Three Tips for Managing Anxiety

At Calibrate, Emotional Health is one of our four pillars of Metabolic Health because your mood and stress levels can influence hormones that affect your eating habits—and, over time, your metabolic system and weight. And with May being Mental Health Awareness month, we wanted to share with you some tips from Calibrate Sleep & Emotional Health Expert, Ellen Vora, MD.

Here are a few tiny tweaks to help reduce your anxiety and stress that will have a big impact:

• Eat more protein and healthy fats (olive oil, pasture-raised animals).
• Make a daily snack out of  a spoonful of almond butter, coconut oil, or a handful of almonds.

Stabilizing your blood sugar is important in helping to decrease anxiety. When your blood sugar crashes, your body secretes stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline). Both of these tips will help you keep your blood sugar balanced throughout the day and help avoid that stress response.

Tip 2: Sleep

• Let your eyes see bright light in the morning and only dim light at night
• Unplug before bed

Sleep and anxiety are very closely tied to one another. Getting a good night’s sleep is key in helping to reduce anxiety because insomnia and sleep deprivation are tied to higher levels of the anxiety hormone cortisol. Considering how light plays a role in your sleep hygiene and trying to unplug before bed are two ways to help improve your sleep and hopefully your overall anxiety levels.

Tip 3: Exercise

• Try mini workouts, take the pressure off of doing something long and intense
• Stand when possible

Movement is one great way to boost feel-good endorphins. Finding an activity or way to move throughout your day (or even taking a break from sitting by standing for a few minutes) can make a big difference, it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing it can go a long way.

Sources:

https://ellenvora.com/6-tips-for-managing-anxiety-naturally/

https://ellenvora.com/healing-anxiety-starts-with-blood-sugar/

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