Who doesn’t like a little daytime nap from time to time? But did you know napping can be both helpful and harmful depending on a few different factors, such as your age, what time and how long you nap. To get the most benefit from napping, it’s important to learn how each of these factors affects the impact of a nap and the best way to go about it. Benefits of Napping There are many benefits for having a daytime nap. When done properly there’s nothing wrong with taking a nap. In fact, a short siesta can boost your mental and physical health. A short nap can promote: Better cognition: Taking a ..read more

There are so many great benefits to listening to music from improving our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, music has the power to transport our emotions and mood whilst enhancing our productivity and helping us sleep better. Music is free and easy to access, making it a convenient thing to incorporate into your daily routine. Here are six ways music can boost your mood, so why not give it a go. 1. Supporting concentration With a lot of people now working from home we can miss the subtle background sounds that keep us motivated at work. Recreate that thriving, active workplace atmosph ..read more

Did you know water makes up 60 percent of our bodies? Every cell, tissue, muscle, and system requires water to run effectively which is why you should drink between eight and ten glasses of water daily. When you’re putting something in your body that often, quality matters. Even though we pay a lot of attention to what we eat and drink, we often don’t know as much as we should about the water we’re drinking. This guide should help. Tap water Tap water is the free flowing water that comes out of your water faucet that is managed and treated by our regional Departments of Health. They have the r ..read more

Mornings can be a struggle for lots of us, especially with the chilly weather making it even more desirable to stay all snuggly and warm in bed. But, there are many health and wellness benefits found in becoming a morning person.  From having more time to yourself, to doing the things you love, here are some of the many health and wellbeing benefits of being an early riser. Helps maintain a healthier diet People who wake up early tend to eat breakfast, while later risers are often rushing out the door and have to grab something convenient, usually unhealthy, or they skip the meal altoge ..read more

As we slowly head back into the office from a year of walking from home, it is important to have a good after-work ritual to help you relax, decompress and reenergized after a long day working.  So, instead of switching on Netflix, ordering takeaway and flaking on the coach, these simple, easy and quick rituals will improve your health and help you feel energised the next day. Yoga or Stretch Some quiet minutes of yoga or stretching can help create a boundary between work and home. A small amount of physical activity is also good way to de-stress and reconnect to your body, especially if ..read more

Sleep can seem like one of the easiest things, but for some just drifting off can be a struggle. Night after night some people can lay in bed with a restless mind spiralling out of control. And with naughtily bed time rituals like scrolling through Instagram, it can make it even harder for our minds to shut off.  There are however, techniques and bedtime routines that can help like meditation, active relaxation and breath work. But if they don’t work, the feelings of frustrating and annoyance can bubble over. For far too many of us, this is the reality we are enduring on a weekly, if not ..read more

Stress and anxiety are not abnormal feelings or reactions. We all experience these at times and to varying degrees. Either can become overwhelming and disruptive to your life, and yet there are important differences. Most notable is that anxiety can be a specific mental illness, a type of anxiety disorder. Regardless of whether your struggles are related to stress, anxiety, or both, it is important to know when to get professional help. What is Stress: Stress is a perfectly normal response of the body to some type of change, demand, or threat. The response can have a physical, emotional, or me ..read more

No one is immune to fatigue but here are some different ways you can boost your energy levels and put vitality back in your life.  Dietary suggestions for fighting fatigue Drink plenty of water – sometimes you feel tired simply because you’re mildly dehydrated. A glass of water will help do the trick, especially after exercise. Monitor your caffeine – anyone feeling tired should cut out caffeine. The best way to do this is to gradually stop having all caffeine drinks (that includes coffee, tea and cola drinks) over a three-week period. Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to s ..read more

For those of you with desk jobs and the many now working from home, it is likely you’re sitting down for most of the working day. Plus, after a busy day it is easy to simply crash on the couch for the rest of the day to unwind.  But reality is, all that lack of activity is really bad for you. Living a sedentary lifestyle by sitting on your behind all day is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, metabolic syndromes, a range of bone conditions and has a strongly linked to poorer mental health. Research shows that being sedentary for as little as four ho ..read more

Did you know that many of our skin products such as soaps, facial cleansers and body washes might actually be doing us more harm than good?  One of the main ways your body acquires nutrients, other than eating, is absorbed through the skin. Your skin is your largest organ—22 square feet on average—and 60 percent of the substances you put on it are eventually absorbed into the bloodstream. This semipermeable membrane allows us to absorb vitamins and minerals, but, unfortunately, it absorbs harmful chemicals we put on it, too.   Unfortunately, chemicals can be found in many soaps ..read more