Mind the Gap: Little Steps to Big Health Wins!
Last summer, our co-founder Todd and his wife Anne had the incredible opportunity to explore London, and one phrase stuck with them: "Mind the Gap." As they navigated the city's bustling subways, this simple reminder became a powerful metaphor for our health journey.
We’re excited to share Todd’s latest video about how paying attention to the small things - just like "minding the gap" - can lead to significant improvements in managing pain and inflammation. At Herbal Mana, we believe in the power of small changes for big health wins, helping you to "Hurt Less - Live More."
Join Todd as he delves into practical tips that can transform your daily routine and overall well-being!
More of a reader? No worries! Here's what happened:
Todd:
Mind the gap. That’s what the disembodied voice kept telling us, and we saw it on signs. Last summer, my wife Anne and I were able to go to London. We spent some time there, about 10 days, it was pretty awesome.
We went to King’s Cross Station, which figures pretty prominently in Harry Potter. And if you look over my left shoulder, you can see that I’m a bit of a Harry Potter fan. There’s the Golden Snitch over my left ear and some other Harry Potter stuff on the wall. It was pretty cool to get to go to King’s Cross Station. I noticed as we were walking around that there were some signs near the tracks, “Mind the Gap.”
Later, we were riding the underground, the subway system in London, and I saw and heard the same thing as we were boarding the trains in the subway. Mind the gap, and there were signs, mind the gap. It was a good reminder to watch for that little gap to make sure that you didn’t misstep or trip because something bad could happen.
Well, the same thing is true with our health. When we’re looking to manage pain and inflammation, off times, it’s the little things. It’s “Mind the gap.” It’s not leap the chasm or leap the tall buildings in a single bound. It’s often little things that we need to pay attention to. Just “mind the gap,” and it can be small things that make a big difference. I have a few in mind today that I’d like to share.
First, sleep. That is the first gap. Most people don’t get enough sleep. Most adults, anyhow. It’s important to get enough sleep. I follow a guy named Craig Valentine; he’s got quite a following on being effective. He’s got this book I love, The Perfect Day Formula. In The Perfect Day Formula Craig talks about what it takes to get good sleep, and he’s got a formula worked out. And he is really the king of efficiency. He’s followed by a lot of business leaders, government leaders, and just regular folks like me that want to get more out of life on the sleep. He focuses on sleep quite a bit. He says for good sleep, you’ve got to keep some things in mind, and he’s got assistance. 10, 3, 1, 0.
10 - no caffeine 10 hours before you want to sleep well. Caffeine is kind of interesting. Uh, I do partake. I do like caffeine, especially in the morning to get up and get going for my exercise. But caffeine breaks down slowly in the body. It has a half-life of about eight hours.
If you remember back to your high school chemistry. Half-life is how long it takes for half of something to wear out or be gone. In this case caffeine breaks down kind of slowly, long half-life. It takes a while to leave the body, Craig says, about 10 hours if you want good sleep. So no caffeine and a rough no caffeine 10 hours before sleep.
3 - Number 3 for his 10, 3,1. Do not eat or drink three hours before you want to sleep. You need to have that out of your system, and you need to let your digestive system do its thing so that you can have restful sleep.
And then 1 - no more screen time. We’re not glued to our phones; we’re not death-scrolling social media; we’re done. We let our minds settle. It’s good to just read or do something to let our minds settle and ratchet down.
So that’s his 10, 3, 1. Even throws in a zero, no hitting the snooze in the morning. 10, 3, 1, 0, just be trained to get good sleep. So, gap No. 1 is sleep.
Gap number two - managing inflammation. Taking small steps to manage inflammation every day. The first is just moving. Exercise and movement actually lower inflammation markers in your system. Moving means different things for different people. If you’re young and healthy, that might mean going out to run a few miles or hitting the weights. If you’re a little older, maybe it's walking. Whatever it is, moving is helpful. It helps lubricate the joints, gets everything flowing, and lowers inflammatory markers in your system. It’s great for your mental wellness. So it’s critical.
I also like to use DMSO every day. Dimethyl Sulfoxide helps; well, it’s actually pretty cool. It will bond with free radicals. Free radicals are damaged cells, oxidized cells in your system that cause inflammation. Among other things, DMSO will bind with those and carry them out of your body so they can’t damage your tissue. It also helps with other inflammation helps also with the absorption of awesome things like essential oils. Of course, we have those in our Herbal Mana products.
This morning, I used Inner Warrior because I wanted something with a little higher magnesium content. Most days, I’ll use Alpha Warrior because I like to go to the gym, i like to do my therapy/workout. So I do that every day. That’s part of minding the gap for me, managing that inflammation.
Number 3 the third gap, stop eating inflammatory foods. A really good way if you don’t know where the inflammatory foods are, just imagine the grocery store. Everything in the middle is suspect. If you’re looking on the outside of the grocery store, the way we arrange them, you’ve got fresh meat, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, awesome stuff. It’s when you go to the center of the grocery store, you have to be careful when you get to the center of the grocery store if you’re trying to manage inflammation. Avoid processed flours so any of the super-processed foods that’s inflammatory. Avoid processed sugars, also inflammatory. Skip the vegetable oils, corn oil, safflower, sunflower, that are vegetable oils, and seed oils that are simply damaging to the body.
If you want to manage inflammation, manage what you eat. That means sometimes we have to get out the recipe book and get a little bit creative because processed foods typically aren’t what we want to be eating. They contain all sorts of garbage that will simply ramp up the inflammation of our bodies.
So mind the gap when it comes to managing your pain, mind the gap when it’s time to manage the inflammation, and remember small things can bring about the difference. We’re not leaping tall buildings in a single bound; we’re not racing a speeding train; we’re managing and minding the gap.
I hope that’s helpful. I know it’s helpful for me. I keep in mind what I need to do each day, and I manage the little things so they don’t become big things. All right, thanks for watching, thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time!
Final Thoughts
As we wrap up, remember that "minding the gap" is about those small, everyday actions that can lead to significant improvements in our health. It's about being mindful of the little things - like getting enough sleep, managing inflammation, and choosing anti-inflammatory foods - that can make a big difference. At Herbal Mana, we're here to support you in these small changes so you can Hurt Less - Live More!
Ready for a natural way to manage pain and inflammation? Try our Inner Warrior+ Calming Relief DMSO Cream. It's formulated to help you feel your best every day. Because when you mind the gap, you pave the way for a healthier, happier life. Let's take those small steps together and start making those positive changes today!