Morning Routines That Just FLOW
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Morning Routines That Just FLOW
“If the hardest thing you have to do in your day is eat a frog, eat that frog first!”, they say.
And, broadly speaking, it is indeed good to get anything stressful out of the way early, so that we can relax afterwards. But…
- Are we truly best at frog-eating when blurry-eyed and sleepy?
- Is there a spoonful of sugar that could make the medicine go down better?
- What do we need to turn eating the frog into an enjoyable activity?
Flow
“Flow” is a concept brought to public consciousness by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and it refers to a state in which we feel good about what we’re doing, and just keep doing, at a peak performance level.
Writer’s note: as a writer, for example…
Sometimes I do not want to write, I pace to and fro near my computer, going on side-quests like getting a coffee or gazing out of the window into my garden. But once I get going, suddenly, something magical happens and before I know it, I have to trim my writing down because I’ve written too much. That magical window of effortless productivity was a state of flow.
Good morning!
What is a good morning, to you? Build that into your morning! Set parameters around it so you don’t get carried away timewise and find yourself in the afternoon (unless that would work for you!), but first thing in the morning is the time to light up each part of your brain with appropriate neurotransmitters.
Getting the brain juices flowing
Cortisol
When we wake up, we (unless we have some neurochemical imbalance, such as untreated depression) get a spike of cortisol. Cortisol is much-maligned and feared, and indeed it can be very much deleterious to the health in cases of chronic stress. But a little spike now and again is actually beneficial for us.
Quick Tip: if you want to artificially stimulate (or enhance) a morning cortisol spike, a cold shower is the way to go. Or even just a face-plunge into a bowl of ice-water (put ice in it, give it a couple of minutes to chill the water, then put your face in for a count of 30 seconds, or less if you can’t hold your breath that long).
Serotonin
Serotonin is generally thought of as “the happy chemical”, and it’s stimulated by blue/white light, and also by seeing greenery.
Quick tip: to artificially stimulate (or enhance) a morning serotonin boost, your best friend is sunlight. Even sun through a partly-clouded sky will tend to outperform artificial lighting, including artificial sunlight lighting. Try to get sun between 08:30 and 09:00, if you can. Best of all, do it in your garden or nearby park, as the greenery will be an extra boost!
Dopamine
Generally thought of as “the reward chemical”, but it’s also critical for a lot of kinds of brainwork, including language processing and problem-solving.
Quick Tip: to artificially stimulate* a dopamine surge to get you going, do something that you and/or your body finds rewarding. Examples include:
- Exercise, especially in a vigorous burst
- A good breakfast, a nice coffee, whatever feels right to you
- An app that has motivational bells and whistles, a streak for you to complete, etc
Note: another very enjoyable activity might come to mind that doesn’t even require you getting out of bed. Be aware, however, gentleman-readers specifically, that if you complete that activity, you’ll get a prolactin spike that will wipe out the dopamine you just worked up (because prolactin is antagonistic to dopamine). So that one’s probably better for a lazy morning when you can go back to sleep, than a day when you want to get up and go! Ladies, this is less of a worry for us as the physiology an orgasm driven by estrogen+progesterone rather than testosterone is different; there will not usually be a prolactin spike following the spike of dopamine; our orgasm-related dopamine spike is followed by a wave of oxytocin instead (“the cuddle chemical”), which is much more pleasant than prolactin.
*there’s no “(or enhance)” for this one; you won’t get dopamine from doing nothing, that’s just not how “the reward chemical” works
Flow-building in a stack
When you’ve just woken up and are in a blurry morning haze, that’s not the time to be figuring out “what should I be doing next?”, so instead:
- Work out the things you want to incorporate into your morning routine
- Put them in the order that will be easiest to perform—some things will go a lot better after others!
- Remember to also include things that are simply necessary—morning bathroom ablutions, for example
The goal here is to have a this-and-this-and-this-and-this list of items that you can go through without any deviations, and get in the habit of “after item 1 I automatically do item 2, after which I automatically do item 3, after which…”
Implement this, and your mornings will become practically automated, but in a joyous, life-enhancing way that sets you up in good order for whatever you want/need to do!
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How To Get Unstuck
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At 10almonds we sometimes say “mental health is also simply health”, and in this video, we get an examination of how one’s state of mind affects physical health and life in general—for better or for worse—and how to shift out of the wrong mental gear and into a better one:
Inside out
Zuzka notes that feeling stuck is often a result of fear and limited perspective, not an actual lack of options. Now, this does not mean that external circumstances don’t exist, or that we go through life without limitations. But it does mean we must start by asking ourselves the right questions, such as in this case, “Am I being resourceful right now?”
For her, she considers that being resourceful means seeking solutions and seeing possibilities, even in difficult situations—and that it’s a skill that can be trained like a muscle.
To that end, she champions trying things even if we think we may fail (indeed, she acknowledges that experiencing failure is inevitable and/but ultimately, however, learning from short-term failure increases chances of long-term success).
In the case of being afraid (of failure, or more specifically, trying hard and failing anyway, which can feel worse than not trying at all), she recommends that small actions (which she calls actions of “micro-bravery”) can break the cycle and reduce fear—which is important, because otherwise, fear only grows over time if we avoid taking actions to challenge it.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
The Most Anti-Aging Exercise ← this same YouTuber’s most well-known video (and our discussion of it). She is, by the way, in her early 40s at time of writing. So, rather younger than the average 10almonds reader, but also rather older than the average fitness influencer!
Take care!
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No More Restrictions In This Diet Against Thyroid Disease?
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Thyroid disease, especially hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) is a common risk, especially from our 40s onwards.
Often this is approached from the perspective of “can we fix it with diet?”, and indeed, there are prevailing methods for at least managing the condition, for example:
But what if it could be simpler?
Positive dieting
We’ve talked about this concept sometimes before—putting the focus more on what we put into our diet than what we exclude from it. The idea is simple; most people find restrictive diets hard to follow, and if not well-managed, they can lead to nutrient deficiencies. In contrast, if we focus on ensuring we get good, nutritionally-dense, varied foods, plants-centric and minimally-processed, then generally speaking, it’s hard to go far wrong.
Researchers (Dr. Rosaria Maddalena Ruggeri et al.) did an extensive research review, and found that yes, diet clearly influences thyroid health, but not through extreme restrictions. In other words, overall dietary patterns matter more than single foods or the latest trend.
As for iodine specifically, yes iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production, but both too little and too much can disrupt function and increase risks like hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or autoimmune thyroiditis.
For more on those two, see:
In other words: by trying to micromanage things to hit the sweet spot from the right direction (depending on whether the main threat is hypo- or hyperthyroidism), it’s very easy to overcorrect and swing the other way. The body, intuitive organism that it is, can then try to save you from your overcorrections, but itself can also overcorrect, putting you back where you started.
So, where should the focus be?
The team found that selenium, iron, and zinc support hormone production and enzyme activity, while vitamin D and B12 support immune function, and deficiencies in these are linked to higher risk of thyroid disorders.
However! Supplementation (especially selenium, vitamin B12, or vitamin D) doesn’t consistently help unless you’re actually deficient.
The good news: the Mediterranean diet is very consistently associated with lower inflammation, better thyroid markers, and fewer autoimmune antibodies.
The researchers also note that soy and cruciferous vegetables are generally safe in normal amounts if iodine intake is adequate, even though they’re often wrongly blamed for thyroid problems.
In short: a balanced, nutrient-dense diet—especially a Mediterranean pattern—is more effective and evidence-based for supporting thyroid health than restrictive or fad diets.
You can read the paper in full, here: The role of nutrition on thyroid health and disease: myths and facts
And if you want to get directly to enjoying a Mediterranean diet, we outlined it in a previous main feature, so here it is for your convenience:
The Mediterranean Diet: What Is It Good For? ← also covers which foods actually go into it, and which don’t 😎
Want to learn more?
You might like this book we reviewed a while back:
The Thyroid Connection – by Dr. Amy Meyers
Take care!
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Not quite an introvert or an extrovert? Maybe you’re an ambivert
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Our personalities are generally thought to consist of five primary factors: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, with each of us ranking low to high for each.
Extroversion is one of the Big Five personality traits. Big 5 personality traits graphic Those who rank high in extroversion, known as extroverts, typically focus on their external world. They tend to be more optimistic, recharge by socialising and enjoy social interaction.
On the other end of the spectrum, introverts are more likely to be quiet, deep thinkers, who recharge by being alone and learn by observing (but aren’t necessarily shy).
But what if you’re neither an introvert or extrovert – or you’re a bit of both? Another category might fit better: ambiverts. They’re the middle of the spectrum and are also called “social introverts”.
What exactly is an ambivert?
The term ambivert emerged in 1923. While it was not initially embraced as part of the introvert-extrovert spectrum, more recent research suggests ambiverts are a distinct category.
Ambiverts exhibit traits of both extroverts and introverts, adapting their behaviour based on the situation. It may be that they socialise well but need solitude and rest to recharge, and they intuitively know when to do this.
Ambiverts seems to have the following characteristics:
- good communication skills, as a listener and speaker
- ability to be a peacemaker if conflict occurs
- leadership and negotiation skills, especially in teams
- compassion and understanding for others.
Some research suggests ambiverts make up a significant portion of the population, with about two-thirds of people falling into this category.
What makes someone an ambivert?
Personality is thought to be 50% inherited, with the remaining being influenced by environmental factors and individual experiences.
Emerging research has found physical locations of genes on chromosomes closely aligned with extroversion-introversion traits.
So, chances are, if you are a blend of the two styles as an ambivert, one of your parents may be too.
What do ambiverts tend to be good at?
Ambiverts are flexible with talking and also listening. Cotton Bro Studios/Pexels One area of research focus in recent decades has been personality type and job satisfaction. One study examined 340 introverts, extroverts and ambiverts in sales careers.
It has always been thought extroverts were more successful with sales. However, the author found ambiverts were more influential and successful.
They may have a sales advantage because of their ability to read the situation and modify their behaviour if they notice a customer is not interested, as they’re able to reflect and adapt.
Ambiverts stress less than introverts
Generally, people lower in extroversion have higher stress levels. One study found introverts experience more stress than both ambiverts and extroverts.
It may be that highly sensitive or introverted individuals are more susceptible to worry and stress due to being more perfectionistic.
Ambiverts are adept at knowing when to be outgoing and when to be reflective, showcasing a high degree of situational awareness. This may contribute to their overall wellbeing because of how they handle stress.
What do ambiverts tend to struggle with?
Ambiverts may overextend themselves attempting to conform or fit in with many social settings. This is termed “overadaptation” and may force ambiverts to feel uncomfortable and strained, ultimately resulting in stress or burnout.
Ambiverts tend to handle stress well but feel strained when overadapting. Cottonbro Studios/Pexels But personality traits aren’t fixed
Regardless of where you sit on the scale of introversion through to extroversion, the reality is it may not be fixed. Different situations may be more comfortable for introverts to be social, and extroverts may be content with quieter moments.
And there are also four other key personality traits – openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness and neuroticism – which we all possess in varying levels, and are expressed in different ways, alongside our levels of extroversion.
There is also evidence our personality traits can change throughout our life spans are indeed open to change.
Peta Stapleton, Associate Professor in Psychology, Bond University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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What’s the difference between freckles, sunspots and moles?
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You’ve got a new brown spot on your face, but is it a freckle or a sunspot? Or perhaps you’ve found a spot on your back that looks like a mole but is flatter than your other ones – is it a mole or a dark freckle?
Here’s how to tell the difference between freckles, sunspots and moles – and when you need to get a spot checked to see if it’s skin cancer.
Cottonbro Studio/Pexels Freckles
Freckles, known as ephelides, are small, flat, light brown spots that appear on people with fair skin, or red or light-coloured hair.
These people are more likely to have the MC1R gene, which leads to freckles forming.
Freckles are caused by sun exposure and are more noticeable in summer. When sunlight hits the skin, cells called melanocytes produce melanin, the pigment that gives skin its colour.
In people prone to freckles, the melanin doesn’t spread evenly. Instead, it clumps together, creating freckles.
Melanin doesn’t spread evenly in people prone to freckles. Chermiti Mohamed/Unsplash Freckles generally appear in childhood and may fade with age, especially if sun exposure reduces. As we age we produce less melanin, or it can break down or disperse, resulting in lighter or fewer freckles.
Using sunscreen and wearing protective clothing can help prevent new freckles from developing, especially on the face and arms.
While freckles are completely harmless, they are a sign that someone is genetically at higher risk of developing skin cancer.
Sunspots
Sunspots are also called age spots or solar lentigos (or liver spots, but they have nothing to do with the liver). They are larger than freckles: sometimes the size of a small coin, and appear as flat brown spots.
Sunspots develop over time due to long-term sun exposure, which leads to excessive melanin production. They tend to appear on skin with greater sun exposure, such as the face, hands, shoulders and arms.
Sunspots develop after years of sun exposure. Zay Nyi Nyi/Shutterstock Unlike freckles, which tend to get lighter with less sun exposure, sunspots will not fade with time, and may further darken with continued sun exposure.
However, some people try to remove their sunspots for cosmetic reasons using either a laser, chemical peel or a prescription topical cream.
While sunspots are not dangerous, they do increase your risk of other skin cancers in that area.
It’s also important to monitor them, as slow-growing melanomas may initially look like sunspots. If you see the spot changes in size, shape or colour, see your doctor to rule out skin cancer.
Moles
Moles are often dark, raised or flat skin growths that can appear anywhere on your body.
Although moles can exist from birth, they typically grow during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood (including during pregnancy, when hormones are changing), until around the age of around 40. Moles can increase in size, and new ones can also appear.
Most adults have between ten and 40 moles on their body. A person with a high mole count has 50 or more, while someone with a very high mole count has 100 or more.
Some moles are raised while others are flat. Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock Moles form when melanocytes grow in clusters instead of spreading evenly throughout the skin.
Moles can either be raised or flat, depending upon their type, depth and age.
Raised moles, referred to as compound nevi, have both flat and raised portions and typically have pigment that is deeper in the skin.
Dermal nevi are skin-coloured or light brown moles that are also raised.
Most moles are harmless. Some may have hair growing from them and some may disappear, whereas other moles may darken or alter with age or hormonal changes.
However, some moles can develop into melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.
When to see your doctor
While freckles and sunspots are completely harmless, moles do require more attention, especially if they change in size, shape, colour or texture.
If a mole shows any of the following warning signs, see your doctor, who will use the ABCDE rule to detect if a lesion is a skin cancer:
- asymmetry: if one half of the mole looks different from the other half
- border: if your mole is shaped irregularly, jagged or has poorly defined edges
- colour: varied shades or sudden changes in colour of the mole
- diameter: if it is larger than 6 millimeters (about the size of a pencil eraser)
- evolving: if your mole has any changes in its size, shape, colour, or sensation such as itching or bleeding for more than a few weeks.
Our research shows only 21.7% of people can correctly identify melanoma on their own, so professional checks are essential.
How to prevent skin damage
Since freckles, sunspots and some moles are influenced by exposure to the sun, you can protect your skin by:
- avoiding the sun when ultraviolet rays are strongest
- wearing sunscreen with SPF 50 every day, even when it’s cloudy. Apply it 20 minutes before going outside and reapply every two hours
- wearing protective clothing, including a wide-brimmed hat to cover your face, neck and ears, and long-sleeved shirts and pants to protect your arms and legs.
Correction: this article originally referred to sun sports as actinic keratoses rather than solar lentigos.
Mike Climstein, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University; Jeremy Hudson, Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University; Michael Stapelberg, Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, and Nedeljka Rosic, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Mastering Gut Health for Women – by Karín Feltman
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The author, a registered nurse, has a focus on holistic health, and in this book it’s all about wellness from the inside out.
To effect this, she lays out a 12-week program of transformations:
- Week 1: transform your knowledge
- Week 2: transform your brain
- Week 3: transform your digestion
- Week 4: transform your immunity
- Week 5: transform your emotions
- Week 6: transform your sleep
- Week 7: transform your energy/vitality
- Week 8: transform your activity
- Week 9: transform your hormones
- Week 10: transform your diet
- Week 11: transform your weight
- Week 12: transform your habits
Which all adds up to quite a comprehensive overall transformation!
Of course, it’s possible you might want to implement everything at once; an exciting prospect for sure, but oftentimes it really is best to just change one thing at once before moving on; that way it’s a lot more likely to stick, and that’s why she presents it in this format.
On the other hand, maybe you might want to take longer than the 12 weeks, if for example it takes you more than a week to do a certain part. That’s fine too, though for most people without serious constraints (or suffering some unexpected major interruption to your usual life), the 12-week program should be quite doable as-is.
The style is personable and friendly, albeit with frequent references to science and appropriate citations.
Bottom line: the title centers gut health, and so does the book itself, but this is truly a holistic approach that goes far beyond the gut, which makes it even more worthwhile.
Click here to check out Mastering Gut Health For Women, and master gut health for yourself!
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How Effective Is THC Against Chronic Pain?
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
No question/request too big or small 😎
❝Does cannabis have painkilling properties comparable to opiods or is it just a matter of being high and not thinking about the pain?❞
Short answer: no
More useful answer: of course, it’s not really an either/or question—but neither are generally considered to be the case, no.
We say “generally considered”, because the illegality of cannabis in the US for a long time really hampered science, so there’s a lot of research that’s just being done now for the first time, when in an ideal world we’d be a good number of decades further along now. That’s not to say there was no research in the interim; there was, but…
- When the substance is illegal, there is a lot less funding to research its properties (since companies can’t sell it)
- When the substance is illegal and public campaigns are saying it’s dangerous, it’s a lot harder to do big trials with large sample sizes (fewer volunteers, harder to get media to run ads)
Even now, to get large sample sizes it’s necessary to look at larger reviews of smaller trials, to get the numbers together. Take this one for example:
❝25 short-term (1 to 6 months) randomized controlled trials (n = 2303; 64% neuropathic pain) assessed cannabinoids. Oral synthetic/purified high THC-to-CBD (THC only) may slightly reduce and oromucosal, extracted, comparable THC-to-CBD ratio products probably slightly reduce pain severity (pooled differences, −0.78 and −0.54 points, respectively, [0 to 10 scale]), with moderate or large increased dizziness, sedation, and nausea. Among THC-only products, nabilone moderately reduced pain severity but dronabinol did not (pooled differences, −1.59 and −0.23 points, respectively). Low THC-to-CBD interventions may not improve outcomes.❞
Read in full: Cannabis-Based Products for Chronic Pain: An Updated Systematic Review
Translating some of that from sciencese:
- Neuropathic pain is a good one for research, because since the problem is with the nerves themselves, there isn’t also a different causal problem to confound the data
- If that’s what you have though, do check out: Peripheral Neuropathy: How To Avoid It, Manage It, Treat It
- High THC ratio products “may slightly reduce pain severity” or “probably slightly reduce pain severity” depending on means of administration.
- That’s very unimpressive
- High THC ratio products do, however, offer “moderate or large increased dizziness, sedation, and nausea”
- That’s not great either
- Low THC ratio prducts “may not improve outcomes”
- That is hardly a claim at all
- THC-only prodcuts may or may not moderately reduce pain severity. Only nabilone achieved this, out of the products they tested.
- That may arguably be the most worthwhile piece of information to come out of this 2,303-person systematic review
Is it worth it?
The science is not exactly a rave review, is it? But the fact is, many people do swear by it. And ultimately, if it works for you, it works for you.
So, whether or not it’s worth it is a personal, subjective decision for several reasons:
- It may work better or worse for you than for the average person.
- You may experience more of fewer adverse side effects than the average person.
- You may experience those adverse side effects more or less strongly than the average person.
- Pain impairs function. THC also impairs function. Only you can decide which function(s) you’d rather have impaired.
- You may or may not have other options available, compared to the average person.
We can offer health information here, but not health advice. Not just for legal reasons, but also because we don’t know your individual circumstances.
What we can do is say: consider the options, assess the risks, and get what support you can.
For unravelling some popular confusions with regard to the risks, do see: Cannabis Myths vs Reality
And for CBD-only considerations: CBD Oil: What Does The Science Say?
Want to learn more?
If you’re looking for alternatives, we’ve written quite a bit about pain management, including:
- Before You Reach For That Tylenol…
- How To Stop Pain Spreading
- How To Dial Down Your Pain
- Managing Chronic Pain (Realistically!)
- Get The Right Help For Your Pain
- The 7 Approaches To Pain Management
- Science-Based Alternative Pain Relief (When Painkillers Aren’t Helping, These Things Might)
Take care!
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