[21 Days to Better Sleep Challenge] DAY 1/21 - Sleep Disturbances and Feeling Overwhelmed. How Teaching The Brain New Habits And Routines Can Help | SMart Choice Lifestyle

Feeling excited about your future goals and planning your next trip or experience is a good thing, a healthy thing. But when all this is happening at night, you know it’s time for a self analysis. It’s not even funny how many ideas can pop into your head when you can’t sleep at night. I know myself to be an over thinker, but the speed my brain is processing information at 3 am is still mind blowing.

A few nights ago I just had it! Could no longer passively sit and watch all the to-do lists and worrying about the next day’s activities that my mind was putting me through. I did fall asleep (eventually), but the following day I sat and asked myself why was I constantly in a rush, either doing or thinking? All the roads pointed out to insufficient sleep, to chaotic sleeping patterns.

Constant attempts to find the best morning and evening routines, changing activities and having a full past two months all lead up to my body and brain not caring anymore about whatever discipline I wanted to have in my life. I just wanted to relax and recharge. But what you repeatedly do, you become, and just like that I managed to push myself into a loop: not enough sleep - rushing throughout the day - sleepy in the afternoon - hard to fall asleep at night - not enough sleep and on and on.

When you become used to doing things in a certain way and then you change them and don't try to get back at the initial stage for a while, your body will most definitely send you signals. That’s where [re]CONNECTING with yourself proves helpful.

We have to listen to our body’s needs, to be in sync with what they ask of us and to be able to nurture their wants: sleep, nutritious food, rest, movement. Headspace is essential for me. As much as I love people’s stories, i recharge in solitude. I need to go to bed early enough in order to sleep 8h and wake up recharged at a good AM hour.

Press the reset button and wish to better the way you’re feeling and thinking about ourselves, to gain more self-confidence (or to gain it back), and to do our best in this world and not waste any gifts (ex: writing, inspiring others, empowering, creating, etc).

Most of the times, sleep proves to be the cause of all the chaos in our minds and lifestyle. That’s why going to bed at a decent hour (something like 10pm) can be the best choice you’ve ever done in a while, especially if your schedule is busy or you have sleep issues (like in Multiple Sclerosis or other conditions).

A regular sleeping pattern can reduce our anxiety about schedules, can lead to more productivity (as the brain is more alert), and give us time to start our mornings slow and more mindfully. And overall, sleep is the promoter of less inflammation inside the body. We need sleep in order for our bodies to properly take care of toxin removal, hormone manufacture, and infection fighting. Whenever we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies cannot complete those important tasks, increasing our chances of developing health issues (or worsen preexisting ones) due to excess toxins, inflammation, and hormone imbalances.

In order to achieve having a regular sleeping pattern, some habits need to change. We all stay up to late or go to bed at different times every night. We are caught in the screens of our devices, wanting to finish “that one last episode of Game of Thrones!”, those “last three emails!”, or “one last refresh on Facebook”. We all do that! Because we want to finish what we’re doing, we don’t prioritize sleep.

Remember the chaos I was talking about earlier? Our bodies get confused. But if we set and strictly follow a bedtime routine, we will get in the habit of relaxing at a certain hour, naturally inducing sleepiness. If you know yourself as having a sleep disorder, first check solutions with your physician and add a bedtime routine that includes his/hers suggestions. All this needs to be in our best interest.

Arianna Huffington's #sleeprevolution movement shows a light over the importance of sleep in our lives. Here's her manifesto:

So, my choice / challenge for the following 21 days is to begin getting into some healthy sleeping habits (21 days is the minimum amount of days that can induce a new habit into one’s life). For increasing my chances to actually follow them, they’re included into my night routine. One hour before bedtime I put down all devices and screens, making notes on what I have to finish / see / do the next day. Then I go and make myself a chamomile tea, take a shower and wash my teeth, say my prayers and clear my mind for about 15 minutes and then do some journaling before turning the lights off.

What would your routine look like? How is your relationship with sleep and mental space going? Would love to hear that from you in the comments down below!

Until next time, have a wonderful day!

Denisa

Creative Choices: Three Mindful Tips to Clear Overwhelm in the Creative Mind | SMart Choice Lifestyle

When was the last time your mind felt overwhelmed by lots and lots of thoughts? Mine is doing that as I write this blog post. Just started another draft because the previous one talked about three topics at the same time, and that really brought no value neither to me writing it or to you reading it. 

So, I decided to approach things more like documenting the experience of feeling overwhelmed. You probably had many great ideas throughout your life, but not many of them got to see the light of day. It might have been for lack of time, lost interest, or resources.

If you're like me, and you overthink things, this might be the reason you have all these great ideas but no actual result with any of them, because you constantly feel the need of adding or remodeling something. It's a mix between overthinking and perfectionism, the mother of all anxiety for creatives.

HOW DOES OVERWHELM HAPPEN?

You start with a simple and great idea that makes you happy. Then begin to add to it, making it more refined. But when the adding doesn't stop, you find yourself in overwhelm land and can easily give that idea up or save it for later because it got too complex.

A creative mind is contradictory and most of the times a puzzle even for the creative person. Plus, we NEED to do a thousand things at the same time, because our interests go far and wide and we "can't just do one single thing". Add this to a thirst for learning and reading, and you find yourself in my shoes. 

The funny, ironical things is that I have a very clear vision and outlined plan of what I want to do, but my mind keeps wanting more information. It finds that it doesn't know enough, and the more I know, the better the plan will be. The truth is the more info I consume, the more time I lose, and get further and further from my original idea. And it becomes exhausting!

The more I learn, the more I get the impression that I really don't know anything for sure. It never ends! But the truth is that all knowledge is smoke if we don't use it, if we don't act upon it. What use is there to know a lot of things if you don't share it with others? 

But here comes another issue! Every idea I once had wants to come out in first, and be written on this blog, for you to see and be helped by. It's like my mind has a... mind of its own! What's really happening is that my mind is overstimulated by all the information I bombard it with daily. If I keep on filling it and take little out, of course the lack of  "mind space" will get to my nerves (and yours as you read this, I will get to the point in just a minute, promise!).

Lots of ideas and no... idea where to start from? Pick one and go do it. Overthinking leads to inaction, and nothing ever gets done.

"What's this have to do with me?" you're probably asking. Well, here are the three key-things I learned about how to calm down any overwhelming situation, before acting on each idea at a time.

1. Clear your mind on paper. 

Making space for thinking has proven do do wonders. Whenever I feel cluttered up inside my mind, I take out a simple notebook and a pen and dump all of my ideas and thoughts on paper. You might think that you're not good at writing or don't have the time to do that. But do you have time of being stuck between thoughts and ideas that keep you from creating and / or doing whatever you were supposed to do that day? No? OK! 

Then the next time when you feel that your mind is bubbling up ideas and a neverending web of thoughts, write them all down, let that weight down on paper. You might end up with some pretty usable stuff, or... with a bunch of nonsense that didn't belong inside your mind to begin with.

Choose all the good info and prioritize it. Having things written down brings more clarity and space, helping your mind deal more easily with ideas and creative processes. Remember to also let go of the ideas that are no longer relevant to your current situation. That doesn't mean you abandon them forever, you just save them for later. 

2. Have "no info consumption" pockets of time.

Have morning and evening rituals that don't involve any social media, screens or work. Allow yourself to relax into and after your day. Build habits like doing some light stretches, taking deep breaths, taking a shower and then a light and healthy meal. Use these pockets of time even for doing the "brain dump" I was talking about before.

Get outside and take a brisk walk to clear your head. Spend time with friends and family and take your mind off your work for a few hours. Whenever you force a machine to work, it brakes down. The same is true for your mind and brain. Give them a rest and come back to your projects feeling refreshed and ready to work.

Giving your mind a rest is proven to help you relax and actually be more creative. You have time to unwind and take care of yourself, your relationships and your body. When the mind races, the body suffers, because it gets tense and not used to its highest potential. Witch brings me to number three...

3. Stand still, be mindful, and pray***

Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Become aware of that avalanche of thoughts and steer them away gently one by one. Focus on deep breathing and on gradually relaxing your body, beginning with your legs and going up towards the head. It will take some practice, but it will gradually pay off all the effort you might have invested into it. It can get frustrating and even impossible at times, but the trick is to commit to it and do it daily. 

Our brains work in synergy with the mind. In fact, our minds are a complex web of neurocircuitry made out of synapses, connections between brain cells (neurons). The more we use our minds and the more information we consume, the more neural connections we create. The more of those, the more our minds grow and learn patterns. These patterns are memorized and hard to brake as they become habitual thinking ones.

It takes some effort to replace them with other, more easy / useful habits to what we need in our new contexts. We can't just snap our fingers and create a new mindset. Our current one is the product of all we've learned, done, heard, smelled, tasted, spoken and felt throughout our lives. The more we repeated a pattern, the more it stuck. Transformation needs to be gradual. We need to replace some thoughts with new ones, and that takes time.

(***more details on my perspective in a future article to be linked here)

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Three Reasons to Simplify Your Lifestyle | SMart Choice Lifestyle

Let me tell you a story. Imagine the lead act in the most important circus in the world. He’s a famous juggler, who’s known for all his amazing balance, focus and dexterity. He adds so many new tricks to his act, that they all see him as a genius performer.

But he begins to feel tired. The more things he has to juggle with, the more difficult his focus gets. His mind is now the one which plays tricks on him. His performance will suffer and so will he. Too much to handle. He blames himself. He’s a bad performer. He feels angry and ashamed. He no longer has the will and drive to do his best and to constantly grow his act.

He eventually settles with being a clown. An act that just makes people laugh. At least they won’t all laugh at him. When he takes of his mask and looks in the mirror, his reflection is sad, overwhelmed. Day in and day out, every evening, he plays the clown. He makes people laugh. But he cries inside. He wants his purpose back.

The next day he opens the chest where he stored his juggling equipment and only takes out the three spheres and the balancing board he used to love so much. He goes outside and steps on the board. His hands instinctively begin to throw the spheres into the air. Bit by bit, his act gets better, faster. A smile comes back to his face and more and more people gather around, cheering him on. He’s the famous juggler again.

But what if he always was the lead act? What if he made it harder on himself by becoming overwhelmed instead of keeping it simple? That’s what made him happy after all, isn’t it? He loved juggling and sharing that with people. Now, when the people laugh, he laughs with them.

The juggler is in fact all of us. The many things added are the ones we constantly add to our life. Those things that got piled up into our lifestyle and now make our lives miserable, tense and sad. We need to go back to basics, rediscover what made us smile and what we did with joy.

Make conscious choices about what’s relevant to our lives and what are the things that are essential to our happiness and wellbeing. Personal and professional. Integrate. We are the same persons who do them all. Choose our spheres and balancing board carefully.

Here’s three reasons why:

1. Better mental health

We are constantly bombarded with information, messages, emails, things to do. It never ends. When we take time to declutter, our brain thanks us and refocuses all that energy into making us healthier and more alert. Our neurons are constantly working throughout the day. We need to learn to relax and do one thing at a time. Which brings me to reason number two...

2. Better focus

Our brains cannot focus on more than one thing at a time. Multitasking is just another word for overwhelming your mind. You have a limited amount of energy and time everyday. Choose the three most important things that you need to get done today and two chores. And that’s it. Do those to the best of your abilities. Use the rest of your time to learn, rest and connect with loved ones. Here’s reason number three...

3. More time for what’s important

As much as we would like to think that relationships can wait for us to send that important email, that’s not true. The most important things in life are the people we surround ourselves with. We are wired for connection and need human closeness. The real, old-fashioned one. The one without a screen in between. The one where we actually have a normal conversation, and be totally present in that moment, not on our phones. But that takes space, energy and knowing our priorities.

We live our lives by choice. What decisions we make and what things we pick is up to us. We each have a certain life, we are all unique. But one fact is universal: simplicity keeps our minds healthy and our relationships stronger.

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Sincerely yours,

Denisa

How to Get Back to What's Important? Three Steps | SMart Choice Lifestyle

This past year has been so far full of events, opportunities and things to do. I almost spread myself too thin between travelling, managing three projects simultaneously, learning new things, planning and thinking things into minute details.

Don’t get me wrong, I am deeply grateful for all that has come my way for the past months. I love what I’m doing and had many breakthroughs and “aha!” moments that I’m happy for. But the constant push and pull of doing all these things wasn’t integrating my personal life. The time I had left for sleep, relationships and recharge was feeling smaller and smaller and it all was beginning to get suffocating. That’s when I knew it was time for taking a few steps back and look at the bigger picture while I get back to myself, to my core, to my WHY.

It’s important to be active, to do the things you love and are passionate about. But at the same time, it’s vital to not lose track of what motivated you to do all that in the first place. We tend to lose our Northern Star while we keep our eyes on the end goal.

There is the need for time to just look at the stars, look within and allow yourself to relax and just be. For me, for the past two years since working for myself, that time usually begins in July. It’s also the anniversary of the day I first met multiple sclerosis and got diagnosed, and it somehow gets me into a more reflexive state. The perfect time to take a break. This period extends to August and I go back to work on September.

It doesn’t mean that I’m just sitting on my couch all day doing nothing. That’s just boring! It’s a time I review ideas, thoughts, journals. I listen more than I talk. I learn. I sleep and take care of my mind and body. I get back to my purpose, to my why: getting people to be the best version of themselves, and help them not feel alone.

Since being diagnosed with an incurable illness like multiple sclerosis, I learned to make time for myself. Meaning I always prioritize my health above anything else. I can’t stress enough how important looking after yourself is. When we’re young, we think we’re indestructible, but life can prove us wrong. I can’t do anything to cure myself, just to recover and keep my health as stable as possible. On top of the yearly vacation, I also take a few steps daily, just to get back to what’s important.

And these are…

1. Take time off everyday. No matter how busy you are, we all have just 24 hours to live each day: 8 hours of sleep are non-negotiable. These should be your “default prescription” for brain and mental health. Also, add brakes throughout the day, 10-20 minute naps (if the conditions permit it). At the end of your workday, switch off: shower, eat dinner, relax with family and friends, or on your own.

2. Divide your day into active and passive segments of time. Meaning, the active interval is the one you are the most able, clear-minded and fit to do work. Schedule your tasks to be done during that period. The passive half has to do with switching off. It’s the time of the day when you can’t focus as well, when you’re sleepy and get ready for sleep. Respect your biological clock. It doesn’t matter if right now you’re out of sink. You can program your mind to wake up and go to sleep at certain hours, so that your clock works just fine. It’s all done by learning new habits, by choosing the right things.

3. Review your progress, be it personal or professional. I assume that if you got this far into reading this article, you have a why in place. If you do, the need to measure where you are with your goals is important. It keeps you on track and connected to what really matters.  Keep a journal of your thoughts, feelings and achievements. Show gratitude for your wins and forgive your losses. See where you need to improve and plan how to do that.

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Sincerely yours,

Denisa

How to Unplug Your Mind? Thought Clutter Detox for Millennials | SMart Choice Lifestyle

Our mind is the biggest trixter. Its basic function is to register all the information we consume throughout the day and store the bits and pieces that are proving to be useful to our daily lives. The problem these days is that with so much data to process, the mind not only can get exhausted, but it doesn’t know when to slow down and let us rest.

Ever since we were babies, we have been absorbing and learning all kind of things. From how to speak, walk and talk, to the more advanced ones, like how to write a thesis and be good at our job. We’re on a constant learning curve and that’s fine. The issue is that the mind needs rest, needs a break from all this noise, so that we can once again function at the best of our abilities the next day.

Try to sit still for a few seconds. Close your eyes and just be. Can’t shut down that constant chatter, am I right? This is one of my constant struggles as well. I have to work on myself just to be able to be aware of what I’m doing on a given day. But in time and with patience, it can be tamed, you can clear your head. It’s a daily practice.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Have scheduled hours to go on social (phone, computer, etc) and hours to rest. Allow yourself to wake up, breathe, and start the day slowly but mindfully. The same thing goes for the evenings: leave all screens in another room, at least one hour before bed. Instead, read a fictional novel, your favorite story, anything that can get you relaxed and put your thoughts into relaxation mode. The internet, apps and games are VERY tempting, I know that! Ask me how many times I scrolled way passed midnight! But your sleep, rest and wellbeing are more important than all the entertainment and information this world can provide. Take care of yourself and sleep at least 8 hours per night.

2. Write your mind off! Pay attention to your thoughts and allow them to settle one at a time. Schedule 10 to 15 minutes in the morning and in the evenings to write down what’s on your mind. I find it useful to have three main categories to put my thoughts into, three “buckets of thought”: what I think, how I feel and what I need to do about it. If categorizing is not your thing, try to “brain dump” all the clutter inside your mind, and analize afterwards. Day and day out, you’ll eventually begin to see a pattern, and understand your thought process. Look for triggers, repetitive behavior with certain emotions, etc.

3. Clear the mind, sit in silence and practice gratefulness for all the things achieved today. Even if it’s as little as writing that email that was somewhat overdue, be happy that you finally did that. What matters most is the process of expressing gratitude. Pray for guidance and ease, give thanks for what you’ve been given and the moments when you and your loved ones have been at your best. Wish for more of that.

Taking care of your mind and unplugging at the end of the day, as well as having a no-gadget morning routine can be hard to achieve. Especially now, when connection is made easy. But the most important connection you’ll ever have is the one with God and with yourself. Peace of mind and ease of heart matter most than anything.

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Sincerely yours,

Denisa