Focus on Wellbeing

Focus on Wellbeing!

For young people in work and training ‘wellbeing’ is especially important and we devote these web pages to encouraging everyone to think a little more carefully about your overall approach to staying fit and healthy, after all you can’t concentrate fully on your career if you are not feeling full of energy!

Personal hygiene, healthy eating, drinking lots of water, exercise and sleep are the key essentials to a healthy lifestyle and, although it’s great to go out and party, do make sure you balance things out with plenty of the good stuff in this issue!

Personal Hygiene

Proper hygiene goes a long way especially for hairdressers; after all we do tend to get up close and personal with colleagues and Clients!

Not taking a bath in the morning won’t kill you, but are you willing to go to work or training not feeling absolutely fresh?

Is it good practice to take a bath or shower only every other day? The answer is a big resounding NO. It’s your body, and it’s important that you get it all cleaned up before taking on the day’s work. Shower or suffer the consequences!

Not sure where to go for help and advice about personal hygiene? The Hygieneexpert website is a good starting point. This site has lots of information about all aspects of stuff, even really embarrassing (but very important) issues.

For more information go to http://www.hygieneexpert.co.uk/WhatIsPersonalHygiene.html

Eat Healthy!

Everywhere we look, there’s an expert ready to tell us what we can and can’t eat, how we should lead our lifestyles, what’s good for us and what isn’t.

Sometimes it can all seem a bit too much. But there is one message that remains consistent – eating more fruit and vegetables is essential for good health!

According to research, the average person in the UK eats less than three portions of fruit and vegetables a day, instead of the recommended five. This is even lower amongst young people.

What we should do, of course, is to forget about snacking on crisps and sweets and instead eat a banana or an apple during the morning or afternoon break, a piece of fruit costs about the same anyway and will do your body much more good and will provide you with more energy for you to work and learn!

To help get the message across, the 5 A DAY programme and website has been created to change the way people think and highlight the healthier benefits of eating more fruit and vegetables.

For more information go to http://www.5aday.nhs.uk/WhyEat5aday/About5aday.aspx

Keep Hydrated!

According to Drench, the UK water company, the average person has 40 litres of water in their body – but we lose around 2.5 litres as we go about our daily business. Being 75% water brains are especially prone to ‘losing it’.

Mild de-hydration can cause all sorts of problems including light-headedness and irritability, tiredness and headaches!

Research shows…

• Two thirds of us are not properly hydrated each day.
• A third claim they ‘don’t think about hydration’.
• 32% say they only drink water ‘when they feel thirsty’. As any scientist will tell you, that’s a sure sign your body is already in need of hydration.
• 15% of us claim ‘we don’t have enough time’ to keep our hydration levels topped up.
• Over a third of adults travel without taking a drink.
• 40% of people admit to going without a drink when they are at work, with 10% blaming a lack of breaks for their hydration levels.
• 5% even suggested that hydration is ‘boring’.

To make the point, Drench have made a video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=e2aRDacKANs

The message is clear, we should all drink more water and by doing so our ability to concentrate and learn more quickly will improve! To find out more about hydration visit the Drench website at www.staydrenched.co.uk

Exercise Regularly

Let’s begin by saying that you don’t need to join a gym in order to do regular exercise. Try walking rather than catching a bus, use the stairs rather than take a lift, even energetic dancing counts!

Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only does regular exercise help you to concentrate better (and learn quicker) it can also help to maintain overall fitness and manage weight loss, and it can lower the risk of many life-threatening conditions.

People who exercise regularly are likely to live longer and enjoy a better quality of life.
In fact, studies have shown that being physically unfit is just as dangerous as smoking in terms of lowering life expectancy.

Regular exercise also improves mental and emotional health. The chemicals and hormones that are released in the brain through exercise can help deal withstress and promote happiness.

All these health benefits are the reasonwhy many people are encouraged to exercise. However, many people think exercise is too expensive or simply takes up too much time.

In reality, as little as half an hour of moderate activity every day, such as brisk walking, can be enough to improve health and fitness. There are many different ways to exercise, and it is possible to find something to suit any kind of lifestyle. If you need help try this website...

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Exercise/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx&r=1&rtitle=Exercise+-+Introduction

Sleep Well

We take sleep for granted until we have problems with it and then we quickly remember how desirable a good night's sleep is.

The need to sleep is a fundamental human requirement and it is important for trainers and Candidates to know something about it if they are to work and train effectively

This is because all human abilities (like paying attention, memory recall and learning) are made worse by poor sleep. Also there is an intimate relationship between sleep and many psychological conditions — for example, depression, anxiety and psychosis

Most people also look much better when they’ve had a good night’s sleep!

It is well known that different people have different sleep needs, however, without exception everyone is severely affected by a lack of sleep so if you have problems with sleep, go to http://www.hgi.org.uk/archive/sleepanddream1.htm