This week’s content is provided by Carrie Savaia, Carenet Health Coach. Carrie is a Certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NB-HWC). This post is the fourth in a seven-part series.
We have had a great few weeks together working through 7 Practical Ways to Nourish Yourself! Thank you for staying present during these last few weeks. Last time, I covered mindfulness—what a powerful practice! You can review that post HERE.
As you continue to build your nourishing habits, remember that part of the process is patience and grace. So if you find yourself falling short in one of the areas, just pick back up and move forward!
This week’s topic is a touchy one. We are going to focus on media exposure! As you build on your nutrition, exercise and mindfulness practices, it’s also important to be present and aware of what it is you’re feeding your mind. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, with national wildfires, hurricanes, social and civil unrest, and an election year. Watching the news and social media outlets is hard to avoid. So how can we stay mindful about this part of our wellbeing?
Part 4: Limit Media Exposure … but how?
Social, political and more!
- Allow yourself a designated amount of time to catch up on current events. You can do this either in the morning, after you have had breakfast and offered your body nourishment, or later in the day. The key here is to set a timer and give yourself access to what you want to know for a short period of time. Once the timer goes off, stop!
- Utilize the features on your phone for screen time limits. It’s awesome that our devices can alert us when to turn them off. This is a great tool to use as a quick reminder that you have hit your limit. But don’t ignore it! Set boundaries with yourself and remember that it’s for your own benefit.
- Stay aware of what resources you’re using for your news. Do you seek out sources that are credible and reliable? Are you finding that certain sources create tension within you and make your heart rate rise? Stop and evaluate the impact the source is having on your body and choose to give yourself a mindful break. Using some of the tools from last week’s article can help.
- Turn off all screens at least one hour before bed. This includes your phone. The binging of Netflix won’t help you turn off your brain for restful sleep. Even if what you’re watching is uplifting, the blue light and digital imagery keeps the brain on alert. When the goal is to relax and unwind, media exposure of any kind does the opposite. Allow yourself the opportunity to rest by plugging your phone in across the room, or even in another room altogether.
During such tumultuous times, it’s important to recognize and know your limits. By implementing the above practices, you’ll be able to get the information you need without overdoing it and getting yourself pulled into a stressful situation. Scrolling through social media tends to create a negative dialogue in our minds. Watching too much news increases our stress responses. You don’t have to ignore what’s going on in the world, but you can choose what you hold on to and where you get information from. Choose wisely!
Stay tuned for Part 5 next week.