How to Find Strength in a Busy Season of Life
The last few years have been very busy as I wrote my recipe book and juggled life, and I know most of you are experiencing that same level of busyness. We all have seasons that are just busier, and it’s so easy to run ourselves into the ground. We wake up completely worn out with our adrenals exhausted.
I make it through these seasons by standing firmly on a strong foundation of faith and mental and physical wellness. Here are some of the things that I did consistently, whether daily or weekly, to help me stay strong and focused during my most recent busy season. I hope these tips will bless and encourage you!
Get Quality Sleep
It’s easy to make sleep a lesser priority when it seems there aren’t enough hours in the day to tackle our many tasks! But sleep is essential, restoring the body’s energy supplies depleted throughout the day. Our body rejuvenates and repairs itself when we sleep!
Avoid stimulants and caffeine several hours before bedtime.
Avoid screens at least two hours before bedtime.
Watch alcohol intake. (It plays with blood sugar and interferes with sleep.)
Make a 10 p.m. bedtime a consistent goal.
Enjoy your last meal at least three hours before bedtime. (The body is built to rest at night, not digest.)
Lean into the power of digestive enzymes when on holidays or traveling, and make it tough to control your nutrition.
My favorite digestive enzymes are AIM PrepZymes. They take pressure off the liver and pancreas, optimize digestion, and help to extract nutrients from the food you eat.
Learn more About PrepZymes here.
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Check out my full storefront of AIM products.
Manage Stress
I recently heard someone observe that you can be on the best supplements and have the perfect diet, but you won’t heal without managing your stress.
Spend time with Jesus and in His Word daily. Nothing you’re dealing with is a surprise to God, and leaning on Him for your strength makes everything easier to handle.
Move! Find a daily activity/exercise you enjoy. It can be as simple as taking a walk. For me, it is Pilates on the reformer, tennis, lifting weights and walking in nature! (I had to completely change the kind of exercise I was doing to decrease excess cortisol in my system. So, find what works for you!)
Make time for what brings you joy, and savor quiet moments for yourself. God specifically designed us to need and be restored by rest. If you want to get more out of your body, rest it!
Spend time with friends. Something happens when we fellowship with others and invest in our relationships. It’s one of the things that makes life worth living. What is the quality of your social relationships?
Did you know that if you have good and happy relationships, it helps with your inflammatory response? Check out this longitudinal study that Harvard has been doing for close to 80 plus years!
Also, I added more whole and real foods and lots of plants to my diet, and I made sure that I had sufficient protein, fiber, and good fats with every meal. This helped ensure my pancreas was not being put under pressure and that I would have stable blood sugars, sustained energy, and the stamina to conquer my day.
Manage Stress
About a year ago, I was gifted an infrared sauna. It was a super special and life-changing gift which I utilize almost every day. As we age, inflammation levels increase because of different factors. Among many things, I have noticed better sleep and lower inflammation levels. If you have access to one, try and get into it! Read more about infrared sauna’s here.
Daily supplements I do not go without are:
AIM Garden Trio (Barley Life Traditional)
Redibeets
Just Carrots
FloraFood, (a probiotic)
When we go through stressful times, our B vitamins get depleted. Both the Florafood as well as AIM Peak Endurance supports me in that area.
AIM Composure is always in my arsenal and how much I use depends on my stress level. It is a marvelous little tool that helps me keep composed!