Listen to your body

WARNING SIGNALS

Our bodies are finely tuned machines that are working 24/7 to retain homeostasis. In order to remain in an optimum state for functioning at our best, we have to take good care of ourselves through quality nutrition and regular rest. We need to listen carefully to our bodies, because sometimes, the signals are being sent and we're not aware, because we're not listening.

Our body has to adjust to certain states that we put ourselves through. Our conditions are constantly being measured and assessed through our central nervous system. Our nerve receptors pick up information relayed from our five senses to determine how our body systems are functioning within our environment and our brains interpret these signals to then motivate us to act appropriately. This is how we know if we are getting damaged - because we feel pain - which are the brain's warning signals. And this is how we know to avoid doing whatever it is that is causing the pain receptors to fire off these warning signals. Being constantly exposed to stressful situations, or by not getting enough sleep, rest or good nutrition, we may be so exhausted and therefore missing these important signals. Over time we may even become entirely de-sensitised to them and we later wonder why our looks and functionality have deteriorated so much.

Working at a tough level of intensity over long periods could set our pain thresholds at higher peaks and change our acceptable non-harmful state. This is how injuries creep up on us. This is also why it's important to have regular breaks throughout the day, relaxing evenings, weekends and planned holidays. It's in these moments, we can then use meditation, breathing techniques or yoga practise to help us identify these potential areas which are giving off warning signals. If we listen and act upon these signals, the chances of having any lasting damage done to our bodies will be greatly reduced.

Burning The Candle

MAKING TIME FOR REST

It's always amazing how much energy we seem to have when the sun is out. It seems like the whole summer has been one big party. There's been a lot of late nights and missed sleep, yet, even with some early morning starts at work, it's all been ok. 

When the sun is shining, the tired eyes fade pretty quickly and with a bit of a tan, the bags don't even show. But, ultimately, if we burn the candle at both ends, the lack of sleep will catch up with us in the end. This is why we really need to to factor in our much needed rest times.

Siesta Time

Our Mediterranean cousins, who have plenty of sun, seem to cope pretty well with the late nights, but they fortunately get their siesta time in the afternoon to make up for any missed rest. 

If we're to continue functioning well on less sleep at night, I reckon we need to adapt to this Mediterranean way of living in the UK, especially during the summer months.

An afternoon nap is definitely on the cards for me today as I'm starting to feel the consequences of missing my 8 hours a night. As and when I get the chance, I'll be aiming to maximise on this nap routine over coming weeks, as we prepare for the darker, colder autumn days where the magical healing power of the sunshine will be in decreasingly shorter supply. 

Push through

BEING ACTIVE

Sometimes, when you've been constantly on the go. relaxing and sitting around can be just what you need. A break away from the routine can really help to recharge the batteries. However, having too many lazy days can also have a negative effect on your energy levels, as I found when chilling this weekend. 

On a down day, I like to read, listen to music and veg out like the best of us. But to kick the day off, it's always great to do a bit of stretching, breathing and light movement. You can make your own little routine or I like to do some yoga moves. There's a great app called Yoga Studio which gives you the option of a full yoga workout or just a quick 10 minute stretch session and all right there in your pocket! So this morning, I woke early, went for a brisk walk around the deserted town and returned as the sun was breaking through dark clouds, signalling another glorious day. I then did a 12 minute sun salutation yoga warm-up routine with my partner before taking a light breakfast.

The thing is, I'd not had a particularly great night's sleep, was not feeling all that rested, plus feeling a bit stiff from the week and hadn't really wanted to leave the warm confines of the bedroom today. Those damned negative voices once again...But I'm so glad I got myself up and pushed through rather than snooze for another hour, choosing to ignore the lazy voice and get some fresh air, sunshine in my face and energy flowing through my veins. I now feel so much more alive as a consequence and it's another reminder to always 'push through' - get up early and embrace the day.

Food Science

The diet's still going really well. I've been watching a really good 3 part BBC Horizon documentary this morning about people struggling with their diet. It's been really interesting to see how overweight people are affected by food in various different ways. I reckon, if I wasn't as active, body conscious and self-educated about food - I'd likely be overweight too because I'm a 'Feaster'. Luckily, I am aware of what I eat and sticking to the 30 day Paleo diet for another two weeks yet. If only more people were more savvy about food. This great series from the BBC should help educate many many more people about what factors affect their weight and ultimately, their health - so well-worth a watch.

Sleep On It

CREATIVE DREAMS

Sometimes the best ideas come to us while we are sleeping. It's true. Try it the next time you've got something tricky that you need a creative solution for. Works every time for me. In my line of work (graphic design), I have to constantly work out solutions to creative challenges. Sometimes, the answers just aren't coming to me easily, so rather than keep staring at the screen/notes/doodles, I'll stick it up on the walk and walk away. The answer may come while I'm riding my bike home, picking up some shopping or going for a walk. It's usually when I'm doing something where my conscious creative brain is switched 'off'. This doesn't mean my mind is not working on finding the answers, it's just doing the work to find answers in the background.

More often than not, the best ideas will come to us in the morning. I'll wake up after a good night's sleep - return to the doodles/notes/screen and see straight away if the ideas were worth working on in the first place. I'll be able to clearly see if the best course is for starting again and usually, if a new angle is required, something good will 'pop' into my head and I'll be on my way to getting the job done. It's both strange and amazing how this works!

Sleep Is Key
Switching your brain off - finding silence and allowing inspiration to flow, is key to getting the most creative ideas. I always try and shut myself off in a quiet room during the day (difficult in an open plan office, but hey) and block out the noise with some headphones. The 5am mornings have been the most beneficial for having true silence and solitude. A lot of my best thinking has been done early in the morning. You can use sleep as a problem/solution finder for pretty much every situation. Just lay down and give a few moments before going to sleep - take some deep breaths and focus on the thing you want to solve for a few moments. Then tell yourself all will be resolved in the morning and push these thoughts out of your mind (I visualise closing a door) before falling to sleep.

A good example is what happened to me yesterday. I'd misplaced my car keys from a week ago. We live in a fairly small apartment and there aren't many places these keys could be. I have a routine for putting all keys and coins, wallet and phone in the same place every day and there's a pot for anything else. However, the keys were nowhere to be found. I checked all pockets and bags and racked my mind back to the previous weekend when I had the keys to remember what I was wearing and track my movements. For some reason, I had a though of 'black' being next to them - so I checked my black trainers, to see if they've fallen in, checked my black satchel and still no joy. I was starting to think I'd dropped them...so I decided to sleep on it. This morning I woke, opened the dresser on autopilot, lifted up my black leather gloves and there were the keys! I'd removed my gloves from my pocket to put away in the dresser and my keys had obviously been entwined in some way.

Next time you are stressing yourself about something, make a mental note of it and before going to sleep - have a few moments to think, write it down so it's clear from the conscious mind and see what happens in the morning.