How to Navigate Overabundance of Health and Wellness Information

Dealing With Information Overload and Attention Scarcity

There are lots of health and fitness related articles out there. If our grandparents and parents had to put in effort to find health-related resources, we have to put in the effort to protect ourselves from the health-related information overload.

You would think that having so much information at hand would turn us into the healthiest nation ever but it is far from it! Quite the opposite: we are fatter than ever and suffering from chronic disease and autoimmune malfunction.

The reason behind this strange trend is that it doesn’t matter what you know. What matters is what you do, day in, day out!

The ‘more is better‘ approach that is ruling our day to day choices doesn’t always work when it comes to health and wellness information. “The more is better” things rarely works at all. We get caught up and think that more information is better, more superfoods is better, the more articles the better, the more exercise the better…

Do you notice the trends: we over-do things: we over-eat, we over-browse, we over-research, and it leads to over-weight and over-stressed society.

Interestingly, the wealth of information leads to scarcity of attention and the lack of action.

Overwhelming amount of information on health and wellness can lead to anxiety and lack of motivation to follow on any of the often conflicting advice. How are you supposed to choose which advice to follow if you want to increase your energy? Someone is telling you to go raw, another expert is banning the sugar and coffee, someone else offers energy-boosting exercise, but you also read that some exercise depletes energy and that our body needs sugars and that raw foods are harder to digest… It can get pretty confusing, to say the least!

Just as eating in a rush without chewing would lead to indigestion and a bloated belly, skimming through a ton of articles without taking time to process and absorb information will lead to misunderstanding and a bloated head.

A Cure for an Overwhelmed Health-Seeking Warrior

Here are a few guidelines that might help to navigate over-abundance of health and wellness information and to start your own health transformation without over-stressing:

Remember: You already know more than you realize! Trust your inner expert!

You don't want your brain to feel like this!

Before google, ask yourself. A good chance is that you already know the answer to your question. For example if you are wondering how to reduce bloating or increase energy. What has worked for you in the past? Close your eyes and ask the question to your body. Listen to what your body has to say. An answer to increasing energy might be very simple like: dude, put me to sleep! Or let’s go for a walk. Or I would really appreciate some stretches now. Ask yourself first! If there is no good answer, google:)
What would you tell a friend with a similar question? Often we give amazing advice to other people. We show up as kind, considerate, and resourceful advisers when it comes to solving others’ problems. What if you step back and look at your situation from a 3rd person perspective. What would you advise a friend in your situation?
Limit research to 2-3 articles and give yourself time to digest and assimilate information. You know that you can’t rush digestion in your belly without creating indigestion, so why would you want to rush digestion in your brain? You skim through the articles without pausing to think and to see how this information applies to your life. Let it sink in, simmer, become a part of you, and then when it is fully assimilated, you can use it to build up to desired outcomes.
Choose just 1 thing to change at a time. Experiments are effective when you keep variables to a minimum and observe the true ’cause and effect’ in action. Don’t try to revamp your entire lifestyle in one week. Slow down and enjoy the ride. Listen to body’s feedback and allow time and space for constant evolution
Talk it through with a friend or with a coach. Write or talk about the benefits and disadvantages of changing your habits. Find out what worked for your friends and why. Get a perspective from a human being not just internet. Brainstorm and play with new ideas.

Avoid information pollution and be picky about what you let in. Put on your information spam filter 🙂

Do you ever feel that your attention is too spread out and you are not sure where to focus your efforts in terms of creating consistent change in health and wellness? How do you manage that?

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