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8 Things You Do That Damage Your Brain

Our brain: the original computer and the most complicated organ in the body. It’s the boss of all that we have going on, with over eighty billion neurons firing to keep things running. It’s important that we take proper care of command central to ensure a long life of good health and mental well-being.

Here are eight things we do that damage our brains:

brain-damage

1. We do not eat breakfast.

Many people either skip breakfast or eat sugary, nutrient-lacking foods that spike their insulin, leaving them feeling lethargic and unmotivated to do much of anything. Go for whole, fresh, ripe fruits and veggies or starches to give your body the energy it craves.

When you wake up each morning, make sure you have a nutritious breakfast of something like a fruity smoothie, oatmeal, whole fruits, or maybe a green juice. Having the essential vitamins and minerals in your bloodstream will give you the energy to tackle everything in your day, and will help keep your blood sugar under control.

2. We avoid exercise.

We are all aware of the benefits of exercise to our body and our health. Think of the brain as you would any muscle in the body. If the body sits still for too long, the muscles get stiff and sore. This fact is true for the brain as well. The longer we avoid exercise, the longer it takes to get back into shape. Our brain benefits from both physical and mental exercises. Get the blood flowing through exercise and then challenge your brain at least once a day. Read something, watch a documentary, or have a stimulating conversation. Let’s become curious to learn new things and exercise our brain in the process.

3. We overload our brain with information.

Information is everywhere. It’s on our phones, on the radio, on our computers, and even on our wrists. We can’t help but read, watch and listen ourselves into a state of information overload. The problem isn’t the information itself; it’s the fact that our brain can only hold small amounts of information in our short-term memory. Knowing that, every time we read an article, we have to lose another piece of information to make room for it. And when we are losing the important information to make room for “news,” we are doing our work and our families a disservice. Our goal should be to disconnect and value the right kind of information so as to not tax our overloaded brains.

4. We multitask.

Along the lines of information overload, multitasking taxes our brain into a fatigued state, making it virtually impossible to be productive. In many work situations, it is a sign of achievement to see how many balls we can keep up in the air at the same time. It is becoming common knowledge that multi-tasking does not lead to better or more work. Give your brain a break and do better work by single-tasking your way to the top.

5. We smoke.

The fact that smoking is bad for you should not come as a surprise. Anything that reduces the supply of oxygen to the body is bad for our brains. Smoking doesn’t just affect the brain and the lungs; it affects other parts of the body that keep our brain healthy. including the carotid artery that supplies blood and oxygen to the brain.

6. We don’t drink enough water.

When it comes to water, unfortunately, a shocking 75% of Americans suffer from chronic dehydration, according to a report by CBS.

Seeing as approximately 60% of our bodies, 75% of our muscles, and 85% of our brains are composed of water, dehydration should not be taken lightly. Dehydration can affect many different functions and parts of the body, leaving you feeling lethargic, sick, and simply exhausted.

Experts say that people don’t need to necessarily drink eight glasses of water per day, but at least half an ounce to an ounce for each pound you weigh, according to an article on WebMD.

Exercise and the climate where you live also come into play when calculating how much water you need to drink per day. If you live in a very hot climate and exercise outdoors frequently, you’d need more than the recommended amount. If you live in a cooler climate and are mostly sedentary, your water intake would fall on the lower end of the range.

7. We aren’t happy.

Sadly, negativity affects the brain. When the brain is happy, it releases endorphins, the same way it does when we exercise. These are our natural stress and pain relieving hormones. They make us feel good about ourselves and, in turn, create more happiness. Do something every day for pure joy. When we foster our playful and creative self, we are feeding our brain what it needs to help us through more difficult times.

8. We fail to get a good night’s sleep.

When we sleep, several important functions are taking place. Our bodies are not only resting, but they are repairing themselves too. There is muscle repair going on, memory consolidation, and there is a release of various hormones relating to growth, appetite and other important activities. When we awaken after a good night’s sleep, we feel relaxed and refreshed, ready to face the day and all it brings. Get a poor night’s sleep and the difference is obvious as we struggle to make decisions and stay alert.

7 Things To Never Do When Tired

Ideally, we spend our days with a plethora of energy to get what needs to be done. More often, though, we end up with insufficient sleep; we skimp on breakfast because we’re late, and we experience an afternoon tired slump that affects our productivity.

We want to do it all, but sometimes we just don’t have enough energy to sustain us through our daily tasks. And when our energy fades, it’s not unusual to make less-than-ideal choices, have ill-timed conversations, or push through our to-do list when it might be better to allow things to carry over.

Here are seven things we should never do when we’re tired:

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Give Into Temptation

It can be hard to resist the temptation at the best of times. But at times of low energy, our susceptibility to temptation increases. Our willpower is lower when we are tired than our decision-making powers. When tired, we are more likely to play hooky, give in to spur-of-the-moment purchases and make poor nutrition choices. Avoid giving in to temptation and stay the course until your energy is restored.

Make Important Decisions

The most important decisions require a clear head, which happens when we are well-rested. When we’re tired – we are impatient. We prefer to move on quickly to the next thing, giving us a sense that time is passing by faster than it is. This is not quite what they call ‘decision fatigue,’ it is more like ‘fatigued decisions.’ When we’re tired, our defenses are down, our brain power is lower, and our ability to consider important aspects or details is obviously also lower.

Conduct Business Meetings

When we enter a business meeting, we must be on our A-game. Business meetings can be unpredictable, and it’s important that we can think quickly and logically to protect our interests. We must be ready to think on our feet; we can’t do that when our energy is low.

Drive

Drinking isn’t the only dangerous habit when it comes to driving a car. According to America’s National Transport Safety Board, 100,000 crashes yearly involve drowsy driving and result in 1,500 deaths. At sixty miles per hour, a car travels 88 feet in just one second. That means that in just four seconds asleep at the wheel. The car will travel the length of a football field.

Munching

What goes up must come down. Sugary snacks, drinks, caffeine, and other junk foods give us an immediate but temporary boost. Unfortunately, these are the types of food we often reach for when we are tired and looking for a quick burst of energy. We get an almighty sugar stream to the cells, which feels good. It’s a short burst of energy, though, with nothing to back it up and keep it going. As soon as that sugar has been exhausted, and there’s nothing to replace it, the inevitable crash will happen. And we usually end up worse than we were before.

And it’s not just sugar, either. Alcoholic beverages and some foods can also give us a short-term energy lift, leaving us crashing when we need the most energy. It is wise to avoid vending machines when we’re tired and hungry. Indeed, hydration and proper nourishment with whole foods are essential for a healthy life.

Have Important Conversations

Having meaningful conversations when we lack energy has a much greater chance of not ending well. Most conversations should be put off at work or home until we are in a better place mentally. It’s hard to engage in a relevant and purposeful conversation when we are tired. Anything less than coming into a conversation well-prepared and ready to support our argument with facts can lead to less-than-desired results.

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Stressful Situations

Our day is often made up of various situations, some of which are more likely to increase stress levels if not dealt with appropriately. When we lack energy and patience, dealing with those situations can go awry. We may end up saying something we’ll regret later, or we may agree to take on something at work or in life that doesn’t fit our schedule or plans.

The best thing we can do for sustainable energy is to get a good night’s sleep and even squeeze in an occasional nap when we’re able. Eating well, drinking plenty of water, and spending a few minutes outside in the sun can go a long way to maintaining energy levels.

8 Things To Remember When You Feel Broken Inside

This life certainly likes to push us to our limits. At times, you might feel broken inside. It all seems like too much and we fall into a black abyss of despair and hopelessness.

Feeling broken doesn’t mean that you should just give up entirely, however; it just means you need to take a step back and let those feelings come to the surface.

We all feel broken from time to time, because life can seem heartbreaking and terrifying when we go through certain experiences. These life lessons only make us stronger and more capable of dealing with life, though, so use your brokenness as a gift that will help you grow as a person.

Here are 8 things to remember when you feel broken:

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1. Remember that cracks allow light to come in.

If you didn’t become broken occasionally, there would be no place for the light to enter your soul. Basically, it takes awful, heart-wrenching experiences for us to see all the good in the world sometimes, and for us to go through a transformation of the soul. If we just had positive, uplifting experiences all the time, we would have no room to grow and no life experiences that would challenge us to become more resilient, powerful people.

You can’t expect life to grant you an easy ride; if it did, you would miss out on life-changing experiences that would break you open, tear you apart, and rebuild you into a better version of yourself. Many parts of ourselves open up when we feel broken, so remember this any time you feel exhausted and utterly shattered by life.

2. Remember to accept and honor your feelings; don’t fight them.

Don’t feel bad for having negative or heavy emotions; if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be human. Certain experiences warrant a strong reaction from us, and sometimes that means crying, screaming, falling to our knees, and just accepting the waves of emotion that come over us. Keeping all of this balled up inside will only backfire in the end, so don’t ever keep your feelings hidden for fear of other people’s reactions. Fighting off your feelings will only delay the breakdown, and you’ll walk around feeling the world’s weight on your shoulders. You must walk bravely into the place within you that harbors these deep emotions, so you can begin to work through them and figure out what they want you to take from all you’ve been through.

3. Keep remembering your “why.”

During hardships, we often forget what we even want from life in the first place. We all came here to love with all of our hearts, and increase the vibration of this planet in unison. When you feel broken, you can easily overlook or forget your mission here on Earth, but going through hard times actually gives your purpose more depth. If you didn’t go through unpleasant experiences, you wouldn’t be able to relate to so many other people on this planet who go through hard times almost every day. Keep your “why” in mind, and reflect on how the negative situations you’ve encountered allow you to have a more well-rounded perspective and better serve your purpose on Earth.

4. Remember everything that exists beyond your brokenness.

Just because you feel broken, does not mean the whole world shares your perspective. It does not mean the entire planet must go down in flames because of one bad day or experience you had, so remember to broaden your perspective next time you go through bad times. Think of the fact that you still get to breathe fresh air, see the clouds float by on a sunny day, feel the wind on your skin, smile at a stranger..think of all these beautiful little things you can still do even though you feel broken. Remember all of the good things happening on the planet despite your temporary slump, and the whole world won’t look like such a dark place anymore.

5. Remember the friends and family that are there for support.

When you feel down and out about life, your friends and family will comfort you and be your rock when you need them. Don’t hesitate to ask them for help, because we all need some assistance when we go through a rough patch in life. If you feel like a burden on them, just remember all the times you were there for them; the people who care about you would gladly do the same for you.

6. Remember to focus on the things that bring you joy.

So often when we feel broken, we focus entirely on our despair and forget about the things that bring us happiness. Go out and get some sunshine, plant some flowers, ride your bike, catch up with friends over coffee, or do anything on this Earth that makes your heart light up with joy. Just because you feel broken, doesn’t mean you have to spend every waking minute of your life mulling over your feelings and wallowing in a sea of turmoil.

7. Don’t identify so much with your feelings.

Remember that you don’t really own your feelings or thoughts; they just come and go as they please, and you get to watch them appear, even if you didn’t invite them in. Think about this: you consciously invite friends and family to your house, but you don’t knock on the doors of your emotions and invite them to your brain. It just doesn’t work that way, so remember, you don’t have to identify with your feelings. You are SO much more than your temporary emotions, so don’t let them control you.

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8. Remember that life is a series of ups and downs, and this is only temporary.

Like your emotions, this whole ride we have been thrown onto since birth only exists briefly. We take it so seriously, yet overlook that we don’t get to spend forever in this existence. Enjoy it while it lasts; yes, even the hardships and despair because when you look back on your life, you will thank your brokenness just as much as your happiness for all it taught you on your journey.

5 Signs You’re Settling For Less Than You Deserve

In our minds, there are often two mental images we have of ourselves. There is the mental image of where we are right now in our current reality. Then there’s the mental image of where we want to be. And we usually want to be a happy, more successful, fitter, healthier, and more confident ‘us.’

How big is the difference between your two mental images; and is the image of the ‘now’ occasionally darker than the reality? This is an internal divide we all face.

If our ‘present’ image is not what we would like it to be, there is a chance that we are settling for less than we deserve. Or maybe that we have accepted our current reality because of weariness or bad experiences.

Here are five signs that we’re settling for less than we deserve:

Watch for these five red flags.

1. We are often envious of what others have and are doing.

We may be envious of the success of another person, or their popularity, their style, their looks, their wealth, or their position in life. It is natural to feel like this from time to time, but it’s unhealthy if the feeling lingers too long and takes hold.

Let’s take a look at the reality of the situation. First of all, what we see and envy about someone else is only our perception and may not reflect reality. And even if it is reality and we feel we are settling for less, what are we going to do about it?

When we spend time being envious of what others have, we do not recognize all the things for which we should be grateful for in our lives. We do not limit our envy to those we know, most of the time; we can be just as envious of strangers. The bottom line is the “grass is always greener” syndrome keeps us from recognizing the good in our lives.

We know that being envious or angry at the success of another is merely taking away from our happiness. It just isn’t healthy or productive to spend any amount of our time obsessing over what others have. If we truly feel we need to achieve something, make it for the right reasons and take the necessary actions to move towards the goal instead of settling for your current reality.

2. When we spend our day waiting for it to be over.

When we are having a bad day and simply hoping to get through it, we are doing ourselves a disservice because we have given up. We must remember that even in the midst of a bad day there is always something that can make the day better. If we are hoping just to get the day over with, it might be time to rethink our attitude and look for the silver lining.

3. We spend our time avoiding the things that need to be done.

Let’s face it, not everything in our day is fun and exhilarating. In fact, there are a lot of not-so-exciting actions that needs to take place to keep on the path to our potential. The problem is we just don’t like doing the boring stuff, and that means we are settling and making it difficult to achieve our goals.

Many times the avoidance of these tasks come by way of distractions that do not lend value to our life. When we allow ourselves to be taken away from what we need to do to achieve big things, we are not honoring our truth. The goal is to keep focused on the goal so we’re not settling for less than we deserve.

4. Life isn’t going as planned.

Sometimes life throws us a few curve balls, and it gets us off our game. Maybe nothing is inspiring us anymore, or we find ourselves playing it safe and settling for mediocrity. Our get-up-and-go has got up and left! It’s important that we get it back, and we can do that by spending time fostering our creative self. We need to take the time to take care of our mental well-being so we can navigate the challenges of daily life.

5. You doubt everything!

A little self-doubt is a good thing. It makes us try harder or think things through just one more time before we commit to something important. If frequent doubt goes unchecked, though, the minor doubts can grow into something far greater and can end up defining a lot of our decisions and thought processes. In other words, it can hold us back. To grow more confident in who we are and what we believe, we must continue to take action. It’s that action that helps eliminate the self-doubt.

It’s time to stop and think about what we deserve. It’s hard to know whether we are settling for less if we don’t have a clear understanding of our true worth. We can do that by getting clear on our goals and the whys behind them. Clarity of purpose is a great compass for life.

8 Reasons Morning People Are Healthier Than The Rest Of Us

No matter if you stay awake until the early morning hours or not, we’re all pre-wired to wake up when the sun starts to shine.

Think about it: if we still lived out in nature as the universe intended, we would all go to sleep a little after the sunset, and wake up as the sun rose because our bodies would be more in tune with the natural rhythms of the world. Since we live in a man-made environment now, many of us have a hard time getting to sleep early and waking up early, because unnatural lights (such as those from computers, TVs, and cell phones) keep us awake. Out in nature, we wouldn’t have any of these artificial light sources keeping us up.

Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist from Atlanta and author of Master Your Sleep, told USNews.com, “We are supposed to be awake when it’s light outside and asleep when it’s dark outside.”

Even if you have difficulty going to bed at a decent hour, you can train your body to become a morning person and reap all of the health benefits of waking up earlier.

Here are 8 reasons why morning people are healthier than the rest of us:

morning people

1. Morning people have lower body fat levels.

It turns out that those who get most of their light exposure between 8 AM and noon have lower body fat than those who obtain their Vitamin D later in the day. According to Northwestern University research published this past spring, people who got most of their sunlight during morning hours had a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who soaked up the sun later in the day. Something else interesting to note is that these results were independent of people’s activity levels or caloric intake.

“Light is the most potent agent to synchronize your internal body clock that regulates circadian rhythms, which in turn also regulate energy balance,” study senior author Phyllis C. Zee, MD, told ScienceDaily.com. “If you don’t get sufficient light at the appropriate time of day, it could de-synchronize your internal body clock, which is known to alter metabolism and can lead to weight gain.”

2. They drive better.

Not surprisingly, morning people have better driving skills than night owls, according to a study done by Spanish researchers. Granada researchers studied the biological rhythms of 29 University of Granada students, some who identified as night owls and others who labeled themselves as morning people. When they asked the night owls to drive at 8 AM, they did significantly worse than when the researchers asked them to get behind the wheel at 8 PM. However, the morning people performed well at both times of the day. The researchers found that morning people show more care for detail and exhibit higher diligence compared to night owls, which explains their ability to drive well at any hour of the day or night.

3. Morning people are go-getters.

Many studies have linked an ambitious attitude to higher wages, better job performance, and a greater success rate than those who don’t exhibit such high levels of proactivity. When Harvard biologist Christoph Randler polled undergrads a few years ago, he found morning people had higher levels of agreement with statements such as “??I spend time identifying long-range goals for myself” and “I feel in charge of making things happen,” Harvard Business Review reported.

4. Happiness comes easier to them.

Exposure to morning light can lower depression risk and boost energy levels, which may explain why morning people are happier overall than night owls.

When the University of Toronto researchers surveyed more than 700 adults on their sleeping habits, mood, and overall health, they discovered that morning people who got up around 7 AM or earlier had up to a 25 percent increase in feelings of happiness, cheerfulness, and alertness.

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5. Morning people exercise more.

More and more studies have been proving that working out in the morning is ideal for those who wish to keep up a routine and see the best results from their workouts.

“In terms of performing a consistent exercise habit, individuals who exercise in the morning tend to do better,”? Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer with the American Council on Exercise, said on OrnishSpectrum.com.

Because they get their workout out of the way earlier in the day, they tend to stick with the routine easier than someone who gets home from work and must head straight to the gym afterward. You could use the excuse of being too tired to work out when you get home from a long day at work, but for morning people, it invigorates them, even more, to jump out of bed and get their sweat on first thing in the morning.

6. Bosses have a better impression of those who get up earlier.

Corporate bosses tend to view morning people as more conscientious and ambitious, according to a 2014 study by the Journal of Applied Psychology. Supervisors think of people who clock in later as less diligent and mindful of their jobs than those who get to work earlier. However, if your boss turns out to be a night owl, he or she will probably have a soft spot for night owls and not come down so hard on you if you clock in late now and then.

7. They get better grades in school.

“It’s easier to get to your classes on time and study if you get up earlier,” study author Daniel J. Taylor, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton.

Although college students can choose when to take classes, early birds still get the worm. A study of more than eight hundred students found that morning people had a GPA that was a whole point higher than that of their night owl colleagues (3.5 vs. 2.5).

8. Morning people who have diabetes have better blood sugar levels.

Many studies have reported that going to bed late might negatively affect your blood sugar levels and cause other health problems, such as coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome, impaired glucose intolerance, and obesity. Night owls also tend to consume most of their calories late in the day, which can cause metabolic issues down the road. One study found that, among Japanese adults with type 2 diabetes, night owls had higher HbA1C levels (a measure of blood sugar control), triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol than morning people.

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Final Thoughts on Morning People

Morning people enjoy many health benefits. Their early start gives them the advantage of a more efficient metabolism, accomplishing tasks earlier in the day to eliminate worry, and finding the time to exercise. Give it a try! Start by rising just thirty minutes earlier and see how much you enjoy that extra time.

5 Signs You’re In a Relationship With An Enlightened Woman

While it’s rare to come across an enlightened woman in today’s world, you will know it when you do come across her. She carries herself differently, with an air of confidence and, at the same time, humility. She knows what she wants, and doesn’t hesitate to go after it. An enlightened woman doesn’t worry about what other people think of her, because she knows only her opinion of herself matters in the end. As an enlightened woman, she knows that she steers her own vessel, and can go wherever she pleases in life. Enlightened women just seem to know things that the masses don’t know, which makes them seem as if they came from some other far away planet, rather than this one.

Here are 5 signs you’re in a relationship with an enlightened woman:

enlightened woman

1. She takes time to reconnect with herself (meditation, yoga, etc)

An enlightened woman knows that silencing her thoughts and regaining strength and balance will help her to establish a better relationship with herself. No matter how busy her schedule, she takes some time out of each day to sink into the beauty of solitude and relaxation, whether through yoga, meditation, or some other calming ritual.

An enlightened woman realizes that through the chaos and constant hustle and bustle of the world, going within provides the only solace and relief from this overworked, overtired, crazy world we live in. She looks forward to every chance she gets to disconnect from the “real world,” and reconnect to what truly matters: the universe within her heart and soul.

2. She doesn’t let other people’s opinions keep her from her dreams.

An enlightened woman follows her dreams, no matter if everyone else can see them or not. She doesn’t care what other people think of her or her life plans; she knows what she wants, and doesn’t stop until she gets it. However, she doesn’t totally discard people’s opinions; she will listen quietly and respect people’s right to voice their opinions. She just doesn’t let those opinions keep her from her ultimate goals in life. People see her as headstrong, fierce, and goddess-like, because she believes in herself and doesn’t let anyone cut her down.

3. An enlightened woman doesn’t blindly follow the masses just to feel accepted.

An enlightened woman will march to the beat of her own drum, regardless of how everyone around her chooses to live. She doesn’t care if people accept her, because she knows that it only matters if she accepts herself. She might live a totally different lifestyle than the people around her do, but that doesn’t bother her. As long as she stays true to her heart and lives according to her highest truth, then she feels content and balanced in life. She knows that if everyone does something, it probably isn’t the best thing to do, so she creates her own rules, and doesn’t apologize for it.

4. She treats everyone she meets with kindness and respect.

Even if she doesn’t see eye to eye with everyone in her life, she still treats them like she would want to be treated. She doesn’t judge them or condemn them for their beliefs. Instead, she realizes that everyone must walk their own path in life, and honors that. She doesn’t bash people or make them feel bad. In fact, she lifts them up and makes them see the brightest parts of themselves, even if they can’t see that. She wants everyone to feel good about themselves, and shares all of her positive energy with everyone she meets.

5. An enlightened woman doesn’t fear the future; she embraces it.

While most people live in fear of the unknown, this excites her. The endless possibilities that await her in the future fill her with a sense of wonder and hope. She knows that worrying about the future only takes away this moment’s opportunity for peace, so she simply lives in the present and creates her future as she goes along. An enlightened woman knows that trying to control and predict life will only frustrate and disappoint, so she chooses to not let the worries of a date that hasn’t happened yet get to her. She embraces everything that happens in her life, whether good or bad, knowing that each situation holds an important lesson along her journey.

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