Feel Good, Live Better......

Friday 10 August 2012

Sleep...

....we all need it, to rest and recuperate and nurture our minds and bodies but there are sometimes in life, like becoming a parent or dealing with stress, when getting enough sleep is hard task to achieve and quality of sleep is just as important too!

I never realised how much I valued sleep before I had a baby, infact my number one tip to first time pregnant mums is sleep as much as you can and never feel guilty about sleeping whenever your child does.

We all tend to underestimate how important sleep is for our state of mind too. We are all much better equipped to deal with difficult situations, trauma and decision making as well as many other important issues in life when we are rested. When we get enough quality sleep our anxiety levels lower, we look better, and our immune system works better - all great things to help us get on with whatever life is throwing at us, I can not stress too much how important sleep is for our well being and mental health, so how do we make sure we get some?

1. Make a plan
It may seem silly but actually planning a good bedtime routine will help you to get into good bedtime habits. For example you may decided to take a shower at 8, PJ's on after, hot drink by 9 (decaffeinated of course!), into bed and read for 15 minutes and lights out by 9.30, something similar that suits your lifestyle bearing in mind you are aiming for a reasonable bedtime.

2. Talk to friends and family
There are two points here, firstly if the rest of the people in your house are not helping to make bedtime harmonious then have a group talk with everyone who is old enough to join in, if your partner is not coming to bed until late and that is also keeping you up then have a chat about bedtime styles and see if you can meet in the middle.

Secondly ask everyone you know what they find helpful to aid them into sleep. You could send round an email or tweet/ Facebook people tips and ideas, my best sleep aid is reading for 15 minutes before bed and Badger Balm http://www.badgerbalm.com/c-31-sleep-balm.aspx - try it, works wonders for adults and children alike!

3. Work out how much sleep you actually need
The National Institute of Health states that an average adult needs 7.5-9 hours of sleep each night. We sleep in 90 minutes sleep cycles thought out the night which continues to repeat itself over and over until you wake up. These cycles have different stages to and the more time you spend in the deep sleep stage the better as this helps towards your body actually getting rest and being able repair and take care of itself.

4. Tackle those night time demons
I'm not talking nightmares although if this is a problem for you then this is something to deal with as well, talking to your GP maybe a good place to start. What else is disrupting your peaceful slumber? Outside noise, inside noise? Light, uncomfortable mattress, scratchy bed clothes? Write down all those bug bears and start to eliminate them, think creatively about solving the problem. If you are a parent and it's little people that are keeping you awake try to make an agreement with your partner about sharing the nighttime wakes and have a look at some of the various self soothing techniques you can read up on in parenting books/magazines I like Jo Frost's aka Supernanny's ideas http://www.supernanny.co.uk/  You could also ask other parents what has worked well for them.

5. Change your get up time
Another way to ensure quality sleep and that getting enough is to change the time you get up, previously I talked about us all sleeping in 90 minute sleep cycles and waking up at the end of one of these cycles will leave you feeling more refreshed and awake, rather than having a get up time half way through one, so if you can change the time you set your alarm, if you go to bed at 10pm then set your alarm for 7am, this time frame will fit in many multiples of 90 minutes, if you go to bed at 11, set your alarm for 6.30 or 8, you get the idea!

So here we have a few ideas on where you can start to makes some positive changes, if you feel that your sleep problem is more serious than just making some of the changes mentioned here it really is worth getting some proper support, talking to a professional about any issues you are having can help you to get the much need sleep you need, again your GP is a great place to start wether its a problem with discomfort or something like stress induced insomnia. If you fancy trying something different you can look in to aromatherapy, reiki or acupuncture to help.

If you want to learn more about sleep cycles and information here go to http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

Sometime a bad nights sleep is down to a one off occurrence, if you find your self short of sleep and want to hide the evidence check out beauty whizz Mrs Jones's tips and ideas on the best beauty buys for tired eyes, she recommends some great products to try out as well as some DIY ideas! (Her blog is rather fabulous too!). http://www.keepingupwithejoneses.com/2012/08/top-tips-for-tired-eyes.html

What are your sleepy time top tips? Night, night and sweet dreams!

Feel Good, Live Better......

Wednesday 8 August 2012

..... 20 minutes for 20 days!

I have decided to be brave and post about my exercise intentions! This way by going public I am hoping I will stick to it!

Since having an operation last week I am limited at the moment when it comes to keeping fit, I am almost back to my old self but still waiting for stitches to go and I know I have to still take it easy for a bit before I can start doing any thing vigorous.

Feeling a bit frustrated by my limitations but wanting do something I have come up with 20 minutes for 20 days, my intention is to walk for at least 20 minutes over a period of 20 days (although they won't be consecutive as myself and the OH have a child free weekend to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks!).

Day 1 is tomorrow and I hope to finish on September 1st as this marks the first of many weddings I am attending over the next year and I want to look even better as each one comes along! With a four day break in the middle this, by my calculation adds up to around 20 days!

So I am intending to report on my progress, my ups and my downs and hopefully achieve my goal by the end of it! Wish me luck!!



Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 21

Monday 6 August 2012

"Don't ever forget that you're a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you do everyday. Civility, respect, kindness, character." - Aaron Sorkin

Treats for the patient!
Well last week it was my turn to be in hospital, it wasn't anything to worry about though, I wasn't ill, I was just having a pre-scheduled op that is hopefully going to make a big difference to our life and future! I am still so touched by all the kind support and well wishes I received from family, friends and people I know,  as well as others who I have come to be friendly with from blogging and using twitter. All these people's kindness and thoughtfulness is overwhelming and so powerful too. Just knowing that others were routing for a good outcome for me gives me strength to keep fighting and moving forward.

With this in mind I started to think about what would happen if everyone took the time to pass on some love and cheer to others in their time of need, not just family or friends but someone they don't really know or usually talk to, someone who may be having a bad day or going through a difficult time? We don't really know them so we don't really get involved, but what if we just said a simple "Hello, how are things?" Or "Hey, feel better soon!" Any words or kindness or encouragement can have the influence to lift someone's day or turn their mood around, we have power at are fingertips, quite literally in the online community.

I have been reading so many accounts lately about nasty comments being made, unhelpful remarks and just plain spiteful interaction towards others and what astounds me even more is a lot of this hate is directed towards people they don't even know! It seems that people feel they have the right to bully others and then don't give a second thought to the consequences of their actions. It happens at work, at home and in public and now people are also using social media as a platform to behave like insensitive and mean spirited individuals. I'm left wondering about how society has gotten to this place?

Life can be so much easier, inspiring and uplifting if we portray compassion and kindness, these are great qualities in anyone and we carry you way ahead of the others, so who's life are you going to add sparkle to today?

Dreaming big for my little Olympian....

Wednesday 1 August 2012

I hadn't intended to write anything on the Olympics at alI, I am whole heartedly behind them, loved the opening ceremony and have tried to catch as much of it as I can over the last couple of days but never really felt compelled to include them in a post on my blog, that was until today.

As I sat and watched the first gold medals for Team GB being won by Helen Glover and Heather Stanning I felt an overwhelming rush of emotion, my eyes welled up with tears and I could help but be in complete awe of the accomplishment these women had made, to me they were brave, talented, amazing women who deserved their well earned moment of glory. I felt like I could burst with pride, happiness and excitement for them and I didn't even know them, I can't imagine how their family and friends must feel right now!

But there was also another overwhelming feeling or rather desire I had when watching them, and it was for my daughter to see these two truly inspiring women achieve their dream after days, months and years of hard work, focus and belief in themselves. To me they represented everything I want to teach my daughter about being a woman and living her life, it was there on the television being played out before my eyes and I wanted to show her and say "look, aren't they great, they believed in themselves, never gave up and have lived their dream and you can have all that too!"

Unfortunately my darling daughter is only 22 months old and was fast asleep in her cot when these two brilliant athletes rowed into victory and she certainly doesn't even know or understand that our country is hosting such awesome sporting event, but one day I hope to instilled into her some of the determination and spirit that we see in all our Olympic contenders.

I sure she will have some great sporting champions to look up to when she is older but I want to be a champion of Olympic proportion in her eyes too, remembering to believe in myself and show courage and determination to be all I can be is important too, I am already so aware of my influence on her and I want to do her proud! Who knows, with all the love and encouragement I hope to give her maybe I will be watching her win a gold medal one day........!