Life hacks facts
Tips, tricks and remedies that will change how you go about everyday tasks, for the better.
For the love of feijoas
If the guava moth has already found your beloved feijoa trees, here’s a tip for protecting your fruit next season. Spray the buds before they flower with an organic spraying oil such as Aquaticus Glow, which helps control a wide range of garden insect pests. Then spread Neem Tree Granules around the base of the tree. Also fill an old sock or stocking with the Neem Tree Granules and hang it in the tree. The strong scent of the Neem will confuse the guava moth, keeping them away from your precious fruit.
As you check your emails, check your posture
Posture is the most important thing for an abundance of energy. To improve your posture, push out the chest, tuck the tail bone and imagine your head lifting to the sky. A good posture can instantly allow the nervous system to spread energy where it needs it, and great things happen. Justine Jamieson, self-awareness columnist
Five-minute dance party
Find a private spot (a room, your car, the bathroom), pick a song you love, and have a five-minute personal dance party! Combining the escapism of focusing on music with the benefits of physical movement will leave you feeling refreshed and reinvigorated. It’s a great way to change up how you’re feeling. From EFF This! Meditation by Liza Kindred
Mushrooms for memory
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have discovered that eating mushrooms two or more times a week lowers the change of mild cognitive impairment*. Mushrooms are one of the richest dietary sources of ergothioneine – an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory – in our diets and it’s believed this unique antioxidant may have a protective effect on the brain.
Best brain exercise
High-intensity interval training and continuous moderate exercise deliver greater mental benefits to the brain than sustained strenuous exercise, a South Australian study has found. Researchers from the University of South Australia in Adelaide conducted multiple experiments involving 128 people, whose brains were monitored after a single bout of aerobic exercise on a stationary bike and treadmill. The variables ranged from low-intensity continuous exercise to high-intensity interval exercise, with the heart rate varying between 50 to 90 per cent intensity. UniSA researcher Dr Ashleigh Smith and her PhD student Maddison Mellow found that the greatest changes in neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to rewire or modify its neural connections – occurred with 20 minutes of interval training or 25 minutes of continuous moderate aerobic exercise.