Three easy things you can do RIGHT NOW to make you feel BETTER

Ok, I get it.  Sometimes life is HARD and can leave you hanging and struggling to even scrape through your morning, much less the week. As a healthcare practitioner, I know of so many options that are available to help your situation, including acupuncture, exercise, diet, etc., but all of these things take some time and effort to do so this post is all about 3 things that you can do right now that can improve your day and your health.

1. Breathe

When life gets tough at all, the first thing that seems to go is our ability to breathe. Stress, anxiety, pain, etc all cause us to start breathing inefficiently.  It turns out that oxygen is a vital component for cellular respiration (the way which our body makes energy) and without it, this process can't happen.  This lack of efficient breathing hinders all of our physiological processes and can ultimately make our lives miserable. So take a moment today and breathe. Keep it simple -expand and contract, and do this for even a minute and I bet you will feel better. 

2. Drink some water

There is an alarming statistic that reported 75% of Americans may suffer from chronic dehydration (1). Water is a vital substance that all almost all life on earth depends on and its properties dictate a great majority of the physics on this planet. There is a reason that the majority of our body is comprised of H2O, and when our body is depleted of water LIFE BECOMES HARD. The body will struggle to maintain an optimal level of physiology and in the body's revolt, you may suffer from headaches, muscle cramps, fatigue, digestive problems and perhaps other severe health complications. We recommend that you intake at least half your body weight- in fluid oz- of water each day. A good way to monitor this is to watch the color of your pee -  If dark and yellow, there is a pretty good chance you need more H20. So ditch that soda, coffee, and tea and grab a nice tall glass of thirst-quenching water to help you feel better right now!

3. Smile

I recently came across some articles indicating that people who are happy seem to live longer lives (1,2).  The Dahli Lama was once quoted that the secret to life is happiness, but the difficulty was how to achieve this.  It is being shown that you can achieve this life-sustaining action in your life through the simple act of smiling (1,2,3).  Even if it is forced, a simple smile has the ability to lower your stress, lower your blood pressure, improve mood, lower heart rate and make you feel better overall.  So, try and find a smile today and improve your life and health.

So there you have it, three simple things that you can do right now to help you to feel better.  If you have questions or want to find out more ways to feel better contact us at info@foothillsacupuncture.com for a free consultation.