wellbeing wonders Archives - Zoë Ross Psychotherapy

Wellbeing Wonder #5: Unplug

This is a little bit of a cheat of a wellbeing wonder post, because the subject of it means that it will be short – but sweet, I hope.

Putting your tech away doesn’t need a grand gesture or to be for a long time (but the longer the better probably), but just connecting with the world and the people around us and focussing mindfully on where we are, rather than the information superhighway, does us all good sometimes.

So if you are reading this (and thank you!), put down your device, go and give someone a hug (anyone really but ideally someone you know) and have some tech-free time. It’s very good for your wellbeing.

Happy weekend!

Wellbeing Wonder Number 3: Meditate #mhaw17

Today’s wellbeing wonder is a big one for me and has definitely changed my life. Every morning the first thing I do is meditate. Just for 10-15 minutes and it’s the best habit I have.

Why mediate?

It’s not woo-woo, it’s science – honest! There is much evidence that meditation can have a significant impact on stress levels and actually changes the brain. The silicon valley set (in my spiritual Californian home) are all over meditation, understanding the many benefits it brings to introvert technology types and driven founders alike. It has certainly helped me to feel calmer and deal with life’s ups and downs and the feelings of anxiety that arise during stressful times.

How to meditate?

Meditation is ridiculously simple and very hard at the same time! It’s like trying to tame a cute little puppy. Sometimes the mind is willing to be still and do as you ask and then just when you think you are making great progress, it refuses to come when its called and is causing mayhem all over the place. But you learn that both are ok. It’s all part of the process, and, as with exercise, consistent persistence is the key. Some days are easier than others, but all days can be meditation days.

How to get started with meditation?

The easiest way is to download an app. I used headspace for a long time and it’s a really great way to learn the basics and beyond. There are 10 free sessions and then £45 (or less if you have a friend who uses it and can give you a code) buys you access to more meditation packs than you can shake a stick at. It’s a beautifully simple app and Andy Puddicombe, the co-founder talks you through it. His ted talk is worth a watch too about the benefits of mindful meditation. Highly recommended and the woo-woo factor of headspace is low 🙂

There is also the Calm app, which again offers some meditation for free and has a variety of music and backgrounds to choose from. Birdsong or a crackling fire anyone? It features a lovely, soft and gentle female voice guiding you through and offers a good variety of meditations to try. Woo-woo factor is low to medium

I’ve recently been using insight timer, which gives lots of flexibility for whether you want to have a guided meditation (and there are lots to choose from) or just meditate by yourself with some timing guidance. I like it, although the quality of the guided meditations does vary a little (and there’s something ironic about getting annoyed because the meditation you’re listening to is a bit rubbish!). Woo-woo factor is medium to high depending on your choice of meditation! 🙂

There are also plenty of free guided meditations on YouTube and podcasts, so there are plenty to try.

You can of course forget about having a guided meditation and just simply meditate. Focussing on your breath is a good place to start or you can try a mindful bodyscan like this one I made for Mind Moose last week. Plenty of folks reporting that they found it relaxing and so have their children, so worth a go if you’re feeling a bit stressed!

I would say that you need to give meditation a try for at least a couple of weeks or ideally a month to see how you feel at the end. In my opinion, it really is worth 10 minutes of your day and a real wellbeing wonder.

Wellbeing Wonder Number 2: Sleep MHAW17

Sleep is one of those things that when you’re getting enough of it, you don’t even notice it, but when there’s an issue with it (as any new parent will tell you), it can dominate your life.

There seems to be a little bit of conflicting evidence about how much sleep you need…is it 8 hours or 10 hours or is Maggie Thatcher’s 4 hour’s enough for the macho ‘super busy’ amongst us? Well, it depends on you and by the time you reach a certain age, you know how much sleep you need to make you function properly. There is even some thought that women need more sleep owing to the complexity of our brains 😉

For me personally, sleep has magical restorative powers like nothing else and one of the reasons most of us feel so good on and after holidays is the extra sleep and rest we allow ourselves; like the little afternoon naps…

The power of the nap

You either love it or hate it and I’m a lover of a little afternoon nap. Indeed, I’ve got a little sunny napping corner in my house where it’s perfect to curl up for a 20 minute afternoon nap, but not quite comfortable enough to go for an all out sleep.

There’s plenty of evidence that an afternoon nap of around 20 minutes is great for your productivity and learning capacity. Winston Churchill apparently had an afternoon nap every day during the war, so if it’s good enough for Winston…!

Dealing with sleep issues

Unfortunately sometimes sleep becomes an issue and most of us have times where we are struggling with sleep. This can often be due to something stressful or worrying that’s happening in our lives and a changed sleep pattern is often one of the first signs something’s not quite right. You might struggle to get to sleep, or have a consistently disturbed sleep, wake up super early every day or indeed be sleeping far more than usual.

What’s worked for me at times like these is going back to sleep basics and trying to accept that it’s a phase that will most likely pass. And of course, trying to deal with whatever it is that is stressing or worrying you if the most helpful thing, though sometimes that’s easier said than done. So what are the basics of a good night’s sleep?

Sleep Basics

Create a calming atmosphere in your bedroom…piles of clothes, or unread books do not a soothing sleep-sanctuary make. You don’t have to make your bedroom into a pinterest-worthy zen-like space, but a bedroom that is calm and soothing is a good start.
Turn off your phone and laptop and television well before bed. Yes, we all know that blue light emissions don’t help with sleep, but how many of us actually turn them off the recommended 1 hour+ before bed? If you’re having sleep issues, it’s probably the first thing you should try.
Make a conscious effort to relax. It might be having a bath, doing a bit of yoga, or a trip to the gym followed by a sauna, but finding the way that you relax and unwind is an important part of ending the day and helping your brain to switch off.
Meditate – I’m a huge fan of meditation (more on that tomorrow) and simply focusing on your breath for a few minutes can be enough to calm a racing mind. There are plenty of apps and youtube sleep meditations – my favourite is the Andrew Johnson’s lovely soothing deep sleep app. There’s an irony of course in that your phone then has to be on…but you can put it somewhere you can’t reach it 🙂

You can read yesterday’s ‘wellbeing wonder’ post about exercise here.