression:

  • Insomnia or hypersomnia
  • Loss of interest in activities you’ve previously enjoyed
  • Feelings of sadness and hopelessness
  • Loss of appetite
  • Excessive weight loss of weight gain
  • Forgetfulness
  • Struggle concentrating
  • Anxiety
  • Thoughts of suicide

Reach out to a doctor if you are having signs of depression. If you or anyone you know are having thoughts of suicide here are some support resources: 

  • Call 911
  • Go to an emergency room
  • Text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a crisis counselor at the Crisis Text Line from anywhere in the U.S.
  • Call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to be connected with a trained counselor at a crisis center anytime. People are standing by, ready to help without judgment
  • Call Samsha. 1-800-622-HELP (4357).  SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

Solving Vitamin D Deficiency

To treat your vitamin D deficiency the obvious answer is to increase your intake of vitamin D, but how? Ways to increase your intake are:

  • Adding foods with larger amounts of vitamin D into your diet
  • Vitamin D supplements
  • Increasing your sun exposure
    • Natural sources on sunny days
    • In-home light solutions

Helpful Tips for Combating Winter Blues

If the lack of sunlight and lack of vitamin D is affecting your mental health and causing symptoms of depression, the first (and best) thing to do is always talk to a doctor and seek professional help. Outside of that, here are some self-care tips during the colder months especially that can help combat the winter blues:

  • Exercise regularly
  • Maintain a sleep schedule
  • Communicate with loved ones and keeping a support system present
  • Join a support group
  • Stay tuned in with your body
  • Create a mindfulness moment

All in All:

Vitamin D and depression have been linked through various studies, making vitamin D essential for not only your physical health but mental health as well. Getting the proper amounts of vitamin D can be hard, especially in the colder, darker months, but making efforts to include vitamin D in your diet or through supplements will help prevent a vitamin D deficiency. The winter blues can get the best of us, but if we take care of our bodies and our minds we can make it through the gloomy days and get back to the sunshine! 

Remember to please seek professional advice or help if you are experiencing any symptoms of depression. 

This article was originally published at iveeapp.com.

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Home Remedies for Energy: 5 Ways to Boost Productivity and Mood

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Being in a mental rut can harm our health, productivity, and mood. Constantly bombarding ourselves with tasks, either through procrastination or just straight-up overworking ourselves, can give way to heightened levels of stress and anxiety. So, let’s look at five ways to help boost our productivity and mood.

1. Sleep good, work better.

Sleeping is a fantastic, and probably the easiest, home remedy to boost energy. Our mind and body are interconnected, so keeping one healthy ensures the other will do the same. A good start is maximizing sleep quality. Sticking to a structured sleep routine that provides our body with at least 8 hours of sleep will ensure consistent energy levels during the day. But for this to work, you must stick to a specific bedtime and wake-up time. Inconsistent sleep patterns are almost as harmful to the body as little to no sleep.

2. A healthy body is an optimized brain

As mentioned above, our body and brain are interconnected. We have talked about resting our bodies, but what about fueling them? Well, certain foods that are high in vitamin B12—one of the main vitamins known for energy enhancement—can help boost energy levels, giving you the fuel needed to get through the day. Fish, meat, poultry, and other dairy products are high in B12. Incorporating this vitamin into your diet can help power both your mind and body, helping you take on whatever life throws at you.

3. Stop workin’, start walkin’?

We know this may seem counterintuitive, but taking a step back from a task or assignment can actually help you get it done quicker! Exercise is not only crucial for the body; it also promotes mental well-being. And exercise doesn’t necessarily mean maxing your deadlift between paragraphs. It can be something as simple as going for a walk around the block. Just getting your body moving helps relieve stress, which can significantly inhibit productivity. Before you even start your work, early morning workouts have been said to get your mind and body prepared for the day.

4. Put down the phone

Social media, texting, and phone calls ranked as the 4th biggest workplace distractions only behind bathroom breaks and talking with coworkers. We’ve all been there: a text message alert or a Twitter notification goes off, and you are instantly entranced into the endless rabbit hole that is your cell phone. There are a bunch of simple ways to prevent this from happening. For starters, keep your phone and work separate. This can go as far as keeping it in a different room, whatever prevents you from distracting yourself. Other methods, such as putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” and “Airplane Mode,” can immensely cut down distractions without feeling disconnected.

5. Organize your workspace

For many, a cluttered workspace = a cluttered mind. Having a clean workspace can work as a productivity “placebo.” You can trick yourself into working harder when your surroundings are organized. Everyone has their own gauge on what is considered to be “clean,” so do whatever you think is necessary. If it means just clearing off your desk, then go for it. And if “clean” means sanitizing all of your work materials, then do that. Just make sure not to overdo it. There is a fine line between organizing your workspace and plainly pushing off work. Find that balance. Find that productivity.

Conclusion

Feeling run down can have a lasting impact on our short term productivity, leaving us feeling defeated and mentally exhausted. But simple changes to the way we carry on through the day can help boost productivity and increase energy levels. Simple changes to our sleeping patterns and diet are two vital ways we can achieve this added boost in energy. Other changes such as exercise and work habits can help maximize productivity without stretching ourselves too far. These tips do not have to be followed verbatim, but should act as a guide in helping you navigate what best fits your lifestyle.

This article was originally published at iveeapp.com.

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