Discover Flourishing

  Article At A Glance: ·        Mitochondria are the powerhouses charging every cell in our body. ·        The first thing we can do to optimize our biology is to eliminate things that damage mitochondria. ·        We can strengthen our mitochondria through diet, exercise, light exposure, and sleep.   Mitochondria are the powerhouses charging every cell in our body.   In fact, the average human cell has between 1000 and 2000 mitochondria.   That means our bodies are stuffed with a quadrillion of these power packs.   Within these powerhouses, intense explosions occur enabling the nutrients we consume (i.e., fat, protein, carbohydrates) to be converted into units of energy called adenosine triphosphate or ATP.   Yeah, that is right, we are going back to high school biology.   But if you were like me, and did not pay enough attention in class, do not worry,...

In this article I am going to dive into a topic we do not hear much about yet holds the key to our well-being and optimal performance.   The topic is our Autonomic Nervous System or ANS, central to our stress response system on one hand and our ability to fully engage in life on the other.   Article At A Glance: The Autonomic Nervous System or ANS works around the clock to support our survival and engagement in life. There are two branches of our ANS.  One detects "threats" and activates our "fight or flight" response and the other supports a calm state of social engagement and optimal performance. Heart Rate Variability or HRV is a biomarker of ANS functioning that we can easily measure and train to decrease stress, improve mental clarity, and optimize performance.   The Autonomic Nervous System or ANS: Simply put, the Autonomic Nervous System or ANS is a part of our nervous system responsible for carrying out bodily functions that do not require consciou...