Tag: 15 minute wellbeing

Minimise screen time and maximise wellbeing

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“What have you been watching?” “I’ve just finished Peaky Blinders / Schitt’s Creek / The Queen’s Gambit (delete as appropriate) and need a new series to watch.”

Sound familiar? When thinking about this month’s post, the increasing use of our phones and rise in screen time during lockdown – almost 45 hours a week – were at the forefront of my mind. There are many ways we can interpret these figures but based on how many of us are feeling during this winter lockdown, it seems like a form of escapism. If we are limited in where we can go, it makes sense that we escape through the media available to us.

There are other ways of escapism that don’t involve sitting in front of the screen, we just need to be reminded of them. This month’s post is a reminder of how we can get our creative juices flowing in just 15 minutes, escape the mundaneness of lockdown and benefit our wellbeing.

Increased screen time, decreased mental health

Although our growing use of television, streaming and online media is understandable, it’s not always good for our wellbeing. Multiple studies have found links between screen time and/or sedentary behaviour with anxiety and depression.

Since the first lockdown started, researchers have been exploring the effects of screen time and our restricted lifestyles. Those who decreased the amount of time they spent in front of the TV were more likely to report very good or excellent mental health compared to those who increased their screen time. Another study found that even when controlling for a range of demographic factors (i.e. age, income) the more time sat watching television and films, the worse our mental health is likely to be.

Why get creative?

There are multiple benefits to being creative, such as improved:

  • Communication skills
  • Stress management
  • Connections with others
  • Emotional literacy
  • Health management
  • Self-confidence

Participating in creative activities can also lead us to approach situations in our lives in new, positive ways. Have you ever got into the creative ‘flow’? ‘Flow’ experiences are those that engage our whole bodies and result in us concentrating, ruminating less and not focusing on time passing us by. When we experience flow through being creative we tend to have higher self-esteem, value ourselves more and feel more useful – all of which contribute to our wellbeing.

It’s not often we can say we feel the same after bingeing the latest TV series. Here’s three ways you can get creative in just 15 minutes:

Stories in 5 words. As the days often feel like they roll into one at the moment, this creative activity also has the benefit of helping us keep track. Spend 15 minutes each day describing different things that happened with just 5 words. Five words are enough to convey a message, but tricky enough to make us really think about it. Here’s a few examples to help you get in the swing of it:

  • I baked chocolate chip cookies
  • The shed roof came off
  • The cat ate my dinner

Mindfulness colouring. The benefits of this are covered in depth in this previous post. Colouring can help us really get in the ‘flow’ and focusing on just one thing such as colouring can help us take a step back from emotional and stressful situations. Take 15 minutes away from the screen and get your colouring pencils out. Here’s a pattern you can print off and colour in. There are also multiple free designs available online.

mindful-colouringDownload

Create something to show someone you’re thinking of them on Valentine’s Day. Although we shouldn’t wait for one day each year to tell someone what they mean to us, Valentine’s Day is a useful excuse to do so. It doesn’t have to be a romantic declaration – we all experience different types of love. Whether you’re in a relationship or not, why not use this opportunity to tell someone you appreciate them? Some creative ways to do this include:

  • Turn a photo or doodle into a greetings card
  • Create a simple origami and gift it

I’d love to hear how you get on with these creative activities and the effect they have on your wellbeing. Please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com or comment in the box below.

I deliver online wellbeing workshops, so if that’s something that would benefit you or your organisation, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

I also share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between monthly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

Battling lockdown boredom with purpose and joy

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Happy New Year! 2021 is finally here and with it comes expectations for a healthier, happier and more ‘normal’ year.

Here’s hoping that Lockdown 3.0 really is the last in the coronavirus trilogy and we don’t have to endure an ongoing franchise of disruptions to our daily lives. With the vaccine rolling out, hopefully like Frodo and Samwise in Lord of the Rings, we can overcome the odds and return to a restriction-free life.

Although we have more hope third time round, the impact of another lockdown can take its toll on our wellbeing. The monotony of Groundhog Day – great film, not so great in real life – can affect our mood, motivation and satisfaction with life. How can we get through this and keep our wellbeing afloat? All it takes is spending 15 minutes planning, so every day involves two things: something purposeful and something enjoyable.

Battling boredom

Sometimes, it can be good to be bored. Boredom can spark creativity and give our minds a rest from the constant comings and goings of everyday (pre-lockdown) life. However, the boredom experienced during lockdown tends to be more enduring. Nearly two-thirds of people in the UK were negatively impacted by boredom in the previous lockdowns, with life satisfaction, happiness and feeling worthwhile consistently lower and anxiety levels remaining higher than before the first lockdown.

Research has shown that boredom is linked with anxiety, depression, overeating and drug and alcohol abuse, so it’s essential we battle the boredom! Our usual resources of meeting friends, going to the cinema, group exercise and just changing our environment is not available at the moment, so we need to reflect on what gave us purpose and joy in the previous lockdowns and factor these into our days over the coming months.

The importance of purpose

Having a sense of purpose can really benefit our wellbeing, which you can read more about in this previous blog post. Feeling purposeful can result in:

  • Increased exercise and health-promoting behaviours
  • Feeling better about how we look
  • Feeling more satisfied with life
  • Better recovery from negative and stressful life events – so we could infer that doing something purposeful can help us cope better with the lockdown

How can we do something purposeful during lockdown? Well, it doesn’t have to be a huge, big, life-altering thing. It can be simple achievements such as:

  • Finally sending back the online delivery which doesn’t look right
  • Planting seeds or bulbs in the garden or in pots
  • Sorting out your home / car / pet insurance before it’s up for renewal
  • Cooking a recipe you’ve never tried before
  • Ticking off each item on your life admin list

Make joy a daily habit

Day to day joy and happiness can improve our mental wellbeing. This may sound obvious, but with so many of us experiencing, stress, anxiety and other negative emotions during lockdown, it can be hard to be happy. Feeling happy and joyful have multiple positive effects on our wellbeing such as having stronger relationships with others and increased life satisfaction.

We can increase feelings of happiness and joy during lockdown by:

  • Spending time in natural environments such as parks and forests
  • Being kind to others
  • Being near, in or under water. If you can’t make it to a lake or a beach, a simple bath or shower can also work
  • Exercising

This month’s activity

Above are just a few ideas on how to include something purposeful and joyful into our daily lives. However, before you start planning the days ahead, first think back to the previous two lockdowns. What gave you a sense of purpose or achievement? What brought you joy?

This month’s activity is to plan one purposeful and one enjoyable thing for each day, to help maintain your wellbeing through Lockdown 3.0 and finish the coronavirus trilogy a wellbeing hero. You can do this the night before, in the morning or you can plan one week at a time, whatever works for you. It shouldn’t take longer than 15 minutes. Give it a go and see what difference it makes to your wellbeing.

You don’t need a worksheet to complete this activity, but one is provided here in case you find it useful to work from. It includes space to jot down your plans for something purposeful and enjoyable over a 7-day period, as well as some questions to help you reflect.

battling-lockdown-boredom-worksheetDownload

I’d love to hear how you get on with eating incorporating purpose and joy into your day and the effect on your wellbeing. Please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com or comment in the box below.

I deliver online wellbeing workshops, so if that’s something that would benefit you or your organisation, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

I also share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

The wellbeing breather: pause to make better use of your time

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When was the last time you got through your to-do list? Yesterday? Last month? Sometime before Covid? With lockdown came this mystical idea of us having extra time on our hands to do more and be more productive: finally write that novel; upcycle that old piece of furniture; or even just do that extra bit of reading to get ahead on the big project at work. For many of us, that hasn’t been the case and the pressures on us have intensified.

We all need a break, but time is going so fast and there’s so much to do. It feels like we don’t have the time. But we do, we just need to allow ourselves a few minutes to take stock of our thoughts and feelings and focus on our wellbeing. A short time out can help us reset, refocus and make better use of our time. This month’s post offers a short, simple, mindfulness technique that can help us increase our efficiency: The wellbeing breather.

How mindfulness can support our wellbeing

Mindfulness-based interventions can be effective in reducing stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, pain and improving quality of life. Mindfulness has been shown to improve wellbeing by addressing cognitive and emotional reactivity and reducing repetitive negative thinking. That is, mindfulness can help us clear our minds, make more rational decisions and feel better about ourselves.

When things feel like they are piling up on top of us, mindfulness can help us regulate ourselves better and feel more positive. If we are aware of what is taking place in the here and now, we are more likely to make choices and behave in ways that meet our needs, interests and values. Therefore, being mindful of what’s going on for us in the moment can improve our wellbeing.

The wellbeing breather

Mindfulness can help us see the present moment clearly and starts with taking notice of our bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings. That’s what this month’s activity is all about, taking notice of what we are thinking and feeling and channelling our energy, so we have the headspace to focus on what we really need to.

The wellbeing breather is a variation of the Transitional Pause, developed by the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence. Over the last three years since I first tried this activity, I have really benefitted from taking a short time out to acknowledge how I am feeling and set a small, manageable goal for the rest of the day.

The purpose of the wellbeing breather is to help us park any overwhelming thoughts and focus on the next task at hand. A key feature of this mindful activity is to silently name our thoughts so we can increase our awareness of them, which is beneficial for our wellbeing. It can help with:

  • Overcoming anxiety about difficult tasks or meetings
  • Setting aside negative thoughts that are intruding on our day
  • Channelling our energy to get things done more efficiently

Here’s how to do the wellbeing breather. If it’s easier, you can listen to this audio recording to guide you through the exercise.

  • You can do this activity sitting or standing. If you are sitting, make sure you are seated comfortably with a straight back and your head, neck and shoulders feeling as if they are neatly stacked on top of each other. You want to be comfortable but attentive. If you are standing, plant your feet firmly on the ground so you feel balanced and grounded. Keep your back straight and position your head, neck and shoulders so they feel neatly aligned.
  • Soften your gaze, or if you feel comfortable, close your eyes.
  • Acknowledge how you are feeling right now. What’s happened in the last 24 hours? What positive things have happened? What’s bothering you? If it’s something that happened more than a day ago, that’s ok. It’s important to acknowledge our positive and negative experiences.
  • Has anything happened in the last 24 hours that has played on your mind? If so, take a moment to silently name it. Now you’ve named it, recognise how it made you feel. Try and name the thoughts and emotions you experienced. Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
  • Let’s move on to the here and now. Take some time to notice your body. Start with your feet on the floor. Notice the feeling of the floor on your toes, balls of your feet and heels. Notice other parts of your body that are touching each other or objects in the room. Where are your hands resting? How do they feel? If you can feel any tension in your body, draw your awareness to it.
  • If your focus turns to your thoughts, that’s ok. Acknowledge it and return to focusing on your body.
  • Turn your attention to your breathing. As you breathe in through your nose, notice the air entering your nostrils and filling your lungs. As you breathe out, feel the movement through your body and the air leaving your mouth. Continue to focus on your breathing. If you become aware of your thoughts, that’s ok. Acknowledge your thoughts and then turn your focus back to your breathing.
  • Let’s start thinking about what’s happening next in our day and the day ahead. How are you feeling about what’s coming up? Whether it’s positive, negative or mixed feelings, take a moment to silently name them. Take one deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
  • What is one thing you hope to achieve today? It may be something specific like to complete a task, or it may be something broader like acceptance or patience. Silently name it and make a pledge to yourself to work towards it. Take another deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
  • Open your eyes or refocus your gaze. Centre yourself back in the room and take one last deep breath to ready yourself for the rest of the day.

The workbook for the wellbeing breather encourages you to reflect on how you feel after completing it. Why not take a few minutes to consider how you feel immediately after the exercise, then take a few minutes later in the day to reflect on the impact it had on the rest of your day. This, plus the activity should take no longer than 15 minutes.

wellbeing-breather-worksheetDownload

I’d love to hear how you get on with the wellbeing breather and what effect it has on your wellbeing. Please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com or comment in the box below.

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between monthly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

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Why you should commute when working from home

Like the movie sequel that no one wants to see, lockdown 2.0 has arrived in the UK and to varying extents around the world. We’ve been through a lockdown before, but with the changing weather and shorter days, many of us are feeling apprehensive.

The aim of 15 minute wellbeing is to help maintain and improve our wellbeing with simple activities that can be done in 15 minutes. Although lockdown can seem huge and overwhelming, there are small things we can do to help our wellbeing over the next month or so. This month’s post offers a small, practical change for those of us working from home or primarily based at home: commuting.

This isn’t about completing a round trip on the train, bus or in the car before you start your day working from home. ‘Commuting’ in this instance means getting out of the house for 15 minutes to prepare ourselves for the day ahead.

Home-based lives

Before the first national lockdown, hardly any of us were based exclusively at home. By April 2020, 43.1% of us were working from home all the time. This dipped a little (to 36.5%) as restrictions eased in June 2020, though with a new lockdown and the government encouraging us to work from home, it’s looking like for many of us, our lives will be completely home-based.

On the whole, it seems that the majority of people in the UK want to continue working from home after lockdown.  One of the biggest appeals of working from home is the lack of commute. On average, commuters in the UK spend 492 days of their lives travelling to and from work, spending £37,999 in the process. Not only that, those who commute by public transport are more likely to experience stress, anxiety and report lower life satisfaction.

The average commute in the UK is 65 minutes and in a survey of over 1,000 commuters, journey delays were the aspect of commuting reported to be most detrimental to their health and wellbeing.

It’s no wonder we prefer working from home, spending longer in bed and less time waiting around for the train or bus. So why is this post about re-introducing commuting into our lives?

Why commuting can be good for you

Although we may be glad to see the back of our traditional commute, the routine did enable us to mentally switch on before starting work and switch off at the end of the day. Throughout lockdown, why not try starting each day by leaving the house for a 15-minute commute?

Here’s how it can help our wellbeing:

  • It helps to maintain a work-life balance – whilst working from home during lockdown, we took fewer breaks as we felt under pressure to be constantly available. In (unpublished) research I conducted with one of the UK’s largest employers, and in this national survey, this lack of breaks was found to have a detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing. It’s easier to give ourselves permission to leave the house before we start work compared to during the working day, so prioritise that morning commute.
  • It’s an opportunity for exercise – as we found out in last month’s post, exercise levels have fluctuated throughout lockdown, with many of us struggling to consistently exercise. Spending 15 minutes at the start of the day walking, running, skipping (or any other form of exercise) can ensure we get our bodies moving before other pressures of the day or the darker evenings get in the way.
  • It’s a chance to connect with nature and the outside world. There is a wealth of research on the benefits of being outdoors on our mental health. Connecting with nature can also significantly improve mood.
  • We can listen to music while we’re commuting. Music can calm us and uplift us – helpful if we haven’t had a great night’s sleep. Listening to music can boost our mood help us get in the right headspace before starting work. It’s worth noting that listening to music can disrupt our problem-solving skills, so it may be worth getting your musical fix before work.

There’s no workbook for this activity – just start each day by commuting for 15 minutes!

I’d love to hear how you get on with commuting and what effect it has on your wellbeing. Please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com or comment in the box below.

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between monthly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

4 wellbeing tips for a winter lockdown

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15 minute wellbeing is back! A lot has changed since the last blog post, with the global Covid-19 pandemic changing how many of us live and work. It’s World Mental Health Day on 10th October, so what better time to focus on our wellbeing and try making each day a little bit easier during these uncertain times?

Here’s a quick reminder of what 15 minute wellbeing is about. This blog translates existing research on wellbeing into simple activities you can do in 15 minutes to improve your health and wellbeing.

Each activity will not cost any money to do, because why should we pay to feel good about ourselves? As we progress through the activities, we will discover that we already have all the tools we need to improve our wellbeing. This blog doesn’t tell you what to do either – it offers different exercises for you to try to help you feel better within yourself.

The variety of activities means that you won’t get bored trying the same old thing. Instead, you’ll get to try lots of different things to figure out what works for you and your wellbeing. The activities are grouped into seven themes:

If you’re a new reader (welcome and thank you for visiting!) or want to know more, click on the links above which give more information on the themes. Over the next few months, 15 minute wellbeing will cover these themes and how they can help us during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wellbeing during a global pandemic

Uncertainty and ever-changing situations can take their toll on our wellbeing. In the UK, the number of us experiencing high levels of anxiety has increased dramatically since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Anxiety, stress and fear are normal responses to uncertain situations and for many of us this will pass as we return to some sort of normality (whenever that may be). However, the longer the pandemic continues, the higher the risk to our wellbeing and mental health. It has been estimated that 20% of adults in England will need help with their mental health because of the pandemic.

It’s more important than ever that we help ourselves and each other to stay mentally well. This blog cannot help alleviate mental illness, but it can provide ideas and options to improve wellbeing which contributes to good mental health. If you are concerned about your mental health, please speak to your local GP, local Mind,  Samaritans or Time to Change.

Maintaining and improving our wellbeing during lockdown

Usually on 15 minute wellbeing, each post centres around one activity to try out. However, as this is the first post in a while, here are four things for us all to try to support our wellbeing over the next two weeks. Each activity can be done in 15 minutes, so why not try each of them at least once over the next fortnight and see how you feel?

  1. Make plans with others

Many of us who felt (and may continue to feel) anxious during lockdown also reported feeling lonely a lot of the time. It’s important to stay connected with others as best we can to alleviate these feelings of anxiety.

You may be thinking “How can I make plans with others when social restrictions are in place?” If there is one thing that has accelerated during lockdown, it’s the use of digital technology to virtually connect with our friends, families and colleagues.  Many of us young and old are now able to have video calls and connect with each other without having to leave the safety of our homes. For those of us who can’t or don’t like using video calls, a regular telephone call is just as effective.

Think of 5 things you’d like to do with someone else – it could be 5 activities to do with the same person or different activities with different people. The aim is to have fun spending time connecting with others. You may or may not be able to do these in person, depending on the local restrictions in place in your area so consider how you can do each activity in person and virtually/over the phone. The worksheet at the end of this post has a few ideas if you need inspiration.

Healthy body, healthy mind

Juvenal (abridged)

2. Keep exercising!

Lockdown has impacted our exercise habits, with some of us finding it gives us more time to exercise, whereas social distancing has prevented many sports teams from training together and competing. In England, exercise levels have fluctuated over the course of the pandemic. In May, they peaked with 35% of adults doing at least 30 minutes of activity 5 times a week. By September 29% of adults reported exercising regularly.

Physical activity has numerous benefits for our wellbeing including: distracting us from our negative thoughts, improving our quality of life and improving our mood. If the changing weather makes it feel too cold for you to exercise outside, there are thousands of free videos available online to get you moving, many of which are 15 minutes long. As the saying goes, “Healthy body, healthy mind” so see what difference 15 minutes of physical activity does for your wellbeing. You can use the worksheet at the end of this post to reflect on how you feel after exercising.

3. Reading

To combat feelings of stress, why not try reading or listening to an audiobook for 15 minutes? In an international survey of 18,000 people, 58% of respondents rated reading as the most restful activity they did. Those that read were also more likely to be optimistic and have a sense of purpose – both key to wellbeing.

Many local libraries have re-opened across the UK – check your local council website for information on opening times – and stock books and audiobooks. Some offer contactless reserve and collect services. If you’re unable to get to a library, e-loans may be available. Alternatively, there are lots of free access articles and stories available online.

You can use the worksheet to reflect on what effects (if any) 15 minutes of reading has on your wellbeing.

This will bring out the best and worst in people

said by many

4. Give 15 minutes of your time

A phrase that has been often repeated over the last few months (as well as “You’re still on mute!”) is “This will bring out the best and worst in people.” One of the best things it has brought out is people’s willingness to volunteer to help others. Within one week of the Royal Voluntary Service appealing for volunteers to help vulnerable people during lockdown, 750,000 people signed up to deliver medication and shopping; transport equipment; and check-in and chat with those who needed help.

Giving just 15 minutes of our time can make a huge difference to someone else and improve our own wellbeing. If you’re unsure what you can do in 15 minutes, the worksheet below has plenty of ideas to inspire you.

4-wellbeing-tips-winter-lockdown-worksheetDownload

I’d love to hear how you get on with these activities and what effect they have on your wellbeing. Please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com or comment in the box below.

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

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Have your say and make a difference

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher, can change the world”

Malala Yousafzai

There’s so much happening in the world that can make us angry – the burning of the amazon rainforest, increased train fares, Brexit, allegations of sexual misconduct and the roads being dug up yet again. We often get angry about these things (and many more) but how often do we actually do something about it?

As Malala Yousafzai says in the quote above, it only takes one person to change the world. Making a stand for what you believe in, no matter how big or small, can help you and others. Malala’s activism is ongoing, but we can make a stand – and a difference – with just a short amount of free time. This week’s post aims to encourage you to speak out, make a difference and improve your wellbeing in the process.

How standing up for what we believe in can improve our wellbeing

By understanding our needs and telling people what we want to change, the chances of our needs being met actually increase. After all, people can’t read each other’s minds, so once others are aware of what we need, things can change. A positive side effect of this is that we often take better care of ourselves as a result. This has been shown in healthcare settings – if diagnosed with a physical or mental health problem, having a say in the way we are treated can result in better self-management of the illness.

Standing up for what we believe in and seeing a resulting change can boost our confidence and give us a sense of empowerment. Having a sense of control over our lives is key to improving our wellbeing.

Having our say often increases our social interactions with others. As we know from a previous blog, interacting with others is good for our wellbeing. If our thoughts are shared by others, we can feel an increased sense of belonging.

Can one person really make a difference?

Yes, they can. There are hundreds of examples of individuals making their voices heard and creating change locally, nationally and internationally. Here are three to inspire you:

  • Greta Thunberg went on strike from school to protest about the climate crisis outside the Swedish Parliament. At only 15 years old, she inspired other students to create similar protests in their own areas. Her protests and speeches at events such as the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference have since inspired millions of children and adults across the world and raised awareness of climate change.
  • Mahatma Gandhi campaigned for the rights of poor Indian people and Indian independence from British rule. He did this using non-violent methods such as strikes and marches – the most famous being the Salt March. These were embraced by the people of India and started the movement towards independence in 1947. To this day, Gandhi is often referred to as the ‘Father of India’.
  • Elizabeth Fry saw the conditions female prisoners were kept in and fought for them to be treated more humanely. She started by taking supplies to women in prison and her continued work led to the 1823 Gaols Act, which improved conditions. Her work continues to inspire people working in the UK criminal justice system and she featured on the Bank of England’s five-pound note.

How can I change the world in 15 minutes?

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

John Wooden

It’s amazing what we can do in a short space of time. Small actions such as expressing how you feel about something, can grab people’s attention and start a domino effect leading to a big change.

So what can you do in 15 minutes? There’s so many ways you can have your say and make a difference in just 15 minutes. For example:

  • Create a petition about something you want to change. This can be done on change.org In the UK, if your petition reaches 100,000 signatures, your petition will be considered for debate in Parliament and you will receive a response from the government.
  • Write a letter or email to your local councillor/MP about an issue that’s impacting your local area. Most MPs aim to reply within 2 weeks.
  • Share a picture, quote and/or poem expressing how you feel on social media. What you say may resonate with others and help to start change. Look into the different hashtags you can use to increase the reach of your post.
  • Speak to your boss or the HR department at your workplace to change a policy or system you’re not happy with. Other people may feel the same as you, but only after someone speaks out will your workplace feel the responsibility to respond.

There’s no worksheet for this week’s activity – just go for it and have your say about something that means a lot to you. Not only may it make a difference, it can also improve your confidence, self-esteem and overall wellbeing.

I would really love to hear what you end up doing with this week’s activity. Get in touch via email 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com or tag me in your social media posts so I can share them.

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

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Eat the rainbow for better mental health

Every week it seems like there’s a new diet we should all be following. I first became aware of this a few years ago with the explosion of the Atkins diet. Now there’s so many diets to choose from – the Cambridge, paleo, 5:2, cabbage soup, grapefruit, the master cleanse – it’s hard to know where to start and what foods we should and shouldn’t be eating.

A healthy, balanced diet is essential to good physical and mental health. We are all different when it comes to what we like and don’t like to eat, intolerances, allergies and budgets, so one strict diet won’t be suitable for everyone. However, increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables we eat is good for all of us and can help us feel and function better.

How many fruit and vegetables do you eat each day?

In the UK, it’s recommended that we eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. In Australia, it’s 7 portions (5 vegetables and 2 fruit), whereas in the United States, the recommended amount is 2 servings of fruit and 3 of vegetables.

Whatever, the recommended daily intake, we appear to be struggling to meet it:

With all these facts and figures in mind, this week’s post and activity focuses on a simple way to get more fruit and vegetables into our diets – by making our meals as colourful as possible. The more colours we eat, the greater the potential benefits to our health and wellbeing.

The mental benefits of fruit and vegetables

We now have access to a whole range of fruit and vegetables that spans the colours of the rainbow. Each colour group contains vitamins, fibre and nutrients that contribute to good physical and mental health regardless of whether they are fresh, canned, frozen, juiced or dried. Here are three good reasons to get more of these foods into our diets:

  1. Increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables can increase our psychological wellbeing. Two large scale studies from the UK and Australia found that people who ate more fruit and vegetables were more likely to report feeling happy, improved wellbeing and feeling satisfied with life.
  2. If we eat 2 extra portions of fruit or vegetables a day, our motivation may increase. By increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables just a little, we can have more energy and motivation to take on the day.
  3. Our mood can improve. Increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables we eat can reduce the likelihood of experiencing anxiety and depression. This may have something to do with the amount of vitamin C in fruit and vegetables. Those of us who consume lots of vitamin C every day are less stressed in the face of psychological challenges.

A rainbow of opportunities

We’re now aware of the benefits eating more fruit and vegetables can have for our wellbeing, but how can we get more of them into our diet? After all, the textures and flavours of these foods don’t taste good to all of us.

This week’s task aims to increase our fruit and vegetable intake in a simple way – by eating meals with at least 3 colours in them. Eating rainbow meals (as I like to call them) is an easy way to remember to put more fruit and vegetables into your diet. The table below shows the different coloured fruit and vegetables so you can figure out which ones you like of each colour and start introducing more of them into your meals.

Here’s some suggestions to get you started:

  • Breakfast – porridge with bananas, raspberries and raisins
  • Lunch – baked sweet potato with spinach, tomatoes and sweetcorn
  • Dinner – chilli con carne with red peppers, kale and kidney beans

The rainbow of fruit and vegetables and questions to help you plan your meals are available on the worksheet below. Click the link to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.

rainbow-mealsDownload

If you’d like to share how you got on with this activity, or the impact birthdays have on your wellbeing, please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com

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Shape your thoughts

When people talk about mindfulness, does it conjure up ideas of sitting with your eyes closed, trying to clear your mind? Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. Mindfulness can be practised standing up, brushing your teeth and even while eating your dinner. This week’s activity shows that you can practise mindfulness wherever you are, so you can easily fit it into your day.

It’s been a while since I posted about mindfulness, so let’s have a quick recap. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing and accepting, rather than judging, our thoughts, feelings and sensations that occur in the present moment. In other words, it’s all about focusing on the here and now – not getting lost in our thoughts and feelings, which can sometimes be detrimental to our wellbeing.

There are multiple benefits to practising mindfulness, including:

Furthermore, the more we practise mindfulness, the longer the positive effects on our wellbeing last.

If mindfulness is good for us, why do we struggle to fit it into our lives? Only 8% of adults in the United States use meditation, however this covers mindfulness as well as other types of meditation. This suggests even fewer people practise mindfulness regularly. Despite the lack of mindfulness in our lives, it appears we could benefit from it, as 47% of the time, our minds wander, and this is linked with unhappiness.

A world of shapes

With this in mind, this week’s activity is a simple way to introduce mindfulness – through shapes. Yes, shapes.

Typically, we learn about shapes when we’re children, but as adults, even if we know the names of many shapes, we often don’t notice how they make up almost every aspect of our world. The world itself is a sphere, the screen you’re reading this on is a rectangle, the bag you carry may be a mixture of cylinders and squares…the list goes on.

Noticing the shapes around you

This week’s activity is to spend 15 minutes noticing all the different shapes around you. You can do this wherever you are, if you are standing, sitting or moving. The aim of this is to help clear your mind by focusing on the environment around you and hopefully evoke a sense of calm. I find this activity particularly useful when I’m feeling anxious, as it slows down my racing thoughts.

As you notice the different shapes around you, remember to think in 2D and 3D (i.e. squares and cubes) and name them either aloud or in your head. If you don’t know the name of a shape, just describe what you see. For example, leaves aren’t typically a geometric shape. You could describe some leaves as oval, with the edges meeting in a pointy tip, with ridges across the leaf making curved, rectangular-like shapes.

When looking for shapes, why not try noticing:

  • What’s above you
  • What’s below you
  • Anything you are holding
  • What you are sitting or walking on
  • The details on something right in front of you. For example, I was sitting on the bus and noticed this stop sign button consisted of circles, crosses, an oval, a cube and a sort of curved cuboid

You can do this week’s activity without a worksheet, but if you’re struggling with how to start, I’ve created a worksheet with specific questions about a picture with different shapes. You can click the link below to download the worksheet.

shape-your-thoughts-worksheetDownload

If you’d like to share your pictures of all the shapes you’ve noticed, or share how you found this mindful activity, please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date. This week, I will also be posting pictures and videos to help encourage you to notice the different shapes around you.

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Who do you share your birthday with?

Today is my birthday! As well as celebrating, I thought I’d mark it with a birthday-themed post. Some people love it when their birthdays come around, whereas others struggle with the fuss and attention that can come with it. This week’s post won’t be focusing on loving or hating birthdays – rather, as with all 15 minute wellbeing blogs, it will use birthdays as a way to improve our wellbeing.

Birthday rituals

Celebrating our birthdays dates back to the Romans, who honoured their friends and family annually, on their date of birth with gifts, feasts and prayers. Birthdays are socially significant events: they can help us feel valued and unique; help us understand ourselves and feel supported – all of which are good for our wellbeing.

Amongst young adults, spending their birthdays with friends, family and/or loved ones was more important than receiving presents. Therefore, birthdays are an ideal opportunity to connect with others and this social aspect may be linked to people feeling more loved on their birthdays.

However, birthday celebrations can be stressful for some of us. Although the majority of us want to celebrate with others, almost half (49%) would prefer someone else to organise our birthday party. The pressure of putting on a good party and having fun could actually be detrimental to our wellbeing. If you start to feel stressed when organising your birthday party, ask for help (or ask someone else to do it for you!)

A fresh start

Birthdays are often seen as a ‘fresh start’ where we have higher hopes about the future. As a result, around our birthdays (or other fresh start events such as a New Year) we are more motivated to change our behaviour and/or achieve our goals.

A unique study showed just how powerful birthdays can be at changing our behaviour. When offenders received a hand written birthday card with a message stating that their birthday was a fresh start to move away from a life of crime, they were 56% more likely to seek support to change, compared to offenders who received a letter on a random day (not their birthday). If people with a criminal history can use their birthdays to make a fresh start, why can’t everyone?

How many people are born each day?

360,000 births happen each day around the world, which means we each share our birthday with approximately 360,000 other people!

In the UK, more people are born in late September and early October than any other months of the year. This trend has also been shown in the USA and New Zealand – so if you are born in late September or early October, you may share your birthday with even more people. It is likely that this trend in birth dates is due to parents planning to have their children at the beginning of the school year. Also, this time of year is roughly 9 months after Christmas, a popular time to try for a baby.

Who do I share my birthday with?

This week’s activity is about learning who we share our birthdays with and finding out past events that happened on our date of birth. Learning broadens our minds and improves insight into all aspects of our lives (ourselves, our relationships and the world) which in turn is good for our wellbeing. As we know from a previous blog, learning has multiple benefits for our wellbeing.

Spend 15 minutes finding out who you share your birthday with. Who knows which celebrities or historical figures you share your day with? I share my birthday – 25th July – with Matt Le Blanc, best known for playing Joey in Friends who I briefly featured in a previous post about giving.

Also spend some of that time looking at events that have happened on your birthday. What sporting achievements, historical moments or cultural changes happened on that date? You can record all of this on the worksheet below.

Click here to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.

birthday-shareDownload

If you’d like to share how you got on with this activity, or the impact birthdays have on your wellbeing, please do get in touch 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.

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Want to get closer to others? Thank them

When was the last time you thanked a family member or friend for something they did for you? Not just saying, “Thanks”, “Cheers” or “Ta” but really appreciating what they’ve done for you? The people around us are often at the centre of everything we do, so it’s important every once in a while to recognise and appreciate them.

Despite the constant presence of social media in our lives, we struggle to make lasting, meaningful social connections with others. More and more people report feeling lonely, with 9 million of us in the UK often experiencing loneliness. This week’s post explains how the simple act of showing our appreciation for others can help us connect with them, strengthen our relationships and improve our wellbeing.

Showing appreciation, strengthening relationships

Showing how much we appreciate one another can strengthen our familial and romantic relationships, as well as our friendships. When we show our appreciation for each other, it evokes positive feelings about one another. Those who show their partner how much they appreciate them are often more committed and more likely to stay in the relationship. Not only that, we want to know that who we are and what we do matters, so expressing gratitude towards our family and friends can help strengthen the bonds we have with them.

Even though we like to be appreciated, we don’t actually express our appreciation very often. Many of us find it awkward, difficult or believe we’re not very good at it. This may be due to us showing a degree of vulnerability when we truly thank someone. Yet being vulnerable with others can help us develop meaningful relationships with them. Let’s turn that vulnerability into a strength (after all, why is being thankful a weakness?) and foster closer relationships with those around us.

Why is gratitude good for my wellbeing?

There are multiple reasons why appreciating others and feeling grateful are good for our wellbeing, for example:

These are all good reasons to express gratitude – so let’s show our appreciation for those around us and maximise both our and their wellbeing.

Write a thank you letter

This week’s activity is to show your appreciation of someone by writing them a thank you letter. There are multiple ways we can show our gratitude towards others, but making the effort to write a thank you letter can have a longer lasting effect than just saying it.

You may think that a thank you letter won’t make much difference to someone’s life, but you are mistaken. When people were asked to write a thank you letter, showing their appreciation for something someone close to them had done, they thought their letters would appear insincere and make the recipient feel awkward. They greatly underestimated the impact these letters had – many of the recipients said they felt ecstatic and surprised to receive such a letter. These letters took less than five minutes to write.

Our friends and family do so much for us every day that goes unnoticed and we may even take it for granted. Why not spend 15 minutes thinking about something that someone has done for you recently and write them a letter to say how grateful you are? If you’re struggling to think of something, remember even the little things others do can make a positive difference to our lives. For example:

  • Giving you a lift home in their car
  • Taking the time to help you solve a problem such as a difficult homework question or a small home repair
  • Cooking you dinner from scratch after a tough day at work
  • Always being there to listen to what you have to say

It’s up to you how you write your thank you letter, but it will be more meaningful to the recipient if you are specific about what you are grateful for. Explaining why you appreciate them and what they have done, along with the impact it has had on you, will increase their feelings of happiness. Not only that, it will encourage them to continue helping you and others because they know they are appreciated.

There’s no worksheet for this week’s activity – just grab some paper and write that thank you letter.

I would love to hear about your experiences of writing – and receiving – thank you letters. If showing appreciation has had a positive impact on your wellbeing, please do get in touch and share your story 15minutewellbeing@gmail.com

I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.