Posts tagged “Lifestyle”

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Having a happy - and stress free (!) - Christmas

Posted on 17th December 2014 at 07:30

Whether you love or hate Christmas (!), this time of year is traditionally stressful, as everyone puts on their rose tinted spectacles in an attempt to create the “perfect Christmas.”

Add to this the heady mix of unrealistic expectations – fuelled by all the hype in the media for the last few months – relatives you only see once a year and overindulgence. Sadly the results are often far too predictable.

If we’ve been here many times before, why do we allow the same scenes to continue to be replayed year after year?

Electricity and its hidden impact on our health

Posted on 10th December 2014 at 07:30

There’s no doubt that the switching on of the first light bulb by Thomas Edison — in 1879, we’re reliably informed (!) —completely transformed our world forever. Our love affair with all things electrical quickly followed.

In the last twenty years or so wireless technology has come to the forefront, with an estimated 50 million mobile phones in the UK and wi fi now available in most public places.

Alongside this has come an increasing number of reports of the risks posed by modern technology. Many of these have taken the form of lurid stories in the press — particularly the tabloids — but there has also been a growing body of research which is hard to ignore.

Are you tuned in to the natural rhythms of life?

Posted on 3rd December 2014 at 07:30

Last week we cast a new light – no pun intended (!) – on the biannual clock change we all take for granted. Jumping forward in the spring. Falling back in the autumn. How this may effect more than the amount of daylight we have to enjoy each day, but may also have implications for our ongoing health as well. Not to mention the economic effects of these changes for big business too...

Many people have likened these clock changes to ongoing – and low grade – jet lag. Rather than feeling the effects for a few days – as our bodies adjust to a new time zone – we’re permanently just a little out of synch with our natural rhythms.

But is this the only way we’ve lost touch with our natural rhythms or it is it just the tip of the iceberg? We’d say the latter is the case.

Do you spring forward or fall back?

Posted on 26th November 2014 at 07:30

Here in the UK it’s nearly a month since the clocks changed – bringing with it the tantalising promise of an extra hour in bed (!) – and the ongoing debate about whether we still need to make this biannual change continues.

Traditionally the lines are clearly drawn. On one side are the business community, safety campaigners and schools. On the other are those working outside, particularly farmers, along with people living in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The obesity epidemic, it is simply a case of eating less and exercising more?

Posted on 19th November 2014 at 07:30

The poor state of our health is a favourite subject in the media, with obesity and soaring rates of diabetes in groups previously not thought of as high risk, being under the spotlight in recent months.

Fingers are pointed at a long list of possible culprits including fast food outlets, the supermarkets, less active lifestyles and poor nutritional education.

Solutions are demanded from the government, NHS, schools and supermarkets.

If we take a step back from all the hype, the problem seems very simple. Eating too much and exercising too little.

Counting your blessings

Posted on 5th November 2014 at 07:30

It’s interesting the responses our blog posts evoke and how often they’re completely different to what we expected.

Our recent posts about how you view the world – What do you see, the rain or the rainbow and Dr Masaru Emoto and the hidden messages of water – are really good examples of this.

The most common response to these posts was along the following lines:

How could we be so cheerful and positive with all the bad things happening in the world?

Ebola. Syria. ISIS. The economic climate.

Dr Emoto and the hidden messages of water

Posted on 29th October 2014 at 07:30

We all have our own “pet” – or favourite – subjects (!) and there aren’t any prizes for guessing one of ours.

Water. As in, how much are you drinking each day – and, “no” tea and coffee don’t count! If we had a pound for every time someone said this to us, we’d be very rich indeed…

Yes, we know, it can seem rather repetitive – not to mention boring (!) – at times, but there is method in our madness.

While we don’t think of ourselves as living in water, in reality we do, with our bodies being made up of more than 75% water. Every one of the billions of cells found in our body is literally bathed in water. Our body’s main transport systems, the blood and lymph, are water based. The millions of chemical reactions occurring every second do so in water. And so the list goes on.

Wheat, a plant that changed the world

Posted on 22nd October 2014 at 07:30

Wheat has formed an essential part of the human diet for thousands of years. It’s something we all take for granted but how much do we really know about it?

If you love bizarre facts – or pub quizzes (!) – this blog post is definitely for you! So here goes.

The wheat we know today can be traced back to the interbreeding of three different grass species about 12,000 years ago. This so called “domestication of wheat” is said to mark a great step forward in our evolution. Allowing a move away from a nomadic lifestyle, where food was obtained by foraging and hunting; to a more settled one, with food produced by farming crops and herding animals.

What's in a name - do labels help or hinder?

Posted on 15th October 2014 at 07:30

As humans we seem to want things to be simple, black and white. Good. Bad. Happy. Sad. Friend. Enemy.

While these labels may be a useful way of quickly describing something, they also have at least one major flaw. Once a label is in place, rarely do we go back and reconsider whether it is a fair – and true – description of whatever it is.

Do you cat nap or sleep like a baby?

Posted on 8th October 2014 at 07:30

Sleep is one of those subjects people seem to get completely fixated by. It may be their bedtime routine. How much sleep they need.

Why their friends / partner need more – or less – sleep than they do. What their day is going to be like if they don’t get enough sleep. And so the list goes on.

From talking to many patients over the years, it’s clear there are lots of old wives tales – or myths – about sleep; but very little in the way of actual facts.

So let’s try and shed some light on this most mysterious part of our lives.

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