Guide to wellbeing
The Caritas clinic Guide to wellbeing will help keep you physically and mentally ready for the challenges of modern day life. See below for our easy to follow common sense guide.
The value of sleep
We all know that a good night’s sleep is often the best possible way to cope with everyday stress, problem solving and to recuperate from an illness.
Research has shown that during NREM (non rapid eye movement) or dreamless sleep, the body repairs and regenerates tissue. Muscle and bones are built and the immune system appears to be strengthened. At
this time, the parasympathetic system is more active. It is involved with digestion, sleep, and other activities that occur primarily during sleep cycles. During sleep your body is regenerating from the
stress of daytime activity. Some experts believe that finding ways to get more NREM sleep could reduce the aging process. However, as we get older we get less and less of this precious sleep.
REM (rapid eye movement) or dreaming sleep is thought to act as a psychological safety valve. It helps us through unconscious events and many emotional issues. This could explain why people become forgetful
and confused as dream sleep may help to consolidate memory.
Why the mind should generate such fantastical images is still unknown. Some researchers believe that dreams are random bursts of nerve cell activity in the brainstem and others believe that dreams clearly
relate to the dreamers life and that emotional connections between past and present events can help to resolve issues.
How much sleep do we need?
This decreases with age and depends on the individual. Some researches claim that we need as much as 91/2 – 10 hours of sleep a night or we risk chronically under-functioning. Most experts believe that
7-8 hours a night is adequate for most people but not lees than 6 hours to avoid feeling tired.
How to avoid a bad night’s sleep:
- Avoid large meals and stimulants such as smoking, alcohol and caffeine at least two hours before bedtime
- Don’t nap late in the afternoon
- Make sure the temperature in your bedroom is not too hot or too cold
- If early morning light disturbs you, invest in some heavy, lined curtains or wear a mask
- Keep your bedroom for sleeping, if you can’t sleep and need to read a book or watch TV, go into another room
- Try to keep your mind off any worries, you can’t do anything about them while your in bed and you’ll be able to cope with them better after a good night
- Keep a note pad by your bed, if you have things on your mind, write them down and then deal with them until the morning
- Learn some relaxation techniques like yoga
- Don’t go to bed hungry; try a milky drink, a wholemeal biscuit or a banana which are thought to reduce restlessness
- Try doing some aerobic exercise which reduces stress hormone levels and may promote deeper sleep
- Take a hot bath with some relaxing lavender oil which can have a wonderful calming effect
- Avoid going to bed angry with a partner, family member or friend, sort out your issues before bedtime by talking
- Don’t watch anything on TV that might upset or frighten you
- Avoid any liquids at least two hours before bedtime; this could reduce the risk of waking for the toilet
We all have to cope with a certain amount of stress in our lives, some more than others. A good night’s sleep can sometimes be the best remedy for coping with those daily challenges.
Sleep tight…
Return to the top of the page
The benefits of excercise
There is overwhelming evidence in favour of the benefits of exercise. Regular exercise can;
- Help prevent heart disease
- Improve heart and lung function
- Strengthen muscles, increasing stamina
- Mobilise stiff joints
- Improve circulation thus promoting healthier looking skin
- Reduce the risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer
- Lower cholesterol levels
- Help prevent high blood pressure
- Help weight loss, therefore reducing the risk of diabetes
- Alleviate premenstrual tension
- Strengthen bone & increase bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis
Exercise is also good for the mind, it is natures anti-depressant. It actually increases the body’s ability to produce energy effectively, giving us flexibility and good muscle tone, with an efficient
heart and lungs it can help to create a feeling of wholeness, making us feel energised and ready to deal with life’s difficult demands. Resulting in;
- Reduced anxiety
- Lifted moods
- Increased self-esteem
- Sound sleep
- The ability to cope with stress
- Improved immune function, aiding us to live longer
Get motivated!
Starting a new exercise regime can be difficult and daunting. The less energetic you feel, the less motivated you are. Muscle soreness after a long spate of inactivity can also be off-putting and the
thought of exercise alone can make you feel lethargic.
Finding an activity you enjoy is half the battle and if you do, you will have a better chance of sticking to it. Enjoy yourself, look forward to it and before you know it, this once terrifying prospect
will be part of your weekly routine and you’ll wonder how you coped without it!
Are you afraid of The Gym?
“Oh no, not the gym!” Most of us feel a sense of terror when the gym is mentioned, and if you have had thoughts like “I need to loose some weight before I join a gym” or “I’ll be the fattest there!” your
not alone.
The gym isn’t the be-all and end-all of getting fit and healthy. Gyms and health club memberships can be expensive but there are plenty of alternative options to avoid the anxiety, embarrassment and cost;
- Walking
- Road running
- Dancing
- Climbing
- Cycling
- Home exercise DVD’s
- Rambling
- Swimming
- Home gym
- Fit balls
- Yoga
So get to it, stop making excuses, you do have the time! Do something simple today. Go for a walk, take the kids to the park, this could be the beginning…
Make exercise part of your routine.
Feel good, look good and never look back...
Return to the top of the page
The Power of Positive Emotions
Research has shown that there is strong link between happiness, optimism and good health, increased well-being and the body’s potential to heal itself. Not surprisingly, close, supportive relationships
with friends and family and a good sense of humour can promote positive feelings.
Being able to express yourself and emotions that lie beneath the surface can also contribute to a positive outlook.
Family and friends
The more isolated we are the less healthy we are likely to be. It can be very difficult to lead a healthy emotional life alone. A good network of family and friends are essential for the body’s well-being.
A readiness to seek emotional sustenance through others is a strong element in the body’s healing pattern.
Hope and humour
The ability to laugh and seeking the opportunities to do so, make for a brighter emotional life. People with a sense of humour, suffer less depression, fatigue, tension and anger. Laughter eases muscle
tension, deepens breathing and releases the body’s own natural pain killers (endorphins).
Hope is a component of optimism. It doesn’t have to be unrealistic, or a dream. Hope can mean facing up to a problem and finding a way to resolve it. Research has shown that women with breast cancer,
who could harness their anger and fear, lived longer than those who didn’t.
If you watch a young child develop, you will notice how they hardly ever accept "no" for an answer. Failure does not stop us until we learn that failure means something bad. We then spend the rest of
our life trying to reprogram our mind with clichés about how failure is the foundation of success, do we really believe this? As children we fall, we hurt, we let the feeling go and we take off running
again. As adults we fall, we hurt, and we tell stories about it for the rest of our life to anyone who will listen! Sound familiar?
Look forward, move on and keep smiling...
Return to the top of the page