January 2024 Edition

A monthly prompt for you to get curious with yourself, and offer five tips each month on Mindfulness, Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep and Relationships. The MENS r.

The content is put out in the “Middle” of the month, to focus us on our “Midlife” journey. 5 inter-linking areas. Miss one, and it impacts on the others.

Mindfulness - Morning Light

This morning... have you got up, and ended up peering into your laptop / screen without having any morning light exposure?

There's growing evidence that your body clock needs to be filled with good quality, morning light.

For me, come rain or shine, it's always a morning walk. Often with a podcast. Therefore I get light, learning, and lean ??.

Morning light exposure further increases cortisol and adrenaline. Serotonin is also increased - this is the feel good hormone in the body, and will help improve your mood.

But it does need to be "outside", and not through a window. The recommendations are Sunny days - 10 minutes?- Cloudy days - 20 minutes- Very overcast days - 30 minutes.

Energy - Saunas and Heat

Saunas are no longer just for Scandinavians. The wild-swim ponds near me have a "hot box" in a converted horse box! You warm up in the sauna, plunge into the cold water and repeat.

Hot and cold therapy has a fantastic traditional, cultural tradition, and is growing popularity AND evidence... ?This article?by Emma Kelly – from the author of the book "Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat"?– outlines the health benefits.

If you are not near a beach, or pond with a horse box, you can DIY the solution with a sauna blanket and cold shower.

Nutrition - Gut Health. Not to be ignored!

Would you like to Feel better? Think better? Perform better?

?It's all in the gut...

Understanding WHY your gut can have a link between mental health and many other health outcomes.

I met up with Dana Chapman, Nutritional Therapist. Dana explains how what we eat influences how we live, think and thrive. Dana states that feeling low or having sub optimal health is not normal, and you shouldn't accept it.

From personal experience, respecting my gut more, and also working on a food window, it helped (I think!) get to my lightest weight in 2023 for 30 years.

Time to grab a healthy brew, or put a reminder in your diary to listen on Spotify, or watch on YouTube and learn how to give your gut some good stuff.

Sleep - Watch those lights!?

Could your lights and the screens in your house be compromising your sleep?

Late exposure to bright lights is one of the most common issues affecting sleep quality, a fact also associated with the widespread use of light-emitting screens (phone, tablet, laptop, TV).

Light, especially the light from small screens, has been found to negatively impact sleep quality, by acting as way to suppress melantonin. ?Melatonin is a hormone which the body secretes in preparation for sleep. Mess with it, and it interferes with your internal biological clock by disrupting your circadian rhythm, which causes you to stay awake even if you would otherwise prefer to sleep.

Therefore:

• Avoid screens (minimum an hour before bed)
• Turn off overhead bright lights in the hour before bed
• Dim lights where possible
• Consider blue light glasses, or devices

Relationships - your Circle of trust

This is a great exercise to see how you spend your time, and prioritise your relatonships.

Draw 3 circles.

The first one, a bigger circle are what you can call "Acquaintances". People you know, or spend time with, out of necessity.

The second one, a smaller circle, are friends, or even family. People you tend to spend more time with, but may not be your inner circle. Your closest confidants. Who is in that?

Finally, your smallest circle. Your circle of trust. The people that, no matter what, would be there for you in your time of need. You ask "Can you....?" and they say "Yes". Who is and should be in that?

Now look to see where and who you are spending time with. And nurturing. Focus your time, gratitude and attention on your circle of trust. And consider who is in the wrong circle. And, most importantly, take action.

Thought for the Month:

It is still the start of 2024. It might have started well, or, you might not have sprung out of the traps in full sprint mode. But it might not all be about you this year.

As Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations, an act for another isn’t to the detriment of your own self-interest.

“Have I done something for the common good? Then I share in the benefits.”

Please comment, or share, I welcome any perspectives, good, bad or different.? Feedback is a gift. And remember, ?? One Life, Love Life, Living Life.??