The subject of managing the barrage of information fired at us from our devices was one that came up in a discussion with a friend recently while we were out on a walk and it keeps coming up in my mind, so I thought it would be a good one to explore here. The internet also happens to be the theme of Men's Health Week (12th-18th June 2023) this year. I will start by looking at some of the negative impacts of information technology (IT) on health & wellbeing and finish with ideas for maintaining a healthy relationship with it.

Our devices can have many adverse impacts on our health and wellbeing, including mental health, productivity, relationships and sleep. Frequent checking of social media feeds and the internet can cause anxiety by shifting our focus from the task in hand and overwhelming us with information. As anxiety expert Wendy Suzuki says,“ We are surrounded by too much information to filter and too much stimulation to relax.” Comparing ourselves unfavourably with those we see online can lead to low self esteem, and over exposure to negative messaging can cause or aggravate depression.

Rangan Chatterjee makes a sobering observation in The Stress Solution “...Dan Nixon, a senior executive at the bank of England, went public recently, saying he was worried that digital disruptions were having a significant impact on our productivity… Studies confirm that when we complete a task but are distracted while doing it we perform it with an IQ that is ten points lower than if we had performed it without distractions. That loss of IQ is the same as the loss from missing a night’s sleep. Without phones at our sides we are going through our entire lives less intelligently than we might be.”

Studies have shown that just having a phone at a dining table even if you are not using it, can negatively impact the quality of the social interaction over a meal. That is why some restaurants are now offering a 10% discount to customers who stow their phones in a designated holder for the duration of their visit.

IT can negatively impact sleep in two ways: blue light exposure in the evening and mental stimulation. As Sachin Panda explains in The Circadian Code, “Staring at most screens at mid- to high brightness introduces more blue light to our retina and brain. The blue wavelengths - which are beneficial during daylight hours because they boost attention, reaction times, and mood - seem to be the most disruptive at night. Exposure to them reduces melatonin production and suppresses sleep.” Scrolling social media before bed can expose you to more than blue light, seeing or reading something that sets your mind racing is not conducive to a good night’s sleep either.

Ten tips for maintaining a healthy relationship with information technology:

1. Track your non-work IT usage over a week so that you have an accurate picture of how long you are spending online.
2. Be selective about what people or groups you follow to avoid overwhelm and to make your online experience a positive one.
3. Schedule set blocks of time in the day to check feeds and surf the net so that it is a proactive task instead of a reactive habit. If you find that you tend to over run the allocated time, set a timer to remind you to stop.
4. Leave your phone behind when you go for a walk so that you can mindfully focus your five senses on what is around you and make the most of the time outdoors. If you really want it with you, put it out of sight in a bag or pocket, preferably on silent.
5. Try to have at least one day a week when you don’t use IT other than to speak on the phone with friends and family or to message someone that you are meeting up with that day if you need to update them on timings or location.
6. And how about a tech-free holiday when you leave all IT behind (or at least out of sight) for a weekend break or longer trip? You can even find accommodation geared to support you in that, for example Unplugged.
7. Give whoever you are interacting with your undivided attention and avoid checking your phone.
8. Have phones out of sight and so out of mind at meal times if you value the experience of sharing a meal with others.
9. Set your devices to night time mode after 6pm to minimise your exposure to blue light at the end of the day and so to optimise the quality of your sleep.
10. Set a watershed time in the evening an hour or two before you go to bed when you turn off all devices to avoid the stimulation spoiling your slumber.

I hope this post will help you to navigate a safe passage through the sea of information and distractions out there. Do let me know if you have any other strategies that work for you, I would love to know.

Mental Health Awareness week is in May, so this post is about using mindfulness to move out of your head space and become more aware of your body. The best way to do that is a body scan.

A body scan can be performed standing, seated or lying down, but I would recommend lying down as that is most restful. This version can be particularly helpful for releasing tension (which you may or may not be aware of) from the body, which can help calm the mind and the breath, as body, mind and breath are all connected and influence each other.

Scan slowly through your body, top to toe, saying the following (or similar) silently to yourself:

• Scalp relaxed

• Forehead smooth

• Eyes heavy in their sockets

• Third eye (the space between the eyebrows) open

• Cheeks softening over the cheek bones

• Throat soft

• Neck relaxed

• Shoulders heavy on the support of [what you are lying on]

• Arms heavy and relaxed

• Hands and fingers relaxed

• Chest and abdomen relaxed so that the breath can move freely

• Back of the body sinking heavily into the support of [what you are lying on]

• Pelvis relaxed, let go

• Legs heavy and relaxed

• Feet and toes relaxed

• Whole body relaxed

• Soften

• Melt

• Let go…

If you drift off to sleep, don’t worry, just acknowledge it and accept that you probably needed the sleep. At least you had focussed in and relaxed enough to get to that point.

As well as being an excellent daily meditation practice, the body scan is a lovely way to revive yourself if you are feeling jaded in the day. Even 5 or 10 minutes can be beneficial, but aim for 20 minutes or more if you can. Set a timer for however long you intend to meditate so that you are not distracted by thoughts about the time. The body scan can also be used to help you to settle if you are struggling to sleep at night. I hope that you can give it a try and enjoy it!

The abdomen can be a powerful place to work during a massage treatment, but as Clare Maxwell-Hudson says in The Complete Book of Massage (the first massage book that I ever read, which was decades ago now): “At first some people are a little apprehensive about having their abdomen massaged. I think this is because they carry their tension there, and to expose the abdomen makes them feel vulnerable.” And it is true that the posture of fear is being closed up at the front of the body as if curled in a ball to protect the soft belly and the vital organs within it. We even feel fear in the abdomen as ‘butterflies’.

If we can overcome that sense of vulnerability in exposing the abdomen to massage, some of the main potential benefits are for:

1. healthy breathing

1. fascial release

1. hip and lower back pain

1. emotional release

1. digestive problems.

Abdominal massage can support healthy breathing by relaxing the abdominal muscles, which allows the breath to move freely. So often we focus on holding the belly in, which can restrict the natural breathing pattern. At rest, the diaphragm sits as a dome below the rib cage. When we breathe in, it contracts and flattens to draw air into the lungs, which naturally pushes the abdominal contents down and outwards. This natural breathing pattern massages the internal organs by squeezing and releasing them if we allow that abdominal movement to happen. I have certainly found my breathing to feel noticeably different after abdominal work, easier and more relaxed.

Relaxing the abdominal muscles and releasing the fascia in the abdomen can help alleviate pain around the lower back, pelvis and hips. As I mentioned above, fear and stress can make us tighten up in the front of the body, which can cause musculoskeletal problems elsewhere in the body. Releasing tension in the abdomen allows a healthier posture to return.

We are all familiar with the term gut feeling, but perhaps less so with the concept that emotions and trauma can be stored in the abdomen. Abdominal massage can help release these in a therapeutic way.

And of course massage can be beneficial for digestive health. In part because chronic stress can impair digestive health. The relaxation of a treatment can help calm the system down allowing it to return to a state of rest and digest. The circling techniques used in abdominal massage are always done in the direction of the digestive system, which is clockwise, to support the digestive process.

In qigong we often practise self massage of the abdomen by circling the hands around the area (over our clothing) to massage the internal organs and to build qi in the lower dantian (elixir field). That is something that you can do for yourself, standing up, seated or lying down. With one hand on top of the other over the abdomen, start off with a small circle around the navel and gradually make the circle bigger until it takes in the whole abdomen, circling clockwise as if you were looking out of the clock face. Another technique is to place both palms over the abdomen, thumbs and index fingers touching, then draw them up the centre line over the navel to the lower ribs before drawing them out to the sides and down before drawing up the centerline again, as if drawing a circle on each side of the abdomen with the hands circling up the middle and down the side.

I hope that you can enjoy the benefits of abdominal massage whether that is from a treatment or through self massage.

My previous post was about optimising health and wellbeing by bringing the outdoors in with biophilic interior design, but now feels a good time to start looking outward once more. As I write, in February, it is definitely feeling more spring-like, with longer, brighter days and real warmth in the sunshine. I can see why 1st February is the Celtic start of spring, Imbolc, and I am sure I am not the only one whose thoughts are turning to the garden again. I wanted to share something that has helped me to get so much more out of gardening and being in the garden: gardening for wildlife. It is something that you and your local wildlife can benefit from whether your green space is a window box, a balcony, a courtyard or a garden of any size. Pick what ideas will work for you and the space that you have available. “Wildlife needs four things – food, water, shelter and a place to breed. By providing these things you will bring your garden to life,” Wildlife Trust.

Food

Butterflies, Bees and Other Insects

To attract butterflies to your space from spring to autumn, choose nectar-rich plants like primrose, aubretia and sweet rocket for early in the season; lavender, catmint, thyme, heliotrope, red valerian, hebe, buddleia and knapweed for the summer; and Michaelmas daisy, sweet scabious and hyssop for the autumn. You can buy seed bombs suitable for butterflies or bees, which can be sown into pots or flower beds. Creating a meadow by mowing an area of lawn less frequently (try a 'No Mow May') or creating one from scratch by sowing a suitable seed mix will benefit all sorts of insects. Boston Seeds is a good supplier of wildflower seeds and plants. 

Birds

You can plant for birds too. Goldfinches love the seedheads of the dandelion family and teasle seeds. Black caps will drink nectar from mahonia over the winter when insects are in short supply, and of course the thrush family (including blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares) especially love berries like holly, hawthorn, pyracantha and ivy if you have room for shrubs, hedges or trees.

Water

Water is as important as food to wildlife, so providing it in your space will make it more attractive to them, whether that is as simple as a saucer of water or more involved like a bird bath or pond. I love watching insects drinking from the bird bath in our garden in the summer as much as I do seeing the birds using it year round.

Shelter

Nest Boxes

As the ever-increasing volume of the dawn chorus suggests, the birds are starting to think about nest building, and some early nesters will already have started. Although autumn and winter are the ideal time to put up nest boxes so that the local birds can suss them out before the breeding season, you may well be pleasantly surprised if you provide one early in the season. Check out the RSPB's Ultimate Guide to Nest Boxes for all the inspiration you will need! Be sure to check nest boxes in the autumn or winter and to clean them out with hot soapy water if they have been used so that they are ready for new tenants to move in.

Insect Hotels

Insects are becoming more active by February and it won’t be long before they are looking for nesting places too, so an insect hotel might be worth considering for the right spot. I had the thrill of seeing different species of solitary bees move in when I put one up in a little meadow area last summer. As well as attracting insects, an insect hotel can be an aesthetically pleasing feature for us to look at too! CJ Wildlife supply all sorts of products for wildlife gardening, including insect hotels. A simple, undisturbed pile of logs or some upturned plant pots can also provide valuable shelter for insects year round.

Hedgehog Homes

For later in the year, how about providing a shelter for a hedgehog to hibernate in if you are lucky enough to have them visiting your space. That could be as simple as a compost heap or a pile of leaves or logs, or as elaborate as a purpose-built hibernaculum. The Hedgehog Street website has plenty of advice on all things hedgehog.

Bat Boxes

If you noticed bats flying over your property in the summer, they might appreciate a bat box or two or three situated high up on a tree or wall as a roosting site. The Bat Conservation Trust has comprehensive advice on their website on choosing and positioning bat boxes.

Ponds

If you have the space, a pond can be a valuable garden feature for wildlife. It doesn’t need to be huge, even a mini pond will provide a home, food and water for wildlife. The Wildlife Trust website has plenty of advice about creating a wildlife pond. Inspired by that, I had fun last year converting some old metal tubs that had been discarded in a garden shed into mini ponds!

Access

Last, but not least, consider how wildlife can access your garden. “One of the main reasons hedgehogs are struggling in Britain is because our fences and walls are becoming more and more secure, reducing the amount of land available to them,” Hedgehog Street have plenty of advice on making your garden accessible for hedgehogs on their website here. We have agreed with a neighbour to leave a gap in our boundary fence to allow hedgehogs, foxes and deer to move freely between our gardens.

I hope that you have found something here to inspire you to attract wildlife to your green space for the sake of your own health and wellbeing as well as theirs. Happy gardening!

In the winter, when many of us are spending less time outdoors, it is the ideal time to reflect on how we can boost our wellbeing by bringing nature indoors. We have an innate affinity with the natural world, known as biophilia, which is why bringing the outside in can have health benefits. We can do that in three key ways: by having natural objects in the home (e.g. plants, wood or shells); by incorporating representations of nature (e.g. in paintings, as sculpture or printed on fabrics); and by creating natural environments within the home (e.g. a safe snug, a vibrant living room or making the most of views). Here are a few ideas to consider…

Colour

Colour can evoke an emotional response in us associated with nature, so soft, natural blues remind us of the sky and water, which can help us to feel relaxed; vibrant greens bring with them the calm energy of forests and meadows; yellows represent sunshine and harvests, so energise us and help us feel sociable; shades of purple are like the mysterious light at dawn and dusk; and oranges and reds excite us like ripe fruit and berries did our ancestors. How does the colour scheme in each room in your home fit with how you want to feel in that room?

Pattern

We are spoilt for choice when it comes to bringing patterns mimicking nature into the home, whether that is in artwork, fabric, wallpaper or floor coverings. The repeating patterns that are so common in nature, for example the ever-branching nature of trees and river deltas, are known as fractals and they can have a positive impact on our emotional health, so we can tap into that when choosing patterns for the home. A recent blog post of mine talks in more detail about fractals, so you can learn more about them in The Healing Power of Fractals.

Light

Despite our modern lifestyles, we still have an internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm, geared to the environment that we evolved in, and light has a strong influence on the timing of that clock. Disrupting it can cause all sorts of health issues: mental health problems, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, liver disease, obesity and diabetes to name but a few. You can learn more about optimising your circadian rhythm in my blog post Why You Feel Like Hibernating in Winter. To use light in your home to support your circadian rhythm, try a sunrise alarm to wake you naturally, let the morning light in as soon as you wake, have bright natural or artificial lighting during the day, dim the lights in the evening and block out all light sources in the bedroom at night, including from electrical equipment.

Sound

There are several ways to create the right acoustic environment for your home. For a peaceful space, you can reduce unwanted noise with judicious use of soft furnishings indoors or using planting in the garden to screen out road noise or noisy neighbours, and when you come to replace electrical items, you may be able to find quieter alternatives (the Quiet Mark website is great resource for that). And of course you can play the sounds of nature to mask unwanted noise or create a sense of calm.

Air Quality

You may not have much control over the quality of the air outside your home, but you can improve it indoors by choosing toxin-free paints, furnishings and household products, and by tackling any damp or mould problems by ensuring adequate warmth and ventilation. Houseplants can improve air quality too, as well as enhancing the environment in many other ways, all of which I cover in my blog post Houseplants as Part of a Healthy Home.

Introducing natural scents to the home can enhance the space, like herbs in plant pots in the kitchen or cut flowers in the hallway. Be careful to avoid artificially scented products (often described as fragranced), which may contain harmful chemicals known as phthalates (these are often found in air fresheners).

Texture

Tuning into our senses is a mindful practice, so natural textures in the home can help us tune into our sense of touch in an uplifting way. As biophilic interior designer Oliver Heath explains: “If a texture looks inviting, we take this as a ‘haptic invitation’ (an appeal to our sense of touch to have a positive tactile experience). These experiences can create a sense of belonging, and we feel more comfortable if we are surrounded by appealing textures.”

I hope you have found something to inspire you here to optimise your home environment for health by stimulating your senses with the sight, sound, scent and feel of nature. Stimulating your sense of taste I leave up to your culinary skills!