BOSH! Healthy Vegan. Henry Firth

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       HOW TO LIVE WELL.

      A healthy lifestyle means different things to different people. But all of us will benefit from focusing on these six pillars:

      sleep, move, relax, love yourself, love others, live with purpose

      A long, healthy, happy life has all these bases covered. Don’t compare yourself to others, but think about how well you feel when you follow the principles of each in your own life. We’d like to share with you some simple, meaningful changes you can make to live better.

      SLEEP.

      Rest is crucial for your body. During sleep our body undergoes all sorts of essential activities. Doctors recommend we aim for between 7 and 9 hours per night – any less than this counts as sleep deprivation, which can have many negative health consequences. So getting good sleep is crucial.

      One of the most positive changes we made was to improve our sleep. We used to get up early to hit the gym, even if it meant getting only 5 or 6 hours of sleep. We were spending our days sleep deprived, trying to catch up at the weekends.

      But after learning about the impact sleep has on physical performance, we made time to sleep properly. Now we get 7-9 hours of good-quality sleep most nights and the difference to our lives has been incredible. Even if we hit the gym a bit less often, we see more benefits from the times we do go, and we eat more sensibly during the day too, as we’re less likely to need a quick energy boost.

      Being sleep deprived is detrimental to your health. It can impair brain function, memory and empathy. It negatively affects your mood and increases stress hormones. It is also more likely to cause us to make bad food choices, and since we’re tired, we are more likely to skip exercise. Being tired impairs our body’s ability to grow muscle, and conversely, makes us more likely to put on fat.

      Of course, there are some jobs, such as doctors, nurses, chefs or shift-workers, which require long and erratic working hours, or night shifts. This can make a regular sleep pattern an impossibility. In this case, getting the maximum sleep possible and the best-quality sleep you can (even including naps) will help you manage your rest time.

      After a good night’s sleep you’ll reap many benefits, including more energy, higher concentration and stronger learning ability. You’ll be more likely to make good food choices and your body will be better at building muscle or burning fat. Your immune system and bodily repair systems will also improve. In his trailblazing book, Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker shows that you’ll have better memory, increased life expectancy, lower stress levels and more empathy. In addition to the food you eat, sleep is one of the biggest things we want to help you with.

      How to sleep well.

      Create a bedtime ritual. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day – even at the weekends – if you can.

      Keep your mobile phone and TVs out of the bedroom, using something else as your alarm clock. Ian likes to use a light alarm clock, and Henry likes to wake up to a motivational podcast to get him up and raring to go! We set up a charging point in the hallway for phones.

      Reduce your caffeine Intake. We used to drink up to five cups a day – that’s too many! Have your coffee in the morning, or at lunchtime, then it’s out of your system by bedtime.

      Reduce exposure to bad light at bedtime. Looking at your phone or a computer screen late at night can make your body think it’s morning, due to the bright blue light your devices emit. Try to turn off technology an hour or so before bed, or if you really can’t do that, use an app that will dim the light of the screens. These are available on most mobile phones, and you can download laptop applications to do the same thing.

      Put yourself on a strict sleep routine. Aim to get 8 hours of sleep a night, for a week, at the expense of all else (even exercise). See how amazing you feel. Then take it from there!

      Aim to get your room as dark and quiet as possible at bedtime. If your room isn’t completely dark, try fitting СКАЧАТЬ