The Health Benefits of Slowing Down
Slowing Down Can Improve Your Health
Are you running around all day, from work, to after-school activities, hustling try to cram as much into your day as possible? The hustle-culture has been running rampant for years, and, unfortunately, this can have long-lasting negative impacts to your health. From increased stress, to digestive issues, our non-stop social conditioning is creating problems for our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
So what is the antidote to the hustle and bustle of daily life? Slowing down.
There are actually 3 main benefits to slowing down and stopping to smell the proverbial (or literal) roses. You will be surprised at how impactful these simple hacks can be on your overall health and wellbeing.
3 Health Benefits to Slowing Down
1) Reduce Cortisol
Too much cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, can have a major impact on your health. Elevated cortisol levels have been linked to higher blood pressure, increased weight gain particularly around the lower abdomen, higher risk of heart disease, increased estrogen levels and so much more.
To reduce your cortisol levels, look at what is causing you stress and find ways to minimize or remove those stressors as much as possible. Stress mitigation techniques like deep breathing, longer breath work practices, meditation, mindfulness practices and yoga are all methods that can help you slow down and lower your stress levels.
2) Activate Your Parasympathetic Nervous System
When we are mostly living with our Sympathetic Nervous System activated, it means we are in constant fight-or-flight mode aka stress is high. When stress levels decrease, it allows the body to activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System. This system helps you relax and reduce your body’s activities. You may have heard the rhyme “rest and digest” - this is what the Parasympathetic Nervous System allows to happen. Your heart rate lowers, the digestive rate increases and the body produces insulin to help break down sugars to be used by our cells as energy.
3) Tuning Into What Your Body Needs
Slowing down, before cooking and eating, allows you to get more in tune with your body’s cues, such as your hunger and fullness levels. You can also tune in to see what kinds of foods you might be craving and if there are any particular emotions that might be triggering those cravings. This is the basis of Intuitive Eating.
When we are eating quickly before going to the next meeting or kids activity, we are often ignoring these cues and what nourishment our bodies need. By slowing down, we allow ourselves the space and time to simply reconnect with our bodies, and figure out what foods would help me to feel my best at this time.
If slowing down sounds like an absolute dream to you, it is time to create space for this practice in your daily or weekly calendar. It will have massive benefits to your overall health and wellbeing for the long term. I, myself, have found slowing down has improved not only my physical health, but my mental and emotional health too.
Are you ready to create space for slowing down in your life? Sometimes we need to get away from our regular environment and come to a new space that allows us to think and tune back into what we really want in our lives. That’s why I am so thrilled to share the Slow Down Retreat with you. My incredible friend, Mary Hopper, is hosting this brilliant getaway to help women who may be stuck in the hustle and bustle of daily lives, to find themselves again in a peaceful and calming location.
This is your opportunity to fill up your proverbial cup and lean into looking after you.
During the Slow Down Retreat, I will be speaking about mindful cooking and eating, as a way to tune into your body’s needs and rediscover the foods that nourish you and help you to feel your best.
Click here to find out more about the Slow Down Retreat:
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Hey! I’m Renata!
Your intuitive nutrition coach and fellow food lover. I’m here to help you find the foods that work best for your body, without feeling deprived or starving.
