BUTTON UP YOUR OVERCOAT

As the song says

“Button up your overcoat when the wind is free, Take good care of yourself!”

Yes, take care of yourself!  This is the 5th installment in my 21 Weeks to Your Most Creative Self series.

Research shows there is a link between physical health and creativity.  In fact, health and creativity seem to feed off each other.  When you take care of your body, you are reducing stress, anxiety, and more than likely depression. And positive emotions generally increase.

Sounds like a winner to me! In 2010, The American Journal of Public Health issued a study called The Connection between Art, Healing and Public Health.  In the study, five visual arts were used with patients who had chronic illnesses.  The arts including painting, drawing, photography, pottery and textiles. Here are some of the findings describing the impact the art activities had on the patients:

  • Reduced depression
  • Improved well-being
  • Reduced thought of distress and negative emotions
  • Reduced stress and anxiety

Conversely, if you take better care of yourself, you have more energy, more focus, and therefore, are more creative.  What are some simple things you can do to live healthier?

  • SLEEP get enough! Research shows that REM Sleep helps the brain make new and unusual connections.  It is often called the wonder drug. A power nap has been shown to stimulate right brain activity.

 

“To dream the impossible dream, try going to sleep.” Joan Klempner

  • EAT WELL – enjoy your food, take your time.  Eat more plants, eat more whole foods
  • LAUGH – often
  • SMILE – a lot.
  • DRINK YOUR WATER – as much as you can manage
  • CUT BACK ON CAFFEINE
  • CUT BACK ON ALCOHOL

Create more by living well!  What would you do to live a healthier life?

“Artistic, creative people are solvent, they’re happy; just start working on your creativity and watch what it does for you.” Julia Cameron

 

Here are the some of the lyrics to the song quoted in the title ( yrics by B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown)

Button up your overcoat
When the wind is free
Take good care of yourself
You belong to me

Eat an apple every day
Get to bed by three
Oh, take good care of yourself
You belong to me

Be careful crossing streets, ooh, ooh
Cut out sweets, ooh, ooh
Lay off meat, ooh, ooh
You’ll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum

Wear your flannel underwear
When you climb a tree
Oh, take good care of yourself
You belong to me

Button up your overcoat
When the wind is free
Oh, take good care of yourself
You belong to me

 

 

 

5 thoughts on “BUTTON UP YOUR OVERCOAT

  1. Suzanne

    Such great advice for taking care of ourselves. More and more I’m realizing just how much we were all born to be creative, in one way or another. Enjoyed your post Vickie.

  2. Susan Michael Barrett

    Button up your overcoat is new to me! I love your post’s self-care reminder. Vickie, it’s most important in my life. If I don’t take care of myself, I have nothing to give to others. And how easy to smile and laugh, breathe, eat well, sleep. Thank you.

  3. SKJAM!

    A steady job would do wonders for my health, I think, especially if it allowed some creativity. Money makes it easier to eat healthy, sleep well and get exercise that isn’t boring repetition.

  4. Debbie Goode

    Yuppers…. I agree and that is just what I have been a doing of late! Kicking back and taking care of me…and my pups….and my hubby…all of life’s little blessings!

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