1. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
Getting a sound night’s sleep at the right time is top of the list, because it lays the foundation for your recovery. Without adequate sleep, your efforts to change your diet, rest more, and enjoy your life will not be as effective. You are also more likely to gain weight, as lack of sleep is a significant stress and your body responds the same way it does to other stressors, which is to alter normal cortisol production and disrupt the HPA axis. This in turn increases your blood sugars—potentially leading to obesity. This cycle sets you up for gaining weight and other metabolic diseases like diabetes. We all know how bad you feel when you are sleep deprived; it affects your brain function, coordination, energy, enthusiasm, mood, and sex drive. I consider getting a good night’s sleep to be one of my most important health goals, as when I don’t, I can barely function and I suffer with more brain fog and anxiety, and less energy, focus, and patience. Lack of sleep also decreases your immune function, leaving you more vulnerable to all viruses, pathogens, and other disease. Aim for seven to eight hours and ensure you are in bed prior to 10 p.m., as your body does most of its recharging from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. See my tips for getting the best night’s sleep below.
2. Ensure you eat nutritious foods every three hours that contain protein, good-quality fats, and healthy, wholegrain, low GI carbs. According to Dr. James L.Wilson ND, DC, PhD, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome, 1 salt craving is a common symptom in all stages of adrenal fatigue and most people would benefit from salting their food with a good quality sea salt. Dr. Wilson explains that some of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue are caused by your body’s need for salt. If your blood pressure is high, then it’s best not to salt your food.
3. Ensure you eat breakfast within an hour of rising, have a mid-morning snack, lunch by 12 p.m., an afternoon snack, and dinner by 6 p.m. If you are waking in the middle of the night with low blood sugar levels, then have a small snack prior to going to bed that has protein and good-quality fats and healthy, wholegrain, low GI carbs.
4. Take a water bottle with you wherever you go and ensure you drink during your day.
5. Take a good-quality vitamin C supplement with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Vitamin C is needed to make your adrenal hormones and when you are experiencing any stress you need more vitamin C. The bioavailable form is best.
6. Hold yourself accountable for your recovery from Adrenal Fatigue. No one else can do this for you. Create your life vision (learn how in chapter 7 of my book From Broken To Beautiful) which will contain what you need to do to enjoy your life and recover from Adrenal Fatigue.
7. Most people with Adrenal Fatigue push themselves, are workaholics, perfectionists, and don’t spend enough time just having fun, or time with the people they love. Try to schedule at least one fun thing every day that you enjoy.
8. Try to have a rest every day. Most people will build up a certain amount of tension in their bodies which they are not aware of. Lie down and do the progressive relaxation (learn how in chapter 5, in my book From Broken To Beautiful) and if you need to sleep, then sleep.
9. This tip is from Dr. James L.Wilson ND, DC, PhD, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. Do an audit of your life and identify the things that you feel are good for you and not good for you. If you can, where possible, try to increase the good things in your life and decrease the things that you perceive as not good for you. Examples of not good for you may be staying up late and watching TV, eating junk food, and working too much. To successfully decrease or eliminate the bad things, learning how to set healthy boundaries with yourself and other people will be essential.
10. Stop doing what I call just in times, which is where you don’t allow yourself enough time to be somewhere or get ready. Doing this creates a lot of stress. Plan ahead and allow yourself enough time, plus some fudge time, to get to your destination.
11. If you’re struggling financially, then you need to create a plan that outlines how you can move forward, as having financial problems is very stressful.
12. Schedule regular social contact with other people and see it as necessary to improve your mental health. Social isolation is a killer and it is on the increase, as over a third of our population around the world now live by themselves. We are now relying more and more on social media and less on face-to-face contact. It is easy to jump online, check your Facebook page, and think this is fulfilling your social needs. It is not! There is no substitute for face-to-face contact with someone. There is a flow of energy that comes from the heart, and this has been measured by The HeartMath Institute. When two people are together, the heart rhythm of one person (which is encoded with their emotions) can be recorded in an EEG of the other person. Face-to-face contact feeds you on a soul and emotional level that you will not get from any amount of social media.
13. Aim to be loved and appreciated for who you are. To do this you have to be yourself, or be the authentic you. Acting like someone else to please others is extremely draining and will increase your stress hormones. It’s liberating to be the real you. Try it.
14. Value your time, energy, and health and don’t take on other people’s problems. You won’t be around to help others if you don’t help yourself first.
15. Be determined to find a good holistic doctor who can investigate your fatigue and complete a range of blood and saliva tests to determine the best way forward. You will find a recommended range of medical tests in my book From Broken To Beautiful- How To Be Calm, Happy and Slim.
1 Dr. James L.Wilson ND, DC, PhD, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome, Smart Publications, 2014
2 Dr. James L.Wilson ND, DC, PhD, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome, Smart Publications, 2014
