What if I told you I start my morning with a glass of lemon water?

Maybe you’d think:

‘Who cares?! Why does it matter what Berardi drinks first thing in the morning?’

You wouldn’t be wrong.

But if you’re a certain type of person—the kind who loves to geek out on nutrition science—it might spark your curiosity (and maybe a little FOMO).

Perhaps you’d ask:

“Why add lemon? For digestion? Liver detoxification? Antioxidant protection?”

In other words:

“Does lemon contain some sort of biochemical superpower I haven’t yet learned about? And, if so, should I be including it myself?”

If you’re another type of person—more skeptical in nature—you might be less curious and more annoyed:

“Ugh—more detoxing BS?!? Detoxing isn’t even a thing. I thought you were evidence-based!”

If you’re super up-to-date on the latest research, you might even say:

“Lemons, really? Haven’t you done your research? Don’t you know that [enter nutrient/supplement du jour] has proven to be more effective?”

So, just in case you’re wondering, here’s the real reason I drink lemon water in the morning:

I wake up thirsty. And I like the taste of lemon in my water.

(Cue anti-climactic music.)

Yep, that’s it.

That’s the big secret behind my beverage choice.

I’m not trying to support liver detoxification or digestion.

Nor am I trying to add antioxidant power or alter my body’s pH.

(I’m also not an “industry shill for Big Lemon.” Promise.)

I simply like the taste.

Now, if that answer disappoints you—or you were already halfway to the store to pick up some lemons—you might need to hear what I’m about to say.

Because I think it’s time we stop over-nutritionalizing our food.

Before we go any further, I have to admit something.

I’ve been guilty of the very thing I’m critiquing in this article. In fact, if you like, you can blame the whole problem on me. 

Early in my career, I wrote A LOT, perhaps too much, about the biochemical and physiological properties of food.

I churned out article after article examining various signaling pathways in fat and muscle cells, and the specific nutrients that could alter them.

Now, I didn’t intend to start a trend of over-focusing on the scientific properties of food. To be honest, I didn’t really think much about my intention at all. (That was kinda the problem).

I was just really into biochemistry and physiology.

As a PhD candidate, publishers gave me a platform to share what I was learning, what I was experimenting with (in the lab), and what I found intriguing.

And when I co-founded Precision Nutrition, I was able to reach and influence even more people.

Along the way, readers took a cue from me.

Coaches, trainers, and fellow “nutrition nerds” fell down the rabbit hole too. They followed my interests. They started focusing on the biochemical and nutritional details of food. And, like me, they shared their interests, thoughts, and experiments with others.

It started a chain reaction.

Yet, as Precision Nutrition developed, my perspective changed. 

My understanding of food broadened.

I came to believe (as I still do) that food is not merely fuel. That no single diet is universally superior. And that there are a lot more considerations to eating than “how does nutrient X affect pathway Y in my body?”.

Don’t get me wrong: Understanding the scientific properties of food is helpful—to a point.

There’s a reason why PN teaches the science of nutrition in the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification: because it’s useful to understand the “why” behind nutrition recommendations before you start doling them out to clients.

But when I look around these days, I see a lot of people hyper-focused on the biochemical and physiological aspects of food. 

Call it over-nutritionalizing, over-intellectualizing, or over-sciencing. Whatever name you give it, it’s characterized by an almost obsessive interest in the nutritional and physiological aspects of a given food.

And we need to tamp that down. Or, at least, balance it out.

People always ask me, “Why’d you choose THAT food / ingredient / supplement?”

Sometimes, I share pictures of what I eat on Instagram.

Either a single meal or an entire day of meals.

People are always asking me how I eat so, occasionally, I oblige by sharing my own meals or what our family is eating.

But every time I do, the same thing happens: People send a barrage of questions, most of them having to do with the physiological or health value of a particular inclusion (or exclusion). I try to answer the queries, but frankly, it’s hard to keep up.

This is a photo of my recent breakfast, with annotated captions to give you a small taste of the back and forth. You can see the entire Q and A in my original Instagram post

No matter how much explanation I provide, the questions keep coming. Here’s a sampling from recent posts of various meals.

Why do you add lemon to your water?Why don’t you eat yams or brown rice or (my favorite starchy carb source)?
Why don’t you eat pineapple, watermelon, or (my favorite fruit)?
Why don’t you drink milk, eat cheese, or (my favorite dairy)?
I see you eat sauerkraut. Why not kimchi?
I see you use collagen protein. Why not whey?
You take a vitamin or a protein supplement or a probiotic? Which brand? Which strain? For what benefit? But what about the research that says X or Y or Z?

You get the idea.

Hence my lemon water example from earlier. Every time I show a meal with a glass of water with lemon, people are deeply concerned with the “health value” of the lemon.

In essence, it feels like everything the nutritionist eats MUST have a scientific reason for its inclusion.

Folks seem disappointed or dissatisfied when I tell them I add it because I like the taste. Or it’s one of my favorite foods. Or it’s all I had available that day.

Similarly, if I don’t include a particular food on a given day, like brown rice or mangoes or coffee, folks get really wrapped up in whether I think the missing food is somehow “bad for you.”

Heck, everything the nutritionist doesn’t eat MUST ALSO have a scientific reason for its exclusion.

But here’s the truth:

Not every food decision I make is grounded in science.

Sometimes I eat foods because I like them. (Shocking, I know.) Or because they make me feel good. Or because our children want me to share a particular food with them.

Likewise, I often avoid other foods that I don’t like. Or that make me feel bad. (Yep, even the “healthy” ones.) Or that aren’t easily accessible to me.

Here’s an example I posted about recently.

I’ve learned, through the process of self-experimentation, that tomatoes and peppers seem to cause flare-ups in the osteoarthritis that bothers my knees.

So, most of the time, I avoid them.

Even though I like to eat them. Even though there isn’t much data to suggest that nightshades like tomatoes and peppers are problematic. I minimize them in my diet because they make me feel bad.

Now, just because I’ve stopped eating them…

Am I saying that tomatoes and peppers (or other nightshades) will affect everyone with osteoarthritis?

No.

Can I tell you for sure that it’s the biochemical properties of the tomatoes and peppers that affect me and not something else (like the placebo effect)? 

No.

Am I suggesting that other people should stop eating tomatoes and peppers? 

Definitely not.

They just don’t work for me.

So, what’s wrong with nerding out on nutrition?

Like I said, I’m a science guy. There’s nothing wrong with knowing your facts.

But this hyper-nutritionalizing can be problematic in a few ways:

#1: Your “research” may not be all that good.

It’s time to get real about something.

Nutrition science is complicated, and relatively early in its evolution. This means there’s a fair bit of research out there that’s open to interpretation.

(And very few absolute hard and fast rules that apply to everybody.)

As a result, it’s not hard to find research that justifies our own preferences.

Imagine this…

Suppose I enjoy a glass of lemon water in the morning. So I think to myself, “Hmm, maybe there’s a health benefit to this. Let’s find out.”

So I visit PubMed (the world’s largest index of biomedical research) and search for scientific studies that support the use of lemon water.

Or I Google something like: “health benefits of lemon water in the morning” (Try it. You’ll get lots of results.)

Bingo. Now I can start spreading the news of the virtuous lemon water—and give myself a pat on the back for enjoying my superior morning beverage.

See the problem here? 

We’re biased. This type of “research” is often a desire to justify our preferences and natural inclinations through “evidence.”

That’s a dangerous practice, one that breeds self-justification and a certain kind of “evidence blindness” to research that doesn’t support one’s preferences.

It also signals the end of curiosity, which is at the heart of scientific inquiry.

And it happens all the time, even to smart people and good thinkers.

They let their personal preferences lead their information search, instead of legitimately trying to get to the bottom of what humans do know (or can know) about a particular subject. Then, once they’ve found the research that supports what they were going to do anyway, they proselytize it as “proven” or “evidence-based.”

But “knowledge” that was gained in this fashion is, at best, incomplete.

At worst, it isn’t really knowledge at all.

#2: Food is more than its biochemical make-up. (And so are we.)

When we get hyper-focused on the science behind our food intake, we miss out on other benefits of eating, like:

Cultural practices/traditionsEnjoyment and pleasureExpressing hospitality or spending time with family and friends over a mealHow they make us feel, physically or otherwise

Just as “health” is more than “not being sick,” food is more than just nutrients.

And, for that matter, humans are much more than our biochemical and physiological makeup.

Whether or not a food “works for us” in the context of our daily lives has to do with more than just research.

It also has to do with our goals, our preferences, our lifestyle, our cooking skills, our cultural background, our eating and living situation, our access to certain foods, our taste buds, our social determinants of health, and so much more.

Sure, there are some general nutritional basics that work for most of us, but that doesn’t mean that someone is doing it wrong if they prefer regular whole oats to steel-cut oats.

#3: It breeds judgment and the moralization of foods.

In a recent Instagram post, I mentioned that I’ve been “zero alcohol” for three years now and that I think it’s contributed, in small part, to some positive health outcomes, particularly around hormonal health.

This statement was interpreted as a win for those with a “clean eating” or  “virtuous health” or “why would you put that poison in your body?” mindset.

Many folks gave me a virtual pat on the back for this choice—as in, “Exactly! Alcohol is poison!”

Meanwhile, others took it as a personal affront. Like I was attacking their decision to drink.

But for me, not drinking isn’t a moral decision. Or a tribal one. I personally abstain because avoiding alcohol seems to help with my autoimmune disease.

And, to be honest, I never enjoyed drinking that much anyway. (Alcohol makes me irritable and sleepy which, alone, is annoying and, in social settings, makes me want to go home.)

But just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean I search for all the info I can find about why alcohol is bad for everyone and then proselytize against it. I understand it serves different needs for different people. And that some of those, on balance, could be healthy… in the right context. (For examples, check out: Would I be healthier if I quit drinking?)

Bottom line: ⁠⁠I’m not anti-alcohol, nor am I pro-alcohol; I just made a decision that felt best for me. And my point here is this:

Someone else’s food choices—whether scientifically supported or not—shouldn’t send you into a tailspin. 

Nor should your personal food choices be the basis for telling others what they should or shouldn’t do, regardless of what your self-directed scan of the research tells you is “right” or “wrong.”

If you find yourself doing either, it’s time to back up and gain some perspective.

I can’t recommend a “best food” or a “best diet,” but I can recommend this.

Try to stay open-minded.

It’s up to you to find foods that you enjoy eating, and that help contribute to your goals, whatever they might be.

And if you’re a coach, it’s your job to help your clients find those foods—and those goals—for themselves.

A healthy relationship with food doesn’t require you to nitpick over every small decision or have a scientific justification for everything you choose. 

In fact, once you understand the basics of how various nutrients work in the body, a healthy relationship with food might mean the exact opposite… broadening your perspective on eating beyond the “scientific benefits.”

Yes, it can take time and practice to understand what works best for you, your body, your family, and your lifestyle. And to enjoy those foods without overthinking them.

That’s the balance here.

To recognize that, at the beginning of your “healthy eating journey,” you might actually need to spend more time learning about your food to help facilitate better, more thoughtful choices.

But then, at a certain point, you might need to step back and try to integrate that new knowledge into the context of your real life. To situate it within a broader, more robust framework for making eating decisions.

Because, if you go too far here, your ideas about food can end up mired in superstition or “sciencestition.” When that happens, it’s difficult to be objective. Difficult to stay curious and open-minded. Difficult to learn anything, for yourself or for your clients.

So that’s your first experiment.

Back away from the research database. Make yourself a meal without overanalyzing it. And while you’re at it, pour yourself a glass of water. Lemon or no lemon? The choice is yours.

Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. The next group kicks off shortly.

–>

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

Learning how to coach clients, patients, friends, or family members through healthy eating and lifestyle changes—in a way that’s personalized for their unique body, preferences, and circumstances—is both an art and a science.

If you’d like to learn more about both, consider the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification.

Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification.

–>

The post Superstition, sciencestition, and how to stop overthinking your food choices. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://trailsmart.org/?p=289

If only you could sleep in the fridge, then menopause wouldn’t be a problem.

There, snuggled up next to the baloney, head resting on a cool heirloom tomato, you’d finally be able to sink into a cool, temperature-controlled slumber.

For many people, the above fantasy, no doubt, sounds… bizarre.

If you’re nearing menopause, however, we’re guessing you can relate.

Though we can’t offer any advice that will erase every single symptom, we can help ensure this rite of passage doesn’t wreck your sleep.

In this article, we’ll explain why sleep becomes so elusive around menopause (hint: it’s not all about hormones).

Plus, we’ll give you (or your clients) five ways to manage symptoms—and sleep easier.

Worry not: Cooler, more restful nights are in your future.

++++

The real reason menopause affects sleep

Menopause is marked by a full year without a menstrual period.

Long before your final period, during perimenopause, levels of estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) fluctuate. This can affect your sleep wake cycle (a.k.a. your circadian rhythm), body temperature regulation, mood, and sleep quality.1,2,3

Once you reach menopause, levels of estrogen and progesterone will typically be more stable—and quite low. A few years after you’ve waved a final goodbye to your monthlies, thankfully, your symptoms and sleep issues may dissipate. (No wonder the menopausal transition is so frustrating!)

Despite all this, it’s important to know:

Sleep disruptions are caused by many different factors, not just hormones.

Many biological, psychological, and social factors can affect sleep.

For example, you might also experience changes in:

Metabolism: As you approach menopause, abdominal fat tends to accumulate—which increases your risk of insulin resistance.4

This, in turn, can change how often you need to go to the bathroom, or how thirsty you feel.5 (Meaning: You find yourself making more trips to the bathroom at night, or to the kitchen for a glass of water.)

Mood and mental health: Almost like a second puberty, you may discover new depths of hair-trigger rage, or a sadness you haven’t felt since you were 13 and your mom wouldn’t let you sleep at Janey’s house on a school night.

These mood changes are thought to be connected to sleep disruptions.6

Roles, relationships, and general health and aging: The onset of menopause may go along with other big life changes:

Jobs or financial status (losing a job, retiring, paying for kids’ college, supporting a relative)Relationships (deaths of parents or friends, divorce, estrangement)Overall health (due to aging, the accumulation of poor health habits, or just bad luck)Sex drive (from lack of desire, vaginal dryness, fatigue)Familial responsibilities (your nearing-adulthood kids might not need you as much, but your aging parents might need you more)Body image (aka “who the heck is that person in the mirror?!”)Identity (struggling with who you are, or the fear of aging and mortality)

No wonder you feel as if you can’t power down at night.

(And just when you do, there’s your bladder calling again.)

5 ways to improve sleep

Make each night more restful by experimenting with the following solutions.

1. Prepare for those night sweats.

The following three ideas are… three ideas. We could have listed dozens.

We welcome you to experiment with what we’re suggesting here, as well as try different strategies. If the lady at the crystal store said that giant amethyst will help you sleep better—and it consistently works for you—onwards!

Keep a spare set of PJs or a towel beside the bed. This way, when you wake up soaked, you won’t have to search for something clean and dry.

Sleep with a fan. The cool air will minimize the chances of overheating. Plus, it doubles as a white noise machine if your partner’s (or dog’s) snoring occasionally wakes you up.

If you have the financial means, try cooling sheets, pads, and pillows. These products range from breathable, sweat-wicking fabrics to full-on electric covers and pads that allow you to set your preferred sleeping temperature.

While the above tools might not completely vanish sleep problems, they can minimize one of the more disruptive symptoms, and give you—or your client—a sense of control.

2. Reframe your thoughts about sleep loss.

Night sweats can create a vicious circle.

They wake you one night. You feel tired the next day. The following night, you think, “I NEED to sleep.” But, no, you’re up and sweating again.

Eventually the sweating might stop, but you’re still… awake.

What gives?

When you layer anxiety about sleep overtop of existing sleep disruptions, you lose rest not just because of night sweats, but also because of the catastrophic thoughts you have about how your sleep loss is somehow going to make you lose your job.

To turn this around, steal a strategy from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has been shown to be extremely effective for sleep anxiety.

Write down the thoughts or beliefs that come up when you can’t sleep.

For example:

I’ll never sleep well again.I can’t work out / think clearly / take care of everyone because I’m so tired.My bad sleep is going to cause me to get some terrible illness, like cancer or heart disease.

Notice how worried thoughts tend to:

Use absolutes (like “always” or “neverPredict the future (even though you’re not a licensed fortune-teller)See things as “all-or-nothing” (“If I don’t sleep well, I can’t do ANYTHING.”)

Now, reframe those beliefs using a realistic, compassionate perspective.

For example:

I might lose sleep occasionally, but other nights will probably be okay.I’m not feeling my best, but I can do some exercise / work and maybe find a few moments of peace in my day.Sleep is just one aspect of good health. If I don’t sleep well, I can still make sure I eat nutritious foods, drink enough water, and get outside for a few deep breaths.

By training yourself to reframe your thoughts about sleep, you can minimize how much you worry about sleep, allowing you to, well, sleep.

3. Design better days for better nights.

Restful sleep has as much to do with what you do during the day as it does with what you do at night.

When your days are filled with relentless stress—particularly if that stress feels isolating, purposeless, and unending—it’s understandable if your body’s still buzzing when it’s time to turn off.

This is especially true around perimenopause, when loopy hormones can make you extra sensitive to stress.

While you can’t always prevent stressful moments like the dishwasher breaking down right after you’ve made your cheesy macaroni casserole, you can improve how you recover from these unwanted life events.

Think of yourself as a jug (okay, not glamorous… but bear with us):

Stress drains the jug, and recovery fills it back up.

The image below offers several ways to recover, and there’s more in this article too: Secrets for using stress to build you up—instead of break you down.

Try to fill your jug, at least as much as you drain it, by punctuating your days with moments of:

Rest (like a 10-minute guided meditation after an intense meeting)Joy (grabbing a coffee with your friend who always makes you laugh)Self-kindness (protecting your time to take care of yourself)

When you do that, you’re less likely to lie awake because you haven’t stopped all day and this resting thing feels so foreign (and you’re dreading the next day).

Instead, you’ll be reminiscing about the good conversation you had with a friend, and looking forward to that tai chi class you registered for at your local community center.

(Cool fact: Tai chi—as well as yoga, meditation, and other relaxation practices—aren’t just good for your overall health and fitness. They also can alleviate symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, mood swings, and sleep loss.7)

Menopause Rx: Talk to your doctor about these sleep-management tools

If menopause-related symptoms are severe, persistent, and overwhelming, talk to your doctor about whether you’re a good fit for…

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT): MHT can improve sleep quality, decrease the time it takes to fall asleep, and reduce the number of nighttime awakenings.6,8,9 Caution: It can also raise disease risk for some women, so a conversation with your doctor is important.10

Antidepressants: If sleep issues are primarily due to persistent mood issues like anxiety and depression (and not night sweats), antidepressants can help.11 When treating sleep, these medications are usually recommended in combination with CBT-I, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy specifically used to improve sleep.

Prolonged/slow release melatonin: Talk to your doctor to see if you’re a good candidate for melatonin—a hormone you naturally produce in your brain that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. In research, two milligrams has been shown to be effective.11

4. Bring some self-compassion and common humanity to your situation.

Self-compassion can activate your calming nervous system and improve sleep.12 The elements include:

Mindfulness: Notice what you’re feeling. (For example, validating for yourself, ‘Hey, retiring from a career or dealing with an aging parent, is stressful.’)Common humanity: Appreciate how universal your experience is. You’re not alone, and so many women are going through this too. Imagine all those women, just like you, staring at the ceiling. Send them some imaginary kindness, and mentally reassure them that they’ll be okay too.Self-kindness: Speak to and treat yourself with care. Even if you’ve snapped at your partner way too many times this morning (“After 20 years of marriage, STILL with the toilet seat?!”), you’re not a monster. You’re just a human, trying to do your best. Ask yourself what you need to care for yourself, and try to prioritize it.

Admittedly, self-compassion won’t change that you can’t wear wool anymore. Or that everyone’s getting older.

But it can change how you experience your situation, possibly even making the experience of menopause more unifying, cathartic, and empowering.

5. Notice your strengths and superpowers.

During peri- and post-menopause, a lot can feel out of your control—on your worst days, like a slippery slope towards doom.

Transition periods can trigger these feelings: The old way is lost, but the new path isn’t visible yet. Meanwhile, you’re tangled in branches and fighting off angry squirrels in the dark woods of the in-between.

So, shine a light on the good.

If you’re lying awake at night worrying about how much you’re going to miss your kid who’s going away to college: You must be someone who cares deeply about your relationships.

If you’re tossing and turning about a presentation you have to give in the morning: You must be someone with a strong attention to detail.

If you’re wondering how you’re going to make a casserole for a grieving friend, work, volunteer as a crossing guard, and visit your dad: You must be someone that other people depend on.

Whatever you’re struggling with, there’s a flipside: That side reveals your values, your strengths, and your unique superpowers.

So, when you’re having a hard time, ask yourself:

‘Why does this matter to me?’

Let the answer point you to what’s special about YOU.

And celebrate it.

Because if anything, menopause is a victory. You’ve made it this far. And the next adventure is waiting.

jQuery(document).ready(function(){
jQuery(“#references_link”).click(function(){
jQuery(“#references_holder”).show();
jQuery(“#references_link”).parent().hide();>

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

1. Hatcher, Katherine M., Sara E. Royston, and Megan M. Mahoney. 2020. “Modulation of Circadian Rhythms through Estrogen Receptor Signaling.” The European Journal of Neuroscience 51 (1): 217–28.

2. Lampio, Laura, Päivi Polo-Kantola, Sari-Leena Himanen, Samu Kurki, Eero Huupponen, Janne Engblom, Olli J. Heinonen, Olli Polo, and Tarja Saaresranta. 2017. “Sleep During Menopausal Transition: A 6-Year Follow-Up.” Sleep 40 (7). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsx090.

3. Zambotti, Massimiliano de, Ian M. Colrain, and Fiona C. Baker. 2015. “Interaction between Reproductive Hormones and Physiological Sleep in Women.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 100 (4): 1426–33.

4. Walton, C., I. F. Godsland, A. J. Proudler, V. Wynn, and J. C. Stevenson. 1993. “The Effects of the Menopause on Insulin Sensitivity, Secretion and Elimination in Non-Obese, Healthy Women.” European Journal of Clinical Investigation 23 (8): 466–73.

5. Stachenfeld, Nina S. 2014. “Hormonal Changes during Menopause and the Impact on Fluid Regulation.” Reproductive Sciences 21 (5): 555–61.

6. Brown, Alana M. C., and Nicole J. Gervais. 2020. “Role of Ovarian Hormones in the Modulation of Sleep in Females Across the Adult Lifespan.” Endocrinology 161 (9). https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqaa128.

7. Innes, Kim E., Terry Kit Selfe, and Abhishek Vishnu. 2010. “Mind-Body Therapies for Menopausal Symptoms: A Systematic Review.” Maturitas 66 (2): 135–49.

8. Zhu, Dongxing, Xiaosa Li, Vicky E. Macrae, Tommaso Simoncini, and Xiaodong Fu. 2018. “Extragonadal Effects of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone on Osteoporosis and Cardiovascular Disease in Women during Menopausal Transition.” Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism: TEM 29 (8): 571–80.

9. Gambacciani, Marco, Massimo Ciaponi, Barbara Cappagli, Patrizia Monteleone, Caterina Benussi, Gemma Bevilacqua, Francesca Vacca, and Andrea R. Genazzani. 2005. “Effects of Low-Dose, Continuous Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy on Sleep in Symptomatic Postmenopausal Women.” Maturitas 50 (2): 91–97.

10. Lobo, Roger A. 2017. “Hormone-Replacement Therapy: Current Thinking.” Nature Reviews. Endocrinology 13 (4): 220–31.

11. Proserpio, P., S. Marra, C. Campana, E. C. Agostoni, L. Palagini, L. Nobili, and R. E. Nappi. 2020. “Insomnia and Menopause: A Narrative Review on Mechanisms and Treatments.” Climacteric: The Journal of the International Menopause Society 23 (6): 539–49.

12. Kemper, Kathi J., Xiaokui Mo, and Rami Khayat. 2015. “Are Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Associated with Sleep and Resilience in Health Professionals?” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 21 (8): 496–503.

If you’re a health and fitness coach…

Learning how to help clients manage stress, build resilience, and optimize sleep and recovery can be deeply transformative—for both of you.

It helps clients get “unstuck” and makes everything else easier—whether they want to eat better, move more, lose weight, or reclaim their health.

And for coaches: It gives you a rarified skill that will set you apart as an elite change maker.

The brand-new PN Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification will show you how.

Want to know more?

The post Menopause and sleep: The struggle is real (and so are these solutions) appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://trailsmart.org/?p=216

Your roof isn’t leaking, your thyroid’s fine, and you’ve never been chased by a hungry tiger.

So why are you so exhausted, cranky, and foggy?!

We’d like to introduce you to invisible stress.

You’re probably familiar with visible stress. That’s the stuff that most of us register as obviously stressful—trying to console a screaming infant at 3:30 am, or doing a presentation in front of people who are paid to criticize your work.

Invisible stress, on the other hand, quietly does its dirty work beneath your level of awareness.

When enough of these silent stressors add up, however, you can feel as if you’ve just crawled out of the lion enclosure at the zoo.

Worse, you’re left wondering: “Why am I feeling so crummy? What’s wrong with me? Nothing dramatic happened!”

In this article, we’ll expose what causes five hidden stressors that can wear away at your health and wellbeing.

Even better, we’ll show you how to recover, so you can return to your life with more energy, wisdom, and resilience.

++++

Stressor #1: Information overload & filter failure

Technology has given us many great things—including an end to couples fighting about the need to ask for directions.

One double-edged technological gift: An overabundance of information.

Many of us have jobs that require us to process reams of electronic fodder—in the form of emails, video calls, and chat messages.

On top of that, we often fill our non-work hours with more electronic material: social media, YouTube reaction videos, and clicking on that ad for shoes and falling into a black hole of online shopping.

People used to call this nerve-jangling problem information overload. But, as computer scientist and productivity sage Cal Newport has popularized: The information itself isn’t the problem.

The real problem is this: We fail to filter out the junk. 

Without the skill of consciously choosing where to place our attention (filtering and focusing), our attention gets yanked away from us like leaves in the wind.

Imagine a busy emergency room where nobody triaged and prioritized. Stuffy noses and sprained ankles would be as important—and randomly attended to—as someone who’d just been in a catastrophic car accident.

Fortunately, emergency personnel learn to identify what matters most right now and quickly switch gears to crucial priorities as needed.

You can learn to do the same.

Signs you’re suffering from this stressor

Consider if any of the following are true for you:

✓ You feel tired and edgy after spending time on the internet or watching the news.

✓ You don’t spend as much time on your health, fitness, and life goals, because you get distracted by what’s going on online or with the latest Netflix release.

✓ You keep finding yourself somewhere in an information ocean, not sure how you got there.

✓ The idea of a digital vacation feels scary—but maybe also a teeny bit freeing.

✓ You struggle to know where to put your attention, because everything’s trying to grab it.

✓ It all just feels like… too much. 

How to recover

A focus filter allows you to consciously choose—with purpose—where you want to place your attention.

To create one, you’ll first want to spend time thinking about who you are (a.k.a. your identity) as well as what matters to you (a.k.a. your values).

Maybe you’re a family person who values time with your kids.

Or you’re a fitness enthusiast who cares deeply about breaking a sweat in the great outdoors.

There are no right or wrong answers here. This isn’t about what your parents want for you or what you think society wants for you.

Rather, it’s about what YOU want for YOU.

For help, check out our Identity, Values, and Goals chart.

And, yes, this is hard work. If you feel lost trying to identify your values, here’s a cool way to figure it out. Ask yourself:

What makes you angry?

Anger can be a sign your values have been violated. The following table lists a few examples.

I got mad when…So _________ is important to meSomeone lied to meHonestyI got ripped offFairnessMy boss asked me to work late and miss my son’s gameFamilySomeone was rude to meCourtesy

Once you know your identity and values, take an honest look at where you spend your time and energy.

Are you putting enough time and energy toward what you value?

Heads up: Your time, energy, and attention will always be limited.

When you say “yes” to what you value, you’ll probably have to say “no” to something else. 

Stressor #2: Toxic positivity

Remember those self-improvement gurus from the 90s and aughts who advised us to “think positive” in the face of stress?

Whether you’d just stubbed your toe or lost your entire family in an avalanche, the advice was the same: “You can find a silver lining! Just stay positive! Everything happens for a reason!”

However, we now know contrived positivity can be counterproductive—even harmful: When it’s not authentic, positivity can actually intensify the stress we experience.1,2

Also, slapping an “EVERYTHING’S FINE” label over everything can block us from recognizing problems, which stops us from solving them.

Signs you’re suffering from this stressor

Positive thinking isn’t all bad.

Take the belief you can deal with and learn from the many complications life throws your way. That can help you feel capable, resourceful, and strong, and lead to growth.

Toxic positivity, however, generally leads to stagnation.

You’re not moving through challenges with courage and vulnerability. Rather, you’re getting stuck in “Everything’s okay! I don’t have to deal with that because it’s not a problem! I swear!”

More signs that toxic positivity is keeping you stunted:

✓ You don’t permit yourself to experience or discuss difficult emotions such as anger or grief.

✓ Repressed negative emotions seem to leak out in other ways: muscle tension, disappearing wine bottles, disproportionate explosions of rage when you can’t find your keys.

✓ You feel guilty or ashamed whenever you experience a negative emotion like frustration or sadness. (“I have no right to feel this. My life is okay and so many other people are suffering.”)

✓ You feel uncomfortable when people around you are suffering, so you say things like “just look on the bright side.”

✓ You’ve unsuccessfully started a million gratitude journals and hated them immediately.

How to recover

Pay attention to your full range of emotions—especially the uncomfortable ones you wish you didn’t have to experience.

When you notice a negative emotion, name it. This can be as simple as saying (out loud or inwardly): “I’m feeling angry” or “I’m so lonely right now.”

Notice how that feeling lives in your body. Are you feeling restless? Is your jaw tight? Face hot? Tears poking at your eyes?

Be curious. Is there something important or valuable that the emotion is trying to tell you? If the emotion had a voice, what would it say? Be honest with yourself, at least in your own head.

See if you can welcome—or at least feel a little softer towards—the feeling as a necessary and normal life experience that’s neither good, nor bad.

Stressor #3: Your neighbor’s leaf blower

Lawn equipment, car alarms, barking dogs, and other noisy goings on are more than just annoying.

They can trigger a body-wide stress response.

In order to survive, we evolved to perceive, interpret, and respond to the world’s cacophony of sensory information.

Based on the sounds around us, your body will perk up (say, to the sound of a crying baby), jolt you into action (to respond to a blaring car horn), or just do nothing (interpreting the constant hum of the air conditioner as NBD).

We’re well equipped to process much of this sensory stimuli. 

However, when this information overwhelms our ability to process it, it becomes a stressor.

This is especially true when that noise is yammering on when you’re trying to finish that assignment your boss slammed in your inbox this morning.

Or listen to that lecture you know will be covered on the exam.

Or, heck, just relax and have some peace and quiet.

Signs you’re suffering from this stressor

Some noises are almost universally stressful. Think: the off-key teenage punk rock band that practices in a neighbor’s garage.

If the noise goes on long or often enough, you’ll notice symptoms of stress.

Some of us are unusually sensitive to sensory input. 

We feel uneasy in situations that don’t bother other people—such as a crowded restaurant with lots of competing conversations. If others around us don’t understand or feel the same way, the stress gets amplified.

You might be unusually sensitive to sensory input if you…

✓ Feel overstimulated and/or uncomfortable in environments other people find relaxing or neutral (restaurants, doctor’s waiting rooms)

✓ Avoid certain environments (like airports and malls) because you worry you won’t be able to handle all the commotion

✓ Have other sensory sensitivities. For example, you reject many foods because of taste or texture, or diligently rip tags off clothes because the little pieces of fabric torment you

How to recover

We wish we could tell you about a magic switch that would turn off the world.

Truth is, some background noises are inevitable and out of our control.

But not all of them. To regain a sense of control, consider two questions:

Question #1: How might you turn down the volume on sounds that trigger your stress? 

Could you close the blinds during work calls to prevent your dog from barking at the mail carrier?

Wear noise-cancelling headphones in crowded environments to muffle background noise?

Talk to your neighbors about mutually-agreed upon quiet hours?

Question #2: How might you invite more quiet?

Are there ways to build “quiet breaks” into your day?

Some of our clients like to stop at a park for 10 minutes before heading home after a stressful day.

Others hang out in “sensory rooms” (restorative spaces designed specifically for people with sensory issues) in airports, malls, and other places where these rooms are available.

Some families schedule “quiet time” during which everyone can be immersed in their own silent pursuits: coloring, reading, listening to music with headphones, or building Legos.

(Shhhh. That’s the sound of a pin drop.)

Stressor #4: Emotional labor

Imagine you work in customer service.

All day long, you must pretend to care deeply about the often minor concerns of your customers.

Even when people are rude or offensive, you must adopt a pleasant tone and stick to the script, which in part, involves you repeatedly saying “I’m sorry” for a situation that isn’t remotely your fault.

Nurses, therapists, coaches, and even parents might relate: No matter what kind of day you’re having, you still try to seem caring and cheerful.

That’s emotional labor, a term coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild in the 1980s. It’s the internal work needed to actively manage the feelings of others, as well as control our own response.

And it can be as exhausting as laying bricks on a summer day in Miami.

If we don’t account for this emotional labor, and recover from it appropriately, we risk burnout.

Signs you’re suffering from this stressor

Consider whether any of the following are true for you:

✓ As a marginalized person at work, you feel you must plaster a smile to your face in order to not provoke coworkers who make hurtful, demeaning comments.

✓ You work in a profession that involves concealing your own emotions and prioritizing the emotions of the customer or client. Think: healthcare, law, customer service, social work, and you guessed it… coaching.

✓ You feel exhausted at the end of the day because you spend most of it graciously placating cranky people. (Hi, caregivers of small children and teenagers.)

✓ You’re the one in your household who’s always smoothing ruffled feathers, playing peacekeeper, and trying to ensure everyone gets along—ignoring your own desire to tell your housemate to take a hike, your parent to quit telling you how to live your life, or your spouse to clean up their own #^@%! mess.

How to recover

Consider this question:

Where can you find emotional rest? 

Boundaries are a key tactic, especially if you’re a high-empathy person who often takes on others’ problems and emotions.

Deciding when—and when not—to get emotionally invested is a skill that most coaches (and caring people with feelings) have to work to develop.

Maybe you…

Create boundaries between home and work, perhaps by not checking work email during dinner, or after a set hour.

Have a crucial conversation with your family during which you explain that you’re no longer the United Nations for their infighting.

Schedule 5-minute breaks into your workday so you can slam a medicine ball into a wall, take a walk around the block, or stare out a window.

Get extra support—for instance, from an ally or therapist who understands your struggles.

The best form of emotional recovery will vary from one person to another.

Experiment with options until you find what works best.

Stressor #5: Microaggressions

Microaggressions are small, often subtle, everyday statements or actions that communicate hostile, derogatory, and negative attitudes towards someone.

They can sound like…

To an Asian American:“Where are you from? I mean where are you really from?”To a person of color:Clutches their purse more tightly.To a same-sex couple with a child:“So who’s the real parent?”To a person in a larger body:“You’d look so good if you just lost weight.”To a person who is gender-diverse:“Aren’t you in the wrong bathroom?”To a person with a visible disability:Gets ignored.

To those who haven’t experienced them, microaggressions might seem too small to matter.

These are silly little everyday things, why complain?

Yet microaggressions often sting. A lot. Like, “Dang, was that a paper cut or a hot chainsaw??”

Though subtle and, at times, unintended, these jabs have a significant impact.

They can build over time, wearing you down and affecting how you experience the world.

And telling yourself to “suck it up” or “I shouldn’t be bothered by this” can backfire, making the stress even worse.

Signs you’re suffering from this stressor

After years of aggregated pokes and pushes, you may:

✓ Continually brace for impact, waiting for the next shot to come

✓ Feel exhausted. Change may feel like another chore to face

✓ Become suspicious of the people around you, even if they seem to have good intentions

✓ Mistrust an entire group of people or avoid particular situations

How to recover

There’s one bright spot: Micropower.

It involves taking small actions on your own behalf to resist the feeling of being beaten down by your circumstances.

Here are some examples of how someone might discover their micropower.

Find communities, spaces, and allies who understand specific struggles—such as coworkers who “get it,” a support group, or a therapist who understands this particular type of marginalization.

Ask, “What do you mean by that?” and put the aggressor on the spot.

Discern and prioritize: Is this the battle you want to fight right now?

Practice aggressive self-care. Double down on recovery and replenishing. Microaggressions can be draining.

If it’s safe, call it out. Say, “That term isn’t used any more. Please don’t refer to me like that.”

Or, “I’m sure you didn’t mean to imply ____, but it came across as ____. Instead could you please _____.”

(This is scary and has potential risks, so build a base of support and allies first, if you can.)

If you have the resources, build something out of your experience that benefits others.

For instance, after years of experiencing stigma and discrimination, Coach Meghan Crutchley started Habit Queer, a coaching and speaking business that uses the PN behavior-based approach to support LGBTQ+ clients.

Even if the rest of the situation sucks right now, these actions help you gain crucial control and empowerment.

Micropower for coaches

If you’re serving clients from groups that have been traditionally marginalized or discriminated against (such as people from racialized groups, recent immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, people who think or learn differently, people with disabilities, and so on), assume they’ve dealt with microaggressions.

As a coach, you’ll want to integrate this understanding into your own practice.

Consider how to provide safe, secure social support:

Offer compassion. Try to empathize and understand your clients’ hesitation, discomfort and anxiety. Recognize they may have dealt with innumerable social hurts that affect their perceptions, engagement, and comfort within certain spaces.Choose your words thoughtfully and sensitively. Small things (like well-intentioned constructive criticism) can feel like an attack when a client’s threat radar is up.Make the client the boss. Microaggressions can feel like they take away our power to act and advocate. Help clients feel more in control and safe by emphasizing their ownership over their own change process. Help them find opportunities for acts of productive micropower.

Less stress, more recovery

When you see hidden stressors clearly, you have a better chance of being able to take empowered steps to recover from them.

Think about the balance of stress and recovery as a tank that can be simultaneously filled (through recovery) and drained (from stress).

Using the strategies listed in this story as well as what’s shown in the above illustration, aim to:

Put more in the tank by cranking up recovery practicesSlow or plug the leak by decreasing or better managing stress

You won’t be able to eliminate stressors—invisible or otherwise—completely. But by slowing the leak as well as filling the tank, you can feel a little more equipped for life.

jQuery(document).ready(function(){
jQuery(“#references_link”).click(function(){
jQuery(“#references_holder”).show();
jQuery(“#references_link”).parent().hide();>

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

1. Torre JB, Lieberman MD. Putting Feelings Into Words: Affect Labeling as Implicit Emotion Regulation. Emot Rev. 2018 Apr 1;10(2):116–24.

2. Lieberman MD, Eisenberger NI, Crockett MJ, Tom SM, Pfeifer JH, Way BM. Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychol Sci. 2007 May;18(5):421–8.

If you’re a health and fitness coach…

Learning how to help clients manage stress, build resilience, and optimize sleep and recovery can be deeply transformative—for both of you.

It helps clients get “unstuck” and makes everything else easier—whether they want to eat better, move more, lose weight, or reclaim their health.

And for coaches: It gives you a rarified skill that will set you apart as an elite change maker.

PN’s brand-new certification—announcement coming soon!—will show you how.

Want to know more?

The post Invisible stressors: Are they sucking the life out of your health? appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://trailsmart.org/?p=190