Brain Food, Books & Creating Cozy Reading Nooks

March brings several observances important to caregiver wellness and well home design: National Nutrition Month, National Reading Month, National Colortherapy Month and National Unplug Day (March 4). There are also several other events including National Sleep Awareness Week and the First Day of Spring (March 21) which we will talk about in our next episode.

Sticking to our above themes for this episode, we have an exciting guest, Bonnie J. Kaplan, PhD, is the Professor Emerita in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and a global expert on the contribution of nutrition to mental health. Her book, co-authored with Julia Rucklidge, “The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition” explains how our nutrition impacts our brain function and how mental and emotional health issues can be helped with a personalized nutrition and micronutrients plan. Bonnie shares her insights about how our daily diets are critical to helping manage the stress, burnout, anxiety, depression and other mental and emotional health issues caregivers and their loved ones experience.

Caregiver Wellness News

March is National Nutrition Month where Sherri shares two resources, BrainGuide and the 30-Day Be Brain Powerful Challenge, that relate to brain health and nutrition. These tools address the evidence-based research from the Lancet Commission on modifiable lifestyle factors that may lower risk – up to 40% – for later life Alzheimer’s disease..

Sherri also focuses on March as National Reading Month. She reports on several research studies that show how reading books can improve your health, including building empathy, lowering blood pressure, improving cognitive function – all relating to the gerontology theory of “use it or lose it.”

Wellness Home Design News

Continuing with our book theme, Sherri recommends that caregivers find a few minutes on March 4 “National Unplug Day” to practice hygge and curl up with a favorite book. To help with this effort, Caregiving Club updates its Booklovers List for reading recommendations for caregivers. When it comes to design, Sherri shares her tips on how to create a cozy reading nook at home as part of the trend in sanctuary spaces that affect caregiver wellness.

Me Time Monday Wellness Hack

Sherri ends each podcast episode with a special wellness hack from her upcoming book, Me Time Monday – The Weekly Wellness Edit for a Wonderful Life. In this episode we continue our 2022 theme of “Live Colorfully” with a focus on nutrition and how to eat colorfully: how to eat the rainbow, how to adopt a Mediterranean-style diet, how to use the Sunshine Diet and how to eat like the French – c’est magnifique!

RESOURCE LINKS

Bonnie J. Kaplan, PhD, (bonniejkaplan.com)

“The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition”

30-Day Be Brain Powerful Challenge

BrainGuide (mybrainguide.org)

Sherri’s articles related to this episode

2022 – The Year of Living Colorfully

Me Time Monday Part 1 – The Year of Living Colorfully

Me Time Monday Part 2 – The Power of 7

Cozy Reading Nooks for National Unplug Day

Caregiving Club’s Booklovers List for Caregivers