Guest Post by Erin Alli, Certified Health Coach
Did you know that your gut and your brain work together? That doesn’t just mean “listening to your gut” over decisions that you need to make. It means keeping them both healthy and happy to make the most of your life and be able to be at your best. Most people don’t realize how much your brain and gut are intertwined.
Our brains are changeable. We are able to grow new brain cells throughout life and we can rewire the brain as long as we put the small effort to do so in.
Some examples of this are:
Visualizing what we want our day to look like -lie in bed in the morning and see what you want for your day. Do this before you do anything else
Visualizing what we want our future to look like -put together a visualization board with pictures and words for what you would like in your future and look at it daily
Exercising each day – no matter what that looks like. Cleaning the house, going for a walk, gardening…it all counts. Physical exercise increases dopamine.
Hydrating our bodies adequately -About 60% of your body and brain is water so in order for them to function properly you need to be sure they are getting enough.
Getting enough sleep -Without sleep, your body will slow down and your brain will go more toward a depressed state. Did you know that 1 in 10 Americans takes an antidepressant and that depression is the top cause of disability worldwide? Inflammation is the body’s way of alerting the systems that there is a problem that needs to be taken care of. Depressed people have inflammation of the brain. An unhappy, chaotic, disorganized, disengaged, forgetful brain is an inflamed brain. What inflames the brain, inflames the gut. Make sure you are getting enough sleep so your body can repair itself at night as much as possible as nature intended.
Your diet and lifestyle affect your brain health and what you do to your body you do to your brain and vice versa. So think about that next time you reach for that sugary drink or snack or run through the fast food line;) Serotonin being low affects mood and 90% of serotonin is produced in your stomach.
To really heal what is going on in your brain and your body you need to get to the root cause. Most people, including doctors, go for the quick fix of the symptom. Each time a new symptom pops up a new medication is prescribed to handle it. The problem is that people end up on a ton of medications (most of which are causing the new symptoms popping up) that they are afraid to get off of because they don’t know what would happen (and they often didn’t need them in the first place) because they don’t know to get to the root cause. That is where a health coach comes in. We help you get to the root cause of what is going on so you can make the lifestyle changes you need to and get off the medications you don’t need when you are ready. We work with you from where you are at and we go at your pace. Health coaching is about getting you to your best self, no matter how that looks in each situation. Health coaches can work with your doctor to get your health on track and put in the time that doctors just don’t have in order to help you get to the root cause, make changes, hold you accountable and cheer you on. We also provide you with curated information you need to make those changes so you don’t have to do the studying and research we have done:) Health Coaching is a step in the right direction to taking control of your life back.
Erin Alli is a certified Health and life coach and a professional writer. Erin has helped many clients with health challenges of all kinds and has studied many areas. Her specialty is in Brain and Gut Health and she is a Founding wellness partner with Amare Global, the first and only Mental Wellness Company. Erin does speak to groups as well and you can learn more about Erin at www.ErinAlli.com
