July Midlife Monthly

This newsletter is a call for you to get curious with yourself, and offer five tips in the middle of each month on Mindfulness, Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep and Relationships.

The five areas are all inter-linked.?Ignore one, and it will have an impact on the other four.?All five need to be constantly worked on.?And, the more focus, the better all five become.

So, let’s go:

Mindfulness & Mindset

The health of our brains is perhaps something we overlook. ?But this is the central operating system of all that we do.?And therefore being intentional about good Brain Health is definitely a good habit.?I worked up a simple pneumonic to remind you of 11 areas of focus:

B - Brain Food

R - Reading

A - Anti Negative Thoughts

I - Inspiration

N - Night Time

H - Happy People

E - Exercise

A - Atmosphere

L - Look after your Head

T - Try New Things

H - Head Outside

And there’s a simple YouTube here: https://youtu.be/zA6V_zhH2i4

Energy

Make your own Power Bars.

I became a bit disillusioned by the number of ingredients in bought items so I went rogue and made my own.?Consisting of 9 simple ingredients, these have been a great way to snack, knowing that what is in the bar is all good.

Message me if you’d like to be a taste tester!

Nutrition

Have you tried fasting? In the last month I was curious to try it out, having listened to the podcast episode with Dr Mindy Pelz on the Diary of the CEO podcast.

She suggests fasting can provide significant health benefits for a variety of health issues, symptoms and conditions.

Fasting works to repair and heal on a cellular level.?From her website, research suggests that it can help conditions like obesity, diabetes, sleep apnea, some types of cancer,?Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, IBS and chronic or autoimmune conditions.?

Have a listen here.

Sleep – Are Power Naps good for us?

In a word… YES, but there are some advisory notes.

A power nap is a short sleep, generally up to 20 minutes in length.?If you have ever been close to falling asleep behind the wheel of a car, you’ll know the benefit of pulling in and taking a quick nap.?Here are some of the benefits you can expect:

·??????Improved alertness and focus

·??????Cognitive enhancements for memory and problem-solving

·??????Reduction of stress

·??????Creativity

·??????Productivity

Here are Salvador Dali’s tips to ensure you nap, but don’t drift into deep sleep:

1.????Sleep sitting upright in an armchair.

2.????Hold a heavy metal key in your hand.

3.????Place a metal plate upside down underneath the hand holding the key.

4.????Allow yourself to drift to sleep. Once this happens, you will drop the keys, which will hit the plate and make a huge CLANG!

5.????Wake up and congratulate yourself on achieving a micro-nap.

Einstein is said to have thrived on power naps.?Here are a few more famous people that liked to Power Nap: 11 Most Surprising Famous People Who Loved To Nap (thecarousel.com)

However, sleep for too long and taking a nap too close to the time when you generally go to be bed could damage your sleep cycle.

Relationships

In the next few weeks, the schools will be breaking up.?For those of you reading with children, there’s added pressure on to manage work, holidays, and being around for the kids.?It’s a time when relationships can become more strained than normal.

Here’s what ChatGPT had to say on how to keep relationships healthy over the school holidays:

1.????Communicate: Clear communication is essential to manage expectations and make plans that suit both partners' preferences and schedules.

2.????Plan Ahead: If partners have different holiday schedules, try to plan activities or trips together in advance to ensure that you can make the most of the time you have.

?3.????Be Flexible: Be open to spontaneous activities and understand that not every moment needs to be planned out. Sometimes the most memorable experiences come from impromptu adventures.

?4.????Set Boundaries: If family gatherings or other commitments are taking up a lot of time, communicate your needs for alone time or time with your partner to avoid feelings of neglect or frustration.

?5.????Use Technology: If you're physically apart, take advantage of technology to stay connected through video calls, messaging, or sharing experiences through photos and videos.

?Finally, a Thought for the Month:

“How you spend your day, is how you spend your life”.

Can I help?

Book in some time?to talk about Private Medical Insurance or taking proactive steps to be better version of you.

Remember. ?? One Life, Love Life, Living Life. ??

See you in August, around the 15th. Feedback welcome, how can this be improved?