A good night’s sleep is one of those things we all take for granted. That is until we’re wide awake at 3 in the morning and wondering whether we’ll ever go back to sleep before it’s time to get up… 

 

Not surprisingly, many people have found their sleep patterns have gone completely haywire over the last couple of years. And there are many different possible reasons for this besides the uncertainty, stress and changes to routine; any of which can prevent us from having a good night’s sleep. 

 

We’ve written about sleep several times before, not only about how to ensure a good night’s sleep, but how important it is from a housekeeping point of view; allowing our bodies to do the multitude of tasks vital for our health and wellbeing which can’t be done during the day. You can find the posts here and here. 

Everyone loves to pass on information, otherwise known as having a good gossip (!). And, human nature being what it is, the juicer and more scandalous, the better... 

 

So, with it now being August, otherwise known as the “Silly Season” – and that’s without everything else going on at the moment (!) – it seemed like a good time to pass on a story and simple technique to help inject a little sanity into the proceedings. It’s stood the test of time, coming from the Ancient Greek Philosopher, Socrates, and goes like this: 

Earlier this month we looked at how taking prescription medication seems to have become the norm for all too many people – and not just those of more mature years (!). Sadly, this can become a rather slippery slope, with one medication all too quickly becoming two, three or many more. You can find the post here. 

 

The prescription of multiple medications is known as “Polypharmacy” with “poly” meaning many and “pharmacy” meaning drugs. While the dangers of overprescribing medications are well known, there is no single definition of how many drugs is too many. Definitions range from two or more to eleven or more being taken each day, with five or more seeming to be the general rule of thumb. 

And, “yes” we know what you’re thinking.  

 

Or, more accurately, the Little Monster in your Head is thinking (!). How this is all very well in theory BUT simply doesn’t apply to you. There then follows a long list of things that DEFINTELY didn’t help you; whether far back in the mists of time or more recent. So, there. End of story. Full stop. 

 

Before we go any further, this is probably a good time for a nice deep calming breath. Then, perhaps, several more too (!).  

 

Feeling better?  

 

Little Monster in your Head back under control?!? 

 

Then we’ll now explain the reasoning behind this very simple statement which, all too often, can become a potentially inflammatory one. 

With the current spell of hot weather – well, hot for the UK (!) – it’s easy for people to become dehydrated without even realising it. Perhaps it’s due to them not being used to hot weather and simply not recognising the warning signs. Having said that, many of the classic signs of dehydration seem so obvious – to us at least (!) – that it can sometimes be hard to understand how people don’t seem to join the dots. 

 

So, this week, we’re going to take another look at the most common signs of dehydration. And, don’t be fooled, they apply all year round, not just in the summer (!). 

 

Let’s begin with the most obvious ones of feeling thirsty or having a dry mouth. Now you may think these are blindingly obvious but you’d be surprised. 

Last week, we celebrated our 400th blog post by highlighting some of the mindset topics that come up again and again with Clients. If you missed it click here. 

 

So, this week, we’re going to continue on a similar theme and return to a post made back in 2016. It concerns a trend that has become increasingly obvious to us in recent years, but dates back at least a couple of decades – if not further back still – and has been gathering pace in recent years. 

Just in case you haven’t guessed it yet, we’re talking about the number of blog posts we’ve made over the last eight – yes, eight – years. Time really does rush by! 

 

So, with our 400th post, we wanted to highlight some of the mindset topics that come up again and again with Clients. In other words, giving them a new perspective on what may be going on between their ears (!) and, just as importantly, how the Little Monster in their head can all too easily undermine their best efforts. They’re also the blog posts that still seem to catch people’s attention, even years after they were written. 

Mention fibre and most people immediately think of those less than appetising, cardboard like, breakfast cereals. You know the ones we mean. As one friend slightly cynically put it, the box probably tastes better – and has more nutritional content – than the cereal inside (!). Moving swiftly on… 

 

Thankfully, there are much simpler and infinitely more appetising ways to add fibre do your diet. It’s something we talk about all the time in this blog – not to mention with Clients – and we trust, by now, everyone knows what it is. Eating a wholefood diet high in plant based foods. In other words, fruit, vegetables and salad in their natural, unprocessed state. Not the ever increasing number of processed versions which, however much you try to convince yourself, are never good alternatives to the real thing. And here’s the important bit, as the mainstay of every meal – and snack, if you succumb (!) – not just your main meal. 

While we may not always realise it – or, if we do, like to admit it (!) – much of our lives are driven by hidden agendas. Both ours and other people’s (!). Or, put another way, by “What’s in it for me?!?”. 

 

Some of them are very obvious and, dare we say it, calculating in some way or other. 

 

The rationale behind them is quite simple. If I do x, then the other person will do y. Or, perhaps, I’ll get y. 

 

Sometimes it’s exactly the opposite. Trying to make sure that someone doesn’t do y. Or we don’t get y. 

 

Either way, the desired outcome is achieved, whether the other person is aware of it or not. 

Over the last couple of years, the number of people diagnosed with Anxiety and / or Panic Attacks has rocketed. With it has come a huge increase in the prescription of conventional mediations, particularly while access to Psychotherapy, Counselling, CBT and other talking therapies was drastically curtailed. 

 

At the same time, there’s also been a noticeable increase in the number of people suffering Heart Attacks. Although, having said that, it’s thought these figures are likely to be on the low side as many people simply don’t realise what’s happening. Or confuse it for something else, most commonly indigestion or a Panic Attack.