Nourishing Your Body, Renewing Your Life

Welcome to Your Renewable Life

I wanted to share this case study for improving brain function. This particular client needed mental focus to shine at work. I’m sharing in case you can find some tips that may relate to you as well.


Case study background:

My 20-something client is a supervisor for a small but very busy e-commerce business. Childhood trauma has created a lot of unresolved feelings that manifest in a high amount of anxiety and stress without proper tools for management. She is pre-diabetic, has PCOS, and wants to lose weight. She rarely drinks plain water, opting for Coca-Cola all day long instead. Her work and sleep schedule is erratic as the business has increased exponentially in the last 6 months while not adding staff members. She reports frequently working from her bed and getting stuck in a rut of staying in bed all day working which is a detriment for her mindset.


Since I’ve started working with her, she has mostly stopped drinking Cokes and is instead drinking bottled water. (She says doesn’t like the taste of tap or filtered water.) She has been successful with a ketogenic diet in the past, but when she is stressed (which is all the time lately!) she either forgets to eat all day long or opts for extremely poor food choices like frequent trips to Sonic.


Because the steps to wellness are large and far for this client, we are focusing on changes that she can do now and building on them with each appointment.


Here are my 3 Lifestyle Recommendations as they relate to Sleep, Stress, and Movement:

1. Work towards 30 minutes of exercise per day. This can be walking your dog, following a workout program, or going to the gym. Whatever you will do consistently is what is going to make a difference for you where you are now.

  • Exercise helps everything! Overall health and well-being was one of your areas of concern and exercise is useful for stress management, digestion, and blood sugar – which were other areas of improvement we noted in your initial interview

2. We discussed the need to practice being in a parasympathetic state at mealtimes to help your digestion. You want to work toward being in a parasympathetic state as much as possible. Quite simply, it is crucial to find effective ways to manage your stress.

  • Techniques to practice here:
  • Deep Breathing – inhale for 4 counts, hold for 7, exhale for 8Start by completely exhaling all the air in your lungs. Breathe deeply through your nose filling your lungs and stomach for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7. Exhale fully through the mouth audibly for a count of 8. All 3 steps count as 1 repetition. Repeat 2-3 times before meals and as you feel a twinge of stress or anxiety.
  • Meditation – even just 5 – 10 minutes to “Focus on the Breath” works wonders on your stress level. I recommend getting started with an app like Headspace, Breethe, or Balance. Many of these apps also have guided visualization that helps you get into a peaceful place when you are feeling anxious, etc. (one of your top concerns).
  • Managing your stress and anxiety levels was a top concern for you. It is also imperative in improving your digestion, blood sugar control, and hormone balance. This may help you effectively manage the symptoms of PCOS and pre-diabetes. The added bonus is that you won’t need to turn to Cokes for stress relief like you are now.

3. Establish a healthy sleep routine. I know that you never feel caught up with work. Just remember, your workload isn’t life or death. It will still be waiting for you tomorrow during regular business hours. If you don’t take measures to improve your health markers, it’s only going to feel more difficult to manage your workload. Here are some suggestions for establishing a healthy routine.

  • Set a bedtime and commit to it – I suggest working backward from when you need to wake up to 8 hours. If you need to be up by 7am then your bedtime has to be no later than 11pm.
  • Unplug from all electronics, phones, TV, and computer by 9pm at the latest. Instead use this time to connect with your husband, play with the dog, and pamper yourself with some good self-care, like a warm bubble bath, a facial, candles, and music
  • Do not sleep with your phone and make sure your room is completely dark for sleeping. No watching TV in bed and definitely not working in bed.

Give these tips a try for a couple of weeks and notice how your sleep improves and in turn how your anxiety improves, which will in turn improve your digestion and cravings. Proper sleep is imperative for your brain and emotional health, your hormones – again including blood sugar, and for your entire body to get the rest it needs to rest, repair and renew.

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