My Journey to a Healthier lifestyle

My Journey to a Healthier lifestyle Take Control of Your Immune Health. “Life After 50”
Your immune system is a miraculous gift. It

06/04/2025

What’s Going On in Your Gut ⚕️

Find out why your digestive system is well worth taking care of.

On the surface, your digestive system or “gut” may seem straightforward and even a little boring. Food enters your mouth, travels through your esophagus, stomach, intestines, and then exits from your re**um. Along the way, it’s broken down into nutrients that your body can use.

In reality, your gut is much more than a food processor. Researchers continue to discover new digestive functions and unexpected connections to the rest of your body.

Some amazing things your gut can do:

Communicate with multiple areas of your brain
Collaborate with beneficial bacteria
Fend off harmful bacteria
Strengthen barriers that guard against infection
Regulate immunity to prevent food allergies
Slow down or speed up digestion in response to stress
Recent research also suggests that the bacteria in your gut (aka your “microbiome”) may directly influence neurochemical changes in the brain that drive mood and behavior. “Gut feelings” may play a bigger role in decision-making than ever imagined.

This week, we’ll highlight some helpful facts about how your gut works and explain why scientists are beginning to refer to it as a second brain.

05/23/2025

“Sleep and Anxiety”

Stress keeping you up at night? Here’s what can help.
You don’t need to be an expert on sleep to recognize how much better you feel when you get enough shut-eye: more energized, less irritable, and actually able to focus on the day in front of you. And yet, whether you call it “busy brain” or stress anxiety has likely robbed you of rest before. In this lesson, we’ll talk about the steps you can take to keep stress out of your sleep equation.

Eyes Wide Open

Your body and brain are hardwired to sleep. Both depend on regular, lengthy periods of deep rest to stay healthy. Stress derails that process two different ways.

You’re stressed, so you can’t sleep. When you’re wracked with worry about something specific (like a fight with your partner) or because you tend to take on waaaay too much during your day, your body churns out cortisol, a.k.a., the “stress hormone.” Since you’ve got a lot on your mind, this chemical is meant to help you stay on high alert ... but that’s the opposite of what your body needs in order to sleep.

You can’t sleep, so you become more stressed. Toss and turn one night, and you’re not imagining things: You really are more anxious the following day. Your body depends on sleep to regulate your mood, but your mood also helps you sleep better, so you can find yourself in a maddening cycle that looks like this:

Poor sleep → More anxiety the following day → More anxiety makes you more awake → You can’t sleep — again

05/16/2025

How important is your Sleep & Energy 💤💪

To Nap, or Not to Nap?
A quick snooze is so much more than a guilty pleasure.
Naps are sometimes viewed as a luxury our busy schedules can’t afford. Should we really lie down and close our eyes while the rest of the world continues to hum along?

We’ve got good news for your potentially exhausted self. A daytime snooze — under the right circumstances — really can benefit both your physical and mental health.

The Power of Naps

In scientific studies, naps have been shown to:

Improve mood
Reduce stress
Increase alertness
Boost memory
Help people work faster and more efficiently
Reduce accidents and mistakes
Bolster the immune system
Reverse some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation
If you need more convincing, consider this: NASA researchers found that when sleepy military pilots took a 40-minute nap, their performance improved by 34%, and their alertness increased by a whopping 100%

03/25/2025

The Great Snack Debate🥨🍿🍟🫒🥜🍓🍑🍒🍎🍇…To snack or not to snack? Here’s how to decide. I do not own the write to this topic.

Snacks have a bad reputation as sources of excess calories, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, regular snacks may be a key way for you to manage hunger and get extra nutrition. Research shows that people who snack on fruit and nuts tend to have a higher-quality diet, and that snacking on veggies is associated with a lower body mass index (BMI).

Figuring out if your current snacking habits are working for you depends on when you’re snacking, which snack foods you’re choosing, and how your snacks impact your appetite at mealtimes.

You may want to add a snack if...

You’re overly hungry at mealtimes
You could benefit from added nutrition (e.g. more fiber from veggies and fruit or more calcium from dairy) but it’s challenging to fit it into your meals
You may want to eliminate a snack if...

You’re not hungry at mealtimes
You eat to distract yourself (from stress, boredom, or other uncomfortable emotions)
You eat because you’re tired or low on energy
You may want to change up your snack choices if…

You still feel hungry after snacking
You snack on "trouble foods” that are easy to overeat

This week, we’ll help you evaluate your snacking habits so you can decide what, if anything, you want to change. Plus, we’ll serve up some fresh snack options in case your current standbys are getting stale.

02/06/2025

Happy TBT! Healthy Tips!
I do not own the write to this topic.

Productive stress relievers (typically support well-being):

Listen to music
Walk/exercise
Spend time with friends/family
Read
Nap
Do a hobby
Pray
Play sports
Meditate/do yoga
See a mental health professional

If you usually eat comfort foods or drink alcohol when you’re stressed, you might plan to read, walk, do a hobby, or spend time with friends instead.

02/05/2025

Happy Wednesday ! Healthy Tips!
Stress & Your Health ⚕️
I do not own the write to this topic.

Ongoing stress takes a toll on your body and mind 😩

Stress is your built-in alarm system. In response to a threat, your body releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that crank up your heart rate and blood pressure, sending extra oxygen and glucose to your brain and muscles. Hyper-alert and ready for action, you’ve entered the state known as “fight or flight.”

Chronic stress can make you sick. Research has found that chronic stress leads to excess inflammation that weakens immune response, slows healing, and can worsen the symptoms of existing health conditions.

Symptoms:

Irritability or anger
Fatigue
Lack of motivation
Feeling nervous or anxious
Headaches
Feeling tearful
Muscle tension in neck, face, or shoulders
Jaw clenching and/or teeth grinding
Appetite changes
Reduced s*x drive
Persistent trouble sleeping
Upset stomach, diarrhea, or acid reflux

02/04/2025

Happy Tuesday! Healthy Tips on Stress! Just Breathe 🧘‍♀️⚕️

As you breathe in, imagine that the air brings calm and relaxing energy into your body. As you breathe out, imagine that you’re exhaling tension and anxiety.

First, take a few normal breaths to observe how that feels.
Next, inhale deeply through your nose, drawing air down into your abdomen.
As you inhale, keep your chest still, and let your lower belly fully expand. (Try putting one hand on your abdomen, just below your navel — you should feel your hand rise about an inch.)
Exhale slowly through your mouth or nose. (If your hand is on your belly, you should feel your abdomen fall by about an inch.)

Repeat several times.

02/03/2025

Happy Monday & Welcome February! Healthy Tips!!!
How do you Handle Stress 😩⚕️

When more than a thousand people were asked a similar question as part of a national survey by the American Psychological Association, they named 20 different stress-busting strategies. Some are healthier and more productive than others.

Check Out a Few Productive stress relievers 😊

Listen to music
Walk/exercise
Spend time with friends/family
Read
Nap
Do a hobby
Pray
Play sports
Meditate/do yoga
See a mental health professional.

Healthy Tips! Sleep Better Feel Better 💤⚕️🩺
01/30/2025

Healthy Tips! Sleep Better Feel Better 💤⚕️🩺

01/27/2025

Happy Monday! Healthy Tips! How is your Sleep!!!💤

To facilitate sleep, your bedroom should be like a cave — dark, cool, and quiet.

Get a good set of earplugs or use a white noise machine, fan, air-purifier, or soft, instrumental music to drown out noise or other sounds.

To allow your body temperature to drop at night (a natural sleep precursor), keep the thermostat at a comfortable temperature, and wear light, breathable pajamas.

Read up on the factors that may be impacting you and what you can do about them, starting tonight.

Regular exercise.

If you’re struggling from lack of sleep, you’re in a big club. According to the latest national data from the CDC, on average, 35% of Americans sleep less than 7 hours per night. That means more than 1 out of 3 people are chronically sleep-deficient.

01/25/2025

Happy Friday! More Healthy Tips! How is your Sleep!!!😴

Common Sleep Disruptors
Not sure why you can’t fall or stay asleep? Here are Some likely causes:

Caring for small children.

Chronic pain or discomfort.

A job that requires you to work at
night.

Using digital devices before bed

Drinking alcohol at bed time.

Eating foods that trigger acid
reflux.

Consuming caffeine late in the day

Taking certain medications

Smoking before bed

A bright, noisy, or overly warm
bedroom.

A National Sleep Foundation poll of 1,000 people found that those who engage in any level of activity during the day reported sleeping better than those who didn't exercise at all. Further research shows that exercise helps people fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

01/18/2025

Happy Saturday! Healthy Tips : Continuing on the Topic On How Well You Sleep!

If you are Sleeping fewer than 7 hours a night for even a couple of days will impair your functioning. Not getting enough sleep for weeks, months, or even years? That takes a serious toll.

Individuals who regularly sleep fewer than 7 hours a night are more likely to report having:

Diabetes
Heart attack
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Asthma
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Cancer
Arthritis
Depression
Chronic kidney disease
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