How To Optimise Your Health This Autumn
As the temperature starts to drop, the nights get longer and the season changes it is important that you take care of your health, both physical and mental.
There are lots of ways to do this, from fitness and relaxation, to boosting your immunity levels and eating healthily. Here we bring together some top tips and suggestions of ways to take care of yourself this autumn.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to both improve your physical and mental health at the same time. It helps to improve your strength, balance and flexibility while also relieving stress, relaxing you and lowering blood pressure. You can practise this at home with many online tutorials available and one particular favourite has been Yoga With Adriene which was recognised by Google as the most searched workout back in 2015. Adriene’s Find What Feels Good Yoga is an online space for practice and growth that provides a wide array of tools that encourage you to be authentic, love yourself, and Find What Feels Good. Joining offers access to over 900 videos including yoga and meditation for all levels.
There are also lots of classes here in Kent and Sussex, which offer the added bonus of you being able to socialise, which of course will also help to boost your mood.
If you’re looking for some yoga with a bit of a twist why not try hot yoga at Hot Yoga South in the Sussex city of Brighton? Also called Bikram yoga, it is a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises in a room heated to 45°C. You may ask why you would want to do it in this heat – but they say it is because yoga is easier when your body is warm. You move better, breathe more efficiently and get all the benefits of yoga, but more intensely. Visit https://bikramyogabrighton.com
Across the border in Kent is Hotpod Yoga in Folkestone. Not only do they heat the room to 37°C, they also focus on your body’s other senses too. The Hotpods glow with a special purple hue, and they say this immersive colouring takes you deeper into your practice – calming the mind, quietening racing thoughts and transporting you a million miles from the outside world. They also work with independent artists from around the globe to curate the perfect, immersive soundscapes that accompany the classes and then added to that they use a blend of bergamot, lavender and orange to not only ensure a beautifully scented environment, but to help unwind the mind and awaken the senses. Visit https://hotpodyoga.com/our-classes/
For those who prefer the outdoors, Yoga Garden in Horsham offer classes in a yurt, surrounded by the beautiful Sussex countryside. Situated in a beautiful wild-flower meadow, within the 3,500-acre re-wilding project on the Knepp Estate, they say you'll find a dedicated haven to practice yoga within nature. Visit https://www.the-yoga-garden.co.uk
Yoga classes are available for people of all abilities. Willow Yoga, in Tonbridge practices Hatha yoga which places special emphasis on controlled breathing and posture. They offer Chair Yoga Classes, tailored to those not able to get up and down from the floor unaided but wanting to keep the body moving and improve overall well-being. This class takes place seated in a yoga chair with some standing poses using the chair for support, focusing on mobility, coordination and improving flexibility and balance to protect joints. Visit https://www.willowyoga.org
Eating healthily
Staying fit and healthy isn’t only about physical activity say bulk.com – it’s also down to what you eat, too. It can feel overwhelming sticking to healthy diets and finding the time to cook when you have a busy schedule over the week, so meal prepping will keep you from spending too much time in the kitchen every night.
They suggest you cook several portions of food for the week at once instead of just making one meal every night – you can usually leave meals in the fridge up to four days, so you can use the opportunity to have your work lunches prepared as well as being able to eat straight after a workout on an evening to ensure you have time to relax. Consider your favourite meals in your diet, and you can even prepare different ingredients separately such as vegetables to prevent you from getting bored of the same food.
To read more top tips from Bulk click here.
Support your immune system
The seasonal shift can leave you more vulnerable to illness if your immune system isn't at its best, particularly with cold, flu and allergy season just around the corner. So, as we enter autumn and the weather becomes cooler, and coughs and colds start to become more common, building immunity for when the weather turns is vital. One important aspect of maintaining a healthy immune system is taking care of our gut health say Bimuno.
Both your mood and immune system's health and efficiency are intimately correlated with the condition of your digestive system. The gut microbiome plays a variety of beneficial tasks, including managing your metabolism, mood, cognition, hunger, digestion, and immunity – with between 70-80% of your immune cells in the gut. Bimuno® Immunity provides 100% of your recommended intake of essential immunity-supporting nutrients: Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, and Zinc.
As supporting a healthy gut-immune response is a multi-factorial process, Bimuno spoke to author and nutritional therapist Eve Kalinik, who suggested five ways to support your gut health:
Eat a colourful, prebiotic-sourced diet. A strong immune system needs a healthy, balanced diet. The essential nutrients for our body are protein, fibre, fat or micronutrients (Vitamins A, C, D) and key minerals such as iron, zinc, etc. Most can be found in various foods; therefore, aim to eat a rainbow of protein, vegetables and fruits daily to help support your immune system. Besides that, prebiotics such as onions, garlic, oat, etc can also support your immune health.
Vitamin supplementation. Whilst a healthy and balanced diet is the most effective way to support your immune health, vitamin supplementation may also be helpful in some cases. For instance, the lack of sunlight during wintertime means our body may require extra vitamin D. Although a small amount can be found in oily fish and fortified foods, many of us may need to add more vitamin D through supplementation.
Stay active. Regular exercise is a key part of maintaining your immune health. In addition, it helps to improve your sleep quality and manage your stress level. To keep your body active during the wintertime, especially with many of us working from home more often, the recommended 150 minutes a week is a great aim, but even 10 minutes of brisk walking daily has major health benefits.
Manage your stress. High cortisol released in chronic stress directly affects how the immune system works. When the body is in constant fight or flight mode, it prioritises survival rather than rest and repair. This stress response restrains your immune system, making fighting infection much harder. Meditation and deep breathing can also help you manage your stress levels.
Sleep soundly. Another way our body restores itself is sleep; only one third of us get the recommended 7-8 hours per night. Studies indicated that some immune system parts become functional while we sleep at night. Try to get natural light exposure during the day to help set your body clock, avoid caffeine after midday, maintain a consistent sleep and wake time, wind down at least half an hour before bed with no blue light from screens and avoid salty, heavy meals in the evening.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Harnessing Stress For Success
Take time out
The ‘Take A Moment’ campaign, based on a collection of eyes closed portraits by photographer, Ray Burmiston, highlighted the importance of ‘simply taking a few seconds every day for our mental health… to pause, breathe, disconnect and then reconnect, so we can find clarity’. Professor Tim Kendall, NHS National Clinical Director for Mental Health for England, says: “At a time when the world is moving even faster, with many of us working harder, trying to deliver tomorrow yesterday, the Take A Moment initiative reminds us to slow down, to step back, to stay still and just be. A simple action that can make such a difference to our collective emotional and mental wellbeing.”
The campaign has become a mental health awareness platform to encourage a conversation and Carla Loveday and Natasha Smith of Tunbridge Wells’ CooperBurnett LLP, started exploring this looking at “how we may all be able to impact our workplace culture so that we are empowered to both bring our whole self to work each day and take good care of ourselves; to take a moment”.
To read about their experiences in the workplace, visit https://www.cooperburnett.com/blog/take-a-moment
It is important to make sure you have some time out for yourself, especially if you are feeling the warning signs of stress. Podcasts are a great way to take your mind away from your day-to-day life and concentrate on something altogether different.
Cass XuXin is a podcast lover who lives in Kent. She moved to the UK from Beijing in 2009 and accidentally became a yoga teacher, hypnotist, voice artist, as well as managing her own business manufacturing musical instruments in China. She made her own podcast, TingBao, during lockdown 2020, an eight-episode narrative music which developed into a sold out live performance at Canterbury Festival 2021.
Here she lists the podcasts that helped her through lockdown and some new finds she listens to everyday now.
Grounded with Louis Theroux - In each episode, Theroux interviews a different high-profile person whom he has always wanted to talk to. Lucky for me, they happened to be the ones I found inspiring too.
The Diary of a CEO - an unfiltered journey into the remarkable stories of those who have defined culture, achieved greatness and provided knowledge worth studying. The host, Steven Bartlett, launched the podcast intending to reveal the more vulnerable side of entrepreneurship – and as a way to record his journey.
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling - During the lockdown, my boys made me watch all eight Harry Potter films multiple times, and read up to number four of the seven novels as bedtime stories. They read the rest themselves after I protested that those books would never put them to sleep. I have since developed Stockholm Syndrome towards anything related to Harry Potter, JK Rowling included.
The Rest Is Series - I caught myself enjoying listening to “The Rest Is Politics” by surprise. Born and bred in China I always considered politics to be somewhat out of touch and at times could be dangerous. Not this one! Two men who’ve been at the heart of the political world - former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy (for Labour) Alastair Campbell, and Cabinet Minister (for Tory) Rory Stewart (who’s life before politics was so action-packed that in 2008 Brad Pitt’s film company bought the rights to a biopic), making politics relatable and provoking action to change.
You can follow Cass on Instagram: @CassXuXin
Relaxation techniques
Here, experts at Brown's CBD have provided advice on some relaxation techniques you could try:
Meditation offers a profound avenue for inner exploration and self-discovery. Through focused attention and mindful awareness, individuals engage in meditation to cultivate a sense of calm, mental clarity, and emotional equilibrium. Regular meditation practice has been linked to an array of benefits, ranging from reduced stress and anxiety to improved concentration and enhanced emotional resilience. Over time, this practice can lead to a heightened sense of self-awareness, allowing individuals to navigate life's challenges with greater composure.
Aromatherapy, a therapeutic practice rooted in the use of aromatic plant extracts, harnesses the power of scents to promote well-being. Essential oils, extracted from various plants, are employed in this practice to stimulate the senses and influence mood, emotions, and even physical health. Through inhalation or topical application, these oils interact with the body's receptors, triggering responses that can range from relaxation and stress reduction to improved focus and enhanced sleep quality. Lavender, for instance, is known for its calming properties, while citrus scents can uplift and invigorate the mind.
Supplements play a significant role in modern health and wellness by offering a convenient means to bridge nutritional gaps and support various aspects of well-being. These natural supplemental products, ranging from vitamins and minerals to herbal extracts and amino acids, can provide essential nutrients that might be lacking in one's diet. There are many supplements that have stress-relieving qualities, this can aid with sleep, anxiety and promote relaxation.
One product that has become more popular over the last few years is CBD. Short for cannabidiol, it is a naturally occurring compound derived from the cannabis plant. It has gained significant attention for its potential therapeutic benefits without the psychoactive effects commonly associated with its counterpart, THC. Research suggests that CBD may offer a range of potential benefits for overall health and wellbeing.
Top & Homepage Image James Jeremy Beckers from Pixabay
#ImproveYourHealth #HowToStayHealthy #IndexDigital
