Two Things You Can Try on an "Everyone is an Idiot" Day

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

I’m not alone in having those days, right? The kind of days when your tolerance for anything is unbelievably low and suddenly it feels as if everyone in your vicinity has somehow simultaneously lost 30 IQ points?

The reality is your coworkers and family did not suddenly get dumber. And, I hate to break it to you, but you didn’t suddenly get any smarter. What you probably actually got is more stressed.

Stress uses up vital minerals in our bodies and, in very simplified terms, the loss of those minerals can make us feel agitated and impatient. So, here’s a one-two punch that can help a lot:

1. Reduce the stress response by, you guessed it, going for a walk. I know you’re just floored to hear me recommend walking ;)  but one of it’s many benefits is lowering cortisol and reducing stress. The best benefit comes from a walk outside, but if that’s not an option, walking inside works too.
2. Replace the minerals your body is using up! A great way to do that is an adrenal cocktail. You might have heard of these from influencers and coaches in the online health space. There’s nothing magical here – they’re just drinks that are designed to contain a helpful balance of vital minerals for your body like sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

To help out with step two, here are a couple of my favorite adrenal cocktail recipes!

The Creamsicle Cocktail

• 6 oz. orange juice
• 1/4 cup of whole milk or 2 Tbsp. cream
• 2 Tbsp. Collagen Powder (my pick is Perfect Supplements or Great Lakes)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon Pink Himalayan Sea Salt or other mineral rich sea salt (I prefer Redmond's Real Salt)
  

I love this recipe because in addition to having a good balance of minerals, it's tasty, AND has a good balance of macros (protein, fat, and carbs) for stable blood sugar!

Tropical Cocktail

• ½ cup orange juice
  
• 1 cup coconut water
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt
  

I like this one because it keeps things simple. It's nice and refreshing; a bit lighter option than the creamsicle. I use Costco's Kirkland brand organic coconut water to keep it affordable - about $1 a bottle when you buy the box. If you want to fancy it up a bit, you can add some plain sparkling water too. :) Just keep in mind that this one is basically straight carbs so consider having a snack the includes some protein along with it.