ALL IN THE MIND

These brain-based techniques can help you to think your way to health and happiness

PLAY SLOW MUSIC WHEN YOU EAT

The Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University, which studies how we integrate stimuli across our senses, has found that music with a faster BPM (beats per minute) makes us eat faster. Eating slower is preferable because you’re less likely to overeat, so best to leave the party music for later.

JC

COMPLIMENT SOMEONE

It costs nothing, but makes everyone feel good. Take a break at work and interact with a colleague, or offer to get them a coffee. It will be more transformational than the half an hour in the evening spent writing an email to your best friend. Remote connections don’t do as much for us as direct exchanges between two human beings.

LB

KEEP AN EXERCISE JOURNAL

We track loads of things when we exercise – times, distances, heart rate – but one thing we neglect is mood. It’s a useful metric because it shows you how your training programme is changing your behaviour, and it gives you useful information to reflect upon. Note down how you’re feeling. How did you feel on your run? Who did you go with, and how much did you talk? Did you want to give up after mile two, or did you feel that you could add on two more miles?

GE

TAKE A FEW BREATHS BEFORE EATING

This is a technique that will help you to slow down. When we breathe quickly, our body is tense and we eat fast. When we breathe slowly, we trigger our relaxation response. You don’t have to inhale in a dramatic way. It can just take a few seconds.

PT

DO A SENSE SCAN

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop what you’re doing for 60 seconds. Bring your attention to the sensory cues around you. Start with sight, then move through sound, touch and smell. Next time you jump on a train, frazzled, do a sense scan. It will bring you to a more present, grounded state.

JL