Dylan Ivers

5 Ways to Improve Emotional Distress

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Five Ways to Improve Emotional Distress

According to a 2020 study by the National Institute of Mental Health, around 14.2 million Americans routinely suffer with emotional distress, a number that continues to rise to this day. Considering this is an affliction that impacts so many on a daily basis, it is important to understand ways in which you can combat this stress. 

Understand your Situational Emotions

This point emphasizes that you need to understand what might put you in a position of stress or unhappiness. If you can identify what sort of situations make you feel this way, it will be much easier to distance yourself and thus create a more stress-free environment. Understanding yourself and what may trigger you is crucial to improving your emotional wellness. 

Connect Socially

Positive connection with others is very helpful when trying to create a stress free environment. In today’s world, it seems like we are constantly moving, never taking a break to appreciate what’s around us. The easiest way to slow down is to meet with friends or a loved one. Something as simple as grabbing a quick lunch or coffee can be a great way to take a step back and relax for a bit. 

Take Care of your Physical Health

Physical fitness and taking care of your body is crucial to maintaining a healthy mental state. According to the UK mental health foundation, “Physical health problems significantly increase our risk of developing mental health problems, and vice versa.” This shows how important physical health is in relation to mental health, and how one cannot fully function without the other. In order to improve emotional distress, consider incorporating physical activity into your daily regiment, with something as simple as a short walk. 

Maintain a Positive Outlook

One of the most important things that you can personally do is focus on the positive things in life. Though cliché, if you are always concerned with the negative parts in your day, you will never take advantage of all the good times involved in your life. Focusing on the good rather than the bad will generally lift your daily mood, and alleviate some of the stress associated with day-to-day life. 

Download the Rewire App!

The Rewire Fitness app Mindset Recovery System allows for users to improve their mental resilience through a series of different scientifically proven methods. Our procedures have been proven to help our average user reduce their stress by 70% after a 2 minute mindset recovery session. Guided breathwork, self-talk, and visualization are all helpful when attempting to manage stress, and are made easier by the Rewire app. Try our Guided Mindset Recovery Session for stress relief here.

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References

Mental Health Foundation. (2015). Physical health and mental health. [online] Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/physical-health-and-mental-health#:~:text=Physical%20health%20problems%20significantly%20increase.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (n.d.). Mental Illness. [online] Available at: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20there%20were%20an%20estimated%2014.2%20million%20adults%20aged [Accessed 10 Jun. 2022].‌

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Patricia

Top 3 Hip Mobility Exercises (No Equipment!)

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Every time I stand up after sitting down for too long at my desk, my hips make that horrible crack – crack – crack sound. Past injuries and intensive training as a young athlete has left my body feeling older than it really is.

Here are some of our top mobility exercises to keep those hips supple and strong –

Single Leg Glute Bridge

Take glute bridges to the next level and perform some single leg bridges on each side to work your glutes, which are important for controlling lateral stability, hip extension, and internal and external hip rotation.

Well+Good has a great video on YouTube explaining the right way to engage your muscles in this mobility movement, and explains the most common mistakes that can make it less effective.

I personally also focus on creating a motivational space for myself on Instagram by following fitness/mindset coaches like Jibby or Ben Patrick.

Cat-Cow

One of my all-time favourite yoga positions and mobility exercises is the cat-cow flow which targets the spine. Improving mobility in the extension and flexion of the spine helps us build strength in the correct neutral position which improves posture and hip mobility.

Adriene describes this move as a “little dance up the spine that is perfect for beginners” and explains the progression well in her YouTube Video.

Lateral Lunges

Taking standard forward and backward lunges into a different directional plane targets all the same muscles plus the inner thigh muscles (adductors). Lateral lunges are great for working the gluteus medius muscle which builds stability in the hip joint and they have a less impact on the knee joints compared to exercises like squats.

Conor Harris has a great thread on the biomechanics of a lateral lunge and an informational YouTube Channel with more mobility exercises.

Caroline Girvan is also a great source for at-home workouts and even has a 10-minute leg workout focused solely on different variations of lunges!

Resources

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered!

Mobility

One of my favourites is Ben Patrick (@kneesovertoesguy on Instagram and YouTube). ATG Personal Training is a full body fitness system and I personally love their short videos over on Instagram, particularly on beginner-friendly mobility exercises.

Yoga

A great way to include mobility exercises into a training program is yoga. Yoga with Adriene is one of my personal inspirations – great for beginners and usually offers several modifications for difficult exercises.

Community

Join the Rewire Fitness discord server and chat with the community!

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Michael Jaffe

10 Resilience Quotes to Become Your Best Self

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We are all on a path to become the person we are meant to be. In this process, there will be days when we are feeling fresh and motivated, and days when it seems very difficult to keep going. Sometimes it’s hard to find that motivation and energy to put in the work. These are the times that test our resilience. It’s helpful to know that other people have experienced these same feelings and have risen above. Here are 10 quotes to guide you along the journey to becoming your best self.

Here are 10 resilience quotes to inspire you and keep you motivated on your path to success:

  1. “I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder the next time.” – Michael Jordan
  2. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life” – Maya Angelou
  3. “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” – Muhammed Ali
  4. “If you’re going through hell, keep going” – Winston Churchill
  5. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
  6. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
  7. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Hellen Keller
  8. “You just can’t beat the person that never gives up” – Babe Ruth
  9. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher
  10. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”- Japanese Proverb

Actionable steps to strengthen your mental resilience
Oftentimes, our biggest challenge is getting out of our own way. While this all starts in the mind, there is absolutely a physical component to resilience. In times when we feel stressed, doubtful, or anxious, the best thing to do is settle the mind and the body. Rewire Fitness includes a mindset recovery feature designed to help clear your mind through calming breathing techniques and motivational self talk. Whenever you feel a need to refresh your mind and motivate yourself to keep going, you can choose from a multitude of recovery sessions to cleanse out the negativity and restore your good energy. Each recovery session is specifically tailored to your given situation – all it takes is a few minutes of your time and an open mind.

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Patricia

The Worst Habits for Your Brain

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Our habits directly relate to our brain health. Habits allow us to complete daily tasks without having to think about them too much. A study in 2020 showed that habits can be controlled right at the start when we introduce them into our lifestyle.

These are some of the worst habits for Brain Health:

1. Unhealthy sleep habits

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of Americans don’t get enough sleep. Research has shown that adults need about 7 hours of quality sleep for optimal health. Good sleep habits include reducing bright light before bed, ensuring a balanced diet, and implementing an evening routine.

Effects of not getting enough sleep:

  • Affects memory
  • Decreases brain health
  • Harms the heart
  • Reduces ability to focus

2. Sitting too much

Despite an active lifestyle, sitting for prolonged periods of time has a negative impact on brain and metabolic health. However, most adults don’t have the time to focus on more exercise, so here are some easy habits to introduce to avoid sitting too much during the day:

  • Stand up when you call someone
  • Take the stairs
  • Walk around while brushing your teeth
  • Get up and refill your water glass
  • If sitting at a desk for work, stand up and walk around every hour
  • Dance more often

3. The wrong foods

Do you start your day with orange juice? There are about 20 grams of sugar in an average glass of orange juice and research has shown that high-sugar diets can lead to a significant decrease in memory and cognitive function.

For some top tips on what foods to eat, check out our article on foods to fight fatigue.

4. Chronic stress

There is an abundance of studies that have shown the impact of stress hormones, including a decline in attention, memory, and emotion processing. The good news is that there are models that suggest developing “early stress interventions” can counteract the effects of chronic stress on brain health.

Some habits to help counteract the impact of chronic stress:

  • A diet high in antioxidants (some great sources include beets, sweet potatoes, and strawberries)
  • Daily physical exercise
  • Practice mindfulness
  • Build mental resilience (like Rewire’s Neuro-Training)

Neuro-Training works by targeting the part of the brain that is responsible for managing fatigue and willpower.

Benefits include:

  • More energy
  • Increased recovery speed
  • Improve mental resilience and athletic performance

Users of the Rewire App have reported a decrease in stress of 74.1%.

5. Negative mindset

Research has shown that negative thoughts can trigger a stress response and a prolonged negative mindset has been linked to cognitive decline. Want to implement habits to improve your brain health? Check out our article on the best habits for your brain here!

Visualization and self-talk can help us avoid dwelling on the negative and instead create a more positive habit. For example, visualization can improve athletic performance because they act as a sort of mental rehearsal, which can train the mind to act in real life as we imagine it.

Rewire’s Mindset Recovery system includes evidence-based protocols to promote mind/body recovery, improve mindset, manage stress and prepare for training and competition. This system includes tools such as visualization and self-talk. Check out an overview of Mindset Recovery here.

Are you ready to improve your brain health? Try Rewire to give Neuro-Training and Mindset Recovery a go!

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Sources

Crego, A.C.G., Štoček, F., Marchuk, A.G., Carmichael, J.E., van der Meer, M.A.A. and Smith, K.S. (2020). Complementary Control over Habits and Behavioral Vigor by Phasic Activity in the Dorsolateral Striatum. The Journal of Neuroscience, 40(10), pp.2139–2153.‌

CDC (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [online] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/.‌

Owen, N., Healy, G.N., Matthews, C.E. and Dunstan, D.W. (2010). Too Much Sitting. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, [online] 38(3), pp.105–113. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404815/.‌

Magnusson, K.R., Hauck, L., Jeffrey, B.M., Elias, V., Humphrey, A., Nath, R., Perrone, A. and Bermudez, L.E. (2015). Relationships between diet-related changes in the gut microbiome and cognitive flexibility. Neuroscience, [online] 300, pp.128–140. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25982560/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2021].

Lupien, S.J., Juster, R.-P., Raymond, C. and Marin, M.-F. (2018). The effects of chronic stress on the human brain: From neurotoxicity, to vulnerability, to opportunity. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 49, pp.91–105.‌‌

Marchant, N.L., Lovland, L.R., Jones, R., Pichet Binette, A., Gonneaud, J., Arenaza‐Urquijo, E.M., Chételat, G. and Villeneuve, S. (2020). Repetitive negative thinking is associated with amyloid, tau, and cognitive decline. Alzheimer’s & Dementia.‌

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Patricia

5 Foods to Fight Fatigue: What to Eat for Energy (Vegan Friendly!)

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We have all experienced those dreaded bouts of overwhelming tiredness and fatigue. Mindfulness is important in all areas of our lives, including what we eat. To fight fatigue, it can help to be mindful of what’s on your plate. A health report at Harvard stated that what and how you eat can retain “mental sharpness”. To keep your energy up, consider eating more of the following foods:

#1 Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables that are in season are picked once they ripen naturally, so they are more likely to contain all those good nutrients. Fruits are high in natural sugars which can be absorbed by our bodies and transformed into energy. Vegetables are a fantastic source of dietary fiber, a type of carbohydrate that can improve vitamin and mineral absorption in the body, which could raise your daily energy levels. Some of my favorites include dark leafy greens (like spinach and kale) and beets. Did you know you can eat both the beetroot and the leaves? They’re perfect for salads and side dishes!

#2 Bananas

One of my favorite foods and something I eat almost every day are bananas. They are high in potassium (needed to synthesize protein and metabolize carbohydrates!) and are perfect for that much needed energy boost. Bananas are also good for more than fighting fatigue. Other health benefits include increased muscle performance, lower blood pressure, and improved bone health.

#3 Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes deserve a special shout-out as a helpful food to fight fatigue because they are high in various vitamins and minerals like iron, magnesium, and vitamins C and A. Vitamin C is required for our bodies to transport fat into the cells, where they are then burned off to provide us with energy. Vitamin A supports the immune system and is an essential vitamin for growth and development.

#4 Complex Carbohydrates

Choosing whole-grain foods and complex carbohydrates instead of processed, refined foods means that your body gets the full benefit of the added fiber and nutrients.

For example, oats are one of the best sources of slow-releasing energy because they are high in low GI complex carbohydrates. These types of carbs release energy much slower than high GI complex carbohydrates (like white bread and puffed cereals).

Another great complex carbohydrate is brown rice, one cup of which contains the daily requirement of manganese, a trace mineral that helps the body regulate energy.

#5 Nuts and Seeds

These powerhouse foods are some of the best to beat fatigue and give you that energy boost you need to get through the day. Try some brazil nuts (one brazil nut contains the daily recommendation for selenium) or pumpkin seeds (high in plant protein) for the perfect afternoon snack.

Bonus #6 Soybeans

Soybeans are high in calcium, potassium, and plant protein (over 16 grams of protein per 100 grams of soybeans!). They are a great energy-boosting addition to any meal. Soybeans are also high in magnesium (which helps increase the quality and duration of your sleep), improve blood circulation, and support heart health.

Our diet directly relates to how our bodies perform and how we feel. Fueling ourselves with the right foods can help increase our energy levels and fight off that fatigue. Support your body with those energy-boosting foods and support your mind with neuro-training on the Rewire App. Rewire’s Neuro-Training protocols are backed by over 10 years of scientific research and have been shown to create a cognitive adaptation that reduces your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) when under physical and mental load thereby increasing your capacity to perform at your best.

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Sources

Harvard Health. (n.d.). A Guide to Cognitive Fitness. [online] Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-guide-to-cognitive-fitness.

Harvard Health Publishing (2019). Eating to boost energy – Harvard Health. [online] Harvard Health. Available at: https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/eating-to-boost-energy.

Porter, M.P. (n.d.). 7 Foods That Will Boost Energy Fast. [online] The Beet. Available at: https://thebeet.com/eat-these-7-healthy-foods-for-long-lasting-energy/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2022].‌

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