If you won’t look after me, who will?

A question to ask yourself.

Sometimes we feel good at work. Sometimes we feel awful. It’s the natural ebb and flow of life, and that’s okay.

But we can feel good more often than we do currently, and looking after ourselves will help us achieve that. This is my first of a series of blog posts aimed at inspiring you to try some techniques and suggestions for better workplace wellbeing.

TL;DR: be more dog.

It’s 7am, the alarm goes off. I roll over, unplug my phone from the charger, right next to my bed. Check Whatsapp and Instagram. Brush my teeth, phone close by (you know — incase anyone needs me) shower, dress. Grab a coffee. 7.31 — quick — time to leave or I’ll miss the train. A long train ride, lots of Whatsapp messages, people in their holiday pics, someone pouting, a cute meme, friendly faces, moody faces, some food, upset clients, happy clients, a tea, a stiff back, a yawn, an hour on the train, and I’m home. Dinner, TV, phone close by, shower, teeth, phone close by, goodnight.

Scan forward 70 years, where did the time go!?

If this is familiar to you, then you’re like me and many millions of others who could benefit from some experiencing more depth and joy in your day to day life.

“Life isn’t short. It’s the longest thing you’ll ever do.”

We all know these things, deep down, but why don’t we make the changes we know would benefit us hugely? Often, without realising it, we think it’s everyone else’s job to look after us. We wait for the alarm to tell us when to wake up, we wait for the time of day to tell us when to eat, we wait for a brief to tell us what to work on.

Well, here’s the brief for your wellbeing.

SLEEP

[Sciencey bits from “Why We Sleep” — Matthew Walker]

• How many is enough hours? The myth that some people can survive on few is out, and Churchill and Thatcher, who would pride themselves on getting a few hours a night, ended up developing dementia and dying of a stroke. I’m not saying they caused this themselves, but the science is there: sleep helps to prevent a whole host of serious and often fatal diseases, not to mention its impact on your quality of life. 8 hours of sleep is ideal for most, but listen to your body. 8 hours of sleep opportunity doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been out for all of those hours, so pay attention to what your body is telling you. Do you wake up feeling refreshed?
• Drinking alcohol affects the quality of your sleep. It tricks your brain into thinking it’s already made the special “go to sleep” hormone (which is why you feel sleepy after that glass of wine), so your brain doesn’t make any of the real stuff. Then, when the alcohol wears off, you don’t have that good “I knew I wanted to be asleep right now” hormone, and you either wake up, or have a reduced quality of sleep.
• Caffeine also affects your sleep, as we all know. It shuts off that hormone that says “I’m tired now” so that you feel you can keep going. Problem is, it doesn’t get rid of the tiredness. It just acts as a dam, and the longer you keep it up, the more water (tiredness) floods through when it eventually opens (wears off).
• When dolphins sleep, they can do so with half of their brain at a time. This is so they can still breathe, and stay somewhat aware for safety reasons. Humans don’t have this ability to quite the same degree, but studies show we do keep parts of our brains alert in new settings or situations where we feel uneasy. Problem is, with modern day stresses, we perceive danger everywhere (work deadlines, bills, even pressures from social media) so some of us don’t get the level of depth and refreshment from our sleep, even if we get enough hours.
• Not every hour of the night is equal: You have the most REM sleep earliest in the morning. For example, it’s possible you’ll get 80% of your REM sleep in the last 20% of an 8 hour window. That means if you get 6 hours of sleep instead of 8, you’re not just missing 25% total sleep, you could be missing the vast majority of REM sleep, the memory managing, emotion processing, health giving, beauty restoring, energising REM sleep! (This is why naps don’t make up for sleep loss — they’re good, but they’re not REM sleep good)

EAT RIGHT

[Sciencey bits from “Reframing Depression” — Dr. Steve Ilardi]

• The balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6 in your body is important, and we tend to get a lot of Omega 6 without trying as hard. Cut back on vegetable oils and fast food to reduce Omega 6 intake. Flax Oil is a great source of Omega 3, as well as fish or supplements if you diet doesn’t permit animal products
• B9, B6 and B12 and all the B vitamins help your brain function, from sleep to focus to mood regulation. Eat enough fresh meat, fish, eggs, milk and leafy greens to get enough. If you’re vegan, or even veggie, it’s likely you’d benefit from a supplement (a liquid spray is my fave).
• Zinc and Magnesium are thought to help regulate mood, so don’t neglect beans and lentils
• Sugar is a major one to watch out for: it causes inflammation which is bad for the brains regulation of mood and focus, and is super addictive.

CONNECT

• Whether with friends, nature or yourself, take time in your day specifically to connect. Some ideas include:
• Don’t eat lunch at your desk
• Have a chat with the person serving your food, or speak to someone by the microwave at work
• Stop to notice things: if you’re queuing for food or waiting for it to cook, use that time to notice what’s going on around you and inside you — how are you feeling?
• Ask other people questions, and really listen
• Ask yourself questions, and really listen — for example, ask yourself “What do I need right now” [Spoiler: the answer is usually comes back to sleep, food, connection, movement, nature or a break!]