As we start the steady climb toward Spring, we ask, why does the sun feel so good?

The sun’s rays are made up of different types of UV light.  In particular UVA, UVB and UVC.  UVC is filtered by the atmosphere which only leaves UVA and UVB.  The majority of sunlight reaching us is UVA and it is this ray that is responsible for premature ageing of our skin, leaving sun spots.  On the other hand UVB is responsible for the burning of our skin and that sudden urge to reach for the Aloe Vera!  

Whilst there are clear detrimental effects of having too much UVA and UVB on our skin there are definitely significant benefits of making sure that we get enough.

There are two main reactions that happen when we are exposed to the sun.  

The most obvious one is that the sun’s rays (UVB) help us to make vitamin D.  The parts of our skin exposed to the sun immediately begin to ramp up the vitamin D manufacturing process from cholesterol and this is really important.  The majority of our sunlight ex...

People often ask us for ways to help them feel better during the day.  While the answer can seem complicated and involve a deep analysis of ones nutritional habits, sleep routine, exercise program, in fact it is often better just to pause and take a look at our thoughts. 

Let’s look at the premise that, if you can conceive it, you can achieve it.  On the surface that seems like a good thing, however what if we only conceive negative emotions and thoughts, what then?  It leads to worry and anxiety.

If we break down the word, worry, in a little more detail we can start to identify what we are worried about:

1. Things that can’t be changed - past events
2. Things that will never happen - future events
3. Illogical deductive reasoning - wrong conclusions
4. Petty miscellaneous things - did I leave the iron on?
5. Real worries that we can’t do anything about - outside of your control
6. Real worries that we might be able to do something about - maybe able to control

The interesting thing about ...

At 18 years old I was booked to take my driving test in three months time.  Each day I would go out and practice in the car until I knew that I was ready to take the test.  The only thing is, in the evening I would worry about what would happen on the day of the test.  Would I pass, would I fail, night after night I worried and worked through all the possible fails that could happen. 

Finally the day of the test came I got in the car and…. the test was awful.  My legs turned to jelly,  my brain slowed down to a stand-still and I bunny-hopped all around the block.   

You see although physically I was prepared to take the test, my mental preparation was working in the exact opposite direction.  I was planning to fail the test night after night - I was scared of failing but that was all I was working towards.    I was stuck in a fear cycle.  I was so scared of failing that all I could do was practice failing night after night, until the day of the test, I failed.   So, let’s break this ...

As we approach the end of January we get a chance to reflect on just how we are doing and we ask ourselves did your new year’s resolve dissolve?  

As the new year’s clock strikes the final gong of midnight we are often motivated to make changes towards new goals. We started the month with great intentions, so as we near the end of January, how are we doing? 

The first couple of weeks are relatively easy for many as it’s new and exciting but as we head past week three, the excitement is wearing thin! In fact, research shows that in the US by the end of week two, 25% percent of people have already given up their resolution. So as you struggle to hold on to the waning pendulum of new habits, what can you do to keep it going? 

Can you become the 75%?

1. Reflect - This is your opportunity to take a step back from your new goal, behaviour or routine and see if you are actually doing what you wanted to do. If you are, then great,  on the other hand if you’re struggling, have a think about ...

Did you stay up late on New Year’s Eve to make sure that last year did actually leave us?  If you did, were you disappointed that the new year was exactly the same as the day before? 

While the year transitioned and gave the illusion of something new, apart from the date what else changed?  You are the same person with the same set of skills and surrounded by the same people; nothing actually changed! So what can we do to make changes that last?

For most, the new year brings with it a sense of opportunity and a desire to make positive changes in habits and behaviours. The majority of these changes are usually focused around nutrition and weight, exercise and routine.  

When it comes to habit formation and real change there is one concept which is important - success.  Whether you want to change your posture, your desk setup or your entire life you want to avoid making changes that can’t be maintained. Smaller changes with achievable goals are usually the way to go.  

Once you’ve f...

Screen fatigue? Try the 20 20 20 rule when working to help you rest your eyes, body and brain.

Every 20 minutes stand up for 20 seconds and look at a distance of 20 feet away.  

20 minutes: Standing every 20 minutes helps reset our posture, offload the discs in our spine and lengthens some of the muscles that get tight when we sit down.

20 seconds: This short period of time away from the screen creates a succinct but useful window to reset our brain and restore our concentration.

20 feet: By lengthening the focus of our eyes, we decrease eye strain which can occur when we stare at a computer screen for too long.

By consistently practicing this easy rule, you will alleviate the symptoms of stress on your body to remain focused and productive.

For more tips on working life well, follow Adam on LinkedIn

Author: Dr. Adam Greenfield, Co-founder of WorkLifeWell | Doctor of Chiropractic | Wellness Specialist

We’ve all learned a lot about viruses in the past year, probably more than we ever thought we would need or want to know. The interesting thing that we are noticing now, particularly in the UK, is the emergence of a new mutation of Covid-19. 

So what can we learn from Covid-19 that we can apply to our lives? 

Adaptation helps survival!  The virus replicates itself so often that it makes small errors or mutations in its’ genetic blueprint. Sometimes these lead to disadvantages (decreased contagiousness) and other times these lead to advantages (increased contagiousness). Naturally, the disadvantages die out whereas, in this particular case the mutation has led to the increased speed of spread so the virus can infect more people more quickly; a significant advantage.

How can we adapt like a Coronavirus? 

Now unlike Covid-19 we aren’t able to keep replicating our DNA and hope that one of those mutations leads to an advantage, this wouldn’t be a good strategy. However, humans do nee...

There’s always a temptation at this time of year to think that no matter how badly your nutrition is for December it’s okay, as you can sort it all out in January! However, the research suggests that when you use the mindset that you’ll sort out today’s bad habits tomorrow, it creates two new problems.  Firstly it sets up a “what the hell” mindset today, as you excuse all your good work and secondly, it creates a “what’s the point” mindset tomorrow.  Meaning, that when you’ve gone so far away from where you wanted to be, your brain can’t see the route back and gives up at the first hurdle.

So, what nutritional plan should we have navigating our way towards the holiday period?

1. Plan, plan, plan -  As the old saying says - failing to plan is planning to fail.  If you can plan out your meals for the week, ahead of time, then you can keep yourself more on target with any long term plans that you have. If you feel that you haven’t got time to plan all your meals then try at least to plan
...

Over the past few months, we have all become experts in virology whether by choice or not. However, while we are all used to the idea that Covid-19 can lead to a fever, cough and loss of taste and smell, researchers are starting to identify other important effects on your physical and mental health.

Covid-19 has been living amongst us for over a year already and as we continue to learn more about the virus itself, researchers are also starting to identify surprising health effects that this virus appears to be causing. One of the most recent studies analysed a group of 62,000 patient records, all who had survived Covid-19. The researchers concluded that of the survivors, there was a sharp rise in psychiatric disorders in this population as well as dementia and insomnia. They noted that this group were more likely to suffer anxiety disorders as part of these psychiatric disorders.   

Supporting these findings, Adam Hampshire and his team at Imperial College London, analysed records fr...

2nd - 6th November marks Stress Awareness Week - but as you open your eyes on Monday morning and progress through the week, the team at WorkLifeWell ask you, what would life be like without stress?

We’ve all had times in our lives where we felt exceptionally stressed - but have you ever noticed that while you may be finding it difficult to breathe, your colleague, who is under similar pressure, appears to be acting like he’s on a two-week vacation. How can we all be so different at handling stress? How likely are we to suffer with anxiety and mental health challenges as a result of this stress? To answer these questions, we need to travel back to 1977 and look at the model proposed by Zubin and Spring.    

These researchers proposed a theory which suggested that we are all susceptible to suffering mental illness but our susceptibility varies due to different ‘vulnerabilities’ and our exposure to these factors. They proposed four main factors which increase our susceptibility or our l...