I’ve written before about why we should get outside in nature more.

Unfortunately more and more evidence is coming to light about the increasing sickness due to the lack of outdoor time. There is now the term “nature deficit disorder” which suggests children who spend too much time indoors on screens may develop attention deficits, hyperactivity, or depression. 

You can look at all the studies and science you like but when you use common sense you know you feel better when you’ve been out in nature- calmer, happier, more focused, you sleep better and there’s a sense of belonging.

Are we becoming desensitised? Are we so distracted we’re losing the ability to sense the world around us?

It seems more and more difficult to be fully immersed in conversations. You can almost hear the noise coming from the minds of those “busy” people who see conversing as either a necessity to getting something achieved or an inconvenience as it’s halting their productivity. Now, this is not about idle chat about what junk food John from reception might be eating or the latest reality show gossip but proper discussions with a colleague, friend or family member.

If we’re not present, we’re disconnected. If we’re disconnected we’re isolated. If we’re isolated we lack a deep support network and when we lack that we get lonely, anxious and depressed.

I came across the “New 24-hour movement guidelines” for Aussie children a few months back- 

“Sixty minutes of physical activity, less than two hours of screen time and around nine hours of sleep a night - that's what school kids need according to new national guidelines. Link here.

In my opinion, if this is what we’re aiming for, then we’re a way off creating fully functioning kids. 

Thankfully more and more information is coming out as to why women are different from men and why women need to eat, train and recover differently to men but not only that- why women need to adjust these factors with each day.

I’ll be writing more about some of these factors in the near future but here’s an interesting article called Here's What To Eat At Every Step Of Your Cycle that’s well worth a read.

This blog is designed to create lasting and successful behaviour changes. If your change your mindset and behaviours you’ll be able to fit in enough wellness measures into your day to see good health and fitness improvements in your life without necessarily needing more time.

Take this scenario-

I tell you to stretch your neck out daily because otherwise it will lead to lack of mobility, pain and possibly degeneration of the spine but then the thought goes out of your mind despite an email reminder and week in and week out you forget even though you mean to do it each week and it’s causing you discomfort.

When you think of fitness what springs to mind? Running 10 k’s, bootcamps, spin classes or all of the above?

Fitness can mean so many things to different people but I like to put into the everyday life so answer me these 10 questions and let me know how many out of 10 you say yes to-

Being that I research daily on all health related topics I sometimes get asked what professionals I follow. The list is quite vast as I love hearing the many varying opinions on subjects but I’ve listed just a handful of them below with links to their websites. It’s worth mentioning that although I have catergorised them into separate health headings, there is usually a crossover with the other headings, for example, Chris Kresser has information on nutrition, sleep, movement and much much more.

I hope you find these resources useful.

Ok, so we’re surrounded by them- that’s a weird thoughts. And we need to look after them right. So does this mean that we should use clothing to hold them up and keep them from moving anywhere? The answer seems to point to no- not for most of the time anyway.

If you were to use a back support to help support your spine all day every day, what do you think would happen to your muscles around that area? Your body would assume they are no longer required and your muscles would weaken (atrophy).

I’m actually writing this blog while being a little unwell. I don’t get sick very often but I had to convince myself, even with everything I know, that I should take the next couple of days off to rest and recover. It’s sometimes really hard to stop. You may say to yourself you’ll just sweat it out with a workout but when you read this article, you’ll find you’re not just wasting your time exercising when you’re unwell but hindering your recovery.