Peak Revival Vesna Hrsto

As high-achieving women, we often push ourselves to the limit, managing numerous responsibilities while striving to excel in our careers and personal lives. With stacked schedules, many of us don’t notice when our health starts to decline. 
We feel more tired, our mood might drop, and we could suffer from increased anxiety or other health issues. But these changes often happen so gradually that they’re easy to ignore. Regular pathology tests can help you catch these changes early, ensuring you can address them before they become more serious. 
In this episode, I provide a comprehensive guide on the specific tests to ask for, including thyroid panels, cortisol levels, iron studies, and more, especially tailored for high-performing women with busy lifestyles. It's an informative episode that empowers you to proactively take charge of your health and well-being through effective testing and understanding your results.
LINKS: 
Website: vesnahrsto.com
Master Cortisol Webinar: https://peak-revival.captivate.fm/cortisol-webinar 

Today I'm excited to share some insights on dealing with stress without feeling overwhelmed. 
As high-performing women, we've all experienced days when a hefty to-do list felt manageable and others when it felt completely overwhelming. The difference often lies in how much we're overthinking. Overthinking leads to feelings of anxiety, low moods, and eventually burnout. 
Avoiding the Overwhelm: The Importance of Positive Thinking
Positive, calming thoughts induce healing hormones and begin to reverse the damage of negative thinking. By recognising the impact of our thoughts, we can start to clear our minds, encouraging thoughts that help us stay content and peaceful.
When we're stressed, our bodies are flooded with cortisol, which drops our IQ and narrows our focus, making it difficult to resolve our issues or find solutions. It's akin to reading a book with your nose pressed against the page; you can only see a few words instead of the whole story.
It’s important to zoom out and look at the whole picture.
How to Navigate Life Without Overwhelm
1. Understand How the Mind Works:
 Strategies alone won't create lasting change unless we first understand what's happening in our minds and bodies. 
2. Escape Thought Traps:
Identify common triggers that lead to catastrophic thinking. 
3. Be Okay with Bad Feelings:
It's crucial to accept negative emotions without trying to resist them. When we resist, they persist. 
As you move through your daily challenges, consider how your current mindset impacts your stress levels. What small changes can you make today to break free from negative thought cycles? 
How can you encourage a more positive, calm, and rational mindset to improve your overall mood and performance? Take a moment to reflect and commit to one actionable step toward a clearer, more peaceful mind. You've navigated challenges before, and you have the strength and resourcefulness to do it again. 
LINKS: 
Website: vesnahrsto.com
Master Cortisol Webinar: https://peak-revival.captivate.fm/cortisol-webinar 

Do you ever feel like you're constantly dragging yourself through the day, desperate for bedtime, only to find yourself wide awake when your head hits the pillow?
Or maybe you doze off easily but wake up around 2 or 3am and can't get back to sleep.
If this sounds all too familiar to you, the culprit could be a disrupted circadian rhythm.
What is your circadian rhythm?
Think of it as your body's internal clock, a 24-hour cycle that regulates everything from sleep and wakefulness to hormone production and digestion. When this rhythm gets thrown off whack, it throws a wrench into all those vital processes.
So what are the main causes of this circadian rhythm dysregulation?
Blue Light Overload: Our devices are major offenders, emitting blue light that mimics daylight and suppresses melatonin production. 
Shift Work and Travel: If your work schedule constantly flips your sleep-wake cycle, or you're a frequent flyer battling jet lag, your circadian rhythm takes a hit. 
Unnatural Light at Night: Evenings spent watching brightly lit screens or working under harsh fluorescent lights can disrupt melatonin production. 
Inconsistent Sleep Schedules: Going to bed and waking up at random times throughout the week throws your circadian rhythm into disarray. 
Lack of Sunlight Exposure: Sunlight acts as the master cue for our circadian rhythm. Not getting enough sunlight during the day, especially in the morning, disrupts the natural cycle and makes it harder to feel sleepy at night.
The good news is, there's a simple and free way to start realigning your internal clock: sunlight!
Sunlight is the master cue for your circadian rhythm. Aim to get some sun exposure, especially in the morning and evening, around sunrise and sunset. Even ten minutes a day can make a difference. 
So ditch the snooze button and embrace the sunrise! Your body will thank you for it.
LINKS: 
Website: vesnahrsto.com
Master Cortisol Webinar: https://peak-revival.captivate.fm/cortisol-webinar 

Ever feel like you're dragging yourself through the day, constantly wired but somehow also exhausted? 
It could be your cortisol – the stress hormone that plays a surprising role in your energy levels, mood and sleep. 
Cortisol, often demonised, has a complex role. It's our main stress hormone, and in the right amounts, it's essential. Think of it as that surge of adrenaline that helps you meet a deadline. However, chronically high cortisol disrupts our health.
The key here is understanding the three stages of the stress response:
Acute Stress: Short-term stress triggers a burst of adrenaline, making you feel super productive but unsustainable.
High Cortisol: This is the "fight-or-flight" mode. You might wake up tired, anxious, and struggle with sleep or digestion. 
HPA Axis Dysfunction: Chronic stress depletes cortisol, leading to low cortisol symptoms like constant fatigue, low mood, and brain fog. 
I often speak with women who mention that they’re experiencing symptoms of both high and low cortisol, which can lead them down a very confusing path. But it’s common that by the time you’re experiencing symptoms of high and low cortisol, you’re on your way to full-blown HPA axis dysfunction. This is your body sending you a wake-up call that you need to listen to. 
Here's how to break the cycle of cortisol imbalance and support healthy levels:
Ditch the Fast: When stressed, prioritise breakfast within 30 minutes of waking. Manage Your Morning: Skip the sugary cereals and opt for a balanced breakfast with protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. Move It or Lose It: Feeling overwhelmed? Don't reach for another coffee. Get moving! 
Remember, cortisol is there to help you adapt, but too much is detrimental. By implementing these simple strategies, you can regulate cortisol, optimise your energy levels, and reclaim your peak performance.
LINKS: 
Website: vesnahrsto.com
Master Cortisol Webinar: https://peak-revival.captivate.fm/cortisol-webinar 

I speak with a lot of high-performing women who are struggling with burnout. 
They’re exhausted all day long yet unable to sleep properly at night, anxious, there’s an endless chatter in their minds and it all feels very overwhelming. 
A lot of these women, although suffering from burnout are still high achievers and so they don’t seem to feel like the situation is bad enough to do anything about. 
But if left unchecked, burnout can send you down a path of chronic symptoms that leave you feeling unwell for many months, or even years. 
Today I’m sharing my five-step plan to help you get out of burnout and back into performing at your best:
Step 1: Acknowledge and Address Your Burnout
Don't brush off burnout as a minor setback. This is a wake-up call to prioritise your well-being. Also ask yourself what is driving you to keep pushing. Are you striving for external validation or clinging to outdated ideas of success?
Step 2: Sleep Isn't Optional, It's Essential
We all know sleep is important, but let me tell you, it's the foundation of everything. When I was burnt out, sleep was the first thing to go. Without quality sleep, your physical and mental performance plummets.
Step 3: Ditch the Convenience, Nourish Your Body
Those late-night takeout binges? Yeah, those have to go. Here's the truth: what you eat directly impacts how you feel. You need to look at swapping convenience for home-cooked meals as much as possible. 
Step 4: Quiet the Internal Chatter 
Chronic stress often manifests as a constant loop of worries and anxieties – a mental chatter that disrupts your sleep, clouds your judgment, and fuels the fire of burnout.
Step 5: A System Reset
Burnout disrupts your body's natural balance, especially your gut health. This is where a system reset comes in. A healthy gut microbiome is linked to a better mood, improved sleep, and stronger stress resilience. 
Remember, this is a roadmap, not a rigid prescription. Be kind to yourself, focus on progress, not perfection. By focusing on these steps, you can reclaim your peak performance and rediscover the joy and fulfilment that fuels your journey.
LINKS: 
Website: vesnahrsto.com
Master Cortisol Webinar: https://peak-revival.captivate.fm/cortisol-webinar

Do you ever feel like you're running on fumes? 
You're juggling a million things, achieving a huge amount in a day, but deep down, you just feel burnt out. You know that you’re capable of hitting an even higher level, but you often get to the end of the day and fall in a heap.
As a high-achieving woman, I know all these feelings very well and I help women get out of this cycle of constant burnout to move into a state of true peak performance.
So what is peak performance?
Most people assume that peak performance is about superhuman athleticism, but it's about feeling your absolute best and reaching your full potential. It's about having the energy to tackle your goals with laser focus, conquer challenges with a smile, and still have the bandwidth to nurture healthy relationships. 
So, how do we ditch the burnout cycle and step into peak performance? Here are three simple yet powerful steps to get you started:
Sleep: Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Create a relaxing bedtime routine to wind down before hitting the hay and try to get to bed prior to 10pm. 
Fuel Your Brilliance: Ditch the sugary drinks and processed snacks. Focus on whole foods that give you sustained energy. 
Outsmart Your Inner Critic: We all have that pesky voice in our heads that loves to catastrophize and turn tiny problems into mountains. Learn to recognise these negative thought patterns and challenge them. 
Remember, peak performance is a natural state waiting to be tapped into. By prioritising your well-being and making small changes to your daily routine, you can break free from the burnout cycle. 
LINKS: 
Website: vesnahrsto.com
Master Cortisol Webinar: https://peak-revival.captivate.fm/cortisol-webinar