Practicing Self Care

As National Self Care Week draws to a close, we take a look at how you and your employees can feel happier both in the workplace and outside of it. With rising pressures and stresses in our work and personal lives, it’s easy to feel the squeeze, but it’s difficult to practice the proper self care so you can better look after yourself. By practicing the right self care, it enables us to work more productively and be our best selves in and outside of the office. Happy employees tend to work harder more consistently, not often missing a day and feel engaged to the company and how it’s performing.

In this article, we take a look at self care and the steps you can take to enjoy a healthier, happier lifestyle.

Enjoy a Healthier Lifestyle

Many of us start the year with firm resolutions to live healthier, more balanced lives, and to practice a full self care routine. This is the year, we say, when we’ll get fit, eat better food, lose weight and finally get that dream body that we’ve always yearned for.

Come February, however, many of those resolutions can start to look distinctly shaky. We joined the gym, but have only been once or twice. We spent a fortune on running shoes, but only managed a few short outings. The bowl of muesli and fruit for breakfast has been overtaken by the sugary pastry and cup of strong coffee.

There are different ways to respond to this slide. We can berate ourselves for our failures and attempt to bash on resentfully with an exercise and diet regime that we know we hate. We can tell ourselves that we really don’t care that much, and abandon healthy choices altogether. Or we can take stock of what isn’t working, examine our motivations, and reorganise our goals into a realistic and sustainable plan.

What is a healthy lifestyle?

So many attempts to create a healthy lifestyle are doomed from the outset by a distorted view of what that actually means.

The media bombard us with images of physical perfection. Sports heroes, film stars, models and celebrities flash their white teeth at us from every screen, billboard and magazine page that we see. Advertisers feed off our insecurities by presenting the unattainable as something that we should all aspire to.

As we try to balance these aspirations with the stresses of our everyday lives, we can begin to feel emotionally depleted by the pressure of it all, which leaves us feeling fragile and inadequate, which in turn triggers the need to make ourselves feel better quickly. Before we know it, we’re back to quick comfort fixes such as unhealthy food and a sedentary life in front of the television, where we get bombarded with images of physical perfection all over again. It is truly a vicious circle.

According to the Stress Management Society, stress is now the single biggest cause of sickness absence from work in the United Kingdom, costing industry in this country some £3.7 billion each year. More than 10 million working days are lost each year through stress, depression and anxiety.

A truly healthy lifestyle, then, must address both our physical and emotional needs, freeing us from anxiety and stress to the point where we can find the motivation and willingness to get physically active. In order to do this, we need to reverse the vicious circle described above and create a virtuous one.

Getting active

Regarding physical self care, we all know that we should exercise in order to stay healthy, but aside from basic fitness, it is worth reminding ourselves of the many other benefits.

On a physical level, regular activity can boost the body’s defences against a variety of illnesses, including:

• Coronary heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Some forms of cancer

Aside from merely preventing disease, studies have shown that exercise:

• Lifts mood
• Metabolises stress hormones
• Reduces tension
• Aids good sleep
• Improves memory, concentration
• Boosts self-esteem and confidence
• Promotes social contact (in group activities)

But how much exercise is enough? Many fitness regimes are over before they really begin, simply because they are over-ambitious. Recommendations vary as to how much physical activity we should be doing every week. As a rule of thumb, adults who have not been very active should be doing about 20 to 30 minutes of moderate activity, at least five days a week.

Although this sounds like a lot, the time can be split up. Two brisk 10 to 15-minute walks would do the trick (say on the way to and from work). See the “Getting Started” section below for more ideas. For adults who are fitter or like to engage in more strenuous activities, about 20 to 30 minutes exercise at least three times a week is recommended.

Whatever the recommendations, it is critically important to start with small goals and build up. Remember, it’s reality we’re dealing with here, not fantasy.

Eating properly

One of the most common mistakes we make in the way we eat is to allow blood sugar levels to rise and fall throughout the day. We do this either by missing meals (especially breakfast), which causes our blood sugar to fall too low. Then by way of compensation, we eat sugary foods as well as simple carbohydrates (such as white bread and pastries), which push blood sugar levels too high.

People who are depressed or stressed have a tendency to crave simple carbohydrates because they raise levels of serotonin, the chemical in the brain that regulates sleep, appetite and mood. So while sudden rises in blood sugar level may temporarily cheer us up, these sudden fluctuations ultimately have the opposite effect, making us irritable and sad and prone to mood swings.

The British government’s Food Standards Agency gives the following tips for healthy eating:

• Base your meals on starchy foods. Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are a vital source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. We take longer to digest wholegrain varieties, which contain more fibre, so we feel full for longer.
• Eat lots of fruit and veg. Try to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. Portions include a glass of juice, a side salad and a piece of fruit.
• Eat more fish. Aim for at least two portions of fish a week, including a portion of oily fish, such as salmon or sardines.
• Cut down on saturated fat and sugar. That means fewer pies, sausages and cakes, and more unsaturated fats, as can be found in olive oil, nuts, avocados and seeds.
• Try to eat less salt – no more than 6g a day. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. And people with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than people with normal blood pressure.
• Drink plenty of water.We should be drinking about 6 to 8 glasses (1.2 litres) of water, or other fluids, every day to stop us getting dehydrated.
• Don’t skip breakfast.Breakfast can help give us the energy we need to face the day, as well as some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.

Emotional health

As we have seen, looking after your body has a direct impact on your mind. Exercise and good nutrition both pave the way for a more stable emotional life. But it’s a process that works both ways. It can be difficult to find the motivation for physical activity and healthy eating if we’re feeling depressed or anxious. So there will be times when we have to address our emotional needs before we’re in a position to get physical.

There are many ways of working towards a healthier emotional life. Here are just a few.

• Learn to express your feelings.It’s important to let people close to you know when something is upsetting you. Bottling up feelings of sadness or anger will not only make you depressed, it will also take a physical toll. Symptoms can include fatigue, headaches, back pain, insomnia, indigestion, cramps, constipation or diarrhoea. If you’re reluctant to express feelings verbally, try writing them down in a journal.
• Make time for yourself.Go for a walk, sit down and listen to some music, do some stretching or deep breathing exercises. Any of these activities will give you a moment to restore yourself and recover from the pressures around you. Be creative and experiment with what works for you.
• Get connected.Studies of the oldest people in the world have revealed that close friendships are a primary contributor to happy longevity. Isolation drives both mental and physical ill-health faster than almost anything else. Connecting with friends or joining any kind of social or spiritual group is proven to reduce stress and boost morale.
• Get creative.The real hallmark of a healthy life is one that allows creativity to flourish. This does not mean writing best-selling novels or painting the odd masterpiece. It means finding ways of self-expression that resonate deeply with your own sense of who you are. That can mean singing in a choir, joining a meditation group, or collecting stamps. It’s up to you, but whatever it is, make it yours. Meeting your creative needs will provide incentive and energy that will pave the way for other healthier choices
• Give support. Getting involved with helping others can lift your spirits and restore a sense of meaning and purpose.
• Get outside help. For some people, the psychological resistance to the kinds of activities mentioned here is just too high. When depression, stress, or anxiety, or low self-esteem have become overwhelming and paralysing, it could be time to start thinking about counseling or psychotherapy.

Getting Started

Practicing proper self care that is sustainable can be a daunting prospect. Here are a few tips to smooth the way

1. Identify what you enjoy doing.There is absolutely no point whatsoever in setting yourself exercise regimes and activities that bring you no joy. If you don’t like gyms, for instance, don’t go. Thinking about what you loved doing as a child is often a good guide. You could, for instance, go back to your favourite sport at school or try something out that you longed to do when you were little but never had the chance.
2. Start small.As we have seen, over-doing it from the outset is almost a guarantee of failure. If you’re very unfit, begin with short outings and build up from there. If you have a terrible diet, substitute one or two unhealthy foods for healthy snacks, get accustomed to that, and then move on.
3. Don’t go it alone.We all need a bit of encouragement sometimes, so try and find activities that you can do with others. Clubs or classes are great ways to meet like-minded people and keep you going when your energy flags. If you want to start eating more healthily, find a friend who wants to do the same and make a plan together.
4. Set goals and rewards.Setting attainable goals will fill you with pride and a sense of achievement. Giving yourself small presents when reach them (a new piece of sports kit, a massage, a really good meal) is an excellent incentive.
5. Focus on the positive.If you view a healthy lifestyle as an annoying burden, you are unlikely to get very far. If, on the other hand, you can frame your new choices as an exciting journey towards a more vibrant creative life, you are setting yourself up to succeed.

Contact Us

If you want to best support your teams and help them be the best versions of themselves, contact the team today and we’ll create a tailored plan which supports your team best. Contact the Valentine team at 0800 020 9913 or email us at service@valentineoh.co.uk .