Over the last decade or so, there has been increasing interest in the role that sunlight plays in health. It’s well known for its importance in bone health, but evidence also supports its role in various processes, including mood regulation, muscle function, and immune system efficiency. The summer offers us an opportunity to reap the benefits of vitamin D, but it’s also a time when people may find it easier to be more active and perhaps regain some fitness lost during the da

A lot of us live with a hum of anxiety in our heads. And whatever the precise root of this appears to be, a common theme is concerns about the future. Specifically, something that we don’t want to happen. Maybe it’s the fear of missing a deadline, displeasing a senior colleague, losing our job or having our partner leave us. Some evolutionary psychologists argue that we are hardwired to be vigilant to potential threats. Unfortunately, the modern-day equivalents of predatory a

Sometimes a coaching client will express to me a concern that they have about their drinking. The story is not usually one of a need to drink alcohol every day. There is no hint, either, of a desire to drink in the morning or afternoon. The typical cry is that they sometimes find themselves almost irresistibly drawn to alcohol, and perhaps a lot of it, whilst on other days, sometimes the majority of them, they don’t even think about alcohol. In fact, last week, I had a coachi

Last week’s blog post focused on why sleeping on our sides is generally preferable to back-sleeping, and also practical steps that help keep us from rolling onto our backs during the night. This week, I want to focus on another factor that can have a perhaps surprising impact on sleep quality – the air that we breathe through the night. It is well known that a build-up of the gas carbon dioxide in our immediate environment can cause our surroundings to feel ‘airless’ and ‘stu

My experience is that 20 years ago, hardly anyone talked about the importance of sleep. Now, it seems, sleep advice is everywhere. Getting enough sleep is something that I covered in a previous newsletter. But, while quantity of sleep is important, so is its quality. There are several factors that have relevance here, one of which is sleeping position. While a small number of people opt to sleep on their fronts, I’ve found the great majority of people actually are side- or ba

Proper hydration is an important element in wellbeing, particularly in terms of mental functioning and even mood. I was recently driving and accompanied by a friend. As I drove, I was occasionally drinking from a water bottle, and my friend commented that she should really drink more. She said the problem for her was that she "hates plain water". I asked if she liked sparkling. She said she did, but imagined it was somehow unhealthy. One common thought here is that the carbon

‘Deep work’ is a term coined by author Cal Newport in his book of the same name to describe work that is cognitively demanding and requires solitary, focused concentration, usually for extended periods of time. In his book, Newport makes the point that the ability to do deep work is especially important for knowledge workers, as it helps them acquire knowledge and develop skills that can then drive meaningful output and productivity. Deep work is usually required to solve com

I was recently having dinner with a friend, and the topic of my stopping smoking many years ago came up. A critical catalyst here was reading The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. Here are three things that stuck with me from the book: 1. Addiction to cigarettes is more psychological than chemical. 2. It’s critical to focus on what we’re getting out of not smoking (and not dwell on what we’re ‘missing out on’). 3. How we talk about ourselves and to ourselves is importan

Weight control advice has traditionally been based on the calorie principle. The idea here is that, if we want to lose weight, we need to consume fewer calories than those we burn as part of respiration and activity. This is the basis for ‘eat less, exercise more’ weight loss advice. Of these two factors, I’ve found the dietary component to be far more important. Why exercise is usually a minor factor here is perhaps a conversation for another day. However, there is evidence

I was once speaking with a coaching client who was bemoaning the fact that, despite 'doing all the right things', he was not losing weight. Most mornings, he would start the day with a vigorous and quite lengthy exercise session, fuelling his effort with a bowl of cornflakes. I saw an obvious issue here: the cornflakes would likely cause his blood sugar and insulin levels to spike, which in turn would impair his body’s ability to mobilise fat for burning during the exercise s

There's a word I've started using with the people I coach that tends to get an immediate flash of recognition: listless. Not in the conventional sense of feeling sluggish or lacking energy, but in a more literal sense: going through a day without a list of tasks that need executing. The idea is simple: If we don't have a clear sense of what we want to achieve in a given day, the day tends to get filled by other people's priorities rather than our own. Sound familiar? The Day

Let’s be frank; life can sometimes feel like a bit of a grind. And this is one reason why I generally advocate deriving as much pleasure and joy from the present moment as much as possible. One way to do this is to reflect on things to be grateful for and appreciate. Here, the focus is generally on things that exist in our present or that we are reflecting on in our past. But, is there a way of actually conjuring into reality things that promote ‘good vibes’ and contentment?

After a long day at work and perhaps a bit of a commute, most people look forward to coming home and, where relevant, reconnecting with family. However, over the years, many people have told me that navigating domestic re-entry can be challenging. The usual story is that within a few seconds of crossing the threshold, they find themselves making a big deal out of something that is not that important in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps, there's a sports bag dumped in the h

I once read that there are 30 different types of insomnia. In my experience, there are really only two that matter: 1. Difficulty getting to sleep 2. Waking in the night and having difficulty falling back asleep. Of these, I find the latter is much, much more common. Lots of people I have coached can find themselves awake in the middle of the night, and then find themselves tossing and turning for a couple of hours before finally dropping off again. The problem is that

Almost all of us can get tired periodically, but perhaps the most common time of day where people find their energy nosediving is the mid-afternoon. This can lead to a somewhat fallow period in terms of productivity and even make it a struggle to meaningfully contribute to conversations and meetings. What's going on, and what can we do about it? In my experience, the most common cause of the mid-afternoon slump is relatively low levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. T

Few people doubt that regular exercise offers wellbeing and health benefits. However, one question some ponder is whether there is an ideal time of day to exercise. If I'm asked this question by an audience member or coaching client, I'll ask a few questions of my own to clarify their desired outcomes, schedule, and preferences. But, is there an answer to this question that covers 'people in general'? I believe there is. Firstly, though, is there any 'received wisdom' on this

Many of us have a pretty good idea of how to look after ourselves, and at times can be good at maintaining habits around, say, diet, exercise and sleep. But life does not always go to plan, and things can slip. However, I've noticed that when this happens, it can lead someone (including me – see below) to take months or even years to 'get back to it'. This newsletter is essentially about how to stop that from happening. Last summer, we had our house redecorated. I was not doi

If you studied biology at school, and even if you didn’t, you are likely familiar with the idea that bodily energy is created when molecules derived from food – such as glucose and fat – are ‘burned’ using oxygen. Because of this, many of us have been convinced that if we want energy, then we need to feed our internal fire with fuel (food) on a regular basis. In fact, some people advocate five or six relatively small meals and snacks throughout the day to, supposedly, maintai

Yes, you read that correctly. It's the precise opposite of what logic tells us, but let me explain why it's often true, and may be true for you. When people are busy, it's almost inevitable that one thing that will suffer is sleep. After all, while lying in bed unconscious, nothing is actually getting done. So, there's a natural tendency to work quite late into the evening, and perhaps rise earlier than our bodies want to, too. While we may seem to have liberated some time, t

Scott Adams passed away yesterday. You may or may not be aware of him. He was the creator of the hugely successful Dilbert cartoon strip. But there was a lot more to Scott than that. Prior to becoming a cartoonist, he had a corporate career in banking. He was also a trained hypnotherapist. Latterly, he was a social/political commentator of quite some impact. He also wrote some great books. The first time I became properly familiar with Scott's work was when I read his book Ho