Connie's Esthetics

Certified Esthetician

meditation

Better Sleep, Better You

Let’s talk about the individuals like myself that must be at work by 5am. How do we manage to get the recommend hours of sleep when having to get up earlier and still maintain a balanced family and social life. 

It’s possible with changing some habits, okay let’s face it no one likes to change certain habits including myself however, the real question is why is a sleep schedule important? A poor or irregular sleep schedule has negative effects. Without enough sleep or with irregular sleep habits, people can wake up feeling unrefreshed and have signs of irritability, depression, and the list goes on.   

Make this a change gradual

If you’re currently going to bed at 10pm, don’t decide that tonight you’re going to get to bed by 9pm. First, your internal clock resets at a rate of about one hour per day and some body systems may take even longer. But more generally, when you’re making behavioral changes instead of trying to jump all the way to the finish line right away and then missing you should aim to take smaller steps to build up to your bigger goal.

It’s also important to give your body time to adjust as you start bumping up your bedtime. If you’re not tired enough to fall asleep after 10-15 minutes of tossing and turning, get up and do something else that will calm your mind like meditation. One core intent of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is stimulus control, which aims to associate the bed with sleeping, and not with stimulating behavior (like watching TV).

Do right now: Decide to go to bed 15 minutes earlier tonight than you usually do. Write it down or say it out loud. Understand that you may not fall asleep right away, and give yourself permission if you fail so long as you attempt to get to bed at that time.

A few tips that have helped me create a good bedtime routine

  • Exercise: Regular exercise is important to overall health; it reduces stress and helps promote better sleep patterns.  Remember it is important not to exercise too close to bedtime as that can stimulate the nervous system.
  • Avoid Stimulates: Caffeinated beverages and foods, including coffee, energy drinks, and certain sugary sweets especially if taken in the evening
  • Avoid nicotine: Yes you heard me correct nicotine is linked to sleep disorders.
  • Use your bed for only sleep or sex. Avoid doing any other activities in bed, such as working, reading, eating, or watching TV.

Going to go to sleep quickly

Now that you have started thinking about a sleep routine and how to taper your bedtime forward you’re halfway there. The other half is part physical and part mental. Falling asleep is like landing a plane. If you haven’t landed a plane before, that’s ok, the good news is that it is only metaphorically like landing a plane.

As with landing a plane, you must make sure you are on the correct flight path and that you are slowing down.

A bedtime routine is one way to simplify this delicate process, by practicing it you develop a positive reinforcement feedback loop that facilitates slowing down and preparing for sleep. The nice thing about sleep routines is that you can personalize them, with a mix of meditation, a short 10-minute evening yoga stretch, playing 528 Hz sleep music. I do this routine nightly and it has changed my bedtime routine for the better    

In addition to these good habits, it is recommended that you develop a consistent routine leading up to bedtime to “set the mood”. Most people set intentions in the morning before starting their day, but what about evening rituals and preparing ourselves for the night?

Example of a good bedtime intention would be “I choose calmness and peace”, now take a deep breath, hold, and exhale. Test the bedtime intention daily over the course of seven days. Be observant of how it supports you feeling rested, inspired, and ready to conquer the coming day.

Try this affirmation:

10 Calming Bedtime Affirmations

  1. I release today.
  2. I forgive it all.
  3. I have permission to fall asleep.
  4. I now enter a place of deep and restful sleep.
  5. I am grateful.
  6. I embrace my dreams.
  7. May my sleep be peaceful
  8. I invite the qualities of good sleep.
  9. I am in harmony with the universe
  10. I choose peace.

Thank you, Connie

Stay tuned for next week’s tip.

How To Keep Negative Thoughts at Bay

“Think positive!” is a phrase a lot of people say. But it’s hard to do that under all the stress and anxiety that comes with our everyday life. There are just too many things to worry about – jobs, money, health, relationships and family.

Did you know that simply drinking more water can have a positive effect on reducing stress levels? Dehydration can certainly add to our stress, and every organ in our body needs fluids to function properly. Being well hydrated helps to lower the levels of stress hormone cortisol, thus decreasing stress’s overall effects on our system.

Getting more water intake might not solve all the problems leading to your stressed state, but it can help your body and mind to feel more regulated as you work past them. It can also help reduce headaches caused by stress, further easing your mind from more troubles!

Accept That Some Things Happen as a Part of Life

The simplest way to keep negative thoughts at bay is to stop fighting them acknowledge the feeling and choose the next best feeling you can find.

Thoughts only have as much power as you give them. My actual negative thoughts did not matter, only the fact that I believed them.

Once you can accept the fact that negative thoughts do not control your life, you can move on.

Meditate and Seek out Mindfulness

Mindfulness is about reality. It is about focusing on the moment that is right in front of you.  Forget about memories from the past or the endless possibilities of the future.

You might have a thousand different worries and thoughts in your mind right now. Our daily lives are very complex these days It is hard to find the time to step back and take a break.

If you can somehow manage that time, then mindfulness and meditation will help you keep negative thoughts at bay.

Live a Healthy and Active Lifestyle

People who live healthy, active lifestyles are generally happier. They are not as affected by negative thoughts.

The simple explanation is that when you are active, you are focused on what you are doing in the now. If you are working out or playing an active sport, you will be focused on the moment rather than future worries. Being healthy means you feel better about yourself.

When I felt down one of the things, I did was start working out regularly. It was hard to find the motivation at first, but eventually, things got better.

When we exercise, our bodies produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is basically what makes us feel happy or satisfied. When your body is producing dopamine, you can keep negative thoughts at bay more easily.

Hang Around People Who Uplift You

There are some people who are overly critical of others. If you hang around them, they could destroy your confidence and make you feel worse about yourself.

On the other hand, staying around positive people who encourage you to do your best has the opposite effect. Positive reinforcement can build up your confidence and dispel doubts. If you are having negative thoughts, friends and family can uplift you.

Remember, you don’t have to fight the negativity alone. Your friends, family and loved ones can be right there helping you keep negative thoughts from occurring just reach out to them.

Seek Out Positive Communities

There are communities out there that are focused on a positive outlook on life. Whether it’s by sharing news of positive and uplifting things, or by simple sharing uplifting intentions.

Other Ideas:

To start your day – Do not open your email first thing, or else you may start worrying and stressing immediately. Do not check the news first thing, because it sensationalizes various bad things in order to get views. Don’t go on social media, since it can be toxic and rewards envy and outrage more than positivity.

Thanks Connie,

Hope your day is stress-free. Stay tuned to next weeks tips. 

Tips to Promote Brain-skin Connection

Last week we discussed stress and the skin lets investigate ways that you can incorporate some new habits to find the better you.

Many medical professionals recognize that a natural balance must be maintained between our sympathetic (fight-or-flight/high activity) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest/relaxation) nervous systems for optimal health. Unfortunately, in our modern world, many of us experience “Sympathetic Overdrive,” which means the time we spend in a state of high activity is significantly greater than the time we spend in a state of relaxation.

A key part of decreasing stress is to increase our time spent in the parasympathetic state, or relaxed state. While living in this fast-paced world makes it impossible to avoid stressful situations, we can modify how we handle stress to prevent it from building up. See below for a few ways to incorporate regular stress-reduction practices into your daily life.

Meditation

 A daily meditation practice can relieve stress and reset your mental state.

Those who practice regular meditation had higher brain activity in the areas that deal with stress and concentration. Healthy ways to manage stress can help ease depression and anxiety.

Meditate for 5 minutes each morning to calm your mind. Be kind to yourself, make your mental health a priority by trying some Energy Healing Frequency Music (YouTube video Energy healing 528)

Other Stress Relievers include:

Prioritize Sleep

Exercise More

Balanced, Nutrient-Rich Diet

Focus on Things that Make You Happy

Decrease Toxins in Your Body

Let’s start a challenge this week. Are you ready?  Yes, you are ready!

Put Your Phone Down

It’s time to pick your nose up from your screen and put the phone down. When you spend too much time on your phone instead of interacting with the people around you, you are taking away from your family and friends. Now are you getting the bigger picture, put your phone down and look around.

Some of us spend most of our day scrolling through various social media posts.  the simple solution for this is to log out of our accounts or turn off notifications. The real world is much better than the virtual world if you know where to look.

Instead of spending your time knowing about the life events of unknown people, like Kim Kardashian, spend the time with family and friends, get to know your neighbors, or simply pick up a good book.

Social media is for entertainment so therefore use it as a form of entertainment – not more than an hour a day. Break it down to 30 mins in the morning and then again at night, don’t spend your whole day on the apps. I stay off social media on Sundays to spend quality time with my family. Let’s see if you can realize the benefits of incorporating some of these habits into your day.

Thanks-Connie

Stay tuned for next week’s post.     

Brain-Skin Connection

Let’s face it stress can be brought on by lots of things from holding feelings  in to anger over time this can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds.  Are you stressed out?  Your skin can show it.  Studies show that both acute and chronic stress can negatively affect the overall skin wellness.  Research has also shown the skin and hair follicles contain complex mechanisms to produce their own stress-inducing signals, which can travel to the brain and perpetuate the stress response. Yes, you are hearing this correct. 

Clinical studies Psychological stress perturbs epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis: implications for the pathogenesis of stress-associated skin disorders – PubMed (nih.gov)

The relationship between stress and skin conditions has been documented since ancient times. Recent clinical observations also link psychological stress to the onset or aggravation of multiple skin diseases. In a review, we will discuss the recent discoveries in the field of “Brain-Skin Connection”, summarizing findings from fields of psychology, endocrinology, skin neurobiology, skin inflammation.

As the largest organ of the body, skin plays important barrier and immune functions, maintaining homeostasis between external environment and internal tissues. It is composed of two major layers: epidermis and dermis.

There is some evidence –Catecholamine levels in practitioners of the transcendental meditation technique – PubMed (nih.gov) that meditation may lower overall catecholamine levels in people who do it regularly.  Healthy lifestyle habits, including a well-balanced diet and exercise, may also help to regulate stress hormones in the body, which should in turn have positive effects for the skin. Now let’s discuss ways to minimize your stress levels and get a better you inside and out. 

Meditation

Meditation is an ancient Chinese tradition that helps you take control of your body and mind.   During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process may result in enhanced physical and emotional well-being. People who meditate are calmer and more relaxed and can also show patience in the toughest of situations. They train themselves to be aware of the thoughts that come into their minds and can obstruct unwanted thoughts and shun them out. They can identify the morality of their actions and thus further develop themselves to be better persons.

If you are willing to become a better individual, try a few meditating lessons.  The test is about patience and virtue, and you will succeed only if you pick up those traits in the learning process. Easy, Beginner Meditation to Connect to Breath & Find Peace — Gabby Bernstein – YouTube

Thanks, Connie

Stay tuned for next weeks tip and challenge…