Everyday life and work obligations can see us skipping out on crucial steps to taking care of ourselves, be that just taking time to drink enough water or opting for fast food instead of cooking a healthy well-balanced meal.
There's no shame in it because we all do it, but it's important to begin establishing better routines to invest in your health and wellness.
Learning how to devise the perfect self-care plan that fits around your schedule is a great way to start building positive habits and prioritizing your physical and emotional health. Taking personal responsibility for your wellbeing is the first step, so if you want to know how to practice self-care to better your relationship with your body, improve your self-worth and stress management, then keep reading.
In this article, we'll provide you with a comprehensive guide to all things self-care, including what self-care is, why it's important, what is and isn't self-care, health benefits, rules, examples and a how-to guide to practicing self-care.
Before getting into the specifics, it's important to first discuss what self-care is. Self-care refers to the process where people take extra time to take special care of their minds and bodies.
Self-care looks different for everyone and can be as small or as lavish as you like. Essentially, anything that you do to take personal responsibility to manage your health and well-being can be classed as self-care.
Self-care can be as constant as you'd like. It doesn't have to be a single night where you take time to have a bath, read a book or do a facemask, it can also be present when you go to the gym, cook yourself a nutritious meal every day, or even just taking five minutes to practise mindfulness whilst you're working. Whatever self-care looks like for you, its importance and benefits to your health are all the same.
Believe it or not, we engage in some kind of self-care every single day. From brushing our teeth every morning and night to ensuring that we eat three meals a day, this all comes under the bracket of self-care because it contributes to the overall maintenance of your personal care.
Despite this, we all need to take additional steps in our self-care routines, because if we're being totally honest, brushing our teeth just doesn't cut it sometimes.
Sometimes, we have to take additional steps to look after our physical and mental health, meaning we invest in expensive treatments, gym plans, spa days and even a detox or two.
It's important to note that investing time and even money in your self-care is never a waste because your mental and physical stability is worth it!
When addressing self-care, it's worth noting that some of us may have a hyper-feminized view of putting time and effort into our personal care. When some of us think of self-care, we probably think of face masks, ice cream, pajamas, painting our nails and watching our favorite films.
While that is a great form of self-care, it completely excludes the fact that self-care and self-worth stretch beyond gender boundaries. For example, emotional self-care and spiritual self-care has no gender and can look the same for everyone.
This is super important to stress because if facemasks aren't your thing but going to burn away some workday frustration in the gym is, then that is completely okay and a valid form of self-care!
So, why is self-care important? Well, the benefits of self-care vary from person to person. For example, some people may find that practicing regular self-care helps them with stress management, maintain their health and establish better and healthier routines.
Whilst others may find it a great way to decompress after a long day at work, protect their mental health and practise self-reliance and mindfulness. Regardless of the reasons people practise self-care, the importance for your physical and mental health is the same.
Research suggests that taking part in some regular self-indulgence contributes to the reduction and possible elimination of anxiety-related symptoms.
We live in an extremely stressful world, and with our familial and working obligations sometimes getting the better of us, it's critical to invest some time in ourselves so we don't get completely consumed by the trials and tribulations of existing in the modern world.
Some parts of self-care are also just essential to living a longer life. For example, we know that eating more fruits and vegetables contributes to lowering the risk of health problems like high cholesterol and heart disease. But, it's not just about eating clean, we can't live without food and eating well every single day classes as self-care!
A lot of us notice that when we stop spending time on ourselves, our self-esteem takes a big hit. If we shower less, stop doing our skincare in our morning routine, eat less healthy foods and stop checking in with ourselves via things like mindfulness training, we begin to lose confidence, as well as experience other negative mental and physical side effects.
Self-esteem helps you get up in the morning and take on the day with vigor, so maintaining it is crucial. When you establish a functional self-care plan that emboldens you, you're likely to find that your self-esteem improves!
Another reason why self-care is super important is that it can help you achieve a better work-life balance. Some of us really struggle to separate work from the rest of our life, and it's the main reason why you can find yourself sitting in bed and still answering work emails into the early hours of the morning. It's understandable because you spend a lot of your life working. But, it's critical to switch off.
This is especially important for those of you who work from home because your personal life is heavily integrated with your professional life. So, how does self-care manage this? Well, self-care gives you an opportunity to step away from the laptops and phones and dedicate all focus on yourself for as long as you need.
Taking yourself out of the workspace for enough time to decompress and process the events of the day is crucial to creating a better relationship with work. This is because the less work dominates your personal life and causes you immense stress, the less you will resent it. Creating this barrier is important to value time to yourself and value your professional life.
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to self-care because it's entirely subjective. Ultimately, if an act of indulgence fuels you and helps you take constructive steps to better your physical and mental health, then you can class it as self-care.
This can look like a lot of things, like staying in bed for an extra hour so you feel more ready to take on the day, or deciding to have a rest day from the gym because your muscles need more time to heal than usual.
Whatever it is, as long as it positively contributes to your wellbeing and doesn't feel like a chore, there's a good chance that it classifies as self-care.
Now, let's get into what isn't self-care. Anything that actively contributes to degrading your physical or mental health probably can't be classed as self-care. This also goes for anything that feels like a chore if you have to do it.
For example, an absence of self-care might look like working extra time in the office so much that it's taking a toll on your mental and physical health. While you may feel like it's good to get ahead of the next day, this can have serious implications and may result in taking more time off to cope with a stress-related illness.
In a nutshell, anything that you have to force yourself to do or feels like a chore when you're doing it can't be labeled as self-care.
Before we get into the health benefits of practicing self-care, it's important to recognise that self-care alone may not be a cure-all. This is because there are several factors that contribute to overall health.
For example, if you implement a gym session or a skincare ritual into your nightly routine, you may still experience work-related stress from checking your work emails too often or experience digestive problems by not focusing on a healthier diet.
Whilst self-care can massively contribute to a healthier lifestyle, it's important not to abandon other practices even if they aren't super convenient. In fact, ensuring that you maintain health practices like eating well alongside self-care can benefit your physical and mental health. So, with that in mind, let's go through some of the things that self-care can support:
Insomnia is a troubling disorder that wreaks havoc on so many of our lives. While it's normal to have a bad night's sleep once in a while, it's not normal to have a persistent problem with falling or staying asleep.
Sleep quality has a huge impact on how our bodies function. Whilst you're asleep, your body spends crucial time repairing and replenishing cells around your body so you're ready to face the day in the morning.
Your metabolism works hard whilst you're asleep too and relies on a good sleep pattern to maintain normal function. This is important for ensuring that your body can adequately convert food into energy and keep your stored fat at a reasonable level.
So where does self-care come into this? Stress, anxiety and depression can increase the frequency of late nights and poor quality sleep, increasing the likelihood of developing sleep disorders such as insomnia.
Creating a good self-care plan before you go to bed can help you decompress and bring your stress hormones down enough to help your brain fall asleep. There are also certain supplements you can incorporate into your nightly self-care routines, such as melatonin and sleep supplements.
So, if you value your 40 winks, you should create a self-care plan now to make sure you give your body the rebuilding time it needs!
Your cardiovascular system does a lot for your day-to-day, so it's important to keep it in good health. Doing cardio, drinking enough water, getting good quality sleep and eating the right foods is an excellent way of ensuring that your heart stays beating for longer!
With that in mind, why not start a new exercise routine that benefits your mental and physical health? You can protect your cardiovascular health by taking regular reflective self-care walks and workout sessions.
Doing this a few times a week can lower the risk of high blood pressure that leads to dangerous diseases like heart disease and high cholesterol. Lowering your blood pressure also wards off nasty things like strokes, dementia and heart attacks.
While self-care alone can't completely eliminate the risk, pairing this with a healthy lifestyle such as eating superfoods, staying hydrated and decreasing your alcohol intake, can all help you live a longer, happier life!
Obesity is a serious, common, but preventable disease for many people, meaning that you can take constructive steps to minimise the harmful risks of being obese. Obesity can increase your chances of having high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, gallbladder disease and even strokes. While obesity may be as a result of different illnesses like polycystic ovarian syndrome or thyroid conditions, there are ways that you can have a lower risk of gaining a dangerous level of visceral fat.
Eating more fruits, vegetables and whole foods can positively influence your levels of high LDL cholesterol, lowering the risks of arterial narrowing and high blood pressure that can lead to a wide range of cardiovascular diseases.
Taking frequent exercise to keep your weight at a manageable level is a good way to lower heart rate, blood pressure and give your metabolism an extra boost.
We know that sometimes diets and exercise can feel like a chore and sometimes you have to force yourself to do it, meaning it doesn't count as self-care, but your mindset here matters! When you're exercising and eating well, you're taking steps to improve your relationship with your body and ensure that you live longer.
Viewing this as less of a chore and more of an investment in your future can take away the negative connotations of weight loss.
To stop this feeling like a chore, try finding an exercise regime that is as fun as it is helpful. Turning weight loss into a fun activity can have a very positive influence on your mental health, keep you motivated and transform a diet into a positive and self-caring lifestyle choice.
While undergoing treatment for disease and illness, you can experience several negative side effects on your physical and mental health. For example, chemotherapies can have significant impacts on the body's ability to stay hydrated and can make your skin extremely dry.
While self-care practices might not be able to cure you, they can help you manage some of the nasty side effects.
When undergoing treatment, make sure you stay as hydrated as possible by drinking the recommended amount of water every single day. You may wish to consider a comprehensive skincare routine that can put some moisture back into your skin.
This might also help you check in with yourself regularly and give yourself enough time to process and decompress after treatment.
We know that undergoing treatment can feel mentally draining, so establishing a beneficial and supportive self-care plan is a good way of ensuring that you promote mental health whilst looking after yourself physically.
Practicing self-care doesn't mean you have to immediately establish a comprehensive routine that takes hours each day. This can start by adopting one or two simple tasks that help you unwind or prepare for the day ahead, before building up to more in-depth plans that may take more time. Here are 20 easy examples:
To help you plan an effective self-care routine, we've compiled a how-to guide for you to follow:
By identifying what is causing the most detriment to your mental and physical health, you can know which areas to target in your self-care routine. For example, if you're experiencing digestive concerns, this might be a signal for you to schedule a doctor's appointment and start eating some healthier foods.
While adopting random self-care routines can be beneficial, you may notice better results with a targeted approach. Through this, you can take more constructive steps to better the relationship with your mind and body.
You may be more likely to adopt habits that you truly enjoy, so when you're formulating a self-care plan, consider including activities that you enjoy the most. Fueling your brain in this way is a great way to encourage you to continue doing this, as your brain associates positive feelings with the activity. Remember, it's always self-care when it benefits your health and doesn't feel like a chore, so feel free to get creative!
Your self-care routine needs to be sustainable, so it has to fit around your day-to-day routines. This means school, work and family needs to fit nicely around your 'you' time. If you're a particularly busy person with not a lot of time to yourself, consider having a healthy conversation with those around you about taking some time out for activities that benefit you!
You can also start off small with more manageable routines that you can implement just before you go to bed or when you wake up in the morning. However small the task is, as long as you're investing in yourself, it's self-care!
There aren't a lot of rules to self-care because it's an entirely subjective experience. Despite this, here are three guidelines you can abide by that might help you stick to a self-care plan:
That concludes your guide to all things self care. Here's everything we covered:
Make sure you check out the website for Australia Organic Products + More to see if you can find products and supplies that can support your self-care journey!
]]>Parenting, especially with a newborn, can be hard enough without having to worry about the environmental impact you're having. But what if there was a way to make it easier to be green while your children grow? Well, we've been doing some research into different ways you can be an eco parent and we've gathered it all below.
To find out more about being an eco parent and how a zero-waste lifestyle can be reshaped for parents, keep reading this article!
So, what is an eco parent?
An eco parent is essentially a parent who makes choices about the kind of products they buy for their child based on the impact the product will have on the environment, as well as on the child's health.
Eco parents tend to already be advocates for sustainable living and make the choice for a sustainable future for their child. The zero-waste movement is a huge part of this kind of parenting as eco-products tend to greatly reduce the waste parenting can create.
Along with sustainable products and limiting waste, eco parents may choose to buy organic food for their children and clothe them in ethical fashion options. These small changes can make a huge difference to the environmental impact of parenting.
Becoming an eco parent doesn't mean completely overhauling the way you parent, it just means choosing more eco-friendly options when it comes to raising kids. We've had a look at some of the changes you can make to your parenting to make it just that bit greener, and we have listed them below.
Most eco parents choose to make the change during pregnancy. From eating an organic-only diet to taking natural pregnancy supplements that boost the health of you and your child, pregnancy is a great place to start.
Mothers-to-be can find products like organic tea for pregnancy to a protein that is suitable for those who are pregnant to find ways to boost their health in pregnancy. They could also try out some pregnancy vitamins and mother-to-be massage oil to help them feel good as they grow new life.
There are many ways to stay fit and healthy in pregnancy and if you can, it can be great for the child as well as yourself. Choosing an organic diet full of lots of grains, fruits and vegetables can help to boost your health too.
The debate between breastfeeding and formula is always up to the mother but breastfeeding does come with lots of benefits, particularly to the baby but also for the planet as it means reduced waste from formula packaging.
If you are choosing a formula, you can opt for organic formulae, like the formula Holle Organic offers, or look for a formula in recyclable packaging.
Choosing breastfeeding or organic formula means choosing the option with fewer toxins and harmful compounds. Breast milk is natural and so free from harmful substances and organic farming bans the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers that leave behind harmful residue in non-organic products.
When it comes to diapers, there are a few options for the budding eco parent. The first is a reusable diaper. Like the kind from the years before plastic, this cotton cloth nappy is washable and can be used over and over to reduce waste.
The other option is an organically made and biodegradable nappy which will break down naturally and not take up space in a landfill for years to come. Look out for nappy options that are free from plastics, bleach, and other toxins to protect your baby from harm.
Children's toys these days are made entirely of plastic but are likely to be thrown away if broken or no longer used. This means that the toys your child plays with could end up in a landfill, never breaking down, and harming the planet.
When choosing toys for your little one, look out for wooden or cloth options instead. These toys are safer, as they're BPA-free, and they will biodegrade when it comes time for them to be thrown away.
Household cleaning products are made with tonnes of chemicals that are bad for the planets waterways, marine life, and soil as well as being harmful to human health. If you haven't already switched to natural and organic cleaning products, now is the time.
Using natural cleaners that are made from kinder ingredients, like this surface cleaner from Earthwise and this bathroom cleaner from Koala Eco, can help to keep the whole family safer as well as protect the planet from harmful chemicals. You could also opt for more environmentally friendly laundry products like soapberries for a waste-free wash or an organic laundry liquid.
There are lots of options when it comes to baby food and being more sustainable. If you would like to simply buy baby food, the organic options are getting better each day. From Bellamy's Organic and their impressive range of oatmeals and other baby food options to Holle Organics extensive puree offering, including this pureed vegetable option and this fruit option - organic baby food is getting more and more interesting.
Choosing organic baby food is a great way to protect your little ones from the harmful chemical residue that can be found in lots of non-organic food, a leftover from the synthetic growth agents used in conventional farming, and it can help promote better farming techniques that preserve the land and make it usable for the generations to come.
If you're feeling more adventurous, you can also make your own baby food. You could start by pureeing your own vegetables and fruits, as well as pureeing the food that the rest of the family is eating. Using organic ingredients too means you know exactly what is going into the food you're feeding your child.
Pacifiers are frequently made out of plastics that will not biodegrade and can harbour lots of bacteria in the cracks and joints. Opting for a rubber soother can mean giving your child a safer option that will last longer and will biodegrade when it is no longer used.
Parenting can be tough and being concerned for the planet is exhausting so changing up some of your parenting products and practices to fit a more sustainable life can really help to ease climate anxiety. There are a few changes that are really easy to make and just require using a different product.
To find more natural and organic baby products, check out our website now.
How can I be an eco-conscious parent?
Being eco-conscious parents can mean choosing wooden and cloth toys as well as reusable diapers to ensure that you reduce the waste that comes from parenting. You could opt for more organic produce in your child's diet to protect them from the harmful residue of pesticides as well as support healthier farming methods that are better for the planet. Being an eco-conscious parent means making a few quick swaps to products and practices that have less of an environmental impact than mainstream products.
What is green parenting?
Green parenting is parenting in a way that reduces harm to the planet. This can mean choosing organic food and formula options to support healthier and greener farming methods and choosing more reusable products to reduce the waste you create. Opting for toys that are not plastic and reusable nappies can help to reduce waste and protect your child from BPA, bleach, and other harmful toxins while helping you to be a little more green.
How can parents be more sustainable?
Parents can be more sustainable by reducing the waste produced from baby products. This could mean making your own baby food to reduce packaging and opting for reusable diapers so that they can be washed rather than disposed of. A more sustainable option for a soother is a rubber soother that will last longer than a plastic option and will biodegrade once thrown away.
How do I become a non-waste parent?
Zero waste parenting means making your own baby food and composting any scraps to ensure you're not throwing away any packaging. It can also mean using a reusable diaper so that you don't have any nappy waste and opting for other biodegradable options like wipes and rubber soothers.
]]>But, how much do you actually know about wellness and do you know exactly what tips you can use to feel the full health benefits? Well, that's what we're here to discuss. In this blog, we'll be covering what wellness is and why it's important, including 27 simple wellness tips to improve mood and your relationship with your body.
Before getting into how you can improve your wellness, it's important to first define what wellness is. Wellness is the physical and mental acts we partake in to gain better mental and physical health. Wellness is important for ensuring we live an enjoyable life as well as a long one, as there's a big difference between surviving and thriving!
Wellness isn't just about incorporating the occasional epsom salt bath into your nightly routine, it's about ensuring that your overall health and mental wellbeing needs are met throughout your life. That goes for ensuring you eat well, get enough sleep, look after your mental health, fill every day with fun activities and ultimately enjoy life.
It's important to remember that wellness is not something to be 'completed'. What we mean by that is that it's not something you can achieve and forget about, it's actually something you should be in pursuit of your entire life. This is important because your wellness journey should follow all the stages of your life. For example, you might want to incorporate a glucosamine supplement in your diet as you get older to decrease the impact of diseases like arthritis.
In a nutshell, it's a journey without a destination, and you should be on it for the rest of your life.
Sometimes, we get lost in the idea of wellness, thinking that in order to be truly 'well', we have to book lavish vacations, take spa days and take part in regular detoxes. Whilst this can be true, there are so many smaller routines you can incorporate into your daily life that have a significant positive impact on your wellbeing. Staying in pursuit of healthy living doesn't necessarily mean you have to splash the cash!
Wellness isn't just important for making sure we feel good about ourselves, it's also critical to the maintenance of our everyday health. Wellness practices like eating healthy foods, getting enough exercise and drinking plenty of water ensure that we steer clear of any nasty diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even heart disease!
When you practice wellness, you're giving your body the best possible chance it has to fight off threats, so make sure you equip your body with the best arsenal you can because you'll thank yourself for it!
Our mental wellbeing also has a sizable impact on our overall health. Employing wellness techniques also helps to protect our mental health, ensuring that we can tackle the day with a positive mindset and can enjoy life. Your mental health dictates how you sleep, eat, interact with others and concentrate, so ensuring that you prioritize wellness is a must for ensuring that you put your brain first!
Practicing wellness also ensures that we take personal responsibility for our own life. This is important for becoming more independent and boosting self-esteem. When you rely less on others, you'll feel more empowered to take risks and challenge yourself, which can have a positive impact on your life. Self-esteem is also what drives you and makes you feel confident, so ensuring that your wellness routines support this is of utmost importance.
Wellness can also help you reach some of your fundamental life goals. For example, if one of your goals is to lose weight to better your physical health, incorporating wellness practices into your daily life can help you reach your fitness goals. This goes for almost all of your life goals, so why not try out small techniques and see if they give you the boost you need to thrive!
We know that with life's obligations, it's hard to put yourself first day-to-day. However, it's not impossible to practice wellness and build up your self-esteem, even if you work full-time or take primary responsibility for your family. In fact, there are so many small routines that you can do every day that take very little time but have a big impact on your wellbeing.
Here are 27 health and wellness tips that you can incorporate for a healthier lifestyle and better mental wellbeing today:
In a world saturated with processed foods, takeaways and convenience cooking, it would be unrealistic to say that we all don't sometimes put our healthy eating on the back burner. While it can be difficult to think creatively and come up with healthy meal ideas every night, incorporating some healthier alternatives into our cooking can have a great impact on our gut health and mental wellbeing.
It doesn't need to be fancy, just consider throwing in more vegetables and whole and super foods than you usually would into a pot and see what happens! Cooking regular healthy meals with less processed food, sugars and unhealthy fats can significantly lower your chances of having high blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol levels, which can reduce the risk of scary diseases like vascular dementia, heart attacks and strokes.
Cooking for yourself and not for convenience is also a worthy investment in yourself, as it's a good stop on the road to self-sufficiency. Take the time to practice mindfulness whilst you cook to turn your cooking experience into a yummy and meditative activity!
Organic foods refer to food that hasn't been treated with man-made fertilizers, pesticides, growth enhancers and additives to livestock feed. Whilst organic foods aren't necessarily more nutritious than their cheaper counterparts, you ensure that you're not ingesting any chemicals from such additives when you eat organic foods.
Organic diets typically mean that you're exposed to less chemicals which may have an impact on your health. Although there is yet to be concrete studies on the impact of organic food on overall health, it's probably best to seek more organic alternatives for peace of mind if you're likely to stress over how many chemicals you're ingesting every day.
Hands up if you've ever felt that pain in your lower back and at the base of your neck when you've sat on a chair that is definitely not built for use during an eight-hour workday. Well, it might not just be the fact that you need a decent chair with actual lumbar support, you may also be suffering from the ever so common- poor posture disease.
Ok, it might not be an actual disease, but poor posture can really impact your confidence and wellbeing. Of course, the obvious side-effect being pain. In fact, 1 in 6 Australians reported having some kind of back pain, with health officials stating that most cases can be solved with simple adjustments to posture.
If you're a desk dweller for most of the day, pay special attention to the curvature of your spine and ensure that you're not overly slouched or angling your neck too much. This can lead to a build-up of stress in your upper and lower back, leading to aches and pains that no one wants!
In fact, ensuring that you keep your spine straight, shoulders back and neck level can significantly reduce the amount of wear and tear on the supportive structures that your body relies on to keep yourself upright and secure.
Those of us that work and live very sedentary lifestyles could majorly benefit from getting some more exercise every day. This is especially important for those of you who perhaps work in desk jobs and spend the weekends relaxing and recuperating in preparation for the next week. While this is important to ensure you're properly rested, your fitness and cardiovascular health can take a hit as a result.
Taking part in regular light exercise helps to keep the scary illnesses away, in fact, the World Health Organisation states that regular physical activity is proven to help keep your weight low, and prevent many noncommunicable diseases like hypertension and certain types of cancers.
Physical activity also promotes the production of endorphins, also known as 'the happy hormone'. This means that those who suffer from chronic low mood, depression, anxiety or seasonal affective disorder can greatly benefit from getting their heart rate up for an hour or so a day!
We're all guilty of skipping breakfast if we're running late, or deciding that lunch isn't super important because we're stuck in a meeting, but getting yourself in a good eating pattern is imperative to overall wellness.
Scheduling your eating times is a good way of helping you maintain your energy levels throughout the day, so you don't get the dreaded 3pm sugar crash that has you eyeing the door to go home. Your blood sugar and insulin levels play a big part in your mood, energy and motivation, so ensuring you have a good level at all times is critical.
To do this, consider breaking your meals down into smaller portions and eating regularly throughout the day. For example, instead of eating just three meals, why not break them down into six small portions and eat at staggered times. Coupled with plenty of protein and fruits, you'll feel full and energized all day!
Most of us typically use lunch breaks to catch up on emails, scroll endlessly on our phone and quickly stuff a sandwich into our faces just before the hour is over. Whilst this can be effective in terms of swiftly getting back to work, this doesn't give your brain enough time to decompress.
When you reach your lunch break, it's likely that you've spent at least the last few hours staring at screens, frantically answering phone calls and cramming as much work in as possible. This is a lot for your brain to digest, meaning by the time it reaches your lunch hour, it's important to give it ample time to digest the events of the day so far and recharge so it can take on the rest.
Consider taking time away from your devices during your lunch hour, put yourself on, do not disturb and leave the confines of your office for a few minutes. Why not take a walk briefly? This time away from harmful blue light that your devices emit can decrease your chances of stress and ocular headaches and improve your sleep quality.
When you're not paying attention to your breathing, it's likely you're taking shallow breaths and don't adequately oxygenate your blood, causing you to feel tired and fatigued too quickly. Consider taking deeper and more measured breaths, as this is a more efficient way to oxygenate your body and destress your muscles.
Taking 30 seconds to a minute to focus on breathing deeply in and out gives your brain a little break and allows your lungs to exchange carbon dioxide from your blood more efficiently. This slows the heartbeat and stabilizes blood pressure, making you feel more relaxed and less stressed.
Anyone who owns a smart watch or a smartphone is likely to have access to a fitness tracker. A fitness tracker tracks how many steps you take during the day, with some smart watches also monitoring your levels of activity, how many calories you burn, your BMI and vital signs.
While fitness trackers aren't life changing in themselves, they are a good motivator and can hold you to account when you haven't done enough physical activity. Smart watches in particular may send you regular notifications to stretch or move around to get the blood pumping around your body.
This is also great for those of you who want to monitor your progress in your fitness journey, allowing you to keep tabs on what you're eating and how much physical activity you're taking a day.
Processed foods typically contain an unhealthy and unsustainable level of sugars, sodium (salts) and unhealthy fats. This means that eating heavily processed foods could be keeping you from any weight loss goals you have and could be contributing to high blood pressure and cholesterol.
While everything is typically OK in moderation, it's not good to make a habit out of ingesting too many processed foods. To help you cut some of these out, here are some typical examples of heavily processed foods you may have in your kitchen:
Let's have a brief break in talking about what we put in our bodies and talk about the importance of nurturing our happiness. A lot of us are guilty of putting off seeing our friends and family in favor of a day in front of the TV. While this can be healthy, especially after a particularly long work week or if you're super introverted, humans are social animals and need contact to function normally.
Consider organizing a get together with your nearest and dearest to give your social battery a recharge. This doesn't have to be a big occasion, just consider a coffee date or a small dinner party to catch up on all the events in your life. At the very least, it's an opportunity to take your mind off work.
Eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way to get in your extra vitamins and minerals whilst also indulging in a sweet and tasty snack. Most of us forget about how tasty fruit is until we revisit an old favorite, and the best part is, they're super convenient.
Eating more fruits is also a good source of fiber, which is a carbohydrate that your body can't digest into extra sugar. This means it helps to regulate your sugar process and keep your blood sugar and hunger levels at an even measurement. Soluble fibers also slow down the body's digestive system, allowing you to absorb the maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients from your food.
Insoluble fibers help to bind stool, meaning you have a healthier colon and less uncomfortable trips to the bathroom!
Why not ditch the 6am scroll through social media and take up an early morning walk as part of your daily routine. Not only is this a great way to get your heart pumping and increase your energy for the day ahead, this is also a good chance to get some early morning vitamin d from the sun.
Vitamin d is crucial to the body's regulation of the immune system, calcium and phosphates. For those of us without a biology degree, this means that vitamin d helps to support your bones, teeth and muscles. Being severely vitamin D deficient can lead to a number of scary illnesses like bone deformities, rickets in children and musculoskeletal pain, known as osteomalacia.
This is also a great opportunity to practice some mindfulness and decompress before the workday. Try using the time to get yourself into a positive mindset, plan the day and perhaps plan what you'll do for yourself when you get home. This can help you set yourself up for a much more positive day!
Oily and fatty fish aren't just super tasty, they're absolutely essential components of your diet, and if they aren't already taking up space in your fridge, you should make it a priority to ensure they are. Fatty and oily fish are rich in Omega-3 and fatty acids. These long chains of Omega-3 are critical in the prevention of heart disease and the maintenance of overall heart health.
Oily fish are the most rich source of long-chain Omega-3 that you can find, so you should consider making this a staple in your diet. It's also important for pregnant women to prioritize their intake of long-chain Omega-3 and fatty acids because this contributes to the normal development of the baby's central nervous system.
If fish or meat isn't your thing, don't worry, you're not doomed health-wise. Consider taking a daily Omega-3 supplement to ensure you still get enough of this critical polyunsaturated fat.
Sometimes, we can't fix everything with a good sleeping pattern and healthy eating, and we need a little more help in our wellness journey. If you notice that you're struggling to get by mentally on your own, consider seeking help from a qualified professional such as a therapist or doctor.
Actively prioritizing your mental health is a big step in the wellness journey and can provide some serious mental health benefits. Qualified professionals can provide effective tools that can help you manage the inhibiting symptoms of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and low self-esteem.
Sleep isn't just a reward for getting through a particularly hard day's work, it's vital to your basic bodily functions. Without sleep, your brain can't function properly, meaning that your fine motor skills, reactivity and ability to think quickly are all severely restricted.
When you sleep, your body works hard to repair the everyday wear and tear to the cells across your body, including your muscles and skin. So, if you have more aches and pains than usual, then you should consider making sure you're getting enough restful sleep.
The body also burns many calories whilst you're asleep, meaning your metabolism is working hard to process food into energy for when you wake up. This is critical to managing your weight, so make sure you're keeping track of your sleep if you're trying to shift a few extra pounds.
If you're struggling to sleep, consider spending an hour or two before bed winding down and disconnecting from your devices. Blue light from devices can wreak havoc on your body's natural sleep and wake cycle, also known as your circadian rhythm. It stops your body from preparing to sleep by blocking melatonin production which is a critical hormone in making you feel sleepy.
If this is still a struggle, consider taking melatonin or a sleep supplement a few hours before you go to bed. Overtime, this can help you establish a good pattern of sleep and help your body recognise that it's time to begin winding down for bed.
That covers most of the major ways you can practice good wellbeing. If you're still struggling or need some more inspiration, here is a list of wellness tips that are pretty self-explanatory:
There you have it! We hope that gave you some inspiration on how to practice good health and wellness. Why not check out some ways you can promote wellness with the vast range of products we have at Australian Organic Products + More? You might find some some innovative products and ways you can enhance your healthy living.
]]>Health and wellness goals can offer your life balance between good physical health and good mental wellbeing, with the two being very closely linked. Health, in itself, is not about simply being free from disease but is about lots of interrelated things and health goals help you to find a balance between these things.
Setting and achieving health goals, like healthy eating and exercise goals, will help us all to lead healthy lives and boost everything from mental health to reproductive health to digestive health. We've been taking a look at the kinds of goals you can set and how they can help you to achieve good overall health.
To find out how you can set and achieve a health goal, and why it is important to look after your health - keep reading now.
When it comes to health, the idea is that you are not merely free from disease but that you are in good and complete physical, mental, and social health. Health encompasses both physical and mental health and both look different when they're good and when they're bad. To find out how both should look when they are good, check out the next section.
Physical health relates to the body and its functions. At peak physical health, all of the body's functions are working at their optimum for your body. Good physical health tends to come with good nutrition from a healthy and balanced diet, regular exercise that gets your heart rate up and your blood pumping, and good sleep.
A good and balanced diet is a diet that is rich in whole foods and grains, like brown rice, oats, and whole wheat bread, pasta and crackers, along with lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil, and lots and lots of water!
A balanced diet is intended to nourish your body and provide all of the right vitamins and minerals for its proper functioning. You can also supplement a good diet with extra vitamins and minerals, like multivitamins, fish oil capsules for omega-3, and superfoods, like acai powder, for antioxidants.
As for exercise, it is recommended that you get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. And, when it comes to sleep, getting between 7 - 9 hours of sleep is recommended for adults. If you're having trouble sleeping, there are a few things you can do, including:
If your sleep problems don't go away with natural remedies, speak with someone in the health workforce who can advise you of any sleep disorders and their treatments.
Good mental health looks similar in most people and includes:
Good mental health and wellbeing take work. There are a number of ways you can boost your mental wellbeing, especially if you are feeling low. Many people turn to mindfulness and meditation for good mental health as these practices can pull you back to the present, ground you and remind you to live in the moment.
Other good ways to boost mental health include regular exercise, good physical health, spending time with friends and family, having downtime to relax, finding a balance between work and other life commitments, and finding a hobby.
Mental health can have a direct impact on physical health and vice versa. This is why it is important to keep both of them in good working order.
So, why is it important that your health and well being is good?
Overall wellness is important for a number of reasons and following practices that promote well-being will help you to lead a better life. There are many important reasons to boost your health and well being and these include:
There is a tonne of other reasons to get your mental and physical health on top form and it is these motivations that encourage people to set personal health and well-being goals.
You might be wondering at this point how you should set health and wellness goals, what kind of goals should you set and how you can set goals that are achievable.
We've had a look at some of the best methods for setting goals and the most successful goals are the ones set using the SMART goals acronym. But what does SMART stand for and how can it help you to set goals that promote well-being?
SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely and each word references a different way of setting goals. Below we've summarised how each of these words works in relation to goal setting.
Specific, the first word in the SMART goals acronym, refers to goals that are detailed and unambiguous. This means that a goal has a very clear end - for example, 'exercise more,' is a very unspecific goal. 'Exercise more,' can be interpreted in a number of ways meaning you'll never actually achieve your goal because it's unclear what it is.
A goal like 'be able to do ten press-ups,' is much more specific as it sets an actual goal. You have achieved this goal when you can do ten press-ups meaning you can actually tell when it is done!
The next word is measurable. This means that your goals need to be something that is tangible enough to be measured. As with the previous examples, 'exercise more,' isn't measurable in any real sense. Yes, you can tell if you have exercised more than usual but if you never ever exercise then a quick walk once a week could be seen as an achievement of this goal, but so could a resistance band work out every other day - there is no actual measure.
'Be able to do ten press-ups,' is a better goal because it is measurable. You will know when you have achieved the goal because you will be able to do TEN press-ups. The key here is the number. You need a goal that is quantifiable.
The third word in the SMART acronym could be the most important. If your goal is completely impossible then you're very unlikely to be motivated to do it. If you set astronomical goals that are too difficult to get done, your brain is going to tell you as such. Setting small and achievable goals is best for your brain.
Small and achievable goals give us a sense of reward too. Each time you meet one of the goals, you will be rewarded by the win and so more likely to continue working toward the next goal. Rewards make us happy and happiness makes us want to try more!
The fourth word, relevance, is about the personalisation of your health and wellness goals. Your goals should be set in accordance with your needs, motivations and overall goals, so while an internet list of suggested goals can be good for inspiration, sticking to someone else's goals is unlikely to inspire much motivation in you.
Relevant goals should inspire you to try harder to meet them. For example, if you want to get into the habit of running for your health, your goals should align with the idea of building a habit. Perhaps you're training for a marathon; your goals should align with this end goal. Or maybe you want to lose weight for a specific event, setting goals that put this as the central motivation will ensure you stick at the goals.
Having a central motivation that keeps pushing you gives you the vision you need to keep working towards and sometimes this image is the biggest motivator there can be. (Indeed, some people even create vision boards, change their phone backgrounds, or stick an actual picture of their goals up to motivate them.)
And finally, goals set in accordance with the SMART acronym need to be timely.
If we look back at those original examples, 'exercise more,' could be made timely by adding 'this year,' but it still doesn't become a very specific, or SMART goal. 'Be able to do ten press-ups,' while quantifiable and specific, lacks a time limit. By changing this goal to 'be able to do ten press-ups by the end of the month,' you're giving yourself a limit in which to achieve the goal.
When it comes to timings, we would always suggest a short time limit. Short time limits and small goals are the best ways to ensure you stay motivated as you will be able to see the end and celebrate each little win in your journey to the big goal.
Set goals per month, or every couple of months, so that you can actually see the results building. If you set yourself a goal that will take a year to achieve, you're more likely to give up after a few months of feeling like you're not achieving things. By breaking this one big goal down into lots of little goals, you can push yourself through each reward to stay motivated.
Now you've set your goals using the SMART acronym, ensuring they're small, achievable and personalised to you, it's time to learn the different ways you can actually achieve these goals. While setting SMART goals should help you to stay on track by their nature, there are a few different things you can do to ensure that you achieve your health and wellness goals.
Below are our top tips for actually achieving your health and wellbeing goals.
One of the best ways to make sure you stay on top of your goals is accountability. Whether you join a running group, the FitBit community, or you make a social media post each time you achieve a goal, you're holding yourself accountable for achieving goals and boosting your wellbeing.
The aim of SMART goals is to ensure that your goals are actually realistic. Don't set goals you know you will never be able to achieve as it can demotivate you. If you know you don't have the time to get to the gym every night, then don't set it as a goal. Look at your life and work out how much you can take on each time you set a goal.
If you get into a lull with your goals, start to feel demotivated, or are just bored - changing your regime can help you to stay on track and keep you focused on the goals you've set. If your exercise routine is no longer attractive to you, or the foods you're eating are just not hitting the spot, change things!
Every time you hit a goal, you should acknowledge it somehow. Reminding yourself of all you have achieved is one of the best ways to keep moving forward and it can help you to progress. With larger goals, you could allow yourself a physical treat, like your favourite meal or a pair of shoes you really want, and for smaller goals, even just a pat on the back can help you feel motivated to keep moving.
This is particularly important if you miss a goal. You should keep reminding yourself that setbacks are all a part of the process and are to be expected. Keeping motivated and staying positive can sometimes be difficult if you're not seeing any results and so you could try documenting your results and checking over them whenever you feel negative.
Setting out your goals in a plan is a good way to stay on top of the things you need to do. For meals, set out a plan each week so that you have a clear idea of what you're eating each day and make your shopping experience better too. For exercise, make a monthly plan, factoring in any time when you won't be able to exercise.
A backup plan could look like an exercise regime for when you're on holiday, or the gym is closed, or you're under the weather. For meals, a backup plan could be having healthy granola stocked up for when your muesli runs out, are having a healthy alternative to wholemeal pasta available for when it's out of stock.
You could also stock healthy snacks, like chickpeas, popcorn, dark chocolate, and dried fruit, for when you're having a craving but want to stay on track with your health goals.
When following new exercise or health regimes, rest is imperative. Ensuring that you get enough sleep (7 - 9 hours for adults) and that it is quality sleep means allowing your body the time to reset, recharge, and replenish.
Struggling to sleep may mean that your sleeping pattern isn't working for you. If you are having issues with getting enough quality sleep, try taking a melatonin supplement or drink valerian root tea before bed.
Good health is imperative for a healthy life and if you're looking to boost yours, you might be thinking of setting some goals. Whether your health goal is something simple like eating better, scouting your local reproductive health care services, or getting universal health coverage, or it is something more complex like building specific muscles and protecting yourself from global health risks, setting SMART goals is the best thing you can do.
We have covered everything there is to know about setting and achieving health goals here - now it's your turn to try it out!
There are lots of examples of health and wellness goals, from eating better and enjoying time outdoors to heading to the gym a few times a week and running 5km a day - but the best goals are the personal ones. When it comes to setting health and wellness goals you should always set goals that are achievable and will help you to meet your overall goals.
Health goals are aims you have set out that pertain to your health and boost it along the way. To be in better shape healthwise, you may decide to set health goals. Setting health goals means giving yourself small tasks to achieve your overall goal of better health. Set SMART goals with your overall motivation in mind.
Setting SMART goals is the best way to write out your health goals. When writing them down, ensure they pertain to all of the words in the SMART acronym and are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. This is the best chance you have of setting realistic and achievable goals.
The best SMART health goals are the personal ones. While you can find plenty of suggestions for good health goals online, you should set yours to ensure that they will help you to meet your overall goals and that they are achievable and realistic for you. Always aim to set small goals so that you can see your success and so that the sense of achievement keeps you motivated each time you hit a goal.
]]>As we regain some level of normality, you may be looking for a way to improve your mental wellbeing and trying to understand what different factors can affect it. If so, then we've got you covered!
We've done some research into mental wellbeing, what it looks like when it's good, and how you can improve your own mental health by yourself. To learn all about positive mental health and the impact of everyday things on your mental wellbeing, check out our blog post below.
Mental wellbeing is linked to your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Mental wellbeing and mental health are not synonymous and your mental wellbeing can affect your mental health over a period of time.
Low mental wellbeing can leave you with poor mental health and can sometimes lead to conditions like anxiety and depression.
Although there are lots of different examples of good mental wellbeing, the general idea is that you feel positive, comfortable, and confident, able to do things and progress, and you experience pleasure and joy.
Good mental health is important because our mental health affects the way we experience life. Good mental health and wellbeing can be the difference between a positive outlook and a negative one. A mentally healthy person can experience joy, interact with others in a healthy way, and see a positive future.
Mental health can also have a profound effect on physical health and maintaining good mental health can improve your overall health. Physical and mental health go hand in hand, with one having a huge effect on the other.
Having a mental health condition, like depression, can actually increase your risk of physical ailments, like heart disease and mental distress can lead to poor health choices that lead to poorer physical health. The path between physical health and mental health is a two-way street, with the two affecting each other in equal amounts.
It is important to note that though good mental wellbeing and mental health can lead to a more positive outlook, it does not mean the total absence of negative thoughts. Good mental wellbeing simply means that when negative or challenging situations do arise, you are able to deal with them in a healthier way. Unlike when mental wellbeing is poor and normal stresses from everyday life can have you spiralling.
Positive mental health and wellbeing have many faces, but generally, a person with good mental wellbeing can feel a few things, which include:
Positive mental wellbeing doesn't necessarily have to include all of these factors and may include more depending on a variety of factors.
Mental wellbeing and our mental health can be affected by a variety of different factors, from external sources to our physical health to our own thoughts and feelings. Below, we've categorised factors that affect your mental health and wellbeing under three headings, connections with people, physical health, and emotional health. Check them out to learn how different things can affect how you feel mentally.
The way we interact with other human beings can affect how we feel. Having good and healthy connections to our friends, families, and colleagues can help to improve mental health and wellbeing while missing out on socialising can make us feel lonelier.
Even introverts need friends and having genuine human connection can help to improve how you're feeling.
As already discussed, physical health and mental health go hand in hand and doing everything you can to keep good physical health will help your mental health too.
Getting enough sleep can affect how you feel in the mornings. A good nights rest can make the day seem easy whereas feeling tired can make you feel sluggish and generally down in your mood. If you struggle to sleep, consider using aromatherapy oils, like lavender oil or herbal remedies like this sleep aid from Herbal Wellbeing.
Exercise has always been known as a great aid to mental health. Getting out every day in the fresh air, even just for a quick walk, can get your heart rate up and your endorphins and dopamine flowing. These chemicals can help you to feel more positive and content and do wonders for your mental health and wellbeing.
The World Health Organization recommended that adults get between 150 - 300 minutes of moderate activity across the week to maintain good physical and by extension mental health.
Following a healthy diet can also help you to maintain good physical health. A good diet consists of lots of fruit, vegetables, grains, like wholemeal pasta, brown rice, and cereals, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats like those in extra virgin olive oil and other oils.
Eating a good diet can help to maintain overall health and stop you from feeling sluggish. Limiting sugar intake can avoid crashes in your energy and eating a diet high in protein and whole grains can keep you energised for consistent periods of time.
Emotional health can have a huge impact on your mental health and wellbeing. If you're feeling low or stressed, especially for a prolonged period of time, it can start to have a huge impact on your mental health.
Practising mindfulness, getting out into nature, trying out yoga, and even trying meditation are all practices that can help you feel more grounded and calm throughout the day and can help to stabilise your emotional health.
Now that we understand what mental wellbeing is and how it can be affected by external factors, it is time to look at ways we can improve our mental health and wellbeing. We've done some research and found a few different ways you can improve your mental health and wellbeing. Check them out.
Like we mentioned before, human connection is great for your mental health. Catching up over a cup of coffee or a nutritious meal can do wonders for your mental health when you're feeling low. Pick up the phone, send a quick email, and meet up with your nearest and dearest.
Human connection can help you to feel less lonely and can assure you that there is someone there for you when things get bad.
We've gone over how physical activity can help previously, but it's very important so we're reiterating it. Physical activity, of any kind that gets your heart pumping, can help you to feel better quickly. Staying in shape is great for your overall health and can encourage the release of chemicals in your brain that make you feel good.
If we're progressing, learning new things, and becoming new people, we're dealing with change and finding joy and pleasure in life. Learn a new skill, like cooking or painting, take up mountain biking or rock climbing, or sit down and learn a new language. Keeping yourself busy and widening your mind can help you to feel fulfilled and joyful.
This is also an opportunity to connect with new people and build confidence in yourself, both of which can help your mental wellbeing. Always make sure you actually enjoy the new thing you're learning, of course. Don't force yourself to do something you don't like!
Choosing to be kind to others and giving to others can give you a sense of purpose and help you to feel more fulfilled. Offering help to friends, volunteering with a charity that interests you, or simply ensuring you thank the people in your life can help you to feel good.
Mindfulness has soared in popularity in recent years. The art of being in the present can help you feel grounded and help you to slow down, ensuring you understand yourself better and enjoy life more.
Take a moment to enjoy the world around you and practice grounding techniques, like noting the things in the room you can sense.
Mindfulness is a really great tool for calm. It can soothe you in the busy world we now live in.
Improving your mental wellbeing can help you to improve your physical as well as your mental health. Ensuring you have good mental wellbeing can ensure you lead a happier and more fulfilled life and help you to deal with everyday life.
We have laid out a few different ways you can improve your mental wellbeing here, but there are lots of others too! If none of these tips appeals to you, take a look at other techniques for good mental wellbeing and see how your thoughts improve quickly.
How can I help mental wellbeing?
You can help your mental well-being in a number of ways. Helping your mental wellbeing can ensure you deal with everyday stresses more easily and have a better outlook on life. Getting out into nature, taking up physical activity, trying new skills, and connecting with others are all ways that you can improve your own mental wellbeing.
What is positive mental wellbeing?
Positive mental wellbeing can be characterised in a number of ways. Someone who has good mental wellbeing may feel confident and optimistic about the future and its progression. They should also feel able to make decisions easily and have belief in themselves, as well as be able to deal with everyday stresses and new changes happening around them.
What does mental wellbeing mean?
Mental wellbeing is to do with your thoughts, feelings and emotions and how they impact the way you live your life. Good mental wellbeing means being able to feel confident in yourself, feel pleasure and joy in life, and be able to deal with changes and stresses around you. Though not synonymous, your mental wellbeing can have a profound effect on your mental health and prolonged low mental wellbeing can lead to mental health conditions.
Are mental health and mental wellbeing the same thing?
Mental health and mental wellbeing differ a little. While mental wellbeing is about your thoughts and feelings, mental health is about the overall feeling and not just the absence of illness. Mental wellbeing can affect mental health and when not taken care of properly, your mental wellbeing can cause ill mental health. Sometimes, poor mental wellbeing for a prolonged period of time can even lead to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
]]>Social media and mental health have been linked in a range of recent studies that suggest that too much social media can lead to poor mental wellbeing and mental health problems. Though social media was designed to keep us connected, new features and a lack of physical contact with people can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety and social isolation, particularly in young adults.
We've been doing some research into how social media can affect your mental health and we've gathered all our research into this blog post. To find out more about common causes of mental health issues, how these are exacerbated by social media, and how to come off social media and boost your mental health, keep reading now.
Poor mental health and wellbeing have a range of common causes and while not all mental health problems can be linked to these things, the vast majority can. Young people's mental health, in particular, can be linked to excessive social media use and below we have rounded up the common causes of mental health problems that can also be linked to social media.
Common causes of mental health problems that can be exacerbated by social media include:
There are other causes of mental health struggles that may be associated with social media, but these few seem most linked. Additionally, a person's work and home life can affect mental health along with their diet, exercise regime, and the amount they sleep. Though they may not fix all problems, eating a varied and healthy diet that is rich in plant foods, like grains and nuts, and getting enough sleep, can all help to promote better mental health.
Social media and mental health issues have been linked a few times in recent studies, and though data is not complete, many experts agree that too much social media can have negative mental health outcomes. As previously mentioned, social media can exacerbate certain problems, including feelings of inadequacy, fear of missing out (FOMO), social isolation, depression and anxiety, cyberbullying, and self-absorption. These issues can all lead to poor mental health.
Social media promotes a so-called 'highlight reel' wherein users only show the best bits of their lives, showing off the latest trend or the latest party they attended. For other users, this may make them feel left out (FOMO) or indeed make them feel as though they are inadequate in comparison. Social media is full of comparisons and this can be detrimental to our self-esteem. Self-esteem is intrinsically linked to good mental wellbeing and if this is depleted, we can begin to feel worthless.
Depression and anxiety are both conditions that are exacerbated by social media. Along with feelings of inadequacy, time spent on social media can cause stress and promotes the idea of an online community. While social media has allowed people to be connected from all over the world and does have positive aspects, it has meant a decline in physical interaction. Human beings need in-person interaction for their mental wellbeing, whether that's going for a coffee with a friend, or spending time with family, and more social media can mean less in-person interaction.
Excessive social media can also lead to a sense of self-absorption. This is because of the time spent promoting oneself online, through selfies and our own 'highlight reel,' and it can make us lose sight of others. Poor mental health often makes us feel as though we have no purpose and doing things for others can be a way to feel that we do again. With the self-absorption that social media promote, we may lose sight of how we can help others and who we are here for.
Social media and mental health are linked in a huge variety of ways, but how do you know when social media is actually affecting your mental health? We've researched how to know when it is time to step back from social media and have rounded up our research below.
There are a few ways that you can tell it may be time for you to take a step back from social media and these include:
There are a few things that you can do in place of social media that may help you detox from the apps. These include:
So, you've decided that social media is affecting your mental health and you've taken a step back from it - but now you're looking for ways to boost your mental health after so long on social media. There are tonnes of ways that you can boost your mental health after spending too much time on social media feeds and these include:
Social media and mental health have been linked a number of times. Excessive social media use can lead to lots of mental health issues and can result in depression and anxiety, particularly in young adults. While social media does have some positive aspects, trying to limit your social media use can ensure that you keep your mental health in check.
How do you define mental health?
Mental health relates to the way one feels psychologically and emotionally. Mental health and mental wellbeing are linked, though they are not one and the same. Mental well being can affect mental health and mental health problems can sometimes be exacerbated by poor wellbeing, along with other common causes.
How do I improve mental health?
Improving your mental health can be done in a few ways, these include:
What causes poor mental health?
Poor mental health can be linked to a whole range of things. These include but are not limited to:
What are three signs of poor mental health?
There are a few ways that you can tell that someone close to you is experiencing poor mental health. If someone close to you displays these symptoms, it might be time to check in with them. Symptoms include:
A wellness routine can help you to build habits and find ways of being healthier in your life. Making better habits can help you to become healthier and it can ensure you choose healthier options more often.
Routine is a great way of tricking your brain into choosing health. This is because humans are creatures of habit and the more we repeat activities, the more we will keep choosing our health and the more likely we are to stick at something.
In this blog post, we're going to be looking at what a wellness routine actually is and how it can contribute to healthy living, how daily routine can lead to a healthier lifestyle, and what kind of daily routine you could try.
To find out more and to find ways to become healthier, keep reading now.
So, what is a wellness routine?
A wellness routine is essentially a daily schedule that helps you to incorporate all of your healthy habits into your life. These healthy habits can be built up over time and will help you to grow into a healthier person.
A wellness routine can incorporate everything from the way you eat and when you eat to your workout routine, your self-care routine, and how much you sleep. Your wellness routine should be good for your physical health as well as your mental health and you should try to incorporate tasks that actually make you want to do them! There is no point in a routine you don't want to do.
A wellness routine will cover your full day, from the minute you wake up until the minute you fall asleep, and even your sleep too! You don't need to plan every single minute out but you should try to ensure you have a loose idea of what needs to be done and complete any tasks you need to build healthy habits.
Your morning routine may be more intense than your afternoon routine, and you may find you have more habits to build around bedtime than in the early evening. This is alright and you should just do what works best for you.
A wellness routine can help you to connect with healthy habits. By putting the things you want to do to be healthier into your day, you're making a positive step toward making good decisions. And while not every healthy habit is going to be a joyous thing, you should commit to it and consider your end goal while still trying to make your habits fun and interesting enough that you keep doing them!
And repetition is key. A routine is about you building habits and building habits can only be done through repetition.
If we repeatedly do something that is good for us, we're more likely to keep doing it and if it becomes a part of our routine then it's almost like auto-pilot. If we practice the same rituals every time we wake up, then our bodies will know to do these things every day. This is how habits are formed and it's how we can almost trick ourselves into choosing to be healthier and keeping it up.
Building a routine will help you to stay on track with living a healthier lifestyle. One of the biggest reasons people give up on diets or exercise routines is because it doesn't become a habit. Once it becomes a normal part of your day, there is no reason not to do it.
To find out more about routines and how they contribute to health, take a look below.
So, we've talked about routine and how repeated actions help you to build habits, but how can a daily routine force you to be healthier.
Well, to begin with, constantly repeating the same actions throughout the day helps your body to know what time of day it is and what is expected of it. This comes in really useful in the mornings when you need your body to wake up and in the evenings when you need it to go to sleep. As sleep is an essential part of health, getting enough sleep means being able to fall asleep on time, and a sleep routine can help with this.
The other thing that a daily routine can do is force you to connect with your wellbeing. By actively taking steps to maintain your health and wellbeing, you're proving to yourself that you care about this and that you're invested in it.
One of the best things you can do for your physical and mental wellbeing is to be invested in it. It helps motivate you to complete the steps in your routine each day and it makes you actually want to do them.
When we look at our health, we should look at both physical and mental health. Below we have summarised how a daily routine can help with both.
For physical health, it is obvious. The more we repeatedly eat well, sleep enough, work out, and practice wellness rituals that contribute to our physical well-being, the healthier we're going to become. A daily routine that incorporates habits that build and maintain your physical wellbeing can support good health and an overall healthier lifestyle.
And as we discussed earlier, the more we repeat something and the more we build a habit, the more likely we are to continuously choose the healthier option. By choosing healthier habits we can physically feel them benefitting us and we become addicted to this feeling of wellness - meaning, we repeatedly choose wellness.
To find out how a wellness routine can impact your mental health, have a read of the next section.
Routine is a great way of almost rewiring your brain to make healthier choices. Repeating actions can trick your brain into keeping up with habits and if those habits make you feel physically well, they can also make you feel mentally well.
Physical health and mental health are intrinsically linked. This means that if your physical health is good, you've got more chance of your mental health being good, and vice versa.
Another aspect of mental health that a wellness routine can support is giving you a sense of purpose. Having a sense of purpose is known to support emotional well-being and can help you to feel good about yourself and improve your self-esteem. Having tasks to do each day gives you a reason to get up and get out which can have a positive effect on mental wellbeing.
Now we know why we should have a wellness routine, it's time to take a look at some of the different routines you could focus on. You could try anything from a routine that supports healthy living to a routine that forces you to be more organised. Take a look below for summaries of each.
A healthy living routine is a wellness routine entirely focused on taking care of your physical health. It incorporates all aspects of your life and is a great option for those looking to boost their overall health.
To execute a healthy routine, you should begin the day right. This means waking up, drinking a cold glass of lemon water and beginning your exercise routine. Whether you do a short cardio workout or a sweaty resistance band session, you should ensure you move your body for a least half an hour.
After a cool down, it's time to rehydrate with lots of water and then eat a healthy breakfast. This breakfast could be anything from porridge oats with dried fruit and maple syrup to a healthy granola option. You should ensure your breakfast gives you energy and is packed with fibre, and you should always eat breakfast and never skip it!
Next, you should begin your work, making sure to stay hydrated throughout. You could carry a water bottle with you to ensure you're drinking enough water. And then at lunchtime, you should eat a filling and healthy lunch, like quinoa salad or a lentil dish.
After lunch, you could do a few stretches to ensure you don't stiffen up as you sit back down to work and then consume a healthy and filling dinner. Your dinner should include grains and pulses as well as other plant foods.
After dinner, it is time to wind down. You could spend some time meditating or diffusing calming chamomile essential oil. Or you could take a calming bath with Epsom salts and a scented candle. Once you've wound down, it is time to go to bed at a reasonable time! If you struggle to sleep, you could try journaling before bed and spraying a sleep mist on your pillow.
You could also try taking health supplements in the morning, like vitamin C, to boost your health further, though you should be able to get most vitamins and minerals by eating a healthy diet.
For a routine that forefronts organisation, you should begin by setting out the day ahead the night before. This means making a to-do list and laying out your clothes and other items the night before. Then, when you wake up, you don't need to do anything because it is all ready for you!
You should begin the day by making your bed, ensuring your bedroom is tidy to come back to at the end of the day. You should also stay on top of clutter and make sure to tidy up after yourself. This means replacing things to where they belong and staying on top of the laundry.
Throughout your day, you should prioritise tasks that are the most urgent and ensure you get these done first. You could take a few minutes break in between each task to ensure you don't feel overwhelmed. A to-do list will help you out when it comes to your workload.
At the end of each day, you should do the dishes and make your home as tidy and as organised as possible so that you wake up to a clean and tidy space. Before you sleep, you could do a brain dump of all of your ideas and tasks you need to do tomorrow.
The organisation comes from planning ahead and so your evenings are very important for the next day. Once you have organised the day ahead, you should take the time to relax and unwind. You could bathe in soothing bath oils and read a book or watch your favourite TV show and snack on some chocolate.
For all of your cleaning needs, be sure to check out our organic and eco-friendly household cleaning products, like environmentally-friendly dish soap and laundry detergent.
Some people may want to focus on productivity when it comes to their day. This means creating a routine that can offer you a more productive day while also helping your overall well-being.
To begin this routine, as before, you should plan your days in advance. This could mean making a weekly plan or a daily to-do list. You should ensure you wake up at the same time every day and eat a breakfast that energises you. You could even try adding a smoothie with some superfood powders, like maca powder, to help wake you up and get all of your vitamins for the day.
When you move to your workspace, you should do your best to ensure it is free of distractions. This could mean wearing noise-cancelling headphones, removing distracting signage, or even diffusing essential oil blends that help you to focus.
When tackling your to-do list, you should first do all of the worst tasks. This will help to get them out of the way and will clear the way for more enjoyable tasks. Ensure you do long and arduous tasks first so that they are over with.
Once you're done with work, it is time to rest or meditate. You could work out or try some yoga to take your mind off the day and reset your brain. You could also try journaling or reading to wind down - and make it your aim to sleep at the same time each night.
The key to productivity is learning when to say no. It means practising real self-care and not taking on too much. Taking on too much leads to becoming overwhelmed which is a hindrance to productivity.
A wellness routine is a good step to take if you want to live a healthier life. It means taking the time to build healthier habits and re-wiring your brain to see this routine as the constant. A wellness routine can be catered to your needs and whether you want organisation or productivity or just better health, there is a wellness routine for you.
Start out small and make changes you know you can stick to ensuring that your wellness routine suits you and is doable. It is all about repetition so keeping at it is the best way to create a successful routine.
How do you create a wellness routine?
Before you begin creating a wellness routine, you need to decide what you want from it. Whether you want to get more done in a day or you just want to overhaul your eating habits, you need to know this before you start. Once you have your goal, you should start by making small changes, like the time you wake up or the breakfast you eat, and slowly build a routine from there.
What is the healthiest daily routine?
The healthiest daily routine is the one that looks after your mental and physical health. This can look different to different people, but will usually consist of a few of the same things. These things are: eating a healthy breakfast, working out, planning out your days, and going to bed at the same time each night. These few things can help lay the groundwork for a healthy daily routine.
What are the best daily routines?
The best daily routines are the ones that help you to meet your goals. This means that if your goals are health and fitness, your daily routine should include eating well and working out. If you want to be more organised you should make to-do lists, plan out your days, and stay on top of cleaning and laundry. There are many different goals and so many different routines, meaning each one is different. You need to find the one that is right for you.
What are the examples of daily routines?
Examples of daily routines can cover a range of different habits. A daily routine may be waking up at the same time every day, eating a healthy breakfast and then working until the evening when you can rest and unwind. Or it could mean having a leisurely morning and working well into the night. Daily routines are different to everyone and there is no right way to do it. You should just make sure your daily routine works for you.
]]>Practising mindfulness can help you to be in the present moment and can help with stress reduction, as well as being able to deal with negative emotions. But if you're reading this and wondering what mindfulness is, then we've got you.
We've taken some time to do some research into what mindfulness is, how to practice mindfulness, and how to bring mindfulness-based stress reduction into your everyday life. Keep reading to find answers to questions like what is mindfulness and how can mindfulness help me.
So, what is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of being aware and of the present moment. Sometimes considered a form of meditation, mindfulness can include breathwork, guided imagery, and other techniques that help to reduce stress and relax the body.
Mindfulness is about becoming aware of your thoughts and feelings, your bodily sensations, the surrounding environment, and using these to feel a sense of grounding. It is also about accepting your thoughts for what they are, recognising them, and allowing them to pass through you. Mindfulness teaches us that that there is no right or wrong way to feel and offers no judgement on anything you feel.
Mindfulness forces us to tune into the present moment, feel and be aware of things that are happening around us and in our own head and has us accept these things. Mindfulness is about being present, feeling grounded, and learning to understand our own minds.
Before we get into the benefits of mindfulness, it may be helpful to understand where mindfulness came from and how it came into the mainstream.
Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist traditions. It grew out of a number of Buddhist teachings and philosophies, though the mainstream mindfulness training came from a secular reimagining.
Mindfulness has lots of links with Buddhist thought.
Mindfulness aims to help one know their own mind in a similar way to Buddhist teachings on the subject. Knowing the mind and learning to reflect without judgement can help us to understand who we are and accept who we are, rather than judge it. Practising mindfulness can help you to know yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings better.
Practising mindfulness and knowing your mind can help to train your mind. Another touch on Buddhist teachings, mindfulness helps one to train their mind, learning to accept thoughts and feelings as they are. This goes hand in hand with knowing your mind and being in the present moment.
And lastly, Buddhist philosophy aims to free the mind of judgement and encourages it to accept which is how mindfulness aims to reduce stress and anxiety in the body. Practising mindfulness daily can help you to free your mind of judgement and allow you to accept the way you feel, who you are, and how you find yourself.
Mindfulness comes with a range of benefits. Though helpful for slowing down and calming your body, practising mindfulness can also help in a range of other ways. To find out more about the benefits of mindfulness, keep reading and learn why you should practice mindfulness too.
Mindfulness can be a fantastic tool to help improve your mental well-being. The practice is designed to make you feel and understand yourself better, accept your thoughts for what they are, and be in the present moment. All of these qualities of mindfulness exercises can help to boost your mental wellbeing.
Mindfulness supports the feelings that make you feel more fulfilled and practising mindfulness can help you to feel more satisfied. Feeling like this can also help you to feel more pleasure and joy in your everyday life, leading to stress reduction. Mindfulness helps you to feel better in yourself and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is frequently prescribed in patients suffering from poor mental wellbeing.
The mind and the body are linked in a range of ways and poor health in one can lead to poor health in the other. As mindfulness practices help you to feel more at ease, more satisfied, and more relaxed, this can have a profound effect on the body.
Practising mindfulness can help with stress reduction, can reduce chronic pain, lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and is thought to alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties as well as helping to treat heart disease.
Mindfulness training is about paying attention and being in the present moment but these mindfulness skills can actually really help to improve, not just your mental health, but your overall health too.
An improvement in mental wellbeing can help to improve mental health conditions, mindfulness can help your mental health by helping your mental wellbeing.
When you practice mindfulness, you are training yourself to be aware and in the present moment and this mindfulness practice can help to improve a number of conditions, including:
Though mindfulness training is not a cure-all for every mental health condition, practising mindfulness exercises and utilising mindfulness-based stress reduction can help to improve and treat mental health conditions.
Reducing rumination and worry can help to stop anxious thoughts and overthinking and mindfulness practice trains the mind to see these thoughts for what they are and move on from them. This can be incredibly helpful to a range of mental health conditions.
In addition, paying attention, being aware of negative emotions, and being present in the moment can all help to relax the body, calm the mind and aid in the treatment of poor mental health.
Mindfulness training is frequently prescribed as part of treatments for mental health conditions and has seen fantastic results in those who have used it.
As discussed previously, mindfulness is a common treatment plan for mental health conditions. A benefit of mindfulness practice is that it can make you feel relaxed as well as calm your worries. Mindfulness is a key tool in treating poor mental health.
There are a few ways that mindfulness is incorporated in mental health treatment, these include:
This mindfulness practice is usually used to prevent a relapse in recurrent depression. It combines the techniques used in mindfulness, including mindful breathing, guided meditation, and stretching, with therapies used with cognitive behavioural therapy to help break the pattern of negative thoughts that is commonly associated with depression.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction deals with prolonged feelings of stress that cause havoc to your mental and physical health. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR, can be used as a one-off for those who do not suffer prolonged poor mental health or it can be incorporated into other kinds of therapy.
Now that we've taken a look at the benefits of mindfulness and how it can be used to help you in your everyday life, we're going to take a look at some mindfulness practices that can help you out.
Practising mindfulness shouldn't be difficult and can be incorporated easily into your daily routine. Try out some of these techniques a few times and see which ones feel right to you.
There is a range of different mindfulness techniques you can try, from the simple practices that can be done quickly in your daily life, to some that require a little more thought and some time set aside.
Below, we've broken down these techniques into two categories, ones you can do quickly in your day-to-day life, and the ones you might need to plan a few minutes to try out. Check them out below.
These techniques are things you can incorporate into your daily routine. They can be done on the bus, on a walk, or even as you wash up. They usually force you to be in the present moment and allow you to relax the body quickly.
Take a look at these simple mindfulness practices below:
There are many mindfulness exercises you can practice but some take a little more time. Below, we have listed a few of these techniques that require a little more thought but can help you train your mind in the art of mindfulness.
Take a look below to find out more.
Like with the techniques in the previous section, mindfulness meditation can take up more time and space and may require you to set aside time to practice it. Mindfulness meditation combines the two practices together and allows you to practice your mindfulness while in a relaxed state.
To find out more about mindfulness meditation, keep reading.
Mindfulness works well with aromatherapy. Using essential oils with a calming effect, like lavender oil, chamomile oil, or sandalwood oil, can help to ground your practice further. Using an aromatherapy diffuser to allow these scents to fill your room before sitting down to practice your mindfulness meditation can enhance the experience and help you feel anchored by the calming effects of the essential oils.
Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist philosophy and aims to train the mind to be accepting, free of judgement, and calm. Mindfulness comes in many forms and can help your mental well-being as well as your mental health. Practising mindfulness can help you feel more grounded, more satisfied, and more relaxed.
Mindfulness is the practice of being in the present moment and being aware of what is happening around you. Mindfulness techniques help to ground you and help you feel more pleasure and joy in life. Mindfulness exercises can include being aware of the sensations around you and in your body, using the breath as an anchor, and meditation and is frequently used in mental health treatment.
Mindfulness examples include taking a moment to notice the world around you, taking in the sounds and sights and letting them be your focus. It could involve feeling joy in the small things, a smile, a good meal. Mindfulness techniques ask the person to focus on the present moment, the breath, their senses, anything to anchor them to the present.
Mindfulness is considered a state of being. You practice mindfulness until it becomes a part of who you are. Meditation is a practice in itself. Meditation involves mindfulness but the two are not synonymous and you need to practice mindfulness while you meditate.
Mindfulness is easy to incorporate into your daily life. You could start small by practising mindfulness, like noticing the things around you and taking joy in the small things, or perhaps you could begin by adding a few minutes of mindfulness exercise, such as the body scan, into your day. Using mindfulness in small chunks daily can help you to build up the quality and allow it to become a state of being.
]]>In this article, we're going to explore the ways that our core values align with our determination to live a meaningful life and how they affect our personal development. Below, we'll discuss what personal values are, why having core values is important, and how you can use core values in your own life to encourage personal development, good mental health and well being, and improve your self-awareness.
If you want to learn more about the important values that can help you to live a good life, then this is the article for you. Keep reading to find out more.
So, what are personal values?
Personal values, core values, life values, are all values that you choose to live by and that inform your daily life in ways you don't even see. Core values are oftentimes inherited from friends and family, society, and those around you and you may not think about them until you have to.
Core values are what you believe to be important in a person. The personal values you set yourself are the standard to which you hold yourself and the standard to which you need to match to be a 'good' person.
Identifying core values can help you to understand exactly what it is you value in yourself and in other people, helping you to live a meaningful life by ensuring your actions align with your values.
But what is so special about having personal values? Why do we need them?
Well, having personal values can help to guide you in the right direction as you grow as a person. They can help you to begin living with more integrity helping you on your path to self-discovery and allow you to understand how you can feel better in yourself, through good mental health and positive emotions.
Having core values ensures you have something to live by and a values list that guides you in the right direction. Your personal values matter as you decide what kind of life you wish to lead.
Now that we understand what core values are and how having your own values can help you to become a better version of yourself, it's time to take a look at some of our top core value ideas.
This list of core values is extensive but does not cover every core value there is or can be. We've rounded up some that we think are important to help you consider what it is you value. Take a look below to learn more now.
Compassion comes in many forms. There can be compassion for those around you, within your community, compassion for those in difficult situations, self-compassion, the list goes on.
Compassion is an inner feeling and acknowledgement that everyone, all living beings, can suffer. It is about having empathy, sympathy, and concern for others. Compassion can extend outwards or inwards and is of great value in the world today.
Compassion could display as helping out a neighbour, volunteering with a charity, or even choosing a life of no-harm by opting for a vegan or vegetarian diet.
If we are not changing and growing as people then we become stagnant. Personal growth is good for mental well being, keeping the mind active as you develop new skills, and it is good for society as we learn and develop into more compassionate beings.
Self-growth can help you to feel more empathy for others, help you to understand yourself more, and help you to feel more fulfilled in life.
Forgiveness is important in life. Hanging on to anger, holding grudges, and feeling resentment can all be bad for mental well being. Learning to forgive those who have wronged you, and forgive yourself for mistakes you have made, can help you to feel more positive.
Showing gratitude can help you to really appreciate the wonder of the world around you. From friends and family to the colours of a sunset, showing gratitude and giving thanks for the beauty of life can help you to feel good and help you to start living more fully.
Feeling gratitude for the planet we live on can help you start living more consciously too, helping you to appreciate the work and effort that goes into everything we consume.
Life is all about balance. You should aim for a good balance of work, family time, free time, and anything else you value. Spending time with your nearest and dearest can be great for your mental wellbeing, while working can help you find purpose in life.
Setting the boundaries for balance can be difficult in the beginning but it is the only way you can ensure you don't lose sight of this core value.
Respect for yourself goes hand in hand with self-compassion and balance. Choosing to respect your own boundaries, your own health, and your own life can help you with decision making, choosing only things you know will nourish your soul, as well as keeping yourself well, mentally and physically. Respect also means respecting those around you, as well as the planet we live on.
Respect for yourself and the planet could be displayed as choosing to eat well and eat organically. Eating well and maintaining health is an act of self-respect and getting a diet full of organic grains, nuts and seeds, and fruits and vegetables can help you to boost your health as well as respect the planet we live on.
Self-care and self-respect work together as values. While self-respect is about setting boundaries, self-care is about making sure you feel good and taking care of yourself.
This could be by eating well, exercising, meditating and practising mindfulness, and following a good skincare routine filled with nourishing scrubs, oils and lotions.
In addition, using aromatherapy oils, like organic sandalwood oil, organic rose oil, and organic lavender oil can all help you to feel calmer and more at peace. Diffusing them in your home can help your mental wellbeing and is an act of self-care.
Wellness, self-care, and self-respect also work together. Wellness is more about treating your body with respect, nourishing it well, and getting in plenty of exercises.
Choosing wellness can help you to feel physically fitter which can extend to good mental wellbeing. Choosing wellness is an act of kindness toward yourself.
Taking responsibility for yourself and your actions ensures you keep growing and changing as a person and learning how to be a better person. Understanding how your actions impact others and taking responsibility for that means better relationships with friends and family members and is one of the most important things you can do to live in a meaningful way.
While the list we have compiled here is not an extensive one, it covers some of the basics of the most important values you can live by in your life. If you value yourself and others, you will find that you can truly make a difference and live a life you are proud of.
Your core values may change and develop throughout your life but ensuring that your actions align with them can help you to feel like a better person and help you to make the world a better place.
Some great examples of good core values include:
Your values in life are generally made up of the values you have seen around you. Each core value you live by has usually been influenced by your family, friends, community, and society at large. Every core value you hold will impact actions in your daily life and can influence your own feelings on what a good or meaningful life is. You will find that each core value influences aspects of your personality and choices in different ways.
]]>We've been doing a bit of research and we've found a few ways to help you stay on top of your health over the holidays. These include tips for weight management as well as overall health and stress management. Health covers both physical and mental health and it is important to keep both in good shape this holiday season.
To find out more about health during the holidays and how you can maintain it, keep reading now.
The holidays are known as times when people over-indulge, eat too much, drink too much, and forget about their diets. There is always more food, more opportunity to drink, and more reason to indulge. Health always seems like less of a priority during the holidays.
On top of this, there is the stress of the holidays. From buying presents for every single member of your family, including their pets, to trying to meet all of your end-of-year work deadlines, it's no wonder people feel a rise in stress levels during this time. And for some, the actual holidays themselves, spending time with family, and being around people you only ever see during the holidays can cause stress too.
Stress has been repeatedly linked to weight gain, poor mental health, and poor overall health and so a spike at this time of year can leave you starting the new year in less than good spirits. If this is you, then we've got some tips for you too!
When we look at how to stay healthy over the holidays we don't just mean healthy eating and maintaining a healthy weight, we also mean learning ways to manage stress, getting enough sleep, and prioritising your emotional health as well as your physical health.
To find out more, keep reading now.
Before we look at some tips on how to stay healthy during the holidays, we need to clarify that health doesn't just entail staying at what is considered a healthy weight. A healthy lifestyle is one in which you feel good about yourself as well as in your physical health. The tips we have gathered cover everything from managing weight gain to managing stress to ensure you stay healthy across the board this holiday season.
Check out our tips below.
It can be tempting throughout the holiday season to indulge almost every day. With a sharp increase in the number of sweet treats on offer in the supermarkets during the holidays, you're more than likely tempted to grab some each time you go shopping, but choosing to only indulge on the special days during the holidays can help you to stay on track.
Choosing to only eat the sweet treats on these days can mean that they feel more special and they can help you not to throw all of your hard work out of the window!
To keep your immune system in good shape, ensure you're still taking your health supplements throughout the entire season. Stay on top of your vitamin C or multivitamins to keep your health in good shape and stave off any unwanted illnesses that often go around this time of year too!
Not taking your vitamins can put you at a higher risk of getting sick which could ruin this special time of year!
This may be more difficult at this time of year but choosing not to drink at every event can help you to maintain your weight and your health. Alcohol is known for contributing to weight gain, as well as poor health in general. It can prevent you from getting quality sleep and can increase your blood pressure when consumed in large amounts.
Not only the physical effects, but alcohol can also cause bouts of depression and make you feel more anxious and stressed. Trying to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume can help you to feel better, more alert, and happier during the holidays.
Now, we're not saying you have to go to the gym or do an intense resistance band workout on Christmas day, but staying on top of the exercise you usually do can help you to feel healthier this holiday season. Make movement a priority and ensure you're getting your steps in, even on special days.
Along the same lines as the exercise, ensuring you leave the house and get some fresh air can help to keep your spirits up this holiday season. Spending all of your time in the house can cause you to feel a little overwhelmed and getting out into nature can help you to feel happier.
Why not go for a morning walk on Christmas day? Take the family and go and get some fresh air before indulging in a huge Christmas dinner.
If the holidays are a stressful time for you then practising mindfulness throughout the season can help you to feel more grounded and enjoy the experience more. Practice some grounding techniques, take some deep breaths and try to notice the small things that make you happy throughout the season to keep your spirits up.
The holidays are about spending time with loved ones but sometimes we can get too caught up in indulging ourselves to really enjoy it. Try to maintain your healthy diet by prioritising the time you spend with loved ones throughout this period.
A major component of a healthy diet, eating fibre with every meal is essential during the holidays. For one, it is good to balance blood sugar and help keep your blood sugar at a healthy level. Secondly, eating enough fibre can keep your digestive system working properly, and finally, it can help you to feel full, meaning you won't overindulge!
Try eating lots of whole grains, like brown rice, whole-meal pasta, and rye bread, along with lots of vegetables to keep your fibre levels up.
Your sleep quality can impact both your physical and your mental health. Mental health professionals agree that good sleep can be the key to feeling less anxious and more optimistic and it can help you to eat less sugary food.
If you struggle to sleep, you could try a soothing pillow mist, chamomile tea, or diffusing lavender oil before bed to relax your body and mind and help you to fall asleep more easily.
If the holidays are a stressful time for you, you may find that practising stress management techniques can help you to feel less stressed and anxious. This could mean ensuring you exercise each day, even just a short yoga practice, or it could mean practising meditation and breathwork to still the mind.
No matter what techniques you use to keep your stress at bay, practising these methods is essential if you find the holidays a stressful time.
Staying healthy over the holidays means more than just sticking to your diet and continuing to lose weight. It is also about maintaining good mental wellbeing and staying on top of your immunity too. Our tips for staying healthy cover everything from getting good sleep and continuing exercise to eating enough fibre and limiting alcohol, and, following even a few of these tips can help you to feel better.
While it can be difficult to stay on track during the holidays, setting boundaries and learning when to say no is key to staying healthy during the holidays.
How can I stay healthy on the holidays?
Staying healthy during the holidays means both maintaining a good diet and keeping your emotional health in check. You could begin by ensuring you exercise, take your supplements and eat enough fibre throughout the holidays to keep your physical health in check. In addition, you could ensure you get good sleep and make sure to get out of the house when you can. To keep your mental health in check, you should practise mindfulness and other stress management techniques to ensure you keep healthy in your mind too.
What are the eight tips for staying fit during the holidays?
Eight tips for staying fit during the holidays are:
How do you stay trim during the holidays?
If you've spent all year getting in shape, you probably don't want to ruin it all during the holidays. To stay trim during the holidays, you should ensure you're eating lots of fibre to keep your digestive system functioning and helping yourself feel fuller for longer and ensuring you don't overindulge. You should also ensure you get good sleep at night so you're not tempted by sugary snacks and limit your alcohol intake so that you don't drink unnecessary calories.
How do you maintain your fitness level?
To maintain your fitness level, you need to ensure you are continuing to work out and move your body to build muscle and stay in shape. You should also ensure you are eating a healthy and balanced diet, full of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and limiting sugary snacks. Maintaining your fitness is all about doing more of the same and knowing that it works for you.
]]>Beginning your day in a healthy way can help you to make healthier choices too, ensuring you maintain your wellness and feel good in yourself. But where does meditation fit into this routine?
Meditation can be a great tool to use in the morning to help you feel calm and prepped for a busy day. You can fit a short meditation into any morning routine and it can help you to feel less anxious and more at peace.
Morning meditation helps you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and improves mental health and wellbeing too. If you're curious about how morning meditation could help you, then keep reading to find out more about the practice and its place in your morning routine.
Meditation is a practice that helps you to be more aware and to focus your attention. There are many ways to meditate and each one allows you to enter a state of heightened awareness, helping you to accept yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings.
Meditation can be found across cultures and religions and is also used in mental health treatment for conditions such as depression and anxiety. Meditation practice can be split into two types:
Meditation is an extremely beneficial practise to learn, and though it takes time to develop these skills, even short and imperfect practice can be helpful to your health and mental wellbeing. Benefits of meditating include:
Meditating at any time of the day can help you to feel better but adding in a morning meditation or following a guided morning meditation can help you to start the day off feeling positive. Let's take a look at how morning meditation can help you out.
Morning meditation can be extremely beneficial to you. As well as all of the benefits of mediation, and its effects on your mental wellbeing, you will find that a morning meditation session can help to wake you up and release the grogginess of mornings.
Mornings are generally considered the best time to meditate as they are usually quieter and building the practice into your morning routine can ensure you stick at it each day. Morning meditation can also help you to stop scrolling aimlessly and getting distracted in the mornings. Choosing to get up and train your mind to focus can help you to prepare for the day ahead.
Your morning routine can set the tone for the rest of the day. If it is busy and chaotic and stressful, you will go off into the rest of the day like that. If instead, you take a moment to breathe, focus and calm your mind, you will find that your mood is lifted and your focus and productivity are better throughout the day.
Morning meditation has a range of benefits but the three major ones include:
Morning meditation has serious benefits for you and you should consider even adding a short practice into your morning routine.
So, you know how meditation is going to help you out and now you need to know how to get started!
Most experts recommend meditating as soon as you wake up. This means you will have to wait for your morning tea or coffee, but it will help you to start the day off right!
To begin your meditation practice, you should sit comfortably with your back straight and lower your eyes to the ground. You don't need to close your eyes fully but let them relax.
You might want to set the room up beforehand, perhaps diffusing aromatherapy oils, like sandalwood to promote focus or lavender for its calming properties.
You may choose to follow a guided meditation, to begin with, and you can find many guided meditations online or on mental wellbeing apps. If you're choosing to do without a guided meditation, follow these next instructions.
Begin by noticing your body, how it feels, sensations in your limbs, your toes. Ask yourself how you feel this morning, and then come to the breath. Use the breath as an anchor throughout the meditation and pull your attention back to it whenever you are distracted by a thought.
Some people choose to count the breath, in cycles of seven, while others simply focus on it, noticing how it feels each time they take a breath.
The purpose of meditation isn't to create an empty mind, but to train the mind to focus. When thoughts appear and you are distracted, simply pull your mind back to the breath. Every time you do this, you are training your mind to focus and let thoughts go.
You can complete a session as short as five minutes each day as you begin morning meditation and you should only build up the time limit when you feel able.
If you are unsure of meditating without guidance, as we mentioned before, guided meditations are available and can take you through lots of other meditation techniques too.
Morning meditation can help to settle the mind, reduce feelings of anxiety, and improve cognitive function for the day ahead. Getting a meditation practice into your daily routine can help you to feel prepared for the day and help your focus and productivity as the day goes on.
Morning meditation can be short and simple and is designed to awaken your body and reduce grogginess. Try adding a short session into your routine today and see how you feel afterwards!
Morning meditation should calm the body and focus the mind, ready for the day. Meditation practices that are good in the morning include concentrative mediation, where you focus on the breath or on an object and train the mind to move back to this focus every time a thought distracts you. Another good meditation practice for a morning session is the body scan, which can help you to feel grounded.
To start meditation in the morning, you simply need to carve out five minutes in your routine where you can begin. A morning meditation session doesn't need to be a long one, indeed a five-minute session will suffice. You should try to start with five-minute sessions before working your way up to longer sessions.
Research shows that mornings are the best time to meditate. Morning meditation can help you to feel more focused and productive throughout the day and the practice can boost productivity and help you to feel less worried and anxious for the forthcoming day. It is best to meditate immediately after you get up, to still the mind and focus your attention.
Meditation as a practice has been found to be good for the brain. Meditation is a form of training for the brain and teaches us to accept ourselves and our thoughts. It also teaches us not to be distracted by thoughts and how to pull our minds back to a focus. Meditation has been found to reduce the reactivity of the amygdala which is responsible for fear, helping you to feel less stressed.
]]>Living a healthy and happy life may seem like it will take a lot of work, but in this article, we're going to show you that it can be easy! We're going to take a look at healthy living and the benefits it brings you and then we'll discuss a few tips for living more healthily.
Living healthily doesn't need to be hard work and we're hoping to show you that! Let's get started now.
Healthy living looks at all aspects of health and how you are maintaining each of them. It covers physical health, relating to exercise, healthy eating, hydration, and sleep, as well as mental health and wellbeing.
Living a healthy life can look different to everyone. Healthy living for one person may seem completely different to another kind of healthy living as it has a subjective definition. The main aim of healthy living, however you go about it, is to help you feel good in yourself and about yourself.
There isn't any single way to live a healthy life, though generally, it will consist of the same things. These are eating well, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and staying on top of your mental health.
Living a healthy lifestyle is preferable to an unhealthy one, and, however you choose to go about living healthily, it comes with many benefits. The benefits of a healthy lifestyle include:
So, we know why healthy living is good, now let's take a look at some of our top tips for happy and healthy living. Though we don't claim to be a health professional, our research has shown these to be the most popular tips for feeling good, getting fit, and having a happy and healthy life.
Let's have a look.
A lot of the time, when it comes to our health we neglect our mental health for our physical health. Prioritising your mental wellbeing in your life can ensure you feel more positive and feel better about yourself which can help you to make better life choices, including healthier lifestyle choices.
Taking care of your mental wellbeing can be anything from self-care, aromatherapy, and long hours socialising with a good cup of tea to speaking to a therapist. The way you feel mentally can be affected by everything including your physical health, the amount you exercise, the stress in your life, and the support network you have.
If you are experiencing poor mental wellbeing, you could try speaking to someone, taking a moment for some mindfulness practice, or taking up a new hobby to get a sense of purpose.
Eating a diet that is full of plant foods, like fruit, veg, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, can help you to feel good, support important bodily functions, and improve your physical health.
To eat more healthily, try ensuring you get the right amount of each food group throughout the week, avoid sugary snacks and find alternatives, like protein bars, dried fruit, and popcorn.
You could also try buying and cooking in bulk, making a weekly meal plan and sticking to it, and following a diet like the vegetarian or vegan diet to lower your intake of saturated fats.
Though eating healthy is important, it's also important to not eat too restrictively. You should allow yourself some treats and don't avoid going out for dinner every now and then. It is okay to have off-days where you don't eat super healthily as it's important to enjoy yourself too.
Additionally, if you're struggling to come up with recipes and new things to eat, you could invest in a good recipe book that can guide you in some healthy meals!
Eating well can help to prevent you from developing chronic conditions, like diabetes and obesity, and it can boost your heart health.
Regular exercise can help you to build muscle, help you avoid weight gain and support healthy weight loss, boost heart health and prevent conditions like heart disease and high blood pressure, and support important bodily functions, as well as be great for your mental wellbeing.
When we look at regular physical activity, we tend to assume it's just for our physical health but healthy living covers mental and physical health, as we discussed earlier. Exercise can boost your mental wellbeing due to the release of endorphins in the brain that happens when you exercise. These chemicals help improve your mood, boost self-esteem, and make you feel good about yourself.
If you're struggling to start exercising, you could take a look at some fun ways to add physical activity into your daily routine. You could swap your car commute for a bike ride, or try dance workouts, or build a routine with resistance bands and intense cardio sessions.
Exercise is very subjective and people enjoy different kinds, and so, your exercise routine should be catered fully for yourself and your health. Don't try anything that has a high-risk level to you and make sure you can fit the exercise in around your daily activities.
While everyone enjoys a drink, excessive consumption can have negative effects on your health that are best to avoid.
Drinking alcohol to excess can result in liver problems, like cirrhosis and cancer, as well as kidney problems. It can also cause memory loss and affect your short term memory. In addition to its effect physically, alcohol can also affect you mentally, causing anxiety and depressive symptoms in some people.
If you find that you are drinking a lot of alcohol, you could try speaking to someone or getting advice from a health professional.
While it is okay to drink a glass of wine with dinner or enjoy a couple of pints with friends, alcohol shouldn't take over your life and you should try not to drink every night.
Now, we're not suggesting that you forgo medical treatment when it is necessary but treating common ailments, like headaches, hayfever, the common cold, and others, with natural remedies first may help you to feel better quicker.
Natural remedies and alternative medicines have been used for centuries and are known to be somewhat effective in treating a range of ailments. Peppermint tea, for example, is known to be great for treating symptoms of the common cold, while chamomile tea is helpful if you suffer from sleep issues. A range of essential oils, like eucalyptus oil, are known to be helpful in treating hayfever and oils like lavender oil can help to soothe symptoms of anxiety.
Alternative medicines are becoming more popular again as people turn to a natural way to heal and protect themselves. While there are some instances where medical treatment is necessary and when you should go and see a doctor, but for common ailments and already diagnosed conditions, you could try looking to herbal remedies to feel better.
If you have already been diagnosed with a condition and are considering using a herbal alternative, speak with your doctor to ensure it is safe to use with your condition before trying anything.
Smoking has been associated with such a range of illnesses that quitting the habit can only be beneficial to your health. When you smoke you increase your risk of a range of cancers, breathing problems and chronic conditions.
Quitting smoking may take some time and effort but there are services out there that can give advice on quitting and help to prevent any relapses.
To live a happy life, you need to surround yourself with people who make you feel good. You should ensure that the people in your life are really rooting for you and will support you.
Mental wellbeing is dependent on the people around you as well as how you feel about yourself. Having a good support network can help you feel safe and secure and can help you to take risks, knowing people will have your back if things go wrong.
Choosing to surround yourself with happy and healthy relationships can help you to feel happy and healthy too.
While all of these tips may seem overwhelming at once, choosing to live healthily and happily is the first step to actually living that way. We know that trying to eat healthily, sleep well, stay hydrated, exercise, socialise etc. can feel like too much but little changes at a time can help you to slowly build better habits.
For healthy eating and exercise, we suggest working these changes into your daily routine. Carve out time on a morning to exercise, meal prep at weekends, and commit to making weekly meal plans so that you know what you're eating and when.
While living a healthy and happy life may be different for everyone, these few tips can help you, whatever your opinion of a healthy and happy life, to create a good start for this journey.
If you are under the weather, feeling unhealthy, or don't know where to start, consider seeking professional help from a doctor, therapist, nutritionist, or anyone else who can help you to begin living healthily and happily.
Living healthily and happily is key to feeling good. Eating well, exercising, and taking care of your mental wellbeing can all help you to feel good and everyone should be trying to do these things.
We've covered some general tips on healthy living here, but this list isn't definitive and may be interpreted differently by different people. These tips are mere suggestions of the ways you can live more healthily from our research on the topic and are not medical advice!
Remember that healthy and happy mean different things to different people and so your journey and your life may not look like others but that doesn't mean it is wrong. You should make decisions based on your own definition of these words and not on what you think other people would.
Check out our range of natural and organic products to help you to start living more healthily and happily today.
There are a few things that can keep you both healthy and happy throughout life. Focusing on your mental wellbeing, keeping good relationships, and doing things that make your soul happy can help you to feel good. When you feel good you tend to make healthier decisions and feel more positive about life, and so, feeling good mentally will usually help you to stay healthy too.
Living healthily can help you to feel good. Feeling good and healthy can make you feel more positive and therefore more likely to make good decisions about your health and your life. Healthy living can make you feel happy by making you feel fit and able to do the things that make you smile.
Healthy living covers everything from the way we feel mentally to the physical activity we do to the way we eat. Living a healthy life means taking care of your mental wellbeing, by caring for yourself, setting boundaries, and keeping good relationships, as well as exercising, eating a healthy and balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and drinking enough water. Healthy living is a multi-faceted concept and covers all kinds of health.
Being a healthy person means making healthy decisions and having respect for your body and your mind. Healthy living covers eating a whole and balanced diet and getting regular exercise, keeping good physical health, as well as keeping yourself well mentally. Mental and physical health are linked very closely and a drop in the standard of health in one area can impact the other. To be a healthy person you need to keep a good balance of both your physical wellbeing and your mental wellbeing.
]]>Sleep is hugely important to our health and not getting a good night's sleep can have negative effects on your health. We've taken a look at some of the best natural remedies for falling asleep and staying asleep and we've listed them below.
Check them out now and start improving your sleep quality in a natural way!
So, why do we need a good night's sleep?
Sleep is incredibly important to good health. Trying to get better sleep can help you to feel more alert, improve your concentration and boost your cognition. Good sleep quality allows you to feel refreshed and ready for the day.
A good night's sleep is essential in a range of ways, which include:
A good night's rest can support your health and help to maintain important bodily functions as well as protect the body from illness. It is in your best interests to learn how to sleep better and work on improving overall sleep quality.
To find out more about what causes sleep problems and how you can treat these naturally, keep on reading!
With everything from your sleep environment to your natural sleep patterns able to be disrupted easily by day-to-day occurrences, it is not uncommon to have sleep problems now and again. Sleep problems are caused by a variety of different things, and trying to figure out what is disrupting your sleep may not be as straightforward as you thought.
Trouble falling asleep is incredibly common and affects everyone at some point in their lives. There are plenty of different reasons you may have poor sleep quality, and these include:
Altering every day habits can have a big impact on your sleep, but sometimes issues sleeping aren't fixable by small changes. If you've tried making changes like those listed above and you're still struggling to sleep, you should consider speaking with your doctor to discuss the possibility of sleep disorders, like insomnia, and possible treatment for these. Sleep disorders are treatable and your doctor can advise you on the best options available for you.
So, we know why we need sleep and we know why we might not be sleeping, and now it's time to find out how we can promote better sleep naturally.
We've done some research into natural ways we can get good sleep, without reaching for the sleeping pills. The remedies listed below have been used for years to treat sleep problems. Not all remedies will work for everybody and so it is worth trying a few until you find the one that helps you out!
Let's take a look!
We've briefly discussed how limiting your screen time can have a positive impact on your sleep. We recommend making your bedroom a screen-free zone. Replace your bedtime scroll with a good book, some soothing music, or a quick meditation session.
As well as limiting your screen time, it is a good idea to dim your lights a few hours before bed. Switch out the ceiling light for a lamp or dim the lights around you to start preparing your body for sleep. Additionally, getting more natural light during the day can help to keep your sleep pattern in check and improve your ability to fall asleep.
There is some evidence suggesting that the kind of diet you follow can have an impact on your ability to sleep.
There have been links made between daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality and a high-fat diet. Foods that are higher in fat can lead to weight gain and can decrease the brain's sensitivity to chemicals that regulate sleep patterns.
High protein foods, like steak, can also be bad for sleep. This is because these foods take a long time to break down and so it is suggested that you don't eat them close to your bedtime as they can keep the body awake.
As we get closer to our natural sleep time, our digestive system begins to slow down means that foods take longer to break down. Eating big meals right before bed can disrupt your body clock. It is suggested that you eat more complex carbohydrates, like wholewheat bread or oatmeal, right before bed. These foods are easier to digest and prompt the release of serotonin which is a hormone that promotes sleep.
Exercise is fantastic for your health. Though you're probably absolutely sick of hearing it, getting enough exercise is good for you - and it's good for sleep.
It's actually not fully understood, but experts all agree that moderate aerobic exercise can improve sleep quality. Getting more exercise during the day can increase the amount of deep sleep you get, helping you to feel more rested when you wake up.
Try going for a run or doing a resistance band workout and see if it improves your sleep.
Care should be taken not to exercise too close to bedtime as the release of endorphins caused by exercise can actually keep some people awake! Try exercising in the morning to help you feel more energised!
We discussed changing your sleep environment and one way you can do this is through the use of essential oils. Using aromatherapy oils can help to create a more claiming and sleep-friendly environment.
There is a whole range of aromatherapy diffuser oils that can help to promote sleep, relax your body, and soothe your worries. These include:
As well as pure essential oils, you can also get diffuser oils blends created specifically for sleep, relaxation and stress. Try diffusing for 30 mins to an hour before bed and transform your room into a peaceful, sleep-friendly haven.
Always diffuse in a well-ventilated room and don't diffuse for more than an hour at a time. If you have any pets, ensure your diffuser oils are pet-friendly. Many aren't and can be incredibly harmful to pets’ health!
Drinking a warm beverage before bed is a great way to soothe your body into sleep, even better if it contains sleep-promoting herbs! Try and avoid anything caffeinated before bed, and for those with sensitivities to caffeine, even decaf drinks are a no-go.
There are lots of different sleep tea blends that can promote good sleep and they contain many of the same ingredients. These include:
Magnesium is a known stimulant. of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the part of the central nervous system that helps you to relax. A lack of magnesium can be characterised by sleep issues (among other symptoms) and so, taking a magnesium supplement may help you to sleep better.
As well as supplements, you could try topical magnesium treatments, like body lotions, to relax your muscles and soothe your body into a restful sleep. Or you could try taking a warm bath using magnesium bath salts to relax your body before bed. Magnesium is absorbed by the skin and so magnesium bath salts can help promote sleep too.
As the hormone responsible for sleep regulation, melatonin is important to get healthy sleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you could try taking a melatonin supplement. This natural remedy can help to promote more restful sleep and help you to feel more awake during the day.
Healthy sleep is important to a healthy life and so, if you're struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep, you should consider trying one of the natural remedies for better sleep we have listed above. There are many causes of sleep issues and making small changes can really help to support better sleep.
Remember to always use natural or complementary sleep medicine with caution and always follow the instructions on the product you are using. If you are still suffering from sleep issues after trying these remedies, it may be time to speak to a health professional. Your doctor can advise you on the best treatments for sleep issues.
Poor sleep can have an ill effect on your health meaning it is essential you try to get a good night of sleep every night. Check out the remedies we have listed on our site today and get better sleep in no time!
Improving your sleep can be done really easily. There are lots of everyday habits that can contribute to poor sleep and so correcting this can be a simple lifestyle change. Try turning screens off an hour or so before bed to help your body wind down. Reading a book rather than scrolling will promote more restful sleep. Eat complex carbs before bed, rather than high-fat and high-protein foods as these are more difficult to break down and can keep you awake at night. You could also try to reduce any stress in your life to ensure you're not being kept awake with worry and anxiety.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder suffered by some. It is characterised by poor sleep or lack of sleep. If you are looking for natural ways to treat insomnia, you could try drinking passionflower tea or tea containing valerian root. Both of these herbs are known to promote sleep. Additionally, you could try diffusing lavender essential oil or sandalwood oil in your room before bed to soothe you into sleep. If you are struggling to sleep, even with natural remedies, speak to your doctor about your insomnia.
There are a few herbs that are known to have sleep-promoting effects. The most well-known is chamomile which is drunk as a tea and is known to relax the body. Valerian root has been used for centuries as a sleep aid and is effective in promoting sleep. Passionflower is also a great herb to consume before bed and is known to help soothe sleep issues and anxiety.
To sleep deeply without medicine, you should consider making a few lifestyle changes. These include:
If you've been looking into massage therapy, you've probably seen the words 'zen massage' flying around and you might be wondering what this actually means. Well, have no fear, we've got you covered! We've been doing some research on zen massage and we've gathered all we've found right here!
To find out everything you need to know about zen massage, from the definition to the amazing health benefits this kind of body massage can offer, keep reading now!
Zen massage combines the Buddhist concept of zen with the remedial therapy of massage. The concept of 'zen' in Buddhist teachings can mean inner calm, self-contemplation, and the idea of emphasising meditation and intuition over ritual and worship.
A zen massage can refer to a range of massage therapies which are all practised in the Buddhist sense of the word 'zen.' The massage therapists who you work with are likely to recommend the kind of massage that your body requires and could be anything from a full-body massage to a massage with hot stones.
The idea of a zen massage is to experience the therapy of massage and all of its benefits in a healing, self-contemplative, meditative state.
When it comes to massage, there are lots of different terms that get thrown around. If you're contemplating getting a massage you might be in need of a quick breakdown of the different terms. We've made a list of a few different massage terms below, take a look now to find out more.
Now that we know what zen massage is and what kinds of massage a zen massage session could include, let's find out what kind of health benefits a zen massage can offer. As massage is good for both mental and physical health, we've divided the benefits up into these two categories! Find out more below.
As a physical therapy, massage has physical health benefits that can make you feel restored, relaxed, and rejuvenated. We've done a bit of research and we've found all of the different physical benefits of massage. Check them out below.
As well as deeply restorative physical health benefits, massage therapies can also be great for your mental health and wellbeing. To find out more about the mental health benefits of massage, keep reading.
Massage, and zen massage in particular, are rejuvenating for the body but can also have incredible power over your mental health. Zen massage is performed through the concept of 'zen' or self-contemplation. This means the massage is performed in a meditative and contemplative state, helping you to self-reflect, calm the mind, and manage negative thoughts while you are massaged.
The mental health benefits of massage are far-reaching. We've listed a few of them below for you to check out.
Massage therapies can sometimes include other elements, such as:
Zen massage is a deeply restorative therapy with both mental and physical health benefits. If you're feeling stressed out or anxious, booking in for a zen massage might be just the thing you need!
A zen massage combines massage therapy with the zen concept from Buddhist teachings. This means that the massage is combined with self-contemplation as a way of calming and stilling the mind. This kind of massage can be restorative for mental health and wellbeing, as well as for your physical health. It reduces and soothes the symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, reduces stress and stimulates the release of serotonin and dopamine, which help you to feel good.
A Swedish massage is a form of massage performed in the direction of the heart. It is the most common form of massage found in Western massage therapy. Swedish massage is designed to relax muscles, release tension in the body, and soothe the mind. Along with this, Swedish massage can also improve circulation in the body and stimulate the lymphatic system.
After a massage appointment, there are a few things you should avoid doing to ensure you experience the full benefits of the massage. These include:
Living organically can help you to learn compassion, help you with difficult emotions and help you to practice kindness to yourself, and to others.
We've taken a look at the ways you can be kinder to yourself through living organically. To find out how to do that, keep on reading!
Organic living is choosing to consume only organic products. This means buying and consuming organic foods, choosing organic clothing, and other organic items.
Organic living means choosing products that have been grown, cultivated and manufactured in an organic way. Organic means:
Organic products are also usually better for the environment. The lack of chemical use means that the water run-off from organic farms will not pollute soil and waterways, harming biodiversity. In addition, organic farms tend to have healthier soil. The healthier soil means that more nutrients can be taken in by the crops grown in it. This means organic products might be even healthier than first thought!
Organic products also tend to be grown in small batches by smaller farms. This means that when you shop organic you're supporting smaller businesses and local growers.
Organic living is kinder to your body. Organic products, being devoid of harmful chemicals, are better for your physical health. Maintaining your physical health is an act of self-kindness and compassion that can help you to live life to the fullest.
In addition, organic living is better for the planet and the people on it. Being kinder to the planet and the people around you can help you to have a sense of purpose. Having a sense of purpose is great for your mental health and can make you feel good, doing wonders for your self-esteem.
One of the main ways that organic living can be an act of self-care is through the physical health it can bring to you. Taking care of your physical health can help you to feel better overall which can discourage negative thoughts and self-criticism.
To find out all the ways that organic living can boost your physical health, and therefore your mental wellbeing, keep reading.
Organic farming and cultivation use methods that bar any synthetic compounds. These synthetic compounds have been found to have detrimental effects on human health, causing illness, changing behaviour and affecting allergies. Choosing organic means avoiding these chemicals and protecting your body from their harmful effects.
The soil on organic farms is richer in nutrients which allows more essential vitamins and minerals to be taken in by organic crops. This means that the crops grown on organic farms tend to be more nutritious overall. Choosing these organic products means that your food is more nutritious, full of minerals and able to support your body's functions better.
Eating a whole and balanced diet can be really great for your body and it can make you feel better. Choosing to eat organic produce can increase this feeling, even more, helping you to be your best self.
Eating well is self-compassion and self-care. Choosing to be kind to yourself and maintaining your health can help you to feel like a better person, deal with stress better, and treat yourself like you deserve to be treated.
Organic living can aid your mental health in a few different ways. As well as improving your mental health by improving your physical health, it can also help you to feel good about yourself for the good it does the planet and the people on it.
Take a look below to see how living organically can help your mental health.
As discussed previously, organic farming is good for the planet and the people on it. Most organic produce is cultivated in small batches by smaller farmers, meaning you are supporting local businesses rather than large conglomerates. This more personal way to shop and live gives you a chance to interact with people and show kindness as you support smaller, more ethical businesses.
Finding purpose in life is a pillar of mental wellbeing and to buy organic is to have a purpose. Buying organic products can allow you to feel part of a global movement that makes you pay attention to the way we use the planets resources and the products we consume.
Organic products, like organic snacks and cooking ingredients, can create tasty dishes that remind you of the good you're doing as you live organically.
We discussed the benefits of good physical health earlier on. Eating an organic and balanced diet full of whole grains, fruits and veg, and nuts and seeds, can help you to feel better physically, but it can also boost your mental health too. Taking care of your mental health is an act of kindness toward yourself and your wellbeing.
Your physical health and your mental health are intrinsically linked, with one affecting the other equally, and so if you're keeping in good physical health, you will find good mental health follows. Feeling better mentally can help to reduce stress, negative emotions, and self-criticism and increase a positive attitude and thinking, help with your focus, and allow you to practice more self-compassion.
Since living organically is better for the planet, you're acting in your own best interests to try it. A habitable planet is better for everyone and choosing to support the cause of environmental justice can give you purpose, make you feel more positive increase your self-esteem.
There is nothing more compassionate than working to save the planet and by using your compassion in your shopping choices, you can also learn self-compassion too.
Being kind to the planet can teach you how to be kind to yourself, and learning self-kindness can help you to feel better when you have negative feelings, encourage healthier self-talk and remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes.
Now that we've shown you how living organically can help you to be kind to yourself, we've created a list of some tips for how to live your best organic life! Take a look below and start your journey of self-compassion through organic living today.
Organic food is healthy and nutritious, as well as being better for the planet. We've gone over how it can help your physical and mental health, and so you're probably wondering where to start when it comes to organic food.
Organic food can be more expensive and so buying in bulk is a great way to keep costs down, not to mention create less waste by using less packaging.
There are some foods it is better to buy organic, including fruit like grapes, strawberries, nectarines, and apples. Other foods you should buy organically include almonds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts which all absorb chemical pesticides easily as well as snacks that will be fresher due to lack of preservatives, chocolate, and dried fruit.
Your skin is your biggest organ which means it absorbs everything you put onto it. Choosing organic skincare, especially facial care like serums, face scrubs, and sunscreen, can ensure you're body isn't absorbing lots of harmful chemicals. Choose organic body oils, body lotions, and makeup to keep your body safe from dangerous pesticide residue too.
Good skincare is a form of self-care. In the same way that we eat the right foods as an act of self-compassion, we should also treat our skin with respect. Treating your skin well is an act of kindness and can boost your self-esteem when your skin feels great! Sometimes good skin is the difference between a good day and a bad day.
Being kinder to yourself is all about being self-compassionate, encouraging positive self-talk, and accepting yourself. You can use mindfulness techniques and meditation to learn about acceptance and overcoming struggles and boost your mental wellbeing.
Aromatherapy goes hand in hand with mindfulness and meditation. Diffusing essential oils as you focus on your breath can help you to accept negative thoughts, boost your self-esteem and pull you out of a bad mood easily.
Choosing organic aromatherapy tools means that when you diffuse oils, you're not diffusing harmful chemicals with them! Try using organic lavender oil if you struggling with sleep or organic sandalwood oil for calming worries and anxiety.
Living organically and learning to be more self-compassionate go hand in hand. Organic living can help you to feel good in terms of physical and mental health, can make you feel like you're part of a community, and give you a sense of purpose.
Self-compassion is all about being good to yourself, and what better way to be good to yourself than by eating well and consuming products that are good for the planet and the people on it!
Try switching to organic living today by checking out our entire organic range now.
Being kind to yourself can include everything from eating well to practising positive self-talk. You are your own worst critic and so speaking to yourself with kindness, like you would a friend, can help you to grow, overcome challenges and feel more joy. Eating well, getting exercise, and feeling good physically can help your mental wellbeing, and your mental health, meaning you can deal with the bad days better.
Being kind to yourself is important because it can boost your mental wellbeing and make you feel better overall. Treating yourself kindly means you will be able to deal with change and overcome struggle more easily than if you make yourself feel bad all of the time. Accepting that everyone makes mistakes means that when you do you will be able to move on, get some perspective and deal with the challenge you have come to in a more positive way.
When you are kind to yourself and allow yourself time and space to heal, you will find that your mental wellbeing improves, making you feel better overall. Better mental wellbeing helps you to achieve success more easily, recognize the bad days and accept them, and live more in the present, feeling more joy and happiness in your life.
Being nice to yourself means everything from keeping in good physical health to accepting yourself when you make mistakes to practising self-compassion. Being kind to yourself means accepting who you are and being content with it. Once you begin being kind to yourself, you will find you overcome challenge much easier and your mental wellbeing will improve.
]]>If this is you, you might benefit from a meditation retreat. A meditation retreat can help you to wind down, away from the world and offers you a coached experience where you can learn about meditation, mindfulness, and mental wellness techniques. A meditation retreat can offer a spiritual and contemplative journey, helping you to feel refreshed and relaxed.
This experience will teach you the art of meditation which can help you to cope better with the world around you, help you to relax, and help you to deal better with negativity and overthinking. If you're looking to book a meditation retreat, you may have a few questions so we've done some research.
In this blog post, we're going to be looking at what you can expect from a meditation retreat, what kind of retreats you can book, how you should choose a retreat, and a list of our favourite meditation retreats in Australia.
To find out more, keep reading now!
For the most part, a meditation retreat is a taught experience. The idea is that you learn to meditate, or deepen your knowledge, and expand the ways you use meditation.
Most retreats include teachings that will take place in between other activities. Along with teaching, there will be multiple meditation sessions throughout the day or week, depending on the length of time you intend to retreat. These meditation sessions may be guided, or you may conduct them independently.
In addition to the meditation and teaching, you may also find there are scheduled yoga sessions to help move the body and focus on the breath. There could also be breathwork sessions where you learn to control the breath for relaxation, and you could have some talks on mindfulness, mental wellbeing, and techniques, like aromatherapy and Ayurveda.
The activities will, obviously, come with meals and sleep time. Meals tend to be vegan or vegetarian and are usually eaten with the group. Most meditation retreats are conducted in silence and as such, meal times will also be silent.
If you're embarking on a silent meditation retreat, you're also likely to be asked to hand over any technology at the beginning of the retreat. These will be kept by the retreat centre throughout your stay and returned at the end. This is done to allow you to truly concentrate on your meditation course and take full advantage of the silent retreat, along with helping to banish the busyness of everyday life.
While not all meditation retreats will have all of these features, most will focus on meditation techniques and will create a course schedule focussed on contemplation, self-care and looking at the inner self.
We've looked over what you can expect from a meditation retreat, but now we're going to look a little deeper at the different kinds of retreats that are on offer.
To begin with, we'll look at silent retreats.
A silent meditation retreat is, obviously, conducted in silence. This is to ensure full focus is given to the meditation techniques taught and the guided meditation sessions. On this kind of retreat, you are likely to be asked to hand over any technology.
SIlent retreats tend to have taught elements and may also include yoga sessions and other meditation activities, like walking meditation, to break up the time spent sitting and meditating.
Slightly more relaxed than a silent meditation retreat, a retreat that is combined with a spa may allow for a freer schedule. It may be that the retreat creates a schedule catered to you, or that you have more free time. You will likely be allowed to enjoy the spa facilities too.
These kinds of retreats still offer taught sessions, meditation sessions, and yoga sessions, and they may also be conducted in silence, but you will likely be offered the use of the spa facilities too. This kind of retreat may feel more like a relaxing weekend retreat or holiday, rather than a spiritual journey.
Depending on the kind of retreat you attend depends on the kind of activities you will engage with. Some retreats expect guests to get involved in the facilities schedule, which could include helping to cook healthy vegetarian meals for guests to eat, or just helping out around the centre.
All of these different attributes may help to make up your mind about the kind of retreat you will embark on. As such, we've created a list of things to consider when choosing a retreat in the next section. Take a look now.
Choosing a retreat depends on a few different things and will differ from person to person. We've created a list of these considerations below, check them out now:
Now we've taken a look at the kind of meditation retreats you can attend and how to choose them, let's take a look at the best meditation retreats in Australia. We've gathered a list below. Check it out.
Located about an hour outside of Sydney, this meditation retreat is a family-run, eco-retreat and offers programmes in meditation, mindfulness, and yoga. Different length options are available and you can utilise the spa facilities while there too!
An award-winning spa, this retreat is located in Sydney and can offer an experience tailored to guests. Activities include meditation, yoga, and teaching sessions in mindfulness and mental wellbeing.
Located in Melbourne, Aruna Giri offers everything from half-day to full week retreats. These retreats are conducted in silence and include meditation, mindfulness, walking meditation, and optional yoga.
About an hour outside of Melbourne, this centre offers different courses for different experience levels in meditative practice. Each course is designed with teaching and meditation sessions to help you to expand and deepen your knowledge of meditation.
A meditation retreat may be the perfect option if you're feeling overwhelmed and looking for a way to retreat from everyday life and calm your mind. You can deepen your knowledge of meditative practice while taking time for self-contemplation and reflection.
We've covered a few of our favourite Australian meditation retreats, but there are plenty more out there to take a look at. Why not check them out and embark on your spiritual journey today.
Meditation retreats vary in cost depending on the kind of retreat and the length of your stay. This means that they can cost anywhere from $60 for a short day course in meditation, and up to $1000+ for week-long retreats. Adding additional spa sessions to your retreat may also increase the cost.
A meditation retreat may come under different names. It may be referred to as a mindfulness retreat, a spa weekend, a weekend retreat, or a silent retreat. These can all include meditation sessions and mindfulness teaching. To find a meditation retreat that suits you, search these terms and find activities you would like to join in.
A meditation retreat can be great for you if you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and in need of relaxation. You can find different kinds of mediation retreat centres offering anything from silent retreats full of mindfulness meditation sessions to spa retreats where you can add in meditation sessions and taught lessons on mindfulness.
]]>It can help you to lead a more contemplative life where you feel more peace, more self-love, and more acceptance. The zen life brings the mindfulness of meditation into your daily life and can help you to feel more zen.
We've been doing some research on zen living, how it can be incorporated into daily life, how it can support good mental wellbeing, and how you can take steps to lead a more zen life. To find out more, take a look below!
So, what actually is zen living?
Zen living comes in three parts. These are:
These concepts may seem confusing and incorporating them into our lives can seem like a difficult concept. Below, we've taken the time to understand how each idea can be brought into our lives to help us discover a life of calm and a feeling of zen.
Keep reading to find out more.
Now we understand what zen is, we're going to imagine the ways we can bring it into our daily life. Take a look below to understand how to apply these concepts and successfully attempt zen living.
Firstly, you need to bring the idea of mindfulness into your life. Mindfulness helps with the feeling of calm and harmony that comes from zen living and it can help you to have better focus and productivity.
Mindfulness helps us to live life to the fullest and experience life at its best. It helps you to discover the world around you and encourages moments of quiet.
Another way zen is incorporated into our lives is by having respect for our mind, body and soul.
Respect for the mind can come from practising mindfulness, meditating, and dealing with negative and anxious thoughts. We incorporate relaxing and peaceful practices into our life that help us to maintain good mental wellbeing and respect the mind.
Good mental wellbeing can come from anything from a sense of purpose and helping others to family time and social connection. Respecting the mind means staying positive and dealing better with the negative.
For other calming practices, why not try aromatherapy and diffuse calming and relaxing essential oil diffuser blends to help create a sense of ease.
Respecting the body comes in the form of maintaining good health. This means both physical and mental health. As we've taken a look at how to maintain mental health, we're now going to take a look at physical health.
Maintaining good physical health means exercising frequently. Try a morning stretch or yoga session or an intense resistance band workout out. Whether it’s a high-intensity, sweat-inducing workout, or a calming and thoughtful session, moving your body is essential for good health.
Along with exercise, prioritising healthy and nutritious meals is a great way of boosting and maintaining your health. This means limiting sugary and fatty foods, getting lots of grains into your diet along with fruit and veg, adding in healthy fats, like extra virgin olive oil, snacking on nuts and seeds, and limiting your alcohol and caffeine intake. Eating well is the first step to having respect for your body.
Zen living can also be achieved by developing an awareness of yourself and understanding yourself on a deeper level. This can be done through contemplative meditation and mindfulness. You should also aim to help others and increase your serenity by having awareness of others too.
Zen living is great for the mind and the body and it can have plenty of benefits for your mental wellbeing. These include:
Now we know the benefits of zen living and how it can support good mental wellbeing, let's take a look at some steps you can take to live in a more zen way.
From your finances to your methods of mental stimulation, simplifying things in your life can help you to prioritise and find the things that make you happy.
Start by taking a look at the things around you in your life. How can you make things easier? Start thinking about the things you buy, the things you own, the things you do: how can you make them simpler?
You should take some time to look at what you buy each week, day-to-day, and simplify this to make your finances easier to control. Think about what you spend and save. You could consider your material possessions too. How many of them do you need? What do you actually use and what is surplus?
You could even consider your daily activities. How can you remove excess here? Could you simplify how you exercise? Or who you are interacting with? Could you spend more time with your family?
Simplifying and removing clutter from your life is a great way of helping you to see what is really essential and what is truly necessary for your life.
Clearing the mind means trying to remain positive, and removing the negativity that life presents. Try engaging with people who make you feel good, people who make you feel positive, and people who help to support your mental wellbeing.
You should try to engage with positivity across all platforms. Consider your ability to engage with social media in a healthy way. Think about your entertainment methods and ensure they're helping you to feel positive.
This step is all about taking in the good and moving away from the things that don't make you feel good.
Living in a more zen way can help you to reconsider what you are seeking in life. You should think about the things you previously wanted for your life and the things you were aiming for and ensure they align with your zen way of life.
Reconsidering these dreams can be another way to change the way you're living your life. You might find that with your new goals and dreams, some daily activities have become surplus and you no longer need to engage with them.
These new goals may also help you to engage in more positivity and find ways of supporting your mental wellbeing in your daily life.
There is a reason that the most successful people have a daily routine that they stick to and it’s because it helps your mind to focus, boosts your productivity and can help you to feel more motivated and positive.
The first thing you should consider when building a daily routine is how you're going to plan your mornings. Protecting your mornings is the best way you can start the day off in a more positive way, creating a good mindset to support you throughout the day.
Your morning routine may include exercise, morning meditation, and eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast, like oatmeal with dried fruit. Whatever it includes, it should always ensure you feel good and calm, ready to face the day.
We're great believers in the benefits of mediation. Whether you practice in the morning or in the evening, you should try to meditate at least once a day. You can start off small, meditating for 5 minutes at a time, but building a meditative practice has been shown to alter the way you think and deal with life.
Meditation is great for encouraging mindfulness and can help you to feel energised and restored. We think morning meditation is perfect for helping you to feel calm, and practising in the small hours of the day is best to help your productivity later on.
Zen living goes hand in hand with meditation as we'll see in the next step.
In addition to your meditation, you should practice mindfulness throughout the day. This is, in effect, moving your meditation practice to your day-to-day life.
Mindfulness helps us to bring us back to the present and live in the moment. Try to notice things around the room you're in, practice grounding techniques, and see the beauty in the small things in life. Mindfulness can help you to feel more positive and to live life to its fullest.
Instead of running from the things in your life that are difficult, you should learn to deal with them. You can learn to deal with this kind of negativity through regular meditation and practising mindfulness.
Dealing with resistance means dealing with the issues you encounter rather than running from them. It means understanding that these things are annoying or irritating but that they can be dealt with. These issues are all about perception. If something is annoying you, it is because you're allowing it to. Understanding this can help you to deal with them well.
This is a fantastic method of achieving the previous step. Understanding that nothing in life is inherently good or bad, that not everything is black and white, can help you to see the subjectivity in the negative or resistant things in your life.
As we discussed previously, it is all about your perception of these things. Understanding that most of life falls into a grey area can help you to reevaluate things that happen to and around you, helping you to deal better with stresses in life.
When we discuss simplicity, this is kind of what we mean! Focusing on one thing at a time and giving your whole heart to it can help you to do things more fully, more quickly, and in a more focused way. Doing one thing at a time can help you to be more mindful of the things you do and help you to focus your attention.
A by-product of mindfulness, having respect for life and all of the things it provides can help you to have a more positive outlook on life and live life to the absolute fullest. Seeing the beauty in the things around you and feeling gratitude for life can support a positive mindset and a positive outlook.
Respecting life doesn't mean you can't have bad days, but it means that you can see these are bad days and be grateful for everything you still have.
Zen living involves lots of different aspects of the concept of zen. It includes changing your mindset as well as the physical things about you. Zen living incorporates meditation and mindfulness into your life and pushes these techniques into other activities.
If you're interested in zen living, our blog post is just the start. Take a look at the other resources online and find ways to restore harmony and balance into your life with zen living.
Zen living means incorporating the concept of zen into your life. This means living in a mindful way, meditating and having respect for life as well as simplifying your life in terms of both physical and mental aspects and respecting your mind, body and soul. Zen living will reach into all aspects of your life and can help you to feel calmer, healthier, and more positive overall.
A zen person is somebody who lives by the concept of zen. This means practicing meditation and mindfulness, living as ones true self and using zen practice throughout life. Zen people live a simple life and understand the concept of dualism. They accept resistance in life and learn to deal with negativity.
Practicing zen means practicing the concept of zen. This means living in a self-contemplative way, practicing meditation and mindfulness, living as ones true self, and letting zen practices pervade your daily life. Zen living means simplifying your life, focusing on one thing at a time, establishing a daily routine, reevaluating life goals, and engaging with positive and healthy things.
The concept of zen comes from the Buddhist religion but is not inherently religious itself. To live a zen life, you do not need to worship a deity. Instead you will practice meditation, simplify the things in your life, and reevaluate the things you want and need in life. Zen living can be achieved by establishing a daily routine, using mindfulness and dealing with resistance.
]]>Your mental wellbeing is important to your mental health and your overall health. Keeping good mental wellbeing can help you to feel more positive and confident. We've been doing some research into mental wellbeing and how you can improve it.
In this blog post, we're going to be looking at mental wellbeing, how it differs from mental health, what good mental wellbeing looks like and how to improve your mental wellbeing. To find out more, keep reading.
So, what actually is mental wellbeing?
Mental wellbeing encompasses your thoughts and feelings and how you cope with negativity and resistance in your life. Your mental wellbeing can influence your mental health, but they are not one and the same.
Good mental well-being is a state of overall wellbeing and a concept of positivity that helps you to deal with the normal stresses of everyday life. It means knowing how to cope and not feeling overwhelmed. If you are experiencing poor mental wellbeing, you may find this more difficult.Though not one and the same, good mental health can be influenced by good mental wellbeing. To find out more about the differences between mental wellbeing and mental health, keep reading.
Though often used interchangeably, mental health and mental wellbeing are not the same. To be truly mentally healthy, you don't simply need to be free from mental illness or a mental health condition. Good mental health is influenced by good mental wellbeing and bad mental wellbeing, especially for a prolonged amount of time, can lead to poor mental health.
Mental wellbeing is considered more a state of being where you feel more positive and are able to deal with normal stresses in a healthy way, while mental health may refer to a number of different concepts, including mental health conditions.
Good mental wellbeing is essential for good mental health, but you don't necessarily need to be free from mental health conditions to have good mental wellbeing. For instance, someone with a mental health condition may learn to deal with their condition in a healthy way and thus can eventually have better mental wellbeing.
In the next section, we'll be discussing what good mental wellbeing actually looks like.
To understand what good mental wellbeing means, it will be useful to learn what good mental wellbeing looks like.
Good wellbeing can look like:
Mental wellbeing is not the absence of negative thoughts and feelings but more the ability to be able to deal with them. This negativity is common in life and being able to deal with it means being able to cope with mental distress. Mental wellbeing is not solely about having positive feelings.
Mental health and wellbeing are subjective. Well-being could mean different things to different people and these attributes of good mental wellbeing can look different in different people.
Our mental well-being is affected by lots of different things. These include our relationships, such as those with friends and family members. It is also affected by our physical and emotional health.
If you feel you may need to improve your mental wellbeing, you may be wondering what poor wellbeing actually looks like. Perhaps you're concerned about a friend or family member or are looking for help yourself. If any of these apply to you, take a look below to find out more about what poor mental health looks like.
Maintaining good mental health can be difficult sometimes, especially for those with an undiagnosed mental illness or condition. To find out more about mental health conditions, take a look at the next section.
Mental illnesses or mental health conditions refer to conditions that affect the way someone thinks and feels, according to the World Health Organization. Common mental health conditions include anxiety and depression. If you are concerned about yourself or a family member or friend, and wondering whether they may have one of these mental health conditions, be sure to speak with a mental health professional to find out more.
Mental illness or mental health conditions cause mental health difficulties, but those with mental health conditions are not unable to have positive mental health.
When looking into mental health, you are likely to come across information on the link between physical and mental health. Though this connection has consistently been made throughout the history of complementary medicine, the link isn't spoken about as much as it should be.
Poor physical health can affect mental health and vice versa. Poor mental health can lead to physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, digestive issues and more, and poor physical health can lead to poor mental health.
While one affects the other in a negative way, they can also affect each other in positive ways. This means that exercising and eating well can actually support good mental health. Getting exercise every week can help to release feel-good hormones like endorphins which help you to feel happy. Getting good sleep can also help you to feel better mentally too.
For more on how to improve your mental wellbeing, keep reading now!
Improving your mental well-being is quite simple. Though it may seem like an uphill struggle, these few simple steps can help you to feel better soon. Take a look below to find out more.
This is a step that may take more work than others. Overwhelming anxiety and negative thoughts can have a real effect on your mental wellbeing but learning how to deal with them can be much more difficult than it seems.
There are some techniques you can learn to help you with this. One of the best ways to learn to reframe negative thoughts is to practice meditation. Meditative practice can teach you how to accept these negative thoughts and then move past them without worrying.
Learning to see something as a negative and unhelpful thought can help you not hyper-focus on these issues and feel much less anxious.
This next step involves moving your meditative practice into your daily life. This process is called mindfulness and involves learning to notice the things around you, learning to live in the present, and practising grounding techniques.
Mindfulness is a well-known practice and is often used in mental health therapy to help people to live in the moment and feel more gratitude for the life around them.
We all love to sleep but sometimes we can't seem to get enough of it. Maybe you can't seem to sleep for more than a few hours, or maybe you seem to be sleeping for much longer than you should be, either way, getting healthy sleep is important.
If you're struggling to sleep, you could consider misting your pillow with essential oil-based pillow mist, diffusing sleep-friendly essential oils like chamomile oil and lavender oil, or try taking a magnesium supplement to encourage healthier sleep.
Getting enough sleep is important for both your physical health and your mental health. Sleep helps your body to fight off disease and repair and rejuvenate, but it also helps to improve focus and concentration and can help you to feel more positive.
Taking the time to socialise and connect with other humans is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. Whether a Zoom catch up or a quick coffee date, spending time with others can help you to feel more grounded and more grateful.
Spend time with family, where it is possible, and foster healthy friendships that make you feel good about yourself. Don't maintain toxic relationships and don't feel guilty if you remove negative people from your life.
We've discussed the link between physical and mental health which is why this step is here. Keeping your physical health boosted can help to keep your mental health in good shape.
You should ensure you get enough exercise. The WHO suggests getting 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, so whether you do a high-intensity resistance band workout or a soothing and calming yoga session, moving your body is good for your mental health as well as your physical health.
Along with exercise, ensuring you eat a well-balanced diet, filled with grains, beans, pulses, fruit, and veg, can help to maintain your physical health. Ensure you're eating nutritious meals and try reducing your sugary snack intake too, instead you should snack on healthier options like nuts and seeds, and popcorn.
Sometimes referred to as self-love, doing things that make your soul happy can help to boost your mental health. Self-love can be anything from taking time to burn your favourite candle while reading a good book to immersing yourself in a calming bath using fragrant bath salts.
Self-love isn't all face masks and good skincare though. You should also practice healthy self-talk, where you speak kindly to yourself, and make healthy decisions as well as learn to say no when you know you are unable to carry something out.
Self-love is all about allowing yourself the time and space to be happy and can mean different things to different people.
Your mental well-being is incredibly important to your mental health. Feeling positive and confident in yourself can help you to cope with everyday stresses and ensure you are able to deal with change. Poor mental wellbeing for a prolonged amount of time may lead to a mental health condition and so keeping your mental wellbeing boosted can be in your best interests.
There are many ways you can boost your mental wellbeing, from connecting with others and practising self-love to learning to be in the present and reframing negative thoughts. Trying these few steps can help you to feel better quickly. If you are concerned about yourself or a family member, remember there is no shame in seeking help for mental health issues.
There are many ways that you can improve your mental well-being. These include getting out and connecting with others. This means building and maintaining healthy friendships. You could also try practising mindfulness and meditation to help you live in the present and reframe unhelpful thoughts. Along with this, you should aim to maintain good physical health through a good diet and exercise and try to get a good amount of sleep too.
Good mental wellbeing means feeling confident and sure of yourself. It means you are able to cope with change and the normal stresses experienced in everyday life. Good mental wellbeing also means having good self-esteem and feeling like you have a purpose. Someone with good mental wellbeing will feel productive too. Good mental wellbeing is not the absence of negativity but the idea that you can deal with negativity when it comes your way.
Good mental wellbeing is important as you are able to deal with changes in your life and are able to cope with the stresses of modern life. Mental wellbeing is linked to mental health and if you have prolonged poor mental wellbeing, this could lead to poor mental health. Your mental wellbeing is important to your sense of purpose, your self-confidence and your productivity.
Your mental well-being is affected by your relationships with other people. Ensuring that your relationships are healthy is good for your mental wellbeing. Mental wellbeing is also impacted by your physical health, which, if poor, can lead to poor mental wellbeing. Finally, mental wellbeing is also linked to your emotional health. Poor emotional health can lead to negative thoughts and feelings and lead to poor mental wellbeing.
]]>As lovers of essential oils, we've been taking a look at some great options for essential oils you should take away with you when you travel. Below, we've gathered all the information we have found for you to peruse next time you travel!
There are a few essential oils that will come in handy for you when you travel. From helping to soothe travel sickness and anxiety to helping to boost your immunity, essential oils can be really great to take away with you.
Below are a few of the best essential oils you can pack when you travel, check them out!
Lavender oil is well-known for its relaxing and calming properties which makes it a great essential oil to carry with you if you have travel anxiety. It can soothe you in-flight, help you to sleep on long-haul journeys, and even help you to sleep when you have jet lag.
As well as a pure lavender essential oil, you could try a calming and soothing blend or a rollerball option. You could even find an essential oil blend that helps with sleep!
Lemon essential oil, and other citrus oils, are fantastic for making sure your hotel room smells nice. Whether travelling on a budget or staying in the best hotel in the city, you may find that the room smells a little off, if this is the case, grab your lemon essential oil and diffuse for up to an hour.
Lemon essential oil is known for its positivity boost and can help you to feel happy and energised. This will come in handy if you're a little irritated with the unpleasant odour(!) and can help you to start your day off on a high, getting you ready for a day of seeing the sights.
As well as the positive benefits on your mood, lemon and other citrus oils smell great! If those scents are not up your street, you could try essential oil blends with mood-boosting effects and great smelling blends.
Another great mood booster, peppermint essential oil can help you to feel more awake after a long day of travel and help get you ready to see the sights. You could try dabbing some on a warm cloth or cotton ball and inhaling the peppermint oil in the morning to help you feel more awake.
Peppermint oil can also help you soothe a headache and nausea that may be brought on by travel! Mix with a carrier oil like sweet almond oil, coconut oil, or jojoba oil before massaging into your skin.
Ginger oil is known to help soothe nausea which makes it great for when you're feeling motion sickness. You can inhale it or even grab some ginger juice to help you feel better. Or you could rub ginger essential oil into your pulse points, like wrist and neck, after diluting with a carrier oil.
Remember to always dilute essential oils and essential oil blends with a carrier oil to ensure it isn't going to cause skin irritation. Simply add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to the carrier oil.
Tea tree essential oil is great to carry with you on holiday. It can protect against allergies which can come on when you travel. Dab it on your pillow or inhale it when diffused to help clear sinuses and reduce the symptoms of allergies.
If you're not a fan of tea tree oil, you could also try out eucalyptus oil which has similar properties and anti-inflammatory effects.
These oils can help to keep your immune system in working order while on holiday too, as both have antibacterial effects. This means you can sanitise with them to protect your immune system while travelling.
Once you've chosen the best essential oils for you to take on holiday, you're probably going to need to find a way to transport the oils. While there are regulations on what you can carry depending on the kind of travelling you're doing, with many travel methods, you are free to take whatever you want but you may need to consider the packing methods.
To find out more, check it out.
When travelling by car, you can take any kind of essential oils with you but you will need to consider the travel method. This means you will need to find a sturdy travel case to ensure you don't break any bottles. Additionally, you need to ensure your lids are sealed tight!
You could also invest in a car vent diffuser, or other travel compatible diffusers so that you can diffuse in the car!
Like with car travel, you need to ensure you pack essential oils safely for rail travel. This means ensuring they're put into a safe and sturdy case and are closed properly.
Travel by plane is the most tricky when it comes to travelling with essential oils. If you're planning on carrying your essential oils in your case, then the same rules apply with car and train travel. The difficulty comes in when you decide to carry them in your hand luggage.
There are a few rules that apply to being able to board a plane with liquids. All bottles must be 100ml or 100g or less, and they must be able to fit into one transparent plastic bag. This means you will need to pick and choose which essential oils you take on the plane in your hand luggage.
The 100ml limit may affect the kind of oils you can take, meaning if you have mixed your favourite essential oils with a carrier oil like sweet almond oil, it will need to be transferred to a 100ml bottle to be taken in your carry on bags.
Whether your favourite essential oil or essential oil blend, inhaling essential oils or using topically can help you to feel calm and relaxed as well as positive and energised, depending on which kind of oil you use.
Carrying essential oils with you while you travel can protect your immune system, help you to feel calm, and even fight off motion sickness, making it great for you to carry. We have covered a few different oils here which we think are great for travelling but there are plenty more too! Check out all our aromatherapy oils today to find one that suits you.
Essential oils can be brought in your carry on luggage provided they are stored in bottles under 100ml or 100g. This may mean transferring your own essential oil blends into smaller bottles. You also need to be able to fit all of your essential oil bottles in a transparent plastic bag and it is one per person.
Essential oils that are good for jet lag are usually the ones that can help you to sleep or help to relax. This includes lavender oil, chamomile oil, and sandalwood oil. All of these oils can help to calm the body and ease you into sleep even when you're finding it difficult to sleep, making them great for jet lag.
Yes. You can carry essential oils in bottles of up to 100ml. You also need to be able to store all liquids in a zip lock bag and there is a limit of one bag per passenger. Essential oils are great to carry with you when travelling as they can help you to feel calm and relaxed when flying which is great if you get travel sick.
There are lots of essential oils that can help you to feel more positive and energised. These include peppermint oil and citrus oils like lemon oil and orange oil. You can also find mood-boosting essential oil blends which promote a positive mood and uplifting feeling which you can carry with you to help you feel more positive.
]]>In this article, we're going to be looking at our current work-life balance and how we can find a better way of balancing our work life with our personal lives. We'll look at what a healthy work-life balance is, why you need a good work-life balance, what a poor work-life balance can do to you, and how you can go about successfully achieving a work-life balance.
We all have different commitments, different work hours, and different ways we like to spend our downtime, but in general, many of us feel like our work-life balance is out of sync with a good and fulfilling life. We're going to try and help with that! Let's get started.
Work-life balance refers to the balance between our work lives, the part of our life that is necessary to make money to live and to have a personal life, and our personal lives, which can include family commitments, quality time with friends, and any downtime we have.
There are lots of different approaches to having a good work-life balance. Some find that separating the two is the best way to ensure balance, whereas others have begun merging their work lives and home lives in what is called work-life integration.
A healthy work-life balance means different things to different people. Some people find they need more downtime, more personal time, and more time with their family whereas others feel more fulfilled when working long hours and getting the most out of their work.
Because of these different interpretations, people may feel that someone else's version of a healthy balance is different to what they want and need, but the key is to ensure that your own balance is working for you.
A healthy work-life balance is essential in this busy and fast-paced world. To find out more about why we need this balance, keep reading!
So, why do we need a healthy work-life balance? Who does it help and how?
For starters, a decent work-life balance will benefit you and your health. Giving yourself time to relax, time to nurture relationships, time to exercise and eat well, all help to boost and maintain both your physical and mental health.
Good relationships are key to good mental wellbeing. Having people you can speak to and rely upon can help us to feel more at peace and more balanced. In addition, having time to relax, time to take care of your own needs is essential to a positive mental outlook.
Your physical health is impacted by constant work. If you are constantly sitting at a laptop, not moving, eating at your desk, you will find that your physical health will deteriorate. The human body needs time to move, time to increase your heart rate, stretch your legs, and just general exercise, as well as time to eat well.
Having a good balance in your life means giving yourself time to get to the gym, do an at-home resistance band workout, or do a quick yoga session. In addition, this free time can give you the chance to make home-cooked, healthy and organic meals that are nutritious as well as delicious and feed your body the things it needs.
A healthy work-life balance is also good for employers. Contrary to the belief of some employers, giving employees time to rest, socialise, and get to their commitments can actually help them to be more productive when they are at work.
In the past few years, there has been more and more talk of reducing the working week to four days because research suggests that the shorter working week can really benefit the mental wellbeing and productivity of employees. Indeed, during the past 18 months, some employers saw productivity increase as employees were told to work from home amid the pandemic. Working from home meant that many had the chance to cook nutritious meals, spend time with family, and even had time to work out where they may have been commuting or in the office.
There is lots of evidence to suggest that shorter hours and a better work-life balance can help to boost productivity in employees.
So, what happens when your work-life balance isn't good? How does this imbalance affect your mind, body, and work?
Poor work-life balance can lead to stress, burnout and fatigue. Not having enough time to relax and not getting time away from work can cause us to live on adrenaline which can cause exhaustion, weight gain, and other negative effects.
A negative effect that poor work-life balance can cause is burnout. Burnout is a serious condition that can be caused by long periods of excessive or stressful working conditions. Symptoms of burnout include:
Burnout should be taken seriously and if you feel like you fit these symptoms you should take some time to relax and rest.
Poor work-life balance can also negatively affect your relationships. If you don't have any time for your friends and family, you may find you drift apart, lose contact with people and socialise less and less. Coupled with an isolating work environment, losing friendships can lead to loneliness.
Striving for a better work-life balance can have a positive effect on your mental health, physical health, and general wellbeing, as well as better productivity and outlook.
So, we know that having a good work-life balance is important and we know that a poor work-life balance can lead to stress, poor health, lower productivity and a negative effect on your relationships, but what can we do to achieve a better work-life balance.
It may seem impossible to get a better balance, after all, your boss sets your work hours not you! But there are ways that you can work to improve this balance, even if there are things you cannot change. Let's take a look at some of them.
Setting boundaries is a really essential way to support your mental health. Being able to say 'no' when you know you can't do something is important and can help ensure you don't take on too much.
Boundaries are important with your work life as they can ensure you take a step back and have some time where work isn't on your mind. Boundaries can include small things, like turning your laptop off at a certain time each night, putting any work phones you have on Do Not Disturb mode on an evening, making sure you have a moment to yourself in the morning before you begin any work, and leaving your desk at lunchtime!
Setting boundaries may be difficult at first so we've got a few ways you can make it a little easier listed below.
No matter how many times we write that we've got good time management on our resume, we all know we could be a little better at it! Ensuring you get all of your work done within your allotted work hours can help to leave evenings free, giving you time to exercise, cook a healthy dinner, and wind down before bed.
Good time management is key to a good work-life balance. Try planning a structured day with each hour accounted for and stick to the schedule so that you get the downtime you deserve!
Another way you could maintain a better work-life balance is by considering whether you need to be working all of the hours you are. Are you taking on extra hours for the money you don't need? Would your mental health benefit from fewer hours, even if it means a little less pay?
We understand that for some, long work hours are necessary. Money, unfortunately, does make the world go around meaning we all need it, but if there are any ways you could cut down on hours, you could try it out and see if helps balance your life a little better.
One of the best things you can do for your mental wellbeing is to maintain good social relationships with people you get along with and trust. Keeping these relationships can give you a reason to want to leave work!
It may seem silly, but having plans in the evening can be a great motivator to get all of your work done quickly and on time so that you can get home in time to change and hit the town! Maintaining good relationships is a great way to remind yourself what you would miss out on if you were to let work take over.
We have talked a lot about mental health in this post but physical health is just as important. You need to find time to move your body and so carving out time a few days a week where you intentionally exercise can help to boost physical health.
In addition, making sure you take the time to prepare nutritious meals, with lots of whole grains, veg, and healthy fats, can help to keep you feeling great. Choosing to eat well and taking the time to do so is a form of self-care and can help to support work-life balance. Indeed, simply stopping work to cook a healthy meal can give you time away from your work and time to relax.
Something many people find difficult when trying to have time to themselves is finding a balance between the things we have to do and the things we want to do. Family commitments can take up lots of time in our limited free time and so we should set boundaries with these too.
For family commitments that are unnecessary, try picking and choosing those which you want to do. Choose those which will help you to feel more fulfilled and relaxed in your downtime. Obviously, there are some commitments, like picking up your children from school, that you can't just decide not to do. Instead of seeing this as an obligation though, see it as more time to spend with your loved ones. Sometimes, just changing your outlook on the things in your life can help you to get more out of them.
And finally, have some time for yourself. Whether that's binge-watching your favourite TV show, putting a face mask on and reading a book, lighting your favourite scented candle, diffusing some relaxing lavender oil, or just taking some time for quiet, taking time for yourself is essential to leading a balanced life.
Finding ways to create better harmony in your life can be difficult, but trying a few of our tips could be the start of your journey to a true balance between work and life. Work is essential in life as we will always need money to survive, but it doesn't and shouldn't take over your life.
Everyone's version of balance is different and so these few tips may work differently for everyone, but the key is to find time to enjoy life when you're not at work and ensure you get time to rest!
A healthy work-life balance can look different to everyone. For some, it may mean meeting deadlines, getting to go home on time, and spending time with their friends. Others may see time to relax at the weekend without thinking of work as a good balance. As everyone has different needs, the best thing for good balance differs from person to person and so a good balance is exactly how you define it.
There are a few steps you can take to get a good working life balance. These include:
Having a work/life balance means being able to balance your life between the time you spend at work and the time you spend doing things that aren't your work. It is essentially the way you divide your time between making money to survive and relaxing, socialising, taking care of family commitments, exercising, and doing anything else you wish to in your free time.
Asking for balance from your boss could mean asking for reduced hours if they are not needed, setting boundaries like turning your work phone off and not looking at emails on a weekend, and making sure to leave work on time. You may struggle to set these boundaries immediately and you may find that some don't respect them, but with time, you will learn to separate out your time.
]]>Extreme self-care is a term that has been floating around for a decade or so now and refers to an extreme form of the self-care we have come to know and love. But what does it actually mean?
The art of extreme self-care came from a life-changing handbook written by Cheryl Richardson in which she detailed the steps you could take to practice extreme self-care every day, helping you to live a meaningful life. In the book, Cheryl Richardson teaches you to dramatically upgrade your self-care and take charge of your own life. The book is the result of her own personal stories of practising extreme self-care and has been covered widely since it was first published.
We've been doing some research on the topic and we've gathered all of the information we could find into this blog post. To find out what extreme self-care is, what extreme self-care involves and how you can practice extreme self-care, keep reading now!
So, what is extreme self-care?
Well, extreme self-care is sort of like self-care's older, stronger brother. Extreme self-care isn't just about face masks, scented candles, and chocolate (though we still recommend them anyway). No. Extreme self-care is about changing the way you think, feel, and react. It's about becoming a person who can stick to your boundaries and truly commit to self-care.
Most of us claim to practice self-care these days. We spend half an hour on a Sunday evening reading a book and diffusing lavender oil and we call this enough. But is it enough? Is it enough if our only act of self-care is 30 minutes of time to ourselves?
Extreme self-care says it's not.
Extreme self-care is about making yourself and your health a priority. It is about ensuring that when you want to say no because you really don't have time, you actually say no, rather than saying yes and then admonishing yourself while you do it. It is about setting and sticking to boundaries and having the confidence and empowerment to not allow other people's disappointment in you to affect how you feel about your decision.
Extreme self-care helps you to build self-esteem and confidence. It teaches you to be emotionally strong and empowered. It helps you to become a decisive character - someone who can make a decision easily, based on your own health and needs, and then stick to it no matter other people's responses. And it supports you in becoming clear and honest about who you are and what you want.
Extreme self-care is about you as a person, rather than the little things you do to make you feel better a few times a week. It is about practising self-care throughout your entire life instead of once a week.
So, we know what extreme self-care is, but what does it involve? How can we become the things that extreme self-care needs us to become?
Extreme self-care aims to support you in building self-esteem and confidence. This means you are able to make a decision and are able to feel confident in that. It involves becoming empowered and believing in yourself.
And this empowerment is key to extreme self-care too. Once you feel empowered, you feel that you can set your boundaries and stick to them, you will feel good about taking time out of your day for yourself, and you will feel that you deserve to be cared for too.
This empowerment should also lead to a new sense of decisiveness, and with this decisiveness, you should be able to make decisions more easily and stick to them. This will help you out as you set and stick to your boundaries.
And, all of these things push you to be more certain of who you are and what you want. Once you become aware of these things, you can understand what you really want from life and what you need. This will ensure you choose the right options for yourself and say no to the things you know won't help you out.
To find out more about how you can put these ideas into practice, keep reading our next section.
So now we know what extreme self-care is and what it involves, we're going to look at how you can practice extreme self-care. We're going to look at how we can turn these concepts into actual habits that will help you to practice extreme self-care.
Let's get started now.
Writing down your boundaries is the first step to sticking to them. Putting your boundaries out into the world is like a small commitment, letting yourself know that you're serious about these things. In these boundaries, you should ensure you have a list of 'absolute no's' which is a list of things you absolutely have to say no to.
This may mean things that people frequently ask you to do that cause you anxiety, things you don't like doing, or things that cause you emotional harm. These things should be written down so that you know to stick to them.
This leads straight on from the last step. Once you know what you're definitely going to say no to, you can practice it. Practice saying no when you know you can't do something. Choose the things you want to do and say no to anything that will be detrimental to your physical or mental health.
The art of extreme self-care means learning to say no and not being swayed by other people's hurt feelings and disappointment in your decision. The absolute no list may make people feel disappointed in you, but you are now making decisions based on your own wellbeing, not others.
This one probably seems obvious. The art of extreme self-care is about taking charge of your life and this means you become your number one priority. In the original book by Cheryl Richardson, the idea was to break the endless cycle of self-betrayal, wherein you promise to do better and say no to things you can't do etc. but then you don't and end up burned out all over again.
In this new method of self-care, you're going to be committing to yourself. You're choosing yourself, your health, and your wellbeing over others needs. This doesn't mean never doing anything for anyone else ever again, but it does mean helping others out when you can and not giving so much you have nothing left for yourself.
Taking the time to reflect on your actions and understand who you are can help you to understand yourself and take the time to remove yourself from your busy life. It means taking the time to understand the things that have happened to you, things you have experienced and the way you experienced them.
Like the original self-care, this part can include an eye mask and a good cup of tea, but you should be stricter about it. This means when you schedule in time to relax, you actually relax. It means not answering emails during your relaxation time or looking after your sister's kids during your vacation time. You can help others out in an enjoyable way, but if you've scheduled time in then you need to stick to it.
When we talk about good mental wellbeing, we always talk about how socialisation is key. Spending time with others can help us to relax, feel connected to others, and take time away from our busy and chaotic life. Human connection is great for our well-being.
Schedule in time for connection and ensure you stick to it as well as you do your boundaries.
They always say that laughter is the best medicine and it really is. Taking time to do things that make you smile, whether it be volunteering and feeling like you have a purpose, growing a herb garden in your kitchen, or spending time with your family, taking time to have fun is essential for your health.
Like with the previous two steps, you need to schedule this and then stick to it.
The whole idea of the art of extreme self-care came from a life-changing handbook written by Cheryl Richardson and is a more powerful version of the original form of self-care. This method means following an action-oriented program of setting boundaries, building your confidence, and understanding who you are and what you want.
There are countless personal stories of success with this method of self-care and as such, it has become very popular. If you're interested in self-care, why not try out these steps and transform your life one step at a time.
Extreme self-care looks like putting one's own needs before the needs of others while still preserving important relationships and helping others out. You can be a supportive friend while still setting boundaries and this form of self-care teaches us this. This program helps you to transform your life one step at a time, helping you to build confidence and self-esteem, set boundaries and become more decisive, allowing yourself to put yourself first. This concept comes from a handbook written by Cheryl Richardson.
While many see self-care as face masks and massages, self-care is actually about setting boundaries and sticking to them. Self-care means understanding who you are and what you want and making your life decisions based on this. It means saying no when you can't do something and not feeling guilty when people feel disappointed in you. Self-care is about looking after your own mental and physical health.
Self-care is important for mental wellbeing. It can help us to feel confident and empowered and allows us downtime to relax and rejuvenate. It helps us to set boundaries and ensure that we are not taking on too much. It can protect against anxiety and depression, helping us to take the time for our own mental health.
]]>Magnesium has incredible health benefits when used in bath soaks, which is why Epsom salt is such a popular and sought after bath salt. However, there is another magnesium compound that is used as a bath soak which could be even more restorative than Epsom salt. Cue: magnesium salt flakes.
While both Epsom and magnesium salts are used in and as bath salts, there is some evidence to suggest that magnesium salt flakes may have more profound effects on the body. We’ve done a bit of research on the differences between the two. Why not check it out below and learn about Epsom salt bath benefits versus magnesium salt bath benefits?
There are a few significant differences between Epsom and magnesium salt, and though both are magnesium compounds, their health benefits may differ slightly.
Epsom salt was originally discovered in Epsom, a town in Surrey, England, which is where it gets its name. It is a compound made up of magnesium, sulphur, and oxygen, called magnesium sulphate.
Though it is described as a salt, Epsom salt contains no actual salt, instead, it is thought it was given the name salt because it looks like table salt. Epsom is usually dissolved in hot water and does not need any other substances to work it's magic.
Epsom salt is commonly used in bath salts, including blended salts that combine herbs and essential oils like these Refresh Byron Bay Murray River Salts. And, along with being combined in fragrant blends, Epsom salt can also be used on its own as a bath soak.
Magnesium bath salt flakes differ in size and shape from Epsom salt. While Epsom salt is a compound call magnesium sulphate, magnesium salt flakes are a highly concentrated form of magnesium, called magnesium chloride. Magnesium salt flakes, like the name suggests, are flakes, differing from the table salt-like form of Epsom salt.
Magnesium salt flakes, or magnesium chloride flakes, contain more magnesium than Epsom salt and are more readily absorbed by the body, meaning they have a greater effect on the body when used as a bath soak.
Magnesium chloride bath salts are thought to be purer than Epsom salt. Magnesium chloride is mined from ancient seabeds and is thought to be less likely to be polluted. When buying any bath salt product, it is best to buy organic and natural to ensure that you avoid any potential pollutants.
Unlike Epsom salt, magnesium chloride flakes should not be ingested.
With both of these bath salts being forms of magnesium, you’re probably wondering what magnesium actually is and how it can benefit your body.
Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral found in the body. Though it is essential, it cannot be produced by the body and so we must get magnesium from food and other products. Magnesium bath salts allow the element to be absorbed by the body through the skin, providing the body with this essential nutrient.
In the body, magnesium has a few starring roles. It supports muscles and nerve function, as well as energy production and the making of DNA. Magnesium is pretty crucial in the body and so, getting it into your routine will have incredible health benefits for you.
We’ve mentioned quite a few times how brilliant these salts are, and so listed below are a few benefits of each.
Epsom salt is a widely used remedy for a number of ailments. Used as a bath soak, Epsom salt can ease muscle soreness, soothe joint stiffness, relieve stress, and treat itchy and dry skin.
Though the name suggests otherwise, Epsom salt has none of the drying effects of salt. Instead, it is used in cosmetics and can actually hydrate the skin. The magnesium sulphate salt is commonly found in scrubs, like Jak Organics Epsom Salt and Green Tea Face Scrub.
Magnesium salt flakes have a much higher concentration of magnesium and are more readily absorbed by the body, this means you get a higher dose of magnesium with this kind of soak.
Magnesium chloride baths can help to improve circulation, relieve headaches and migraines, soothe dry and itchy skin, ease joint stiffness and muscle soreness, and improve skin hydration.
The benefits of Epsom salt and magnesium salt are very similar, but the thing to bear in mind is that magnesium salts offer a much higher dose of the mineral, making the effects more instantaneous and profound.
Now we’ve talked for quite a while about these salts, you probably want to know how to use them in your next bath!
Adding these two salts to your bath can help you relax while restoring and reinvigorating the body. Add two cups of whichever salt you choose to a standard size bath and soak for twenty minutes to get the full benefits from your bath.
There are tonnes of bath salt products on the market today and many utilise both Epsom and magnesium salts. We’ve rounded up our favourites for each kind. Check them out.
As mentioned above, with Epsom salt it is always best to find organic and natural products to avoid any contamination.
We absolutely love these Byron Bath Relax Bath Salts, infused with relaxing essential oils for a soothing soak. This is an organic blend of Epsom salts with fragrant and relaxing oils, meaning you can soak without any worry.
For magnesium salt, we love these pure salt flakes from Amazing Oils. We also think you should try out the brand’s sleep blend, with lavender and chamomile for a restorative and relaxing soak.
Epsom and magnesium bath salts are both magnesium-based compounds. Epsom salt is a compound called magnesium sulphate which was originally found in Epsom, Surrey. Magnesium salt flakes are a compound called magnesium chloride.
Both bath salts have a whole range of healing properties and can work to restore and soothe the body. Magnesium chloride salt flakes are more readily absorbed by the body, meaning you experience a higher dose of magnesium.
Epsom salt baths can ease joint and muscle pain, relieve sore feet and treat dry skin and other skin conditions. The salts are usually soaked in for around twenty minutes and can help to relieve stress and relax the body.
While there are many benefits of Epsom salt baths, if you have never used Epsom salt before, you may need to do a skin patch test to avoid allergic reactions. Overuse may also lead to itchy skin and skin infections. Using too much Epsom salt in your bath may also lead to nausea, lightheadedness, headaches, and flushed skin. If you experience these issues, stop using them immediately. In rare cases, overuse may lead to more life-threatening conditions. Always use Epsom salts in moderation, using only 2 cups per standard bath.
Always use the amount of Epsom salt recommended on the product you are using to avoid any negative side effects. Overuse of Epsom salts may lead to nausea, headaches, and flushed skin.
Epsom salt may be useful in drawing out toxins that cause inflammation inside the body. Persistent inflammation can be a symptom of a number of common ailments which Epsom salts can help to relieve.
While Epsom salts cannot necessarily help you to lose weight, using them regularly can make you feel more relaxed and help you to lead a healthier lifestyle. The salts can ease muscle and joint soreness, meaning you can recover from exercise more easily helping you to stay fit and active.
]]>Elmore Oil has been used in western herbal medicine for many years, and is a great natural alternative to other pain relievers. To find out how to use Elmore Oil products to relieve your pain, then keep reading this article.
Elmore Oil is a form of temporary natural pain relief that derives from Australia. It contains only four natural ingredients and can offer temporary pain relief from issues such as muscle aches and pains.
Due to its versatility, Elmore Oil can be used by a range of people, including those who suffer joint pain, athletes and the elderly.
Elmore Oil is available in a range of products so you can find the one which works best for you.
Primarily, Elmore Oil is temporary natural pain relief with anti-inflammatory properties. It is great for healing a range of ailments, including:
Elmore Oil is also stated to aid joint mobility due to its properties of reducing joint inflammation and swelling.
Created from just four products, Elmore Oil contains 100% natural ingredients. The ingredients in Elmore Oil are eucalypt, tea tree, vanilla extract and olive oil.
Eucalypt provides cineole through distillation, which is a complex oil with pain relieving abilities. Additionally, Terpinen-4-ol derives from tea tree which offers inflammatory abilities. The combination of these natural ingredients helps to create a soothing product in Elmore Oil that can relieve an array of issues.
Elmore Oil is available in a range of products so you can find an application that suits you to best relieve your pain. Elmore Oil is available in convenient applications of oil, roll-on, and cream, which is great for travelling and sports events.
For deeper muscle injuries, Elmore Oil also has a gentle heat effect which will work immediately. This product contains Wintergreen oil to provide the gentle heat effect which is proven to relieve muscle aches, tension and soreness.
Elmore Oil products offer anti-inflammatory products. You can use Elmore Oil anywhere on the body for pain relief.
Use a small amount of Elmore Oil in the impacted area, and apply to the skin. Massage in the Elmore Oil into the affected area until the Elmore Oil has dried and absorbed into the skin.
It is recommended that you use Elmore Oil twice a day for 14 days in order to reap the maximum benefits. For mild issues you can usually feel relief within a few days, but for more serious issues such as rheumatism, it may take the full 14 days to feel the benefit.
While Elmore Oil is safe for use anywhere on the body, you should avoid getting the product in or around the eyes.
Elmore Oil is recommended for a variety of people, however there are some exclusions. If you are pregnant or likely to become pregnant, then it is not recommended that you use Elmore Oil products. Additionally, Elmore Oil should not be used by those under 6.
Repeated use of Elmore Oil can also lead to heightened sensitivity to sunlight.
Elmore Oil does not expire, but if damaged then prolonged exposure to the outside elements can lead to oxidation which can damage the product.
The oxidation of Elmore Oil increases the risk of hazardous chemicals and can cause skin issues. Always ensure your Elmore Oil has remained the same smell, colour and consistency before use to avoid irritation to the skin.
Elmore Oil is a fantastic natural solution to joint and muscle pains. It is gentler on skin than other similar products and customers have reported it does not have the burning sensation of many competitor products.
Created using just four products, Elmore Oil is a great all-natural product to use to help relieve your pain. A true staple of western herbal medicine, Elmore Oil is a great option to take with you in case joint problems arise. For more healing products, try our range of health supplements and sports & fitness products.
Buy Elmore Oil products online from Australian organic Products +More:
Elmore Oil is a great healing ointment for joint and muscle pains. It is a great natural alternative to healing that is gentle on skin and can be used anywhere on the body. It can treat and relieve joint and muscle pain, as well as mild symptoms of rheumatism arthritis.
No, Elmore Oil does not expire which makes it a great product to use again and again. However, if the Elmore Oil container is damaged, this can create exposure to the elements which may lead to oxidation. Oxidation of Elmore Oil is likely to cause irritation on skin, so ensure your Elmore Oil is stored well.
Elmore Oil was made and created in Australia. For over 18 years it has been trusted as a form of natural pain relief, and is made from 100% natural ingredients. Elmore Oil is available in a range of applicators.
While Elmore Oil is gentler on skin than many other competitors, it is not recommended to be used by those who are pregnant or who are likely to become pregnant. Additionally, Elmore Oil should not be used on children aged 0-6 years.
]]>With many people pushing towards a more natural life and joining the wellness movement, more natural hair care products have increased in popularity. More people have also started using apple cider vinegar to improve hair care (and not just for weight loss). So why not Jamaican Black Castor Oil? Jamaican Black Castor Oil offers its devotees an all-round oil that boosts hair growth, as well as moisturising hair and treating dandruff, and being entirely natural too.
We’ve done some research on Jamaican Black Castor Oil to guide you on your journey. If you want to know what Jamaican Black Castor Oil is, how to apply Jamaican Black Castor Oil to hair and what the benefits are of it, then read on below.
Jamaican Black Castor Oil is an oil made from castor beans. Jamaican Black Castor Oil differs from regular castor oil due to a roasting process which happens during production. The oil is made when castor beans are allowed to dry out, the seeds then pop out and are roasted and then churned.
This mulch is then transferred to a pot and laid on a slow wood burning fire. It is this final roasting process which gives Jamaican Black Castor Oil its distinctive smoky smell and darker colour. The oil is then stirred and filtered until it is pure and clear.
Regular castor is lighter and yellower than Jamaican Black Castor Oil which has a dark amber hue. The oil comes in many forms, including pure oil, shampoos, conditioners, and serums.
Applying Jamaican Black Castor Oil can be beneficial as it nourishes your hair and scalp by locking in moisture, as well as promoting regrowth and ridding the scalp of damaging toxins and fungi. It can also prevent breakages and treat eczema on the scalp, preventing flakiness and dryness.
The application process is a simple one and we’ve rounded up an easy guide on how to apply Jamaican Black Castor Oil to hair below. (Always test any new product out on skin 24 hours before intended use.)
Jamaican Black Castor oil can be used on all hair types. For those with finer hair, it is recommended that you focus use on the ends of your hair to lock in moisture. We recommend looking for cold-pressed, pure oils from organic retailers to ensure that your oil is free from damaging toxins.
To begin with, you should do a spot test of your Jamaican Black Castor Oil product. Some women can have allergies and by starting slowly, you can observe any reactions your skin may have and stop using if necessary.
Generally, Jamaican Black Castor Oil is only necessary weekly or bi-weekly to promote hair growth and moisturise the scalp and hair. Depending on your hair type, the oil can be used more often, with many people regularly sleeping in the treatment. If you do have naturally oily hair, frequent use may lead to oily build up. Jamaican Black Castor Oil comes in a range of products that can be used more regularly too.
Jamaican Black Castor Oil has a number of incredible benefits for your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, and even your skin, including:
Jamaican Black Castor Oil has a multitude of benefits, including hair regrowth, head and scalp moisturisation and antibacterial properties, and can be used to treat a number of ailments. The oil is natural and so will not have an adverse effect on your health, or the health of the planet and it can be used weekly or bi-weekly to treat the hair. Jamaican Black Castor Oil has garnered a cult-like following online and after our research, we can really see why!
Jamaican Black Castor Oil works to promote hair growth by increasing blood flow to the scalp, nourishing the hair follicles, moisturising the scalp and preventing breakages in hair strands. To use Jamaican Black Castor Oil for hair growth, massage a small amount of oil into your scalp using your fingertips. Leave to absorb overnight and then wash out the next morning if necessary.
The amount of time you leave Jamaican Black Castor Oil on your hair is entirely up to you. A lot of treatments suggest leaving the oil overnight and allowing it to absorb into your scalp. Though the oil absorbs fast, if you would prefer not to make a mess, leaving the oil in for a few hours before washing out would be sufficient to allow the oil to be absorbed.
You don’t need to wash Jamaican Black Castor Oil out of your hair unless you have oily hair. You should wash your hair as normal unless you notice an oil build up. It is recommended that users of Jamaican Black Castor Oil who have thinner hair should wash it out after treatment to prevent the heaviness of the oil weighing down hair.
It is recommended that you leave castor oil in your hair for at least thirty minutes to allow for full absorption. Some treatments direct users to leave castor oil in overnight for maximum absorption. If you have oily hair, a shorter period before washing may be necessary to avoid oily build up.
]]>Some sunlight is good for you, but get too much exposure to UVR and you can pay a heavy price. Limiting our exposure to the sun, especially in the summer season is the best thing to avoid any skin damage.
But we know it's a pretty outdoorsy life in Australia and when we are outdoors we recommend using a natural and organic alternative to your mainstream sunscreens.
Here's a little bit more information on sunscreens and how they benefit you while you have fun in the sun:
SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. SPF 'numbers' provide an indication of how much protection from the sun a product will provide for your skin. The Australian Standard for sunscreens allows a maximum sun protection factor (SPF) rating of 50.
While this sounds like a significantly higher level of protection than an SPF30 the difference is not really in the amount of UV protection. An SPF 50 sunscreen will filter 98% of UV radiation while an SPF30 product filters 96.7% so the difference is not large. The difference is around the length of time that it will protect you but there are issues with this.
Everyone’s skin is different and each person’s skin can be exposed to the sun for different lengths of time before burning. Sunscreen extends the time before burning by a multiple of the SPF. For example, if you have fair skin and would normally burn in 5 minutes without any sun protection then an SPF 30 will give you 30 x 5 minutes protection. The issue is that all sunscreens will rub off over time with normal activity and perspiration and so in some cases the higher SPF can give a false sense of security. Due to normal activity all sunscreens need to be reapplied regularly.
The most important thing to remember is that no sunscreen provides total protection and will rub off over time, that's why it is always important to reapply regularly and cover up using appropriate clothing and eye wear especially during the hottest part of the day.
Micronised Zinc Oxide. It reflects UV-A and UV-B rays rather than chemical actives which absorb these rays.
A sunscreen that provides broad spectrum protection protects against UV-B rays as well as UV-A. All sunscreens protect against UV-B rays which cause sunburn however not all protect again UV-A which causes premature ageing of the skin.
UV-A radiation plays a large role in causing gene mutations often leading to skin cancer. So make sure when using a sunscreen you check that it offers broad spectrum protection.
Babies should be sheltered from the sun as much as possible. However when this isn't possible or for people with sensitive skin, our natural baby sunscreens are the best options for babies. As with any product, if you feel that you or your baby may be allergy-prone then we recommend that you do a patch test before general use.
SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. SPF numbers are an approximate indication of how much protection from the sun the product will provide for your skin. Skin starts to burn after 5 to 10 minutes in the sun. Sunscreen extends that time by a multiple of the SPF e.g if we use an average time of 8 minutes to burn without sunscreen then:
SPF30 sunscreens will protect for 30 x 8 minutes or 240 minutes (4 hours)
SPF15 sunscreens will protect for 15 x 8 minutes or 120 minutes (2 hours)
It is also important to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or after towelling dry or excessive sweating. This will not prolong the amount of time you can stay in the sun but will ensure the effectiveness of your sunscreen for the remaining time that your sunscreen provides protection.
It is important to apply your sunscreen 20-30 minutes before going out in the sun. This allows the sunscreen to reach each layer of the skin and provides maximum protection. Sunscreen should be applied evenly and liberally to ensure all exposed areas are protected.
View our range of sunscreens from ECO Organic, Simple As That, Soleo, Wotnot and UV Natural.
]]>Here are 5 things you can do to help your body bounce back to its pre party self:
1. Bye baddies - Not wanting to state the obvious but you need to cut out all alcohol, coffee and sugar foods to get your kick start. Don’t feel sorry for that half bottle of wine that may still be in the back of your mind - bin it. If you can’t totally let go of the coffee, I understand. Try a caffeine free coffee alternative. Of course it’s not the same but it comes pretty damn close!
Same goes for those sugary snacks that you may well possibly have a surplus of. It may be best to throw away opened packets of chocolates or treats, as it could get tempting during your health kick start to just ‘have a taste’. As the saying goes ‘It’s easier to avoid temptation than to resist it!’. Once you’re over the detox period try a healthy chocolate alternative such as dark chocolate or even some chocolate covered goji berries!
2. An oldie but a goodie - Drink water, water water! It’s something that we all know but sometimes get a little bit lazy. I find that if I have a 2.2L water bottle handy full of water I just keep drinking, mostly even without realising! For an average adult, drinking at least 8-10 glasses per day is ideal.
Want to step it up a notch? Mix some apple cider vinegar + honey in with your water or if you’re not a huge fan of the taste, take a shot glass of water infused ACV+honey in the morning and before bed. If you're time poor and want to have a go-to bottle to take out with you, Bragg have pre-made ACV + honey drinks which you can buy here.
3. Exercise - Not only is exercise great for our physical health but it also does wonders to our mental health. For some, it may be the thing that keeps you motivated to keep the other 4 steps in place. Exercise during a detox is like what honey is to a bee. They just stick together and are a perfect match. If you can, try and get at least half an hour of exercise in per day.
4. Raw foods - Unless you went to a health retreat for the ‘Christmas Parties’ period then I’m sure some processed meats or foods were on the menu and not many foods in their natural form. Try to eat as many raw food as you can and avoid anything processed during your kick start to health. Sprinkle chia seeds onto your daily salad and have a handful of almonds or pepitas by your side as a go-to snack for those difficult craving moments. The enzymes that raw foods have will boost your digestion and generally make you feel a whole lot better!
5. Get your snoring on & sleep 8-10 hours per night. Gone are the late nights of the New Years Eve and Christmas parties. Sleeping heals our body and allows all of the other steps to work to their best ability. In simple terms, sleeping more makes you eat less and no, it’s not because you have less ‘awake time’ to eat. It’s because sleep and metabolism
are controlled by the same part of our brain. If you’re feeling sleepy, certain hormones go up in your blood and those same hormones drive appetite. So get yourself some proper pillow time!
Use the 5 steps above to give yourself a kick start to health and try to maintain these steps for 7-10 days. After this you will find it easier to get yourself back into your own habits and your own daily healthy routines.
We wish you only good health and a fabulous 2018! Have a very Happy New Year!
]]>Himalayan salt contains the minerals that are necessary for your health, including macrominerals and trace minerals. The macrominerals are needed in relative abundance and include calcium, chloride, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium.
Our Himalayan Pink Salt is pure and unrefined. Ideal to use in cooking to enhance flavour and to season.
Just some of the health benefits that are commonly known about Himalayan Pink Salt:
Himalayan salt has the ability to promote a healthy pH balance in your cells, prevent muscle cramps and also improve vascular health!
Drink a full glass of water (room temperature) to hydrate your body and fill your tub with hot / warm water. Keep the temperature of the water as hot as you can tolerate. Pour approx. 400 - 500g of Himalayan salt into the hot water and dissolve with the help of a cooking spoon. Relax in the bath for about 25 - 30 minutes and repeat once a week if time allows. During your hot bath keep a glass of water handy and never add more hot water once you enter into the tub. Relax and enjoy! Remember when finished towel dry without showering.
For additional enjoyment, sprinkle a few drops of you favourite essential oil into the hot water for the ultimate five-star spa experience!
Purchase online and save :
]]>Yes, there are times we don't mind getting ourselves dirty, running for a good cause is one of them. However, there is also 'the time of the month' when we most definitely want to stay clean, feel comfortable with ourself and most importantly, know what we are putting on (or into) our body.
So let's get straight to it; The conventional sanitary pads and tampons are made of petroleum-based plastic, synthetic fibres, and chlorine bleached wood pulp that release toxic dioxins. This leads to various allergies, causing reproductive, developmental, and immunity related problems.
The infamous Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) may occur due to the use of conventional tampons. It is a rare bacterial infection that gives rise to risk factors like wounds and surgery.
Synthetic fibres that make up modern sanitary products induce a warm and damp microclimate in the nether area which increases the risk of irritation, vaginitis and soreness.
The benefits of using organic products are many. First off, organic hygiene products are made up of 100% organic cotton and are free of chemical additives, chlorine, plastic, synthetic materials, fragrance chemicals, or dyes. Being sourced from plant materials they are devoid of polyacrylate, polypropylene and polyethylene and thus, are biodegradable and compostable. Their production and disposal do not release any harsh chemicals. The oxygen bleaching process employed to purify organic cotton is very safe for the environment.
Natural organic pads and tampons are made of totally chlorine-free fluffed wood cellulose, corn starch from GMO-free corn and 100% pure organic cotton. Additionally, they do not contain any trace of pesticides which are extremely harmful to the body.
Competitively Priced
Organic pads and tampons are competitively priced and prove economical in the long run. Plus, you save tons of money on numerous possible health issues that are evaded by this safer and healthier alternative.
Australian Organic Products + More offers the ranges of the two most popular brands:
Natracare and TOM, now both these brands use organic cotton and get a thumbs up from us!
Perfect for sensitive skin
Organic cotton products are softer and allow adequate airflow that help reduce the risk of thrush and other similar irritations. It is also highly recommended for people with sensitive skin.
Thankfully, due to increased awareness, many people are now switching to greener and healthier options including women’s hygiene products. Organic products are available on Australian Organic Products that stocks tampons, pads, and liners from a variety of brands.
]]>That’s why we’ve curated a list of our favourite tried and true apps for you to try.
1. Happify Freemium.
Full membership is priced between $7.49/month for a year membership and $17.99/month for month by month membership. This app has been around for a few years now and has over a million users worldwide.
Built on the science of happiness, it offers activities and games designed by experts, meant to teach and reinforce the habits necessary to become happier. While the premium version of this app is fairly expensive, the free version is robust enough that you might never feel the need to upgrade.
Available on iOS and Android devices.
2. Smiling Mind Free
Smiling Mind is all about “modern meditation”. This Australian not-for-profit provides a free web and app-based program for learning lifelong tools based in mindfulness meditation. The Smiling Mind app is specifically designed for young people and is developed by a team of psychologists with expertise in youth and adolescent therapy. However, their adult program is also hugely popular. The app is available on iOS and Android devices and offers four separate programs for users aged seven to 11, 12 to 15, 16 to 22, and adults. Smiling Mind has also recently teamed up with Beyond Blue to produce Mind The Bump, a free mindfulness meditation app for expectant parents.
3. RunKeeper Freemium.
Full membership is priced at $14.99/month or $62.99/year. RunKeeper is a classic in the world of fitness tracking apps. This app started as a simple tool for users to track their runs and map improvement, however, over the years it has grown to become a powerful fitness tool. The app now has the capacity to track thirteen different activities, set and track goals, join challenges, and access training plans. The full membership offers even more powerful coaching and greater insights into your progress, as well as access to premium training plans, however, the free version offers enough features to keep most runners happy. Available on iOS and Android devices.
4. Couch to 5K
$2.99 on iOS $2.81 on Android There are a huge number of couch to 5k running apps available, however, this app from active.com is consistently the most popular. The app is specifically designed for beginner runners, and the program aims to get you running your first 5k within 9 weeks. Available on iOS and Android devices.
]]>Pamper your mum with life’s everyday luxuries by creating your own gift basket filled with items you know she’ll love. If you’re looking for ideas, pick from this selection of great organic products: Clipper Strawberry Green Tea on sale for $4.99, Clipper Wild Berry Infusion Tea on sale for $4.89, Rosehip Plus Hydrating Organic Day Cream $19.48, Andalou Naturals Organic Rose Water Mask $16.48, Avalon Organics Vitamin C Rejuvenating Moisturiser $27.49, Acure Cell Stimulating Organic Face Mask $24.48
NB: We seek to ensure that your products are delivered from dispatch within 2-6 days depending on your location.
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