Good Sleep Is Non-Negotiable

Your sleep, mood, and brain function are intimately related. Scientific studies tell us that our emotional states affect sleep and that sleep affects emotions. The good news is that you can create better sleep with fairly simple strategies.

Learn more about sleep here.

The Approach

Your diet can significantly impact your ability to access focus. In the United States and other diet-obsessed cultures, we are used to hearing about things we shouldn't eat. However, many tempting fad diets actually ban foods that are helpful for supporting focus. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that a healthy diet to support your sub-type is built on warm, moist foods with modest amounts of protein and plenty of complex carbohydrates. 

The Foods

When integrated as the foundation of your Resilient Diet, the foods found in the Repeating Mind Nourish Guide can offer your system what it needs to balance a distracted brain. If you can't/don't eat a certain food or food group (e.g., you're a vegetarian), then just omit the food.

Scroll below to learn more and download the Repeating Mind Nourish Guide.

Movement is another significant component to combating a distracted brain. A distracted brain can be soothed by regular, vigorous aerobic activity that promotes a positive mood, calms the nervous system, and that also provides enough activity so that stress, nervous tension, and pent up energy can be released.

First: Move regularly

When it comes to movement for improving mental health, our mantra here at NMH is "just move." If you haven't selected a Resilient Movement Plan, it's a great tool to help you move more regularly to counteract a distracted brain. There are three plans to choose from. Here's how to choose your plan:

• Basic Plan: If you can only incorporate one change into your movement routine, this is a great way to get a lot of benefit from a very simple practice.
• Even Better Plan: If you'd like to do a little bit more movement to benefit your mental health, or if you've started with the Basic Movement Plan and feel ready to add more, the Even Better Movement Plan is for you.
• Ideal Plan: If you're excited to make quite a few changes to your movement routine to benefit your mental health, or if you started with the Even Better Movement Plan and feel ready to add more, the Ideal Movement Plan is for you.

Remember that you can move back and forth between these plans as you need to. Human lives are unpredictable--you may be able to commit to a more involved plan now, but need to move to a simpler plan later. Don't worry if this happens. The key is to keep moving.

Enhance Your Plan by Making a Cardio Habit

Aerobic (aka cardio) exercise can be particularly helpful to boost focus. No matter the Resilient Movement Plan you choose, shoot for 20-30 minutes daily of any aerobic activity that you enjoy. Try to pay attention to how you feel during your activity. Most importantly, have fun!