How loudly would you scream if your cell phone fell in the toilet?
Or …
What if you left your cell phone behind in a restaurant as it was closing and didn’t know till until the next morning if whether it was safe or stolen?
I know the answers to both of those scenarios.
- My cell fell in the toilet and I screamed so loudly that the lady in the neighboring stall thought I was being mauled. That phone is now playing with puppies in heaven.
- Forgot I forgot my cell at a restaurant in Carmel and drove 2 hours home to find it missing. But it was too late to confirm its fate as the restaurant had closed. I didn’t sleep that night, waiting for it to be 10 am. Yes, it was safe! I then canceled all my plans and drove the 4 hours round trip (with the biggest smile on my face) to pick it up. I tipped the waitress who turned it in $100.
We all love and live with our cell phones. In a recent study, the cell phone was cited by participants as their most prized possession. Psst, a little secret, your prized possession is not your cell phone, it’s your body! Ask anyone who’s been diagnosed with a chronic illness (that’s more than 100 million Americans, by the way) or who are over 70 years of age. But I know you love your cell and aren’t about to demote it to second place, so here are some simple ways you can treat your body lovingly – like your cell phone – and power up your life!
LET’S CHARGE UP YOUR BODY!
Without a charge, your cell is dead, – the same goes for your bodies. A poor charge means the cell dies halfway through the day, and surprisingly it’s the same with our bodies. Too many windows and apps open? Your cell’s life is cut short dramatically. Ditto with us when we overwork, overrun, overstimulate, or over anything. Often we need to charge up our cell in the middle of the day depending on use. Yup, our bodies need the same afternoon love and recharge! So, to maximize your body’s battery life, charge it all night, close all the activities that are unnecessary and recharge in the middle of the day as needed.
#1. SLEEP
That’s when your body literally recharges. Without a solid, deep, refreshing sleep, your body is a mess trying to catch up the next day. Rule #1 for rejuvenating sleep is to be in bed by 10 pm (at the latest by 10:30 pm or it actually gets harder to fall asleep) and sleep deeply throughout the night. However, we are becoming a nation of insomniacs – just look at the growth in sales of sleep aids. So here are some additional proven techniques for a great night’s sleep:
- Self-massage with the right oil to calm down the day’s nerves
- Take a hot Epsom salts bath to amp up magnesium
- Turn off technology and TV to bring down the brain
- Deep breathe for 5 minutes to reset your nervous system
- Write 1 word of gratitude in a Health Journal to go to your happy place
- Spray some lavender
- Light a candle
Night sleep is not the only kind that charges us up. Try an afternoon snooze – or siesta – to power up your batteries and keep your revving for the evening. Several Silicon Valley and other technology companies are starting to offer snooze pods at work for employees to rest up during the day.
Do whatever it takes to metaphorically “rock your body to sleep.” Check out my article on 7 Steps to Health for more ideas.
#2. SUN
The Sun powers every living thing on our planet – including us. We forget that sometimes, but research proves that people who live in sunny places have a lower incidence of cancer and chronic disease than those living with fewer days of sun. Check out my podcast HEALTHIER for all the great research from America’s top doctors!) Charge with the sun daily to keep your body humming with health. One simple way is to enjoy your nourishing lunch for 30 minutes in the sun without sunscreen or a full body suit. Another option is to go for a walk/stroll/run in the sun daily. For those cold dark winters, months, choose an optimal Vitamin D and pair it with Vitamin K as per doctor’s instructions!
#3. SUPERFOODS
These are critical nutrients our bodies need to thrive and we don’t often get these from our daily diet. What’s notable here is that our bodies really don’t like those chalky vitamin pills and powders, they crave the biology of real food. The most critical nutrients include Magnesium, Vitamin D, B vitamins, iron, calcium, and potassium. Without these, our bodies literally cannot function – cannot digest, sleep, fix or rebuild. Eating healthy daily is very hard. Eating enough volume to get these nutrients is harder as our food supply is tainted and nutritionally hollow now. An apple, according to Dr. Akil, is 5000% less nutrient dense today than just 100 years ago.
So, I take Moringa, Spirulina, Chlorella, Seaweed, and fiber daily, along with apple cider vinegar and a hydrating drink like vitamin water to keep me hydrated. It’s shocking how many of us are actually dehydrated and don’t know it or how many vegetarians are short on the critical B vitamins. So get super nutrients into your diet and watch your body leap out of bed instead of creaking every morning! Share the love, share this article if you liked it!
#4. SILENCE
Forget coffee, next time you feel exhausted or sleepy at 3 pm, just close your eyes and deep breathe in a quiet room for 15 minutes. You will open your eyes in a refreshed ready to rock on! Our body doesn’t always need sleep as much as it needs rest. A complete break from the noises, thoughts, and conversations gives our body the CALM it needs to rejuvenate. More importantly, a break where we breathe deeply all that enriching oxygen to perk up every cell in our body.
Try this simple breathing exercise to supercharge your restorative break:
- Close your eyes and sit still
- Breathe in very slowly and deeply (you shouldn’t hear your breath) to a count of 8
- Pause for a count of 4
- Breathe out even slower and softer to a count of 12 to 14
- Pause for a count of 6
- Breathe in again to a count of 8 and continue the cycle till you’re not counting just breathing in that rhythm.
There is much science around the use of controlled breath to calm the body and mind. There is even more research on the importance of oxygen for cellular health. But forget science, will it work for YOU?
As I always say, try it before you judge it. You might surprise yourself with a new charging option that’s way better than coffee or sugar!
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