We Spring Clean our houses around this time of year right, so why not give our wellness a little boost too?
1. Do Some Life Laundry
What can you cut out of our life to lower your stress levels? If you are volunteering your time at a local school or charity, does it fill your soul with joy or drain your already limited resources? Studies have shown that, if it’s the latter, it can be damaging to health, so maybe it’s time for a change.
Create a support system of friends, family, child minders etc so that you can outsource duties which are draining your health, time and energy.
2. Get outside
The air in our homes can be up to 5 times more polluted that the air outside, so
taking time to breathe in a green space can really help cleanse your body.
3. Brush away your caffeine habit
Caffeine gets us going on that stress/sugar roller coaster from the get go, which can lead to weight gain, mood swings and sleeplessness.
Instead of your morning coffee fix, try dry brushing your skin after a shower:
this stimulates the lymphatic system, and is so invigorating that you will feel wide awake without the need for a caffeine kick start.
4. Get Chemical Free
Synthetic chemicals found in toiletries, household cleaning products and food can seriously block your metabolism and may lead to weight gain and other health issues. Cutting out or even just reducing these toxins from your life can help remove hormone disrupting chemicals, so that you feel cleaner, more energetic and healthier. This is especially important for women, who are exposed to 168 unique toxins each day in their personal care products alone. (Roughly twice the exposure of men.) Read the labels on toiletry products and cosmetics, and avoid anything which contains parabens, phthalates, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Organic is the way to go where budget allows.
5. How’s Your Sleep Hygiene?
Sleep deprivation can cause weight gain of around 2 pounds a week, and devices such as tablets, smartphones and laptops could be seriously messing up your
shut-eye time by disrupting sleep-inducing melatonin levels. Steer clear of blue screens at least 2 hours before going to bed. If you really can’t resist devices in the evening, then have a look at some of the apps available for reducing blue light emissions. If you wear glasses, you can also get special filters to do the same – ask your optician for details.
6. Have A Clear Out
Clear the cupboards, fridge and freezer of everything which is sabotaging your health – alcohol, crisps, biscuits, fizzy drinks…. Fill them instead with health enhancing foods – lots of colourful fruit and veg, hummus, cold water fish, organic poultry and eggs where possible, nuts and seeds, olive and coconut oil, herbal teas and unsweetened almond milk.
7. Move Your Body
Try something new like Pilates or dance, get together with friends for a country ramble, or try an online workout. Why not check out my new online programme ‘Pilates for peri-menopause (& beyond)’ starting soon? Click here for more info.
8. Free Your Mind And The Rest Will Follow
Are you a worrier? If so, write down your negative thoughts in a journal, and then write positive counterstatements for each, eg ‘I’m worried that I’m not good enough at my job’ and then ‘I know I gave great customer service to a client last week.’ Also, at the end of each day, write down things you know went well or things you feel grateful for in your life. These strategies, done repeatedly, can help to detox the mind and lead to a greater sense of happiness and peace.
