By Vladimir Marchenko
- Mindful and intuitive eating
- Digital detox
- Flexible approach to goals
- Enhancing mental health on your own
- Walking-talking therapy
- Strengthening immunity
- Home gyms and beauty salons
- Stress monitoring
- Breathing exercises
Mindful and intuitive eating
The time of blindly following diets, without taking into account the characteristics of the body, the rhythm of life and the region of residence, seems to be leaving us forever. Strict recommendations that force you to completely abandon meat or carbohydrates are gradually giving way to a personal diet. The way of eating according to the needs and wants of the body. It is important to understand that "listening to the body does not equal eating everything." This approach requires mindfulness and aims to satisfy hunger cravings without overeating or excessive addiction to junk food. If you really want something, it is better to eat it and not arrange a "gastric execution" for yourself. You should listen to your own feelings and try to accept yourself as you are, within reasonable limits. This can also include the 80/20 or, say, 75/25 nutritional format, when proper nutrition takes most of it, but there is also a place for the treats.
Digital detox
In 2020, most of us consumed as much information as the person living in the Middle Ages hardly consumed in their entire life. The news came in a continuous stream and it seemed that the world was heading for an apocalypse. Accordingly, the desires to limit negative information and to form one’s own daily agenda flowed. Therefore, digital detox is becoming more and more relevant - limiting the perception of news information, posts from social networks, and television. The easiest way is to start with daily restrictions on reading the news (say, give them no more than half an hour), then arrange a full-fledged weekend without gadgets and electronic "servants". It is better to devote this time to yourself: relaxation practices, walking, communicating with like-minded people, reading, listening to music, etc.
Flexible approach to goals
Last year it became clear that making plans for six months or even three months in advance is pointless, everything around can change too quickly. The situation remains unstable this year (primarily due to the ongoing pandemic and new mutations of the coronavirus), so more often they talk about setting micro-goals or quick-to-do tasks. It is also better to break the movement towards a global goal into numerous stages. For example, instead of a trip to a country that changes the policy of entry and stay of tourists every month, it is better to visit a quieter region or even explore your homeland. In other words, plans should be adjusted depending on the circumstances.
Enhancing mental health on your own
Although psychologists and counseling have gone online, ways to manage mental health are gradually shifting directly to those who need it. Now, the easiest way to care about your mental health on your own is by using mobile mental health complexes, such as Hypnopedia. It contains a set of short motivational phrases (affirmations), distributed depending on one’s mental needs. The peculiarity lies in the fact that affirmations are reproduced during the user's sleep and are perceived at the subconscious level. The optimal time is selected based on indicators from Apple Watch sensors using an algorithm specially written for this purpose. The affirmations are played several times a night and with regular use, the user’s psychophysiological characteristics improve. For the best sleep, you can listen to relaxing melodies and sounds, and a gentle wake-up can be provided with a “smart” alarm clock.
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Ссылка App StoreWalking-talking therapy
Despite the imposed restrictions, including going outside without a serious reason, right now is the best time to spend time walking and socializing. In some cases, walking the eco-routes with access to the mountains, going into the forest or sea cruises is strongly recommended. During such walks, both meetings of like-minded people and sessions of providing psychological support take place. In addition, such therapy itself has a beneficial effect on both the appearance and the internal state. Fresh air and sunshine naturally help improve your health. And communication, the exchange of positiveness between friends complement the idyllic picture of such a wellness practice.
Strengthening immunity
Health care also came to the fore, and people with strong immunity tend to have milder symptoms of coronavirus and other viral infections. Therefore, taking vitamins and minerals, giving up alcohol and smoking, playing sports, minimizing stress, and sleeping for 6-8 hours remain highly relevant. It is useful to eat carrots, spinach, rose hips, olive oil, tomato juice, citrus fruits. To reduce the burden on the immune system, avoid crowded places, ventilate the area every 3-4 hours, wear masks, use antiseptic, or wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
Home gyms and beauty salons
A modern gym, as it turned out, can be easily replaced with a home set of sports equipment: small dumbbells, hanging horizontal bars, yoga mats, resistance bands and fitness balls, as well as rowing and stationary bicycles. They do not take up much space, but they allow you to keep yourself in shape. In addition, online workouts, both group and individual, immediately appeared, and trainers rushed to draw up lesson plans for exercising at home. The same thing happened with the beauty industry - it has acquired numerous "home" branches. The use of cosmetics and skin care products expanded, and stories on Instagram and TikTok are filled with tips and secrets for keeping beauty while being temporarily locked within four walls, but hoping to be out again one day.
Stress monitoring
2020 has become a difficult psychological test for many. The state of lingering stress turned into a routine and some people are getting rid of it with the help of drugs, alcohol, etc. Not everyone manages to cope with stress on their own, but they do not always seek urgent psychological help. Monitoring stress and minimizing it in the early stages will become especially important this year. Moreover, many watches and bracelets with stress monitoring functions have appeared on sale. The algorithms analyze the pulse and provide information about the presence of a stressful situation. If necessary, the devices give a signal to calm down.
Breathing exercises
Breathing control opens up vast opportunities for stress management, activation of the inner state, tranquility and falling asleep, and has a positive effect on physical health. We talked about this in more detail in the article: "What are the health benefits of breathing exercises?" For example, the starting point in the practice of new breathing techniques is inhalation with an inflation of the abdomen and exhalation with a retraction of the abdomen. At the same time, the frequency of inhalation-exhalation in a calm state averages about 10 per minute. Most of the special breathing practices are built on the principle of "inhale-hold-exhale", only the duration of each of the elements changes. Not all breathing practices can be performed the first time, but after training, almost any technique can be mastered.
One thing is clear - 2021, like no other year, pushes to take care of physical and mental health. It is very useful to concentrate on yourself and your condition, as well as help your loved ones, if necessary, and use the remote assistance of experienced trainers / consultants. This will help you feel good throughout the year.