Sorry for going M.IA. yesterday. I’m sort of treating blogging on the weekends as an “If I get to it, awesome! If I don’t, oh well.” type of thing. Yesterday was jam-packed with picking out paint colors for my bedroom and bathroom, selecting new furniture and a mattress, and attending Matty and I’s friends’ engagement party. The evening ended how most evenings should end: with The Notebook.
Matty and I both couldn’t get over how young Ryan Gosling looked! Despite seeing this movie 5 million times, he looked much more baby-faced than I remember. That means I’m getting older. SCARY!
Workout
After dominating ZWOW #31 yesterday morning (I beat Zuzana’s time by 10 seconds!), my muscles were telling me they wanted some stretching and lengthening action. I pulled out Tara Stiles’ Yoga Anywhere DVD and got to work! The session is a really challenging 50 minutes of yoga. It was just the thing to waken my mind, work my body, and stretch my muscles all at once. FYI: Tara Stiles has an awesome YouTube channel. On my rest day, I like to do two or three of her stretching routines after my AM prayer/meditation!
I spent the morning catching up on blog-related work I pushed to the side yesterday and then went to church with my family. When I arrived home from mass, my tummy was ready for lunch!
Lunch
I threw together a lovely salad that had me singing the praises of veggies. So, nothing new. 
In the mix:
- Kale
- Sliced red pepper
- Sauerkraut
- Avocado
- 1/2 block tempeh
- Nooch sauce (2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, 2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk)
- Generous drizzle of Annie’s Lemon-Chive vinaigrette
Relax – Or Your Brain Might Shrink?
I came across a study that I thought might be of interest to you, after our wonderful discussion in Friday’s post…
We all experience waves of stress, and they often comes in big waves. You’re on deadline for an assignment, there’s drama in your household, you missed your alarm this morning, which means no gym session for you today. A big cloud of negative energy drops onto your shoulders and fogs up your brain. All of those external and internal pressures build up, causing your head to pound. Could this stress weigh so heavily on us that it actually shrinks our brains? According to Yale University researchers, the answer is yes.
A new study from Yale shows that people with chronic stress and mental depression disorder can have a smaller brain volume and a smaller size and density of neurons, cells that process and transmit information, in the front area of their brains. The study said that a loss of brain volume is a condition tied with emotional and cognitive impairments.
What is causing this brain shrinkage to occur? The answer, says researchers, is a single, genetic switch that signals a loss of brain connections. It turns out that circuits involved with emotion and cognition (attention, memory, producing and understanding language, solving problems and making decisions) are disturbed when that genetic switch signals the loss of brain connections.
While it is kind of disturbing to think about, these findings are actually a good thing because they help researchers get steps closer to developing alternate forms of antidepression-related remedies. Duman said he and the other researchers hope that, by enhancing synaptic connections with medication and behavioral therapy, they can work towards developing more antidepression therapies.
I’m grateful that I am not mentally depressed but we all certainly experience tolling stress and it’s important to deal with it positive ways. For me, it’s exercise, playing music, and prayer/meditation.
What do you think of the study? How do you deal with stress?
I’m interested to read your answers. I’m off to work!
Stay lovely,
Heather
Great post!! I love Tara Stiles- she’s my go to yoga guru when I’m at home. And super cool study. Now even more reasons to de-stress your life! Hope you’re having a great day
Yay – a fellow Tara fan!
Thanks for bringing that study up! Intuitively, it makes a lot of sense to me, though I know many people who feel that stress makes them work faster/better because they have to. I think it just makes me more stressed.
I know that when I’m really stressed, everything in my body and mind feels “off,” so cognitive effects would go along with that.
Dealing with stress…I have lots of immediate solutions, like taking a shower or a walk, stretching, reading something for fun, writing, or bouncing around to music. But I prefer to keep myself from getting into a spiral of stress in the first place, where possible. I’m going through a fair amount right now (health issues, school plans having to change), but I’ve managed to keep the kind of full-body-stress I mentioned under control somehow. I don’t really have great tips, but I think thinking about things in perspective has really helped, as has learning just to let things go sometimes. We can’t control everything, you know? If I can manage not to stress too much over my health, I think I can manage not to stress too much over other things.
So true, Jordan. The small idea of changing your mind set can be so helpful in and of itself. It’s a challenge to get there but, once you do, everything sort of pops into perspective. Great, thoughtful comment!
That’s an intense study – if I didn’t already think de-stressing was necessary, I certainly do now!
I usually go for a walk or a run, listen to music, or watch a funny tv show or movie to relax.
Love the funny TV idea. Such a good one! Full House or Boy Meets World perhaps?
Thanks for bringing up that study! It’s crazy how many ways stress can negatively affect our bodies… insomnia, obesity, inflammation, and now this! I try to keep my stress in check by exercising, seeing friends, and taking some “me time” every once in a while, but when school really gets hectic it can be hard to stay relaxed!
I can totally relate to you with the school stress. Admittedly, I did a TERRIBLE job of managing my stress during school. I knew it was going to get done but it was so incredibly overwhelming at the same time and I felt like I couldn’t efficiently process all of the information I was retaining. Long story short, if you need ANYTHING, I’m always here.
xoxo
I was just watching the Notebook and said the same thing! He looks like a little baby. That study is so interesting. I’ve noticed that whenever I’m stressed, my IBS acts up like craaazy!
What a cooincidence! We’re soul mates obviously! Haha.
Wow, I actually hadn’t heard about that study yet. How interesting! It’s amazing how much stress affects us and, further, how big of a role nutrition and exercise play in that. I was just talking with my mom today about how much stress animals are under for their entire lives before their killed as food- the torture they undergo is horrific! And the stress and pain that they experience is inside of them and, therefore, in the meat that people eat. For me personally, I don’t want that extra stress on top of everything else in life!
I’ve been incorporating more yoga/meditation into my daily routine recently and it has made such a huge difference. Allowing myself to escape for a few minutes is amazing. (:
I love that point you made about animals being under stress. So many people believe it is a load of crock but it’s important to reeeally think about. Amen to yoga / meditation. So necessary to quiet your mind.
Oh girl, I know what you mean about watching movies and realizing that the characters you once thought were so OLD now look younger than you. I watched Titanic on TV a few weeks ago and couldn’t get over how fresh-faced both Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio were!
This is a fascinating study. Ever since getting diagnosed with IBS several years ago, I’ve become acutely aware of how stress directly affects so many facets of my life–and often subconsciously. Learning how to better identify when I’m stressed and what triggers the stress, has been so helpful. Long walks, hot bubble baths and reading all help me tremendously.
Mmmm, those de-stressors made me instantly relax! You’re so eloquent, girl. I just love you!
I definitely need a lot of “me” time in order to destress… It can be as simple as taking a walk outdoors, sitting on the computer reading blogs (without feeling pressured like I have a ton to do), or just curling up with a good book. I’m pretty good about managing stress because I don’t do well when stressed out – so I stay pretty low key about most things!
Lucky ducky that you can manage stress with such ease. It’s the way to be!
hmm I think I need to stop stressing about stupid things from now on! Such a baby face Ryan Gosling has, but still soo very hot
Haha. We all need to chill out sometimes. You’re not alone, my dear friend.
I agree – Ryan Gosling is SMOKING!
i’m SO obsessed with sauerkraut lately! i think it’s the summer ending that’s making me feel like i need to max out my kraut consumption before the winter hits hahah