Our Tactics for Finding a Better Work Life Balance

Our Tactics for Finding a Better Work/Life Balance

by Inner HealthLife ChangesLifestylePhysical Health

With technology making employees accessible 24 hours a day now, striking a healthy work-life balance can seem next to impossible to achieve. This, combined with the compounding stress of a rising cost of living, an exacerbated competitive job market, and the occasional 50 hour work week, can create some damaging effects on your well-being. Finding balance in life will differ for everyone. The key is to determine how you can find your balance, even when it seems impossible. After all, your happiness and health depend on this! To help you master this balancing act, here are a few of our tactics for finding a better work/life balance.

Learn To Unplug

Sure, technology makes your life more convenient, but it also consumes much of your time, while creating a standard where you’re always expected to be accessible. If you’re always accessible, it doesn’t leave much time for enjoying those precious moments in life, like your child’s soccer game. Start by disciplining yourself to unplug and switch off electronics when your work day is done. If you need to stipulate this to your clients and co-workers, then do it. Having quality time with your friends and family and being able to kick back and enjoy life is important. Otherwise, what’s the point of working so hard?

Prioritize Self Care

The reality is we make time for things that we prioritize. If you’re struggling to find a better work-life balance, it may be time to reassess your priorities. While you’re doing this, make sure to add exercise and mediation towards the top of your list. Exercise not only keeps you fit and feeling great, but it also helps to reduce stress. It releases endorphins which literally make you feel good. In addition to exercise, meditation or yoga are very beneficial practices that help calm the body and mind. Spending a few minutes every day focusing on your own self-care is well worth it.

Stop Trying to Juggle It All

Many business owners and overachievers can quickly get sucked into habits of perfectionism. As you wade through life, there can be many obstacles, changes and unforeseen events that can occur where this idea can get abruptly tossed out the window. Trying to juggle everything with strict standards for yourself can become a severe recipe for burn out. By learning to delegate tasks, you can lessen your responsibilities and create more time and space for life.

Ask Someone to Help

It’s okay to ask for help. The reality is, even though it’s easy to read about ways to strike a better balance, it’s always harder to implement. So, ask someone close to you for help! Having people who care for you and support you through these efforts is how you’re going to succeed in accomplishing them.

Using the Longer Days to Build a Better You

Using the Longer Days to Build a Better You

by Life ChangesLifestylePhysical Health

Becoming a better person doesn’t mean reinventing yourself altogether. Change happens gradually by focusing on altering one habit at a time. After all, it’s our habits that define who we are and what we do each and every day. With the longer days upon us, there’s no better time than now to utilize those extra hours of daylight to focus on building your strengths and getting your life in the shape you’d like it to be. Let us show you how you can use the longer days to create a better you and achieve your goals for future prosperity.

Focusing On Your Goals

Now’s the time to dig deep and reflect on your values, wants, and goals. Utilize the extra daytime hours to understand where you are today in your life and where you want to be in the future.

Adjusting to Life Changes

A sudden life change or surprise circumstance can significantly impact your life. Use this time to reflect on recent life changes that may be causing you and your family emotional and/or financial burdens. Taking the right steps now to address the situation can get you back on track and help you to reduce any future impacts that may arise.

Get Active

Having an active lifestyle might be the single most important part of living a balanced, healthy lifestyle. When it boils down to it, we will forever be living within our bodies, and our bodies need constant movement in order to function the way they ought to. Whether you choose to take a brisk walk every evening, go to the gym three nights a week, or run for 30 minutes every couple days, it will benefit every aspect of your life!

Practise Your Creativity

There seems to be a common misconception about creativity that you are either born a creative person or are not. We couldn’t disagree with this more! While it’s true that some people are naturally more creative than others, that doesn’t mean the rest of us are doomed! Being exceptionally creative is an acquired skill, just like being an active listener or being a great writer.

Just like any other skill you might learn, you need to practise continually in order to improve! Learn to think out of the box, approach problems from new angles, and don’t give up trying! You’re more creative than you think – you just need to work at it.

Try Something New

Trying new things, whether they are more related to your personal or professional life, can be daunting either way. As we continue to grow up, we get used to who we already are and what we are good and bad at, but we pigeonhole ourselves be doing so. Trying to develop new hobbies, skills, or learn about new things that interest you is a necessary part of bettering yourself as a person. You shouldn’t ever stop learning – no matter what you’re learning about!

Woman sleeping in her bed

How to Improve Sleep Hygiene

by Inner HealthLife ChangesLifestylePhysical Health

Obtaining a healthy and restful night’s sleep on a regular basis helps to improve productivity and overall quality of life. However, many of us simply fall into bed when it is convenient or don’t implement lifestyle adjustments that allow for a healthier night’s rest. Here are some ways you can improve your sleep hygiene and feel more refreshed each morning.

Avoiding Stimulants, Fats, and Sugars Prior to Bedtime

That last cup of coffee or nightcap can disrupt the effectiveness of your sleep cycle, particularly during the second half of the night when your body begins to process alcohol, caffeine, and sugars. Cutting them and fats, spices, and carbonated beverages out of your evening ritual can help to enhance overall sleep hygiene, and it doesn’t hurt to make it a rule to brush your teeth a little earlier so as to avoid temptation.

Put the Phone Down

The light emitted by your smartphone’s screen can cause for a horrid night’s rest fraught with discomfort and irritability if you’re not careful. Laying in bed and scrolling through social media news feeds until you pass out is going to do you no favours in regards to a restful sleep and refreshed body — in fact, it can sap your energy even more quickly and cause you to get up n the wrong side of the bed in the morning. If you absolutely must check that final email before bed, however, enable your phone’s blue light filter to minimize eyestrain and better simulate natural lighting.

Limit Daytime Nap Length

As we get older, we fall into the habit of taking catnaps to compensate for inadequate nighttime sleep. However, sleeping for hours during the day can wreak havoc on our internal clock and mood, making it more difficult to properly sleep at regular hours. Naps are all well and good, but set an alarm and limit them to half an hour long. In fact, naps of 30 minutes or less can help to boost alertness, overall mood, mental stimulation, and even performance. Don’t waste the potential of a nap by lying down for half the day.

Regular Exercise

While it should be embraced by middle-aged people either way for various physical and health benefits, practicing regular exercise helps to promote high quality sleep. Even as little of ten minutes of aerobic exercises — such as a walk or bike ride — can make a major difference. Bear in mind that this should be approached in moderation, however, as working out strenuously close to bedtime will have negative effects on your sleep cycle. The overall effects of regular exercise vary from person to person, so try different approaches and activities to see what works best and helps you sleep most comfortably.

Good sleep hygiene promotes good mental and physical health. Feel less drained in the morning by encouraging a healthy night’s rest, and you’ll be refreshed and comfortable every morning, ready to handle each day.

People practicing yoga

Why Practice Yoga?

by Inner HealthLifestylePhysical Health

In modern society, we worry. It’s perfectly natural, given that nearly everything we do affects us in the long run. Whether you’re fretting over securing a solid future for your children or are concerned about taxes, it’s important to find the time to release tension and de-stress. You might not have considered it, but yoga is a highly effective way to hone your mental focus, rid your system of harmful toxins, and lower stress levels — particularly important for those working hard to secure financial stability and support their families for the foreseeable future.

Stress Management

It has been said time and time again that practicing yoga is a fantastic way of negating stress, but there’s more to it than that. The intricate and flowing motions of yoga implement a number of meticulously tested relaxation techniques, which can enable for a calmer personality and more optimistic mood with regular practice. Yoga enables you to more readily think before speaking, and serves as an effective way of training your mind to see the bigger picture and act from integrity as opposed to becoming frustrated by pent-up stress. This is crucial in order to guarantee efficient and sensible decision-making as opposed to knee-jerk reactionary planning.

Chronic Pain Relief

Many studies suggest that the regular practice of yoga helps to reduce neck and back pain, as well as suffrage of those with cancer, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune diseases, hypertension, and arthritis. Through the carefully orchestrated stretching and bending of one’s body via fluid movements, chronic illnesses are a little bit easier to live with thanks to a decrease in aches and pains.

A Better Night’s Sleep

It is important for adults to sleep for at least 8 to 9 solid hours every evening. Through the negation of stress and increased calmness associated with regular yoga practice, you’ll sleep better than ever. This is important for those of us normally kept up at night with worries over finances, work-life balance, and risk management, as the less stressed we are, the better we sleep at night. Cancer survivors and those suffering from insomnia have benefited from many a good night’s rest upon practicing yoga, according to various studies.

Body Detoxification

Deep and natural yogic breathing enhances lung functionality, which enables for your brain to work more effectively. In addition, the physical activity associated with stretching and shaping your body through yoga helps to increase the motility and mobility of your organs and muscles. This allows your body to filter toxins out of your system more effectively, and breaking a sweat now and then ramps up the efficiency of muscle and organ detoxification even further. Burning calories through continued yoga practice will also help to control weight through reduced stress and introducing mindfulness to your diet. For those bent over a desk on a regular basis, it’s also highly effective at improving posture through core strengthening.

In essence, why not practice yoga? Even a few minutes’ worth of regular practice a day can help alleviate anxiety, reduce stress, help you breathe better, and detoxify your body. Many hold this delicate form of exercise in high regard as a cure-all of sorts, and it’s easy to see why when considering the bevy of mental and physical benefits it can bring.

Unlocking the Power of Superfoods

Unlocking the Power of Superfoods

by LifestylePhysical Health

Everywhere you look these days, you come across the term superfood. In magazines, cooking shows, commercials, and online ads, a lot of buzz has been generated around the term and that is with good reason. Healthy eating is always something we should strive for as busy working adults; however, there is something to be said about stocking up on the right foods.

Which superfoods and why?

We can’t be expected to do a complete overhaul of our diets and our schedules. We know we should all eat better than we do, and by arming ourselves with some information about certain healthy snacks we are more likely to transition them into our lives. Here are three superfoods that can be tied into any working professional’s busy schedule.

Blueberries

Try eating an entire cup of blueberries every single day. This can be easily done either in one sitting as a snack or as a topping on your morning cereal or lunch time salad. Studies show that eating blueberries regularly can help slow a decline in memory function and focus. In addition to helping maintain a healthy memory and a healthy heart, blueberries are a must have because of their high levels of folate, vitamin C, fibre and vitamin B6. With their undeniably delicious taste there is no excuse for you to not eat and enjoy at least one cup of blueberries every single day.

Green Tea

If having a coffee is part of your morning routine, try the healthier, still caffeinated, alternative of green tea. Green tea is a superfood that is easily assimilated into any morning or afternoon routine. Rich in antioxidants, green tea is the natural replacement for coffee while still providing you with the burst of caffeine you may require to start your day. There have been many studies done linking cancer prevention and drinking green tea and, although nothing can be said conclusively, there is evidence that leans towards green tea’s assistance in the prevention of some forms of cancer. If there is a fighting chance you can help your body stay healthy simply by drinking a delicious cup of powerful green tea every day, we should all be doing it.

Almonds

Another amazing snack that is incredibly easy to eat on the go, almonds provide the body with an excellent source of fibre along with a dose of iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin E, and magnesium. They can easily be snacked on while working at your desk, which is a much healthier alternative to reaching for a bag of chips to satisfy that afternoon craving. Try to mix them with some dried cranberries for a bit of variety.

Healthy eating is simple to accomplish if you integrate different superfoods into your daily routine. By adding a few healthy superfood snacks to your daily diet you will quickly be able to see the positive effects shine through your work output and energy levels.