Team Asprey

Here’s Why Everybody Needs a Vitamin D Supplement

May 18, 2018 by Team Asprey

Standing in the hot Miami sunshine, Dave Asprey breaks down the science behind a very Bulletproof nutrient – vitamin D – which you can get from the sun and in supplement form. Watch this video to learn what you need to know if you’re taking vitamin D supplements and why sunlight is actually your best way to get it. Here’s what you’ll also learn about vitamin D:

Vitamin D health benefits, including radiant skin and fending off disease
How to properly expose yourself to the sun for vitamin D benefits
How to combine sunlight and supplementation for best vitamin D levels
What your vitamin D levels should be
The benefits of taking vitamin K2 with vitamin D
Why you want to get sunshine in your eyes each day

Since most people don’t get enough vitamin D via the sun — blame desk jobs and sunscreen — supplementing with D3 will help boost energy, balance hormone levels and keep your risk of many diseases, including cancer and heart disease, low. Aim for 125mcg, or 5,000 IU, a day. Be sure not to take vitamin D without vitamin K2.

Try: Vitamins A-D-K The combination works together to support your bones, heart, and immune system.

The Secret to Longevity: Keep Your Heart (and Mitochondria) Strong

May 17, 2018 by Team Asprey

If you want to live forever, or at least until 180 like Dave, look to your heart. In a recent Bulletproof Radio (iTunes) podcast episode, mechanical engineer-turned-physician Peter Attia, who now specializes in the applied science of longevity, revealed that a strong and healthy heart is the real secret to longevity.

Proof? According to Attia, centenarians live longer than the rest of us because of their genes. Yet they still fall prey to the same diseases the rest of us get, only decades later — and what always takes them down, says Attia, is heart disease.

What you might find even more surprising: The key to a healthy heart actually lies in your mitochondria, those miniscule powerhouses in your cells that fuel your entire body, including your heart.

How mitochondrial health equals a strong and lasting heart

Arteries fail due to chronic inflammation

Conventional medicine doesn’t always get it right with heart disease – from diagnostic tests to heart-healthy advice, there’s a lot that’s unclear regarding how to properly care for your good ole pumper.

So first, some background information that’ll simplify any confusion:

Cholesterol isn’t the real villain when it comes to heart attacks and strokes. Your arteries go out – first and foremost – due to inflammation.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003124/”] Remember, at its root, and in acute instances like when you cut your finger, inflammation is just your body’s way of protecting itself. In that instance, a swat team of white blood cells surround your cut, protecting it from infection.

However, chronic inflammation – when that same swat team of white blood cells are on duty 24-7 without rest or a water break, so to speak – causes bigger problems. Your body begins to rebel against itself because it’s overloaded. In the case of your heart, inflammation wreaks serious havoc because it leads to the buildup of fatty deposits called plaque.[ref url=”http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2012/12/international-study-points-to-inflammation-as-cause-of-plaque-buildup-in-heart-vessels-researchers-say.html”] Your body thinks plaque is foreign, so your white blood cells try to fend it off. Yet, when the white blood cells are overloaded from combating plaque — and eventually unsuccessful — the plaque ruptures. Its contents leak into your blood and create a clot that blocks healthy blood flow. These clots lead to the majority of most heart attacks.[ref url=”https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/blood-clot-breakdown-and-heart-attack-prevention”]

Chronic inflammation is linked to poor mitochondrial health

To keep your arteries strong and clear of plaque, you need to reduce body-wide inflammation. Without inflammation, cholesterol can’t accumulate in your arteries to begin with. The best way to keep inflammation at bay? Plain and simple: manage and maintain your mitochondrial health. Here’s why:

Mitochondria make the body’s most basic fuel called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from oxygen and food you consume. If you eat crappy, inflammatory foods, the fuel it produces will also be faulty — and you won’t operate at your best. Think of ATP as the gas in your car. If you get a junk tank of fuel, your car won’t hum like it should.

In addition to fueling your body, mitochondria break down cellular waste to use as fuel.[ref url=”https://www.alzforum.org/news/research-news/brain-drain-glymphatic-pathway-clears-av-requires-water-channel”] However, if mitochondia are overstressed and overworked, the waste builds up and mitochondria weaken. Your body won’t be able to handle even small everyday exposure to toxins, like pesticides or pollution, because your mitochondria aren’t functioning properly.

The connection between mitochondrial health and a strong heart

Your heart muscles have more mitochondria than any other organ in your body – 5,000-10,000 mitochondria per cell, in fact.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23271420″] These little guys are necessary because your heart muscle cells have the high-demand job of continuously pumping day-in and day-out over your entire lifetime. They never, ever get a break.

That’s why the way to a strong heart – and a bad-ass long life – is by bringing your A-game to mitochondrial health.

6 mitochondrial ways to a strong heart

Here are six mitochondrial fixes that will ramp up your cardiovascular system STAT:

Minimize your exposure to 3 environmental toxins

Most chronic inflammation is the result of unwanted substances in the body, such as environmental toxins like pesticides, mold, and food toxins called mycotoxins.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4579563/”] Science strongly supports the fact that environmental toxicity lowers mitochondrial function[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/toxsci/article/134/1/1/1666668″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4312177/”], which in turns lowers vascular function.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3786553/”] To keep your mitochrondria in tip-top shape, eliminate these three toxins:

Pesticides

Pesticides like glyphosate, the active ingredient used in weedkillers like Roundup, affect mitochondrial ability to generate ATP.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16263381″] While it’s nearly impossible to avoid glyphosate completely – unless you live off-the-grid on your own land – there are steps you can take to both minimize your exposure and get pesticides and herbicides out of your body.

Eat organic food that originates from sustainable farming practices. This reduces your exposure to water- and soil-based chemicals. The Bulletproof Diet is based on organic food for this very reason.
Detoxify from chemicals that are already in your body by breaking a sweat. Both exercise and time in a sauna help your body to excrete chemicals naturally.[ref url=”https://search.proquest.com/openview/b5c17f8e0ea2f658e4a92f6b9339509f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=32528″] Read on for more ways to detoxify from glyphosate.

Environmental mold

Mold, particularly as a result of water-damaged buildings, is a definitive culprit in compromised mitochondrial function[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3654247/”], Follow these steps to minimize your mold exposure immediately.

If you suspect mold in your home, have it professionally inspected. An ERMI (Environmental Relative Moldiness Index) Air Test evaluates the risk for indoor mold growth and associated health effects in your home or office.
Remove and remediate any existing mold from your home. If an ERMI reveals you do live in a mold-ridden environment, get out immediately. Stay with family or friends until a remediation specialist has given you the green light to go home again.
Prevent new mold from forming in your bathroom and other damp areas with Homebiotic, a probiotic spray that prevents mold growth.

For more tips on how to combat mold, read Top 11 Ways to Beat Toxic Mold In Your Home And Life.

Mycotoxins

Toxins in food called mycotoxins also inhibit mitochondrial function.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268453/”] Mycotoxins, produced by mold, arise from the manipulation of food – through growing, cooking, and fermentation processes. To keep mycotoxins out of your body, avoid foods that most often contain them (more on that below) and take supplements to detox from mold exposure.

Avoid gluten, yeast, wheat, corn, grain (other than white rice), barley, peanuts, cottonseed, grain-fed meat and dairy, mushrooms, and commonly available chocolate. Even unfiltered tap water, unfiltered alcoholic beverages (beer and wine), and commonly available coffee can contain high mycotoxin levels.
Consume more organic vegetables and wild-caught fish, which bind to mycotoxins, thereby helping to remove them from your body.

Avoid overeating, especially sugary carbs

Overeating can cause you to get LPSs (lipopolysaccharides) which cause mitochondrial inflammation[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4691133/”], and have been linked to everything from Parkinson’s Disease to autism.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025048/”] LPS is a compound made of fats and sugar that’s normally protective. However, when LPSs release into the bloodstream, they become a dangerous toxin that drives up inflammation. The solution? Eat plenty of fibrous veggies rather than binging on sugary carbs.

Bind and release your toxins

Take supplements that bind to toxins and flush them out of your system. Those include calcium d-glucarate, chlorella, and charcoal. Activated charcoal can absorb chemicals, drugs, pesticides, mercury, and even lead before they inflame your body.[ref url=”https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-5203004″] Take 1-2 charcoal pills after you suspect exposure. Read Activated Charcoal: A Strange Way to Detox for more tips on how to use activated charcoal to bind unwanted materials from your body and release them rapidly.
Get all the details on the best supplements to eliminate toxins here.

Increase bile flow throughout your body

Bile is a fluid that helps you to digest fat properly, as well as to break down toxins. It’s secreted by the liver, though stored in the gallbladder. With insufficient bile, your body will have trouble binding and excreting the toxins that accumulate in it.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4091928/”] It’s somewhat of a catch-22 because toxins impair your body’s ability to produce bile, yet bile is a necessity to help you excrete toxins. What to do?

Consume saturated fats, like grass-fed meat and butter, to stimulate bile production.[ref url=”https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00897604/document”]
Avoid foods containing mold alfatoxins like peanuts, corn, milk, cheese, nuts, and soybeans that impair liver function, thus lowering bile production.[ref url=”https://www.nature.com/articles/215882a0″]
Supplement with ox bile and lipase. Most people have been on a low-fat diet at one time or another, which has the effect of down-regulating the natural bile production in your gallbladder. When you switch to a high-fat diet, take the enyzme lipase to help you to digest fat better. Aim for a high-quality lipase supplement that is free of toxic mold species like Aspergillus. You can also combine lipase with ox bile, which further assists to break down fats and promote fat-soluble vitamin absorption.

Supplement to support maximal mitochondrial health

Supplementation can go a long way toward improved mitochondrial health. In particular, Bulletproof offers two supplements that help you sustain high energy at the cellular level:

Unfair Advantage helps your mitochondria to create more energy (ATP) and keeps them running at peak performance. This formula pairs active PQQ with CoQ10, a well-known enhancer of mitochondrial function, to increase its overall effects.
KetoPrime mimics the effect of calorie restriction, which assists your body to create new mitochondria. KetoPrime also helps to boost the overall output of your mitochondria, thereby giving you clean-burning energy sans jittery stimulants.

Deep Breathing Strengthens Your Brain and Boosts Attention Span, Says New Study

May 16, 2018 by Team Asprey

It turns out the yoga masters were right — breathing properly really can improve your attention span and help you focus better. A new study has found a direct neurophysiological link between the breath and the brain.[ref url=”https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.13091″]

Breathing regulates noradrenaline, study finds

Researchers at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and the Global Brain Health Institute found that focused breathing affects levels of noradrenaline, a natural brain chemical messenger. Noradrenaline gets released into the bloodstream when you are curious, focused, or emotionally aroused. It enhances your attention to detail and improves overall brain health by promoting the growth of new neural connections.

When you’re stressed, you produce too much noradrenaline, making it difficult to focus. When you’re feeling lethargic, you produce too little of it, which also makes it hard to focus.

The researchers measured the study participants’ breathing patterns, their attention span, and activity in an area of the brainstem called the locus coeruleus — where noradrenaline is made. They found that those who focused well on a demanding task had better synchronization between their breathing patterns and attention, as opposed to those who had poor focus and inconsistent breathing patterns.

“This study has shown that as you breathe in, locus coeruleus activity is increasing slightly, and as you breathe out it decreases,” says Michael Melnychuk, PhD candidate at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and lead author of the study. “Put simply, this means that our attention is influenced by our breath and that it rises and falls with the cycle of respiration. It is possible that by focusing on and regulating your breathing you can optimize your attention level and likewise, by focusing on your attention level, your breathing becomes more synchronized.”

Breathing exercises could help those with ADHD and traumatic brain injuries

The researchers suggest further research be done to help us better understand how breathwork can serve as an alternative to medication for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and traumatic brain injuries, as well as slow down or prevent cognitive decline as we age.

“Brains typically lose mass as they age, but less so in the brains of long-term meditators,” says Melnychuk. “More ‘youthful’ brains have a reduced risk of dementia, and mindfulness meditation techniques actually strengthen brain networks. This study provides one more reason for everyone to boost the health of their brain using a whole range of activities ranging from aerobic exercise to mindfulness meditation.”

Two breathing practices that improve concentration

Curious what type of breathing practices lead to greater concentration? There are two types to choose from, depending on what it is that’s affecting your difficulty concentrating.

If you’re easily distracted and therefore can’t concentrate, mindfulness meditation will help you focus better. Mindful meditation homes in on the sensations of breathing — without attempting to control your breath. Your goal is to simply observe.
If your state of arousal — you’re drowsy while driving or you’re having a panic attack – is affecting your ability to focus, controlled breathing like pranayama can help by calming your nervous system.

Once you’ve figured out which breathing technique is most suitable for you, follow these step-by-step guides for great concentration:

Mindfulness breathing

Mindfulness breathing is used during a typical mindfulness meditation session to help you bring your attention to the present moment. As you allow yourself to experience the fullness of your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations during mindfulness meditation, you use the breath as your navigational compass. You observe the in-breath and out-breath without trying to change it. In this way, the breath becomes your most basic tool to bring you into the present moment after your fleeting thoughts and feelings pass. A typical mindfulness meditation session lasts 15-20 minutes, practiced once a day.

Step-by-step guide to mindfulness breathing

Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position or lie down if that’s more comfortable..
Close your eyes.
Center yourself on your breath — just observe its natural rhythm without making an effort to adjust it.
Focus on the rise and fall of your chest, the sensation in your nostrils, and the sound the breath makes in your throat.
If you’re feeling really irritated or stressed, you can use mindfulness breathing to calm down by counting. Inhale through your nose for 3 seconds, hold the breath for 2 seconds, then exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds. Then return to your normal breath and continue to observe.

Pranayama breathing

Pranayama breathing, also known as belly breathing, is a yogic technique that helps you to breathe with your diaphragm. According to pranayama yoga, there are three kinds of breathing.

High breathing – breathing primarily with your upper chest and lungs — leads to shallow breathing and is what you do when you’re stressed or angry.
Low breathing –the best form of breathing –uses your lower abdomen and diaphragm to pull air in and out of your lungs.
Middle breathing – in between high and low breathing – is better than high breathing, though not as good for you as low breathing.

Knowing that low breathing is best for you is step number one. Now, how do you do it? Essentially, you’ll want to focus on breathing into your stomach. First, inhale through your nose, which will cause your stomach to compress, then you follow the breath up your body. Your chest and shoulder blades will not move, though your stomach will extend.

Step-by-step guide to pranayama breathing

Inhale (Puraka in yoga-speak) one continuous, long breath.
Pause and hold (Abhyantara Kumbhaka) before exhaling without moving your muscles.
Exhale (Rechaka) in a controlled, relaxed, and continuous fashion.
Pause after exhaling (Bahya Kumbhaka), just as you did for the first pause.
Start the cycle over again.

5 Incredible Health Benefits of Floating

May 11, 2018 by Team Asprey

Want to float your way to less stress, anxiety, depression, and pain? Though it sounds too good to be true, science says it’s possible.

While floating in a sensory-deprivation tank may sound terrifying, it’s meant to have the opposite effect. Magnesium-saturated water (aka epsom salt), kept at a temperature that matches your skin’s, keeps you effortlessly buoyant so you don’t have to worry about staying afloat. With little to touch, taste, smell, hear, or feel, you’re wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and silence, with only your thoughts keep you company. Herein lies the magic of floating – it puts you in a meditative state to better heal what ails you.

Origins of floating

Floating in salt water for therapeutic reasons is not new. People have made pilgrimages to the Dead Sea for centuries. However, over the past 15 years, there’s been a renewed interest in the practice, with chic flotation studios, offering 60-90-minute float sessions, cropping up all over metropolitan areas.[ref url=”https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/10/time-out-the-rise-of-sensory-deprivation-tanks/263537/”]

In the late ’50s, neuroscientist and psychoanalyst John C. Lilly, MD studied the effects of sensory deprivation flotation on anxiety disorders, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Due to the impressive benefits he saw for people with these conditions, he decided to team up with two business partners — Glenn and Lee Perry — to develop a commercial float tank that anyone could use.

In the ‘70s, concerns over water cleanliness halted the industry’s growth. Nonetheless, the scientific study of floating — namely the effects of isolation on the brain — continued within the academic community.

Floating goes mainstream

Image via Pause Float Studio

About 15 years ago, a UK-based company called ISOPOD enlisted a team of engineers to resolve concerns over water cleanliness. With the latest water-filtration technology, they built a system to remove particles 15 times smaller than a commercial filtration unit. As a result, small studios popped up in England, Vancouver, Toronto, Portland, and Seattle; then in larger hubs like NYC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Now, you can float in nearly any major metropolitan area at a studio like the one featured in this video above, Pause Float Studio in Venice, California.

So why would you do it? Read on for the science-backed benefits of floating.

5 major health benefits of floating

Floating decreases anxiety and depression and improves sleep

Image via Pause Float Studio

Under stress, your hypothalamus (the almond-sized part of your brain just above your brainstem) signals your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Chronic stress leads to an overactive hypothalamus, which can lead to depression.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181180/”] Floating helps combat depression and anxiety by minimizing your cortisol production.[ref url=”http://static1.squarespace.com/static/519af9cde4b09ffb7ee2d463/t/51e94140e4b09e55a03497bf/1374241088367/Bending_and_mending_the_neurosignature.pdf”]

In one study[ref url=”http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-07100-002″], people who floated for 12 sessions noticed decreased pain, stress, anxiety, and depression as well as improved sleep quality and general optimism. The results lasted up to four months post-flotation.

In a single-subject study[ref url=”http://file.scirp.org/Html/8-2250044_34022.htm”], a 24-year-old diagnosed with autism, PTSD, anxiety, and depression participated in regular float sessions for one and a half years. She experienced beneficial therapeutic effects including improved quality of life, subjective sense of wellbeing, and healthier behaviors. The study quotes her stating: “I feel good, well, like a new person, and so it has made a great difference… It really has and I really want to continue with this because I really need it.”

Floating lowers stress

Image via Pause Float Studio

Floating combats stress in two main ways. First, the water’s magnesium inhibits ACTH, a hormone that drives your adrenal glands to release the stress hormone cortisol.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12509067″] Magnesium also improves sleep quality, which contributes to feeling less stressed.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23853635″]

The sensory deprivation component of floating also minimizes stress. In a recent study, people who floated eight times in two weeks saw their cortisol decrease by 21.6 percent. They also showed a 50.5 percent decrease in cortisol variability, meaning, they handled stressful situations better without the cortisol spikes.[ref url=”https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1991.70.5.2010″]

A meta-analysis of 27 studies revealed that floating also has relaxation, mood, and performance-enhancing effects, particularly in cases of burnout or chronic fatigue.[ref url=”http://floatinglotus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Flotation-as-a-stress-management-tool.pdf”]

Floating relieves physical pain

Image via Pause Float Studio

For people with chronic, stress-related muscle pain and burnout-related depression, floating served as an integral part of pain treatment plans, in one study.[ref url=”http://floatinglotus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Effects-of-flotation-on-stress-related-pain.pdf”] Since floating oxygenates your body by promoting vasodilation — better blood flow to the brain, organs, and limbs — it serves to minimize muscular pain and even pain from degenerative disc disease or herniated disks.

Specifically floating provides significant reductions in pain, muscle tension, stress, anxiety, and sadness for those who suffer from fibromyalgia. Floating also increases feelings of relaxation, well-being, energy, and ease of movement in the same group of people.[ref url=”http://www.floating-verband.de/Results-Floating-Day”]

Floating enhances athletic performance

Floating helps you bounce back faster from workouts by reducing lactic acid in the blood. By floating fee of gravity, lactic acid passes out of the muscles faster, which reduces overall muscle stiffness and pain.[ref url=”https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235905437_The_Acute_Effects_of_Flotation_Restricted_Environmental_Stimulation_Technique_on_Recovery_From_Maximal_Eccentric_Exercise”] Floating benefits extend to athletes on the field as well. One study on basketball players found strong evidence of athletic skill improvement post floating. These results may be due to a lower arousal state post floating, which enabled the players to maintain better focus while shooting foul shots.[ref url=”http://floatinglotus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Flotation-and-Imagery-in-the-improvement-of-athletic-performance.pdf”]

Floating benefits creativity

Musicians, writers, and creative performers also gain from floating. A study in the journal Music and Medicine found that floating improved the technical ability of musicians during jazz improvisation.[ref url=”https://neuroaestheticsnet.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/vartanian-suedfeld-2011.pdf”]

What to expect with your first float

A typical float session lasts 60 to 90 minutes. You may experience restlessness in the tank on your first float, until your body and mind settle into the sensory deprivation. Some float studios have water-based speakers with guided meditations to help you ease into your session.

Video Credit: Thanks to Pause Float Studio in Venice, California for inviting us into your float studio.

Americans a Lot More Anxious Than They Were a Year Ago, Says New Survey

May 9, 2018 by Team Asprey

If you’re feeling anxious, you’re not alone. According to a new survey from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), nearly 40 percent of Americans are more anxious than they were at this time last year. Overall, this year’s national anxiety score is 51 on a scale from 0 to 100 — a five-point jump since 2017, says the survey.

The APA asked more than 1,000 adults to rate their anxiety in five areas: health, safety, finances, politics, and relationships.

Americans worry about paying the bills

While Americans reported feeling more anxious in all five areas, the biggest increases in anxiety centered around feeling safe, health, and paying the bills.

Nearly 30 percent reported extreme anxiety about their specific medical conditions, while 39 percent noted moderate anxiety for the same question (the survey asked questions about health insurance coverage and if the person had ever met with a therapist or other mental health professional.)

Who is the most anxious?

Millennials are more anxious than Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers, found the survey. But anxiety increased the most for Baby Boomers — a seven-point jump from last year.

Women reported more anxiety than men. Nearly 60 percent of women under 50 are more anxious, compared to 38 percent of men. The same goes for people older than 50 — nearly 40 percent of women and 24 percent of men experienced more anxiety.

People of color scored 11 points higher on the anxiety scaled compared to white Americans, according to the survey.

“Increased stress and anxiety can significantly impact many aspects of people’s lives,” says APA president Anita Everett. She suggests “regular exercise, relaxation, healthy eating, and time with friends and family,” to ease your worries and reduce stress.

Anxiety: a hardware problem in the brain

Anxiety disorders are brain hardware problems, just like depression and other mental health conditions. While there are likely biological underpinnings, the brain is plastic and you can train and untrain your brain to a certain extent, since behaviors reinforce brain activity. One recent study revealed how overactive brain cells lead to anxiety.

Here are ways to calm your anxiety so you can get the most out of your day:

Eat more healthy fats to fuel your brain

Simple as it sounds, eating well is essential to managing anxiety. Eating processed, refined, and sugar-laden foods taxes your entire body, including your endocrine system which regulates stress cortisol levels that can contribute to anxiety.

Focus on anti-inflammatory foods and healthy fats. The omega-3s in fish oil help your body better handle anxiety because they protect against inflammation, which increases your cortisol or stress levels.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191260/”]

Bonus: A magnesium-rich diet full of foods like avocado, dark chocolate, and spinach can also help to curtail anxiety.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452159/”]

Exercise stress away with simple and quick workout routines

Exercise releases endorphins, your brain’s natural painkillers, which in turn reduces stress.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6250104″] Recognize where you are at, and start there. No need to overwhelm yourself (and create more anxiety) by trying to tackle too much from the get-go. Try these Ultra-Effective Workout Routines That Take 10 Minutes or Less

Another great way to exercise your anxiety away is with this 18-Minute Full-Body HIIT Workout that incorporates high-intensity interval training – a marriage between aerobic and resistance training.[ref url=”https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=622824141502190;res=IELAPA”]

Use guided meditation to clear your mind of unwanted stress

Focusing your attention on your breath or a particular phrase like a mantra can go a long way to relieving anxious thoughts.[ref url=”https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/da.21964″]

This guided meditation centers you on your breath through visualization. Guided meditation can be an exceptional way to calm stress in the present moment.

Rewire your brain with EMDR

In a Bulletproof Radio (iTunes) podcast episode, Dave offers ways to hack your anxiety. “If it’s a quick and dirty [anxiety], EMDR, a therapy technique which ‘erases’ little traumas in your brain, could be really beneficial for you.” EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) works rapidly to help your brain and nervous system find more appropriate responses to specific triggers. Essentially, EMDR helps to resync your right and left brain to diminish the power of events from your past that are still emotionally charged. If you want to try EMDR, find a therapist with EMDR training specifically.

7 Science-Backed Reasons Traveling Helps You Succeed in Life

May 8, 2018 by Team Asprey

We all know that vacation lowers stress.[ref url=”https://www.well-beingsecrets.com/health-benefits-of-traveling/”] After all, ditching your laptop for a beachside massage leaves little to worry about. But did you know that traveling can actually help you succeed in every facet of your life?

Just ask real estate mogul and entrepreneur David Osborn, author of “Wealth Can’t Wait,” who credits his years abroad for helping him create a life full of happiness and wealth. “I hitchhiked around the world for two years in my 20’s and on 20 bucks a day,” he shared in a recent Bulletproof Radio (iTunes) podcast episode.

Often seen as luxury, regular travel, says Osborn, can give you the tools and perspective you need to live an accomplished life. “Travel — especially when you’re young. Take the risk and become the person you were meant to be. It doesn’t matter if you have money or not, you’re going to have a pretty fulfilling dang life.”

Here, the surprising ways travel helps set you up for personal success and happiness.

Gets you out of your comfort zone

While sitting poolside at a resort for a week might be relaxing, Osborn implores people to get out of their comfort zones.

Strike out on the road less traveled: hike in a jungle to work through your phobia of spiders, bungee jump from a bridge to challenge your fear of heights, or head out for a night of tango-dancing to confront your terror of performing in public.

“Every person that is struggling in any way should throw themselves out of their comfort zone at least once a year.,” says Osborn. “Do a bucket list adventure so you can challenge yourself. You’ll find more [internal] resources as you get comfortable with being challenged. [And you’ll find that] challenge actually gets easier.”

That’s because getting out of your comfort zone teaches you to handle stress better, and in time, you’ll take risks in all aspects of your life.

Typically, risks are hard for people to take because humans are wired to expect the worst.[ref url=”http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-12834-004″] However, if you take a calculated risk — which is what happens when you consciously decide to do something new while traveling — you weigh the pros and cons, then eventually decide to go for it.

This decision empowers you to face both positive and negative consequences as lifelong learning lessons. A surprising positive outcome provokes you to take another risk, while a negative outcome encourages you to learn something from it. Either way – it’s a win-win.

Teaches gratitude

Practicing gratitude, like journaling ten things you are grateful for each day, rewires your brain to seek out the positive in life. Studies show that a gratitude-writing practice helps your brain default to positive thoughts rather than negative ones.[ref url=”http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1052562911430062″] When you’re thinking more positively, you’ll naturally feel more fulfilled. Your positive successes will mount as you focus more on those good outcomes rather than negative deterrents that pull you off course.

Gratitude and travel go hand-in-hand. “Seeing people who literally have a dollar a day if they’re lucky and are happier than me, I [realized] I’m kind of an asshole. It just changes everything,” Dave told Osborn. “I kicked myself for not traveling when I was younger because it would have made me a better human being.”

Helps you develop a flexible personality

Flexibility is your ability to adapt to diverse scenarios. It’s critical to business success — and success in general — because your environment is not necessarily within your control. Bosses have their own agendas, companies have unique politics, and the only aspect you can control is how you adapt and react.

Regularly putting yourself in unique and unfamiliar settings teaches you how to be resilient — the ability to absorb disruptions and change gears while undergoing change.

Immerse yourself in diverse travel scenarios to learn how to adapt better. Go learn a new language abroad or attend a yoga retreat in a foreign land. Studies reveal traveling encourages you to open yourself to new ideas and ways of doing things – so you become more adaptable as a result.[ref url=”http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-20588-001″]

Novelty kindles creativity

Travel fosters creativity, says science. One study tested the creative insights of travelers and findings revealed that travel prompted improvements in creative thinking as well as creative productivity.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03202751.pdf”]

What this means for you is that if you want to ignite your own creative spark, get out into the world and explore something new. The external stimuli challenge your brain to come up with new ideas, solutions, and creations. Another study found fashion designers came up with more innovative designs while living abroad.[ref url=”https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amj.2012.0575″]

Strengthens personal connections

Evidence suggests that travel helps people to form closer, more communicative bonds with traveling companions as well as locals. The same findings reveal that couples who travel together report higher levels of satisfaction within their relationships.[ref url=”https://www.ustravel.org/sites/default/files/media_root/5.2015_Relationship_ExecSummary.pdf”] When families embark on trips together, the journey creates intimate connections between family members.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-2288-0_2″] Traveling leads to greater happiness and life satisfaction due to the bonds formed along the way.

Improves your ability to work

Vacation time enables recuperation (aka, recovery from life’s daily stresses), which boosts overall happiness and well-being.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10912359″]

The downtime of travel gives you the opportunity to catch your breath and put life into perspective. It may even inspire you to come up with your next big idea. According to productivity expert and Harvard psychiatrist Srini Pillay, PhD, unfocusing your brain yields greater happiness and success. It gives you more time to daydream and look at the big picture, which opens you up to new business possibilities and adventures.

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