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. To focus a distressed brain, you should eat lighter foods with minimal protein and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Your food should bring coolness and substance to help bring the brain back into balance—think light, "summery" foods, including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Foods

When integrated as the foundation of your Resilient Diet, the foods found in the Distressed Brain Nourish Guide can offer your system what it needs to balance a distressed 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 Distressed Brain Nourish Guide.

Movement is another significant component to combating a distressed brain. A distressed brain can be soothed by regular physical 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 for a distressed 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.

Try Something New

Finding a new activity that you enjoy can help you stay on track with your movement goals. MeMoves and yoga are great practices to try. 

MeMoves. MeMoves is an interactive activity that uniquely combines music and rhythmic body movements. You can use any device to access MeMoves. Each MeMoves sequence is a combination of music, movement, and images. You can even choose from three categories of sequences:  Joy, Calm, and Focus. The program’s multisensory design sets up the nervous system for calm chemistry and active, alert attention.   

Yoga. There are many styles of yoga to choose from, depending on your preference and interests. Here are a few that may be a good fit for a distressed brain:

• Iyengar. This yoga style is named after founder B.K.S. Iyengar. Props like blocks, straps, harnesses, and incline boards are used to get you more perfectly into positions and have earned the style its nickname, “furniture yoga.”
• Restorative. Expect less work and more relaxation from this yoga style. You’ll spend as many as 20 minutes each in just four or five simple poses. You may use strategically placed props like blankets, bolsters, and soothing lavender eye pillows to help you sink into deep relaxation.
• Vinyasa/Power. This is an active and athletic style of yoga. If you're feeling distressed, avoid practicing this style of yoga in a heated room.