When I think of wellness trends, I think of unsustainable and honestly unenjoyable things, such as buying tons of Vitamins and cutting out sugar. Well I’m going to give you personally tested, manageable wellness trends that will actually make you better.
Cold showers / cold plunging
This is manageable because you can just turn your settings on your shower to the coldest setting, after every time you shower and voila. But if you have a plunge pool then even better.
I won’t lie, this one is a struggle.
It’s like when you’re nice and warm on holiday and you jump into a freezing pool.
It’s more mentally hard to get yourself to do it, than it is to actually do it. But it will make you mentally stronger!
How long should you do it for?
So there’s no right or wrong answer.
If you’re a beginner, you could aim for 30 seconds (I only lasted 10 seconds the first time I took a cold shower), and then each time you do it you could build up to a few minutes.
I make sure to take deep breaths throughout the full time.
Why is it beneficial?
- Improves circulation – the cold water stimulates your body to increase blood circulation. This can improve your circularity system.
- Decreases the amount of time it takes for your muscles to recover – This is because the blood is circulating to your muscles quicker.
- Reduces inflammation
- Relieves pain, and reduces muscle soreness
- You get a dopamine hit that lasts for 2.5 hours
- It’s refreshing
- It’s mentally challenging, therefore making you mentally stronger
- Decreases your heart rate. This will help lower stress.
Journaling
I will never shut up about journaling. I have been journaling ever since I can remember, and it has helped me massively.
The good thing is, that to get the benefits of journaling, you don’t have to do it everyday, if you don’t want to.
You can journal when you feel you need it, and if you don’t feel like it then that’s fine.
Different ways you can journal:
- The standard ‘dear diary’ journaling about your day / problems & any anxiety’s or stresses / celebrations etc.
- Shadow work journaling. This is where you work through your problems in depth, usually by answering prompts.
- Manifesting. You can use the scripting method when journaling and manifest your dream life.
- Gratitude journal.
- Reflection journal. This one is similar to shadow work, but you could reflect on anything from problems, to how your day/week/month went.
Benefits of journaling:
- Reduces stress and anxiety. It’s a weight of the shoulders to write down all of your problems and get them off your chest, as well as making the problem seem more manageable.
- You can work through problems which relieves your stress and anxiety about said problem, therefore improving your mental health.
- You can grow as a person. When journaling about life experiences, it’s easier to work through when getting it all out, and so you are more likely to grow as a person.
- You can reflect on past mistakes or situations, to make you better the next time.
- You can look back at happy memories and feelings. You literally have a personal little memoir of your memories and feelings which is so cute.
- You learn more about yourself. When journaling regularly, you can recognise the things that trigger certain moods better.
- For example, if you’re feeling sad and don’t know why, you can think about what happened in your day and see if it relates to other days you felt sad for no reason.
- You also learn more about what situations give you anxiety, what you did to help, what situations make you happy. All allowing you to say no or yes to certain things in the future, because you know what is for your greater good.
- It gives you a greater perspective. When you write things down, and you can read it back, it allows you to read it as though you are reading someone else’s problem. Which will help you come to a conclusion or solution easier.
- It can help stop you from overthinking. Once you write it down, that’s like a weight off the chest, which can prevent you from overthinking.
Eating balanced meals & eating intuitively
I’m not going to tell you to cut out certain foods, or avoid certain foods. I am not going to tell you that you should always choose the ‘healthy’ version over the ‘unhealthy’ version.
Having a well balanced meal, (meals with protein, carbs and fats) will overall make you feel so much better, more satisfied and fuller.
Protein =broken into amino acids which are used for building muscle, making essential proteins for body function, and energy.
Carbs = broken down into glucose and supplies energy to the cells.
Fats = used for energy after they are broken into fatty acids to make cell linings and hormones.
So having these in your diet will not only make you feel more satisfied and satiated. But it will actually nourish and help your body, way more than cutting out carbs or going on a diet that cuts out one or the other.
Eating intuitively is a great tool for helping to overcome from any negative stigma towards food.
I have a whole post on intuitive eating and the benefits if you want to check that out! http://bigsisterera.com/heres-the-top-reasons-you-should-be-intuitive-eating/
But I will quickly summarise the benefits:
- It gets rid of the toxic diet culture mindset
- You can view food as fuel
- Intuitive eating is sustainable
- It helps balance your hormones
- Better body image
- You can enjoy your life
- You can honour all of your food cravings
Get outside
There are so many benefits to getting outside and getting some fresh air.
Whether it’s 100% true or not, studies show that getting outside in nature is relaxing and reduces stress.
Sometimes when I’m having a down day, and I’m doing nothing, I sometimes feel like I’m being really lazy and unproductive. So on those days, I try to get outside, and I immediately feel more productive and better for it.
Getting outside can:
- improve your mood
- Reduce stress
- Allows you to take time for yourself
- Clears your mind
- Benefits your health as you are moving your body
- Natural daylight boosts your serotonin (your feel good chemicals)
Cycle syncing / low impact workouts
As a woman, there are certain times in our cycle that our body doesn’t benefit from high intense workouts. They can often have the opposite effect.
For example, during your late Luteal phase and your period, high intense workouts could strain your body and spike your cortisol levels.
That’s where low impact workouts come in! Especially during your late Luteal phase and your period, low impact exercise can lower your cortisol levels and reduce cramping! So when prioritising my health and wellness, I make sure to keep this in mind.
Low impact workouts can still include weights! If you love weight lifting and don’t want to give that up during these phases, you don’t have to!
Just be very slow and controlled with the weights and make sure to listen to your body!
Benefits of cycle syncing:
- Avoid burnout
- Increased productivity
- Better mental and physical health
- More energy
- Happier
If you are struggling on how to cycle sync, I have a few posts on cycle syncing! Here’s one of them: http://bigsisterera.com/how-to-live-a-sustainable-healthy-lifestyle/
Rosemary oil
I’m always very sceptical to buy things, especially when they’re being promoted all over TikTok, because I don’t want to waste my money on something that doesn’t work.
But I promise you, rosemary oil does work!
I know this isn’t really a ‘wellness’ trend per say, but it’s definitely part of the genre!
I have been using it for about 1 year now, but I really started taking it seriously about 5 months ago, where I religiously use it every week.
My hair, especially around my hairline has grown so much (I’m going to need my roots touched up more often lol)!
How I use it:
- On hair wash day, I plan what time I’m going to wash my hair, and I put the oil in 1-3hours before I wash my hair.
- I firstly brush out my hair, making sure to brush my hair back and give my scalp a little massage with the brush.
- I then apply the rosemary oil to my scalp.
- I then use a head massager to massage the oil into my head for around 3-5 minutes.
- Leave it in for 1-3 hours before washing your hair.
8hrs sleep & a consistent sleep schedule
Having an actual good night sleep and prioritising 7-8hrs is really slept on (don’t mind my pun lol) and one of the biggest wellness tips!
You know in yourself when you get a good night sleep, you feel so much better for it.
Or even when you go to sleep at a certain time, and then one day you go to sleep much later, you can feel the difference in the morning!
Benefits of good sleep:
- Improves your mental health
- Your more productive
- Gives you greater recovery after exercise
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Sleeping strengthens your memory and gives you better brain function
- It’s proven to actually make you live longer
Benefits of going to sleep and waking up at the same time:
- It means your body can start naturally getting up at the same time
- Your body will perform better as it is used to your routine
- Consistency = key in most things
- Gives you a better immune system
Thank you for reading <3
I hope this helped and gave you some manageable wellness tips to help you feel your best.
Looking after your overall health and wellness doesn’t have to look like working out every single day, or taking tons of supplements. Sometimes it can look like stepping outside for some fresh air. Getting out of bed to brush your teeth and do your skincare. Drinking water.
Prioritise your overall wellness and your mental health based on how you’re feeling that day.
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