Simple Steps to Wash Away Stress covers: * How Men and Women Handle Stress: Best practices on how stress affects people differently and how to manage it. * How Brain Waves & Supplements Affect Stress : Your emotional state can produce different Brain waves. Certain supplements can help to channel them and change your vibration. * How Essential Oils & Herbs can help with Stress Management : Best herbs to ease the mind and which specific essential oils can help with relaxation.
I feel like there is a lot of lack of awareness when it comes to stress
You have to sort of build protocols... and rules that can help you function
I know there was no way to see whether meditation has a positive impact on stress, but now, we can actually detect that with H.R.V.
You know, the thing is that... we have to, I think, remove the labels that we have on things and start to see things as they are.
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Okay, so, we're here.
We're gonna talk about stress huh?
Yeah, yeah... we're talking about stress today.
It's the first time we're doing this really.
Yeah
But I think it helps to bring this level of information out for an audience, I guess.
Yeah, for sure
And to be able to do it in such a way that it can actually provide value, I think that's really kinda what this is about, right?
Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of lack of awareness when it comes to stress. Basically, there is, you know around 90% (80-90%) of visits to the doctor are actually related to stress, but only 3% of doctors actually help their patients with stress, so there is a lot of you know, lack of awareness a lot of the time I feel that people don't know themselves that they're stressed, they just feel like that's their autopilot and it becomes their default mode and they actually feel like that's normal, it's amazing how like, our baseline for normal can change based on our perception in whatever default mode becomes.
So then, I guess we have created a default mode, right? Because if you start tying in you know the different types of nervous systems between the on & on nervous system, right? You got the pair of sympathetic and then the sympathetic nervous system, but they all have their own like, responses and then I don't even think we should be labeling one as good or bad because they all have....
Yeah... They all have their purposes in nature. I feel like from an evolutionary standpoint it's what kept us alive, right? I mean the sympathetic nervous system is what kept us alive, it was you know, a survival mechanism that's why the fighter flight response exists where it's almost like yeah you better run for your life or you better fight for your life. The problem though is like you know it served us before in the paleolithic times and you know in the 100 gaither age as well where it was like okay you perceive, attract. A saber tooth tiger for example, automatically you are like okay, fight or flight mode, right? But that threat lasted only like for a few seconds so your sympathetic nervous system will like automatically recalibrate after a few minutes and you will go back to like your auto numb nervous system taking over but what's happening in today's day and age because we are so stressed we are constantly like thinking about you know all sorts of things you know there is technology... you know as I'm saying that
And the funny thing is that you can even keep technology at your bedroom sometimes
You can live with it you can't live without
I mean by the way that is what creates a sympathetic response, right?
Yeah, oh my gosh, you are so right! automatically my heartbeat started to just go faster as soon as it started ringing.
And it’s unnecessary dopamine, like these kind of triggers they cause totally unnecessary dopamine and so you know your brain is actually tricked into thinking that you are having a natural dopamine response when it's actually an unnatural dopamine response, like any chemical excess of it it's going to mess with you so it's not sane.... you know cellphones are bad like labeling something bad, it's about managing anything that gets co created in this world
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean I'm just trying to turn off my notifications. One good way I guess is airplane mode
Yeah, I love that
Do not disturb, trying to schedule it. I mean I know is kind of bizarre that this just showed up and came up and we didn't even talk about it or write about it but the funny thing is that you have to sort of build protocols and rules that can help you function because truth is that we are all like that, we are all wired a certain way where you know we all have doubts, we all have fears, we all have things that makes us question ourselves but I think Kobe Bryant he put it really well like you know that if you are able to actually like just sort of embrace your self - doubts, embrace those fears, you actually move to a better place because now you are finding your strengths it's like a renewal process and then as you begin to renew yourself you feel more whole again, you are like wow, I've never felt that in a long time
Yeah, wow it's beautiful yeah.
And I guess that's for men and women can learn from each other
Oh well of course, yeah there are so many things that you know men and women can learn from each other specially like when it comes to stress, I mean I was just reading this study about how women are like twice as likely to experience a severe form of stress compare to men but I also find it really interesting because you know most of these statistics come from self-reported surveys so I'm always like questioning how that would work, like for example like if its self-reported then there is a biased involved right? So basically, what my personal theory is that, yes men and women experience the same level of stress however women are just more in tune and more aware of the stress because if you compare and I know I don't really like to create that duality between men and women because at the end of the day we are all human beings and there is a beautiful interview I was watching with a really amazing author her name is Mirabai Starr and you know like when addressing the differences between men and women she was explaining how it can create like this dichotomy and this duality, however, we are much more similar than we are different, however from a physiological standpoint. I love studying the differences and for example they found that women on average have a much larger hippocampus than men do...
Wow
Yeah, which is why...
Even the specific parts of the hippocampus because you know there is a study... They have been studying the London taxi drivers a lot, and obviously they are mostly men and the funny thing is that the studies actually showed that their hippocampi on I guess the... interior... I can't even remember, anyways, it's a specific part of the hippocampi and it actually is much bigger than anyone else so what is it exactly - do women find themselves in a situation where they have to sort of navigate and know everything in a certain way or I mean....
Well it's basically like the hippocampus it's more from a memory center so basically what happens to women is that, they have much stronger, more vivid memories related to an emotional event and you can see how that can play an impact in how the response to something in the present, because what happens is like, that past memory can get triggered like if I’m for example feeling stressed out right now I may recall right away a neuro - like it activates a neoassociation to another event that may have happened that was much more severe in stress but now I’m responding to the event in the present how I responded to that event in the past or based on that event in the past
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So so... that's a specific neurotransmitter because I really wanna come back ... cause you know there's basically two important places to worry about when trying to I think not even worry but just manage cause I mean first of all there's the heart but then there's also the actual specific places where neurotransmitters are, like you got the pineal gland, so it's basically responsible for putting out lots of serotonin which eventually gets converted into melatonin so you know, serotonin during the day that's kind of what makes you feel happy and everything but then at night it's time to settle down so melatonin levels go up because you know, well it's dark and whatever and the brain sort of recognizes that but also I guess breathwork can really help with that.
Yeah, yeah absolutely, but just to touch up on what you were, what you just said, that's why there is such a huge correlation between stress and insomnia, so there is a direct correlation and you know as stress levels go up like as you were saying melatonin levels get affected and now people who usually have stress are experiencing more stress, have trouble sleeping and experience more insomnia and this is especially true for women, I mean like it's very interesting again to me like how men respond to stress so much more differently than women do, and the symptoms of stress are so different as well..
Even the hormones, right?
Yeah
Because I mean, you know, for women there is the oxytocin... that can... cause of course, women you know have...
Yeah, we actually have higher levels of oxytocin, yeah for sure.
It’s the feel good hormone, it’s the feel good chemical , like... it’s there and you know it can be, I mean between cuddling and sex I mean it’s there you know, so then if you could, maybe, kind of relate back to me how it could be different hormones that women I think need to be aware of, right? I guess?
Yes, so cortisol is a huge one
Hhm
Uhm, for most people cortisol can be much higher than its supposed to be naturally for you to stay in that autonomic nervous system state, but high cortisol levels is definitely something that impacts everything else, it impacts you know, progesterone, progesterone is a big one.
Yeah
So, it's almost like it really begins, like there's the reproductive hormones which play a huge role but then there's also duodenal hormones that play a huge role. Where it's almost like they impact everything else....
Cortisol and adrenaline, right?
Yeahhh
And I guess a certain amount is healthy....
For shorter durations... of time
And I guess, you know at the start of the day that's when working out is good, that's when going to the gym is great, that's where you know, because, you know, your adrenaline is naturally going off anyways, that's the time to have your espresso, right? But I think what we are doing is at a time when melatonin should be coming out, it's usually after 9, right? And ... if you're now pumping out cortisol like let’s say you're doing a late-night workout, you're having a late night espresso, you're basically not settling down...
No, your insider flight mode...
Exactly
While is time to go to sleep
So, these are fundamentals both men and women need to understand
Oh yeah both, yeah absolutely. And another thing that you know we were mentioning working out that I find really, really interesting is that there's so many things that men and women do differently to deal with stress, so it's actually quite interesting that, you know most men have one outlet for stress reduction and that's sports you know, where as women have a whole variety of different tools that they use to manager stress like for example.....
And If we can learn from us women, I think it can do us like wonders, I mean just true happiness, we get to break down the layers which by the way is fun right, cause you know yes sports is there but then there are also ways to just sort of relax like meditate and just calm those nerves down, put them at ease, there's different brain waves associated with different states, usually when you are stressed out you have beta responses, you know lower high mid end. Beta is not a bad thing, beta can be actually used in sports as well but that's the thing our only outlet can actually trigger beta brain waves, so you have to find balance, right?
Hahah it’s a paradox going
Yeah haha it is. And then you have alpha really getting to the alpha brain wave really, it's just a lowering of the state, you're still alert. You're still sort of, you know, like really starting to get that rhythm and groove, but then you start to move into beta which is starting to be less alert or dreamlike and just relax, right? And Beta leads into Delta, which is the sleep state, right? Like the sleep brain wave state
Yeah absolutely. Yeah like right after you're in those brain waves, it triggers the production of oxytocin and all of those feel good endorphins which in turn triggers endothelial derived relaxing factors and now your heart is beginning to open up and heart rate variability - that's why it is a very important indicator like I know there was no way to see whether meditation has a positive impact on stress, but now we can actually detect that with HRV because heart rate variability as an indicator of what's happening with your brain waves because the heart and the brain have this beautiful coherence so when you're measuring the HRV it's also giving you an idea of what's going on with the brain which now we can, it's actually amazing because now we can actually see what impact meditation has on the brain true measuring HRV
And there have been studies done, I mean now there are studies coming out of prayer, yoga, as well as breath work and what's happening is that the breathwork and meditation is showing that you now there are real benefits and what's interesting is that there is also all sorts of other hormones being produced but then there's also even the good stuff like glutathione, it actually, you know your glutathione levels are being activated and not even that it's actually quite significant than even just like going unnecessarily sometimes even just taking a glutathione pill it can actually increase your results just doing meditation like just meditation alone can get you there,
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and on top of that like there's even I guess the same compounds that resveratrol manages to activate as well so it's like although... it's actually really great to take everything like that you need, that your body needs cause naturally you don't know what you can rely on but also the meditation is there complementing everything
Oh yeah 100% and I love seeing the role that like you know different foods and supplements have on stress levels as well like I know a lot of these things like meditation and like you know mindfulness and all of these stuff sometimes people can be like, okay I don't have time for this right now or for a lot of people it's like even sitting there meditating for 5 minutes can be so difficult which is why I feel like there are different like aids people can use as well like for supplements I remember like at a time when I was feeling a lot of stress and anxiety I wasn't able to even sit still through like a 15 min meditation but that’s when ashwagandha was so helpful. Ashwagandha is an ayurvedic herb which really, really helps lower cortisol levels and it's been amazing for stress. There's now like numerous studies that have shown that it really reduces cortisol levels, it really helps the duodenal gland as well but what I find really interesting is that between 125 mg to 300 mg were shown to have a huge effect on stress levels but if you are struggling with like stress & anxiety then anything that's above 600 mg is recommended
And it is really for someone who really has inclining to that, okay, my hormones are going off a little bit cause it's really interesting, you know I had to find ways many times like I'd have late night swash games and I'd be like - Have you seen this? Like I'd be a little be wired it's like everyone has settled down and I'm like, okay like.... you know? So I think that there's also you know let’s say like having you know tea, like allithiamine in you know sort of like matcha tea to get allithiamine to get to calm those nerves down because if you know we're not gonna sit here and be like - oh, you know we're perfect we don't end up sometimes working out at night because that's happened to us many times like you know I mean you know this first hand like sometimes we end up at the gym at 9 o'clock because it’s just something that you innately want to do so then what happens in those circumstances when you have put yourself in a level at where you are like that how do you get yourself out, right? And that cup of tea can really, really help but more specifically like allithiamine sometimes you know occasionally we got rap'e which is an ancient tobacco
Oh Yeah, rap'e is amazing
Discover that in Costa Rica through shamans and you know all of a sudden... you know like
Is , is a very sacred plant and this is something I find really interesting, the first vegan collagen that's actually going to be.... the first vegan collagen ever is actually going to come from tobacco plants which is really, really interesting, it gives you a lot of perspective that you know like there are different forms of taking plants and you know while smoking cigarettes can be considered unhealthy there are other delivery forms that could actually be very therapeutic..
Yeah and it's quite surprising because you'd be like, wait tobacco, all this time people out in Europe have been coming across. I guess it was snuffed, it got really... in Germany it got really commercialized but it really comes from Spain and it’s also in some areas of Brazil and found in Costa Rica but really you know that's how Shamans, you know -- that was something that they had and then it just got westernized and that's really what happened but really you take a look at tobacco we take a look at even coca leaves and they are all plants and they had therapeutic benefits and the funny thing is that it's considered - tobacco its considered medicine by many of the shamans that I had the privilege of being friends with and the funny crazy thing is that you know with that it actually ends up being something that can actually help you, you know? - It can actually begin to clear your third eye chakra
- Yeah
It can actually do that, and the crazy thing is that, you know, it's a feeling right? So when you have sympathetic responses you start to actually feel like, wow there's like this block in my head why do I feel like the ... and many times is because of overthinking - you find yourself..
Analytical
Analytical , Analytical , Analytical and you know for some of us who really take it to another level, you know: World's coming to an end, conspiracies, what's gonna happen, this side, that side, red, blue
For me, it's like, oh my gosh. I didn't feed the orchids and that can be like an end of the world scenario
Total duality! Total duality and you know the thing is that we have to I think remove the labels that we have on things and start to see things as they are like you know taking a look at gin, marihuana, it's here, utilized in Canada and its beautiful because it's helping certain people who need it because sometimes you just want to calm your nerves get to know the space because at the end of the day there was the hippie movement and there was the psychedelics and it was all there for a reason because you know maybe they might not have been professional at the lab posts and any sort of purity research but now, the purity research that’s coming out to back it right,
And another thing is, aromatherapy as well you know that's another type of plant intelligence which I feel like it’s so beautiful and basically like now they are finding that all of these you know like you were just mentioning that the clearing of the third eye chakra and the blockages that you feel on your sinuses - Peppermint essential has been amazing! like the moment that I applied a little bit of - and of course you need a carrier or you can just ...... I remember one time you just rubbed peppermint oil straight, without mixing it with a carrier on and you were like - oh my gosh baby my eyes are burning!
Yeah, yeah, I know! I know....... and I thought I was gonna go blind, because it literally was so crazy and so intense, and I just didn't dilute it properly. The thing is with essential oils you gotta be careful with it and make sure you're getting....
Yeah, yeah it's so important to like when you are using it topically, it's extremely important to mix it with a carrier or like coconut oil or sweet almond oil, one of those oils that can serve as a carrier but I find it that if you apply it to your temples I mean with a carrier its almost instantaneous it's like, oh my gosh! You feel this instant cooling effect -
It's like a headache relief really, I mean like, so what formula of essential oils would you say would be great for headache relief, I guess?
Yeah so, I will say, definitely Peppermint, peppermint it's the best. Therapeutic grade is very important and USDA Certified which basically means that the oil wasn't ... - the molecular structure of the oil wasn’t altered in any way, and another very important thing is - steam distilled. So that's a distillation process that ensures that the chemical structure of the essential oil maintains its integrity so it's as potent and powerful as it can possibly be , because what you can find on the market is a lot of essential oils aren't USDA Certified, aren’t therapeutic, right? And of course, you still get benefits from like all products being offered as long as like they're genuine and authentic, but the thing is like for me at least I feel like why not opt for like the best of the best