Increasing Regulation & Lowering Stress as a Mom
My personal journey to reducing stress as a momma of 3
I recently shared on my Instagram stories that after years of being consumed by stress, I feel like I'm finally in a very calm season and am incredibly grateful. I'm noticing myself feel a lot less bothered by things that used to send me over the edge.
A lot of our stress simply can't be controlled, which is why I feel that it's especially important to be mindful of lowering stress where we do have the ability!
So let's dive into principles that I do believe greatly contribute to our overall stress bucket, along with tips on how to do, well, the opposite!
SOME TOP STRESS CONTRIBUTORS:
Fasted workouts - a lot of sweet mommas are wanting so badly to prioritize time for their own health, movement, and stress relief and don't know that they could be making it worse!
Waking up for a 5 or 6 AM workout with no nourishment can make our stress hormones spiral even further out of whack.
”Muscle tissue breakdown rapidly accelerates after fasted training and without sufficient fuel, the body is at higher risk of injury. Glycogen depletion can also impair the body's ability to repair and rebuild muscle tissue post exercise.” - source link
A much better time to exercise would be after at least one good square meal - I personally aim for somewhere between 10am-3pm, but I know that’s not always a possibility given work schedules. If a morning working is your only option, try to sneak in a small amount of protein and carbs beforehand!
Delaying or skipping breakfast - this goes hand in hand with #1 - our liver only stores enough energy to sustain us while we sleep (about 10 hours!), and a lack of additional fuel (nourishment) will cause our bodies to begin breaking down energy reserves from our muscle tissue (glycogen), which long term can actually deteriorate muscle tissue. Seems like the opposite goal of working out 😅
Even if you're not hitting the gym or pounding pavement out of the gate, the same principle still applies! We are all expending energy after we wake up for the day.
In the morning, our blood sugar should be the lowest and eating helps to stabilize us and prepare us for the day. Cortisol on the other hand, should be the highest at waking, and skipping meals can continue sending that level even higher. (read: not good)
(one of my meal plans can really help with breakfast inspiration!)
See my blog post on the importance of breakfast, here!
3. Drinking too much “empty” water - now this is one I want you to approach with nuance and understanding - you should drink water.
But because we don't consume water from natural sources in our modern day, most of our water is completely stripped from minerals, and aiming for an arbitrary suggestion of a gallon or 8-10 glasses a day may actually be flushing out any mineral stores that we did actually have. Yikes!
Our ancestors knew that hydration can come from a lot of different sources, not just water! Fresh fruit juices, milk, water-rich fruits and veggies - all of these are incredibly hydrating.
For the water I do consume (because again, you should drink water guys!), I make it mineral rich. We have found it pretty affordable to buy filtered + remineralized water from the Whole Foods dispensers, and you can also add something like trace mineral drops to your water. I also love a good mineral rich homemade lemonade - lemon juice, maple syrup, water, and a pinch of cream of tartar (for potassium) and salt!
4. Under-eating - Most moms of young children are easily burning 2200+ calories a day and unfortunately, most moms are also trying to survive on scraps and too many low calorie foods.
We simply cannot regulate stress on an empty fuel tank.
And of course, eating food that nourishes you on a deep cellular level is incredibly important. Imagine pouring water in a gas tank and being like WHY WON'T THIS THING RUN. How can we expect our bodies to function on poor quality food and not enough of it, at that?Curious if you might be under-eating? Take my quiz, here!
5. Poor lighting - It's easy to forget as modern creatures that our current lighting access truly is recent in the scope of human history. Fluorescent lights, LED, phone & TV screens, & overall having access to brightness at times of the day when we aren't supposed to is wreaking havoc on our nervous systems and stress response.
Fortunately, there's some simple ways to combat this: Get some sunlight on your bare eyes first thing in the morning (no glasses or contacts). Take sun breaks throughout the day - sneak outside to get out of the indoor lights. Don't use overhead lights past sundown (real or battery candles, lamps, etc are more soothing). And you knew it was coming - turn the screens off after dark.
6. Toxin overload - it’s helpful to take a good hard look at the products you have in your home - putting on your skin, breathing in, wearing on your clothes. Think of your stress and toxin load like a bucket - we can only fill it up so much before it starts pouring out, which translates to symptoms, chronic illness, disease, etc. Every little attempt to lower toxins is good. Even if we can’t do it all at once! I love the EWG website for checking products in my home. My favorites tab has a lot of well-loved products I stand by personally!
I recommend starting with the items most used - laundry detergent, makeup if you’re a daily wearer, etc. And don’t forget removal is possible even before avoidance - ie: toss the candles, plug-ins, perfumes, etc!
7. Not carving out time to rest - The Biblical command to rest, or Sabbath, is such a beautiful one. We often have to be reminded of our own limited capabilities, and that while work is a wonderful God-given thing, so is recovery.
I started being really diligent to take a true Sabbath and I can confidently say it’s changed my ability to handle the rest of the week with energy, conviction, and efficiency. Not only is a full day of rest a needed pillar in our week, daily rest windows are also important.Whether that’s taking an hour of quiet time if you’re at home with littles or children, or calling it quits on the housework past 7 pm, our bodies need time to restore!
8. Not enough sunshine/fresh air - I am SO excited to come back soon for a full deep-dive post on the benefits of sunshine and the misunderstandings around it, but for now, the sun is on your side and is SO necessary!
Sun exposure is one of the key ways we receive this necessary Vitamin D hormone (yes, hormone!), and getting just 10-15 minutes a few times a day on decent amounts of bare skin, between the hours of 10am-3pm, is normally enough to give us the amount needed.
Because of our current cultural tendencies to remain indoors where our air is often less pure due to various toxins, a quite literal breath of fresh air is so needed! Even small breaks outside throughout the day can be incredibly beneficial - it helps our circadian rhythms, mental health, and can reduce inflammation, especially when combined with practices like grounding!
Feeling more regulated IS possible, momma! I hope these tips help you feel nourished, energetic, and vibrant to tackle your day and love your family well!
