Gut Disrupter #4: Lifestyle

We’re over halfway through our discovery of gut bacteria disrupters. Only two posts left in the series!

Today’s post delves into how our lifestyle can upset the balance of our gut bacteria. Much of what we have discussed already plays into our lifestyle: our stress, yearly antibiotic use, and daily nutrition, but lifestyle also includes other aspects of our lives, like exercise, sleep, and relationships. All of these factors combine and affect our gut bacterial balance. Let’s explore each factor.

Exercise

How often are you taking time each week to exercise? Better yet, how often each day are you making an effort to move your body, not necessarily exercise. Studies have shown that a focus on adding small bursts of movements to your day, like taking a minute walking break every half an hour at work, are much more beneficial than of focusing solely on your one hour at the gym (and consequently spending the rest of the day sitting because you “earned” it from your time at the gym).

When we start to incorporate movement into our lifestyle, we are actively engaging in an awesome stress-reduction practice. Consequently, this reduction in stress helps keep our gut bacteria happy, healthy, and in balance.

Start with a small goal to add movement to your daily life and keep looking for new opportunities to be active. Do you enjoy walks around your neighborhood at night? Try to incorporate these walks three times a week. Or, maybe you start taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work every day.

No matter how small, every step adds up!

Sleep

Are you sleeping 7-9 hours a night? I highly, highly doubt it.

You may argue with me and say that you are fine with less than 7-9 hours of sleep, but I beg to differ. Your body craves sleep, and when you don’t give in to what your body needs, your overall health suffers. Just one night of less sleep can seriously undermine the health of your immune system.

For instance, I’m sure we all know that one person that is always sick. Every time we see this person, they look tired and are sniffling. Once we start to talking to them, we learn that they have been super busy, which is generally means they have been skimping on their sleep. As a result, they can’t seem to shake the cold that just won’t go away.

What can we do to avoid harming our immune system? Start by making sleep a priority in your life. Establish a bedtime routine and shut off those electronics at least 30 minutes before bed. The blue light emitted from our phones, TVs, and other electronics simulates our brains and suppresses our melatonin production (a hormone that helps regular our circadian rhythm). Be firm about your resolution to get more sleep – your body, and good gut bacteria, will thank you.

Relationships

There is a strong connection between our relationships and our overall well-being. Positive relationships with friends and family keep our minds and bodies happy, while negative relationships harm our mental health and leave us chronically stressed. And we all know now what happens when we are chronically stressed!

Think about how amazing you feel when you are able to confide in your close friend about something in your life that has been weighing heavily on your mind. I’m sure you feel an overwhelming sense of relief.

On the other hand, when we don’t have anyone who we can turn to or trust, we bottle up all of our emotions and thoughts and become stressed in the process.

Are your relationships stressful, non-existent, or limited? Do you have people that you can trust and confide in? Or, are your relationships causing you stress and anxiety? Find someone in your life that you can turn to and trust. It will make a huge difference.

Summary

Although it may not seem like it, all three of these important lifestyle factors contribute to the health of our gut. When our lifestyle promotes balance and positivity, we are less stressed, thereby increasing our health. Alternatively, when our lifestyle is out of balance due to a lack of sleep, exercise, and relationships, we find ourselves stressed, tired, and sick.

I realize that it’s not easy to change our lifestyles – we have habits and comforts that we don’t want to change. However, as I’ve stated before (and remind myself everyday), change can be good. When we make positive changes in our life, our outlook on life changes. We become happier and healthier.

What small steps can you start incorporating into your life today in order to increase the balance in your lifestyle? Here are a few options to get you started!

• Take walking or stretching breaks every half an hour. Just simply make an effort to be moving for a minute or two each hour (especially if you have a desk job!)

• Find a walking buddy. This is a win-win situation: you both get to catch up on what's going on in your lives AND you get some active movement into your day!

• Read 30 minutes before bed to help your body relax and unwind.

• Take an epsom salt bath before bed.

• Establish a bedtime routine and stick to it!

• Shut off all electronics 30 minutes before bed.

• Make an effort to call (not text!) a friend once or twice a week.

Whatever you do, any step towards improving your lifestyle in order to reduce stress will increase your overall health and make you happier and healthier!