So last week I was off sick. If you follow me on twitter you would have heard me moaning about it... sorry about that! Its not like I was dying, I had flu like everyone else at the moment, but boy did it knock me out. On Saturday I woke up feeling shivery and exhausted... and then had to go to a black tie event that evening, not ideal. I woke up on Sunday with a cough, fever and feeling generally crap... which stuck around all week, joy!Anyway, this got me thinking about wellbeing... health, life, and all the bits in between. I know a lot of us spend our days rushing - be it at work, at home, for others, for ourselves. I know I spend too much time working... and thinking about work, despite my best efforts otherwise. But not only is this not good for our mental health, it has a clear impact on physical health too.Sleeping. Seems like an obvious one, but lack of it has such a huge impact on me. On a smaller scale, when I'm tired I am not a nice person to be around! But more seriously, when I've not had enough sleep, or am particularly overtired, it has a real effect on my health. In the past I've developed colds, flu and even hives when I've been severely overtired. Now I know, there are often other factors involved, but for me sleep is the one. A lack of sleep can really make me feel crap, but similarly when I am ill, sleep is what can make me feel a whole lot better. Clear your diary, turn off the lights, shut the curtains and turn off your alarm. Try and have one day a week (Saturday for me) when you can do this. Drinking. No, I'm not talking about alcohol. I have a confession to make - I am absolutely useless at keeping hydrated. I often get to the end of the day and realize all I've had to drink is a glass of apple juice with breakfast. Not good. We've all heard that a lot of the time when people think they're hungry, they are in fact just thirsty. I definitely think this applies to a lot of my hunger delusions! So, what, we eat when we don't need to? It's more than that. Staying hydrated is hugely important, and not doing so can cause a whole range of problems - from headaches to nose bleeds, and dry skin to UTIs. It can also lead to tiredness and mood swings, things I would say I definitely suffer from. So I'm trying my best to drink more (between 1.5 and 2 litres a day), particularly at work, in an attempt to stay physically and mentally on top of things.
So last week I was off sick. If you follow me on twitter you would have heard me moaning about it... sorry about that! Its not like I was dying, I had flu like everyone else at the moment, but boy did it knock me out. On Saturday I woke up feeling shivery and exhausted... and then had to go to a black tie event that evening, not ideal. I woke up on Sunday with a cough, fever and feeling generally crap... which stuck around all week, joy!Anyway, this got me thinking about wellbeing... health, life, and all the bits in between. I know a lot of us spend our days rushing - be it at work, at home, for others, for ourselves. I know I spend too much time working... and thinking about work, despite my best efforts otherwise. But not only is this not good for our mental health, it has a clear impact on physical health too.Sleeping. Seems like an obvious one, but lack of it has such a huge impact on me. On a smaller scale, when I'm tired I am not a nice person to be around! But more seriously, when I've not had enough sleep, or am particularly overtired, it has a real effect on my health. In the past I've developed colds, flu and even hives when I've been severely overtired. Now I know, there are often other factors involved, but for me sleep is the one. A lack of sleep can really make me feel crap, but similarly when I am ill, sleep is what can make me feel a whole lot better. Clear your diary, turn off the lights, shut the curtains and turn off your alarm. Try and have one day a week (Saturday for me) when you can do this. Drinking. No, I'm not talking about alcohol. I have a confession to make - I am absolutely useless at keeping hydrated. I often get to the end of the day and realize all I've had to drink is a glass of apple juice with breakfast. Not good. We've all heard that a lot of the time when people think they're hungry, they are in fact just thirsty. I definitely think this applies to a lot of my hunger delusions! So, what, we eat when we don't need to? It's more than that. Staying hydrated is hugely important, and not doing so can cause a whole range of problems - from headaches to nose bleeds, and dry skin to UTIs. It can also lead to tiredness and mood swings, things I would say I definitely suffer from. So I'm trying my best to drink more (between 1.5 and 2 litres a day), particularly at work, in an attempt to stay physically and mentally on top of things.