New Year, New Me - a message from our Wellbeing in Focus Team
One month of 2020 has gone already and for many, the New Year’s Resolutions that have been set with best intentions have gone with it as well. It is natural to want to improve and progress in certain areas of your life. Starting the New Year with a list of resolutions can feel virtuous, but if the list is unrealistic and we can’t keep to all of our 2nd of January dreams, it is easy to give up on them and revert to old habits and patterns. As we reflect on January and before we plan for the rest of the year, it is important to acknowledge the extreme conditions that have faced Australia, priorities may have changed for you and some of the self care suggestions below may be more helpful instead.
Stripping away the expectations and creating goals may feel less daunting. A resolution feels set in stone, whereas a goal is something you can move towards, resetting the goalposts as needed. If you want to work on physical health this year, be realistic in looking at your capacity at this point of the year. Running a marathon might not be on the cards, but joining a running group or a soccer team can have the physical impact with the benefits (and motivational factor!) of social interaction. If you are not a runner, can you be a walker? Wheelchair basketballer or bowler? Modest, achievable goals have better outcomes than lofty ones where you feel deflated by its enormity.
Summer holiday late nights and sleep-ins (for those who don’t have toddlers or kittens) can throw sleep cycles out of synch, leaving you exhausted when the alarm goes off for the work week.
Good sleep hygiene involves keeping your bed for its intended purpose. Reading in bed is a great way to wind down so a book can work wonders as can an e-reader. Reading on an iPad produces blue light which overrides your nocturnal melatonin production. If you are using a device to read, set it to night mode which makes the screen glow warmer, rather than a cool blue.
If, after 15 minutes, you are still tossing, get up and do something else in another room, so you don’t begin to subconsciously associate being in bed with insomnia. Some mindful breathing exercise can be useful – experiment and find what helps to calm your mind if it’s busy and lastly although easier said than done, some self-discipline at night makes mornings easier. The addictive qualities of phones and tablets draw you in so easily: your 10 pm bedtime is suddenly 12.30 pm, and you wish you logged off two hours ago. (So seriously, put the phone down. They are sleep destroyers!)
Food can be a challenge. Healthy eating and moderation are good principles to follow. Simply being mindful of what you eat means eating becomes conscious and not automatic. Consider portion size, avoid seconds if you’re not actually hungry. Have a vegetarian option some days or some alcohol-free days. And treat yourself when you need to.
Starting the year with a healthy mindset means you avoid a rigid set of rules to be adhered to slavishly. Make achievable changes that you feel you can do, be forgiving if you don’t get to do all of them every day and review them as you go along. December and its excesses are only 11 months away!
A message from our Wellbeing in Focus Team
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