An Opportunity For ‘You Time’

There is no doubt that we are experiencing something that many of us (if any) have been through before. Most of us are having to adapt our work, personal and family lives, and during this time, it is easy to neglect ourselves.

If we don’t make time for our own wellbeing, we are potentially hindering not only our health, but we also can become less effective in other areas of our life too.

Given the current situation, instead of letting the negative news consume us, having more time than usual spent at home presents an opportunity for us to reflect and practice self-care.

Here are some most beneficial things we can take advantage of, especially at the moment, to ensure we remain healthy and productive in the areas of life we want to be successful in.

Get enough sleep

A “work hard” culture has glamorised, not sleeping. But the data around getting enough sleep and being productive is too prominent to ignore.
If we lose just one night of sufficient sleep, our cognitive function is the same as being over the alcohol limit.

It’s not only productivity that is impacted. Below adequate sleep for just one week can see our blood sugar represent that of someone who is pre-diabetic. Source: Daniel Walker – Why We Sleep

Getting enough sleep every night (as close to 8 hours as possible) rejuvenates our brain cells and our body, ensuring we are productive and functioning at our best over the long term.

Eat Right

Of course, eating healthy is essential for our physical health, and the benefits of eating the right foods also extend further to our overall health and wellbeing. Harvard Business Review found that eating healthy foods improves our cognitive performance directly.

Making a poor meal decision could harm how effective we are for the rest of the day.

Take the time to research and plan a healthy and sustainable nutrition plan, the benefits far outweigh the convenience of bad food. If you struggle to do that yourself, there is a plethora of apps and companies that can provide professional and convenient nutrition guidance and meal preparation delivered to you.

Yoga & Mindfulness.

Yoga has many physical exercises, such as improving flexibility and strength. But the benefits of mindfulness activities such as yoga and meditation go much further.

Practising Yoga regularly has been evidenced to improve mental health, reduce blood pressure and stress. Stress is responsible for causing a lack of physical energy and mental fatigue.

Mindfulness exercises can even increase grey matter in our brains which improves our decision making and awareness.

Fitting these activities into our exercise routine, even just a couple of times a week can have a significant impact on our mental clarity, so instead, we can focus our energy on what is most important.

Unplug

Being constantly connected has improved the way we live and allows us to adapt and work flexibly, which is given the current situation is proving to be quite handy!

However, it is difficult to deny that our technology habits can have a negative impact too. For example, excessive social media use activates the areas of the brain associated with addiction.

Reducing screen use is actually associated with improved sleep and mood. If we limit any unnecessary use of technology, we reduce the adverse effects associated and have more time for activities that are better for our health.

In particular, not paying as much attention to the news can reduce our anxiety. With all the noise and chaos in the markets, its especially important to unplug from the headlines of the “financial pornography”.

Spending time outdoors

A little-known benefit of spending time in nature is that it improves our immune system. A study found that walking through forest areas for 2 hours increased white blood cells by up to 50%.

Also, we can improve our sleep by resetting our body clock if we get away from the lighting of modern city environments, particularly in somewhere like Hong Kong.

Improving your wellbeing both financially and in your life is a key objective of our LifePlan process. Have you considered how your money can be used to maximise your time, your wellbeing and provide you with a better return on life?

Read more about LifePlan here

Or contact us to discuss further