The John Tesh Blog

Feeling Stress? Become Your Own Therapist AND Masseuse

Spring is definitely within our sights, and surveys say that 67% of us say we do, indeed, feel better in Spring. Winter, however, isn't the only factor in fighting depression, stress or anxiety. We have 10 self-soothing techniques, from psychologist Dr. Susan Albers' book 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food.

Slipping into Soothing Sensations

When you are looking for comfort, try calming one or more of your senses. You'll be amazed at how well this lessens the need to emotionally eat.

• Light therapy. Sunlight or bright full-spectrum light on your skin can significantly improve your mood. It's one of the main forms of treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is a mild form of depression some people experience during the winter months when there is little sunlight (Golden et al. 2005). Sunlight helps reset your internal clock and increases your serotonin levels. We're close on this 15th day of March, but the change in season isn't an automatic jet-set into full sunshine and warmth, and you could be fighting the last vestiges of Winter. When you feel you need comfort, sit by a window in indirect sunlight or go outdoors for thirty minutes—but don't forget to use sunscreen and sunglasses. If there's very little sunlight in the wintertime where you live or if you can't get outdoors, investigate buying a therapy light. These are bright lights you can use indoors that have the same healing effect as sunlight does.
• Sip hot or cold tea. If there's a pattern to your stress eating, you may want to schedule teatime for yourself at some point in the day when you might be prone to eat for emotional reasons. Tea is chemically complex. It has many different ingredients that affect neurotransmitters and other mood-regulating chemicals. Black tea has been shown to lower cortisol, a stress hormone (Steptoe et al. 2006). Chamomile is one type of herbal tea well-known for its soothing and calming properties.
• Apply a warm or cold washcloth. To calm your body, put a damp washcloth over your eyes, feet, or forehead. Choose a warm or cool cloth depending on what sounds the most soothing to you at the moment.

Be Your Own Masseuse

If physical discomfort is at the heart of your emotional eating, try some of these techniques. You may find that by addressing your physical discomfort, your desire to eat for emotional reasons has diminished.

• Hands. You will need some lotion for this technique. After you apply a dab of lotion to your hand, rub the palms of both hands together. Observe that some heat is created by the rubbing. Then clasp your hands together. Your fingers should be entwined. With your thumb, massage the area just below your other thumb in a circular motion. Continue massaging and move outward to the center of the palm. Rub each hand for two minutes.
  Feet. This exercise can be done standing or sitting. To massage your feet, you will need a hard beach ball, golf ball, or tennis ball. If you are standing, be sure to hold the edge of a chair for support. Place one foot on the ball. Then roll your foot back and forth over the top of the ball. Next place the arch of your foot on top of the ball. Apply pressure gradually. Roll the ball around under your arch. Then roll the sole of your foot. Finally, roll under your toes and your heel. Follow the same procedure for your other foot.
• Shoulders. You can also use a tennis ball for massaging your shoulders. Place the ball against a wall behind your shoulders. Roll the ball back and forth over and between your shoulder blades until you feel your shoulders relax. Do this for approximately three to five minutes.
• Eyes. Do you feel tension in your eyes? Briskly rub your palms together. As you rub, your palms will become warm. Then quickly, and gently but firmly, cover your eyes with your palms. Keep your eyes covered for half a minute. The warmth of your hands will transfer to your eyes.
• Ears. Using your thumbs and index fingers, begin by gently rubbing your outer ear rims. Then rub your earlobes. Continue doing this until your ears feel warmer.
• Face. For massaging your face, use the knuckles on your thumbs. Gently rub both thumbs' knuckles up and down alongside your nose, massaging up and down. If you want gentler pressure, do this with your fingertips. Then rub circles around your eyes with your fingertips. Make the circles large enough to completely reach around your eyes and above your eyebrows.
• Head. Rest both elbows on a table. Place your fingertips on your scalp underneath your hair. Massage your head with your thumbs and fingertips.
• Stomach. It's a natural response to rub your stomach when you overeat. Using clockwise, circular motions, rub your hand or palm over your abdomen approximately twenty times. Clockwise is the same direction that food travels in your intestines. This type of massage aids your digestive processes.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

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Weekend's here! Keep your brain from being "Lost in Space" come Monday morning.

By Improving Your Memory With Neurobics:

If you want to improve your memory, you’ve heard what scientists recommend - eating fish, de-stressing, staying physically fit, and socializing with friends and family. You also need to  give your brain a workout, because that’s the best way to generate new brain cells. According to Time magazine, Alzheimer’s researchers say that at least six weeks of sustained, intense learning increases brain thickness in adults, helping accumulate what they call “cognitive  reserve” - extra brainpower that can help delay the onset of dementia. Studies also show that people with more education and more stimulating jobs are at a lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s.

So, how can you train your brain? There are dozens of memory-enhancing computer programs and electronic games in the field of Neurobics – which is short for neuron aerobics. Products include Nintendo’s Brain Age – which millions of people have bought to play Sudoku puzzles and counting games. Then there’s the NeuroActive Brain Bike – a $4,000 stationary bicycle with a computer screen for playing games and solving puzzles, and InSight, a $400 software program filled with games, puzzles and exercises. In a recent study, people who used InSight for two months saw their mental speed jump 60%.

Do you need all those gizmos to boost your memory? Probably not. Dr. Art Kramer is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Illinois. He says that physical exercise is incredibly effective at slowing memory decline. People who walk an hour a day, three times a week do much better on memory tests than those who didn’t exercise. Beyond physical exercise, keep doing new things that challenge your mind, whether you’re taking pottery classes, learning a language, or solving the puzzles on Wheel of Fortune. Mix things up frequently. If you keep doing the same brain exercises over and over again, they stop being effective. So, keep looking for new things to try – new places to visit, and new things to learn. Your life will be more interesting – and you’ll be able to remember things a lot longer.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.

Come on, get happy!

2009 has been a rough year for a lot of people with lay-offs, the swine flu, and home foreclosures. While we can’t totally control our circumstances, we can control how they affect our well-being. Scientists attribute about 50% of our happiness to genetics, and another 10% to circumstances — where we live, how much money we make, how healthy we are. This leaves 40% of our happiness in our control. Dr. Daniel Gilbert is a Harvard psychologist and the author of Stumbling on Happiness. He says there are many ways we can make the most of that 40%. Here are two of the biggies:

• Learn how to know what you want. The average American moves 11 times, changes jobs 10 times, and marries more than once, suggesting that most of us are making some poor choices. Gilbert says one reason we often guess wrong is that we imagine the future incorrectly. We forget how easily we adapt to different circumstances. So when we picture how stressful it would be to live in a new city, to leave one job for another, or to be single again - we don’t factor in all the good things that can happen that also affect our emotional well-being. The new friends we’ll make, new hang-out spots, hiking trails and so on. Gilbert says one trick is to put more trust in other people’s experiences. Start with the assumption that your reactions are a lot like other people’s. So, if you want to know whether to take a job at a new company, pay attention to the people around you when you’re there for an interview. Do they seem engaged and interested? That should count for a lot.
• Talk to your spouse like a stranger. No one wants to make a bad first impression, so we tend to put our best face forward with people we don’t know. In fact, a study from the University of British Columbia found that people talking with strangers tried harder to make good impressions than people talking to their romantic partners. They also felt happier after talking to the stranger. So, when interacting with your spouse, try putting your best foot forward – like you would with a stranger.

Want more ways to find your happiness? Reduce your stress, with these tips from my new friend, Dr. Mehmet Oz:

Take More Restroom Breaks

There's a reason it's called the restroom: It's the one place—at work or at home—where no one will bother you. If you're overwhelmed, steal away for a five-minute meditation break. Inhale deeply into your belly and try to focus on your breathing. You'll emerge calmer, and maybe even more productive. Research shows that meditation can improve your ability to concentrate.

Show Up Five Minutes Early

Everyone knows the feeling: You're running late, stuck in traffic, glancing at your watch every 30 seconds in frustration. Give yourself extra time to get wherever you need to go. Being an early bird will kill stress by giving you more control over your day and your commitments.

Change Your Stress Eating

The best stress-quashing foods are made by Mother Nature, not Baskin-Robbins. Berries are naturally rich in vitamin C, which helps fight increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. A handful of pistachios can lower your blood pressure, which means less of a spike when you get that next rush of adrenaline.

And Quit Stress Drinking

Yes, a few cocktails can relax you, but alcohol also prevents your brain from entering stages of deep sleep. And sleep and stress are bound together: Chronic stress can keep you up at night, and a lack of sleep can also lead to further stress. Limit yourself to no more than one drink a night.

Get Your Heart Pumping

Stress makes your body spew out two hormones: cortisol and adrenaline. These chemicals put your body into fight-or-flight mode, ratcheting up your energy level and causing your heart to pound and your muscles to tense. Exercise gives you an outlet to release some of that tension. A good workout also increases your levels of "feel-good" chemicals called endorphins.

Make It a Comedy Night

Researchers say that merely anticipating a laugh can jump-start healthy changes in the body by reducing levels of stress hormones, which have been linked to conditions like obesity, heart disease, and memory impairment, to name just a few.

Enjoy the Company of Friends

Socializing releases oxytocin, a chemical that can help combat stress hormones and lower your blood pressure. Whether it's spending time with dog lovers, book club buddies, or siblings—whatever group you like—just knowing you're not alone can go a long way toward coping with stress.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.