I recently had some bloodwork done.
And if you hang out with me up in Instagram stories, you know I've been sharing my results with you little-by-little. A few of the results that are considered "normal" stood out to me. Unfortunately the references ranges aren't always complete enough to lead us towards optimal health. So while overall I was very happy with my lab results (and told by the doctor that everything was great), in typical Tara fashion, I'm putting together a plan with the goal to optimize even more. (For example, while my TSH and free T4 are optimal, my T3 is a bit low. Knowing how my body and metabolism work, I am able to understand more about the root causes of why this would be).
And if this sounds familiar, it's because I felt the same way last year about my results and shared that with you as well! But these are the June 2024 results I'm now taking into consideration.
You'll have to keep watching stories for more results but in general, a few things put together paint a picture that my stress hormones seem to be dysregulated and my nervous system could use some TLC. This is something I'm pretty familiar with. I was once told by my naturopath that my cortisol levels were higher than she's ever seen in ANYone. Yikes. I was able to get that down but with a whole lotta effort. I don't know my most recent cortisol levels yet -- blood tests are almost worthless for cortisol so I didn't request it from my GP. I still plan to get another DUTCH test one of these days. But I'm not planning on waiting to make changes.
My default personality is Type A. I wake up ready to take the day and have tons of energy until it's time to crash at night. I enjoy planning for the future. Basically, I am naturally a high energy kinda person. This means that if I'm not super intentional, I'll be in need of a little nervous system re-balancing. It's been particularly stressful for some time now -- much of which I don't share as it's not always my story to share. But an outsider, if given all the information, would likely say I have very stressful life circumstances. And while the things I need to be implementing are often so amazing (fun / relaxing), I actually find it hard to make sure I keep them in. I have a list (of course I do) -- a parasympathetic-y menu of options if you will and I figured I'd share with you in case you find it helpful. I am not going to do all of the following and this isn't a To Do list where everything needs to get checked off. That would be counter-productive here! Rather, I will be refocusing on spending at least 10 minutes a day to relax my nervous system and when I'm not sure what to do, I'll pick from this list.
Important to note: if you make your own list it will likely have different things on it as we won't think the same things are interesting / relaxing.
Parasympathetic Menu of Ideas
bath and a book
mess with the guitar
listen to music / sing / hum
yoga / stretch
massage or self massage
sauna
calming breathwork
meditation / guided meditation (calm app)
read out in the sun
ashwagandha, L-theanine if / when needed
write poetry
draw or paint
nature walk
lay on acupressure mat
few extra minutes of sleep
grounding
change into comfy clothes
slide fingertips over my lips (they have special parasympathetic fibers)
visualization (typically do this nightly before falling asleep)
limit caffeine (I'm quite strict with my caffeine boundaries)
keep overnight fasts to no more than 14 hours most days
cold exposure (temporarily sympathetic but overall favors mostly parasympathetic)
enough rest days / active recovery days
be mindful that carb intake isn't too low (or too high -- both can increase stress response)
make plans with friends
It's all connected! Nervous system regulation will show up in various ways in our lab work, mental state, health and / or body goals. There's a reason we spend a whole week on stress, sleep, hormones, and longevity practices in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind! It really cannot be ignored if we care about our outcomes. And if we have a good understanding of our body and metabolism we pick up on when things need to be tweaked ... and we tweak!
Do you need to include more time out of "fight, flight, freeze or fawn" (sympathetic) and in "rest and digest, safe and social" (parasympathetic)? Maybe you can make your own version of this parasympathetic menu of options and pull from it daily alongside me. :-) If you do, I'd love to hear about it!
XO,
Tara