The Health Benefits of Remaining Curious and Open-Minded Throughout Your Life

Being curious and open minded is yet another wellness essential that supports living a long, healthy, happy life of vitality. While it may seem obvious that eating well, exercising, restful sleep and even sound relationships improve longevity and wellbeing, keeping your mind curious and open may not be as obviously linked to wellbeing. When you consider the mind-body connection, yes, reduced stress is a primary focus which can be supported through maintaining a sharp, active, curious mind. Flexibility in your viewpoints and perspectives allows for longevity and vitality as well.

When you spend time with a child who is just beginning to learn about the world, they ask a million questions. Then those questions are followed up with “why?” At some point we stop asking why and just respond to life based on what we think we know. Being curious and asking why can increase your learning and personal growth and wellbeing.

When you are considering a viewpoint contradictory to your own in a curious and open-minded way, rather than becoming defensive and possessive of your views, you maintain lower stress levels because the defensiveness causes your stress levels to rise. You also create more awareness and understanding of the other person or groups viewpoint which allowing for less of a sense of “us against them” which also is associated with stress. Knowing that we can improve our wellbeing by moving from a fixed, negative world view to a more positive, flexible one allows for personal growth by increasing kindness, tolerance and acceptance.

Life can become rudimentary and mundane so easily. Becoming entrenched in a certain routine and way of being and not creating the energy or time to expand your mind can happen without even noticing it. Life is busy and these days can get filled up with a lot of seemingly important tasks. When was the last time you asked why?

The first 20-25 years of our lives are often dedicated to learning and expanding our minds. Beginning a career requires new learning until the skills are mastered and then we just kinda settle in and cruise for a while. This is where life can get filled up and your time gets taken over by daily chores and responsibilities. The next thing you know you surround yourself with people with similar viewpoints that you have and your work and/or family life and remain tightly bound in that bubble. If you are ready to get back to curiosity, growing your mind and increasing your vitality through the process of expanding your awareness here are some ideas:

 -       Ask questions and listen to the answers without offering your own opinion on a topic, keep asking questions until you feel you have a solid take on the other persons opinion. Only offer your own if asked, and if then, remain non-defensive, have a conversation about expanding your viewpoint rather than trying to convince another person to take yours as their own

-       Talk to someone from a different cultural background than your own and be curious about how their culture impacted their personal experience, viewpoint and life in a way that is different from your own

-       Volunteer at a community recreational center, after school program or anywhere with those with less fortunate financial means than your own

-       Go to an art museum

- Go to a science museum

-       Go to a musical event that you might not normally attend

- Take a class

-       If you go to a house of worship, try a different one from a different denomination or if you are comfortable with it, even a different faith than your own and talk to at least one person from that new environment. Listen only, be curious and open to hearing about someone else’s experience, viewpoint and lifestyle. Try not to judge, remain curious and open to understanding another person’s perspective.

-       Learn a new skill in an area of interest (art, craft, new instrument, sport, cooking, technology…)

-       Read anything

-       Watch a sunrise and/or sunset

- Never stop asking why?!

This is a short list of ways to begin thinking about how to remain curious, open-minded, interested and engaged with the mysteries of life and a worldview beyond your own. When you think about traditional learning, it was to master a skill or get a certain grade in order to achieve something else, not necessarily just for the sake of learning or growing. This is a new way to approach learning—simply for the sake of expanding your mind and intellect and sense of being a human. Just listening to and being curious about someone else’s view of life and overall perspective can be amazingly expansive.

For the past 18 years I have worked as a therapist in several different capacities, from a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, to working with at-risk youth from the inner city and outer counties of Richmond Virginia, to people of all walks of life who desire to decrease their emotional distress, heal their relationship with food, themselves and others and feel more confident and well. One thing I know for sure is that we have way more alike than we have differences and yet culturally we are set up to feel that any difference is a potential threat to us.

When you expand on this personal level, your mind naturally begins to open and create less anxiety and fear surrounding others. With this you create less internal struggle which only enhances you life and helps you grow in your vitality.

The Health Benefits of Moving Your Body

Having a healthy balance between activity and rest is essential to living a long, healthy life of vitality. Over the past several blog posts I’ve been outlining a variety of areas of wellness necessary to live well, feel well and be well on all levels. The area of movement and exercise is one that is commonly focused on in the wellness world, but often one that is difficult to create a routine around that sticks for the long term.

Our bodies are designed to move. Haven’t you heard that sitting is the new smoking? Yikes, that makes sitting sound super unhealthy! There’s a ton of information out there about the optimal type and amount of exercise and movement that we need. However, really the best kind of movement is movement you actually enjoy doing and the best amount of time is how much time will realistically fit into your current schedule—without creating any additional stress.

Beyond identifying what you like to—and are willing to do—and the realistic amount of time you can commit to it within your schedule, the next most important aspect of movement and exercise is consistency. If you only sporadically move your body, you will not receive the same level of long-term benefits that come along with consistent exercise. These benefits are well researched, vast and most impressive. Some of the benefits of movement and exercise include improved sleep, increased energy, reduced cholesterol, reduced blood pressure, reduced cognitive decline, increased mobility throughout your lifespan, increased mood stabilization, and reduced stress levels. These are all pretty convincing reasons to get off the couch and get moving. 

I find the most difficult part of being consistent is that I don’t ever really feel like exercising. Now, if you suggest taking a restorative yoga class, to that I say, yes please! Doing thirty minutes on the elliptical machine and 15 minutes of strength training, not quite as exciting to me. While yoga can absolutely serve as exercise (and so much more!) for me, it’s more of a relaxation practice, and I find that to get in exercise I personally need to more traditional movement. To shake the low motivation I have to remind myself that I am most likely never gonna feel like it (at least not very often.) So, to stay motivated, I find it is super helpful to focus on the benefits, including how I feel after I complete a workout. I want to be healthy—health and vitality are two of my personal values—so this means I need to exercise. I have to plan it and prepare for it so I don’t talk myself out of it. When I do move my body, I feel accomplished, stronger and more emotionally balanced. Focusing on those super valuable positives helps me to get off the couch and to the gym.

If you are struggling to get exercise into your routine, I suggest that you keep an exercise log. First, plan out what days you will exercise, what form of movement you will do, and for how long you will do the exercises directly onto your calendar. If you put it into your mindset by writing it out and planning ahead of time, you are far more likely to make it happen. Then, keep a log of how you feel before you exercise, how you feel after you exercise, and what motivated you to do if you didn’t feel like. When you reflect on this log it will serve as a helpful reminder of why you are choosing your health and vitality over a temporary feeling of laziness—or even dread.

If you are just not a gym person, the most effective way to start the process of moving is finding a form of movement that you really enjoy. (You can catch an older blog on 5 ways to get more movement without the gym here!) This could be dancing, joining a community sports team, walking, yoga, pilates, signing up for a community 5k and training for it (with a friend makes it even better!), swim, hike, taking a dance class… Finding something you enjoy and doing it along with a buddy can make it something you actually look forward to doing regularly! 

When you commit to regular movement and exercise you are committing to your health and wellbeing and creating a greater life of longevity and vitality. To begin to make it happen for you, first identify what movement you actually enjoy, then the amount of time you can dedicate to doing it. Create your exercise log and plan for exactly when you will do it. Begin using these tools and see the impact moving your body can have on your life for the better beginning today!

The Health Benefits of A Good Night's Sleep

I am now at the half-way point of outlining the eight essential areas of wellness for vitality! Today’s topic is one that alludes many… Sleep…Ahhh… doesn’t a good night’s sleep sound just delightful? Do you remember the last time you got one? Sleep is an area of wellness that can be the most neglected and the most difficult to grasp. With all of the foundations of wellness, when it is neglected it will negatively impact how you feel on all levels. Getting a good, restful night’s sleep is essential to living a healthy life of vitality and wellbeing.

If you suffer from chronic insomnia, waking during the night and having trouble getting back to sleep—or just struggle to fall asleep despite feeling exhausted—you are not alone. Sleep is allusive to so many and it is an area that many people spend a ton of money on to attempt to remedy with varying results.

Loss of sleep can cause an imbalance in blood sugar, which causes cravings. Lack of sleep can cause you to be a bit, let’s say, grumpy? Or even worse, super irritable, causing challenges in relationships and overall contentment. Lack of sleep will cause you to feel drained and not have enough energy to engage in the other areas of wellness needed to live a life of vitality. When you are exhausted, do you feel like preparing a healthy meal, getting in time for exercise or even a date night or something social and fun? Probably not.

On the other side, when you sleep well you feel refreshed, energized and able to make clear-headed decisions throughout the day. Here are some suggestions to help you get the zzz’s you need to feel vital, energized and prepared to take on whatever challenges come your way.

If your goal is to sleep through the night and wake feeling rested it can be helpful to attempt some of the following strategies to create a sleep plan that works for you:

-       Go to bed at the same time each night, your body thrives on routine and consistency for your personal circadian rhythm

-       Create an evening ritual that helps you focus on the transition time from the activity of your day into time for rest, this will signal to your brain and body that it is time to slow down and prepare for sleep

-       Find a good book, reading can help shift your focus from your thoughts or the long to-do list running through your mind and prepare your mind for sleep

- Avoid blue light exposure (cell phones, iPads…) at least an hour before you go to bed

- Avoid stimulating TV shows, movies etc… at least an hour before you go to bed

-       Take a warm bath before bed with Epsom salt and calming essential oils such as lavender and/or vetiver, ylang ylang, bergamot and sandalwood (my favorite!)

-       Have your room as dark as possible, the smallest amount of light can cause sleep disruptions, use a sleep mask if it is comfortable for you

-       Use a sound machine to block out any external noise that may disrupt your sleep

-       Keep a sleep journal, logging your routine in the evening such as what you had for dinner, when you go to bed and anytime that you wake up- this can help you notice patterns or triggers that disrupt your sleep- it also helps you recognize when you are making some progress and what helps you sleep well

-       Practice stress reduction techniques daily to help maintain a more positive mood and to create less restlessness at night, a great resource is the Insight Timer app with guided meditations, binaural beats and even bedtime stories to help you fall (and stay) asleep

-       When you are struggling to calm your mind, say to yourself “this is the time that I have designated for my mind and body to rest, I can return to my thoughts and worries the next day when I can actually do something about them”—use this or other coping thoughts that help return you to the present moment and away from the distracting and distressing thoughts, such as stating to yourself, “this is my time to rest, I can return to these thoughts later” etc...

-       When you wake up in the middle of the night, first try to do a body scan in your mind’s eye and notice if you are holding tension in any areas of your body—if so, with awareness, allow the tension to release—if your mind wanders away, come back to focusing your attention on your body—this may be a difficult process at first as it is the nature of the mind to wander, this takes practice and perseverance

-       Practice counting your breaths or use the so-hum breath (saying “so” in your mind as you inhale and “hum” in your mind as you exhale) to help keep a single point of focus to your mind until you drift off to sleep

-       Do not have any caffeine after lunch

-       Limit or avoid alcohol, try not to have any at least 2 hours before your bedtime as it can cause your body to not enter a state of deep sleep

-       Drink enough water throughout the day, when you are even a little bit dehydrated it creates disruptions in all of the systems of the body

-       Do some movement and exercise during the day, even a short walk or gentle stretching in the evening can help improve the quality of your sleep

-       Try some type of tea such as chamomile or other rest, sleep or calming teas to help induce a feeling of being sleepy, although this may not help you sleep through the night, it may help you get a few hours of deeper sleep

Did you try any of these and find that they improved your sleep? I’d love to hear what works for you! Have another suggestion that helps you? Share it with me so I can help get the word out! Sleep is so important and can create greater health in mind, body and spirit.