How Sleep, Minerals and Protein Can Give You a Healthy Energy Boost Within a Week  

Women are smart, ambitious and driven to success. We are the healers, athletes, doers, leaders, humanitarians, politicians, trend setters, business and technology gurus of today! But are we as dedicated to maintaining our wellness as we are to achieving our outside ambitions? Without wellness, a woman  can easily find herself hunched over a desk with an energy drink in one hand, and an emotional and physical breakdown in the other! In short, not putting our health at the top of our to-do list can put us into major wellness default.

So if sugar snacking and late night burn-out sessions, caffeine overload, demanding careers and managing personal relationships has you feeling overwhelmed, psychologically and physically, then what you need is a wellness transformation. Here are my top 3 tips for accomplishing that: 

Sleep, Sleep, and More Sleep
Poor sleep quality has been linked to brain atrophy, which has also been linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Additionally, inadequate sleep can eventually turn us into emotional zombies with roller coaster emotions, slower cognitive ability, unstable metabolism and a weakened immune system. The National Sleep Foundation says 7-9 hours of sleep is the optimal range for maximum brain functionality. How is this possible you ask? Intense sleep training, as follows:

• Don’t drink caffeine, alcohol, eat sugar or carbs four hours before your set bed time. They can all interfere with the quality of your sleep. In fact, the older you get, the more caffeine will affect you (its half-life ability to stay in the body increases, so it’s better to have your last cola or coffee by about 2 p.m.)
• Take a hot bath. Blood is better able to circulate when it’s warm and when gravity is dispersed evenly, this is why bathing is recommended for a calming effect on stressed muscles and psyches.  Any bath salts which contain a high amount of magnesium, such as Epsom salts, will also help to calm you.
• Put your electronics down one hour before your bedtime to avoid blue light sensory stimulation before trying to doze off.

Last but not least, breathe. We hold so much tension in our shoulders, back and neck that often times our breathing seems to stay in our upper body. To relax your muscles and oxygenate your whole body for more relaxing sleep, do the following:

• Lie down in a quiet spot in your home or office, where there are no distractions.  Then close your eyes and take in a deep breath from your abdomen to your chest while counting to four.
• Hold the breath for a count of seven, then exhale slowly for eight counts, and repeat the exercise 4-8 times. This will help to quiet your mind, focus your thoughts on relaxing the body and getting back in tune with yourself before you rest. 

Hydrate With Minerals
Our bodies are over 65% water. Water acts as a flushing mechanism for free radicals, bacteria and viruses that could impact our vital organs. Even mild dehydration can impact energy levels, which can then affect the body’s ability to fight off illnesses like kidney and urinary tract infections.

A general rule for hydration is to drink eight glasses of water a day (64 oz.). This amount will give your body what it needs to more easily fight off bacteria and viruses, keep your energy and sodium levels in check, and keep your digestive system running smoothly. Equally important to hydrating is making sure to get adequate electrolytes. Electrolytes (or ionic salts) create an electrical charge with certain minerals in the body when they connect with water-otherwise known as organic ENERGY! So put down the sugar, and go for the ionic salts instead!

Add ¼ tsp (or to taste preference) of ionic salts to 32 oz. of water twice a day. My recommendation is to purchase Himalayan Salts, which have over 84 trace mineral elements found in our bodies (including zinc, magnesium and iron) that help our cells get nutrients where they need to be and keep our bodies working properly. Add 1 drop of peppermint or lemon oil to your 32 oz. of water for flavor, or add your salts to coconut water for an added burst of natural energy.

Eat Protein and Superfoods
As women, we are especially prone to hormone deficiencies when our brain is not fed properly, and hormones can be tricky to get back under control once they’re knocked off track. So how do we feed our brain to help our hormones stay balanced? Via protein and superfoods.

Protein is a macro-nutrient that our body doesn’t store, so we have to continuously feed it to our cells in large amounts to remain healthy. Our hair, skin cells, bones, cartilage, and blood are largely made of protein and our large muscles and tissues are repaired by protein. Protein also creates hormones, enzymes and important stabilizing chemicals, and is a powerful tool in keeping bodily health and cognitive/logical thinking up to speed. Without protein, there are large negative fluctuations in overall wellness — not just in health, as also in emotions, which are also impacted by protein intake. So eat 1 gram of protein per desired body weight to make sure you are getting the right amount.

Good sources: Chicken, salmon, almonds, oatmeal and egg whites.

Superfoods, high in nutrients and low in calories, are also a major player in balancing your body’s endocrine system, which directs your cells in where to carry nutrients. If you are trying to balance work and personal life, then you want to make sure that your endocrine system is well taken care of.

Superfoods include: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, coconut oil, cranberries, kale, spinach, broccoli, dandelion greens, egg whites, legumes and almonds. 

Bonus Energy Tip!

For busy women doing it all, time can be of the essence, especially in the mornings. An easy way to get your superfoods, protein and daily hydration needs met is to make this easy powerful organic OM POWER protein shake. All women juggling crazy schedules should try the following:

Ingredients

• 1-2 scoops of OM Power Protein
• 4 oz. water, almond or coconut milk
• Ice cubes (depends on how thick you want the shake)
• 1 tbsp. hemp oil, flax seed oil or ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 raw egg (optional)
• 1 scoop of chia seeds (optional)
• Handful of spinach
• Fresh or frozen berries (your choice)
• 1 heaping tbsp. of Transforms Power Butter (nut butter) 

Directions: Pour all liquid in the blender first.  Then start to mix as you pour in the protein powder, then add all ingredients and serve immediately!

If you combine all the tips above — a routine sleep schedule with good nutrition and hydration — soon you will feel a healthy boost in daily confidence, energy, focus, positivity, and time management in both your personal and professional life. And with your new wellness transformation, you’ll feel better than ever!