Guest post by licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitator Ane Axford
For most of my life I didn’t know the difference between being exhausted and being sleepy or tired. It seemed like I only slept when I crashed from exhaustion. I didn’t know that I could just feel sleepy when my body was ready to rest until many years later when I learned what I am about to tell you. And it got WAY worse before it got better when I became an entrepreneur.
Many entrepreneurs may have a more highly sensitive nervous system that picks up on things at a deeper level. If you have your own creative, small business that may mean that you wear many hats and you may like it that way. You may like the creative freedom and control to use what your sensitive body is picking up on. HOWEVER, you may also be burning yourself out because there is always more you can do.
Our nervous systems work with our hormones and our blood sugar to create our energy state. Really, our whole body is connected to how we generate energy. But, specifically, part of our endocrine system called our adrenal glands have a lot to do with how these sensitive nervous systems work with energy in our bodies.
When we are over-stimulated, we can begin to use adrenaline and cortisol to help us get through it. If you are chronically over-stimulated, you chronically run on these hormones and that can have an effect on your whole system. Adrenaline’s only speed is “go”…until you can’t go anymore. This is why I didn’t know the difference between being sleepy and being exhausted. Many small business owners complain of being “tired but wired”. This can be a state of adrenal fatigue.
Some recommendations ::
1. Find me on facebook (Ane Axford) to join the Fall :: In Love With Being Alive challenge that will take you through some not-so-common health strategies.
2. Check out a supplement with adaptogens in it, such as Adrenal Optimizer from Jarrow Formulas. You can find that on Amazon.com
3. Eat within 90 minutes of waking to get your blood sugar going and then make sure to maintain it throughout the day with a slow carb diet that has plenty of protein and lightly cooked greens. Limit the fast carbs, like processed sugar, wheat, and dairy. Especially limit caffeine and other stimulants close to bedtime. That includes TV, computers,and other things with a screen like your smart phone.
4. Take a bath with Epsom salt, baking soda, and essential oils in the evening to calm you, soothe you, detox you and prepare you to rest.
After making a few subtle shifts, you will be able to start operating on a cycle of natural rest and productivity. You will stay connected to your natural states and operating within them optimally instead of forcing anything. Rather than using yourself up like a battery, you will become your own source of power.
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Ane Axford is a licensed psychotherapist, clinical hypnotist, and highly sensitive CEO of sensitive + thriving, Inc. She utilizes holistic lifestyle services to serve those who have the genetic trait of high sensitivity in thriving wherever they may be, from struggling to leading with sensitivity. Ane is of our licensed Right-Brain Business Plan® Facilitators.
