5 Ways to Naturally Overcome Anxiety
1. Get off the blood sugar roller coaster
The Science: When we eat any type of carbohydrate like grains, fruits, beans, rice, bread, cookies, or chips our bodies break that down into blood sugar. When we eat too much sugar, insulin is produced to keep our blood sugar balanced. Riding the blood sugar roller coaster, elevating and crashing, all day long can trigger anxiety and feelings of low energy, irritability, and cravings. If we continue to stoke our blood sugar by raising it at every meal, day in and day out, it may lead to insulin resistance, which can cause depression as well as other disease states.
2. Eat for your Gut Microbiome
The Science: Did you know 95% of serotonin, our “feel good” neurotransmitter, is produced in our guts?[4] Yep, that’s right. It’s produced in your gut, not your brain. This is why many people consider our guts the “second brain.”[5] Many studies suggest gut bacteria play a big role in determining mood, anxiety levels, and depression.[6][7] The gut and brain are in constant communication, so when we’re talking about mental health and mood, it’s important to consider our food choices and the health of our guts.
3. Limit or remove caffeine
The Science: Caffeine lowers our threshold to cope with stress, which means we have a weakened ability to deal with the daily stressors of our lives. As innocent as our daily lattes may seem it can trigger anxiety for some people, as it induces cortisol, our fight or flight hormone, essentially tells your body there is danger and stress even when there is not.
4. Get more quality sleep
The Science: Anxiety and the quality of our sleep are deeply connected. There’s evidence to suggest, syncing our sleep schedule to our circadian rhythm, AKA sleeping when it is dark and rising when it is light, can help naturally calm the bodies sympathetic nervous system. Sleep deprivation is also strongly correlated to declines in cognitive function, mood, and decision making. If the goal is to have a restorative, restful sleep, it is important to factor in bed-time, number of hours, and quality.
5. Move your body
The Science: There is a lot of science to back up the idea that exercise improves cognitive health and sleep quality, while decreasing stress and anxiety symptoms. [22]A Princeton Study, suggests that consistent exercise may increase the number of new neurons in charge of releasing the neurotransmitter GABA in our brains, which is known for its calming affect over the mind and body. [23] In addition, when you exercise it stimulates the release of proteins called neurotrophics or growth factors, which help build new connections in the brain and new nerve development in the hippocampus, the part of our brain that helps manage mood.
Another consideration is that our brains do not fully recognize the difference between the stress our ancestors went through, like running from a bear, and modern day stress like a stressful email. When stressful situations happen our bodies release cortisol, adrenaline, and insulin. Our blood if flooded with sugar and fat storage hormones that give us nervous energy or anxiety. Historically this energy would have been put to good use to run away from the bear but today we are sitting with all this pent up energy. In order to complete the stress cycle you have to release this energy so your body knows it safe and okay to relax. [25]