How can I reduce my stress?

Many people are extremely overstressed in our society; this is a statement I hear every day.

 How can I reduce my stress?

Well, first let us talk about the types of stress; chemical, emotional and physical stress.

Physical stress can be from overworking, repetitive stress such as sitting at a desk, carrying a toddler on one hip. Many people sit for long periods and do not do regular exercise. Thirty minutes of exercise per day helps your brain and body to feel better. Motion is lotion. Prolonged sitting can gradually alter the muscles in your back, resulting in misalignment of your spine and therefore disruption to your central nervous system causing stress.

Chemical stress refers to an imbalance of chemicals in the body, which in turn affects the body’s ability to function efficiently. The leading causes of chemical stress can be from work chemical exposure, cleaning chemicals or inhaled chemicals. Other chemical stressor is diet such as sugar, preservatives, and pesticides.

Emotional stress is what most people are referring to as stress, but they forget about the previous two stressors that can cause a cumulative effect on the body. Family, work and social pressure can affect your nervous system. The hardest word to say is no.

How can we alleviate our stress?

•    Chiropractic care affects the nervous system, and studies show that a chiropractic adjustment positively affects the prefrontal cortex.

http://albertachiro.com/chiropractic-for-treating-stress/

So get adjusted!

•    Say no to too many activities. Reducing very difficult for most people.

•    Get more sleep. 8-10 hours per night

•    Meditation

•    Reduce sugar and preservatives in your diet

•    Eat more fruits and veggies

•    Drink more water. You should be drinking ½ of your body weight in ounces per day. If you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces per day. Add lemon to help detoxify your liver and body.

•    Get moving- motion is lotion! Get some exercise.

Dr. Joelle Johnson would love to help you with your stress and chiropractic care, she is located at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness at 142 Erickson drive, Red Deer. T4R 2C3,  403-347-3261.

CranioSacral Therapy and Mouth Work

I have been practicing CranioSacral therapy since 2002 and it has helped me and many of my clients.  When most people talk about this therapy they talk about headaches, birth trauma, or chronic pain.  CranioSacral therapy helps all these things.  But I would like to share my experience with CranioSacral therapy and mouth work.  It has changed me.

I should start with a little history.  Now, I did not have any serious mouth or jaw problems growing up that I can remember.  My biggest problem with my jaw was probably stress clenching.  I know that is not a scientific word but I am sure many people know what I am talking about.  As my stress would increase so would my jaw tension.  When I started taking CranioSacral therapy and receiving treatments is when I noticed a significant difference.  After my first mouth work treatment that I received I could not believe the difference.  My mouth felt bigger and much more relaxed.  I started raving about this to my clients and trying the techniques out on them.  From chronic headache sufferers to clients with braces, the results have been amazing.

Another benefit of mouth work, for me at least, has been the ability to speak more freely.  When we have increased tension in and around our mouths it may unknowingly inhibit our ability to speak.  When even some of our tension is released that allows us to speak.

Mouth work in CranioSacral Therapy is something I practice on most of my clients, especially the infants.  I often see children with birth trauma, tongue ties, etc. and I find that mouth work is essential for them to get the results that they need.  While treating infants I am constantly reassuring, explaining and sometimes even showing the parents how much pressure I am using on their children.

 

When practicing CranioSacral therapy in the mouth it just as gentle as when you work outside the mouth.  Sometimes even more gentle.  The practitioner uses gloves and can better access some of the bones of the mouth, the teeth, and even some of the muscles.

Jeannette Raskin practices at Family First Chiropractic, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, Alberta.  403-347-3261. www.family1stchiro.ca.

How you can get a better sleep?

Many patients complain of poor sleep and poor sleep habits. In practice, many parents bring in their children and babies to help with sleep disturbances.

The first question is the person having issues getting to sleep, staying asleep or awakening during the night.

Getting to sleep or staying asleep issues usually means low serotonin, which is a precursor to melatonin when the brain does not shut off, this would be a person who is restless and overthinking as they try to get to sleep.

 A 2-4 am wake up can mean a persons blood sugar is low, eating a few seeds or nuts before bed with protein in it can help reduce the drop in blood sugar.

If a person complains of insomnia and can’t get to sleep can mean lower dopamine levels. Many of these lower brain chemicals can be diet related.  Many patients can suffer from restless legs syndrome which may be due to low iron levels. Sleep apnea, which many people experience  is often associated with being overweight, gluten intolerances, tethered oral tissue, some people clench jaws at night which may mean they need proprioception or can be a result of parasites.

Ways you can enhance your sleep patterns:

 •    Get adjusted- specifically the areas that affect the parasympathetic nervous system ~Rest and Digest your food !this would be the sacrum and the cervical spine areas of the spine

•    Enhance vagal tone before bed and before eating  – gargling, blowing, deep breathing

•    Meditation before bed- start with 3 min each day HeartMath is a wonderful tool for kids and adults

•    No screen time of any kind at least 60 minutes before rest this means no computer, laptop, IPAD, Phone, TV  this stimulates the brain and decreases melatonin production

•    No charging technology in the bedroom as they emit EMF. If you are using them as an alarm clock turn onto airplane mode before bed.

•    Journal- this helps to dump ideas and issues out of your mind in a healthy way

•    Warm baths – Epsom salt baths with Lavender essential oils. However, some people cannot tolerate this if they have issues with sulfur based foods and substances and can be detrimental to their sleep. Essential oils are also sulfur based.

•    Quiet- absolutely no noise in the room. Remove any loud clocks, animals and other sounds that may cause sleep disturbances

•    Darkness -No light in the room – remove or cover over the light - no routers or other technology in the bedroom.

•    Magnesium Glycinate 400 mg before bed

•    Magnesium L-Threonate  may also help

•    Adrenal support  may be needed to assist with proper cortisol rhythm with blood sugar issues

•    Weighted blanket or heavy covers

•    Homeopathy: Nux vomica for a racing mind works very well, a combination such as Pasconal or Quietude for younger children as well

•    Deep joint compression before bed which increases proprioception

•    Room temperature : 20 degree Celsius room temp

Dr. Joelle Johnson from Family First Chiropractic and Wellness at 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer is available for appointments, call 403-347-3261 to book today.