5 Ways to Improve your Physical Wellness
How often do we hear or say the words, "I'm tired." Well if you're me, it was at least five times a day if not more. Around the end of August I knew enough was enough. After a long struggle with burn out from Anxiety and just trying to stay afloat I decided I needed a challenge.
Over the course of September I have been focusing on physical wellness as part of my The Best You Challenge. My goals over the course of the month have been to have a better morning and evening routine, better sleep, a healthier relationship with food, an improved skincare routine and an increased understanding and awareness of my body.
I can safely say that overall I would give myself a 6.5 out of 10 for my own 'effort'. I think my biggest fall downs in this month have been with my morning and evening routines. Whilst I have been consistently waking up at 6:30am every morning, a lot of that extra time is just me scrolling on my phone instead of preparing myself, my mind and body for the day. This is something I will be working on more over the coming months.
My biggest positive has been my skincare. As part of
my morning routine I have made sure to cleanse, tone and moisturise my face and because of this even my hormonal spots have been less intense and my skin feels INCREDIBLE! I'm also really proud of my consistency with food. Due to some past trauma my relationship with food hasn't always been easy. This coupled with my ASD has been an interesting journey. Despite these challenges and the improvments that can still be made I'm really pleased with my progress, and hey, Rome wasn't built in a day!
So, without further ado, here are my top 5 ways to improve your physical wellness:
Sleep
That dreaded word, we all want it but somehow it always does us dirty. I know personally I don't help myself when it comes to setting myself up to sleep well. I would scroll on my phone for HOURS if my eyes didn't eventually close up shop on me. We all know sleep is important and without it our physical wellbeing can be impacted significantly. The effects of poor sleep can include, irritability, difficulties with memory and focus, reduced immunity and on some more serious levels it can cause cardiovascular disease if not properly treated.
Here are some ways you can improve your sleep and help improve your physical wellness:
Elminate screen time at least 30 minutes before bed. You might like to use your phone as an alarm clock, if so, that dosn't mean you need your phone in your hand before sleep, if you're on iPhone you can easily set-up a sleep schdule and alarms to get you up in the AM and if you're feeling brave you could even set your phone to shut down apps and notifications at a certain time before bed each night so you really won't have any of it to bother you!
Create a routine. When we are children, we often have a bedtime routine which usually includes having a bath or shower, getting couple of biscuits (one for each hand), a warm drink, brushing your teeth and reading a story. All of these things are put in place to help us sleep. I think what happens between then and adulthood is because we've waited so long to stay up later we think we don't have any other choice and forget how good it really is to snuggle up in bed early and feel ready to sleep. Try creating a routine before bed to help yourself feel sleepy and ready for rest.
Keep a notebook and pen by the bed. We all know what it feels like to snuggle in between the sheets and just as you close your eyes and want to enter dream land and you mind suddenly bursts with ideas and things that need to be done or it reminds you of that one time you accidentally sent a text to your friends dad inviting them to prom. Keeping a notebook and pen by the bed allows you to get those things down somewhere, out of your head and you won't forget those amazing ideas you just came up with!
Food/Nutrition
Food is one of the best things about life. There are so many different flavours, spices and dishes to try and explore. For some food is a passion and for others it can be a difficult relationship. I myself have had some issues in the past and have struggled with eating. Part of my own struggles is down to my ASD. When I feel overwhelmed and particulary when I feel under the weather, I don't want to eat and even if I do I only want what the ASD community call 'beige foods'. These are things like potato, pasta and cereals, which is fine if your only having it for a day but over time is not
fuelling the body and will cause health problems.
Healing my relationship with food was important for me. I know that I cannot always control my own reactions to food but I can build upon my understanding of food and make it easier for myself when things are harder than normal. So, here are my tips for food and nutrition:
Be gentle with yourself. The connection between your brain and stomach is just as strong if not stronger than that of the mouth and stomach. Having a mental battle with yourself over food is hard and frustrating, but I urge you to be gentle. If you feel as though eating a full meal is too difficult, there is nothing stopping you from eating little bits at a time. I know from experience that forcing myself to eat only made me feel worse, but when I gave myself the freedom to eat at anytime when I'm in bad spots I felt better and I was still eating.
Balanced eating. There are lot of people who will make up rubbish about some food being bad and some being good. I will tell you now, there is no such thing as bad or good food, only poor balance. It would not be healthy to only eat chocolate, but likewise it would not be healthy to only eat broccoli. Balance is key not only for health but for your relationship with food. Enjoy it.
Exercise
I feel like the word exercise scares off a lot of people and to be honest I'm in the same boat. I used to love working out, I even did a sports coaching diploma at college, ran track and competed and even swam with the olympic swimming team. When I write it all down like this it feels like I was obsessed and I guess in different seasons of my life I have been. Now though, I have a dislike for running, I'd much rather swim in the hot tub and as for weight lifting, well the most I carry now is the 10 folders I take to work.
I don't dislike exercise but I would now much rather put my effort into things I truely enjoy such as walking of any kind, the occasional run, yoga and just dance (yes this is exercise). Here are my tips below:
Find your fit. Find something that you get excited about doing. Going for a 5k run isn't worth it if you hate doing it and neither is signing up for a gym membership when you're only going to use it once for the induction. Even if you take a little time out of your lunch break to go for a walk that is exercise. Finding your own fit will improve your physcial health easily.
Find a rhythm. Sometimes we feel like we don't have time for exercise but actully if we were to get into a rhythm and create a space for it, it would be way easier. I like to do yoga in the mornings as thats when I need to stretch most. I walk twice sometimes three times a day with our dog Luna as she loves being outside and going to the park for a run around. I also play a lot of just dance and make it a social thing, one of my best friends and I have been playing since the og so you know whose busting the moves on a night out.
Make it fun! You won't love it if you're not finding it fun. Maybe you need to have someone with you or you need to try something new like rock climbing! There are plenty of options out there and you don't need to be restricted to the weight room, tredmill or typical options for exercise, they are all valid and good for you!
Hygiene
Like I said above, skincare has been my biggest positive out of this part of my challenge. Alongside this I have been working hard to keep on top of my hygiene. My experience with ASD means that I really struggle to shower and our bath is too small/shallow to bathe in. I want to be as clean as possible, I want to wash my hair but I don't like going under the water or the feel of it on my skin, which I know sounds odd considering my history with swimming. I have struggled with this for years, pushing against my parents when it came to shower time and still fighting myself now.
Over the last month I have tried my best to wash my hair twice a week and have smaller cleans in between just to wash my body. So far it's been okay, with a couple of missed showers here and there, but this is an opportuinity for growing not a click and its perfect thing. Here are my tips for staying on top of hygiene:
Create a weekly routine. Look at your week and ask yourself when are the best times for me to shower? Since we've been getting up earlier, I find I enjoying showering much more in the mornings, it helps me feel cleansed and a little more refreshed before starting my day.
Wash your face every evening. Regardless of what many magazines suggest with 20-step skincare routines all you really need to do is cleanse, tone and moisturise. I can highly recommend the Ultrabland cleanser from Lush which is like luxury and just a small tub lasts me between two to three months.
Brush your teeth! Oral hygiene is super important and I am the worst at remembering to brush my teeth. My husband is great at reminding me in the evenings and I find it easier when we get to stand side by side and do it. In the mornings i often forget but will try and do it when I do remember. How do you remind yourself to brush? Let me know in the comments!
Hydration
We ALL forget to drink enough. I struggle enough with memory as it is without having to remember that my body needs water to function. You might find that you're great when at home but when you're out and about you forget entirely or vice versa. I was pants at it and if I'm being honest I still am but here are some things that I have found made it easier:
Reusable Straws. I can't stand paper and plastic straws, those McDonalds straws make me want to pull my hair out, mama needs her chocolate milkshake. Instead I opt for glass or metal straws. They are better for the planet and for some reason I always end up drinking more when I use them.
Set reminders. You can now get apps on your phone to remind you to have a drink throughout the day. It can get annoying, but I have found it useful especially when I'm deep in work.
Refills. I like to get up and move around the house a lot and I often take a walk down stairs to achieve my move goals. When I get up from my desk I try to make it a habbit to look at my drink situation before heading downstairs and getting myself another one.
I hate water. A lot of people will agree with me when I say that water doesn't taste of nothing. Opting for low/no sugar or no added sugar squash is one of the ways I can drink it. I also love a cup of tea, iced coffee or as it is the season a pumpkin spiced latte. As long as you are having some form of water it will help!
And that's it! Thank you for taking the time to read through my blog post today, I realise it's a long one but I love sharing with you the things I've tried and how successful I've been. I've tried to be as authentic and honest as possible and I would love to know your thoughts so please leave a comment and like this post!
See you next time! Em x