Stress, Anxiety, and Sleeping With Dr. Swathi Varanasi
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing my friend, Dr. Swathi Varanasi. Dr. Swathi Varanasi, or Dr. Swathi for short, is an award-winning bilingual pharmacist specializing in integrative health and botanical medicine. Dr. Swathi is passionate about educating practitioners, students, and patients on natural medicines, and empowering everyone to be the best, most authentic version of themselves.
Dr. Swathi is a huge proponent of utilizing untraditional as well as more mainstream modalities of healthcare with a heavy focus on the preventative side of healthcare. She stresses the importance of patient centered shared decision making. This means that the healthcare professional is a part of the discussion but doesn’t make the final decision - that is up to the patient.
Her goal is to get everyone asking “What can we do to optimize our health and wellness to lead us on the right path to being the best version of ourselves?”
Stress, anxiety and sleep are the top 3 issues people are asking questions about so we decided to try and tackle those issues.
“The entire day we are preparing ourselves for a great night’s sleep.”
Sleep hygiene is so underrated. Give these tips a try to create that ideal environment:
No screens before settling down in bed. Blue light from screens mess with the natural circadian rhythm and increase cortisol and other hormones in the body that send signals that is is time to be awake.
Reading before bed with a red light vs using a blue light.
Try a shower or bath before bed.
Caffeine free (Lavender or Chamomile are great options) tea or a warm beverage before bed.
Movement throughout the day to tire out the body.
Finding stillness during the day.
What are some tips for lessening stress and anxiety throughout the day?
The first light that hits your face should be sunlight - not the blue light from your phone. Try and go 30 minutes to an hour without even looking at your phone upon awaking.
Try going for a walk - and leave the sunglasses at home! That is a great way to get that immediate effect from the sun.
Journaling - what is on your mind today?
Meditating - what does your perfect day look like? Envisioning is so powerful!
Drink Matcha tea
Fuel your body with healthy, whole foods
Move your body
What will you commit to to optimize your health today?
Contact Dr. Swathi:
