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Today’s Health Upgrade
Feeling overwhelmed? This can help your brain recharge
Can you trick your brain into wanting vegetables?
Don’t let coffee ruin your rest
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Feeling Overwhelmed? This Can Help Your Brain Recharge
If you ever are under-slept or feel like your brain is empty, you might want to slip an extra ingredient into your daily smoothie.
Research suggests that creatine can help your brain stay sharper during high stress.
Creatine has decades of research backing its effectiveness in helping increase strength and muscle when combined with resistance training, but the last two decades suggest it does so much more.
Your body naturally produces creatine in both your body and brain. But when you’re metabolically stressed — such as when you’re sleep-deprived — it can drain the creatine in your brain, affecting your mental performance. A little extra creatine is like refueling the energy to your brain cells when it needs it most.
That’s why studies suggest that using creatine can help with your cognition and memory and even fight against symptoms of depression when feeling mentally burnt out.
Our go-to creatine is Momentous because they invest in rigorously testing and independently certifying their products. When it comes to quality control, they leave nothing to chance to ensure that what’s on the label is what’s in the product that arrives at your door, which is badly missing in most supplement companies.
If you want to try Momentous Creatine, use PUMPCLUB at checkout. As a member of the positive corner of the internet, you receive 20% OFF each order.
The potential brain benefits of creatine are not limited to just one study. In the last 12 years, nearly 33,000 studies have focused on the relationship between creatine and the brain. And — assuming you have no pre-existing conditions (such as renal complications) — it’s completely safe and healthy for your body.
While most research shows that 3 to 5 grams of creatine per day helps your muscles, it appears that more is needed to benefit your brain. Research suggests that 10 grams of creatine might be the sweet spot for cognitive benefits. You can take in one serving, or you might want to take once in the morning and again at night.
How to Trick Your Brain In Wanting Vegetables
If you struggle to improve your diet, not trying to fix your nutrition could be the key to finally embracing the foods you don’t enjoy but want to eat more of.
Research suggests that consistent exercise could help make eating more fruits and vegetables easier.
A common mistake in building new habits is trying to do too many things simultaneously. So, if you’re trying to build a workout habit and eat better, doing two things might not be better than one. And the research found that there could be an order of operations to embrace healthier options.
A psychological phenomenon known as the “transfer effect” shows that improving in one area of your life can lead to improvements in another. In the study, people who committed to a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise at least four times per week started eating more fruits and vegetables than those who didn’t start by building an exercise habit.
That’s why we frequently suggest a step-by-step approach to new habits. Everyone wants to change everything at once, so you see initial success and fall hard. Instead, we believe you can’t screw up if you build tools that give you more flexibility, freedom, and help you build habits that last. Start with exercise, and focus on that for four weeks, even if it’s just daily walks. Then, use that success to transfer to a higher likelihood of wanting to eat the healthier foods you might not typically enjoy as much.
Don’t Let Coffee Ruin Your Rest
We’re big fans of coffee, but that doesn’t mean we ignore the potential downsides. Many concerns about coffee consumption tend to be overstated, but here’s one that’s worth your attention:
Coffee drinkers appear to sleep less than non-coffee drinkers, according to recent research. The study found that sleep decreased by about 40 minutes on days people consume coffee compared to days without, resulting in about 6.5 hours of sleep per night. That extra sleep cycle could improve overall health, immune support, and recovery.
But the issue isn’t necessarily the caffeine — it’s your timing. Even though your buzz might feel like it wears off, caffeine stays in your system longer than it appears.
If you want to still enjoy your coffee without harming your sleep, make it a morning and early afternoon habit. Cutting off caffeine about 9 to 10 hours before you go to bed should allow it to leave your system, meaning you’ll get your boost and a better night of rest. The combination will make you less reliant on caffeine by improving the quality of your rest while still enjoying all the benefits of your daily habit.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
