Blue light from technology screens like smart phones is known to interfere with sleep. Suppression of melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone, is the reason. It helps us fall asleep and makes sleep restorative. Researchers recently demonstrated that blue light also interferes with your body's ability to naturally reduce its temperature at night, which also enhances restorative sleep. During the night, this temperature drop hits its low at about 4 a.m. As body temperature returns to normal, you…

Workaholism is not an officially recognized disease process, but those who work too much are more prone to depression and anxiety disorders, and these are real, treatable illnesses. Examining your work pattern can motivate you to find more balance. You can then discover whether the changes you want are too difficult to maintain. This can help you decide the next step - seeking counseling or support from an EAP or counseling resource. Start with a screening tool called the Bergen Work Addiction…

Mental hygiene is the practice of using techniques, strategies, and good thinking habits to help prevent harm to mental health and maximize a positive outlook for your life. Mental hygiene is more than practicing positive thinking, just like oral hygiene is more than brushing your teeth. Person problems that linger despite attempts to resolve them are an opportunity to use professional counselors or helpful resource to examine goals, relationship stress, self-talk patterns, diet, sleep, and…

"Worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace," wrote composer Randy Armstrong. Worrying is part of our survival makeup; when we worry, we consider threats and how to respond to them. However, when worry chronically interferes with happiness, then it's time for an intervention. Don't accept worry as a disability, and don't be frustrated when you fail to block out what's worrisome. This suppression causes worry to linger in the background, making you feel…

Summer is a time when people move away, change jobs, change careers, switch schools, and leave old friends. Moving can be surprisingly stressful. If you're moving, follow a few tips: 1) Do nothing until you make a to-do list, and then allocate the work over a period of weeks until the move. 2) Don't just start packing. Get rid of all the junk and clutter first. 3) Plan a few local trips to favorite places to recall memories and have social get-togethers with old friends to experience closure.…

Start a stress garden and grow your own anti-stress foods in season! Many foods can help you manage stress because of the nutrients they contain. One of these "anti-stress" nutrients is magnesium. Foods high in magnesium include spinach, beets (especially the stems), blackberries, and raspberries. 

Magnesium plays a role in relaxing muscles, works in concert with other metabolizing functions of the body that contribute to reduced stress. It also aids sleep and helps reduces anxiety. Discover…

Knowledge of the physical responses to stress can help you intervene sooner. They include headaches, sleep disturbances, cuts that do not heal well, eyelid twitching, fatigue, catching colds easily, craving sweets, diarrhea constipation, abdominal cramps, panic feelings and undefined fears, sudden feelings of sadness, forgetfulness, and weight gain. Cortisol - the natural stress response/fat storage hormone - is the culprit in chronic stress. It is emitted by adrenal glands that sit atop your…

More than 40 million North Americans suffer from chronic forms of nervousness that interfere with their life. These are anxiety disorders, which are highly treatable forms of mental illness that can benefit from counseling, support, medication, or alternative therapies. If anxiety is interfering with your life or bothersome in ways that interfere with your relationships, your job, and your happiness, don't be a prisoner to the disabling condition. Anxiety can't be seen like a rash or a mole,…

Hundreds of apps for wellness, losing weight, mental health, and recovery from addictive disease have arrived on the market over the past several years. Apps run on smartphones and other mobile devices. Many are free or very inexpensive. Recovery apps provide convenient and practical tools to help those recovering from alcoholism track sober time, manage triggers and emotions, find and share 12-step meetings, contact your sponsor discretely, receive daily inspirations, and more. A visit to…