5 Tips on Creating a Healthy Work/ Life Balance

“Our lives are full of stress: transitions, growing responsibility, our goals, and our work. We may encounter more stressful situations at different times and in various stages as we transverse through our life journey even coping with happy situations can sometimes be stressful.”

1. Recognising symptoms of stress

We have all experienced stress and no doubt you have a pretty good idea what generates it in your life, and the havoc it can wreak. Most of us would like to have less stress but, it can be difficult to eliminate it entirely as we work, have families.

Stress symptoms can include:

• Reflux
• Irritable bowel
• Ulcers
• Indigestion
• Diarrhoea, constipation
• Heart disease
• Asthma
• Immune system related disease
• Cancer
• Muscles spasm
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Alcohol and drug misuse and dependence

Understanding the symptoms of stress, can help us understand if we maybe suffering from any one of them. We realize that there is help out there and we must not be afraid to ask for it. Taking care of ourselves is necessary and we must not feel guilty about it.

2. Making time for yourself

Are you are in a position where another person’s wellbeing depends upon you? This might be your children, your spouse, your work or even just caring for your family.

Making sure that you have me time is vitally important for your own mental, emotional spiritual and physical wellness. Your family and loved ones will benefit from you being well and happy. We can often be so caught up in making sure everyone else is looked after that we forget about the most important person. You. Here are a few quick suggestions for enhancing your mental and emotional wellness by doing every day ordinary things.

• Walking, jogging and running really help with mental wellness
• Use relaxation techniques
• Lessen the amount of caffeine taken daily
• Do something just for you
• Soak in the bath
• Read a book
• Do yoga or Tai Chi
• Ask a friend to look after your children
• Talk to someone about how you are feeling, don’t bottle it up
• Meeting up with friends is vital
• Keep up your interests to whatever extent you can

3. Learning relaxation techniques

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools we have in our modern world. The benefits of meditation are many; it is a naturally relaxing and healing process, which focuses on calming the mind and relaxing the physical body.

Relaxation meditation is based on focusing attention on consecutive areas of the body and relaxing the muscles by tensing and releasing, until the process is completed throughout the whole body. It allows the mind to be eased of the

physical state of consciousness and enjoy a heightened sense of relaxation and wellbeing.

There are free meditations available for download on my webpage judithtehuia.com

4. Having enough sleep

Sleep is just as important as food and water in order for our body to function efficiently. The problem is that a lot of us don’t get the amount of sleep our bodies really require. Sleep deprivation can lead to learning difficulties, lack of concentration, fatigue and often-impaired judgement which inturn can lead to accidents happening. Most adults require around seven to eight hours of sleep per night, so what happens if they only get six? This two-hour loss of sleep can have a major impact on how they function during their day.

Here is a list of tips and tools see which ones work for you:

• Waking at the same time every day, and going to bed at the same time each night. Setting a routine really helps.
• Try not to have alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine before bed, as they can make it harder to get to sleep, and cause your sleep to be unsettled.
• Try reducing your TV or computer time in the evenings. Take TV’s out of your bedroom.
• Try not to nap during the day, as this’ll make it harder to sleep in the evening, in saying that if your body requires a nana nap then have a short one, 10 minutes can make all the difference.
• Exercise first thing in the morning, or on your lunch break, getting outdoors in the fresh air can do wonders. Raise a slight sweat when doing it. By exercising we release tension Sunlight can help reset your body clock.
• Learnrelaxation and meditation techniques to help you switch you mind off in the evenings.

5. Eating Well

You have heard it before, ‘Eating well is really good for you’. The reason you have heard it is because it is true.

Denise Linn, in her book the Mystic Cookbook said; “food is so much more than food, your approach to it, can open up pathways to spiritual renewal”.

Whenever you are preparing food, or about to eat it, treat the food with the respect it deserves. Make this time a joyful time not just a chore. Give thanks for it and eat with the intention that the food will heal and strengthen your body.

We need food to fuel our body but it is what we eat that makes the difference.

When you eat a well-balanced diet:

• You will have a lot more energy
• You will feel good and look healthier
• Your immune system will function as it should
• Your thoughts will be clear and you will find that you handle stress better
• The likelihood of you getting diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease will decrease.

Having the right attitude goes a long way if you seriously want to change your eating habits. Work on changing your attitude and giving thanks. Using positive affirmations. Asking for help when you need it.

Here are a few tips that can help:

• Take baby steps, just trying one thing at a time. Making too many changes at once can lead to disaster. Or no change at all.
• Start with something easy, a piece of fruit or a salad or both if you want, on the first day. Just work your way gradually into what you want to achieve.
• If you struggle with three meals a day break them up into 6 smaller meals.
• Experiment with various foods and see which you like.
• Try not to skip meals.
• Don’t cut everything out completely just, decrease the amount. You are more likely to stick with eating well if you let yourself eat less healthy foods once in a while.
• If you don’t like a lot of veggies juice them, this is healthy and you are still get your required amount of healthy food.

Learn to meditate in my FREE  meditation e-course will help reduce the symptoms of stress, getting enough sleep and with your general wellbeing.

Check it out on my webpage judithtehuia.com

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