Our Physiology affects our psychology – our body and our mind are linked! The way you care for your physical body directly affects your mental state. We talk about some fundamental principles of taking care of our bodies so that our minds can operate an optimal level. Find out what the foundational habit affects all the others. It might surprise you! How can you take care of your physiology to better help you deal with your psychological challenges?
Our Physiology affects our Psychology
Our physiology affects our psychology – how we take care of our physical body affects the way that we, we think and our mental wellness as well. Your physical wellness and our mental wellness are linked and that has been proven over and over.
How we take care of our bodies affects our mental wellness. They are linked in so many ways. So today we’re going to talk about three things that you can do to improve your physical wellness so that you can also feel better mentally. The first thing is actually the foundation of all physical wellness. And as I’ve read more and more research on this, it’s so interesting.
It’s not just one of the pillars of physical wellness, but it’s actually the foundation that all the other pillars sit on. So that foundation is, it might be a little different than what you think it’s sleep. So the foundation of our physical wellness is actually in how we are sleeping. It helps our body to repair itself and the mind and the body sleep is essential for both of those things.
Uh, there’s a wonderful quote in the book why we sleep and it says the bridge from despair to hope is a good night’s sleep. And isn’t that true. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, then I can sit and despair and the day just, it doesn’t seem to go well, it seems to be that very foundation of physical wellness.
And yet it’s the one thing that most of us think that we don’t need much of. Right. So the average person will sleep for about 6.7 hours. Now it’s research has proven that we actually need anywhere between eight and nine hours of sleep to actually repair our mind and our bodies and get the rest that we need.
Sleep – The Foundation of Wellness
And yet most of us are only getting five or six hours of sleep a night. And it’s just not ample time for our bodies to repair for our minds to have that rest and, and repair themselves as well. Sleep is actually the secret weapon for performance.
And if you look at some of the top performing athletes, they prioritize sleep. As their number one thing, they train hard. Yes, they totally do. And they usually go to bed early and get anywhere between eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. And that’s simply because the amount of rest they have and amount of sleep that they get in night definitely correlates between the way that they perform.
So if you want to perform better in your life, physically, And mentally the key component is sleep. Now. It used to be like a hundred years ago. People would get on average 10 hours of sleep a night. Right. You think about before we had lights and, and digital things, you know, our phones and things like that to keep us away.
And it just simply got dark, so people would sleep while it was dark getting averaging 10 hours of sleep per night. Now that average has dropped to 6.7. Research has shown that we need a minimum of seven hours per night, and really we need to be shooting for eight to nine hours of sleep a night.
Now I know some people who wear this, like a badge of honor. That they don’t need very much sleep. The fact of the matter is, and research proves that, that we do need sleep, that everyone needs a minimum of seven hours per night of sleep. Also, that we really should be getting eight to nine. And I know people say all the time, I can function on five hours of sleep or four hours of sleep, but are they functioning optimally? And is that really the best choice? So the things that we want to really take a look at what, what is actually linked to poor sleeping habits, it’s linked to increased anger, increased irritability, increased depression, increased mental exhaustion. And if those are things that you don’t want in your life, you just need to prioritize sleep.
It’s one of the biggest things that you can do for your physical wellness. I don’t think we truly know the benefits of sleep and prioritize it the way that our bodies really need it. So the first thing about the physical wellness and those fundamentals, that that foundation is sleep. And the number one thing that you can do.
To help get more sleep at night is turn off your screens. Have what I like to call a digital sunset. If you have a digital sunset that your screens go off at least an hour, before you go to bed, you are more likely to be better rested and able to go to sleep. So if you have a hard time falling asleep, you’ll want to implement a true digital sense that we’re all screens go off an hour before you go.
That is the one thing that’s the one habit that you can get into that will help your sleep immensely. The other thing is thinking about what time do you really want to wake up in the morning? And how many hours of sleep you want to get and making that a priority that you get to bed at a certain time, whether that’s setting an alarm on your phone or something to remind you that you have a cue that it’s now time to go to bed and to prioritize that in your life.
So a minimum of seven hours a night, your target really should be eight or nine and let go of the badge of honor. If you’re one of those people that say I can function on five hours, you might be able to function better. Are you performing? And are you living the way that you want to? And in order to do that, you’ll need to get the sleep that you want.
Food as Fuel
Now on that foundation of sleep, there are a few other pillars of health. One of them, you probably guessed is eating right. What we put into our bodies matters the way that we fuel our bodies matter. And because our physiology affects our psychology, that if you want to feel better mentally, What you eat actually matters.
Now a few years ago, I was not putting very good things into my body, nothing crazy, but I found I was eating more processed foods. I really like chocolate and sugar. And I was at a place where my body thinks I need chocolate every single day. And does it, no, it’s just that I was giving. Chocolate every single day.
As soon as I really committed to five solid months of clean eating, I discovered something. I discovered that I feel. I just feel better. Yes. I’m one of those crazy people now that says clean eating makes you feel better. And until I experienced it for myself, I did not believe them. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And now I am. I’m one of those people, clean eating makes you feel better. My energy levels increased. I started sleeping longer and deeper. I didn’t have as many sleeping. Yeah. So I was actually able to get the sleep that I needed, my energy seriously, skyrocketed. I felt better physically. And in turn I felt better mentally.
So when we think of art eating as fuel, right, you don’t put contaminated gas into your gas tank of your car. You want to put in a high quality. Gasoline. That’s going to get you to where you need to go. And food is the same. And I know you’ve heard this and if it’s something that you’re committed to, to, to your physical wellness, as well as your mental awareness, eating needs to be a priority.
Now, I’m not saying you have to clean eat every single day of your life. Right. But the more good fuel you use in your body, the more out. The better output that you’ll have, right? So food as fuel. I love great food and I have come to understand that on a day-to-day basis, I need to think of my food as fuel and how I want to fuel my body.
I need to be putting less processed things into my body. Our bodies are not made. They’re simply not made to, to consume processed. With lots of chemicals and all the other things that are in preservatives and artificial, everything our bodies are made to consume whole foods and less processed foods. So that’s one thing that you can do is just simply consume more whole foods.
And the other thing is less sugar, our bodies aren’t really making. To process refined sugar as it is, right. You think of how, um, sugar occurs naturally in fruits in honey and all those different plant-based natural ways. That’s the way our body is actually designed to process sugar, not in its refined form, as we eat it.
Now we totally overload on that. And I’m just as guilty as anyone, but our bodies are not making. To consume processed foods or refined sugar, the way that we have it. So the way that we want to think about this is eating more whole foods in our diet than processed foods, and then slowly making that transition into a majority of holiday.
Absolutely more veggies! Our bodies do well on veggies and it’s because they’re so packed with vitamins and minerals that we need to function optimally. And that’s usually the one thing everyone knows they need to eat their vegetables. And yet that’s the one thing that we don’t eat the most of.
We’re even more willing to eat fruit that it’s okay. Eating is a key component to our physical wellness, and that is one of the pillars that sits on that foundation of sleep. So eating is one of those key components, key fundamentals that sit on the foundation of it. Thinking of our few, our food as fuel is key.
Instead of feeling like we’re deprived, you want to come from a place of, this is how I want to take care of my body. This is how I fuel it. And I want to give it all the best things that I can so that I can perform optimally, physically and mentally. So food as fuel. And I know you’ve all heard that before and it’s true.
Moving Your Body
So the other pillar of physical wellness is moving our bodies. This is no news flash to any of us, but these fundamentals are so fundamental that it’s key to our physical and our mental wellness. Our bodies are made to move. They’re made to move.
You think about how a muscle, if it’s unused it actually. Right. That is proof that our bodies are made to move and we need to be moving our bodies every day. So that’s why that goal of 10,000 steps a day is so key. And anyone who gets 5,000 steps or less a day, it’s been proven. Perform optimally, physically or mentally as well.
So an absolute minimum of 5,000 steps a day. And really the goal should be 10,000 steps a day. And making sure that we have are that we are building muscle as well. So what are the things that you do to move your body and how do you use that to your advantage? I know one thing that I’ve been trying recently.
Is to move my body as an Energizer. So now that I’m in a consistent routine of working out and moving my body every day, and I have the goal of 10,000 steps per day, and making sure that I’m working out in some way, bringing my heart rate up, whether it’s strength, training, or aerobic exercise. Then I’m also starting to be able to use this as an Energizer, as a mood lifter.
Right? So halfway through the afternoon, if I’m feeling blah, I can use exercise as my motivation and as an energy boost, right. That it can actually change my attitude and my motivation instead of turning to chocolate. I can have a glass of water and go for a quick walk or something like that. Right? Even just a few pushups or, um, five minutes on the bike can boost your mood and you can use that to your advantage.
So moving your body goes beyond just exercising for physical health. It absolutely is linked, linked to your mental wellbeing. And that’s been proven over and over again. Right. And you can also so use exercise and moving your body as a mood enhancer, a mood lifter when you’re feeling blah, when you’re starting to kind of taper off.
Um, and that in conjunction with less sugar, right? Because sugar makes us like really, really go into a high sugar high, and then we crash. And that’s usually when. More sugar. You can actually use physical exercise or moving your body in some way to help you even out and keep your body leveled out and really performing optimally throughout the day.
So those are the three things we have covered today. We’ve covered sleep, which is the bridge between despair and right. And absolutely our target should be eight to nine hours a night. I know I have recommitted to better sleep habits. I just find that I feel better physically and mentally by having that digital sunset before I go to bed.
No screens an hour before bed, and then these other components of food as fuel and what, what are we putting into our bodies so that we can have. The output that we want, right. Is that input and output, whatever we put in is what we will get out and making sure that what we’re putting in is more whole foods, more.
Less processed and less sugar will only fuel you physically. And then in turn mentally as well. And the third thing we talked about is moving our bodies and how to capitalize on that. Not only the physical aspect of that, but also that we can use it to energize ourselves throughout the day. Our bodies are made to move.
So get up, move your body today, even if it’s only for five or 10 minutes throughout the day. You, your body will feel better and your mind will too. And those fundamentals are key. Here’s the key takeaway for today. These fundamentals of sleep, what we eat and how we move our body are so key that when we’re feeling.
Yucky for feeling stuck or feeling just blah, we need to be more committed than ever to these fundamentals. So when we’re not feeling our best, when we are not living optimally, we need to recommit ourselves to good, healthy sleep, fueling our bodies with good wholesome food and moving our bodies. And in order to.
Get the most out of our physical and our mental wellness. These are the things we need to commit to. And usually it’s, these are the things we let slide when we’re feeling yucky. When we’re feeling down, when we’re not feeling our best, these are the things that we say, okay. I’ll just eat this or no, I’m not going to exercise today or I’m just going to stay up and watch Netflix, whatever it is.
And that’s the time we need to be even more committed to these fundamentals so that we can actually feel better in our body and our mind. So what are you going to do? What’s one thing that you can do to prioritize each of these things. How are you going to prioritize. If you’re only getting six hours a night, how can you get seven and ma map out a plan?
If you’re eating mostly processed food, how can you include more whole foods into your diet? Just one thing, right? And if you’re not consistently exercising, what’s one thing you can do to move your body and get those physical and mental benefits of exercise. And don’t forget, you can have, you can have bursts of movement throughout the day.
You don’t have to commit to 45 minutes or an hour at one certain time, right? The goal is to just keep progressing and building up. What’s one thing you can do to move your body. And in the afternoon, when you find yourself craving sugar or needing a nap, you can actually turn to. Exercise in some way, a quick walk around the block or a quick walk around your office, building a few flights of stairs, whatever it is, you can incorporate that into your day.
Our Physiology affects our Psychology
Our physiology affects our psychology – how we take care of our physical body affects the way that we, we think and our mental wellness as well. Your physical wellness and our mental wellness are linked and that has been proven over and over.
How we take care of our bodies affects our mental wellness. They are linked in so many ways. So today we’re going to talk about three things that you can do to improve your physical wellness so that you can also feel better mentally. The first thing is actually the foundation of all physical wellness. And as I’ve read more and more research on this, it’s so interesting.
It’s not just one of the pillars of physical wellness, but it’s actually the foundation that all the other pillars sit on. So that foundation is, it might be a little different than what you think it’s sleep. So the foundation of our physical wellness is actually in how we are sleeping. It helps our body to repair itself and the mind and the body sleep is essential for both of those things.
Uh, there’s a wonderful quote in the book why we sleep and it says the bridge from despair to hope is a good night’s sleep. And isn’t that true. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, then I can sit and despair and the day just, it doesn’t seem to go well, it seems to be that very foundation of physical wellness.
And yet it’s the one thing that most of us think that we don’t need much of. Right. So the average person will sleep for about 6.7 hours. Now it’s research has proven that we actually need anywhere between eight and nine hours of sleep to actually repair our mind and our bodies and get the rest that we need.
Sleep – The Foundation of Wellness
And yet most of us are only getting five or six hours of sleep a night. And it’s just not ample time for our bodies to repair for our minds to have that rest and, and repair themselves as well. Sleep is actually the secret weapon for performance.
And if you look at some of the top performing athletes, they prioritize sleep. As their number one thing, they train hard. Yes, they totally do. And they usually go to bed early and get anywhere between eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. And that’s simply because the amount of rest they have and amount of sleep that they get in night definitely correlates between the way that they perform.
So if you want to perform better in your life, physically, And mentally the key component is sleep. Now. It used to be like a hundred years ago. People would get on average 10 hours of sleep a night. Right. You think about before we had lights and, and digital things, you know, our phones and things like that to keep us away.
And it just simply got dark, so people would sleep while it was dark getting averaging 10 hours of sleep per night. Now that average has dropped to 6.7. Research has shown that we need a minimum of seven hours per night, and really we need to be shooting for eight to nine hours of sleep a night.
Now I know some people who wear this, like a badge of honor. That they don’t need very much sleep. The fact of the matter is, and research proves that, that we do need sleep, that everyone needs a minimum of seven hours per night of sleep. Also, that we really should be getting eight to nine. And I know people say all the time, I can function on five hours of sleep or four hours of sleep, but are they functioning optimally? And is that really the best choice? So the things that we want to really take a look at what, what is actually linked to poor sleeping habits, it’s linked to increased anger, increased irritability, increased depression, increased mental exhaustion. And if those are things that you don’t want in your life, you just need to prioritize sleep.
It’s one of the biggest things that you can do for your physical wellness. I don’t think we truly know the benefits of sleep and prioritize it the way that our bodies really need it. So the first thing about the physical wellness and those fundamentals, that that foundation is sleep. And the number one thing that you can do.
To help get more sleep at night is turn off your screens. Have what I like to call a digital sunset. If you have a digital sunset that your screens go off at least an hour, before you go to bed, you are more likely to be better rested and able to go to sleep. So if you have a hard time falling asleep, you’ll want to implement a true digital sense that we’re all screens go off an hour before you go.
That is the one thing that’s the one habit that you can get into that will help your sleep immensely. The other thing is thinking about what time do you really want to wake up in the morning? And how many hours of sleep you want to get and making that a priority that you get to bed at a certain time, whether that’s setting an alarm on your phone or something to remind you that you have a cue that it’s now time to go to bed and to prioritize that in your life.
So a minimum of seven hours a night, your target really should be eight or nine and let go of the badge of honor. If you’re one of those people that say I can function on five hours, you might be able to function better. Are you performing? And are you living the way that you want to? And in order to do that, you’ll need to get the sleep that you want.
Food as Fuel
Now on that foundation of sleep, there are a few other pillars of health. One of them, you probably guessed is eating right. What we put into our bodies matters the way that we fuel our bodies matter. And because our physiology affects our psychology, that if you want to feel better mentally, What you eat actually matters.
Now a few years ago, I was not putting very good things into my body, nothing crazy, but I found I was eating more processed foods. I really like chocolate and sugar. And I was at a place where my body thinks I need chocolate every single day. And does it, no, it’s just that I was giving. Chocolate every single day.
As soon as I really committed to five solid months of clean eating, I discovered something. I discovered that I feel. I just feel better. Yes. I’m one of those crazy people now that says clean eating makes you feel better. And until I experienced it for myself, I did not believe them. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And now I am. I’m one of those people, clean eating makes you feel better. My energy levels increased. I started sleeping longer and deeper. I didn’t have as many sleeping. Yeah. So I was actually able to get the sleep that I needed, my energy seriously, skyrocketed. I felt better physically. And in turn I felt better mentally.
So when we think of art eating as fuel, right, you don’t put contaminated gas into your gas tank of your car. You want to put in a high quality. Gasoline. That’s going to get you to where you need to go. And food is the same. And I know you’ve heard this and if it’s something that you’re committed to, to, to your physical wellness, as well as your mental awareness, eating needs to be a priority.
Now, I’m not saying you have to clean eat every single day of your life. Right. But the more good fuel you use in your body, the more out. The better output that you’ll have, right? So food as fuel. I love great food and I have come to understand that on a day-to-day basis, I need to think of my food as fuel and how I want to fuel my body.
I need to be putting less processed things into my body. Our bodies are not made. They’re simply not made to, to consume processed. With lots of chemicals and all the other things that are in preservatives and artificial, everything our bodies are made to consume whole foods and less processed foods. So that’s one thing that you can do is just simply consume more whole foods.
And the other thing is less sugar, our bodies aren’t really making. To process refined sugar as it is, right. You think of how, um, sugar occurs naturally in fruits in honey and all those different plant-based natural ways. That’s the way our body is actually designed to process sugar, not in its refined form, as we eat it.
Now we totally overload on that. And I’m just as guilty as anyone, but our bodies are not making. To consume processed foods or refined sugar, the way that we have it. So the way that we want to think about this is eating more whole foods in our diet than processed foods, and then slowly making that transition into a majority of holiday.
Absolutely more veggies! Our bodies do well on veggies and it’s because they’re so packed with vitamins and minerals that we need to function optimally. And that’s usually the one thing everyone knows they need to eat their vegetables. And yet that’s the one thing that we don’t eat the most of.
We’re even more willing to eat fruit that it’s okay. Eating is a key component to our physical wellness, and that is one of the pillars that sits on that foundation of sleep. So eating is one of those key components, key fundamentals that sit on the foundation of it. Thinking of our few, our food as fuel is key.
Instead of feeling like we’re deprived, you want to come from a place of, this is how I want to take care of my body. This is how I fuel it. And I want to give it all the best things that I can so that I can perform optimally, physically and mentally. So food as fuel. And I know you’ve all heard that before and it’s true.
Moving Your Body
So the other pillar of physical wellness is moving our bodies. This is no news flash to any of us, but these fundamentals are so fundamental that it’s key to our physical and our mental wellness. Our bodies are made to move. They’re made to move.
You think about how a muscle, if it’s unused it actually. Right. That is proof that our bodies are made to move and we need to be moving our bodies every day. So that’s why that goal of 10,000 steps a day is so key. And anyone who gets 5,000 steps or less a day, it’s been proven. Perform optimally, physically or mentally as well.
So an absolute minimum of 5,000 steps a day. And really the goal should be 10,000 steps a day. And making sure that we have are that we are building muscle as well. So what are the things that you do to move your body and how do you use that to your advantage? I know one thing that I’ve been trying recently.
Is to move my body as an Energizer. So now that I’m in a consistent routine of working out and moving my body every day, and I have the goal of 10,000 steps per day, and making sure that I’m working out in some way, bringing my heart rate up, whether it’s strength, training, or aerobic exercise. Then I’m also starting to be able to use this as an Energizer, as a mood lifter.
Right? So halfway through the afternoon, if I’m feeling blah, I can use exercise as my motivation and as an energy boost, right. That it can actually change my attitude and my motivation instead of turning to chocolate. I can have a glass of water and go for a quick walk or something like that. Right? Even just a few pushups or, um, five minutes on the bike can boost your mood and you can use that to your advantage.
So moving your body goes beyond just exercising for physical health. It absolutely is linked, linked to your mental wellbeing. And that’s been proven over and over again. Right. And you can also so use exercise and moving your body as a mood enhancer, a mood lifter when you’re feeling blah, when you’re starting to kind of taper off.
Um, and that in conjunction with less sugar, right? Because sugar makes us like really, really go into a high sugar high, and then we crash. And that’s usually when. More sugar. You can actually use physical exercise or moving your body in some way to help you even out and keep your body leveled out and really performing optimally throughout the day.
So those are the three things we have covered today. We’ve covered sleep, which is the bridge between despair and right. And absolutely our target should be eight to nine hours a night. I know I have recommitted to better sleep habits. I just find that I feel better physically and mentally by having that digital sunset before I go to bed.
No screens an hour before bed, and then these other components of food as fuel and what, what are we putting into our bodies so that we can have. The output that we want, right. Is that input and output, whatever we put in is what we will get out and making sure that what we’re putting in is more whole foods, more.
Less processed and less sugar will only fuel you physically. And then in turn mentally as well. And the third thing we talked about is moving our bodies and how to capitalize on that. Not only the physical aspect of that, but also that we can use it to energize ourselves throughout the day. Our bodies are made to move.
So get up, move your body today, even if it’s only for five or 10 minutes throughout the day. You, your body will feel better and your mind will too. And those fundamentals are key. Here’s the key takeaway for today. These fundamentals of sleep, what we eat and how we move our body are so key that when we’re feeling.
Yucky for feeling stuck or feeling just blah, we need to be more committed than ever to these fundamentals. So when we’re not feeling our best, when we are not living optimally, we need to recommit ourselves to good, healthy sleep, fueling our bodies with good wholesome food and moving our bodies. And in order to.
Get the most out of our physical and our mental wellness. These are the things we need to commit to. And usually it’s, these are the things we let slide when we’re feeling yucky. When we’re feeling down, when we’re not feeling our best, these are the things that we say, okay. I’ll just eat this or no, I’m not going to exercise today or I’m just going to stay up and watch Netflix, whatever it is.
And that’s the time we need to be even more committed to these fundamentals so that we can actually feel better in our body and our mind. So what are you going to do? What’s one thing that you can do to prioritize each of these things. How are you going to prioritize. If you’re only getting six hours a night, how can you get seven and ma map out a plan?
If you’re eating mostly processed food, how can you include more whole foods into your diet? Just one thing, right? And if you’re not consistently exercising, what’s one thing you can do to move your body and get those physical and mental benefits of exercise. And don’t forget, you can have, you can have bursts of movement throughout the day.
You don’t have to commit to 45 minutes or an hour at one certain time, right? The goal is to just keep progressing and building up. What’s one thing you can do to move your body. And in the afternoon, when you find yourself craving sugar or needing a nap, you can actually turn to. Exercise in some way, a quick walk around the block or a quick walk around your office, building a few flights of stairs, whatever it is, you can incorporate that into your day.
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