WORDS | Alyce Cimino Naturopath
The global wellness industry generates approximately $7.4 TRILLION annually, with some market reports projecting it to surpass $10 trillion by 2030. We are all looking for the latest supplement, hack, product, or activity to have us feeling better, looking brighter, and living longer, and the wellness businesses know we will buy it! It also means everything is confusing and overwhelming. Often, I am asked, “But which is the right product for me”? and ” I saw this on TikTok, do I need it too?” – the thing is, we often overlook the free lifestyle and habits we can be doing to support our overall wellness!
So let’s look at the daily free habits we can do:
1 SLOW DOWN:
Too often we are told to slow down and rest, but the slowing down on behaviours doesn’t have to equal 2 weeks holiday at a meditation studio in the south of France! or it totally can, and that’s great too! Start by taking an audit of your day… look at how fast you are chewing your breakfast, chucking on clothes and running out the door, brushing your teeth, washing yourself in the shower!
Little steps, such as having a shower in dimmed lights with the fan off, is a much more relaxing experience than a 3 min mad wash while the fan overstimulates your nervous system and the heat lamp screams at you like are on the surface of the sun.
2 STIMULATE NEUROPLASTICITY:
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and rewire itself. When we go through the daily motions without change, the brain walks along with us. When we create change, provide new experiences, learn a new skill, or change in behaviour, our brain changes and adapts with us!
This could be more challenging, such as learning a new language on the bus ride into the office, or is could be simple changes, such as brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, opening a door with your non-dominant hand, moving your desk around, rearranging the living room etc. At first the change will feel unfamiliar, and then it will feel normal and easy – this is neuroplasticity!
3 ADD AN EXTRA HANDFUL OF GREEN VEGGIES TO EACH MEAL:
Eating healthy can be a giant overhaul of your intake, it can also be a simple change to boost what you are already doing. Add that extra handful of greens to your meal, add a tablespoon if fibre into your snack, swap the 3pm cookies for a protein smoothie. You don’t need a $500 juice cleanse; you need to add to what you are already doing.
4 GO FOR A WALK:
Sure you can do the tri-weekly pilates class or join the $800/week health club (I mean, they do look super fun!) but if you are worried about how much you are sending to create wellness, then you aren’t achieving the goal.
Walking will also significantly increase neuroplasticity! A brisk walk boosts blood flow to the brain, and triggers the release of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which is a protein that acts as the building blocks to encourage growth of new neurons in the brain, while also stimulating synaptic connections (aka it helps the power cord ends to reach each other, so you can think faster, feel better and adapt quicker).
Of course, there is also the physiological changes in blood flow, cardiovascular output, and the digestive system for increased waste removal and general digestive support.
5. GET TO BED:
Imagine how much better we would ALL feel, if we just went to bed early – without a screen right in our face before we shut our eyes (yep, that counts for a Kindle too). Especially as parents (reads as mums) we tend to want that little bit of quiet time between ‘when kids go to sleep and when we go to sleep’ as our time, but more often than not, just going to sleep, having a restful night is more productive for the day ahead.
Allowing ourselves to be in bed and asleep before 10, or even better 9 pm! This means that we actually have time to restore, recover, and improve! our concentration improves, our nervous system settles, our hormones balance, and overall we feel better.
Here is my ideal night – a post-dinner walk, followed by a dimmed light shower and straight into bed for an early night … that right there is Wellness Bliss