We all know we have 5 senses, but how can we use them all to reduce stress? Reducing stress will help to increase our energy, motivation and give us that rejuvenated post-holiday glow.
Sometimes we just have to be more mindful in the things we do to increase the effect on our senses.
1. SIGHT & SOUND
Switch Off: Whatever electronic devise you are looking at :)
Most of us spend hours at work on computers, check our phones in our breaks (or whilst we're supposed to be working) and then come home to be online again or watch TV. In 2001 it was discovered that exposing your eyes to light at the blue end of the spectrum (that from computer screens etc) suppresses the production of melatonin, our sleep hormone. Essentially, when you spend time with a blue light-emitting device, your brain thinks it's daylight so doesn't want to let the zzz's come easily. Blue light can delay the onset of REM sleep by 30 mins.
2. SIGHT, SMELL, TASTE & SOUND
Cook (with a friend or loved one) - Now that you're on Facebook, you can spend quality time in the kitchen with a friend or partner. Chat while you chop, enjoy a red wine and talk through all those things that are causing you stress and anxiety. I can guarantee that chatting about things to a loved one will make them feel far less daunting.
3. SIGHT & TOUCH
Read a book - A Professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard (Charles Czeisler), has found that reading electronic books before we go to bed causes us to take longer to get to sleep and causes us to feel less alert in the mornings. So if you have a Kindle wear orange glasses that filter that blue light or go back to the good old paperback.
4. SIGHT, HEARING, SMELL, TOUCH and even a little TASTE… if you finish off your glass of wine from dinner whilst reading your book in the bath ;)
Home Spa - A bubble bath, scented candle, face & hair mask - SkinB5 face wash and mask are a must try.
5. TOUCH, SMELL, HEARING
Sleep - what’s better than the feeling and smell of clean sheets on your bed. If you've switched off, connected with friends, eaten well and relaxed in the bath, sleep should come easy. But if you're still having trouble a guided meditation or simply the whir of a fan may help you drift off for those well-earned zzz's.
Venessa Nickless Yoga, Health Coaching & Pilates Practitioner in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Her adrenal exhaustion, terrible skin problems and digestion issues led her to take steps to revitalise her health & energy by changing diet; which includes daily use of SkinB5 supplements and skin products to this day.
She changed her fitness regime; focusing on Yoga and Meditation to increase energy and changed career so that she could help people to achieve the clear skin and confidence that they deserve.
