The Daily Mind

Daily Steps To Mindful Living

Health

5 foods to boost your mood

Home, Life, Recipes

I’ve been working to a pretty tight deadline this week, which has meant several long days at my desk. It’s been pretty tiring work and I must confess that I’ve been reaching for the coffee pot and the biscuit tin one too many times.

I’ve noticed that my intake of sugary, caffeine-filled foods and drinks has been making me feel jittery and on edge. I’m also pretty tired and struggling to focus. I’ve therefore decided to give my diet an overhaul and do a bit of research into foods which are said to help boost your mood naturally. I hope you and I will both benefit from what I’ve learned.

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Originally posted on July 24, 2012 @ 2:18 pm

Is your workplace making you ill?

Body, Life

As I write this blog post I can feel my neck and back aching from sitting at a desk all day. I’ve also got a touch of eye strain and I think my knees are a bit locked up. What a mess I must sound! But my discomfort has inspired this blog post, which asks the question: is your workplace making you ill?

The combination of long hours, stressful working conditions and a poor diet can leave us susceptible to all manner of health problems. So perhaps it’s time to look at your work environment and habits to see if they need an overhaul.

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Creative Commons License photo credit: dave gunzenhauser

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Originally posted on February 28, 2012 @ 8:01 pm

Boost your mind, body and spirit

Body, Inspiration, Meditation, Mind, Personal Growth, Spirit

Sometimes the pressures of life can take their toll on our minds and bodies, leaving us exhausted, depressed and lacking in energy. Here’s how to give your mind, body and spirit a lift.

Mind
Make sure you start every day on a positive note. Instead of reading the papers or watching the news which, let’s face it, generally leaves you feeling pretty miserable, read a book that inspires you instead. You can catch up on the news later in the day, but make sure the first thing you read leaves you feeling uplifted.

Creative Commons License photo credit: Anders.Bachmann
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Originally posted on February 17, 2012 @ 10:33 am

Is there a link between our emotions and physical pain?

Mental Health, Mind

When we think about pain, it is generally to do with the physical causes – such as an injury caused through a fall, or a headache caused by staring at a computer for too long. But how often do we consider the fact that there could be an emotional reason for our ailments?

There is a growing belief among complementary therapists that our emotional state can often hold the key to the pains or illnesses we suffer from, and this is a topic I’m going to explore in this blog post. [Read more…] about Is there a link between our emotions and physical pain?

Originally posted on January 28, 2012 @ 8:14 pm

How to fight fatigue naturally

Body, Natural Medicine

Every day you can guarantee that around 3pm my eyes will start to droop and I’ll struggle to stay awake at my desk – that’s when the dreaded afternoon slump kicks in. It’s so tempting to reach for a cup of coffee or a chocolate bar, but these can play havoc with the body’s blood sugar levels.

So, for this particular blog post I thought I’d suggest some of my favourite natural pick-me-ups to help you get through the daily grind still feeling fresh and raring to go.

Enjoying the Park
Creative Commons License photo credit: JPott

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Originally posted on December 15, 2011 @ 8:24 am

How to streamline your life

Life, Personal Growth

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself constantly rushing around trying to fit lots of things into the day and never quite feeling that there’s enough time. I think the key here is time management – something that doesn’t come easily to me, I must admit – so that’s why for this blog I’ve decided to speak to a number of health experts to get some tips. I’m going to take a look at how to manage your work life better so that you feel less stressed, and I’m also going to look at how to fit more time in your day for fitness, a healthy diet and meditation.

Work

I like to think that I’m pretty organised, but I do sometimes get overwhelmed at work when I’ve got lots of things to do at once. I asked business coach Catherine Billam for some advice on how to be better at multi-tasking and, interestingly, she claims that it’s “a very inefficient way of using the brain.” She adds: “Doing two tasks at once can reduce your performance by up to 50 per cent, and constant emailing or text messaging reduces intelligence by an average of 10 points on an IQ test.” Yikes! That puts my IQ down by several numbers.

Instead of trying to juggle lots of tasks, Catherine advises cutting your day into chunks and focusing on one type of activity at a time. “Have separate chunks of time for admin, phone calls, meetings, emails, dealing with today’s emergencies, planning, creative thinking and writing,” she says.

Catherine also suggests being clever in the way that you plan your day. “Do the most difficult tasks when you have the most energy and the routine tasks when you have the least energy,” she says.

“Most people are at their brightest early in the morning, so do your hardest creative tasks and decision-making then. If dealing with admin or emails is routine, do that when you have less energy. Most people have a dip in the middle of the afternoon. Do routine tasks then.” I’ve always wondered what to do during the dreaded 3pm slump – now I know!

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Originally posted on October 21, 2011 @ 10:51 am