Living your healthiest life can be a lot of work. There is a good amount of planning and effort that goes into the classic healthy living advice: hours of exercise, meal planning, going to yoga, cooking, meditating. It’s a lifestyle! One that many of us choose because health is important to us, but it’s not effortless. Here are three health hacks to add to your routine that you can sit (or nap!) through to reap the benefits with almost no effort.
- Lie down for a power nap. Not getting enough sleep can have a negative trickle down effect on the rest of your day. Taking a quick power nap can work magic on your energy levels. Ten minutes of shut eye or even just focusing on yoga breathing for a few minutes will leave you rejuvenated. (Of course, getting enough sleep at night is the best way to achieve optimal rest.)
- Take a probiotic. You simply take a pill and those billions of good bacteria do all the heavy lifting for you in your gut to support your healthiest digestive tract and immune system.
- Laugh. Laughter is the best medicine! Laughing helps you destress, triggers the release of endorphins, and can even help you live longer. Mazen and I giggle all day long, especially when we play “see how long you can stand it” before bed!
Let’s zoom in a bit on probiotics. You have heard me talk about them before because I am a big fan. Probiotics are the “good” bacteria that live in your GI tract and create the ideal conditions for digestion, helping to absorb nutrients. There are literally trillions of good bacteria that are living inside of you right now! Your GI tract also acts as a defense barrier between the outside world (aka germs) and your bloodstream. The more good bacteria it has, the harder it is for germs to get inside. If your microbiome is off-kilter, you might have symptoms ranging from minor gas and bloating to more chronic stress and mood swings. Your microbiome can even affect your skin and dental health!
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Good bacteria are naturally found in fermented foods like yogurt with active cultures, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi. Ideally, you’d eat these every day and have a flourishing GI gut. Yogurt is the most popular of the probiotic foods, but many of us don’t eat the rest of them enough. Therefore, taking a probiotic supplement is a simple and convenient way to help your GI tract thrive, just like a multivitamin can fill the gaps in your diet.
We take probiotic supplements and (knock on wood) no one got sick this winter with more than a sniffle. When you add an optimized gut to the other pillars of good health (sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress relief), then you’re using every defense you can against getting sick. This is even more important if you’re going through a stressful time like a move or a job change or if you’re traveling somewhere that might have different bacteria in the food than you’re used to. When one pillar of health is compromised, the rest must pick up the slack, so keep them all as strong as you can when you’re well!
I need to laugh today – tell me your best joke!!
This is Mazen’s favorite joke:
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange ya glad I didn’t say banana?!?!?!
Laughter is definitely the best medicine! Not just physically, but mentally as well. 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Do you have any insight into whether the refrigerated probiotics are better than non- refrigerated? I have always been advised to take the refrigerated because they contain more types of bacteria. But not sure if this actually makes a difference.
In the olden days most probiotics were refrigerated but they have come out with so much technology that freeze-dries the strains so they are totally stable at room temp. There are still some strains that aren’t, but overall the market has turned to shelf stable for convenience and travel.
I would say eating as healthy as possible, trying to be well rested and laughter can be accomplished by everybody. But really napping? Not likely if you work full time outside the house. Or have multiple small kids and cant afford child care.
Not luxurious pillow filled naps, but I have a fried who has perfected the car power nap on long work days. I’ve also been able to rest my eyes with my child crawling all over me. The point is to rest if you need it, not to spend hours asleep during the day.
Just closing my eyes for a bit or standing up to stretch/yoga/Barre3 helps rejuvenate me! Catnaps have some serious benefits.
I have taken a power nap on my lunch break or between appointments, maybe only 8 or 12 minutes but makes me feel much better!
I agree with Kath, a quick power nap in your car at lunch can work wonders. I went to a talk by the author Daniel Pink, and he has a method called the “nappuchino”. Drink a cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage right before, settle down for no more than 30 minutes, and when you awaken (or at least get done relaxing), the caffeine will be taking effect. Hope this helps!
Haha love that name!
Child, I nap in my car on my break, in my car at the lake or at the park (on busy days where you have to run from work to this to that and only have a silver of downtime.). I nap on my office floor with my office phone on do not disturb for 10 mins. And I’ve been working since I was 14. Full time since I was 19. With no mama help, no man help, no safety net, no partner, etc. If none of those things are possible for you, that does indeed suck. But everyone’s life is different. Take what tips work for you and count down that clock to age 18. 🙂
And Kath is right–it surprisingly doesn’t take much to rejuvenate. a ten to 20 min snooze makes you all happy and focused when you wake up.
Orange you gad Grammie taught him that joke? Although it’s pretty universal, so maybe he heard it from multiple knock knock joke sources.
It’s one of the only jokes I remember from my childhood!
That one and the one about the ice cream man who has a scratchy, sick voice and says “Would you like strawberry, chocolate, or vanilla?” The customer says “Do you have the flu?” And the man says, “No just strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.”
Fun. I don’t remember that one!
I think I’ve read studies about laughter, or moreso, destressing and social enjoyment, enhancing health. Health is so much more than what we eat.
I couldn’t agree more with laughter being the best medicine. There is nothing better than a funny moment shared with a friend, family member or pet!
What brand of probiotic do you take?
Thanks!
I really like New Chapter and Rainbow Light brands
Thanks, Kath for this post! Have you been using these probiotics throughout your pregnancy as well? Recently pregnant and I want to ensure I’m keeping my body and baby healthy!
Thanks
Yes!!
Hi, Kath. I joined the band-wagon of probiotics last winter, and have had great results, and I, too, stayed healthy all winter (knock on wood!). I am curious to know which brand you use, if you have a favorite. I have used a few different brands since Jan. and can’t tell too much of a difference, but wondered if you’d share yours!
Thanks, love your blog, and LOVE seeing you and T and Mazen so very happy!
I like both New Chapter and Rainbow Light brands. There are a lot of great ones out there though.
Do you have a certain probiotic that you recommend?
I like New Chapter and Rainbow Light brands of supplements
Lying down for a power nap is not effortless when you work full time and have multiple young children. But I can see how it would seem that way to people with different work schedules and older children…
See some of the other comments, like Tonya’s. The nap itself isn’t effortless – but the health benefits of resting is.
I’ve been hearing more about prebiotics. Any thoughts on taking those also?
Love your blog! Would love to see a more in-depth discussion on vitamin and probiotic brands that you use for you and your son. Thanks
I second Lauren’s request! I am also interested in your recommendation on the best Omega 3 supplement. I eat zero fish (have yet to find one that I want to eat regularly) and am allergic to walnuts :(( I know I need this very important element in my diet!
Kath, do drinks like Yakult contain enough probiotics to avoid a supplement?
Same question to eating yogurt daily?
I dont have an issue with taking a supplement… Im just curious!
thanks
I love corny jokes so here’s a couple.
What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef
and
Why was the sand wet? Because the sea weed.
??
Those silly jokes always make me laugh.
Hahah!!
I just told those to my son and almost couldn’t stop laughing to tell him! Ha ha!
That’s my son’s favorite joke too 🙂
I took various probiotic supplements for years, everything from expensive refridgerated brands to cheap generic ones and never noticed much of a difference.
However, once i started drinking kombucha daily i noticed a massive improvement in digestion and just that in general i had less issues with bloating or stomach aches. I brew my own kombucha now and have had it daily for about two years, I literally have been sick with a cold twice in two years!