HEALTH + WELLNESS
GO EASY ON YOURSELF CONT .
The positive power of moving your body more is widely underrated and that ’ s often because people think it means slogging and sweating at the gym or pounding the pavements . Spoiler alert : it doesn ’ t . Not only has it been medically proven that replacing 30 minutes of sedentary activity with either moderate or light activity resulted in a significant reduction in mortality risk , but it ’ s also really easy to find an activity that you ’ re happy to focus on for that precious half an hour . Screens – whether that be the TV , your phone , or your tablet – take up an awful lot of our time these days , but finding half an hour for walking , yoga , stretching , dancing , playing outside with your kids , or simply ‘ carrying the weight ’ that we more and more seem to outsource ( e . g ., picking up your food shopping instead of home delivery or cooking more from scratch ) and you ’ ll not only lengthen your life , but you ’ ll lessen your chances of getting cancer and depression too . Humans are movement in essence , so get up and out jumpstart those mood-altering neurotransmitters as often as you ’ re able to .
To complement these more committed ways to make your lives a little healthier and happier , we ’ ve compiled a list of practical and very relaxed ways you can go easy on yourself . Start small and build up as and when you feel like it – 2023 is all about balance and feeling comfortable in who you are and confident that you ’ re finding gentle methods to improve your mental and physical health .
Breathe
Before you do anything that is important to you , take a moment to breathe . Even just a few seconds will help you approach the task with greater calm and focus , and less anxiety . It ’ ll give you a brief chance to remember why you ’ re doing the task at hand and put your mind at ease before you begin .
Focus on one thing at a time
Multitasking is all well and good as a notion , but it ’ s steeped in myth because we ’ re not actually doing lots of simultaneous things at the exact same time , we ’ re switching our attention from task to task quickly , so let ’ s forget all that . What we ’ re suggesting is an intentional focus on one thing at a time . Not only will this help recharge your brain as you ’ re going easier on it , but it will make even the most stressful of to-dos less taxing .
105