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B reathing is one of the essential functions that our bodies perform to keep us alive. Oxygen is largely responsible for affecting our brain activity and thus our behaviors. Many people take breathing for granted as they don’t think about this subconscious behavior, but if you truly focus on diaphragmatic breathing for even 5 minutes a day, it can give way to a large array of both short-term and long-term benefits for the mind and for the body! 872.903.1904 TIGER TALK Winter Vol. 1 TIGERNEURO.COM
Benefit 1: Release of toxins
By using diaphragmatic breathing, the lungs can receive the optimal amount of oxygen needed. With more oxygen in the lungs, there is more capability for the lungs to perform the necessary gas exchange and release the toxins that we breathe and the waste we produce. This causes an overall beneficial impact on the body, your energy, and your health.
Benefit 2: Anti-aging
Over time, you will build greater flexibility in your heart rate, which leads to multiple important health improvements. These include better cognition, memory performance, mood, and resilience, all while reducing cortisol levels and anxiety. You will learn to self-regulate how you respond to life and by doing so, you’ll breathe life back into your body! Inhale from your core and count to four slowly, then exhale to the same tempo. Your stomach, not your chest, should expand. Try for 6-8 deep “belly” breaths per minute. This is called diaphragmatic breathing. This allows for the full capacity of oxygen to fill your lungs and for you to exhale the most toxins out of your body. • Tips for proper breathing •
Breathing can also have anti-aging effects on the body and reduce stress/anxiety levels in the brain. Stress releases glucocorticoids into the body which, at chronically high levels,can have aging effects on the body. With correct breathing, the stress response can be better regulated and thus lower the amount of stress hormones in the body.
Benefit 3: Pain relief
On top of the anti-aging benefits, studies show that breathing techniques can act as a pain reliever. The body has its own ways of regulating pain, and by getting the optimal amount of oxygen into your lungs, the body can reduce tension levels. Many times, the response to pain is holding one’s breath, but breathing through painful stimuli is more beneficial.
Benefit 4: Anti-stress and lower blood pressure
Not only can diaphragmatic breathing assist in recovery from the body’s stress response, it can also reduce the consequences of high stress. Proper breathing enables the mind to battle negative emotions by releasing pleasure-inducing neurochemicals which work to elevate moods.
Intentional training in breathing will teach your body to breathe slower all the time without you even thinking about it! Impressive!
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Repeat in the morning, during the day, and at night for 3-5 minutes.
So, what are the benefits? Your brain will receive more oxygen as you engage the full capacity of your lungs. This increased oxygen intake lowers the stress on your heart too!
Contributing writer: Isabel Michalak, Tiger Neuroscience
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MAKING BETTER PEOPLE
We live in a fast-paced, achievement-oriented culture. People brag about how little sleep they need, saying, “no pain, no gain.” Sleep is second only to breathing in its importance to maintaining long-term good health. We take our health for granted until we lose it, and then we give our best hours of our days regaining it. So, let’s change howwe think of sleep. It’s a time for the brain and body to recover. The best performers focus on recovery just as much as they do on the actual active aspects of training and performance! The sleep you get each night is hopefully divided into 5 stages and should deepen as you work through these cycles. Both quality and quantity are important in analyzing your sleep, and most experts on sleep recommend between 7-8 hours daily. You can’t accrue sleep debt and catch up on the weekend; it’s still a lost recovery opportunity. THE ARCHITECTU THE STAGES OF GOOD SLEEP During the 7-8 hours of sleep you recover physically in the first half and mentally in the second half. Here are the stages and what happens: Stage 1: Sleep Onset The better routine you have, the better this stage will unfold for you in the evening. This is when you first go ANTI-ANXIETY According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. Aside from traditional treatments, nutrition plays a very important part in your overall health. The mind/body/food connection is so important that a growing field is developing called nutritional psychiatry.
THE HORMONE SYMPHONY WITHIN YOU
BE THE CONDUCTOR OF YOUR BODY
The daily sleep/wake cycle determines when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time for bed. There is a symphony of hormones inside you, each responsible for controlling this cycle day and night. The primary hormones are cortisol and melatonin. When in balance and functioning properly, you have a predictable sleep cycle. Your goal is learning to manage this symphony. Cortisol is the “stress” hormone. It’s activated in response to any sort of stress, real or imaginary. Cortisol is highest in the morning and should drop gradually throughout the day. When cortisol is chronically elevated, it’s damaging to your body in many ways. The Tiger program teaches you how to manage this response, hence managing your cortisol. Chronic stress and excessive cortisol release may cause adrenal fatigue, a condition where the adrenal glands are chronically depleted of cortisol. Lack of sleep, poor response to real stressors, excessive rumination about perceived or imagined stressors and poor diet can all contribute to this condition. Melatonin enables sleep quality and regulates your sleep cycle. The timing and amount of light that a person gets impacts melatonin production. As the day goes on, you have less cortisol and more melatonin. Melatonin is what informs you it’s time to go to sleep as the sun sets and is key to getting good sleep and managing this symphony. Try to avoid being stressed in the evening, looking at electronic devices within an hour of bed without blue blocker settings or glasses, engaging in work as you go to bed, drinking alcohol excessively, and exercising near bedtime, as these activities inhibit melatonin production. Talk with your concierge or clinic personnel to learn more ways to create a great night’s sleep. Tiger staff and clinics have great information that can help you improve your sleep and recovery, while also reducing things that interfere with your skills so you can experience peak performance. Cortisol should function in an inverse fashion with the sleep hormone melatonin and vice versa.
You might be surprised to learn that specific foods have been shown to reduce anxiety.
In mice, diets low in magnesium were found to increase anxiety-related behaviors. Therefore, foods naturally rich in magnesium may help a person to feel more calm. Examples include leafy greens, such as spinach and Swiss chard. Other sources include legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Foods rich in zinc such as oysters, cashews, liver, beef, and egg yolks have been linked to lowered anxiety.
Other foods, including fatty fish like wild Alaskan salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids . A study completed on medical students in 2011 was one of the first to show that omega-3s may help reduce anxiety. (This study used supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids). Prior to the study, omega-3 fatty acids had been linked to only improving depression. A study in the journal Psychiatry Research suggested a link between probiotic-rich foods and a lowering of social anxiety. Eating probiotic-rich foods such as pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir was linked with fewer symptoms.
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E OF SLEEP
TAKE A BREAK!
to bed and transition to sleep. We will coach you on how to have a good nightly routine to make this stage the best it can be.
Stage 2: Light Sleep Here, you are just entering sleep. You become disengaged from your surroundings, and your heart rate and breathing become more regular and slow. Slower brainwaves become more prominent.
Stages 3 & 4: Deep Sleep During this stage, breathing becomes even slower and blood pressure drops. Your body temperature drops, your muscles relax, and blood flow to your muscles increases. Hormones required for growth and recovery are released and toxins are removed from your body. Stage 5: REM Sleep In this stage you experience “rapid eye movement” or REM. The brain is very active in this period. Dreams occur in this phase and the body is physiologically prevented from acting out the dreams as emotions are processed. It’s a vital stage for mental health and cognitive function. Years of sleep deprivation rob your body of the recovery it needs and can potentially lead to serious health issues such as heart disease, adrenal fatigue, Alzheimer’s disease, and weight gain. Make sleep hygiene a priority. Commit to your healing and recovery just as much as you commit to your daily goals!
SOLUTION ON PG. 4
STRESS RELIEF SMOOTHIE
INGREDIENTS
IET
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1 cup frozen wild blueberries
MAKE THESE FOODS A PART OF YOUR ANTI-ANXIETY DIET
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1/2 ripe banana
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1/2 avocado, peeled & pitted
Asparagus , is also widely known to be a healthy vegetable. The Chinese government approved the use of an asparagus extract as a natural functional food and beverage ingredient due to its anti-anxiety properties.
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1 cup Swiss chard, chopped
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1 cup plant-based milk (coconut milk, hemp seed milk, sunflower seed milk)
Foods rich in B vitamins , such as avocado and almonds, are also beneficial.
Anxiety is thought to be correlated with a lowered total antioxidant state. Enhancing your diet with foods rich in antioxidants may help ease the symptoms of anxiety disorders. A 2010 study reviewed the antioxidant content of 3,100 foods, spices, herbs, beverages, and supplements. Foods designated as high in antioxidants by the USDA include:
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1 tsp dried lavender
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1 tsp pure vanilla extract
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1 cup of ice, or lavender ice cubes
Beans: Dried small red, pinto, black, red kidney
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Optional: 2 scoops collagen protein powder
• Fruits: Apples (Gala, Granny Smith, Red Delicious), prunes, sweet cherries, plums, black plums
DIRECTIONS
• Berries: Blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, blueberries
Nuts: Walnuts, pecans
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Put all of the ingredients in a high- speed blender and blend on high for 60-seconds, or until smooth.
• Vegetables: Artichokes, kale, spinach, beets, broccoli
Spices: Turmeric, ginger
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2. Pour into 2 cups & enjoy!
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So, try these foods and eat right, feel right, and live right!
MAKING BETTER PEOPLE
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INSIDE
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BREATHE LIFE INTO YOUR BODY
THE HORMONE SYMPHONY WITHIN YOU THE ARCHITECTURE OF SLEEP
ANTI- ANXIETY DIET STRESS-RELIEF SMOOTHIE
THE TELOMERE MIRACLE
THE TELOMERE MIRACLE
Telomeres are protective caps of repetitive DNA
Telomerase, which activates and maintains the efficiency of an enzyme, holds the key to health and longevity as suggested by scientific literature. This is no backwater or obscure science. Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD and Elissa Epel, PhD were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for the “discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” Here is the bottom line: If you could better preserve the telomeres in your stem cells, you would better resist the aging process and reduce the risk of disease because your DNA would remain protected. We have exciting news for you! Our medical team at Tiger has created a program we call “Optimize” that addresses the major life habits that, if incorporated consistently, lead to longer telomeres! More to come soon!
at the ends of all your cells’ chromosomes. Telomeres have been
compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces because they keep chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, which would destroy or scramble an organism’s genetic information. Emerging science has discovered how you can make simple changes in your life to keep telomeres healthy. The health and longevity of your telomeres is what holds the key to aging, or according to some scientists, not aging as fast. The loss of telomeres is also associated with most known diseases. Cells normally can divide only about 50–70 times, with telomeres getting progressively shorter until the cells weaken or die. Telomeres do not shorten in tissues where cells do not continually divide, such as heart muscles.
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