COLD COMFORT BALM

THE BEST MEDICINE IS OFTEN RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE: GOOD FOOD, WATER, SUNSHINE, EXERCISE, SLEEP AND FRIENDS WILL HELP US THRIVE, NOT JUST SURVIVE, IN WINTER

Wellness can sometimes feel like a complicated, expensive and time-consuming goal when actually the things that make a proper and lasting difference are really quite simple. Think how much better you feel after a good night’s sleep, a morning walk or a catch-up with a friend. All seemingly straightforward occupations, but often neglected in our busy lives when they are actually the best prevention and remedy for stress, illness, lethargy and low mood. At this time of year we’re often persuaded to try the latest diet or exercise trend or to make a list of resolutions to overhaul our lives. However, there is a simpler approach: going back to doing the basics and doing them well. It’s also worth remembering that if you want to make changes, the key to success is keeping them small and simple. “When it comes to most life changes, big, bold moves actually don’t work as well as small stealthy ones,” says BJ Fogg, Stanford University behaviour scientist and author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything.

Food and water

We’ve known for a long time that what we eat affects our body and weight but the link between our diet and mental wellbeing is a more recent discovery. Inside our large intestine are trillions of bacteria. What we eat affects the number and diversity of these bacteria, which play a key role in the production of

“Drinking water during winter is just as important as in summer”

neurotransmitters including serotonin, the happy hormone. By eating more fibre-rich foods, fruit and vegetables, and probiotic foods such as yogurt and fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and sourdough bread, we feed these bacteria, helping them to thrive. A diet that’s low in these foods or is highly processed will literally wipe them out. “What we see in common in the diets of people who live the longest and healthiest lives is minimal processed foods,” says Dr Rangan Chatterjee, GP and author of Feel Better In 5: Your Daily Plan to Supercharge Your Life (Penguin Life). He also advises eating within a 12-hour time frame, so if you have breakfast at 7am make sure you’ve eaten your evening meal by 7pm. This works with your body’s circadian rhythm (our daily sleep/wake cycle), helps to balance blood sugar and hormone production and aids sleep. Nutritionist Rob Hobson (robhobson. co.uk) recommends regularly taking a vitamin D supplement in winter to help reduce colds and respiratory infections, and making sure you stay hydrated. “Drinking water during winter is just as important as in summer,” says Rob. “In fact, it’s often easier to become dehydrated when we’re indoors in centrally heated environments.” The advice is to drink six to eight glasses of water a day, which sounds like a lot but try having two glasses of water before breakfast and one 30 minutes before every meal and you’re over halfway there. Remember, too, that herbal teas, fruit juices, watery foods such as fruit and vegetables, and even tea and coffee all help to keep your fluid intake up, although drinks containing caffeine also have a diuretic effect.

Daylight

Exposure to natural light is the most effective way to get your biological rhythm in sync so you feel alert during the day and sleepy in the evening, and have a healthy appetite. Science writer Linda Geddes explores the powerful link between daylight and health in her book Chasing the Sun: The New Science of Sunlight

and How it Shapes our Bodies and Minds (Wellcome Collection). “Going outside for ten minutes in the morning and again at lunchtime will strengthen your circadian rhythm and you’ll see improved mood, sleep and energy levels,” she says. And you’ll still get the benefit, even if it’s grey and gloomy outside. “Light illuminance is measured in lux,” explains Linda. “When we’re indoors in artificial light we’re exposed

“People who rise early tend to be less prone to mental illness and depression”

to about 200 to 300 lux. Going outdoors on a grey, cloudy day exposes us to about 5,000 lux, so that’s massively greater than sitting indoors.” Linda says that if we make small changes to brighten our daytimes and darken our evenings we’ll be more in tune with our biological rhythms. “Studies show that larks ( people who rise early and go to bed earlier) tend to be less prone to mental illness and depression and this may be because they have exposure to bright morning light.” If you can’t manage a walk, just step outside for a few minutes and look at the trees, listen to the birds and focus on your surroundings.

Exercise

In studies of longevity it’s shown that one of the main factors in living a longer, healthier life is keeping physically active. What many people don’t realise is that strength training is just as important as cardiovascular exercise, particularly beyond the age of 30. “After this age we start to lose lean muscle mass, which correlates directly with longevity,” says Rangan. Our lean muscle mass also helps with regulating hormones, our mood and weight. You don’t need to join a gym or lift weights; doing bodyweight exercises will increase your lean muscle mass without the need for any equipment. In his book, Rangan recommends a five-minute circuit of five exercises ( lunges, squats, reverse-fly, press-ups and glute bridges), which he advises doing three times a week. “Many people think they need to be doing high-intensity exercise but for most of us who’re living a busy, stressful life, the optimum exercise programme would be a 30-minute walk outside every day, five minutes of strengthtraining exercise three times a week and yoga.” Obviously we can’t all manage this all of the time, which is why Rangan encourages building short and simple slots into your day rather than embarking on an ambitious exercise regime.

Sleep

The optimum number of hours of sleep is thought to be around eight, but research by the Royal Society for Public Health shows that most people manage less than seven. More than a third of us sleep only five or six hours a night. Even if you’re clocking up an average of seven hours, you’re losing a night’s sleep over a week. All experts agree that going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends, plays a key role in healthy sleep, otherwise we disrupt our body clock and start to suffer from something known as social jet lag. “If you’re having problems sleeping,

the important thing is to try not to get too stressed about it, but to take action,” says Rob Hobson author of

The Art of Sleeping (HQ). If you wake up or can’t get to sleep, rather than lying in bed worrying about it, Rob advises getting up. “Keep the lights low, make yourself a warm drink and either read a book or jot down any thoughts that may be keeping you awake. When you start feeling sleepy again, go back to bed.” Using devices in bed or too close to bedtime are a no-no – research shows the blue light emitted by phones and tablets interferes with melatonin production and hampers your efforts to fall asleep as well as making you feel groggier when you wake up. Ideally switch off devices two hours before bedtime and don’t turn them back on until after you’ve showered and had breakfast in the morning. Keeping a sleep diary will help you pinpoint what might be affecting the quality of your sleep (there’s a journal in The Art of Sleeping or see sleepcouncil.org.uk/sleep-diary). “Often it’s little changes to your daily lifestyle, like keeping your bedroom cooler or avoiding alcohol in the evening and taking a walk in the morning, that will make all the difference,” says Rob. And if you’ve had a terrible night’s sleep, try having a short nap – the best time is between 1pm and 3pm for about ten to 30 minutes.

Friends

“It’s simply not possible to be truly happy and healthy if you feel disconnected from the people around you,” says Rangan. “I truly believe – and modern science backs this up – that human connection is one of the vital pillars of health, and it’s a hugely neglected part of mental and physical wellbeing.” The feeling of social isolation is now thought to be as harmful to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, yet we’ve never been less socially connected. “When we’re starved of human connections we tend to try to fill that hole with other things such as sugar, alcohol or technology,” explains Rangan, who says that nurturing your vital relationships can have a wonderful effect on mood and physical health.

Have a cup of tea with someone – a friend, colleague, your partner – and actually talk to them while you drink it. Discover what’s really going on in each other’s lives. Listen actively and try not to interrupt. Go to an exercise class rather than following a workout on YouTube. Have a regular date in your diary and if you can’t see somebody, phone them or send them a thoughtful message, or try writing down the things you love about someone close to you.

“Human connection is one of the vital pillars of health - yet hugely neglected”