My guest today is Nicole Jardim, women’s holistic health coach and founder of The Healthy Elements.

In her interview, Nicole touches on the anatomy of stress and gives recommendations on how we can keep stress at bay.

More advice from Nicole Jardim

There are a number of practices you can integrate into your life to prevent your body from having to manage chronic stress.  Instead of working harder you need to be working smarter.  My suggestions below are the perfect place to start.

1. Practice saying “probably not or no.”

Women are programmed to overcommit, over provide and people please, often at the expense of our own health and our stress response and adrenal function. This week when someone asks you to do something that you know will stress you and your adrenals, practice saying “Probably not…(pause), but let me think about it.” No guilt allowed! You can take it further by creating a “yes and no list” for yourself. What are your absolute yes’s and no’s for this week?

2. Prioritize your commitments.

I want you to clear the decks. Make a list of all your activities, commitments and to-do’s and identify what you can stop doing. Before adding a new task or commitment, ask yourself this question: “Will doing this recharge my batteries or deplete them?” If the activity will deplete them, then either don’t do it or find a smarter way of doing it.

3. Create systems in your business.

Business to-do’s and tasks can sometimes seem never-ending. This usually causes feelings of overwhelm and defeatism and eventually leads to total burnout. The reason for this burnout is adrenal dysfunction. If you create a set of systems in your business, you will become more whelmed and less frazzled. Effective business systems remove the constant feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff and replace it with calm, centered energy and laser-sharp focus.

4. Sleep!

You must rest if you are going to help your adrenals get stronger and getting enough sleep is the most effective modality. That means making an effort to go to bed every night by 10 pm and sleeping for at least seven hours.

5. Support yourself nutritionally.

Eat regular meals, especially breakfast, which include high-quality protein, whole grains and good fats. Support your body’s natural rhythms by properly timing meals to prevent dramatic dips in blood sugar. Properly timed, adequate nutrition will make you much more resilient to your daily stressors.

TAKE ACTION NOW

In the comments below let me know how you deal with stress.  Which one of the above recommendations could you start implementing this week?

 Bio:

Nicole is a Women’s Health Coach and creator of  Fix my Period, a series of private and group programs that empower women to heal their menstrual conditions in a sassy and fun way. Take the quiz: What’s up with my body? She passionately believes that optimal nutrition, self-care practices, and more mindful living are essential to maintaining feminine vitality at any age.