Identify the symptoms of a migraine

• Stabilize your blood sugar, by eating hearty food (protein and fat) more often.
• Reduce refined carbs and increase fats and proteins.
• B-complex vitamin supplements can give you an immediate boost in alertness and mental clarity.
• Soak in an Epsom salt bath - might even help you get enough energy to exercise the next day.
• Drink more water than you usually do to help compensate.
• Exercise is the single best way to “take out the trash” in your body, and after staying up more hours than you should.

• When we have coffee, it gets absorbed in our gut as well as in our bloodstream. As the chemical is soluble in water and fat both, it can easily enter the brain.
• Adenosine, a molecule present in our brain which is remarkably similar to caffeine, is responsible for a feeling of tiredness.
• Caffeine acts like a doppelganger and is able to fit in the receptors that adenosine fits, preventing any tiredness to occur for a few hours.
• The surplus adenosine now floating in the brain signals that adrenal gland to produce and secrete adrenaline, which is also a stimulant.

The chemistry of the brain changes when a person takes a regular intake of caffeine, as it grows more adenosine receptors.

Eventually, it takes more caffeine to feel the effects, and as there are now more receptors, not having a stimulant results in ‘caffeine withdrawal headache’ and other symptoms due to the original molecule connecting to the increased number of receptors in the brain.

Mistakes are really a demand for order and continuity. But the world and everything in it is constantly changing. 

It is better to continually bend into this reality rather than fight every change we experience. Fighting it can cause us to make more mistakes. 

• Mistakes point us to something we did not know
• Help us see what matters and what does not
• Inform us more about our values
• Teach us more about others
• Keep us connected to what works and what doesn’t work
• Remind us of our humanity
• Spur us to want to better work which helps us all
• Promote compassion for ourselves and others
• Help us to pace ourselves better
• Invite us to better choices
• Can suggest new options we had not considered
• Prompt us to learn more about ourselves
• Make us more humble
• Expose our true feelings
• Point us in a more creative direction
• Can hasten change
• Reveal our blind spots

1. Neurons are the nervous system cells transmitting electromagnetic signals using action potentials and neurotransmitters.
2. Glia is the non-neuronal system cell keeping the neurons healthy and working.
3. Cerebrospinal Fluid or CSF is the fluid that our brain lives in.
4. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood to an organ.
5. Veins are the blood vessels carrying blood from the organ.

Complex cycles and systems operate in the brain. The Glymphatic (or Glial Lymphatic) system, discovered recently, takes care of the brain waste much like a complex sewer system.

The system is only active when one is asleep, and it clears our brain of all neurotoxic substances that have collected during the day.

Our brain weighs just 2% of our body weight, yet consumes 20% of our energy requirements. Even when not active, it will burn roughly 400 calories every day.

The most efficient brains burn the least calories. Efficient brains can save a task quickly and then go into a kind of standby mode.

Our vestibular system is responsible for balance. A gel is located inside our ears and tells our brain if we are going right or left.

When we spin in a circle, the gel keeps moving when we stop, resulting in disorientation. When the loss of balance is severe, the brain interprets it as poisoning. That is why the loss of balance can result in nausea.

There are more than 90 types of essential oils, claiming varying health benefits. It is important to note that many of their claims are still not accepted by the scientific authorities. The ten most popular ones are:

• Peppermint: for increased energy and improved digestion.
• Lavender: to relieve stress.
• Sandalwood: helps with focus and calming of nerves.
• Bergamot: for skin and for reducing stress.
• Rose: for reducing anxiety
• Chamomile: to improve mood and inducing relaxation
• Ylang-Ylang: for treating headache, nausea and skin problems.
• Tea Tree: increasing immunity and fighting infections.
• Jasmine: helps with depression and libido.
• Lemon: for headaches and to aid digestion.

Essential Oils are widely used to treat certain health conditions and problems. Some claim that these oils can help with:

• Stress and anxiety
• Headaches and migraines
• Insomnia
• Inflammation

Essential oils also have antibiotic and antimicrobial properties, can freshen up our surroundings, have a variety of cosmetic uses, and are a safe and environmentally friendly alternative to toxic mosquito repellents.

• Sweat out your stress with a high intensity workout. Or do the opposite: completely wind down in a tai chi class.
• Spend time with someone who makes you laugh. 
• Grab some pencils and a colouring book. While you’re colouring in, you are slowing your thoughts and using your creativity.
• Dance around the house to your favourite music.
• Head outside for fresh air and a close encounter with the natural environment.
• Turning off your screens and devices can help you switch off your thinking. On the flip side, watching a funny movie or talking to someone on Facetime can help you feel better too.
• Eat a banana or a potato. These foods have potassium, which can improve your body’s energy and recovery.
• Find a repetitive activity, such as knitting, wood carving or making jewellery. The simple act of repeating a skill with your hands can relieve stress.

They are generally well regulated by the body, but there are a few diet and lifestyle changes you can make to boost your levels naturally:

• Eat lots of protein
• Eat less saturated fat
• Consume probiotics
• Exercise often
• Get enough sleep
• Listen to music
• Meditate
• Get enough sunlight

In the case of information, reading several articles and sources on the same topic can create a lot of clutter. Because it creates internal struggles and questions:

• What sort of information is important?
• This post said this is important while another post said it wasn’t important. What information is relevant here?
• What information should I internalize and apply?

... for organizing information:

• Location: put the most relevant stuff to be within reach.
• Alphabet: for organizing lists of people and statistics, dictionaries, and official documents.
• Time: used when providing step by step instructions or when things have to be in chronological order.
• Category: organize information by similarity or relatedness.
• Hierarchy: organizing information that is used collectively to compare things.

To treat someone who seemingly has depression, while isolating this from any other situation, event or circumstance that might have triggered it is a flawed way to diagnose a potential mental illness.

The root cause of the problem of depression is not addressed in this way.

Antidepressant prescription and eventually their doses have doubled over the past decade, yet depression and anxiety are spiraling out of control.

The real cause of depression does not seem to be completely inside our heads, and pill-popping is just a stop-gap measure, which may even be harmful.