Making an effort to improve your sleep quality can have big payoffs including elevated and balanced mood and sustainable energy and strength throughout the day. Here are some keys to restful sleep:

Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening

Establish a consistent sleep schedule

Wind down with relaxing activities

Take a break from blue lights

Sleep in a dark, cold, quiet room

Expose your eyes to sunlight when you wake up in the morning

This delightful and nutritious gluten-free and dairy-free parfait recipe is from The Essential Thyroid Cookbook by Lisa Markey and Jill Grunewald-McLaughlin. Each parfait is packed with nutrients like B6, magnesium, and fiber. These are great for breakfast or as a healthy summer snack, especially on the 4th of July. Ingredients include berries, nuts, dates, chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Social health refers to the quality of our relationships and our sense of community. It's more than just having friends or family; it's about feeling connected, supported, and valued in meaningful ways. Social connectedness is essential for our emotional and psychological well-being, and it can also significantly impact physical health. Research shows that these connections are not merely beneficial but are as essential as other basic needs.

Perfect blue skies, perfect warmth from the sun, perfect visual experience, perfect level of strength and energy, perfect companionship with new friends from morning through night and being mindful of this day, right before bed, as I laid down on the grass and gazed up into the perfect star-filled clear sky to bring the full day of experiences into my heart center - mind, body and spirit.

Your ‘danger detection system’ picks up external and internal cues that the vagus nerve determines are a ‘perceived threat’ and then the vagus nerve re-routes internal resources to help you protect from a perceived threat to your survival. Bringing polyvagal theory into therapy helps you to learn how to be grateful for anxiety.

“Wil therapy help me?” is a great question to ask. Consider these tips when you are thinking about starting therapy or finding a new therapist.