Rhodiola herb could help as you face stress
RHODIOLA (Arctic Root) has more than proven its worth in helping us cope with stress since it came to the fore more than 20 years ago.
When I first wrote about Rhodiola, I referred to it as ‘a modern day herb’, useful for helping us cope with life in the 21st Century. We are now living in very stressful times and Rhodiola has never been more relevant.
When we live continually stressful lives, we upset the bodily chemicals and hormones within that control our sense of purpose and feeling of wellbeing.
Our adrenal glands help us cope with stress and they are designed to help us deal with both long-term and sudden stress.
In an emergency, when we are exposed to threat, danger or harm, our adrenals release hormones that trigger the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that enables us to respond.
Our heart rate increases, breathing gets faster, we perspire more, and blood flow to the heart and large skeletal organs increases to prepare us for fight or flight.
The blood flow to non-urgent body functions such as digestion is temporarily decreased.
Unfortunately, these days, many people feel as if they are living their lives under constant threat.
The adrenals respond to this by maintaining a state of alert and emergency within our body. Our heart rate and breathing increase, we are unable to relax, and our blood flow is diverted away from digestion, and this important function may become weakened or impaired.
We continue to try to work and live as normal while our body exists in a continuous state of alert.
Tension, anxiety, and worry are the outcome of all this. The adrenals are overworking and they are no longer able to balance stress effectively.
Our sleep becomes affected and exhaustion sets in. Serotonin is the hormone within our brain that dictates our outlook and sense of happiness. Exhausted adrenals negatively impact on serotonin levels which leads to negative thinking, increased unhappiness, and a depressed state of mind.
Living life stressfully negatively affects both our mental and physical wellbeing. We are inevitably on the road to burnout if stress is allowed to continue unchecked.
Adaptogenic herbs have long been used to help with both our response to and recovery from stress. Rhodiola is one such adaptogenic herb and acts mainly on the adrenal glands, helping to rebalance their hormonal response to ongoing stress.
Rhodiola also exerts a positive effect on serotonin levels in the brain, so it also helps provide us with a brighter and happier outlook.
The herb has undergone much research and has been demonstrated to be useful in boosting physical energy, improving mental alertness, concentration, memory, regulating sleep patterns, alleviating depression and anxiety, and calming many of the physical symptoms of stress.
Rhodiola is helpful too for people beyond those living with stress. Students and those studying long hours for exams find it useful for concentration and memory, athletes and those pushing their body through endurance events find it useful for stamina and energy.
Women often find it useful for helping with menopausal anxiety and depression.
The herb often comes combined with Ashwagandha in supplement form – this is also an adaptogenic herb, which hails from ayurvedic medicine.
It helps our body to cope with stress in much the same way as Rhodiola. The difference between the two herbs is that while Rhodiola exerts a more stimulating and energising effect, Ashwagandha tends to be more relaxing and calming.
Taken together, the two herbs can work in synergy to provide a more focused, calm and stabilised energy throughout the day.
Note that Rhodiola should not be taken by pregnant or nursing women, and cannot be taken alongside antidepressant medication, and Ashwagandha should not be taken by those with auto-immune conditions, or those taking immune-suppressing medication.
COME and see the glorious sights of the night sky at one of the darkest sky sites in Northern Ireland.
Join well-known amateur astronomer Terry Moseley, of the Irish Astronomical Association, on a ‘Dark Sky Safari’ in the pristine dark skies of Lough Navar Forest.
Well away from any artificial light pollution, see and learn about the best-known constellations, such as Orion The Mighty Hunter, Taurus The Bull, Gemini The Twins, and Ursa Major The Great Bear, containing the well-known Plough, and how to find the North Star.
See our own galaxy, the glorious Milky Way, and some of its most fascinating highlights, such as the beautiful star cluster, the Pleiades or Seven Sisters; the Orion Nebula, where stars and planets are being born as we watch; and the red supergiant Betelgeuse, which is bigger that the orbit of Earth around the sun, and which will one day end its life in a stupendous supernova explosion, and beautiful double stars.
Looking beyond the realms of The Milky Way, spot the giant Andromeda Galaxy, containing about 300,000,000,000 stars, and which is 2.5 million light years away – the most distant thing you can see with just your own eyes.
Bring binoculars if you have some, or borrow a pair, although some pairs will also be provided for use. A telescope will also be to hand – if conditions are suitable – but the main theme of the event will be to learn and enjoy what you can see with just your own eyes.
An organiser of the event said: “We want to avoid artificial light as much as possible, so please, no white light torches or headlamps, particularly not LED ones! But do bring a red torch, such as for a bicycle rear light, to see your way around; red light is okay, it doesn’t affect your night vision.
“Please arrive on time; if you come late, your car headlights will ruin the view for everyone for the next 20 minutes.”
The Dark Skies event is suitable for all but children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Sturdy footwear and warm, waterproof clothing is necessary. The event begins at Agahmeelan viewpoint car park, Lough Navar, Enniskillen.
Booking is essential for this event; see www. cuilcaghlakelands.org for more details.
All are invited to come along and enjoy a night of live music and dancing at the Royal British Legion hall in Enniskillen this Saturday night, October 29.
The dance will start at 9.30pm and will run until midnight.
Music on the night will be by wellknown singer and musician, Robert Brown, who hails from Rockcorry, in County Monaghan.
He was permanently part of Big Tom and The Mainliners for two years, and then for another 15 years on a parttime basis.
He has played backing music for Mary Duff and is very well known in the field of Country music.
This promises to be a great night, with waltzing, quick step, foxtrot and line dancing.
There will be a dance the following Saturday, November 5, with music by Glenside Country, and Marty and Carmel, another popular local band, hailing from Derrygonnelly.