Take 5 minutes to … change your life

Mums Tips

Fitness & Health

Published on Monday, 27 June 2016 11:05

Last Updated on 23 June 2016

Karen Meager

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Having big goals in life is great, over the years working with people I have learnt that making small changes to your habits and lifestyle have a huge impact on your health and happiness. The good news is that this doesn’t have to be hard! Simply doing a few things differently can make a massive difference to your happiness, health and well-being.

 

Here are some of our top suggestions for how to change you life in 5 minutes (or thereabouts):

Reading

Studies have shown that reading for as little as 6 mins (ok it’s a bit more than 5 minutes) reduces stress by 60%, slows your heart beat, eases muscle tension and alters your state of mind. That’s more than listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea. So you can improve your mind and your stress levels at the same time.

 

Enjoying a moment

Taking the time to appreciate something improves your well-being and when practiced often leads to a more positive outlook. Enjoying the view, a cuddle with the dog, a hug, a picture your child has painted, how you look in your lovely new outfit. All of these things we do, but pass on too quickly. Lingering on the moment for a few minutes will program your brain to seek out more such moments.

 

Meditation or self hypnosis

One of the very best ways to get an instant energy and brain boost, and if practiced over time it actually changes the structure of your brain, giving you access to more healthy and happy chemicals in your brain. A five minute piece of self hypnosis or meditation can be done anywhere, even at work, and the benefits are huge.

 

Make a plan

Make a 5 minute plan. People often spend loads of time on lists or plans but actually we can be much more creative and effective if we just allow ourselves 5 minutes to get down what we can. Every morning taking 5 minutes to plan your day or prioritise your to do list will pay off dividends and stop you getting overwhelmed.

 

Tell someone how much you care about them

Expressing positive feelings is not something a lot of us do. Expressions of appreciation and love give the giver and receiver of the message a massive boost of great brain chemicals. Also telling people which positive behaviours you like about them is more effective at improving relationships than being critical and pointing out all the things they do wrong. Saying it directly is the most powerful, but dropping someone a text or e mail is also good.

 

The key with these is that we often think ‘I don’t have time to…’. It’s the biggest excuse going. If you have time to watch TOWIE and Masterchef, you have time to do these things. The thing is you don’t have to spend half an hour lying down with a book, just capture a few minutes here and there and it takes very little time and not that I’m one to say but maybe, just maybe, your new improved habits will give you more time to do the things you enjoy because you’re more effective and focused the rest of the time.