Welcome to our guest author, April Sutphen on behalf of The Mindful Gamer looking at the truth or myth of video game addiction.
Over 2.5 billion people worldwide play video games. This figure includes mobile games, gaming on a console, and using a PC. The reasons why people game is far-reaching with stress relief topping the list. [Read more…]
An imaginative and inspirational perspective of self-esteem, and how we should all get growing more!
When I think of healthy self-esteem I imagine it as a flourishing garden, filled with beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees. Pastels and vibrant hues nestling side by side in a wonderfully natural space, each existing exactly where it should be – confident and comfortable to be where they are – each individual plant or tree has earned its rightful place in amongst all the other plants and trees. And when some begin to fade (as some plants do with time), new seeds arrive creating an ever-changing environment; alive, thriving and continually renewing and growing. [Read more…]
A night-time routine could help you fall asleep soundly – or not. Most folks don’t think about their night-time routine let alone plan it out well. Guest author, Sheryl Wright, shares three things you can add to your nightly regime so that you can drift off into the best night’s sleep.
The first thing you want to do at night addresses the atmosphere. The reason you need to address your atmosphere is that this could help you fall asleep. There’s a lot in your room that could be making it harder for you to sleep that you need to rectify.
Some things you’ll have to do every night while others you don’t have to worry about for a while once you’ve addressed them. For example, if your mattress isn’t comfortable, then that could be causing you to sleep poorly. All you have to do is buy the right mattress. Once you do that, you don’t have to worry about this for some time. Find a mattress specialist who caters to your needs. This will ensure you can find the right bed.
Another thing you have to worry about every night is light. Any lights that remain on including TV screens and smartphones can keep you up. Turn everything off. You also want to use noise-cancelling headphones or a white noise machine to drown out noises that might be keeping you up at night. Do this at night, and you’ll see how much better you’ll sleep.
The next thing you have to address is your body. There’s a lot you could be doing for your body so that it’s ready to fall asleep at night. For example, you could turn on your AC, and make sure the temperature is between 60 to 67 degrees. Once your body detects that slight temperature drop, it begins to produce a little more melatonin.
This is the sleep hormone that helps you get sleepy and stay asleep throughout the night. The body’s temperature is just one thing you should pay attention to. You could also try to get your body to relax after a long day. To accomplish this, you could use a little CBD oil.
You want to find full-spectrum CBD oil for sale if you want your body to slow down, but there are other things you should pay attention to like the food you eat. You don’t want to eat spicy foods nor do you want to drink anything with caffeine at night. This includes energy drinks, sodas, and coffee just to name a few. These foods won’t help put your body in a restful state, and you might stay up longer than you want to.
The last thing you want to add to your night-time routine is a look into your heart. The truth is folks can get into bed and never fall asleep because they haven’t fully allowed themselves to rest. The CBD oil could help a little, but you should make it a point to address matters of the heart and mind before going to bed.
The last thing you want is to go to bed with a troubled heart. The good thing is there are a few things you can do to deal with this problem at night, from guided meditation to simply writing your emotions in a journal. Express your frustrations, joys, or whatever is on your mind so that you can go to bed without much baggage.
If you’ve got a big day tomorrow, consider writing down an outline about the way you want things to go tomorrow. This exercise may seem pointless, but mapping your day out helps your mind feel like you’ve tackled what’s making you nervous about tomorrow. Try to get started with this as early as you can so that you can shed your worries early and finally sleep.
These are three important additions for any night-time routine, but there are many more out there. Still, if you think you’ve got a problem sleeping, then it might be wise to talk to a sleep specialist to see what you can do to sleep better.
This piece was submitted by guest author, Sheryl Wright, a freelance writer who specializes in digital marketing, inclusive business, and interior design. If she is not at home reading, she is at a farmers market or climbing in the Rockies. She currently lives in Nashville, TN, with her cat, Saturn.
We welcome guest author Gabie Lazareff, a certified health coach, yoga teacher and freelance nutrition & wellness writer. After years of navigating the messy waters of mental health, her mission is to share her experiences and advice with others.
Through breathing, the simple practice of breathing, with intent on a regular basis can help to decrease anxiety. But how does breathing decrease anxiety? And what does breathing have to do with yoga?
We welcome Stefanie Simyone who looks into the topic of loneliness, something that we can all experience from time to time. Stefanie is a freelancer and mother of two who after experiencing a toxic relationship, worked on how to put it all behind her by helping others to become self-aware and build healthier relationships.
Some behavioral experts believe that the discomfort associated with loneliness is a “wake-up call” that warns us of social isolation. In ancient times, a person had almost no chance of survival on their own. Why do we still fear to be alone?
We welcome back Rebecca Brown, a translator and avid traveller, a book worm and horror flick enthusiast. Her job has given her the amazing opportunity to travel to dozens of countries around the world, and then write about them on Rough Draft. This time around, Rebecca covers how walking can help us to manage our stress levels.
The physical effects of walking are well known to us all – it increases our cardiorespiratory fitness, bone and muscle strength, as well as endurance. At the same time, walking contributes to fat reduction and better weight management, thus reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.
As we are aware, continuous learning throughout life is essential to keep “those cogs” active. This can, however, be a challenge at the best of times and never more so than at a time when we are now considering that a ‘new normal’ may be on the horizon. We welcome back Marquis who takes us through 6 areas to consider for our wellbeing that contribute to our brain health.
Having a healthy body means more than just maintaining a good physique. Apart from eating healthy and exercising regularly, it’s also important that you keep our mind in good shape. So, whether we are into athletics, sports, performing arts or pure academics while in college, a healthy brain is important. But, what can we do to maintain a sound mind? [Read more…]
Huge thanks to our resident guest author, Tim. In this piece, he opens up for discussion and consideration the hot topic of COVID-19 and the impact on our wellbeing the global shutdown can create.
If you’re hoping for a universal aspirin then it’s a pretty daft question, really, because it can and it can’t. It can’t stop you from becoming infected with COVID-19, nor can it mitigate the infection should we be unlucky enough to contract it. But we can look at the things we can do mindfully to make our lives easier.
By staying mindful we can keep ourselves level headed and calm. [Read more…]
Another insightful piece by yoga teacher, Manmohan Singh introducing us to the use of Ayurveda and the benefits that can be gained from this treatment and its practices.
Ayurveda is an approach based on the consciousness of the human mind and body. Ayur means ‘life’ and veda means ‘science’. Ayurveda teaches us a way of life to have a healthy body and mind. According to Ayurveda, a healthy mind leads to a healthy body and vice versa as they are connected. Treatments are given through natural therapies and lifestyle interventions. [Read more…]
An honest and insightful piece covering the topic of patience and the many benefits it can bring to all. On the cusp of a New Year, resolutions will be at the back of all our minds; will patience be one of them?
I see so much impatience these days. But then society offers everything we could possibly need or want in an instant; instant credit, instant acceleration, instant pain relief, instant coffee. So, I suppose we can hardly be blamed for expecting there to be a magic wand at our disposal whenever things go a little pear-shaped or an unexpected curveball hits us.
Call me old fashioned, but much of the #impatience I see is on our roads – ridiculous speeds and dangerous manoeuvres, petulant horn honking and middle digits that look like they’ve had an attack of cramp.