I was once asked to write a Book of Mormon pageant for girls’ camp with less than a week’s notice. That gave me roughly three days to study and two days to write. Picture me, hunkered down at my early 90s-era computer, giving my all for the kingdom. Pressure writing brings out the best in me, but I couldn’t have accomplished this feat without power-eating an entire school of Swedish Fish and slugging down a six-pack of diet Pepsi.
Fish is healthy, they say, but by the time I pushed print, I had more red dye swimming in me than was used on the set of Psycho. But there was no time for nutritional prudence—the sugar and caffeine provided the temporary scaffolding my word construction stood upon! If only they loaded Swedish Fish with a few omegas, lecithin, and a little protein.
I admit to repeating this process on more than one deadline. However, I have learned a lot about “crutch foods,” why we lean on them, and which nutrients are helpful during these magnificent bursts of creative genius.
Now I shall confess that I am a nutritional consultant and an author, which is some type of oxymoron—no healthy person would write books. To be serious, though, I know why people load up on junk, and I also know a better way. Writing presents a lot of physical inactivity while mentally running marathons and pumping literary iron. Buff brain ripples are a poor substitute for saggy abs. Instead of leaning on sugar and caffeine for mental acuity, try any of these healthier ideas.
Sugar vs. Protein
If you are craving sugar, feed yourself protein. Protein will sustain your creative sprints much better. Easy food sources include cheeses of all sorts, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, jerky, and protein shakes. Nuts and seeds are an excellent choice if you are a “muncher.” Protein will support you with the energy you require without nudging you one step closer to diabetes.
Vitamins and Herbs
B vitamins stoke the nervous system with fuel. They are found in unrefined, unenriched grains, which disqualifies almost everything in a store-bought bag or box. Snack foods that are high in B vitamins include avocados, banana chips, dried plums, unsweetened coconut flakes, oat clusters, baked sweet potato fries, broccoli, kale chips, fresh garden peas—the list of wholesome choices goes on! If veggie snacking is your thing, try dipping veggies in hummus or guacamole. Peanut butter is also a fantastic source of B vitamins, as are most nuts.
Foods rich in C vitamins are excellent for focus and re-energizing. Not only do they taste great, but they also provide important natural sugars and increase immune function. C vitamin-rich foods also clean the digestive tract. Fruits concentrated with natural blue and red pigments, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, also aid in liver and gallbladder function by thinning bile, a process that prevents high blood fats and diabetes.
In addition to choosing healthier foods, I recommend herbs and supplements such as ashwagandha and ginseng, vitamin B12, inositol, choline, and omega-3. Each of these things promotes better circulation, increased energy production, and sharp cognitive function. Don’t miss these synergistic essentials.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are currently all the rage, and I do find them helpful. Whenever I’ve stared at the screen too long and I feel a headache coming on, I like dabbing peppermint on my forehead, and sometimes on my upper lip if I’m feeling drowsy because of eye fatigue. You can also dab a bit on the stinging muscles across your neck and shoulders. I like diffusing citrus oils, like lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit because citrus oils are energizing. Lime is my personal favorite, so I dab it on my wrists and neck pulse points.
High-frequency oils include frankincense, cedar, pine, and rose. These are beneficial in writing spiritual or inspirational topics and would have been a perfect companion for me to use while cranking out that pageant so long ago. High-frequency oils elevate thought and fine-tune focus.
Frankincense is perhaps the most beneficial oil of all. The Wise Men gifted it to Baby Jesus for a reason. Frankincense is a tremendous anti-inflammatory agent, so it’s good for a sore back, twinging sciatic pain, a stiff neck, wrist pain, and hand pain. Imagine dabbing a little oil on sore knuckles or thumb joints and having it simultaneously fix the big knot at the top of your neck! Yes, oils can be so very beneficial to your head and brain, and it only takes fifteen seconds for quality oils to absorb through your skin. Sometimes the gentlest medicine packs the biggest punch.
Breathing Exercises
A great deal of a writer’s time is spent revising and editing. Here is a breathing exercise that is helpful to the lymphatic system. I call it the Exercise of Three. It doesn’t even require that much concentration to edit words and breathe at the same time, so most folks are good to start this exercise right away. First, inhale to the count of three seconds. Then, hold that breath for the count of six seconds, and finally exhale to the count of nine seconds.
Our lymphatic systems are like sump pumps in the body. Sump pumps need to be primed, and my Exercise of Three acts as the primer. I recommend doing the exercise in sets of three at least three times per day. The lymphatic system must rid the body of unwanted sludge. Give it a fighting chance.
Water
Speaking of sludge, don’t forget to drink water! How much is enough? Take your body weight in pounds, mentally cut that number in half, and that’s how many ounces of water a person should drink in a day. Occasionally I have clients who whine about the fact that they hate water. They ask if they can drink Gatorade or Crystal Light instead. My question to them is always the same: “Would you scrub your tub with Gatorade?” It doesn’t matter what beverage is the favorite or the preferred. The human body still needs water, and all the more desperately if caffeinated or sugary beverages are consumed regularly.
Take Breaks
Stand up every twenty minutes and march in place for one minute, or march out to the kitchen for a drink of water and a nutrient-rich snack. Move your arms and legs to get blood pumping and good oxygen circulating everywhere. Before resuming your professional writer’s stance, stretch. Stretching is so beneficial to health in many ways.
Become self-aware! These baby steps of healthier habits actually create a giant leap of progress, and that makes a brighter, more inspired writer. Just as sentences, paragraphs, and chapters are written one word, one sentence, and one paragraph at a time, your best self is created one healthy choice at a time.
June Marie Saxton
Her time is best spent in support of her family and their many activities. In her not-so-spare time, she enjoys writing. Her titles include Dancing with the Moon, Beckon, Into the Second Springtime, Pirate Moon, Emerald Fire, Ball Baby, Veil of Azure Sequins, Mach 16, Diamonds of the Quarter, Improper Son, Tolliver, Haley at the Hop, Perfectly Pepper, The Doctor of Devonshire, Rose of Ravenswood, Saylor, and Roxy. You can learn more about her at her website.
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