Did you know living in a state of constant stress actually shrinks your brain?

It’s true.

Your brain is built to signal hormone release when you’re distressed. This is to signal your body of danger, and that’s a good thing! It’s what gives you an extra burst of energy if you have to run from a burning building or if you’re getting chased by a giant wildebeest.

The sad part about that is in our culture, we’re getting a bunch of “Holy sh** – RUN!” hormones when there’s no fire.

We’re just stressed out in stand-still rush hour traffic while the minutes tick away before the after-school care service closes, and you know if you’re late one more time they’re going to kick your kids out (after charging you $10 per minute for your overage). …or something like that.

The constant over-production of hormones caused by living in a state of stress is shrinking your brain tissue because we weren’t meant to live like that.

There are several things you are doing to keep yourself in that state of stress.

The good news?

You can quit!

Stop doing these things to lower your resting stress level and stop shrinking your brain:

1. DO NOT KEEP LISTS IN YOUR HEAD
   Your head was not meant to keep lists. That is what your iPhone is for …or your Android.If you don’t know how to keep lists in your iPhone or your Android, please email me (Jane@GILDCoaching.com) and ask me to send you the GILD reminder system (please tell me what type of device you have so I know which to send you).

   Have you ever noticed that when you go to the grocery store with full knowledge that the remote control in your family room has needed AA batteries for a week, you can walk right past that HUGE end-cap display of batteries and not even take notice?

   Do you know why?

   Your brain was not built to retain lists or this type of information so please for goodness sake stop asking it to do so. It’s increasing your resting stress level (and that makes you less productive).

2. STOP SCHEDULING THINGS BACK TO BACK
   
   If you’ve ever had a session with me, you know I schedule them for 50-minutes, and I leave a 10-minute window before the top of the next hour. (If you haven’t had one, book a complimentary Diagnosis Breakthrough Session – you’ll love it!)Do you know why?I’m not going to be late for a client whose session starts at the top of the next hour.Schedule your life like that. Add extra commute time.

   Create a buffer for everything.

   You’ll stop running late, and that will lower your stress overall.

3. DON’T LOOK AT SCREENS RIGHT BEFORE BEDThis is for you especially if you have a hard time getting to sleep.Your optic nerve needs time to calm down. Keeping it stimulated during naturally dark hours totally screws up your nervous system.Do you know what happens when your nervous system gets screwed up?

   Nothing good.
   You’re stressed out, and you’re losing sleep.

   Oh, yeah… and you’re losing brain tissue.

   Turn off the overhead lights, use lamps, and put the screens away within an hour of bedtime.

   You’ll sleep better, and you’ll awaken more rested and with more brain tissue!

4. STOP STAYING UP LATE
   You need 6-8 hours of sleep a night. Period. That’s science.If you say you don’t have time for 6-8 hours of sleep a night, then you’re really doing something wrong, and we should talk, so book a session.Depriving yourself of sleep is depriving your body of recovery time.

   The reason your body forces you into bed when you get a virus is that it has to have sleep.

   Just like you take great care to plug in that precious cell phone of yours each night, your body needs to plug in, and it takes 6-8 hours to recharge.

   Having a low-stress morning starts the night before.

   You have to plan for a successful day; otherwise, you’re preparing for failure. Make a choice in the evenings and stick to it.

In addition to shrinking your brain, these stress hormones that are released in over-production mode also lead to:

• Obesity
• Heart Disease
• Depression
• High Blood Pressure
• Serious Mental Disorders
• Unhealthy Lifestyle Decisions

There are a ton of other things you can do to increase your brain health like keeping a healthy diet, exercising and practicing mindfulness.

If you want to explore these more and other ways you can be the best version of yourself, my invitation for you to book a complimentary Diagnosis Session remains.