Browse Tag: sleep

10 Ways To Implement Self-Care In Your Life

Self-care is often overlooked and pushed aside for more important, more pressing commitments. The truth is that self-care should be a priority. Without it, we cannot function at our optimum and therefore different areas of our life may be detrimentally impacted.

The modern lifestyle is a busy one, with individuals often rushing between commitments, however there are still ways you can implement self-care in your life. Here are ten ways you can add self-care to your routine so that you can maintain your physical, mental and emotional health.

  1. Identify what self-care is to you
    We all have different needs and different ways of unwinding. Identify what self-care is the most effective for you. It may be taking a walk and getting outdoors, or curling up by the fire with a good book. It may be surrounding yourself with good friends, taking a bike ride or soaking in a long, hot bath. Whatever it is, learn to define self-care for you as an individual so that you can better take care of yourself.
  2. Establish a routine
    Once you understand what self-care works for you, add it to your routine. Commit to engaging the activity regularly until it becomes a habit, something that is simply a normal part of your life.
  3. Get regular, good quality sleep
    Establish a sleep routine so that you are getting enough high-quality sleep. Sleep is a critical part of maintaining good health and should not be underestimated. By implementing a sleep routine, you can ensure that you are getting enough rest and are therefore optimally prepared to perform at your best.
  4. Eat a balanced diet
    Diet is an important part of self-care and has a significant impact on your health. Make sure to eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, avoiding soft drink and processed foods.
  5. Exercise regularly
    Exercise if great for physical, mental and emotional health and should be a part of any self-care routine.
  6. Learn to say no
    The ability to establish boundaries can be important to self-care. Rather than simply saying yes to everything until things become unbearable or seemingly impossible, learn to say no when you are busy or feeling under pressure.
  7. Get organised
    A little organisation can go a long way in regard to your self-care. Implementing strategies to be more organised can really help reduce your stress and improve your mental health.
  8. De-clutter your environment
    Get rid of the rubbish and excess goods in your house; a cleaner, less cluttered space is great for your mental health as it will help to reduce stress levels.
  9. Schedule time to yourself
    It can often feel like we are being pulled in a million different directions. Make sure to schedule time for your self-care and don’t allow this to be interrupted.
  10. Take a break
    If things are getting too much, take a break. It might be taking a few days off work, getting a away for the weekend or taking a longer vacation; regardless of the length, sometime simply stepping out of the environment can be great for perspective and self-care.

Why Your Energy Comes in Waves and What to do About It?

To get the most out of yourself, whether it ís at work or during physical exercise, it is crucial to understand how the body’s systems work. Most particularly, it is very important to recognise how the energy systems work and how they help to keep us awake and focussed throughout the day and soundly asleep during the night. Once you understand this, you can create a routine that helps you perform your best at the right times.

The Sleep Wake Cycle

The first thing to acknowledge is the body ís sleep/wake cycle. This is called the circadian rhythm and it is essentially our body clock, which is set by both external cues (called external zeitgebers) and internal ones (called internal pacemakers).

Things like sunlight, the build-up of metabolites in our bodies and even social cues help us to understand when we should be awake and when we should be winding down ready for bed. Shifting your body clock is very difficult as it means that the external cues and internal ones will be out of alignment until your body is able to sync up again ñ this is why jet lag is so painful. This is also why Monday is so painful: after two days of waking up at 12pm, it is very hard to go back to getting up at seven. The unfortunate solution? That is right: stick to the same routine during your weekends!

The Anabolic/Catabolic Cycle

Throughout the day, your body will go through several more smaller cycles. These cause you to fluctuate between an anabolic state and a catabolic state. When we are anabolic, we are calm, relaxed and producing hormones and neurotransmitters that make us feel good. This is also when the body stores fat and builds muscle. When we are catabolic meanwhile, we are burning fat for energy, highly focussed and ready for action. In terms of our evolutionary history ñ catabolic states were the fight or flight states, while anabolic states were our rest and digest states.

When our blood sugar is low or we’re in danger, we go into a catabolic fight or flight mode. When we’ve eaten and when we’re safe and happy, the body takes stock and starts to recover in an anabolic state.

Of course ,we aren’t constantly going through these two extremes but we will always be somewhere on that spectrum ñ either highly focussed, or calm and relaxed. The key is to make sure that we are highly focussed at the right times and calm at the right times. And this is linked to a number of factors. Eating for instance causes an influx of sugar that puts us in an anabolic, restful state. If you’re having a big lunch then, do it at the start of your break so that you have time to rest and digest and literally. Likewise, recognize that you can’t spend your whole day in focussed, alert mode without it taking a toll. Make sure you schedule mini breaks and listen to what your body is telling you.