February 18, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC There’s something so inexplicably satisfying about cracking open a brand-new journal. It’s a blank canvas on which you can record your thoughts, your worries, your dreams, and so much more. But beyond simply being a place to chronicle the events of your life and everything you feel about those goings-on, journaling is a great way to nourish your mental health. I may be going out on a limb here, but I’d venture to say that you’d be hard-pressed to find a mental-health professional who wouldn’t recommend journaling as a tool for general healing, coping with depression, and reducing anxiety. Still, journaling can seem like a daunting task—especially if you’re not in the habit of writing about your feelings regularly. The good news? According to New York–based holistic psychotherapist Alison Stone, LCSW, there’s no such thing as a right or a wrong way to journal—and there’s not a specific amount you have to do it, either. “For some people, it might be daily, while for others it might be weekly,” Stone says. “Experiment with not only what gives you the most benefit, but what is realistic for you to commit to on a regular basis.” “Journaling is great for enhancing self-awareness through helping us detect and track patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings.” —Alison Stone, LCSW In other words, if you want to let your thoughts flow freely every day for an hour, great. If it feels more natural to you to express yourself
Day: February 18, 2019
New Climate Report Sheds Light On This Summer’s Weather Forecast
February 18, 2019 at 10:00AM Here’s how you can help Continue Reading… Author Caroline Muggia | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Help! Urban Outfitters’ home department is a black hole for my clutterbitch personality
February 18, 2019 at 10:00AM by CWC When I recently discovered the term “clutterbitch,” I felt the immediate flooding of relief that comes with finding a word that’s been on the tip of your tongue for, I don’t know, forever. Clutterbitch (an adjective, not a noun) manages to mean exactly what it sounds like—it’s an aesthetic consisting of an oversaturated, frenzied mess that somehow still comes together to create an inviting (cozy, even) space. Think, the overlapping part of a Venn diagram that has circles for a crowded antique store, the bedrooms from The Virgin Suicides, and the decor at the famed Madonna Inn. It’s the opposite of the less-is-more, Marie Kondo-esque vibe that’s quite literally sweeping the nation—and it’s so, so me. Sound like you, too? In that case, listen up: Right now, Urban Outfitters is a trap for our kind. I headed to the website after reading about a magical alarm clock that brews coffee while you snooze (obviously the dream because it means you can sleep in and still have coffee ready for you when you wake up—plus, it looks like the type of thing a mad scientist would own…but I digress). Alas, the caffeine clock was no longer available, but in it’s place I found a veritable rabbit hole of covetable clutterbitch tchotchkes. There’s a tiny cow-print fridge made specifically to house your skin care products, a light that looks like the moon, a Jane Birkin-worthy landline phone and a bunch of other delightful wonders that will hopefully help me in my
It’s common to get headaches after your runs—here’s why
February 18, 2019 at 08:01AM by CWC After a particularly grueling run, soreness in your legs is pretty much a given, but every once in a while when I’m pounding the pavement, my head starts pounding too, and I wind up with a headache after running. A quick Google search confirms that I’m not the only one who this happens to. But…why? While there are a number of reasons your head might start hurting while you’re logging miles, you first need to understand what’s going on at a biological level. “The blood pressure will increase as you exercise and the tension within the narrowed blood vessels and arterial walls can cause headaches,” explains Rich Velazquez, COO and Coach at Mile High Run Club. And generally, it’s NBD, aside from the fact that a headache can really kill your post-run endorphins. “Acute headaches without any other symptoms are generally okay,” he says, “However if they consistently happen or are often accompanied with nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, or even congestion, a physician should be consulted.” Here, the pros lay out why you may have a headache after running, and what you can do to prevent it, and how you can keep it from totally killing your runner’s high. The cause: low blood sugar When you run, your body burns a lot of sugar—which is why carbo-loading before a marathon is such a common practice. But if your blood sugar levels get too low, you’ll start to feel the effects in your head. “Any time the body detects low
Selenium is the secret ingredient that makes your antioxidants work better
February 18, 2019 at 07:29AM by CWC Certain things in life are just better together: chocolate and peanut butter, you and your BFF, iron and vitamin C. And another power duo that deserves major recognition is selenium and antioxidants. Woah, selenium what? While not given as much press time as magnesium or calcium, selenium is another essential trace mineral that your bod needs to be in tip-top shape. It’s found in soil, water, and foods like brazil nuts, eggs, tuna, cod, poultry, and mushrooms. While overdoing it on selenium can be dangerous (more on that later), for the most part, selenium can work wonders for the human body. Here’s everything you need to know about this super mineral. Keep reading to find out the top selenium benefits. Photo: Getty Images / Claudia Totir 1. It helps antioxidants do their job. “In humans, selenium functions as a cofactor for antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase, whose main role is to protect our tissues from oxidative damage,” says nutritionist Tamar Samuels, RDN. Basically, your body needs selenium in order to get the most benefits out of certain antioxidants that fight inflammation and free radical damage in your body. 2. It’s important for a healthy immune system. The mineral also helps facilitate cell growth, says Samuels, and is an important part of immune system health. “Selenium is also needed for the proper functioning of neutrophils, macrophages, NK cells, T lymphocytes, and other immune mechanisms.” All of these parts play an important role in protecting your body
What this acupuncturist wants you to know before going all-in with medicinal herbs and mushrooms
February 18, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC There’s this place in LA where you can literally drink the extract of a mountain ant, which has adaptogenic properties and can give you an energy boost. I know this, because I did a shot of mountain ant in the name of wellness. (And so I could post about it on Instagram. I am a monster. Let’s move on.) It didn’t actually taste bad, there was just kind of an ick factor. It made me feel a little tingly, like I’d just taken a scoop of pre-workout. TBH, I wasn’t really expecting it to do much. That’s one of the weird things about medicinal herbs and mushrooms (and, well, ant extracts): Because they’re not prescribed by a traditional doctor, it can feel like they’re safe and totally fine to take however we want. We treat them as a way to cure or help with ailments, but aren’t concerned about the side effects because they are “natural.” It’s a strange dichotomy. The natural wellness market has boomed in the last 20 years. My local coffee shop has even started selling medicinal mushroom elixirs. But before you go playing doctor and dabbling with these natural herbs and potions, there are a few things you should know. I enlisted the help of Elizabeth Trattner, A.P., L.Ac., Dipl. Ac., NCCAOM, a doctor of Chinese and integrative medicine. Consider this your primer on what to know before adding medicinal herbs and mushrooms into your wellness routine. “Natural” is still
ASMR helps me sleep like a baby, and I don’t care if you think that’s weird
February 18, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC When I learned that the National Sleep Foundation credited ASMR videos as an effective method for dozing off, I felt annoyed. Why? Because it’s such an obvious truth that I could have detailed for the folks over there ages ago. I’ve used ASMR for sleep, and it works. Flawlessly even. But when it comes to my sleep hack go-tos (namely the 4-7-8 technique and lavender lotion), ASMR is the trickiest to talk about. It’s really hard to keep a captive audience after the utterance of “brain orgasm.” But, here goes nothing: ASMR stands for “autonomous meridian sensory response,” which is fancy speak for “a phenomenon that produces tingles.” Said tingles are a static-y sensation that sort of moves from the scalp to the neck and spine. ASMR videos involve individuals trying to, at least in part, trigger these tingles with a series of sounds and soothing visual stimuli. This could include anything from hair-brushing and tapping on a microphone to scratching a voodoo doll (yep). Suffice it to say that even though ASMR’s gone mainstream—even Cardi B does it, kids!—many people instantly assume it’s a sexual thing when I talk about it (maybe I should stop saying “brain orgasm?”). Alas, it couldn’t be further; the story of how I started using ASMR for sleep is simply personal and pure. My meet-cute story with ASMR for sleep Years ago, I stumbled upon YouTuber AlbinWonderland, a sugar-floss-haired delight who makes me feel like I’m in episode of Sailor Moon.
Doubt may well be a relationship downer—but it doesn’t have to be a ruiner
February 18, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC We’ve all been there at one point or another—totally happy with a significant other when even just the hint of uncertainty clouds up all the sunniness that previously existed in the relationship. In fact, it’s too often the case that a new relationship is going along bump-free for a few months, or even longer, only to be disrupted by doubt. Sometimes it’s overwhelming doubt. And an unanswered text or a seemingly harmless comment from your partner can hold the power to send us into an overwhelming spiral of it. If you’ve ever experienced this but emerged from the doubt roller coaster with your relationship in tact, you likely know that for the most part, the whole thing lives in your head: The problem of origin, the doubt itself, the power to overcome it. Still, those spirals can really put a damper on a relationship that’s going well otherwise, which isn’t fun for anyone. Luckily there are ways to identify it and stop it in its tracks. Need to know how to overcome doubt in a relationship? First, look at why it happens in the first place. 1. Fear Ah, fear. Although it can serve us well every once in a while—like by pushing us to reach our healthy fitness goals—for the most part, it simply stops us from living our lives to the fullest. And this is definitely true when it comes to relationships: “There’s so much fear surrounding relationships,” says relationship expert
BRB, I need these chic French sneakers that are made from corn (yes, corn)
February 18, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC I used to be aesthetically opposed to sneakers, which is weird because I had absolutely no qualms about wearing sequined Uggs. Thankfully, my tastes have evolved. At this point, it’s incredibly likely that I’m wearing sneakers on any given day. They’re comfortable, functional, and add a certain I’m-super-chill vibe to virtually any outfit. (Spoiler alert: I’m not, but I like to give the appearance that I am.) And while I love a chunky dad sneaker as much as the next person, I’ve been enamored with the sleek lines of French sneaker brand Veja ever since I saw Emma Watson wearing a pair a couple of years ago. (Also, Meghan Markle was seen wearing the brand. Hashtag need.) Now, the sustainable shoe company’s done the seemingly impossible: Made corn—a vegetable most known for getting stuck in your teeth—into a sleek, stylish sneaker. (That A-plus alliteration was deliberate.) So how did corn—again, a generally messy vegetable that our bodies can’t even properly digest—become such a chic shoe? I mean, look at these. Would you ever think corn? No. But corn, as it turns out, is a really durable and sustainable material for manufacturing shoes. “Campo is made from a canvas waxed with 50 percent corn waste from the food industry—the husks that humans do not eat—mixed with polyurethane,” explains Veja’s co-founder Sébastien Kopp, who started the brand with François Morillion. Polyurethane (or PU), in case you were wondering, is a leather alternative. Photo: Veja Together,
Getting your daily dose of collagen is as easy as sipping your H2O
February 18, 2019 at 03:30AM by CWC Sipping on collagen has long seemed like the easiest ever way to get glowing skin, shiny hair, and a happy gut (I mean, all you really have to do is drink it), and thanks to Vital Proteins latest launch, it’s about to get even easier. The brand, who is known for their celeb-favorite collagen supplement, recently revealed that they would be launching a line of collagen waters this spring. Unlike their powder, which you need to scoop into a drink of your choice, the new drinks come ready-made, so you can throw them in your bag and get your glow on wherever you go. They come in five flavors—Original, Strawberry Lemon, Blueberry Mint, Lemon Ginger, and Blackberry Hibiscus— and include 10g of Collagen, and less than 3g of sugar made from real fruit. There’s no added sugar, artificial flavors, sweeteners, or additives, so you know you’re really getting something good every time you sip. Really, the only difference between the new waters and the powder we all know and love is the convenience factor. “Both products offer the exact same benefits: hair, skin, nail, bone and joint support. Also, gut health!” says Jenn Randazzo, MS, RD, CLT and Senior National Training Manager at Vital Proteins. “While powders can be great options at home or in the office, our line of Collagen Waters offers more of that grab-and-go convenience you can enjoy on the fly.” The waters are meant to be enjoyed by anyone looking to up their