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About a decade ago, following a cross-country move and the death of my dear cat Goose, I felt stuck. Nothing in life seemed to be working out the way I planned and I was constantly stressed out while also feeling constantly worn out. In retrospect, I was depressed, and stubbornly ignored the topic of therapy. Fortunately, while driving home one day from work, I noticed a new functional fitness gym with an introductory offer on the window, and I called to make an appointment. That appointment literally changed my life. Suddenly, I was moving daily, challenging myself daily, and trying new things. Though sadness for my dear cat friend remained, I slowly emerged from my depression and started down a new path that I’m still navigating today. My efforts to move in new ways at the gym I joined created a reset for myself. And in case you’re also feeling like you want to push the reset button, the following might help.
I Always Feel Tired/I Have Low Energy/I Have Insomnia
When no amount of sleep feels like enough and you wake up feeling tired, even after a full night’s sleep, you might not be getting enough high quality sleep. Inadequate or poor quality sleep is a common cause of fatigue. And stress, medical conditions, and/or poor sleeping environments may negatively affect sleep and trigger insomnia. And while you might think that you’re going to bed at a reasonable time and getting up at a reasonable time, you might also not be accounting for time awake while in bed, which does not contribute to your rest. Let’s say you went to bed at 10 p.m. and woke up at 6 a.m. That’s eight hours, right? Not necessarily. Most of us wake three to four times per night for various reasons, and it’s not always easy to go straight back to sleep, especially as you age. Personally, I like to add an hour “awake” buffer when time is on my side.
If you always feel tired, and you can’t pinpoint why, it’s best to consult your primary care physician first. You may also want to invest in a sleep tracker (Fitbit, Whoop) which can monitor your sleep and identify your sleep cycles between light sleep, REM sleep and deep sleep. While not 110% accurate all of the time, they offer a great estimate of your average sleep patterns, as well as sleep hacks to help you get better sleep.
Red Light Therapy May Help Optimize Sleep
Restore also offers a number of services that can help you optimize sleep. In 2012, a group of scientists in China studied the effects of Red Light Therapy on basketball athletes and found that it improved sleep, plus serum melatonin level, and endurance performance.
I Feel Stuck
Feeling stuck on any level, whether that’s physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual, is not uncommon at all. It's a nearly universal human experience to feel stuck at some point in life. Whether in a career, relationship, or even in identifying the next goal — most people will feel stuck at some point. Once glance at Instagram, catching your friends on the vacation of a lifetime, is all it can take to feel stuck.
And for most of us, the reasons we feel stuck (burn out, fear of change, fear of external judgment, comparing yourself to others, etc) are commonplace and a normal part of personal growth. That doesn’t always make it easy to become unstuck though.
Cryotherapy May Help Boost Mood and Energy
Sometimes, all it takes to feel unstuck is to try something new and/or create a healthy habit for yourself. Why not give Whole Body Cryotherapy a try? The ultra-cold temperatures in whole-body cryotherapy can cause physiological hormonal responses. This includes the release of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and endorphins. This can have a positive effect on those experiencing mood disorders like anxiety and depression, which are typically entangled in that “stuck” feeling. One study found that Whole Body Cryotherapy was actually effective in short-term treatment for both anxiety and depression.
I Can’t Handle Stress
Being stressed out can have a negative impact on the overall well-being of an individual and the stress statistics of US 2022 are not pleasing to the eye. The rising level of stress among adults is an alarming sign. According to a recent survey from the American Institute of Stress, 87% of the respondents cited the rising cost of day to day necessities like groceries, gas, and electricity to be a major source of stress for them. And that’s not even mentioning global events, climate change, the pandemic or recent life changes.
While most people like to think they can manage their stress on their own, it’s tougher than it might seem. And the physical effects that manifest because of stress are serious, even life threatening if not addressed. What might start out as agitation and a stress headache can ultimately lead to mental health problems, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems and more. So we need to learn when we’re stressed first, and then take action to reverse the effects of stress.
Infrared Sauna May Help Promote Energy and Healing
Restore’s Infrared Sauna offers the perfect space to relax while getting your sweat on. And a 2019 study found that sauna-bathing participants, particularly those from Finland, Australia and the United States, are motivated to use saunas predominantly for relaxation, reporting health benefits especially around mental well-being and sleep. And while that study utilized traditional saunas instead of the infrared version, the similarities between the two experiences are numerous. In simpler terms, a good stress on the body (such as heat) can mitigate the bad stress our bodies endure through our daily lives.
Curious about improving your sleep, becoming unstuck or managing stress better? Restore might be the answer to all of your problems.
Please note that a number of our services and products are not evaluated and/or approved by the FDA and those services and products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.
Photo by Jenna Kahn.
