Happy Friday! And Happy New Year. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and you’re starting 2019 full of motivation and happiness. Here are some links from last week. Maura Gatti illustrated the best news of 2018. 5 healthy habits to adopt this year. 4 simple words to help...
Feeling under the weather is never fun, no one would wish to feel sick or to catch a cold or just be poorly in general. Sometimes it even feels like we have no time to be ill. But sometimes life catches up with us and forces us to slow down...
Smile more: It’s linked to calmed blood pressure, quicker stress recovery, improved immune function, lifted moods and acts as a natural painkiller. Image by Rebecca Jensen
Doing something creative has a similar effect on the brain to meditation and can decrease your stress. Even just witnessing creative acts can be calming - think of visiting a concert or going to see pieces of art work in a gallery. Image by catam
Trouble sleeping? Listen to classical music. It has been shown to effectively treat insomnia and can help induce a meditative state as music beats can alter brainwave speed. Image by Sarah Van Looy
You can train your brain to be more positive. Our minds are wired to think negatively as a form of protection but making smiling a habit can help our brains to create more positive thinking patterns. Image by Kathleen Motoa
Music aids in physical recovery after exercising, speeding up the time it takes to get past an ache or pain. Slow music relaxes the listener but any tempo of music helps with the healing process. Image by hongu
Smiling with intent has the ability to improve your current mood. Your brain checks in with what your facial muscles are doing and begins to align your mood with what’s going on on the surface. Image by Jessica Perez
Researchers at the University of Sussex found that reading for 6 minutes can cut the level of stress you might be feeling in half. Image by Isabel Marcelo
Read books - on average avid readers live up to 2 years longer than non-readers. It can improve memory, increases your capacity for mental activity and increases your ability for empathy. Image by Anna Louise
The recommended daily amount sugar for adults is 90g, but that's consisting of both naturally occurring sugars and added sugars. If you have too much sugar in your diet it overloads your liver and can cause potential damage to your liver, much like the effects of alcohol. Eating too much...
Why do we need to drink at least 2 litres of water a day? Every cell in our body contains water and they’re continuously flushing water through them in order to remove water soluble waste. By drinking water we help these cells flush waste faster and more efficiently - it...
Walking has so many benefits. It’s super underrated as a form of exercise but it’s suitable for anyone, of any age, of any fitness level. When you consistently do it it’s been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease, asthma, type 2 diabetes and some cancers....
The trick to flossing is to hook the floss around your teeth in a > shape and wipe up so you’re pressing against the tooth otherwise you’re not maximising the process. It's also best to floss pre-brushing as you get the cleanest teeth. Image by Katie Merchant
Sleep affects everything from our cognitive function to our immune systems - you’re much less likely to catch a virus if your body is well rested. It can help with stress, ensure proper function of your metabolism and help to regulate blood pressure. Basically the better the sleep you get,...
Using stairs or walking up escalators has more health benefits than you would actually imagine. It burns more calories per minute than jogging does and is actually classed as a vigorous form of exercise. Just seven minutes of using stairs a day can halve the risk of having a heart...
My sugar free month is over and I thought I would reflect a little and talk about why I did it and how it went. Refined sugar is one of our generations biggest problems. Not only does it make our teeth rot (we all know about that), it has ZERO...
Get rid of some of your furniture. It may sound crazy but sitting on a chair or sofa is not the best position for the body. Observe how toddlers and kids naturally sit down, one of the most healthful positions is shown in the picture above. Working and playing with children on the...
And so the last week of the year has happened. And what a year it has been, especially with our #HealthyHabits2017 challenge, integrating a new habit every single week, even while on holiday. The point of this challenge has been to try out things that are supposed to be good...
We hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas or a wonderful week however you've spent your time. Last week was our last proper healthy habit of the year, lend a hand. There's a lot to be said about helping others and how it adds to your health and wellbeing. We spoke...
