Stress Awareness Day 2015

National Stress Awareness Day is November 5, 2015 and to mark the event we've compiled some top tips for you to share with colleagues.

The tips are all simple lifestyle choices that help everyone take daily action to reduce stress and improve energy levels and resilience.

Our Resilience Workshop has been hailed as, 'The best training course I've ever attended'. If you think your team would benefit from support with boosting their personal effectiveness please contact us at info@the-tonic.com

9 Top Tips to Help Manage Pressure and Build Resilience

1. Stress is not the enemy

Managing stress does not necessarily mean eliminating stress from your life.  The key to successful stress management is to know how far you are able to move out of your comfort zone, and how often you are willing to do this.  Provided you anticipate and manage periods of high demand, and balance these with appropriate periods of review and recovery, you'll be in control of your commitments and your attitude, and well positioned to communicate any concerns you may have if you feel you're moving away from your zone of best performance. 

2. Managing stress levels with healthy eating

Each day, aim to consume more foods that calm you than those which can aggravate stress. Oily fish, chicken, turkey, whole-grains, berries and nuts, will all help keep you calm.  Caffeine, sugar, chocolate, pastries, refined carbohydrates, high fat foods and alcohol can all contribute to increased stress levels. 

3. How to get a great night of rest and recovery

To be at your most resilient, you need to rest and recover well at night, but in very busy periods people can find it difficult to relax unwind and sleep well.  Spend a little time researching your guaranteed pre-sleep routine for the period leading up to bedtime to ensure that you are able to fall asleep promptly when you’d like to, and achieve optimum quality and quantity of sleep.  A warm drink and a few pages of a novel may be all you need to ensure good sleep.  Don’t be tempted to work right up to the moment when you drop off.

4. Move more, stress less

Movement helps rid the body of stress hormones quickly so, even during your busiest periods, make sure you move regularly.  Don't view moving away from the desk as lost working time but instead associate it with an opportunity to stay calm, change your perspective, think creatively, and come up with some solutions that might be hard to access while sitting in front of your computer. 

5. Balance your life and set some boundaries

Stress can be caused by too much work (or too much of anything in life) leaving you feeling that the balance isn't where you'd like it to be. You'll find it harder to maintain balance in your routine if you're not clear what good balance looks like so be diligent in planning and making time for the things you enjoy and that nourish your overall success or there are plenty of other less enjoyable jobs waiting to steal that time. 

6. Give yourself a break - regularly

Your mind and body need regular moments of distraction.  Compile a list of small actions that you can do every day that you enjoy, that help you feel totally in the moment and that make you happy. Then find an effective way to remember to put these actions into place. A few moments of reflection / distraction every 90 minutes can boost motivation and focus, and lead to your entire day being more productive. 

7. Drink water, stay calm

Dehydration makes us irritable which leads to stress all round.  Drink your 2-litres every day without fail.

8. Breathe, relax, refocus

It sounds obvious but we think better and feel calmer when there's plenty of oxygen flowing to our brain. Regular breaks to breathe deeply and reassess your priorities for the day will help you minimise stress from morning to night. 

9. Be a stress-reducing role model

Where you can, aim to reduce stress for others.  Simple actions can make a huge difference so look to see where you can support your colleagues and they will look out for opportunities to return the favour.  Consider how you might avoid adding any stress to colleagues today – this is easily achieved by thinking about how you communicate.  Aim to be focused with your emails, conversations and meetings so that you always help others to move projects steadily forward.  Communicate messages that save colleagues time, rather than costing them time.

Read more on this article...

Men's Health Week 2015

It's Men's Health Week.

To help the guys in your office reach their full health and wellbeing potential, feel free to share some of our resources.

Choose from:

Men's Health Week: know your numbers

Men's Health Week: get fit fast

Men's Health Week: portion sizes to ensure great energy

Men's Health Week: sleep better

Read more on this article...

Sleep More, Get Active, Lose Weight

Here’s a great story from one of our participants who made some resolutions on April 29.  Look how far they’ve come in such a short time. 

Inspiration for us all!

'Great to hear from you. Your email sparked renewed energy to pursue my objectives, now I know someone is watching!

You will be pleased to know that I have done well to keep to my goals and had the support of several of my fellow delegates whom I have shared my transformation and progress with.

I have been able to increase my sleep from 4 hours daily to at least 6 hours of proper sleep. This does leave me lethargic towards the latter part of my day but I’m happy with the overall progress.

I have stuck to my pre-sleep routine of slowing down my mind from 2130, by:

• Stopping any engagement with electronics, work, house chores and reading
• Shutting down the lights in the house and laying down to unwind
• Listening to soft music in a passive state
• At 2200 I allow myself to fall asleep

I do miss a day or two per week but I manage to get back on track.

I have not managed to stop drinking coffee all together but I have reduced my intake to only one cup, first thing in the morning, before work. Furthermore I consume only one additional cup of rooibos tea during the day. So, I’m well on track to be free from caffeine before I see you again.

Finally I have increased my fitness discipline and have lost 3.5kg in four weeks. I have signed up with a personal trainer to strengthen my core and trim my muscles in addition to cycling.  

Thank you for checking in, it’s great encouragement. See you in a few weeks.'

We want to ensure you achieve quick results with your wellbeing objectives.  Follow us on Twitter for regular motivation, inspiration and success stories.

Read more on this article...

3 Great Wellbeing Tips from People Just Like You

One of the groups we’re working with at the moment is doing brilliantly with their wellbeing progress.  I wanted to share some of their observations on the secrets of their success so far, so that you can follow their great example.

1. Look for as many opportunities as you can to do the right thing for your wellbeing.  Small actions really add up so the more you do, the better you feel and the more you want to do.

2. Share your wellbeing journey with others.  The more people you have around you who are making positive choices, supporting you, and holding you accountable, the easier it is to stay on track.

3. Record your progress.  Whatever you want to change whether it be fitting in more activity, eating better, improving sleep routines or changing the balance of your life, keeping notes of your actions and the results you experience helps focus your mind and target the behaviour changes that really work.  It also helps you recognise and celebrate your successes.

We want to ensure you achieve quick results with your wellbeing objectives.  Follow us on Twitter for regular motivation, inspiration and success stories.

Read more on this article...

Improve Wellbeing and Feel Great Immediately

Most of us know that great wellbeing simply means remembering to prioritise all the things you know are good for you.  

Here are 4 top tips to help you do exactly that right now.

1. Stand up (this moment or as soon as you can within the next 20-minutes) stretch your body, take a few deep breaths and have a drink of water.

2.  Remind yourself why making the right choices with wellbeing really matters to you.  What are your current wellbeing priorities? What would you like to do more of?  What would you like to do less of?  How do your daily choices move you towards achieving your wellbeing priorities?

3. Set yourself a new wellbeing objective and a deadline.  It could be a mini-motivational goal for the next week, or a life changing challenge for the coming months.  Make it something exciting that adds quality, value and fun to your life.

4. Schedule an appointment with yourself to check in and see how progress is going.  Never go more than 7-days without reviewing your wellbeing actions in relation to everything you want to achieve in life.

We want to ensure you achieve quick results with your wellbeing objectives.  Follow us on Twitter for regular motivation, inspiration and success stories.

Read more on this article...

Personal Wellbeing Success: A step by step guide

As you'd imagine, we spend a lot of our time helping individuals make sense of the mass of healthy living information in the world.  It's our job to ensure they feel motivated and inspired to make the changes and get the results that work for them and their specific desires and circumstances.

Getting great results with wellbeing is simple when you know how

It boils down to a straightforward 10-step process.  Anyone who follows each of these steps is GUARANTEED positive results with their health, wellbeing and personal performance.

Try it for yourself or pass the strategy to others in the business who you think might find it useful.

1. Be very clear on the wellbeing results you are going to achieve

2. Be specific about when you will achieve these results

3. Identify what you currently know that will help you reach your goals quickly

4. Identify what you currently do that will help you reach your goals quickly

5. Identify any gaps in your wellbeing knowledge that could slow your progress towards your goals.  Find out how you can plug these gaps

6. Sketch out a personal wellbeing plan that includes a selection of key ideas, attitudes, strategies, routines and habits which you think will help you achieve your desired results.  Your plan should be a blue-sky vision of the daily lifestyle choices, activities and decisions that you know deep down are right for you, your objectives and your circumstances

7. Put your plan into action immediately

8. Use your plan to take consistent, daily action towards your goals

9. Review your plan regularly, judging it against your desired time line and results, and make adjustments accordingly. Experiment with new behaviors to speed up progress or amend your deadline to ensure it is realistic.

10. Celebrate success and update your goals regularly. Always have specific targets in mind, even if the target is to maintain your current wellbeing results.  If you have a goal you can measure progress at every stage and every lifestyle choice you make can be judged in relation to your targets.  Without a goal, daily choices become blurry, reactive and ill-defined. 

If you'd like to read more about how to develop effective wellbeing strategies for the individuals in your organisation, download our free guide at the right hand side of this page.

Read more on this article...

The Best You've Felt for 20 Years

It's Friday and the sun is out in London.

Better than that we've just had an email that's got everyone smiling here.  A simple message from a guy who works at one of our clients.  

For this client we arranged a wellbeing day in January and we've kept in touch with everyone with a few well-timed motivational emails ever since.  This guy has clearly made the most of the opportunity to make a few changes with his wellbeing.

'Just to say I am still on target.

The emails were a great help as it kept me focused on my goal.

I actually feel the best I have for more than 20 years.

Thank you very much.'

Anyone else fancy feeling 20-years younger?

Here's to a healthy weekend!

Read more on this article...

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...