Beat the Winter Blues

We had a lovely autumn with lots of warm sunny days but now the clocks have gone back and the days are getting shorter.  Whether or not you suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) you may find yourself feeling tired, overeating and experiencing periods of low mood.

Lack of light during the mid-winter season causes an increase in the production of melatonin (the hormone that makes us sleepy at night), and a reduction of serotonin, the lack of which can lead to low mood.

If you do have symptoms of SAD, you could consider trying Bright Light Treatment using a specialist light box.  These lights provide summertime levels of light and have been shown to be effective in up to 85% of diagnosed cases.  Light boxes are not available on the NHS and have to be bought from specialist retailers.  They are free from VAT when used for medical purposes.

If your symptoms are relatively mild, there are other things you can do.  Firstly, take a 30 minute walk outside around the middle of the day.  The exercise will make you feel better and you can get the best of the daylight.  Secondly, do something that makes you laugh for five minutes three times a day as this will help to boost your levels of serotonin.  Thirdly, to boost your levels of wellbeing, keep a notebook of the ‘gifts’ you receive every day.  These don’t have to be big things, they can just be the little things like seeing a beautiful sunrise, a smile from a colleague or a cup of tea that’s been made for you. 

For more information and advice on SADA see www.sada.org.uk

From Good to Great - Tips from a Master

As a Life Coach and Sports Mind Coach I am always interested in learning from other people who I admire.  Last weekend I listened to a recording of Robert Fripp, the legendary King Crimson guitarist, speaking at the National Speakers Association in America.  He was talking about the principles of moving from being good to being great.  In fact, he says you have to move from bad to good before you can move to great!

Although he is talking about mastery of the guitar there is plenty in what he says that is true for anyone who wants to achieve mastery in any field.  He sets out 7 steps:

1. Have an aim.  Having an aim helps to guide your actions.  Fripp’s aim at 11 years old was to be the best guitarist in the world.  
2. Find someone who has been there before and is willing to teach you.  That can be an instructor or mentor or teacher.  Normally it will be someone who is one rung above you in terms of mastery and as soon as you are as good as them you need to find the person at the next level.
3. Get out of bed.  You need plenty of time to work and practice
4. Practice.  Remember to listen to yourself when you practice.  Notice what you are doing and make a record of it so that you can learn from it.
5. Work with people who are better than you.  That gives you a chance to learn and one day you may get an opportunity to stand in for them.
6.  Work a lot.  If work is not coming to you, go and find work.
7. When you are unemployed or ‘resting’, keep practicing.  That way you will be ready when the chance comes along

I think those steps apply to most skills.  There is a theory that you need to practice for 10,000 to attain mastery of any skill.  I suspect Fripp has well exceeded that.  

A final thought from Robert Fripp:

“In strange and uncertain times…sometimes a reasonable person may despair.   But hope is unreasonable and love is even greater than this.  May we trust the creative impulse.”

How's your blood pressure?

Did you know that high blood pressure (hypertension) affects 1 in 3 people worldwide  and accounts for 20-25% of all deaths. That’s over 16 Million people in the UK, and 50 million people in the USA.  In over 90% of cases there is no identifiable cause and, in over 50 % of cases, people are unaware that they have it.

Blood pressure is the force need to maintain the circulation of blood through your body.  Ideal blood pressure is around 115/75.  Hypertension (that is blood pressure over 120/80) is divided into two classes: primary or essential hypertension which has no known cause (over 90% of cases), and secondary hypertension which arises from a disease or medical condition eg sleep apnoea, sodium retention, excess cortisol, narrowing of the aorta, endocrine disorders and pre-eclampsia.

There are a number of lifestyle factors that can contribute to hypertension such as:

• obesity/diabetes
• lack of exercise
•  excess salt
• excess alcohol
• smoking and
• some prescription and non-prescription drugs.

There are other factors related to stress which can impact on blood pressure such as:

•  feeling loss of control 
• feeling burdened 
•  unresolved anger 
• inner conflict and
•  fear of death/illness.

So, if you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension/high blood pressure what can you do?  Well, if you’ve been given medication by your doctor, keep taking it.  Then look at the lifestyle factors and think whether any of them apply to you and what you could change.  If you relate to any of the stress factors you might need to get some help from a complementary practitioner.

If you think that you might have high blood pressure then go and see your doctor and get it checked out .