We interviewed Vicki Mayo, a brain health and mental health expert.听听Vicki is a partner in our new initiative 'Echelon 360', where we work with subject-matter experts to provide meaningful content that will enrich the well-being of members and foster a community of health and education. She explains in her interview how critical a healthy lifestyle is and where we see the most impact on brain function and mental health.

She recommended three ways we can start taking better care of our bodies and brains.听

1. Brain Health & Diet听

Healthy choices ensure healthy brain function! The old term 鈥測ou are what you eat鈥� rings true when it comes to your brain. Vicki recommends adding foods rich in Omega 3鈥檚 and fatty acids. Omega-3 is important for our brains to use and have abundance due to its capabilities. Brain cells with higher levels of Omega-3 are known to be better at communicating with other nerves and cells in the brain. To break that down, Omega-3 assists in healthy brain function and overall cognition and regulation processes.听

Other foods recommended by Vicki are leafy greens, salmon, turmeric, and blueberries. All of these foods are high in antioxidant properties. Why do we need antioxidants? Because they help protect our cells against disease, infection, and free radicals. Free radicals are known to be the leading causes of cancers, heart diseases, and many more harmful diseases. These are produced when the body breaks down food, is exposed to radiation, or exposure to smoke. By ingesting foods with antioxidants we lower our overall risks for these effects.听

2. Sleep听

As we know, sleep is when our bodies are fully relaxed, this is when the body repairs and restores itself. Some experts say it all starts with sleep. A good night's rest proves to be the first way to kick off a healthy brain. When we sleep, our body gets to work, restoring energy depleted during the day, and repairing any minor damages such as healing wounds, sickness, or soreness. Even removing toxins as we sleep, our brains are highly active while sleeping.听

Quality and quantity of sleep听is the first way you can set yourself up for success the following day. It is recommended by the Mayo Clinic to get at least seven hours of sleep each night as an adult.听

3. Exercise听

This should come as no surprise! Exercise is another way to ensure our brains stay engaged mentally and remain physically healthy. When exerting yourself, you release hormones produced by the body. These hormones are called endorphins and dopamine. What do they do? Both of these hormones help reduce pain, relieve stress and improve your sense of self and release a better feeling of well-being.

Having healthy hormone levels plays a big role in your mental health functions. Optimal levels of these hormones can be achieved by adding exercise to your lifestyle. No matter your age or physical fitness abilities, incorporating more fitness efforts into your routine and lifestyle will improve your brain function. You will see results such as better quality of life, cognitive functions, and reduced risks for mental health issues.听

Vicki Mayo: Resident Health Expert听

Entrepreneur, public servant, child advocate, wife, and mother, Vicki Mayo is on a mission to make a positive social impact and meaningful difference in the lives of her family, employees, and community members. An award-winning and nationally-recognized entrepreneur, Mayo invented and founded TouchPoint Solution, a breakthrough neuroscientific wearable that is clinically proven to provide fast relief from stress.

Mayo has over 15 years of experience in various child welfare roles, including supporting the efforts of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program (CASA); creating a camp for foster siblings; and co-founding the Keys to Success Program focusing on foster youth aging out of the system. Vicki became inspired to become involved in the programs after adopting two abandoned teenage boys at the age of 20 while earning her BA degree in Political Science and Hospitality Administration at Northern Arizona University.

Mayo鈥檚 experiences working with youth are what led to the development of the six Dimensions of Health framework which is based on the treatment for Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs) which can create long-term impacts on adults. Mayo also听commits significant time to The Mayo Family Foundation, the foundation she co-founded with her husband Simer Mayo, to focus on food insecurity issues; supporting at-risk children in the US; supporting international refugees, and providing access to robust healthcare across the globe.

Most recently, The Mayo Family Foundation led efforts to rescue 147 young Afghan women from the grips of the Taliban and assist in the students鈥� relocation and case management as refugees in Arizona.

She is grateful to have been recognized with the following recent accolades:

• KNOW Women Award, 2022
• CTA Executive of the Year, 2021
• Women in IT Awards: Entrepreneur of the Year, 2020
• Enterprising Women of the Year Award, 2020
• Phoenix Business Journal鈥檚 Most Admired Leaders
• Project Entrepreneur Winner

Here are Dr. Wang鈥檚 top six tips for summer skin health:

1. Protect Your Skin

During the summer, we all want to have fun in the sun, but don鈥檛 forget to protect your skin! Dr. Wang emphasizes three simple ways to protect your skin from the harmful effects of UV rays:

• Wear Protective Hats & Clothing
• Avoid Peak Hours: 10 am to 2 pm
• Wear Sunscreen

UV radiation from the sun is the number one cause for skin cancer as well as prematurely aging your skin. Just covering up, avoiding the outdoors during peak hours, and wearing sunscreen will go a long way to keeping your skin safe.

2. Use Sunscreen Correctly

Speaking of sunscreen, Dr. Wang comments that many people are unaware of proper application and SPF. While sun in the fall and winter isn鈥檛 as strong, during the summer you need an SPF of at least 50 and it needs to be waterproof. However, it is only water resistant for 40-80 minutes and should be reapplied every two hours when dry.听

Additionally, make sure you use enough sunscreen. The average-size American adult needs roughly one ounce (a shot glass amount) of sunscreen to adequately cover their whole body. If you don鈥檛 put enough on, the SPF goes down and it won鈥檛 be as effective. Sunscreen is normally sold in four to six ounce bottles, which means when used correctly, that is four to six applications.听

3. Stay Hydrated & Take Your Vitamins

Staying well hydrated is another important aspect of skin health in the summer. Because we all sweat more when it is hot and are often more active, you are losing electrolytes and water content at a higher rate. Dr. Wang鈥檚 suggestion is simple: 鈥渉ydrate, hydrate, hydrate!鈥�

Additionally, the nutrients you consume or are lacking will impact your skin regardless of the time of year. Dr. Wang recommends niacinamide, which in is vitamin B, at 500 mg twice a day. Recent research indicates that niacinamide at that frequency and dosage can help decrease the risk of skin cancer by almost 25%. He comments that the theory behind it is that niacinamide empowers and optimizes cellular function by generating ATP molecules. These ATP molecules are like cash currency for cells and can potentially improve DNA repair. Good for your skin, good for your body!

4. Clean Off Irritants听

As previously mentioned, we all get sweaty especially during the summer. While sweat is actually very beneficial as it keeps your body cool, once it evaporates the remaining salt can irritate your skin. So take your #sweatyselfie but then get washed up!

The same principle is true for salt water. The beach is a common summertime destination but the salt water plus the sand can lead to irritation. Even if you aren鈥檛 at the beach, swimming in chlorinated water can negatively affect your skin if you don鈥檛 rinse off after.听

Dr. Wang does want to point out that some conditions like eczema and psoriasis can be improved by salt in combination with the sun, but in general, plan to keep your skin clean! And don鈥檛 forget to moisturize after you bathe to further keep your skin hydrated.

5. Don鈥檛 Forget the Scalp

One area of the body that most of us forget when it comes to skin care is the scalp. Dr. Wang states that the number one area for skin cancer is the scalp, especially along the hairline. Especially for men with a thinning or receding hairline, paying extra attention to covering up with a hat and applying sunscreen to the scalp is a necessary step to preventing skin cancer.听

6. Go to a Dermatologist

Finally, Dr. Wang reminds everyone to get a check-up by a dermatologist. A dermatologist check-up will involve looking at your skin head to toe to check for anything concerning. If there is something suspicious, a biopsy may be ordered. There are more than three million skin cancer diagnoses every year and a cancer diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma accounts for almost nine thousand deaths annually. Dr. Wang isn鈥檛 being dramatic when he says, 鈥渄on鈥檛 delay because you really can save your life.鈥�

Stay Healthy!

When it comes to health this summer, don鈥檛 forget your skin! Follow Dr. Wang鈥檚 advice by protecting your skin (including your scalp!), using SPF correctly, staying hydrated, taking niacinamide, and getting a check by a dermatologist. These simple steps can help prevent skin cancer and premature aging.

Dr. Steven Q. Wang: Echelon Skin Health Expert

Dr. Steven Q. Wang currently serves as the Director of Dermatologic Oncology at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, and Chief of Dermatologic Oncology & Dermatologic Surgery at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Hospital in Newport Beach, California. Prior to joining Hoag, he served for 16 years as the Head of Dermatology Section and Director of Dermatologic Surgery and Dermatology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey. He was also an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology at .听He specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of skin cancers, especially melanoma. His research has been focused on melanoma detection, application of artificial intelligence, and nanotechnologies. He has published more than 90 scientific papers and book chapters. He has authored 5 books. Dr. Wang has lectured extensively in the United States and around the world.听Dr. Wang is the co-founder of the Nanodermatology Society, and serves as the president of the Photodermatology Society, and Chair of the Photobiology Committee of the .

Here is how Vicki explains stress and her top tips to reduce it:

In order to reduce stress, we must first understand what stress is and its cause. It all starts in our brain which has two primary parts. The first part is our sympathetic or stress system also known as our fight or flight system. And then you have your other part of your brain, which is your parasympathetic, which is your logical, rational brain.听 So we all experience triggers 鈥� whether it鈥檚 a loud noise or having a serious conversation with your boss 鈥� your brain will first kick on the fight or flight mechanism.听 Once your brain determines it鈥檚 not a stressful thing, you can move into your logical-rational brain. Some people are able to go very quickly through fight or flight into the logical-rational and other people have a tougher time with it.听

So this is why everyone talks about being mindful; they are exercising their brain to shorten the time to get through fight or flight into the logical-rational brain.听 Unfortunately, your fight or flight system comes on hundreds of times a day without us necessarily even realizing it. This is what causes us stress.听听

The Problem with Stress

Now, the scary part about this issue is that if you don鈥檛 learn to build up your logical-rational part of your brain so that your fight or flight is not so hyperactive, your body actually has a physical response every time you鈥檙e stressed out. If you think of something stressful right now, you are going to feel it in your body. Whether it鈥檚 in your chest or your shoulders or somewhere, your body internalizes the stress, and if you don鈥檛 do something to reduce your stress levels and learn to manage the stress, you will see what we now have, I believe, is the silent struggle killing our country. Some of the signs of stress are:

• Physical Pain
• Sleep Disturbances & Insomnia
• Lack of Focus
• Irritability & Anger
• Triggered Substance Abuse
• Impulse Eating

What to do About Stress

That leads me to, 鈥渨hat should you do?鈥� I like to think of what you should do in terms of the six dimensions of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, healthy eating, healthy relationships, and mindfulness.听

First Dimension of Health: Nutrition

The first dimension is healthy eating.听 I like to think of food as medicine. What am I putting in my body? I鈥檓 not asking to go on any kind of a crazy diet here, I鈥檓 just saying think about it. If you鈥檙e eating potato chips and ramen all day, your body鈥檚 probably not going to run as well as it should. In other words, if you think of your body as a luxury sports car, you would not want to put in crummy gasoline. You have to use high-octane premium fuel or you are not going to run well. The same thing here: eat as many whole foods as possible, minimize processed foods, watch your salt intake, and make conscious choices.

Second Dimension of Health: Exercise

Exercise is good for you for a variety of reasons. I think first and foremost because it helps your body to create more serotonin and dopamine. Both are really essential chemicals that your body needs in order for you to feel happy and when you feel happy that helps you to get through the rest of your life. It is important that you are getting a good amount of exercise. You could go for a brisk walk, you could go for a quick run, or you could take a quick ten-minute class on the Echelon Fit庐 app. The important thing is to find something that gets you moving, even if it is just for ten minutes a day.听

Start with ten minutes a day for two weeks and then bump yourself up to 20; before you know it, you鈥檙e getting in what is recommended by the听 which is 30-minutes of exercise a day, five days a week, totaling 150 minutes of physical activity each week. With听Echelon Premier 91快活林, it is easy to add variety to keep yourself motivated! I just discovered the听off-equipment FitPass classes which are great for cross-training with my regular schedule on my听Connect Bike.

Third Dimension of Health: Sleep

Sleep is really, really important because many things happen during your sleep, but I鈥檒l tell you two of the most critical. One, sleep is a chance for your body to actually rest and reset. The second thing involves the difference between light and deep sleep. During deep sleep, your brain files away all the things that happen during the day. To explain what I mean, let me break down some quick brain anatomy.听

Think about your brain as a filing cabinet and everything that happens to you all day is written on a piece of paper. When you go to sleep, your brain takes all those papers and puts them away in that filing cabinet. If you don鈥檛 get a good night鈥檚 sleep, those papers get thrown everywhere leading to many issues such as lack of focus.听

At the worst, if something traumatic happens during the day 鈥� such as a car accident 鈥� and you don鈥檛 get into deep sleep in the next day or two, the images of that car accident turn into a poster and get plastered on the walls of your brain. So anytime you get in the car, your brain is going to now pull from that poster and say, 鈥渙h my God, every time I get in the听 car I鈥檓 gonna get into a car accident.鈥� Or every time you hear a noise on the road or a car backfires you are going to think, 鈥渟omeone got into a car accident.鈥� It is absolutely critical that you don鈥檛 allow these types of 鈥減osters鈥� to get on the walls of your brain and you make sure they get filed away as quickly as possible back into the brain.听 And the easiest way to do that to get enough REM sleep.听

Here are a couple of tips you can incorporate before you go to bed:

• Turn off the lights and get yourself into a place with there鈥檚 no blue light two hours before you get ready to go to bed. Use blue-blocking glasses if you鈥檙e unable to do so.
• Take a melatonin gummy if you need a bit of extra help.听
• Use a product like听 which uses gentle haptic micro-vibrations to put you to sleep within 30 minutes.

Fourth Dimension of Health: Healthy Thinking

The dimension of 鈥渉ealthy thinking鈥� is a little bit of that conversation of a glass half full versus glass half empty. Taking the time to choose positivity and focus on the good things in your life. Figuring out what that healthy thinking is for you is really critical.听听

But I鈥檒l tell you a little secret: a lot of times I wake up and I鈥檓 having a really rough day and I don鈥檛 want to be excited about my day. Thankfully, I have developed a few little tricks I use to make myself happy because if you tell yourself and you say out loud 鈥渢oday is gonna be a great day鈥� you will inevitably will that to be the case.

• When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself you鈥檙e going to have a good day 鈥� even if you know it is going to be a challenging day.
• Wear bright colors! It鈥檚 an instant pick-me-up.听 When I鈥檓 really sad, or I鈥檓 having a really down day, you will see me wearing the brightest pink and the brightest yellow I have in my closet.听听
• Write sticky notes and put them on your bathroom mirror or in your kitchen. I spend 15-20 minutes at my mirror in the morning brushing my teeth, putting my makeup on, and I look up at my mirror and I have lots of sticky notes telling me lots of lovely things about myself.听听
• You can give yourself a leg up in the day by making sure that you are setting yourself up for success with healthy thinking.听 Make that glass be half full, not half empty.

I will also say, on those days when you are feeling down, there is no shame in popping on to the听听and saying, 鈥渉ey I鈥檓 having a down day.鈥� There are people there who want to help and to make you smile. So when you need that little extra push, reach out to the Echelon community!

Fifth Dimension of Health: Healthy Relationships

You know they say that old adage, birds of a feather flock together? Think about who you鈥檙e surrounding yourself with. If you鈥檙e surrounding yourself with all sorts of healthy, happy people, you will inevitably take on those same types of characteristics. The same can happen with negativity; so make a conscious choice to surround yourself with people that bring out your best.

If you鈥檙e hanging out with people and they make you feel better about yourself: Check!听 Keep them. If they鈥檙e not, it may be time to let that relationship go.

I think the Echelon community is a great place for you to turn to if you鈥檙e evaluating, and you say 鈥測ou know what?听 It鈥檚 time for me to get a whole new set of friends鈥�. The听 is an active group where you will find other people that share the same passions and interests in the same trajectory that you have for your life.听听

Sixth Dimension of Health: Mindfulness

Mindfulness has become sort of a buzzword in society today, but what does it really mean? Mindfulness is really just the practice of being very present wherever you are, and you can do that in a variety of ways.听听

Let鈥檚 say you are a coffee drinker: in the morning drink your coffee, and don鈥檛 just drink it because you are desperate for the caffeine and that quick pick-me-up that it gives you, but notice it. Hold your cup, notice the warmth on your hands, savor the taste of the coffee as it hits the front of your tongue and makes its way through and goes down your throat. Notice how it warms up your belly. Truly take a minute to enjoy that, and it doesn鈥檛 have to be coffee. People may laugh about it, but I really enjoy putting my makeup on slowly in the morning. It鈥檚 cathartic and it really allows me to be fully present in that moment.听

You can also engage in the formalized practice of medication. You can find meditation classes on the Echelon Fit庐 app and on The TouchPoint Solution鈥檚 YouTube channel.听 Meditation builds up that muscle going from fight or flight into the logical-rational brain; just like making your bicep bigger!听

It requires a little bit of work but doing something like practicing being in the moment, doing a meditation, even doing yoga where you鈥檙e so acutely aware of your breath and your body placement. All of these types of exercises are what help you to build that mindfulness muscle and allow you to get out of stressful situations quickly and get into a place of being logical and rational.听听

Stress Relief Recap

So, just to recap: I recommend that if you are really dealing with stress, do a quick inventory and run through the checklist of the Six Dimensions of Health:听

• Am I eating well?
• Am I sleeping well?
• Am I exercising or getting enough exercise?
• Am I having a healthy thinking outlook every day?
• Are my relationships healthy?
• Am I engaging in a practice of mindfulness?

With these tips, you are sure to reduce your stress!

Vicki Mayo: Echelon Mental Health Expert

Vicki Mayo is a self-made serial entrepreneur and the business powerhouse behind听, for which she invented a patented technology that alleviates stress in 30 seconds. Vicki鈥檚 journey to becoming a mental health advocate began when she adopted two children at age 20 and began to understand how childhood trauma 鈥� and specifically adverse childhood experiences 鈥� impact mental health. Over the next 15 years, Vicki worked with child welfare systems developing programs focused on addressing mental health issues.听

These experiences led her on a personal journey to educate people about mental health. In 2016, Vicki partnered with neuropsychologists to explore ways to make mental healthcare more accessible and affordable to those who need it. By leveraging over a decade of research, she developed听, which are wearable devices that improve quality of life by reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep, and increasing focus.听