THE DO'S & DONT'S OF EVERYDAY LIFE

THINGS TO DO - THAT SUPPORT YOUR HEALTH

GET OUTSIDE DAILY

Get outside daily. I learned recently from a health and wellness podcast that I frequently listen to, that staying indoors all day signals to our body that we’re not safe, or that our body is preparing for war. This may sound extreme, but honestly it makes sense. When our bodies are outdoors, and not hunkering down under the fluorescents, it tells our bodies that we can relax and just BE. Not to mention all the benefits of the outdoors to our immune systems, respiratory health, hormone balance, and sleep.

HYDRATE...FULLY

Drink enough water to hydrate yourself. Incorporate some form of a hydration enhancer to make this easier AND more fun. Did you know that JUST drinking plain water all day can actually dehydrate us? Our bodies require a certain balance of electrolytes to fully absorb what we put into our bodies, and if those constituents aren’t there, they’ll pass through us much quicker. This leads to a LOT of time peeing, and a LOT of hydration loss.

DO THINGS THAT BRING YOU JOY

Incorporate something into your everyday life that truly brings you joy. It’s easy to get lost in the daily hamster wheel of life that can often leave us uninspired and dry in our own lives. What a privilege to be alive! Find something you LOVE, and find a way to make it a small part of everyday. Whether it’s reading a book that allows your mind to explore, moving your body in a small way everyday, creating something with your hands in the kitchen, gosh even making yourself a gourmet coffee every morning. Our lives are made up of SO many little things, and it’s the little stuff that holds so much potential for joy and gratitude. When they say to romanticize your life, that’s what they mean. Find something good in every little thing that you do, and watch your entire mindset and heart shift.

EAT A LARGE VARIETY OF FOODS

Diversify!!! The more diverse our diet is, the more our gut can benefit! When we eat the same exact things every day, in the SAME way, it gets a little humdrum. My favorite way of doing this, and also a super budget friendly way, is only buying the groceries that are on sale. It leads me to buy things I normally wouldn’t, like shishito peppers, a whole pineapple, kumquats, cosmic apples, wild caught cod, some yummy turkey sausages, etc.... Things I typically wouldn’t immediately reach for, but new foods that I get to experiment with! It makes grocery shopping a little easier too, because you’re simply looking for the bright neon tags that say “SALE”.

GET THE RIGHT PILLOW

Find a pillow that keeps your neck in line with the rest of your body. I love my COOP pillow. It’s shredded memory foam that you can customize the fill with. You can make it poofier or lighter very easily. I top it with an organic cotton pillowcase (because small luxuries are always worth it, especially that crisp cotton crinkly, iykyk). TIP: take a picture of yourself lying in bed, so you can physically SEE how in line you actually are...or aren’t - and adjust accordingly.

SWITCH UP HOW YOU DO EVERYDAY TASKS

Do everyday tasks with your non-dominant hand (or just differently) from time to time. This is a simple one that i’m ALWAYS sharing with patients, because it’s SO *relatively* easy!! Brushing your hair, brushing your teeth, stirring food on the stove, using the remote, putting your other arm on the steering wheel the whole time, sitting on a different spot of the couch, switching the side of the bed you sleep on, apply your makeup with the other hand (questionable hahaha), eat your food with a different hand, the list goes on and on. Do an audit of your everyday life, and find some things that you could realistically and *safely* switch up. These little things that we do everyday can be microtraumas that contribute to the way we feel, so if we switch them up, it not only gives the strained side of our body time to heal, but it lights up different parts of the brain to keep it on its toes.

ANALYZE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

Surround yourself with good people who you feel like the best version of yourself with. My best friend in college once said, show me your friends and I'll show you who you are. And while this statement may seem very black and white, there’s still a lot of truth in that. We’re the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with, typically. Do you feel lit up and restored when you’re with your people? Or do you leave feeling drained and like you couldn’t be more ready to go home? Reflect on the relationships in your life and evaluate those that may not be leaving you feeling great. It’s always good to have relationships that challenge us and make us inclined to grow, but there’s a difference between a valuable friendship that challenges you, and a relationship that’s just straight up challenging. We’re called to surround ourselves with diversity, because it softens our hearts and allows for growth, just be mindful with interactions that consistently leave you feeling down. 

THINGS TO AVOID - THAT HURT YOUR HEALTH

This list is a little more tangible, and list-like - because there are SOOO many habits that take away from our health in small ways everyday. There are so many small changes we can make that have drastic impact.

CRACK YOUR OWN NECK OR BACK

YALL, i’ll say this one til i’m blue in the face. This creates hypermobility, instability, and makes the areas that TRULY need to be adjusted worse. Leave it to us, your local Gonstead Chiropractor.

DRINK COFFEE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Unless you like running off of pure stress hormones all day, messing up your hormones, thyroid, and sleep - then go for it.

EAT MINIMAL PROTEIN

Make it a goal to have at LEAST 20 grams of protein at breakfast, and then go from there. This supports our metabolism, energy levels, hormones, and overall health.

SIT WITH CROSSED LEGS

Sitting with crossed legs creates an automatic imbalance and twist in our low back and pelvis. With the low back and pelvis being FOUNDATIONAL to the entire spine, this has a massive negative effect on how our bodies feel and function. So many of us do this ALL day without even thinking about it. Pay attention to how much you do it, if one leg is easier to cross than the other. If you feel like this is the only way it’s comfortable to sit, it’s time to see a chiropractor, as this isn’t normal! You should be able to sit with both feet on the floor AND be comfortable.

SCREEN TIME AT DUSK

Look excessively at your phone or tv after the sun goes down. This tells our body that it’s still light outside, because of the pesky blue light tha’ts emitted from the screens. When our body thinks it’s daytime it won’t produce appropriate amounts of melatonin to prepare us for sleep, and we’ll experience lesser quality sleep as a result. Less quality sleep = less recovery and healing = starting the day out already behind energy wise = no bueno. Although blue light glasses are a nice hack for this, reducing screen time in general will always breed better results.

ALWAYS WEAR SUNGLASSES

Another great way to disturb our body’s natural melatonin production!!! If we’re constantly confusing our eyes by telling them it’s dark outside, our melatonin production will be ALL over the place. Now this time of year it can be hard, with all the melting snow and rain, mixed with bright sun on the roads. There are always exceptions, but try and cut down sunglasses time and see how you feel! If you find that your eyes are always sensitive to sunlight, that’s a sign that your eyes have heavily adapted overtime to decreased sun exposure, time to give your eyes some tough love, and ditch the sunglasses for a bit!

REACH FOR THE IBUPROFEN OR ASPIRIN FOR EVERY ACHE AND PAIN

Pain is a signal that something is amiss within the body, not a sign that we lack medication! Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes there’s a time and a place where we NEED to get something done that is non-negotiable. Oftentimes, this is not the case, and luckily in our case there are LOTS of non-pharmaceutical options for pain management. Earthley Wellness makes a great “pain potion”, pain relieving essential oil that you can topically apply, and simply getting adjusted helps at getting to the ROOT of the pain issue.

STORE YOUR FOOD IN PLASTIC

GAH! This one is definitely getting more headline time, and for good reason. Studies show that even in infant cord blood, there are microplastics being found. These should NOT be there! Microplastics get stored in our body and have negative effects on our hormones, respiration, cardiothoracic health, brain function, and even our gut function. Switching to glass or stainless steel containers is a great swap. This goes the same for water bottles! Especially come summer time when things are baking in the sun (this leeches microplastics into whatever is in the container even MORE).

USE PERFUME

More endocrine/hormone disruption. The use of artificial fragrances is something again that is coming to the forefront information-wise. Using TRULY natural fragrances will leave your hormones feeling much happier. As an ex-Dolce and Gabana “Light Blue” wearer, i know the sadness that comes along with tossing your signature scent, but use this as a fun reason to test out a bunch of NEW scents that aren’t toxic to your health, AND the health of those around you who can smell your perfume. Careful for Greenwashing - so many mainstream brands will market their product as safe, simply read the label, and if it says “fragrance”, put it back on the shelf for your health! Some of our favorites are any kind of essential oil, and Ambre Blends (the Unmasque scent is my fave!)

SLEEP ON YOUR STOMACH

Sure fire way to mess up your back and your neck. With the amount of torsion that’s on your neck when you sleep this way, it puts SO much stress on your upper neck, and your lower back. Best way to train yourself to sleep on your side or your back is to put a sports bra on, or wear a tight shirt, and put a tennis ball in it. That way, when you roll onto your stomach, it’s uncomfortable and you’ll wake up! This habit will get so annoying that you’ll WANT to quit sleeping on your stomach.

Dr. Jordan + Dr. Pete