Why endurance fitness should feature in your movement workouts

Endurance is one of the four pillars of fitness and relates to your physical ability to sustain a movement workout for a prolonged period. The biggest threat to good endurance is fatigue, but by keeping at it and continuing to exercise, you will find things are getting more bearable – probably a lot quicker than you were expecting.

Endurance is comprised of two main components: cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance:

Cardiovascular endurance

Cardiovascular endurance refers to the ability of our heart, lungs and circulatory system to fuel our body with enough oxygen to allow us to keep moving during exercise. Endurance training helps us improve the efficiency of all three parts of the cardiovascular system, which needs to be functioning well to achieve a good level of cardiovascular fitness:

• The heart needs to be able to pump large amounts of blood to the working muscles
• The lungs must inhale large volumes of air and absorb oxygen efficiently
• The circulatory system is responsible for transporting oxygenated blood to the working muscles

Muscular endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle to exert a force over a prolonged period without fatiguing – the higher your level of muscular endurance is, the greater the force your muscles will be able to exert.

Your muscular endurance can be improved through specific training that improves the fatigue resistance of twitch muscle fibres in different ways:

• Adaptations to the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems
• Improvements in the delivery of oxygen to your working muscles (greater cardiovascular fitness)
• Increased recruitment of muscle fibre to reduce the force placed on individual muscle fibres

Why is endurance fitness important?      

Both cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance are key components of overall endurance, which is one of the four pillars of physical fitness. Research has highlighted many health benefits of physical exercise specific to endurance fitness:

Improved cardiovascular health

Endurance exercise has been shown in studies to strengthen your heart, which enables blood to be pumped more effectively around your body.¹

Lower blood pressure

Endurance exercise has also been shown to help lower blood pressure, which helps to keep your arteries clear of ‘bad’ cholesterol by raising  ‘good’ cholesterol.

Blood sugar regulation

Research has revealed that endurance movement workouts helps regulate insulin levels and lower blood sugar,² which also helps with weight management.

Promotes better sleep

Endurance, or aerobic exercise, has been shown to improve the quality of sleep on those suffering from insomnia.³ Exercise should not be done too close to your bedtime though as this can then have the reverse effect and make it more difficult to sleep.

Aids the immune system

Endurance exercise may increase immunoglobins, which are antibodies in the blood that help strengthens the immune system.⁴

Different types of endurance fitness

Endurance fitness can also be thought of as aerobic, or cardio fitness. It’s the type of workout that will quickly raise your heart rate and require you to keep it there for an extended period of time. Performing these types of exercise on a regular basis will strengthen your heart and lungs and improves your circulation, which leads to greater endurance and stamina. They might include:

• Running/hiking/brisk walking
• Dancing
• Swimming
• Tennis/squash
• Football
• Hockey

While it would be nice to feel yourself getting fitter quickly, it’s generally accepted that it will take around 2-3 months of consistent exercising to see a significant improvement in your endurance. While it may seem that things are taking time though, this is also your body’s way of protecting you from doing too much too soon and risking an injury. Start slow, find an activity you enjoy and before you know it, you will start feeling fitter, actually be enjoying your movement workouts and will be reaping the many health benefits of physical exercise.

1. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.954052061700850 [↩]
2. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00123.2005?view=long&pmid=16036907 [↩]
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945710002868 [↩]
4. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.567.3215&rep=rep1&type=pdf [↩]

While it is not recognised as a medical condition, the term adrenal fatigue was coined in 1998 by the chiropractor and naturopath James Wilson and is thought to occur when one or more essential hormones, including cortisol, are not being produced in high enough amounts by your adrenal glands.

When we are experiencing stress, our bodies release short burst of cortisol into our bloodstream to cope with it. The theory surrounding adrenal fatigue is that prolonged exposure to stress can drain the adrenal glands of their hormones and lead to a low cortisol state, which brings with it a host of symptoms.¹

Have you ever found yourself low of energy and feeling tired all the time? There could be many explanations for these common symptoms ranging from stress, simply overdoing things, leading a busy lifestyle, or a number of illnesses or infections, so it is always recommended to have a consultation with a doctor, but these common symptoms might also suggest you are experiencing adrenal fatigue.

Just because adrenal fatigue is not a recognised medical condition though, doesn’t mean that the symptoms it causes are any less real and unpleasant, and it doesn’t mean that you should accept and have to put up with them.   

What causes adrenal fatigue?

Your adrenal glands are found above your kidneys and are responsible for producing the hormones that help you regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, responding to stress and burning fat and protein. Adrenal fatigue is thought to be caused by these glands not functioning properly. There are no specific tests to diagnose adrenal fatigue, so often it is a case of ruling out any other health conditions and then treating the symptoms directly.²

What are the symptoms of adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue brings with it a whole range of symptoms – some more common than others. Common symptoms include:

• Tiredness or fatigue
• Weakness
• Brain fog
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of appetite
• Unexplained weight loss

Other symptoms might include:

• Aching muscles and joints
• Low blood pressure
• Dizziness when standing up
• Darkened skin of the face, neck and/or back of hands
• Craving salt
• Loss of body hair³

What can you do to alleviate adrenal fatigue?

As there can be many symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue and adrenal fatigue in itself is not a recognised medical condition, we would always recommended speaking to your doctor to rule out any other health conditions. Managing adrenal fatigue will often come down to ruling out other causes for the way you are feeling and then treating the specific symptoms you are experiencing. There are a number of steps you can take independently to manage your symptoms and live a healthier lifestyle, including giving up drinking, smoking and taking any drugs and taking regular exercise. Other ways to alleviate your symptoms include:

Adopting a regular sleep/wake routine

Studies have shown that sleep is important for helping your body and mind recharge and for keeping us healthy and staving off certain illnesses or diseases.⁴

t can be difficult to switch off and fall asleep though so if you are someone who struggles to switch off in the evening, follow these tip tips:

• Go to bed and set your morning alarm for the same time – even on the weekend. A regular routine will help your body recognise when it’s time to be awake and time to be asleep
• Make your bedroom a positive sleeping environment. Ensure it’s not too hot or cold and remove bright lights
• Ensure your bed, pillow, mattress and sheets are clean and comfortable to encourage you to relax
• Avoid watching the television and using your mobile phone in the bedroom
• Don’t have caffeine, alcohol or big meals in the hours leading up to your bedtime, as these all have a stimulating effect
• Exercise during the day to help your body relax in the evening and get ready for sleep

Treating adrenal fatigue by diet

As there is a lack of evidence surrounding adrenal fatigue as a condition, there is also limited evidence of how it might be treated by diet, but the health benefits of a nutritious diet are well known to include giving you energy and providing your body with the nutrients it needs to grow and repair.⁵

By following a healthy, balanced diet, you might be able to reduce the stress on your adrenal glands. Try to base your meals around lean protein, vegetables and whole grains so that your energy levels increase naturally. Studies have shown that Vitamins C, B1, B5 and E, magnesium, zinc, adrenal glandular, ashwagandha, panax ginseng, and liquorice may be beneficial in managing adrenal fatigue.⁶

Always remember that, whether the condition is recognised medically or not, your symptoms are very real and deserve consideration. Seeking medical advice should always be the first step, but it’s never too soon to start eating a healthier diet and making better lifestyle choice to help not only with adrenal fatigue, but with many other conditions too.

1. Is adrenal fatigue “real”? [↩]
2. Adrenal Fatigue [↩]
3. What is adrenal fatigue? [↩]
4. Why Do We Need Sleep? [↩]
5. Health benefits of eating well [↩]
6. Understanding Adrenal Fatigue: Nutritional and lifestyle strategies to effectively restore proper adrenal function [↩]

What is stress?

All of us experience stress throughout our lives. There are common stressors we all recognise, such as major life changes, uncertainty about the future, illness, conflict, and financial problems. Although these can cause real challenges to our mental health, stress isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, in certain circumstances, short-term positive stress can actually motivate us to succeed and overcome obstacles. However, throughout the Covid pandemic, stress levels have risen for nearly everyone, and especially for young people. 

A 2021 report by UK charity Student Minds highlighted that “Young adults have been especially badly hit during the pandemic with a triple whammy of curtailed education, diminished job prospects and reduced social contact with peers.” ¹  

So, are students particularly susceptible to stress?

Yes, we know that stress is really common in students. The NHS says, “University can be a stressful experience, as well as being fun and exciting.  You may feel stressed about starting university, exams, coursework deadlines, living with people you do not get on with, or thinking about the future.” ²

Even before the pandemic, numerous studies in Europe and America consistently reported a high percentage of students suffering from stress and anxiety caused by a multitude of factors. Many of these students were worried about disclosing their mental health concerns and felt they might be stigmatised for seeking support. ^{3 4 5}

Why do students experience such high levels of stress?

Going to university or college is a significant life transition that brings with it a variety of challenges. As well as adjusting to academic demands and deadline pressures, many young people will simultaneously be coping with their first experience of independent life. It’s a time of rapid adaptation from familiar childhood routines to the realities of adulthood: learning to get along with housemates in a new town, making friends, managing a limited budget, and perhaps having the responsibility of a part-time job along with studying. All of these changes can bring anxiety as well as excitement.

Some of the factors students most commonly cited as contributing to stress are:

• Study pressure and deadlines
• Exams
• Time management difficulties
• Unhealthy habits like drinking too much alcohol
• Feeling lonely or homesick
• Poor eating habits due to budget/circumstances
• Financial pressure and debt
• Poor quality accommodation
• Friendship or relationship difficulties
• Adjusting to a new environment
• Fear of failure
• Worries about future job prospects

What are some of the signs that I might be experiencing stress?

The UK charity MIND explains that some of the common signs of stress are frequently feeling:

• Irritable
• Anxious
• Overburdened
• Unable to enjoy yourself or look forward to life
• Unable to calm your mind, concentrate or switch off

Over time, these feelings can make student stress worse by leading to a vicious cycle of being unable to make decisions, avoiding situations instead of facing them, eating or drinking too much, and alienating friends and family. They can also lead to increasingly debilitating physical symptoms like panic attacks, insomnia, muscle pain, stomach aches and headaches. Stress can badly affect our emotional and physical health, so it’s important to recognise the signs and take action to address and manage them. ⁶

What can I do to address the causes of stress and help me cope?

If you’re a student who’s feeling stressed, your worries probably fall into one or more of these areas:

• Study stress
• Accommodation stress
• Social stress
• Financial stress

No matter what challenges you face, there are some key strategies and skills that anyone can learn to help them alleviate and manage their stress. 

Take control and stay positive 
Feeling that your problems are out of control is one of the main causes of stress. By taking active control and facing up to your fears you’ll feel empowered to find a solution. Having a positive outlook and looking for things to be grateful for is also a great way to counter stress – there is a broad range of mindfulness apps available that can help with this.

Manage your time 
It can feel really stressful when a deadline is looming and you’re running out of time. When you know time management is a problem for you, try using apps to help you get organised by breaking tasks down into manageable chunks that you can tackle without feeling daunted. Make sure you schedule breaks for rest and food, prioritise urgent and non-urgent tasks and create a written schedule so you feel more in control.

Learn to budget 
Create a simple spreadsheet to make sure you’re balancing your incoming and outgoing funds. Look out for student deals and discounts in-store and online, and be smart about how to make the most of your budget.

Look after yourself 
Try to get into a regular sleep pattern – going to bed and getting up at regular times helps combat stress hormones and keep you feeling positive. Exercise and healthy foods are important for your wellbeing, too. Try not to rely on alcohol, as this is just a short-term fix that could ultimately make you feel worse. Consider taking a break from social media when you’re feeling low – remember, other people’s lives aren’t usually as glossy as they appear online. Take time to do the activities you love, whether that’s reading, listening to music or baking cakes.

Express yourself and ask for help 
Talk to friends, talk to family, or ask for help from your college or university’s Student Wellbeing service. Sometimes just sharing your worries can be the first step to feeling more able to cope, getting a different perspective, or finding resources to help you.

Find your tribe 
Finding a like-minded community helps you feel connected, boosts your mood and gives you important social support. Look out for activities like clubs and societies, because whatever you’re into there’s sure to be a group to join, whether it’s sports, music, computing, gaming or amateur dramatics.

How will learning these stress management skills help me in future?

The good news is, if you can learn to manage study stress now, you can turn it into a positive for the future. When you see a stressful situation as an opportunity rather than a threat, you can harness the power of that stress to boost your energy, sharpen your focus, and give you the motivation to respond to adversity. Every time you react positively to a challenge, such as delivering an essay under time pressure or making a presentation to your peers, you’re proving and enhancing your own ability to achieve your goals.

Once we’ve learned to overcome and master stressful situations, our ability to deal with stress in the future increases. By managing stress well, we’re rewiring our brains to cope more effectively the next time and developing our resilience. We can even begin to actively welcome positive stress by pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone with new experiences, whether they’re physical, mental, or emotional. The more we succeed, the more confident and determined we become, and the more easily we’ll weather any setbacks or disappointments.

Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal, PhD, who gave one of the most popular TED talks of all time in 2013 about the upsides of stress says that when you learn to reframe the way you think about stress, you become less anxious and more capable. McGonigal says,

“If you think stress is to help you run away from a tiger, of course, that’s not a helpful way to respond to life. But if you understand that what you experience as stress is the biological mechanism by which you are going to learn and grow and develop your strength, now that’s a totally different way to understand.” ⁷

Students who learn stress management skills will be able to face problems and overcome obstacles without fear. This personal growth reinforces their self-belief and generates a positive cycle of progress and benefit. By learning to stay calm – even in demanding situations – they will be successful, fulfilled, and healthy. Perhaps most importantly, these crucial life skills will be an invaluable asset in job interviews, internships and ultimately when students enter the world of work.

Where can I begin to reduce my stress?

In 2020, the WHO (World Health Organisation) produced a free workbook full of practical information, tips and techniques for anyone, anywhere, who experiences stress.

Doing What Matters in Times of Stress recommends:

1. Grounding: learning to focus, engage and pay attention
2. Unhooking: managing difficult thoughts and feelings
3. Acting on your values: finding ways to act on what matters to you, and positively influence the people and situations around you
4. Being kind: to ourselves and to others
5. Making room: for challenging thoughts and situations rather than trying to avoid them⁸

Remember:

• Reach out for help
• Don’t skip classes or avoid deadlines
• Practice self-care
• Get involved in extra-curricular activities
• Exercise and eat well – stay healthy in mind and body
• Make sure you’re getting enough sleep
• Stay connected with friends and family
• Laugh, dance and have fun to create balance

1. University Mental Health: Life in a Pandemic Listening to higher education communities throughout 2020/2021 [↩]
2. Student stress [↩]
3. Mental health statistics: stress [↩]
4. University students’ strategies of coping with stress during the coronavirus pandemic: Data from Poland [↩]
5. Undergraduate Student Reference Group [↩]
6. How to manage stress [↩]
7. A Stanford psychologist has a simple mental exercise for tackling student stress [↩]
8. Doing What Matters in Times of Stress [↩]

Doesn’t it feel good when you’ve completed a big project, learned something new, or achieved a set goal?

That sense of accomplishment and fulfilment is a reward that’s attributed to our state of happiness.

Quite often, that’s due to the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Dopamine is one of four neurotransmitters known as happiness chemicals. Along with serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins, it sends messages throughout the body to the brain, particularly when it comes to feeling happy.

This particular neurotransmitter is associated with reward. It boosts mood and contributes to the excitement of anticipating events (such as looking forward to a date, time with the family, or a vacation).

Think about the things you love to do, the food you crave, and the information you like to learn. The motivation to enjoy these things is pleasure-seeking and dopamine boosts this feeling.

On the contrary, low levels of dopamine have been associated with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and addiction (such as gambling, drugs, and shopping). It’s even a main ingredient in medications that support people with ADHD because it can help with focus and attention. Increasing levels of dopamine naturally may help ward off future disease.

To increase dopamine levels in your body:

1. Consume food with tyrosine

Tyrosine is an amino acid that serves as a building block for dopamine. Foods such as seeds, meat, dairy, soy, and beans contain tyrosine and can help boost amounts of the neurotransmitter.

Supplements such as L-tyrosine and L-theanine provide can additional support.

2. Pat yourself on the back

Did you cook a great homemade dinner? Have you reached your goal of running a 5k? Did you receive a compliment on your hard work?

If so, celebrate – get a massage, spend a night watching a favorite movie, or break out the bubbly for a toast and experience higher levels of dopamine as you reward yourself for a job well done.

3. Avoid certain foods

Processed foods, as well as those with high sugar and caffeine content, can deplete dopamine. 

Reduce or eliminate these as much as possible.

4. Get good sleep

Dopamine is an important part of the sleep-wake cycle and is associated with feelings of alertness.

Lack of proper sleep may decrease dopamine receptors and can result in fatigue and an overall sense of feeling tired. Practice healthy sleep habits to support your happiness.

5. Take care of yourself

Self-care is an easy and effective way to raise levels of dopamine. 

Consider what works for you – a warm bath at night? Some quiet time to read and reflect? A hike on your favorite trail?

Among innumerable others, these are all options that can help you manage stress and increase dopamine levels.

An increase in happiness may be more available that you ever imagined. With good eating habits, proper sleep, and the implementation of healthy stress-management tools, you can start increasing your chances of feeling good – starting today.

REFERENCES:

https://www.longdom.org/open-access/happiness-role-of-dopamine-and-serotonin-on-mood-and-negative-emotions-2165-7548-1000350.pdf
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/science-of-kindness.html

The best approach to good health is one that’s proactive.

That’s why it’s important we support the immune system, a complex structure dedicated to protecting us from harmful outside invaders and fighting off what we come down with. This intricate bodily system plays a significant role in overall health by protecting, supporting, and balancing our bodies every minute of the day.

In today’s world, it’s common to reach for an over-the-counter medicines every time a symptom strikes. While that’s not always necessarily a bad thing, there are plenty of options for supporting the immune system that will prevent us from having to reach for medications in the first place.

Need some ideas?

Here are ten ways to strengthen and support your immune system:

1. Hydrate

Drinking half your body weight in ounces of (ideally filtered) water daily is a good place to start when it comes to keeping your body flushed of invaders and toxins.

2. Rest

Good sleep at night is essential for immune system recovery and should be complemented with rest and downtime throughout the day as well.

3. Exercise/Movement

Exercise supports the movement of blood throughout the body, allowing elements of the immune system the ability to patrol the blood and surrounding tissues. This movement of blood, fluid, and these elements supports the flushing of impurities and infections from the body.

4. Healthy diet

Eliminating sugar in food and drinks should be high priority on the list of a healthy diet. Paired with plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables, adequate protein, and healthy fats, the immune system can flourish with proper nutrients.

5. Reduce toxin exposure

Pesticides, lead, mould, and heavy metals can all be harmful to immunity. Eating organic produce and eliminating toxic hazards can help.

6. Support healthy bacteria

Our gut microbiome is essential to a healthy immune system. Including prebiotics and probiotics in your daily diet can make a big difference. Try fermented foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut, as well as yogurt and kefir.

7. Manage stress

Although we can’t eliminate stress in our lives, we can learn to manage it in healthy ways. Self-expression (such as dancing, singing, painting, keeping a diary, etc.), adaptogenic herbs, and forest bathing can all work wonders in bringing about peace and calm so our immune systems can rest and restore.

8. Breath work

Did you know that your diaphragm is actually a pump for the lymphatic system, which pushes out waste? Deep breathing and breath work helps support the movement of immune cells to clean up messes where they are needed throughout the body. Aim for daily meditation or breathing exercises whenever possible.

9. Mood balance

A bad mood isn’t just upsetting for your spouse and children, but for your immune system, too.  Having strong connections with others, enjoying hobbies, processing emotions, and even taking medications (whether herbal or prescribedl) when needed can all support a balanced mood.

10. Supplements

To complement the above recommendations, some supplements can be helpful in keeping immunity strong such as:

• Zinc
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Elderberry
• Lemon Balm
• Garlic
• Omega-3s
• Multi-strain probiotics
• Astragalus
• Grape Seed Extract
• Mushrooms (such as reishi, chaga, turkey tail, etc.)

Speak with your doctor about which ones may work best for you, taking into consideration any chronic issues you have or medications you may be taking.

As you can see, there’s more to keeping sickness away than just taking a prescription.  A lifestyle full of healthy choices can prepare your immune system for any invaders and support it when it needs to act.

What can you do today to support the job it’s doing for you right now?

REFERENCES

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/support-your-immune-function-with-good-nutrition

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/eat-these-foods-to-boost-your-immune-system/

Children can be resilient when it comes to sickness, and their immune system is what’s to thank.

But we all know it’s hard to keep little hands from germ-covered toys, screens, noses, and mouths.  That’s why it’s essential that kids are provided with the support they need to keep their immune system balanced and strong.

While some of these recommendations are the same as for adults, there are additional suggestions especially for children.

Ten tips for strong immunity in children

1. Keep sugar low

Many foods and drinks marketed to children are high in sugar, including juices. Limit intake and offer water (infused with fruit if need be) for stable immunity.

2. Teach cleanliness skills

As soon as they walk in the door, right before a meal, and after using the bathroom are particularly important times to ensure proper handwashing. 

Encourage kids to sing Happy Birthday or the ABCs while scrubbing with soap and to rinse thoroughly when they are finished.

3. Sleep

Getting good quality sleep every night is important for children. Stick to a schedule and an enjoyable nightly routine whenever possible.

4. Be mindful of food sensitivities

If chronic infections or sickness are apparent, food sensitivities may be at play. Work with your child’s doctor to rule out issues with or sensitivities to certain foods.

Bear in mind that there is a difference between a food sensitivity and an allergy – those with sensitivities can still test negative for an allergy and experience the unpleasant symptoms of intolerance. While blood-based allergy tests are a good place to start, if symptoms persist after a negative test result, it could be a sensitivity.

5. Hydrate

Make sure children have water bottles with them at school, on the playground, and in the car. Adequate hydration helps the body flush out toxins and invaders.

6. Vaccinate mindfully

When vaccinating, make sure your child is healthy prior to receiving the vaccine(s) and be mindful of how many are given at once so as not to overload the child’s immune system.

In addition, try not to suppress any mild symptoms a child experiences from a vaccination (although they should be monitored by a doctor). This is the immune system responding and building tolerance.

7. A healthy diet

They may not always want to eat their broccoli but offering a colourful diet of fruits and vegetables complemented by quality protein and healthy fats nourishes the immune system.

Try adding greens to a fruit smoothie and finely chopped vegetables to pasta sauce or baked potato for extra nutrients.

8. Limit toxic exposures

Exposure to germs and microbes are necessary for the immune system to develop and grow strong, but exposure to chemicals and toxins is harmful and could be detrimental to growing bodies.

Whenever you have the opportunity, provide your family with organic foods, pure and clean water, and plenty of non-polluted, fresh air.

9. A healthy gut

To keep kids’ guts healthy, try a children’s probiotic supplement and include fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, and miso in their diets.

Another consideration for gut health is the use of antibiotics. While they’re absolutely vital in some cases, there are also times when they’re not completely necessary. Oral antibiotics can alter the digestive system’s microbiome and may ultimately impact digestive health either temporarily or long term.

10. Plenty of joy

As with adults, it’s important for children to just have fun. Many times, that means playing in the dirt and just running around.  This is good for kids’ bodies and minds and getting dirty exposes them to bacteria and germs that ultimately help build strong immune systems. 

After all, children are going to get dirty – that’s just part of growing up.

By being role models and teaching (and showing) children what to do to keep their immune systems healthy, we can encourage their good choices and watch them grow into healthy and balanced young adults.

REFERENCES:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC121401/

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-boost-your-kids-immunity-heading-into-the-new-school-year/

It’s so easy to run out of energy. We lead busy lives, full of responsibility and we have to find time to work, relax, sleep and of course, enjoy ourselves though the things we love, like socialising and keeping fit. All of these things require energy, which can be difficult to come by, but with the help of certain superfoods, we can tap into it naturally.

Superfoods are known for their wide variety of health benefits, with one of these benefits being the ability to give you a natural energy boost. Here are four of some popular superfoods that do just that!

Almonds

Easily found on most supermarket shelves, the humble almond is actually a powerful superfood that can do wonders for your energy levels!

Converts sugar into energy. Studies have shown that almonds are one of the most nutrient-rich form of food available¹ and they are a rich source of magnesium, which plays a key role in converting sugar into natural energy.

Sleep regulation. Almonds are beneficial in helping you sleep well due to their high levels of magnesium.

Goji berries

These little berries are fantastic for adding a pop of colour to your plate and what’s even better is that they are delicious and so good for you! Tiny red goji berries are packed full of antioxidants with scientific evidence to support the following claims:²

Immune system support. The antioxidants in goji berries are known for their immune-boosting qualities and their ability to reduce inflammation and protect against harmful free radicals, keeping you in great health and full of energy.²

Stabilises blood sugar. Goji berries may be helpful in controlling how sugar is released into the bloodstream, with research showing that they can help to balance insulin and glucose levels in the blood.³ As energy slumps can be caused by dips in your blood sugar levels, keeping them balanced is a great way to avoid those slumps.

Improves sleep. Lack of sleep is a key trigger for tiredness during the day, so one of the best ways to feel full of energy is to make sure you get enough. That can be easier said than done, but a study has shown that goji berries can improve your quality of sleep, leading to increased energy levels, a better ability to focus and greater mental acuity.⁴

Guarana

Native to the Amazon basin, this Brazilian plant is a black seed with a white covering, about the size of a coffee berry and encased in a red shell. When the seed is processed into a powder and consumed, it delivers a range of science-backed health benefits proving it to be a great superfood in terms of delivering a natural energy boost:

Reduced fatigue. Guarana is an excellent source of natural caffeine, which helps you maintain your mental energy and focus. This is because caffeine has been shown to block the effects of adenosine, a compound that helps your brain relax.⁵

Rich in antioxidants. Like goji berries, guarana is particularly rich in antioxidants, which are great for giving your immune system a boost and helping to keep you feeling well.

May boost memory. Studies have been conducted into the effects of guarana on your memory and have concluded that it can help you maintain focus, pay more attention to tasks and complete them more quickly.⁶

Chlorella

A form of single-celled, freshwater algae, chlorella is a powerful nutritional supplement that studies have shown to have many natural energy boosting health benefits:

Acts as an antioxidant. A number of the compounds contained within chlorella, including chlorophyll, vitamin C, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein are antioxidants. Antioxidants keep us in good health with optimal energy levels.

May enhance aerobic endurance. Positive effects were demonstrated in a study that looked at the effect of chlorella on aerobic endurance, with it showing a significant improvement in the ability to saturate oxygen into the lungs.⁷ This might be due to chlorella’s branched-chain amino acid content, as there have been further studies showing that this collection of three amino acids can also improve aerobic performance.⁸

Superfoods are super for a reason. As well as helping to boost our energy, they boast health benefits ranging from anti-aging effects to glucose regulation and immune function support. As they taste great too, adding them to your diet is a fantastic way to deliver some immediate health benefits.

1. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Ellis/publication/250058086_The_nutritional_and_health_benefits_of_almonds_a_healthy_food_choice/links/5850497108ae8f37381940b7/The-nutritional-and-health-benefits-of-almonds-a-healthy-food-choice.pdf [↩]
2. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322693#seven-scientifically-proven-benefits [↩] [↩]
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4475782/ [↩]
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18447631/ [↩]
5. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00386.2002 [↩]
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091305704002710 [↩]
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25320462/ [↩]
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21297567/ [↩]

How can developing mindfulness support positive mental health?

Positive mental health is determined by a variety of factors and while it’s impossible to control everything that happens around us, developing mindfulness can be a strong step in the right direction when it comes to experiencing greater happiness and a positive state of mind. 

Why should you eat healthy, high-frequency energy foods?

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” – Nikola Tesla

We’re not just a physical body – scientifically speaking, we’re a source of energy that is bound together by an energy field. Everything with energy vibrates, and the higher the energy, the higher the frequency of this vibration.¹ High-frequency foods help us to increase our natural energy vibration and in doing so, we’re better-able to connect with ourselves and rid our minds of unhealthy thoughts.  Foods with a high vibrational energy include organic fruits, herbs, vegetables and nuts.² By contrast, low -frequency foods, such as meat, poultry and sugar, as well as foods that are highly processed, chemically or genetically altered or contain chemical additives, can result in ill health when eaten in high amounts.

Why is it important to keep hydrated?

Dehydration makes you feel physically unwell and can also affect your mental health.³ The human brain is composed of around 75% water and as soon as this level starts to drop, circulation slows and blood and oxygen move around the body more slowly.⁴ Even mild dehydration affects how you think and feel. If you can’t think clearly, it’s difficult to be fully mindful and to experience happiness.

Why is movement vital for mental health?

Evidence suggests that physical activity and exercise probably alleviate some of the symptoms associated with a negative state of mind. In addition, scientific studies have concluded that exercise might help with improving self-image, social skills and cognitive functioning, as well as reducing the symptoms of anxiety.⁵ Try taking a stroll in the fresh air or going for a gentle swim. You’ll soon see that it’s difficult not to feel in a more positive state of mind after this.

Why is sleep so important?

Anyone who has ever suffered a bad night’s sleep will tell you that their brain probably wasn’t firing on all cylinders the following day. Lack of sleep can leave you feeling mentally exhausted, emotional and unsettled in your surroundings. Try to get eight hours of quality sleep each night.⁶ Set a routine and go to bed at the same time each evening.

Try to wake up at the same time each morning (even on weekends!) and don’t stare at your phone or other electronic devices before you sleep as they can keep your brain alert and prevent you from relaxing fully.

Why is elevating your thoughts the key?

The law of attraction states that what we put out into the universe; we will receive.⁷ If you want to attract joy and happiness, you need to make an active effort to put those messages out there. Don’t focus on what you don’t want from life but concentrate on what you do want. Set meaningful goals and strive to make the very most of every single day.

Why is altruism beneficial to mental health?

Doing something kind for someone else doesn’t just benefit them – it can benefit you too. Connecting with people, and taking time to help them, can create positive vibes and help enhance your sense of purpose and wellbeing. Helping others has been scientifically shown to reduce stress and improve both your physical and mental health, leading to a sense of calm and ease and enabling you to increase your confidence, happiness and optimism.⁸ Ultimately, by helping others, you too could lead a happier, more fulfilled life.

Your state of mind isn’t something you can focus on in isolation. Different aspects of our lifestyle, including your physical health, can all contribute to achieving a positive state of mind.

1. Full on happiness: Vibrational Frequency 101 + Foods to increase it [↩]
2. Mindbodygreen: How to make sure you’re eating high-vibrational food [↩]
3. https://psychcentral.com/news/2012/02/20/dehydration-influences-mood-cognition/35037.html [↩]
4. AIFC: How important is water and hydration to mental health? [↩]
5. NCBI: The relation of physical activity and exercise to mental health [↩]
6. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need#:~:text=National%20Sleep%20Foundation%20guidelines1,to%208%20hours%20per%20night. [↩]
7. The Law of Attraction: What is the law of attraction? Open your eyes to a world of endless possibilities. [↩]
8. Mental Health Foundation: Doing good does you good [↩]

Did you know that certain chemicals in our bodies (four neurotransmitters, to be exact) influence our levels of happiness?

Serotonin is one of these wondrous neurotransmitters known collectively as happiness chemicals (in addition to dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins). Specifically, it’s associated with mood and the feelings of relaxation and calm.

Designed to communicate information throughout the body, serotonin is a chemical messenger primarily produced in the gut with a direct connection to the brain. This means that our levels of serotonin can have a powerful effect on our happiness or our lack thereof.

Let’s take a further look.

Serotonin is created by the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan converts to 5-HTP and eventually into serotonin. Essentially, tryptophan is the building block for this neurotransmitter.

When levels of serotonin are low at any given time, symptoms can appear such as:

• depression
• anxiety
• impulsive behavior
• irritable mood
• sleep issues
• undesirable choices

But what contributes to low serotonin levels?

While research is still ongoing, there’s a strong link to gut health. 

Serotonin is highly influenced by the gut microbiome. Poor diet, a lack of helpful bacteria, and the overuse of antibiotics can all impact the creation of this neurotransmitter.

To increase and support healthy levels, practice self-care techniques such as:

• belly breathing
• meditation
• yoga
• forest bathing
• aerobic exercise
• massage
• getting outside and enjoying the sun (ideally at least 10-15 minutes daily)
• a diet rich in healthy bacteria including pre and probiotics
• eating foods rich in tryptophan alongside healthy carbs for good absorption (such as a turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat bread or a plate of salmon and brown rice)
• mindful use of antibiotics
• 5-HTP supplements

In addition, SSRIs are a common anti-depressant that work to block the brain from depleting serotonin and encourage the body to recycle it instead. This is helpful in severe cases of depression.

While happiness may rely on a variety of lifestyle, physical, and mental health factors, serotonin also plays a significant role.

A healthy diet paired with active self-care can support this neurotransmitter and ultimately, your mood. And that is something to smile about.

Taking care of your mind and body during any time of the year is important.

And during the holidays, it’s essential. The hustle and bustle of this time of year is often filled with scrumptious goodies and late-night parties – not to mention self-induced stress. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Make this year one in which you are present, healthy, and joyous with these 10 self-care tips for a successful holiday season.

1. Set realistic expectations.

Whether it’s for yourself or others, understand that the holidays probably won’t be perfect and that there is beauty in this realisation. 

2. Get proper sleep.

Crucial for immunity, good sleep should be high on your priority list. Practice healthy sleep habits and make sure to stick to your routine whenever possible.

3. Ask for help.

Preparing a big family meal or decorating the house doesn’t have to happen alone. Reach out to others for help – many people enjoy lending a helping hand.

4. Be mindful of eating habits.

Despite common belief, holiday eating isn’t an all or nothing affair. Make conscious choices about what you consume and allow for flexibility when you want to indulge.

5. Breathe.

Breathing techniques such as counting inhales and exhales to four, belly breathing, and pranayama breathing are all valuable tools when it comes to slowing down and managing stress. Practice them when sitting in traffic, after dropping the kids off at school, or even during a frantic holiday shopping spree.

6. Make taking supportive nutrients easy.

Remember to continue taking medications and supplements even when things get busy. Place supplements on your nightstand, next to your bathroom sink, and even at your work desk (as an extra supply) so you don’t forget.

7. Look for ways to be active with loved ones.

Instead of sitting all day, enjoy a walk after dinner, play active games as a family, go ice skating one afternoon, or try an online tai-chi class together. Make sure to balance food and sitting with movement.

8. Drink tea.

A glass of warm tea can be comforting and calming. Try for a daily cup (ones with adaptogen herbs such as holy basil and rhodiola give extra stress support).

9. Don’t forget to laugh.

It’s important to find humour in ourselves and in situations, particularly during the holidays. A good laugh is even supportive to the immune system. So the next time the pumpkin pie crust gets burned and the filling is soupy, just have a good laugh about it and let it go.

10. Find time for yourself.

Make sure to allot time and space to rest and regroup. It’s okay to say no to some things and yes to reading, napping, exercising, talking on the phone, cooking, taking a bath, and just enjoying some peace and quiet.

The holidays are an exciting time, but without proper self-care, you can find yourself overwhelmed and exhausted. Take care of your health – mentally and physically – by prioritizing what’s important to you.

REFERENCES:

https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/managing-expectations
https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/holiday-season

If you think fresh and nutrient-dense foods are only available in warmer months, think again. Winter is a wonderful time of year to take advantage of the abundance of delicious and nutritious foods. 

Whether it’s roasting root vegetables for fibre and antioxidants, simmering broths for bone health and weight loss, or slicing citrus for immunity and hydration, winter has plenty of foods to keep you warm and healthy.

So cosy up by the fireplace and enjoy what the season has to offer with some of the following flavorful, comforting, and nutrient-packed fare.

Root vegetables

Winter squashes, beets, turnips, kohlrabi, radishes, and parsnips are all excellent seasonal produce in cooler months. 

These starches are good sources of fibre, beta carotene, vitamin C, iron, potassium, and other nutrients which can help support:

• detoxification
• immunity
• heart health
• weight management
• proper digestion

Try including root vegetables in your winter diet by:

• roasting them with herbs
• adding them to smoothies (especially beets)
• including them in winter stews and soups
• combining them into risotto, rice, or pasta dishes

Enjoy the natural sweetness root vegetables have to offer and simultaneously reap the benefits for your health.

Bone broths

Winter can, at times, be filled with heavy meals that don’t necessarily support goals of weight management and healthy eating. Broths can help offset those rich feasts while still satisfying and comforting your body.

Bone broths, made from animal proteins and bones, can boast high vitamin and mineral content inclusive of collagen (which transforms into amino acids), iron, vitamin A, vitamin K, selenium, zinc, and manganese.

These flavorful broths can help:

• strengthen bones
• reduce inflammation in joints and the gut
• encourage proper sleep
• support hair, nails, and skin

They can be enjoyed as a light meal, as a foundation for soup or stew, or even just sipped as a warm beverage.

To make one quart of broth, add 2-3 large chunks of beef or buffalo bone (or animal bone of your choice) to a slow cooker with 1/4 cup vinegar (white or apple cider), and a hefty pinch of salt. If desired, add herbs, onions, garlic, and/or vegetables. Fill the remainder of the slow cooker with water and simmer for 4-6 hours.

For a non-animal protein broth, check out Rebecca Katz’s Magic Mineral Broth™ recipe.

Citrus

Winter can bring with it its fair share of colds and flu, which is why citrus is such a treasure this time of year.

These fruits ripen to their sweetest during cooler months in North America, making them both an excellent source of nutrients and antioxidants and a bright way to liven up your diet.

Grapefruits, oranges, lemons, tangerines, and kumquats offer high levels of vitamin C, fibre, and antioxidants that can:

• enhance immunity
• reduce inflammation
• help balance mood (particularly helpful in winter months)
• protect the brain
• support heart health

Add them to your diet:

• as a snack
• on top of salads
• in smoothies or juices
• as a fresh-squeezed juice
• as dessert

Just remember that moderation is key as these fruits do contain natural sugars and elevated acid levels.

As you can see, winter doesn’t have to be filled with heavy meals that help put on weight rather than manage it. By including root vegetables, broths, and citrus, you can increase your nutrient content while still enjoying full flavour and comfort.

REFERENCES:

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/winter-squash/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/citrus-winter-fruits-benefits/

Travel at the holidays is often exciting – the anticipation of getting away, the enjoyment of seeing loved ones, and the indulgence of our favourite meals all beckon to us.

However, our immune systems can take a beating during this time, leading to susceptibility for colds and flu – not what we want our holidays to be full of.

If you’re planning on travelling this holiday season, take a strong, healthy immune system with you with these supportive tips.

1. Be conscious of sugar intake

Would the holidays really be the holidays without sugary treats?  For many of us, probably not –and that’s okay (for the most part).

Sugar can wreak havoc on the immune system, creating low-grade inflammation and weakening its fighting response to bacteria and viruses.

However, rather than depriving yourself of all of your favourite goodies, adapt your daily choices to fit the season. 

First, reduce and/or cut out sugars found in such foods and beverages as sodas, salad dressings, and processed foods. This will free up some sugar and caloric intake for that piece of pumpkin pie or glass of eggnog you’ve been craving.

Second, be aware of unconscious eating. It’s easy to reach for one of the doughnuts sitting out in the break room or snag a piece of hard peppermint at the receptionist’s desk during an appointment, but all of those things add up. 

Ask yourself if you really want that treat or if you’re choosing it just because it’s there.

Third, eat protein with sugar. Protein helps keep blood sugar levels stabilized. If you really want that breakfast pastry, include an egg on your plate. Or if you desire hot chocolate, make it with dairy or soy milk.

Lastly, have healthy options readily available. Place clementines in a bowl on your kitchen counter, pack hummus and vegetables in a small cooler for work, or fill a bottle with fruit-infused sparkling water. Whatever route you choose, be diligent in keeping low sugar options within reach.

2. Get good sleep

Hours sitting in a seat, shifting between time zones, and laying in a bed that isn’t your own are all catalysts for poor sleep. And when we don’t get enough, our immune system suffers.

During sleep, the body produces cytokines, proteins that fight infection and reduce inflammation. Sleep not only creates cytokines but also puts them to work.

For better travel sleep, start by adjusting your schedule slowly to your destination before you leave. That may mean going to bed 30 to 60 minutes earlier for a few nights before boarding the plane as well as making sure you still get your usual amount of sleep in after you land (even if that means going to bed early in your new time zone).

Also, bring sleep aids such as melatonin, a sleep mask, and earbuds (if sensitive to light and sound), as well as your own pillow if possible. For kids, make sure to pack their favourite stuffed animal or blanket.

3. Be prepared before, during, and after travel

Strong immunity for holiday travel starts before you’ve even left and doesn’t stop until long after you’ve arrived back home.

A daily supplementation regimen contributes to supporting the immune system throughout the entire holiday. Some things to include:

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin C
• Zinc (a lozenge can be helpful during a flight)
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Colloidal silver (sprayed on hands and in the nasal cavity during travel)

But make sure you don’t just rely on supplements. Foods that boast these nutrients should be top of mind and your first choice whenever possible.

In addition to these tips, making the holidays about family, friends, and love and keeping it filled with plenty of joy and laughter may be one of the most beneficial things you can do for your immune system when travelling during the holiday season.

So let go of stress, take care of yourself, and revel in the time spent with those you love. Your immune system will thank you.

REFERENCES:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-sleep-affects-your-immunity

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/8-expert-tips-to-avoid-getting-sick-when-you-travel.html

Did you know the more connected we are with nature (like that of nature therapy), the healthier we may be? 

Considering the great outdoors can do everything from nourish our bodies to boost our mood, it may be time to develop a deeper relationship with it in order to gain as many benefits as we can.

One way to do this is by seasonal living, in which aspects of our lives such as diet, movement, sleep, and activities are adapted to the specific time of year. Taking cues from light, the weather, plants, and animals, we can learn to live respectfully and in sync with the cycles of Mother Earth.

Doing this can take conscious effort yet creating a purposeful transition from season to season can be an easy and enjoyable approach.

First: Listen to your body

When temperatures change and the outside world begins to look different, we may experience signs pointing to what the body intrinsically needs.

Such seasonal transition cues can be:

• food cravings (such as fresh, crunchy greens in spring and warm root vegetables in fall)
• energy shifts (outward energy in spring/summer and inward energy in fall/winter)
• change of hobbies/interests based on weather and daylight
• the need for more or less sleep
• an overall sense of wanting change (like wanting to simplify or yearning to read more)

In addition, simply not feeling well in certain seasons (like having low energy, mood issues, and an overall sense of un-wellness) can be due to the lack of nourishment required for the specific season. 

Listen closely to what your body desires and adapt diet, sleep, and routine to nurture its needs.

Next: Choose how you’ll tangibly transition

More than switching out your wardrobe or ordering a certain flavour of coffee, a distinct transition from season to season can bring closure to one way of living and open the door for another.

Ideas for this transition are:

• a diet reset or fasting to provide the digestive system rest and recovery
• taking a break from social media, news, and other online outlets to make space for reflection on the past season and goal setting for the new one
• mindful transitional movement such as yoga, stretching and walking
• focus on liquid intake for proper hydration

Transition periods can be what you choose, from one to three days to a week or longer. 

Then: Live seasonally

Once a transition takes place, revel in the joy of the new season.

What you eat, how you move, when you sleep, and where you go can all be influenced by nature for optimal health.

For conscious seasonal living, try:

• cooking based on outdoor temperatures (cooling foods in spring and summer and warming foods in fall and winter) with a focus on in-season produce
• movement inspired by temperatures, daylight, and natural surroundings (such as running in spring, kayaking in summer, hiking in fall, and snowshoeing in winter)
• adjusting sleep patterns (more in winter for rest and recovery and less in summer for movement and harvest)
• dwelling in environments that fit the season (eating outdoors in summer or working from a cosy coffee shop in fall)

Even though we can access much of what we desire all year long and can choose to live the exact same way day to day, seasonal change can provide us with a variety of different nutrients, movements, and ways of living to enhance life.

Think about how you can gently evolve your daily routine to honour the season today.

References:
https://www.seasonsofchange.com/seasons-of-change
 

Eye health is impacted by a number of factors.

Poor eye health can lead to symptoms ranging from sore eyes to dry, itchy eyes, blurred vision and more.

As one of our five senses, eyesight is without a doubt important. Being able to see well is a huge benefit, and yet it’s something that is easy to take for granted. Until there are problems with our eyes, we often don’t even think about them. Like the rest of our body, it’s important to look after them.

Limit screen time

Too much time spent staring at a screen can cause digital eyestrain, resulting in burning, itchy or tired eyes, as well as headaches, fatigue and loss of focus. With so much reliance on digital technology, and with many people now working from home, there is an increased risk that you might find yourself staring at screens longer than before. With no colleagues to speak to on breaks, and no commuting time to and from the office, your ‘breaks’ can easily turn into more time spent looking at a computer or television screen. To prevent the symptoms of too much screen time, be sure to take regular breaks. Make sure you are wearing any prescription glasses you require and be sure to work under proper lighting conditions.¹

Avoid blue light

It’s not just televisions and computers that are an issue. Most of us are guilty of spending too much time staring at our smartphones. For many, it’s the first thing we look at in the morning and the last thing before we go to bed at night. Phones transmit what is known as ‘blue light’ which not only keeps you awake, but also has the potential to lead to macular degeneration – a leading cause of vision loss.² Certain situations can intensify the transmission of blue light, such as background darkness, so it really is best to avoid looking at your phone in bed if you are worried about eye health.

Try to get enough sleep

Putting down your smartphone is the first step to getting a better night’s sleep, and sleep in itself is important for your eyes. During sleep, all cells in our bodies restore themselves, and this goes for your eyes too. Restoring eye cells reduces sore eyes and can lead to healthier eye function and better vision. Dry eyes in particular are often seen in people who do not get enough sleep.³ But what is enough sleep? Government advice suggests that we should all aim to get between 6-9 hours sleep each night.⁴ If you have difficulty sleeping, try to establish a bedtime routine and do your best to wake up at the same time each morning too. You might find it easier to sleep if you do something in the evening that helps you to relax, like taking a warm bath, listening to some relaxing music or reading a book.

Keep hydrated

Like the rest of your body, your eyes need water to function properly. Without enough lubrication you will find yourself suffering from uncomfortable, sore eyes. This is because dehydration can cause a deficiency on your tear film, which makes the surface of your eyes more prone to irritation. Symptoms of dry eyes might include burning, sensitivity and a gritty feeling. The good news is that it’s an easy fix: simply drinking more water is usually enough to help you produce a greater volume of tears and find yourself suffering with sore eyes less. 

Ensure you are getting enough vitamins

Vitamin A deficiency has been shown in studies to be one of the leading causes of blindness globally.⁵ One of the first signs of such a deficiency is dry eyes, or difficulty producing tears and in some cases you may start to experience night blindness. Fortunately, it’s easy to ensure that your diet contains enough vitamin A. The richest sources are animal-derived, such as liver, egg yolks and dairy products. If you have dietary restrictions that don’t allow you to eat animal products, you can encourage your body to produce it by eating vegetables containing carotenoids, such as sweet potato, kale and carrot. As it can be difficult to get enough vitamin A this way however, you might also like to consider taking a nutritional supplement.   

Vitamins E and C are also important for eye health. Deficiency in vitamin E can lead to retinal degeneration and blindness⁶ and sufficient levels of vitamin C have been suggested in studies to make you less prone to getting cataracts.⁷ Some good dietary sources of vitamin E include almonds, sunflower seeds and vegetable oils, while vitamin C is plentiful in many fruits and vegetables, including sweet peppers, citrus fruits, broccoli and kale. 

Armed with the knowledge of what to do to protect our eyes, for most of us it should be relatively straightforward. Reach for an extra glass of water, take time away from electronic devices and do your best to lead a healthy diet and lifestyle, getting plenty of regenerative sleep.

1. http://www.eyecarefirst.com/blog/186132-screen-time-and-how-it-affects-our-eyes [↩]
2. http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/08_08_2018/ut-chemists-discover-how-blue-light-speeds-blindness [↩]
3. https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2717225 [↩]
4. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/how-to-get-to-sleep/ [↩]
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3090484/ [↩]
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7796601/ [↩]
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1985409/ [↩]

Our bodies work in weird and wonderful ways!

It might seem strange, but sometimes, things that affect one part of your body can also have an impact on a totally different part too. One such relationship is now thought to exist between gut health and sleep.

Your gut can’t think and feel in the traditional sense of the words, but it can communicate with the part of your body that does – your brain, which can in turn influence everything from your mood to your appetite, your stress levels and your sleep. It makes sense then, that an unhappy gut could communicate its unhappiness to the brain and therefore affect sleep.

The gut and the brain – an interesting relationship

Let’s look a little deeper at the link between your gut and your brain. Your brain is essentially your body’s command centre, telling it what to do and letting each system know how to work. According to Dr Emeran Mayer though, a professor of medicine and physiology and the author of The Mind-Gut Connection, there’s evidence that the gut and the brain is particularly strong and complex. This evidence is based on the signalling mechanisms that the gut’s microorganisms seem to have, which allow them to communicate with your brain directly in a way that affects things such as sleep. Studies have also shown that the composition of the microbiome fluctuates at different times, which plays a part in how your sleep genes are programmed¹ and that the gut microbiome can actually change if a person’s sleep is disturbed.

How to make your brain love your gut

Research has shown that your brain will send signals to promote better sleep if you have greater diversity in the types of gut bacteria you have.² It’s not quite as simple as that of course, as knowing we need greater diversity of gut bacteria and getting it are two very different things. There are things we can do to encourage these different strains of bacteria to populate themselves though! Taking a probiotics supplement has been indicated in numerous studies to assist with the population of different strains of friendly bacteria³ and following a healthy diet can also help. Regularly eating natural foods like kefir, kimchee and sauerkraut can be beneficial to growing your gut bacteria as they all have a different combination of beneficial microbes.

How sleep affects your gut health

It’s not just about how gut health affects your quality of sleep. It’s also about how your quality of sleep affects your gut health. Lack of sleep can lead to an increase in stress, which can cause issues with intestinal permeability – known as leaky gut. This is when food and toxins can pass through the intestine into your bloodstream causing issues ranging from bloating and inflammation to stomach pains and changes in the gut microbiome.⁴

Lack of sleep can also affect our ability to make good dietary choices, as the hormones that control hunger are not as balanced when you are not well rested. This can lead to an increased appetite that often makes you reach for carbs and sugars for a quick energy boost. Finally, choosing when you eat can also affect your gut microbiome⁵ . Late-night eating too close to bedtime can make it difficult for your body to focus on sleep and recuperation as its busy thinking about digestion instead.

As the gut and the brain are connected, the gut and sleep are therefore connected, so it’s important that you look after both to keep the other one happy. Focus on getting a good night’s sleep to ensure you maintain a healthy gut, and your gut will repay you by making it easier for you to sleep well in the first place.

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6290721/ [↩]
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3577372/ [↩]
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2221169111601743 [↩]
4. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2015.00392/full [↩]
5. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mnfr.201900867 [↩]

Your metabolism is important in keeping you healthy but what exactly is a metabolism? Your metabolism is – in essence – a way of describing the chemical processes that continuously occur within your body to keep your organs functioning optimally and to keep you alive. ¹

It is responsible for helping you breathe, for repairing cells and for digesting food. It’s this final function that is typically referred to when speaking of metabolism, with people who struggle to keep weight off, even when they seem to be eating right and getting enough physical exercise, sometimes suffering from a ‘slow metabolism.’

What influences and controls your metabolism?

We are all different. We come in different shapes, sizes and genders and we all have a different set of genes. These are all factors in the speed of our metabolisms. Our body composition in part determines the speed of our metabolism – as muscle cells require more energy than fat cells, so generally speaking, increasing your muscle and decreasing fat will speed up your metabolism. Men typically have a more muscular body composition than women, which is why they generally have a quicker metabolism.² This doesn’t mean you can’t do anything to increase your metabolism though and in fact, focusing on the three key areas of fitness, nutrition and lifestyle, can make a difference to pretty much everyone’s metabolic rate.

Fitness and metabolism

Heart-rate cardio training, such as jogging, aerobics or swimming, is one of the best ways to boost your metabolism with the health benefits of this type of physical exercise being an increased aerobic capacity, maximised calorie burn and improvements in the way your body burns fat as a fuel source. For maximum results though, remember to switch things up and try to incorporate weightlifting into your movement workout too.

If you’re not a fan of gyms and the idea of lifting weights terrifies you, don’t worry. Other types of resistance bodyweight exercises will also help boost your metabolism. You could try squats, lunges, press ups and crunches, for example. Weightlifting makes you stronger and increases your muscles, and we’ve already seen that muscle cells require more energy than fat cells, and therefore burn more calories. This doesn’t mean you should focus exclusively on weightlifting though, as cardio still burns significantly more calories than weight training when your body is not at rest.

Both cardio and weightlifting produce what is known as a metabolic ‘afterburn’ effect called excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). In simple terms, this effect means that your body will continue burning calories at a higher rate than normal for up to two hours after you finish your movement workout, so you will still be reaping the health benefits of physical exercise long after you finish!³

Nutrition and metabolism

What you eat does not just affect how you feel but can play a direct role in the effectiveness of your metabolism. When your metabolism is working optimally, your cells will be efficiently producing energy and removing toxins. Try to focus on clean, wholesome foods. These foods will be free from pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, highly processed sugars and trans fats, all of which can stress your body and release the stress hormone cortisol. A higher level of cortisone can result in reduced thyroid activity which, in turn, can slow your metabolism. Try to base your diet around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds and include dairy and lean protein if they suit your dietary preferences. These foods are far less likely to stress your body and affect your level of cortisone and, therefore, your metabolism.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of water. Dehydration can negatively affect your metabolism because water is required for all anabolic repairs such as recovering from exercise or healing from an injury. The NHS recommends we consume 6-8 glasses of water or other liquids each day, or more if you are doing frequent exercise or sweating more than usual.⁴

Lifestyle and metabolism

Coupled with the health benefits of physical exercise and maintaining a good diet, your lifestyle also has an impact on how effective your metabolism is. Getting a good amount of sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our bodies as sleep is the prime time for the growth and repair of our cells. Studies have shown that when sleep was restricted, people experienced impaired carbohydrate metabolism which could lead to weight gain.⁵

Stress is also a factor in how well your metabolism works. Your brain is wired to recognise any kind of threat and respond with a fight-or-flight stress response which releases adrenaline and cortisol, which we have already learnt can reduce the effectiveness of your metabolism. Furthermore, stress also often leads to other metabolism-damaging behaviours such as overeating, skipping exercise, and missing quality sleep.

While some factors are beyond our control, such as ageing, we do still have a strong influence when it comes to ensuring our metabolisms are working as well as possible. We can’t stop time, but we can eat better, move more and do what we can to lead a more healthy, less stressful lifestyle – all of which will help maximise our metabolisms.

1. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/metabolism-and-weight-loss/ [↩]
2. https://journals.lww.com/co-clinicalnutrition/Abstract/2001/11000/Gender_differences_in_fat_metabolism.6.aspx [↩]
3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200333140-00002 [↩]
4. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/water-drinks-nutrition/ [↩]
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079207000202 [↩]

There are many health benefits of physical exercise, but sometimes, the one we want is simply weight loss.

There’s nothing more annoying though, than being committed and disciplined on the exercise front and then getting on the scales at the end of the week only to find you haven’t actually lost any weight – or worse still, that you might even have put some on! Before you start smashing your scales and throwing them out the window though, know that all is not actually lost. Things are not always what they seem and you could well be benefitting from the exercise you are doing more than you realise!

So… if things aren’t as they seem, what could be the reasons why your weight isn’t changing?

Weight fluctuates

Your weight naturally goes up and down and during a single day you could weigh as much as 5-6 pounds different at various points!¹ Given that it takes around 3,500 calories consumed to gain 1 pound of fat, you can’t possible have put all of this on in one day. Scales are great as a guide, but they are a reflection of your ‘weight’ and this is not the same thing as body fat. At certain times we might be carrying more water, so the number on the scales could be greater, but this does not mean we have gained ‘fat.’

Gain muscle whilst losing weight

If you are exercising, you are most likely gaining muscle, and this can show up on the scales.
Not all pounds on the scales are created equal though and if you look at two people who are the same height and weight, they could look very different. This is down to a number of factors – water retention, body composition and the overall shape of your body, but it’s also because muscle and fat have a very different density. It’s often heard that muscle weighs more than fat. This is itself is incorrect. A pound of muscle, and a pound of fat, both weigh the same. They do not look the same though. A pound of cotton wool, for example, is going to be physically larger looking than a pound of steel.

Not keeping track of what you are eating

It’s not always a factor, but are you actually consuming more calories than you need without realising? It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that if we are exercising more we can eat more, and to a degree, this is absolutely correct. You do need more calories to fuel your body if you are frequently enjoying a good movement workout… but we don’t always need THAT MUCH more. Try snacking on high-protein foods that have been proven in studies to keep your fuller for longer and are more likely to help you with continued weight loss.²

Not eating whole foods

Whole foods are rich in vitamins and minerals, don’t contain any chemical additives and are largely unprocessed. They are things like apples, bananas, broccoli, tomatoes, brown rice, whole eggs and salmon. As these foods are nutritious, they give our bodies what they need to function optimally. A diet rich in processed foods on the other hand, can slow down weight loss in a number of ways. Firstly, it often won’t contain enough iron, which is needed to move oxygen around the body and can limit your ability to burn calories through exercise.³ Whole foods also don’t contain refined sugars, which are associated with obesity and have been shown to increase production of the hunger hormone ghrelin which reduces your brains ability to make you feel full.³

Not lifting weights / resistance training

The health benefits of physical exercise are most evident when you combine different types of movement workout. Often, it can be too easy to think that if you are spending all of your time on cardio, then that’s good enough. You can give your muscles a far better workout though – and fuel weight loss – by mixing up your routines with weights or resistance training. While weight training doesn’t burn as many calories during the session as cardio will, it is more effective at building muscle. Muscle burns more energy throughout the day than fat does, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will be burning, even when you’re not doing anything!⁴

Not doing cardio

The opposite is also true. Weightlifting and bodyweight resistance exercise are fantastic for making you physically stronger, but overall, cardio burns more calories per session than weight training will. The evidence points to cardio being what makes you fitter and helping to fire up your metabolism, leading to better weight loss in the long run.⁵

Not sleeping enough

Studies have shown that not getting enough sleep can have a direct impact on your ability to lose weight as the biological mechanisms that kick in when we are tired make us hungry and inclined to eat more than we actually need in order to achieve a quick burst of energy.⁶ Additionally, evidence suggests that your metabolism will not work optimally if you are tired during the day,⁷ so even if you can resist the chocolate biscuits, your body won’t be burning calories as it usually would be anyway.

The bottom line is that daily and even weekly fluctuations in your weight are rarely a cause for concern and are perfectly normal – albeit sometimes frustrating! As long as you are following a healthy diet, getting enough varied exercise and having a good night’s sleep, any ‘stuck’ scales will soon start moving in the direction you want them to again. Also remember that scales are just one way to measure your progress but there are other ways too. You can take monthly measurements to see how your body shape is changing, consider how your clothes are fitting and most importantly, pay attention to how much better you are feeling.

1. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/when-is-the-best-time-to-weigh-yourself/ [↩]
2. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/101/6/1320S/4564492?login=true [↩]
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK54103/ [↩] [↩]
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2980962/ [↩]
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1521691804000836 [↩]
6. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%252Fs13679-012-0026-7 [↩]
7. http://www.tgiscience.com/documents/Sleep%20and%20Weight%20Gain.pdf [↩]

When we talk of children and physical exercise, it’s a lot different to how we would approach a movement workout for an adult – you certainly wouldn’t expect to see a child lifting weights at a gym, for example.

For a child, any form of movement could be classed as physical activity, from running around with friends to dancing around the living room.

Why is exercise so important for children?

Exercise is usually something that is done to keep fit and well, and while that’s true for any age, there are other factors that make it so important to encourage activity in children from an early age. Exercise enhances and promotes the development of motor skills, bones and muscles, cognitive and social skills and brings a number of other health benefits too:¹

• Improving fitness
• Providing an opportunity to socialize
• Increasing concentration
• Improving academic scores
• Building a stronger heart, bones and healthier muscles
• Encouraging healthy growth and development
• Improving self-esteem
• Improving posture and balance
• Lowering stress
• Encouraging a better night’s sleep     

What type, and how much exercise does your child need?

Both the amount and type of exercise your child should be getting depends on their age:

Less than 5-years and not yet walking – NHSguidance states that children under the age of 5, who are not yet walking, should be encouraged to enjoy any type of movement activity to benefit their development. Examples of suitable exercises would include floor-based activities that encourage them to hold different positions, such as rolling over or reaching for a toy. You could also enjoy water-based activities, such as play time in the bath or you could go to your local swimming pool with them.

Less than 5-years and walking unaided – In this scenario, the guidance is that you should ensure your child is active for a minimum of three hours each day. Time in front of the TV or computer should be minimized and instead, they should be encouraged to enjoy activities like running or playing in the garden, throwing and catching a ball, climbing, walking and bouncing on a trampoline.

Children and young people between 5-18 years – NHS guidance is that children and young people should be doing at least one hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day to fully reap the health benefits of physical exercise. Examples might include riding a bike, swimming, gymnastics, skipping, playing a sport such as football, martial arts or even taking the family dog for a brisk walk, which would benefit them too!

Whatever the age of your child, it’s important to remember that physical movement should form the basis of their development and should always be encouraged over spending time in front of the television. As with most things though, it’s all about balance, so there’s certainly nothing wrong with sitting down and watching a movie with them occasionally either.  Physical exercise has been shown in studies to enhance self-esteem, reduce stress and benefit children’s overall mental health,² so should always be actively encouraged.

1. https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/general-health-advice/leading-active-lifestyle/exercise-children-and-young-people/ [↩]
2. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-05137-001 [↩]

How much exercise is too much?

Anyone actively training to increase their performance can be at risk of overtraining – especially when using high training loads to achieve your fitness goals and improve performance. As studies have shown these can only be tolerated by your body through periods of rest and recovery.¹

When considering how much exercise is too much, it’s advisable to match your individual fitness level with your fitness goals. Form realistic plans to reach those goals one-by-one, instead of trying to achieve everything at once and risking potential damage.

What is overtraining syndrome (OTS)?

Too much training can be classified into two types: overreaching and overtraining.² Unusual muscle soreness can be indicative of overreaching. This occurs when an athlete does not allow enough recovery time between hard workouts – it often presents after several consecutive days of excessive exercise. Overtraining goes a step beyond this and is the result of extreme overreaching.¹

The body cannot handle an imbalance between stress and recovery. This is true for – not only professional athletes but athletes of all fitness levels. In fact, some of the worst offenders are those who are new to any form of exercise!

There are various triggers/stressors of overtraining syndrome¹ :

• Increased training load without adequate recovery
• Monotony of training – not varying between muscle groups
• Participating in an excessive number of competitions (depending on the sport)
• Having trouble sleeping
• Stressors including personal life

Am I working out too much? Six signs of overtraining

Wondering if you are training too hard? The following are training-related and lifestyle-related signs of overtraining that, if observed, should be taken seriously:

Physical pain in muscles and joints

Heavy, sore, and stiff muscles are all signs of excessive exercise. But there is a difference between normal soreness from exercise and being overly sore from too much exercise.³ Soreness after exercise usually lasts up to 24-48 hours. So, if you are feeling discomfort that lasts for more than 72 hours it’s a sign that you have done too much. Soreness causing pain which prevents you from carrying out daily activities, associated with living or working, is also not normal.

There are certain injuries, known as overuse injuries, which are also clear indicators that you have done too much. Strained joints that come from training injuries⁴ are a type of muscle or joint injury caused by repetitive trauma and are often a result of overexercising.

Decline in performance

Overexercising can actually have the reverse effect of the one you had been hoping for, where your performance slowly becomes worse the longer you train. This is a direct effect of your body reaching its limits.¹

Decline in concentration

Athletes can experience symptoms of overtraining in areas of life other than just the physical. Studies have shown that a lack of mental concentration and restlessness are some of the possible symptoms of overexercising.¹

Constant fatigue⁵

Persistent fatigue and feeling washed-out are warning signs that you may be overexercising. Being tired or even exhausted after an intense workout is normal. But you need to give your body enough rest afterwards to avoid a fatigue that continues long after you have recovered.

Experiencing insomnia

Sleep disturbances can occur as a result of exercising too much. A study by BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation found that poor sleep quality was evident in 100% of those analyzed who had overtrained.⁶

Loss of appetite and weight loss

Are you usually hungry after working out? You will have used your stored calories – so you should be! This is why losing appetite and weight are further possible symptoms of exercising too much, as demonstrated in a study by Sports Health into Overtraining Syndrome.¹

Listen to your body – how to prevent overtraining syndrome

There are a number of preventative measures you can take to limit your risk of overtraining syndrome:¹

• Take time to rest in between any exercises you perform in a day – whether you work out at the gym, outside or at home
• Schedule full rest days and give your body the time it needs to recover
• Adjust your training volume and intensity based on your individual performance and mood
• Ensure that your food contains enough calories for your individual training load
• Drink enough and stay hydrated
• Try to get enough sleep
• Vary between workouts and muscle groups

Nutrition can help you recover from training

Ensuring you have a healthy diet is as much an act of self-care as allowing your body to rest is. Reaching your fitness goals in a healthy way can be supported by the appropriate sports nutrition and by following the key principles of staying hydrated, focusing on a diet with a balanced ratio of complex carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and essential nutrients after training – and refilling your energy balance with carbohydrates. Studies have shown that amino acids⁷ and proteins are also needed for muscle recovery, with protein contributing to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass. The amount of protein required varies and depends very much on the individual athlete and also the amount of exercise performed.

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3435910/ [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
2. https://www.hss.edu/conditions_overtraining.asp [↩]
3. https://www.kidney.org/content/understanding-muscle-soreness-%E2%80%93-how-much-too-much [↩]
4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/overuse-injury/art-20045875 [↩]
5. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2015/03000/overreaching_overtraining__more_is_not_always.4.aspx [↩]
6. https://bmcsportsscimedrehabil.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13102-019-0132-x [↩]
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6212987/ [↩]

How can you achieve a more restful and restorative sleep?

Sleep is vital. We know that, because we all, at one point or another, will have failed to have enough and suffered as a result. Lack of sleep causes physical effects like grey eyes, dull skin and headaches, but the importance of sleep is also key to understanding mental health. Put simply, too little sleep will negatively impact our mental wellbeing. Deficits in daytime performance due to sleep loss are experienced universally and associated with a significant social, financial, and human cost. Sleep deprivation studies repeatedly show a variable (negative) impact on mood, cognitive performance, and motor function.¹

What are the different stages of sleep?

Sleep is not a constant, linear process, even if it feels like it. You might be one of the lucky ones whose head hits the pillow and then you wake up 8 hours later in the same position having ‘slept straight through’ but there are actually a number of different sleep stages that you have to go through in order to truly achieve restful sleep.

Sleepers pass through five stages: 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These stages progress cyclically from 1 through REM then begin again with stage 1. A complete sleep cycle takes an average of 90 to 110 minutes, with each stage lasting between 5 to 15 minutes.²

While REM sleep is generally the most talked about, as this is the stage where we dream, it’s actually stages 3 and 4, known as deep NREM sleep, which are the most restorative sleep. These are the stages when it’s the most difficult to wake up and the stages where our body and mind are recovering and preparing for the next period of wakefulness.

Is it really important to get 8 hours sleep each night?

It is, and it isn’t. If you get a solid 8 hours that’s great, because you will have passed through the sleep cycle a number of times and experienced multiple periods of stage 3 and 4, restorative sleep. If, on the other hand, you achieve 8 hours but there are multiple periods of waking up in between, you may fail to reach the third sleep stage, or might not spend long enough in it. In which case you would technically have been asleep for the desired time, but would likely still be groggy and tired. The real key is getting to sleep, and staying asleep, so that you pass through all of the required stages.

How can you improve your sleep quality?

We all have an inbuilt body clock and if it gets out of sync, it will be harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed. By sticking to a regular routine, our body gets used to ‘asleep’ and ‘awake’ times, making it easier to enter these when we need to. Bedtime should be a pleasant routine, so make your room as comfortable as possible and ensure there is fresh air and a steady temperature.

Your eating habits play a role in how well you sleep, especially in the hours before bedtime. Avoiding stimulants such as coffee and chocolate will help you achieve a better quality of sleep, as caffeine keeps your mind active and makes it harder to switch off. It’s also wise to avoid heavy meals before bedtime, which can sit on your stomach, causing discomfort, prevent you from falling asleep and make it more likely that you will wake up whilst trying to get comfortable.

Regular exercise also improves the symptoms of insomnia and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep. The more vigorously you exercise, the stronger the sleep benefits. But don’t let this put you off, even light exercise such as walking every day can improve sleep quality.

Finally, try to stay away from your phone! The blue light emitted by screens on mobile phones, computers, tablets, and televisions restrain the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle, making it harder to fall and stay asleep.³

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-why-good-sleep-is-important [↩]
2. http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/what/sleep-patterns-rem-nrem [↩]
3. https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/technology-sleep.html# [↩]

What role does regular exercise play in your mental wellbeing?

The health benefits of physical exercise are many and varied and, given the obvious affects it has on our fitness, shape and health, it’s understandable that this is where attention is often focused. Exercise is not just about increasing fitness and gaining bigger muscles though – it’s also a major gamechanger in understating mental health. Findings from research indicate that exercise is associated with improvements in mental health and research on acute exercise indicates that 20 to 40 minutes of aerobic activity results in improvements in anxiety and mood that persist for several hours.¹

Can exercise help us to feel more energetic?

If you run a marathon you are going to feel exhausted, but the cumulative effect of exercise actually has the opposite effect and makes you feel more energetic. This is because regular physical activity increases the blood flow within your body and improves your cardiovascular health and fitness. In turn, this makes it easier for blood and oxygen – and therefore energy – to get to the parts of your body where they are needed.

Can exercise improve our quality of sleep?

Physical activity can contribute to more restful sleep. It increases the time spent in deep sleep which is the most restorative sleep phase which helps to boost immune function, support cardiac health and control stress.² In addition to improving the quality of sleep, exercise can also help you increase the duration of your sleep. The energy you expend when being active helps you to feel more tired.

Can exercise be used as a relaxation technique?

Exercise doesn’t have to be about sweating through a heavy cardio session – Yoga, Pilates and Tai-Chi are all forms of exercise that are good for your body and also help you to relax. Exercises like these focus on breathing. Breathing slower, more deeply and more focused is known to reduce stress and increase relaxation.

Can exercise increase our self-esteem?

Exercise helps to change the condition of our bodies, making us feel stronger and look the way we want to – it’s not all about weight loss though. Exercise also strengthens and tightens your body to increase your self-confidence. Certain types of exercise create a challenge and accomplishing those results is an inevitable sense of achievement. Your challenge is unique to you, but whether it’s going for a short walk or running up a mountain, achieving it is an accomplishment that is sure to boost your self-esteem.

Can exercise improve our memory?

A research article published demonstrated that exercise can reduce the harmful effects of other stressors. The potential effects of exercise on the aging process and on mental health were discussed and the overwhelming evidence present in the literature today suggests that exercise ensures successful brain functioning.³ Furthermore, it was concluded that regular exercise releases brain chemicals key for memory, concentration and mental sharpness, as it stimulates the region of the brain that is involved in memory function.⁴

Can exercise release feel-good hormones?

Exercise produces endorphins, the ‘feel-good’ chemical that acts as a natural painkiller and stress-inhibitor. Studies show that exercise is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive function.⁵

With more and more people wanting to understand mental health, and how it can be improved, exercise is a clear winner in delivering results.

1. Springer Link: Exercise and Mental Health [↩]
2. The Sleep Doctor: The benefits of exercise for sleep [↩]
3. Karger: Exercise and mental health – many reasons to move [↩]
4. Harvard Health Publishing: Regular exercise releases brain chemicals key for memory, concentration and mental sharpness [↩]
5. Anxiety and Depression Association of America: Physical activity reduces stress [↩]

Sometimes life throws things at us that we just weren’t expecting. Out of the blue a massive curve-ball comes round the corner.  It doesn’t even have to be something major – just something we didn’t anticipate and had no control over. What do we do?

You’re probably thinking “Where are we going with this?”. The point we’re trying to make is that, even though you had no control over the ‘curve-ball’, you now have a choice on how you respond. You can take back control.

One of your options may be to run, to stick your head under the pillow, to do anything but to face it. Another option might be to try to ignore it hoping that it will go away of its own accord and everything will go back to ‘normal’. You could focus on it and let it become all consuming. Or you could apply positivity, turn those negative thoughts on their head and break the problem down into manageable chunks. That way it’s much easier not to be overwhelmed and you’ll likely find yourself in a much stronger position to cope. As our founder, Bob Lemon, always says: “Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want”.

So how do you do this? Luckily there are many tools to help and we already cover a lot of them in our Lifeplus formula. The ones we’d particularly like to introduce you to or to remind you about are:

• mindfulness and mediation
• positive affirmations
• eco-therapy
• floral therapy, and
• exercise and sleep

Let’s start with positivity. Where does it come from?

This may sound a silly question as we know it comes from within. And it also comes from the way we think and the way we behave. As William James, the brother of the novelist Henry James, asserted in The Principles of Psychology back in 1890, the relationship between emotion and behaviour is a two-way street.

We all know if we’re sad we tend to act sad and by contrast, if we’re feeling happy our behaviour tends to portray this emotion. But, James ventured that if we turned this around and behaved as if we were happy, we would feel happy.¹ The same goes for positivity. James believes the theory of positive thought can be applied to behaviour and, therefore, we should be able to change our feelings of negativity by acting in a positive way. Positive affirmations are a great starting point. And, by saying them out loud, we are more likely to portray positive behaviour in turn leading to a positive mind set. Try thinking about everything you’re grateful for. Maybe write a list of positive things that have happened at the end of every day. Remember, it’s what you want, not what you don’t want.

Positivity also comes from those around us. Try surrounding yourself with positive people – you’ll soon see it rubs off. The opposite is also true as emotions are highly contagious.

But, sometimes feeling positive about a situation can be difficult. It may seem far too large to deal with and that’s because it probably is! Or at least the problem, as you perceive it, is. So break it down. Where can you find positivity?

Here you may find focusing on the present will help. Mindfulness, meditation, eco-therapy and floral therapy are great ways to start.

Exercise for positivity

When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins – the body’s happy chemicals – and it’s much easier to feel positive when we feel happy. Start your day with a brisk walk if possible. If the weather’s good, why not use the opportunity to fit in an eco-therapy session. ‘Be present’ and take notice of your surroundings, the sights, smells, sounds. Or add in a short floral therapy session if you’re lucky enough to live in the country or have access to a park.  Gardening is a great way to exercise whilst being at one with nature, use yoga to focus your thoughts or a work-out will help you put things in perspective.  The mental health benefits of exercise can’t be overestimated.

Sleep and mental health

“Have a good night’s sleep and everything will feel better in the morning!” We’ve all heard that many times, but it’s actually true. Sleep is important.  While you’re sleeping your body is not only taking the time to grow, heal and repair itself, your brain is preparing for the next day by processing, consolidating and filing information.

It might be harder to get a good night’s sleep when we are anxious or worrying about things. It’s easy for this to become a vicious circle. Feelings of worry or stress may lead to lack of sleep, which can lead to tiredness, which can impact our ability to cope with daily life, which can lead to low self-esteem, which can lead to feelings of worry or stress and so it goes on.² The Royal College of Psychiatrists³ has some excellent tips on how to sleep better including exercise, relaxation and writing down what’s troubling you before you go to bed – that way your mind knows it can switch off and deal with it in the morning (when it will be easier to do as you’ve had a good night’s sleep!).

Waking up to a new day

It may sound obvious, but waking up to an up-beat song is far more likely to help you start the day on a positive note than listening to the news, for example. And, according to music psychologist David M Greenberg,⁴ the song you choose to wake up to should have three elements:

• it should build, nudging you out of bed gently and gradually build your energy levels up;
• it should be positive, and
• it should have a strong beat (with a beat per minute of approximately 100 to 130).

Depending on your musical taste, there are a number of examples given starting with Viva La Vida by Coldplay, Bill Withers’ Lovely Day and Katrina & The Waves – Walking on Sunshine. You probably already have your own happy song – just play it first thing and you’ll notice the difference!

We hope you can now see how, by taking back control, you can build positivity into your life. And by doing this you are in a far stronger position to follow Bob Lemon’s advice and ‘focus on what you want, not what you don’t want’.

1. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/30/self-help-positive-thinking [↩]
2. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/sleep-problems/sleep-problems/ [↩]
3. https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/problems-disorders/sleeping-well [↩]
4. https://www.insider.com/songs-to-help-you-wake-up-2017-4 [↩]

Small, shiny, tasty – and good for you too, no wonder cherries are a firm favourite for so many.

In fact, cherries are beloved in countries around the world, with National Cherry Day¹ in the UK, and whole festivals dedicated to them in the USA. We just can’t seem to get enough of this small red fruit and its firm texture and delicious sweetness or tartness (depending on your preference).

Not only this; cherries have been used medicinally for many years due to the perceived health punch they can provide as they are packed with nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

The Science of Cherries

The deep red pigmented flesh of the fruit contains polyphenolic flavonoid compounds known as anthocyanin glycosides. Anthocyanins are the red, purple or blue pigments that are found in many fruits and vegetables. The anthocyanins are largely concentrated in the skin and are known to provide a number of powerful antioxidant properties.

Some recent studies have looked at this quite closely; researchers focusing on Montmorency cherries have discovered a number of potential benefits associated with tart juice concentrate from this particular type².

Suggested benefit: exercise recovery

Cyclists who are preparing for a race day may find a new kind of sports drink – tart cherry juice – beneficial to help with their post-exercise recovery. A study found Montmorency cherry juice helped to accelerate recovery, maintain muscle function³ and reduce certain markers of exercise-induced inflammation among a group of cyclists competing in a simulated road race.

16 well-trained male cyclists who were divided into two groups. One group consumed Montmorency tart cherry juice, while the other group were given a placebo drink that contained an equal amount of carbohydrates. Researchers found the cyclists in the Montmorency tart cherry group maintained muscle function and experienced a reduction in certain inflammatory responses, compared to those consuming the placebo drink.

Interestingly, the tart cherry juice also appeared to maintain exercise efficiency, reducing the amount of oxygen muscles needed to do work. The juice group’s maximum oxygen consumption values were lower after 24 hours, compared to the placebo group.

Suggested benefit: improved sleep

Research suggests having a daily ritual of drinking tart cherry juice in the morning and evening may help you to sleep better at night⁴. Montmorency tart cherries are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

Researchers found drinking Montmorency tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks helped to increase sleep duration by nearly 90 minutes among older adults with insomnia.

Those that drank tart cherry juice twice a day were able to sleep in a controlled setting more than an hour longer each night (on average 84 minutes).

The research suggests that cherry concentrate could even be beneficial for those that have difficulty sleeping such as people affected by insomnia, shift work or jet lag.

Suggested benefit: gout relief  

Researchers have found⁵ that after drinking Montmorency cherry juice concentrate, uric acid levels in the bodies of an experimental sample group reduced significantly, in just a few hours. This is of potential interest, as high levels of uric acid can lead to gout. Not particularly glamourous, perhaps, but yet another demonstration of the wide variety of ways in which a simple cherry may help support our bodies’ functions.

Small…but packing a punch

Those are just some of the more recent findings on the potential for this small yet powerful stone fruit.  With no sign that their popularity will fade anytime soon, it looks like there’s even more reason to add them to your diet – and perhaps next time you enjoy a sweet dessert with a cherry on top, you needn’t feel quite so guilty…

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pip-pip-hooray-its-national-cherry-day [↩]
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872786/ [↩]
3. https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/research-impact-at-northumbria/economic-impact/studies-on-cherry-juice-unravel-a-multitude-of-health-benefits/ [↩]
4. https://blog.euromonitor.com/cherries-more-than-just-antioxidants/ [↩]
5. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/wsc-ner080618.php [↩]

Exercise. Whether the word brings a rush of excitement or sparks a fear of dread, there’s no denying the fundamental truth that it’s good for us.¹ Taking part in regular exercise not only makes you feel better about yourself, it has a couple of pretty impressive shorter-term effects too.

Exercise helps us sleep better, reduces stress and flushes out toxins to help leave us with fresher skin and a healthier glow. There is a misconception though that exercise has to be hard work. This is not the case! Exercise can be fun and, what’s more, if you exercise as a family you will be able to share these fun experiences together.

Wondering what activities you can do as a family? Here are a couple of great ideas to get you started:

Walking²

It’s free, it’s simple and virtually anyone can do it. We should all be aiming for around 10,000 steps a day but the vast majority of us are doing way less than that. Think walking sounds boring? Think again! Try a new route, drive to the coast, explore your nearest woods or follow a public footpath that you have never ventured along before. With so much to see you will barely know you’re exercising. Have a pet dog? Even better! Follow their nose and see where you end up. You can take things even further by wearing a smart tracker and challenge your family members to see who can complete the most steps!

Swimming³

Most towns have a local swimming pool and they are generally a fairly inexpensive way to keep fit. Swimming is a great family-friendly activity where all can be included. If you have young children that can’t swim there are armbands and floats to help them and if you have family members who are elderly or who suffer with mobility issues, the water will provide extra buoyancy and protection so that they can still get a workout with a lower risk of injury.

Watching television…

If you can’t tear your family away from the television, then why fight it? Perhaps it’s time to take an ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ approach? We don’t mean sitting on the sofa of course, but how about investing in a games console that subtly forces everyone to remain active? Many of the leading brands now come with motion detection technology that means you can simulate playing sports, running, dancing and much more. Essentially, you can get a fun workout as a family without even leaving your living room!

1. https://greatist.com/fitness/13-awesome-mental-health-benefits-exercise#1 [↩]
2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/5-surprising-benefits-of-walking [↩]
3. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321496.php [↩]