If you need emergency help:
Call 999
Go to your local A&E department
It is important for our wellness and wellbeing to take a step back from our usual day to day and take a moment to just reflect and breathe.
From 3 minutes to 30 minutes, or even longer, its really quite easy to fit mediation into your daily routine and it's really beneficial too! Just taking a moment each day to meditate can:
- Better your focus and concentration
- Improve self-awareness
- Reduce stress
- Improve sleep
- Put you in a better mood
Get some Headspace
If you've ever wanted to learn how to meditate, but didn't know where to start, then Headspace is a good place. With a YouTube channel full of info and a handy phone app there is lots of useful tips to get you into meditation. You can introduce it into your daily routine and have a regular meditation time or you could do it if if you are feeling stressed or just need some help getting to sleep. And best of all you can access a portion of their meditation for free!
Struggling to sleep?
Up to 16 million adults in the UK are suffering from sleepless nights, are you one of them? Whether it's changes to your working pattern, changing of the seasons or a stressful day it's very easy to fall out of your sleep routine but not as easy to get back into it. One of the Wellbeing Coordinators from Rochdale & District Mind shares some tips that could help you get a better sleep routine:
Try and stick to the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body's clock and could help you fall asleep more easily and then stay asleep throughout the night.
If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you can't fall asleep at bedtime eliminating even short catnaps may help.
Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.
Have a look at last week's page for some helpful workout videos you can introduce into your daily life.
Eating big or spicy meals can cause discomfort from indigestion that can make it hard to sleep. If you can, avoid eating large meals for two to three hours before bedtime. Try a light snack 45 minutes before bed if you're still hungry. Alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine can also disrupt sleep so avoid these close to bedtime.
Design your sleep environment to establish the best conditions for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool - between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius. It should be free from any disruptive noise and it should be free from any light. Before you go to bed check your room for noises and other distractions. This includes a bed partner's disruptions such as snoring.
Consider using blackout curtains, eyeshades, earplugs, “white noise” machines, humidifiers, fans and other devices.
Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy - about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.
Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode so spend the last hour before bed doing a calming activity such as reading. Try to avoid electronic devices as the light given off activates your brain (see our blog below on digital detoxing for some more info). Also if you are waking up during the night, still avoid these devices as they will wake you up further.
Try some of the meditation exercises above, there are ones for falling asleep and also to get you back to sleep if you have woke up during the night.
If you are still having trouble sleeping don't hesitate to speak with your doctor or to find a sleep professional. You may also benefit from recording your sleep in a diary to help you and your doctor better evaluate common patterns or issues you may see with your sleeping habits.
The benefits of a digital detox
We love tech. We think it’s great, we think it serves a wonderful purpose. It enriches our lives in ways that previous generations wouldn’t have thought possible. And we very much advocate for technology and technological advancement.
When it makes life easier, safer, more fun, productive, convenient, technology is a force for good. However, there is a bit of an issue with those devices we carry in our hands all day...
The five senses
Taking what we have learnt about Mindfulness during week 1, this is a quick exercise you can do to be more mindful and also take a moment away from your daily life to just breathe.
Sit or stand comfortably in a safe space, not necessarily in a quiet place, this could be done standing aside in a busy environment. Tune out the world and try to name:
Five different things you can see
Four different things you can feel
Three different things you can hear
Two different things you can smell
One thing you can taste
Useful apps
We know we just mentioned above that it's important to have a digital detox from time to time but for times when you are using your phone there are some really helpful (and free) apps to help you meditate, fall asleep easier and just take a moment to breathe:
Headspace - for meditation and sleep
Insight Timer - for meditation and sleep
Calm - for meditation and sleep
Sleep Cycle - for tracking and analysing sleep
Happify - activities to boost your happiness
My Possible Self - toolkits to improve your mind
Useful Contacts
If you're in a crisis and need to speak to someone:
Call NHS 111 (for when you need help but are not in immediate danger)
Contact the Samaritans - 116 123 (free to call from within the UK and Ireland), 24 hours a day or email: jo@samaritans.org
Contact the Shout crisis text line - Text SHOUT to 85258
Call the Mind Infoline (Mon - Fri 9am -6pm) - Call 0300 123 3393 or text 86463
Contact your GP and ask for an emergency appointment
Find out what other information and resources we have on our wellness and wellbeing hub!
