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All Careers Health and Wellness

11 Nutrients That Keep Your Brain Sharp At Work

11 Nutrients That Keep Your Brain Sharp At Work

Scrolling on social media and scanning the web for health and wellness tidbits is enlightening. In the advent of the internet, we are offered a wide variety of advice on how to eat, live and practice healthy lifestyles. We see both traditional and new-age ways of keeping yourself healthy and fit; so much so that we can be immensely overcome with knowledge. 

This experience is akin to a chef that has mastered one cuisine for the entirety of their life, only to find out that they need to master a new cuisine yet again, only with ingredients that are foreign to them. We understand this, which is why at Rocket Station, we want to help you keep things simple by bringing you back to the basics of nutrition. Because while there will always be new and exciting ways to keep our health on track, at the end of the day it boils down to the nutrients you put in your body.

Here we have an exhaustive list of the good brain nutrients you need to be in tip-top-shape for work. The following have been noted in journals and articles as the essential nutrients your brain needs to function soundly:

Omega-3 fatty acids

Where to find them: Fish (salmon), flax seeds, krill, chia, kiwi fruit, butternuts, walnuts

Omega-3 fatty acids have been studied to prevent the cognitive decay of the brain in mice. This has also proven to help stabilize mood and has worked in faster healing of rain injuries studied in rodents. 

Curcumin

Where to find them: Turmeric (curry spice)

Turmeric has a lot of beneficial effects for the body. On a cognitive level, it protects the brain from cognitive decay and aids in overall prevention of Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer. It is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. 

Flavonoids

Where to find them: Cocoa, green tea, Ginkgo tree, citrus fruits, wine (higher in red wine), dark chocolate

The famous dark chocolate and their siblings that carry flavonoids have a particularly good effect on boosting brain performance especially when coupled with exercise. They are powerful antioxidants that help remove the body of free radicals that can cause oxidative stress in the body.

B Vitamins

Where to find them: Various natural sources.

It has been proven that supplementation with vitamin B6, vitamin B12 or folate has positive effects on memory performance in women of various ages. The Vitamin B also helps in the repair of brain injury and the further improvement of cognitive functions, nerve health, energy levels, eyesight, and healthy appetite to name a few. 

Vitamin D

Where to find them: Fish liver, fatty fish, mushrooms, fortified products, milk, soy milk, cereal grains

Vitamin D has been proven to be extremely important in preserving the mind of the elderly. Vitamin D also helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, leading to better bones, teeth and muscles. 

Vitamin E

Where to find them: Asparagus, avocado, nuts, peanuts, olives, red palm oil, seeds, spinach, vegetable oils, wheatgerm

Vitamin E is proven to help the brain function clearly and effectively. It also the key in maintaining healthy immunity, healthy skin, and eyes.

Choline

Where to find them: Egg yolks, soy beef, chicken, veal, turkey liver, lettuce

In relation to the brain, dietary choline helps in prevention of seizures. It is also particularly important in improving one’s memory and cognition. It is also an essential nutrient for brain development. 

Combination of vitamins (C, E, carotene)

Where to find them: Vitamin C: citrus fruits, several plants and vegetables, calf, and beef liver. Vitamin E: see above.

Vitamin C and Vitamin E are well known antioxidants that span even beyond the brain. Vitamin C alone helps boost one’s immunity, aids in managing heart failure and liver disease, reduces uric disease and protects your memory as you age.

Calcium, zinc, selenium

Where to find them: Calcium: milk, coral. Zinc: oysters, a small amount in beans, nuts, almonds, whole grains, sunflower seeds. Selenium: nuts, cereals, meat, fish, eggs

Calcium, Zinc and Selenium have various effects on cognitive function. It was studied that lifetime low selenium level is associated with lower cognitive functions in humans. In relation to the brain as well, higher calcium and zinc can reduce cognitive decline especially in elderly humans. 

Copper

Where to find them: Oysters, beef/lamb liver, Brazil nuts, blackstrap molasses, cocoa, black pepper

Copper helps maintain healthy bones, blood vessels, nerves, and immune function, and it contributes to iron absorption. At a cognitive level, it was proven that patients with Alzheimer’s disease also lacked copper in their blood. 

Iron

Where to find them: Red meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans

Iron has been known to stabilize healthy cognitive function in women. The reason being is that iron aids in carrying carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be exhaled out of the body, thus enabling the brain to function better with healthier oxygen levels. 

At Rocket Station, we place value in the health and wellness of each teammate and seek to empower them to lead a healthy lifestyle. This April, join our community by signing up in our newsletter to read more interesting articles about health and wellness and how it can help you at work.

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Categories
All Careers Leadership

Imposter Syndrome at work and learning how to manage it

Imposter Syndrome at work and learning how to manage it

Imposter Syndrome has become a buzz word in the advent of the self-awareness and the self-love movement. We see more pop psychologists talk about it, and how it affects the narratives we have of ourselves during work.

So what is Imposter Syndrome, really, and how does it affect our performance at work? Let’s take a closer look. This was first coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes as:

So simply put, it is the belief that we are not good or capable enough even if we already are.

Who is affected? Research shows that 70% of us will experience this at a moment in our lives.

You may be wondering, how is this important and relevant to Rocket Station? According to research, remote workers and managers in a remote set-up are more at risk of experiencing Imposter Syndrome versus other working groups. At Rocket Station, we enhance lives and build better businesses. It is counter-productive for Rocketeers to develop a mindset that makes them feel they are inadequate even if truly they aren’t inadequate. How can they enhance the lives of others if they themselves unjustly feel like they are incapable of doing so? As such, we are here to help.

Dr. Sandi Mann in her book Why do I feel like an Imposter shares more about the affliction and the mindset behind it. It usually stems from people thinking they’re not good enough or that their success is not attributed to them, but by some external factor.

Usually, people who suffer from the Imposter Syndrome/Phenomenon devalue their successes and go onto a negative cycle, thinking they don’t deserve the success they’ve achieved.

How do we manage Imposter Syndrome at work? First you must think about, acknowledge and recognize if you are living with IS. Know that it isn’t your fault and that it is common. Think about how you view rejection and criticism. Try to look at criticism objectively to ascertain if it is valid or not. If valid, try to be dispassionate and learn from it. If it is not valid, defend yourself. Lastly, learn to act confident even if you don’t feel like it.

Dr. Mann discusses further by doing two exercises that can be useful for people living with IS or for managers who are working with people who have IS on their team:

Exercise 1: Acknowledge the Facts

No matter how you view your success, certain facts are indisputable. For example, if you got a job offer, promotion or a high exam result, those factors are facts. Everything else is merely what is viewed about the facts. Look back at your life and write a list of all your successes with the headline: “The Facts”

Exercise 2: Identify Your Strengths

Write down the following:

10 of your strengths, for example: innovative, strong, persistent, optimistic.

At least 5 things you admire about yourself

5 greatest achievements in your life so far

10 things you could do to help others.

Keep these lists close to you and go back to them from time to time.

This March, Rocket Station shines light into self-development and building yourself at work. Being a better leader, a better remote worker, or even just a better person. Sign up in our newsletter for more high-impact articles that develop you into the person you want to be.

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Categories
All Health and Wellness

Six self-care antidotes to prevent burnout from work

Six self-care antidotes to prevent burnout from work

Burnout is the common term most people use when they have reached a threshold for something that depletes them. Be it at work, at home, or even with daily roles we play as parents, bosses, and the like. Like many hardworking and fully functional adults we wear many hats and need to juggle the demands of work and life.

At Rocket Station, we value placing in the element of fun in almost every endeavor we have at work. While we can all agree that life can be incredibly stressful, this does not mean we can’t add the element of self-care to our regimen to keep the burn out at bay.

Studies have shown that self-care is the quickest most efficient way to prevent burn out from happening. Let us discuss the 6 areas of self-care as fool proof antidotes you can use to prevent burnout. The six areas are professional, physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and personal. Each area has a specific need that caters differently to each individual.

For instance, a VA working tirelessly on night shift might need some physical self-care to release tension and get some well-deserved sleep. A person who had just gone through a major life transition may need to focus on an emotional and spiritual self-care journey. We all go through different circumstances, and it is important to understand that not all areas of self-care works for everyone.

Professional Self-Care is the kind of self-care that nurtures your career in ways that does positive work practices, such as: Celebrating small wins, taking breaks to increase work productivity, and tagging career goals to be inspired.

Physical Self-Care is self-care that nourishes your body. It can come in the form of eating the right food, exercising, getting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, or simply resting after a long week of non-stop work.

Psychological Self-Care is self-care that puts focus on developing habits that foster good mental health. Such habits can include journaling, tracking your mood, reading self-help books, unplugging from social media, keeping a gratitude journal, or meditating. All these examples are proven to make you 10% happier through the guidance of mental health.

Emotional Self-Care deals with caring for your feelings and inner emotions. It is very similar to psychological self-care but the main difference is in emotional regulation. This kind of self-care helps you understand how you feel about certain topics and teaches you to do more emotional regulation. This proves useful especially at work when grounding techniques are being mastered, and high-stress situations at work come by.

Spiritual Self-Care is self-care that helps you connect to a power greater than yourself. You may call it the Universe, God or anything you prefer. You can channel this by revisiting your core values.

Personal Self-Care finally, is self-care that differs from person to person because it’s the kind of self-care that deals in the development of you. You as a person in whatever way that can nourish you. It can be as simple as treating yourself to one of your favorite restaurants, finding time alone or with friends to recharge or simply unplugging from technology and getting much needed air to breathe.

In the past, Rocket Station has spearheaded projects and events that deal with self-care and empowerment. We place importance in caring for people’s mental health and empowering them to take the first few steps to a healthier and happier version of themselves. If you like catapulting yourself to greater heights through delf-development, leadership, health and wellness and careers, sign up to receive updates from the Rocketeers themselves.

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