Avoid Sleep Robbers

Check out these health boosting tips - including a few from us - in the latest edition of Women's Running Magazine.

Read more on this article...

Avoid Winter Coughs and Colds

This article we wrote originally appeared on the HR Zone website.

You’ve heard it before: ‘don't go outside in this weather, you'll catch a cold’. But colds are actually caused by viruses, not cold weather. It is true that you are more likely to get a cold during the winter months, but that's because we spend more time in confined, unventilated spaces with larger groups of people – making it easier for the virus to spread from person to person.  So what can we do to maximise the chances of staying fighting fit when everyone around us is succumbing to seasonal illness?

First off - balance your life

You will be pleased to hear that, tempting as it might be with all the hype surrounding New Year Resolutions, changing your entire life in January is not necessarily good for you.  Shaking up your exercise routine, diet, sleep pattern and balance in life all at once can become overwhelming and actually do more harm than good. Instead, make a plan for small, steady, consistent change that you can implement week by week.  Spend some time focusing on what is important to you, what you’d like to change first, and what you can work towards throughout the entire year. Pace yourself, apply your energy effectively and you’ll experience tip-top health for the short, medium and long-term.

Not sure what to work on first? Here are a few suggestions. Tackle one or two things at a time.

Get plenty of rest

Prioritise rest and recovery and create routine with your sleep patterns. Your resistance to illness and overall day-to-day resilience will be boosted with quality rest.

Stay hydrated

It’s important to think about staying hydrated all year round. The summer is hotter which acts as a prompt to drink water, but during the winter we move from one artificially heated environment to another and so can dehydrate without even realising. Shorter days in the winter can make you feel tired and being dehydrated will only aggravate any feelings of lethargy. Staying hydrated helps in the fight against winter bugs and germs. You should consume at least 8 – 10 glasses of water every day. 

Eat more fruit and vegetables

When its cold and dark outside it can be tempting to fill up on unhealthy, ‘comfort’ food, but at this time of year it’s more important than ever to include at least five portions of fruit and veg into your daily diet in order to boost your immunity. Winter vegetables can be roasted, mashed or made into soups for healthier comfort food and if you crave something sweet focus on fruit rather than chocolate or biscuits. Always be prepared with healthy snacks so you don’t get tempted with snacks high in sugar or salt.

Should you take supplements?

Trials of supplements such as vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea and garlic to prevent colds have had mixed results, and in general supplements probably won't prevent a cold.  However if you know you aren’t getting the correct immune boosting nutrients from your diet, it may be worth considering taking a multi vitamin.

Reduce alcohol and / or cigarettes

Both smoking and drinking alcohol have been shown to reduce essential vitamins and minerals in our bodies so, to keep your immune system at it’s peak, it may be a good idea to reduce or even stop completely if possible.

Should you be unfortunate enough to end up sick despite tacking precautions, here’s what you need to do for a speedy recovery.

Avoid spreading illness

Although it is possible to be contagious 1 day before experiencing any symptoms, the old wives tale that you are not contagious once symptoms start is false.  Most of the time the virus is spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing and therefore the period when you are most contagious is when symptoms are at their worst, which is usually day 2 to day 4.  Do your best not to spread germs to others.  This isn’t just a selfless act, it also ensures you don’t pass a virus around and end up sick again a couple of weeks later.

Things you can do to prevent spreading the cold or flu virus

• Washing your hands will help avoid transmitting cold and flu viruses.  If an infected person sneezes into their hand, and then touches an object the virus can pass from the object to the next person who touches it. By washing your hands, you will be getting rid of any viruses you've picked up.
• Use tissues. Put a tissue in front of your mouth and nose when you sneeze and make sure you dispose of it carefully after use.
• Avoid touching your nose and eyes.  If you have any infected germs on your hands, and you touch your eyes or nose, you can pass the virus into your system, but by avoiding this you will reduce your chances of catching the virus.
• Clean down communal surfaces such as telephones, desks and kitchen worktops, again to avoid spreading the virus.

Top tip from the experts: Should you exercise if you’re feeling unwell?

This is a question we get asked a lot at this time of year. The answer is that you don’t necessarily have to stop exercising if you’re feeling under the weather.  If you have a fever with a body temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or above then exercise would definitely not be advised, but use common sense and listen to your body. If your cold symptoms are not severe and you generally feel OK then a little gentle exercise wont hurt.

The general guideline is that if your symptoms are above the shoulders (runny nose, sore throat, blocked sinuses) you may be fine to continue with light to moderate activity. If your symptoms are below the shoulders (aching bones, shivers or digestive issues) you’re better off resting until you feel recovered before returning to exercise.

Making regular exercise a part of your life makes you feel more energetic in the long run, helps get rid of winter blues and improves your general wellbeing. Your body’s defences may also benefit. There is some limited research suggesting that moderate exercise can strengthen the immune system, thereby reducing the risk of picking up coughs and colds in the first place.

Read more on this article...

Eat Your Way to Healthy Blood Pressure

The third part of our 'Essential Guide to Healthy Blood Pressure' looks at how your food routine can play a crucial role in lowering or stabilising blood pressure.

You can read part 1 of the series here

Part 2 is here

Let's start with simple guidelines that anyone can follow and that will really help regulate blood pressure. 

Eat regularly

A calm internal environment will keep your system running smoothly and reduce the likelihood of physical stress which can in turn aggravate mental stress, both of which will increase blood pressure.  Plan to eat a meal or snack every 3-4 hours.

Get your 5-a-day

You’ve heard it many times and here’s just another reason to make it happen.  Fruit and vegetables supply us with vitamins, minerals and nutrients that will improve the strength, immunity and efficiency of the body.  Eating plenty of fresh stuff also leaves less of an appetite for the meals and snacks that rob us of energy, increase stress and aggravate blood pressure.

And forget aiming for 5-a-day as that often means you end up with 2 or 3.  Plan for at least 8 and you’ll make sure you end up with 5 without doubt.  

If this all sounds like a challenge here are some suggestions for how to eat regularly and healthily.

Breakfast

Porridge with bananas, blueberries, chia seeds & strawberries or omelette with tomato and peppers

Morning snack

Orange and walnuts or carrots, cucumber and hummus

Lunch

Wholemeal wrap with turkey, spinach and peppers or fish with rocket, tomatoes, avocado and pineapple

Afternoon snack

Apple and oatcakes or banana and rice cakes

Evening meal

Chicken with noodles, onion,mushrooms, peppers and garlic, or fish with brown rice and steamed broccoli and green beans

How to make it work...

Obviously, each person’s food routine needs to be appropriate for their schedule, tastes, objectives, and ideas have to be practical, but following these guidelines will help keep blood pressure optimum as well as improving the chances of a productive week with high energy and great sleep.  Even the busiest of individuals should be able to try some of these suggestions over the coming days.

Here are a few additional foods that you should aim to include in your routine through the week:

Kale, sweet potato, edamame, beetroot, spinach, sunflower seeds, kidney beans, mango, tuna, wholemeal pasta

We're running this series of blogs to help equip individuals with the knowledge they need to take responsibility for their health and make informed lifestyle choices.  If you find the information useful please share it with your colleagues.

Read more on this article...

Make March Matter: 1-month to change your life

Take Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing with daily motivational tips to boost energy, build resilience and feel great forever

The year is off to a flying start and our mission is to help as many people as possible maintain their energy and focus so they can feel great throughout 2015 and beyond by making lifestyle changes that last forever.

To achieve this goal, we're launching a month long programme of daily inspirational lifestyle tips called ‘Make March Matter’. 

We know from experience that positive daily action leads to powerful new habits and dramatic improvements in how people look and feel.  Our tips will ensure that a month of progress springboards into long-lasting results.  The daily tips will cover how to:

·                Maintain health and wellbeing as a priority

·                Plan and execute healthy lifestyle choices that get results

·                Boost daily energy and resilience

·                Increase personal effectiveness

·                Eat well, sleep well and get active

·                Balance life and enjoy everything you do

The March initiative follows on from last year’s ‘Be the Boss of February’ campaign of regular motivational messages, which proved hugely successful according to those who took part:

'I’ve found your emails truly inspiring and helpful. It’s been one of the best things about my mornings in February – starting off with the daily tips.

'The Tonic absolutely made a difference to my February!  This is normally the most difficult time of year for me….for some reason, it’s always the last week of February but this year was different.  With the daily ‘Be The Boss of February’ updates, I felt motivated, hopeful and as we have moved into March, I have started to regain control of life, paying particularly attention to healthy eating and a biggie for me, re-introducing exercise!! Thank you!!'

Make March the beginning of a fantastic wellness routine that will have you feeling great for years to come.  

You can sign up to the daily motivation tips for free by sending an email to info@the-tonic.com and write ‘Make March Matter’ in the subject line.  Encourage as many people from your office as you want to join in - it's a great way to keep everyone motivated and get some great results.

Read more on this article...

Boost Energy, Focus & Creativity with Mindfulness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Archer

Tel: 020 8995 1302

Email: jeff@the-tonic.com

Madgex Enlists The Tonic to Launch Mindfulness Workshops

Madgex has launched a series of Mindfulness Workshops for its staff.

The workshops which are designed and run by wellness company, The Tonic, provide participants with the opportunity to understand what mindful living is and how it will benefit them both in and out of the workplace.

Workshop participants are introduced to some practical techniques including mindful meditation. They explore how to manage their mental and physical state with breathing techniques and various levels of meditation and, by the end of the programme, they will be able to employ mindfulness as a simple skill to regenerate their energy, reduce stress and anxiety, increase enjoyment of life, develop an enquiring mind, and understand how to add greater creativity, quality and value to everything they do. 

As part of the process, The Tonic will follow up with mindful reminders to help everyone make time each day for mindful living and to help them establish it as a regular habit.

Hanna Smith, HR Director of Madgex said, ‘We already provide a range of other health & wellbeing activities for staff to participate in. This year we decided to add mindfulness to our program because of its many benefits. In today’s world and certainly working in a technical business, things happen so fast you can often forget to take note of what’s going on around you or be busy thinking what’s the next thing to do. Living like this is not sustainable long-term, so educating those that wanted about mindfulness can help everyone cope with the everyday work/ family life.

Our ethos has always been, look after the whole person, not just the work person, and mindfulness is an excellent tool to help you appreciate that.  We’ve worked with Jeff from The Tonic before and really like the way his workshops can fit into our culture. He has a very personable style that has been receptive to our staff and the feedback has been wonderful.’

Mindfulness is on the rise as a recognised technique for business leaders and organisations. Research has linked meditation to boosts in focus and productivity, and mindfulness practice has also been associated with emotional stability and improved sleep, reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mental clarity.

Tonic Director, Jeff Archer said, ‘The purpose of the programme is to help everyone add balance and also engage at a deeper level with everyday life in an attempt to maximise creativity, focus, and quality of experience.’

About The Tonic

The Tonic team specialises in helping businesses raise the performance of their people through wellbeing days, lifestyle coaching and wellness initiatives for training, development and leadership programmes.

If you’d like more information about this topic or to discuss corporate health and wellbeing with Jeff Archer, please call him on 020 8995 1302, email jeff@the-tonic.com or get more information at visit www.the-tonic.com

Image by Flickr: Moyan Brenn

Read more on this article...

Sleep Your Way to Healthy Blood Pressure

Welcome to the second instalment of our Essential Guide to Lower Blood Pressure.  You can read part 1 here.

For week 2 of National Heart Month we're focusing on sleep, primarily because the lack of it, interrupted sleep or poor quality sleep, can all contribute towards increased blood pressure in the medium to long-term.

Here are some tips to help you improve your sleep and keep blood pressure healthy.

1) Create a realistic routine
You probably know if you're a morning person or a night owl - we all have our own body clock or internal clock that determines when we're functioning at our best, and when we're at a low ebb.  In reality there are relatively few people who have an internal clock that fits in precisely with society's timetable (work, family, social), so the first thing to do is accept that in order to achieve everything you want in life, you may have to get up a little earlier than would be ideal for you, or you may need to stay awake a little longer than you'd choose if left to your own devices, but, whatever you do, make a conscious effort to create a routine for yourself that allows you to sleep well whilst also providing you with the time to do what you need to do when you're awake. 

Creating a sleep routine - a pre-determined bed time and wake time - will help your mind and body prepare for restful sleep, fall asleep promptly, and experience quality sleep, all of which will equip you to face each day calmly and without the need for extra stress hormones that your body produces to keep you going when you feel tired but which will, over time, have a negative impact on your blood pressure.

2) Stick to your routine
Persistent, irregular sleeping habits can exacerbate the effects of raised blood pressure so follow your chosen sleep routine 7-nights as week.  It may feel great to 'catch up' on missed sleep at the weekends but if this leaves you wide awake on Sunday night there's a risk you won't feel great for the beginning of the working week.  Shifting routine dramatically like this every week will take a toll on your body.  

If you do choose to shift your routine at weekends, or you feel you've 'earned' some extra hours in bed after a tough week, experiment over a number of weekends to discover the optimum change in routine for you.  It's likely that with practice you'll settle on a weekend sleep pattern that helps you feel recovered from the previous week without impacting on the following week.  

3) Think twice about your daily choices
Ideally we'd all like to feel alert and engaged while we're awake, and relaxed and refreshed after a good night's sleep.  The key to both is to think about everything you do during the day in relation to how it could affect your sleep at night. 

For example, caffeine can perk you up but it can also impact your sleep routine hours later.  Sweet snacks can feel like the right thing in the day but can wildly disrupt blood sugar levels which might affect the quality of your sleep at night. 

The same goes for too much stress throughout the day.  It may feel as though a bit of stress is good to get you busy and get things done, and it can be as long as you have ways to balance your stress levels before you unwind and get a restful sleep.  Always be mindful of the level of pressure that helps you perform at your best, and the tipping point beyond which you risk negatively affecting your night-time recovery and your healthy blood pressure reading. 

4) Design your personal pre-sleep routine
Identify the sequence of events that you know will result in you falling asleep quickly and having a quality sleep.  You may need to experiment with a few different approaches but soon you'll have a strategy that tells you when you have your last meal or snack of the day, when you turn off the TV, when you put your phone / laptop / tablet away, and what you do to tell your mind and body that you're fully relaxed.  This could be listening to calming music, meditating or reading.

If you are prone to waking in the night, decide in advance what you'll think and do if this happens.  If you worry that when you wake it'll take ages to get back to sleep, chances are, that's exactly what will happen.  If you plan an approach where you read, practice deep breathing or even write down anything that's on your mind or think about reasons why you might have awoken and what you can do to address these situations tomorrow, you can relax in the knowledge that as you work through this process you'll be preparing yourself to return to sleep very soon.

Above all, remember that you may not be able to follow your perfect sleep routine every night but you can take control to ensure that on balance, and in the medium term, you get sufficient sleep, and in the short term you do what you can to optimise the quality of every hour of sleep you do get.  

Follow these guidelines and you'll sleep well all night, perform well all day and maintain a calm internal environment including healthy blood pressure at all times.

Read more on this article...