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Key Takeaways
I 3
Although the science clearly Meditation is effective in
shows that inappropriate stress reducing the harmful effects
or long-term stress can be bad for of an inappropriate stress response
us, research also shows that stress and chronic stress. Getting started
can be good for us too. The key is doesn’t require a major life upheaval
to minimise "bad" stress (such as such as running away to join an
flipping your lid in traffic, or enduring ashram. Whether you meditate for 10
long-term negative stress) while or 40 minutes, there are benefits to
encouraging short periods of "good be gained.
stress” (such as exercising).
keeping track of how you’re feeling sitting too far to one extreme on the
‘throughout your day. You can do this emotions scale, don’t hesitate one
by setting a reminder on your phone more day before getting help from
i to buzz every few hours and manually a qualified professional. Different
noting down what you are doing experts offer different types of
- in that moment, along with your services and treatments. A good
mood and any associated physical starting place is your local doctor
f sensations. There's a template for who will be able to provide an initial
: this emotions tracking diary available assessment and then point you in the
for download on my website. There right direction as to who you should
1'
LISTEN to extended audio interviews WATCH the video filmed during the
with the experts including: study that found that anxious people
are more alert to sensing a threat.
Sarah Pressman (Associate
Just try to stop yourself from shouting
Professor of Psychology & Social a warning to them, even though you
Behavior at the University of
know the whole thing is a set-up.
California, lrvine)
MY recommended reading list, which
DOWNLOAD a free summary of the
I update regularly, is available on
key positivity-boosting techniques
my website. Books relevant to this
being tested by scientists and how
chapter include:
you can use them in your everyday
life (including practicing gratitude Emotions Revealed: Recognizing
exercises, learning expressive writing Faces and Feelings to Improve
techniques, practicing optimism, Communication and Emotional
practicing kindness, learning to use Life, by Paul Ekman
strengths in new ways, affirming
important values, practicing loving- The Emotional Life of Your Brain,
by Richard Davidson and Sharon
kindness, meditation, and savouring).
Begley
DOWNLOAD a template for an
emotions tracking diary to help you The Upside of Your Dark Side, Why
Being Your Whole Self— Not Just
keep track of how you’re feeling
Your "Good" Self - Drives
throughout the day. Success
and Fullfillment, by Todd Hasdan
DOWNLOAD the Subjective and Robert Biswas-Diener
Happiness Scale quiz and a
The How of Happiness,
depression questionnaire to see A New
Approach to Getting
where you sit on the emotional the Life YOU
Want, by Sonja Lyubomirsky
spectrum.
Key Takeaways
2
There exists not one single Your mindset influences
placebo effect, but many not only your choices and
placebo effects that work in different behaviour, but also your physiology
ways — for example, classical and health. By changing the way you
conditioning (where your immune view something like the nerve-racking
system becomes programmed task of having to give an impromptu
to respond by expectation of the speech, and by rethinking your beliefs
treatment), pain relief (where your about a situation, you can trigger
expectation activates your brain's positive physiological changes in your
pain relieving pathways), stress relief body.
(where a treatment brings a reduction
in anxiety), and the promise of reward Researchers are still in the very
(where your expectation activates 5 early stages of determining
your brain’s feel-good, reward where, when, how, and why placebos
pathways). work. it is likely that placebos will
be found effective for treating some
diseases but not others, or some
aspects of disease but not others.
Do not rely entirely on belief and
expectation in place of conventional
medicine.
Belief
WeWM... «W
Getting Started
‘ NEXT time you find yourself in a MAKE a ritual around your treatment
challenging situation, consider a to enhance the possibility that classical
mindset reset. Thinking things like conditioning can take place. For
"This task is exciting” rather than example, if you take medicine every
"This task is scary" can help you to day, rather than swallowing your pill
change the way you view a situation. absentmindedly as you’re racing out the
There’s a video on my website to door, follow a repetitious routine such
help you change the way you view as always taking it in the same location
stress, based on the Yale mindset and eating a jelly bean afterwards.
reset study. See the following Extra
Resources section for details. BE thorough and attentive to
instructions from healthcare providers
PAY attention to the influence of and medicine labels to enhance the
negative expectations that might be expectation effect. For example, if
created by the people around you your doctor says to take one tablet
including your friends, colleagues, three times a day after meals for two
family members, doctors, and the weeks, be sure to follow the exact
media. Once you notice them, you can prescription. Adherence to a treatment
then actively realign them with helpful can boost the expectation effect and
beliefs and expectations. help program your body's response.
Extra Resources
AVAILABLE AT
www.thewholehealthlife.com/resources
WM.“
Key Takeaways
TRADE up your foods so they pack HAVE your gut bugs tested. You can
the most powerful nutritional punch send in samples to the American Gut
available — e.g, choose the whole Project or the British Gut Project.
fruit, rather than drinking its juice, An Australian Gut Project is also in
choose whole wheat pasta instead of the planning stages, and there are
white pasta, and brown rice instead several commercial companies that
of white rice. offer microbial testing. Keep in mind
scientists can’t yet tell precisely what
KEEP a food diary for a month to get
your results mean for your health and
a clear picture of what you’re actually
they are still trying to find ways to
putting into your body with each
standardise their tests. Nevertheless,
meal. You can do this by writing in a
having your microbiome tested by
physical diary (a template download
one of the organisations listed below
is available on my website), or use an
is a great way to participate in citizen
app (I keep a list of recommended
science and help fund research into
apps on my website that I update
the microbiome.
regularly). See the following Extra
Resources page for details. o http://americangut.org/
AVAILABLE AT
www.thewholehealth|ife.com/resources
Key Takeaways
For whole-health, from top to Sitting is the new smoking — the
l toe, exercise is a fundamental more you sit, the greater your
human need. Regular physical activity risk of developing chronic Illnesses,
is a key to preventing several chronic regardless of whether you’re getting
conditions. The new science of the recommended amount of exercise.
movement also demonstrates that We need to move more and sit less.
exercise is good for your whole body,
including your mind and brain. While in the past, doctors would
have recommended rest and
2 The latest expert advice is that relaxation for those of us coping with
you need to go beyond just chronic illnesses, medical advice is
the minimum recommended aerobic starting to shift and we’re now being
exercise throughout the week, and encouraged to exercise despite the
start getting a variety of movement obstacles. Consult your doctor for
types into your week, including counsel on what may be suitable for you
cardiorespiratory, resistance, flexibility, and remember Theodore Roosevelt's
and neuromotor exercise. But the advice to "Do what you can, with what
important thing is to make sure you you’ve got, where you are.”
move. Remember, doing some exercise
is better than doing none. 5 The obstacles you face in your
everyday life may derail your
best intentions to move more and
sit less. You'll need to put into place
key strategies such as changing your
environment, and using planning and
motivation techniques to succeed.
See the next page for Getting Started
tips, and Chapter 10 (Lasting Change)
for more information.
Inc VVIIVIC I ICGILII l—IIC
Getting Started
THINK of three ways you can move IF you’re a desk bound worker,
more in your everyday activities. consider getting a sit-stand work
For example: station. There are a wide variety of
options on the market, with new
Take the stairs not the elevator. products coming out every day. I
wrote this book at a standing work
Take the farthest spot away from
station that I can lower when I get
your destination in the parking lot.
tired and have a variety of chairs
0 Walk around while you make (kneeling, saddle and regular) to vary
phone calls. my sitting position, too.
Getting Started
TAKE a walk through your home removing any tempting candy jars,
and make a list of the changes you moving your desk closer to a window,
can easily make in order to shift it or getting a sit-stand work station.
towards being a more health—giving
SCHEDULE a walk through a green
environment. Inexpensive ideas
include putting up a vibrant poster environment this week. it could be in
a forest if there's one nearby or just
or artwork, buying a soft lamp for
your local park. Pay attention to the
a room so you don’t have to use a
sights and smells around you and take
harsh overhead light, shifting furniture
around to make it less cluttered, note of your mood before and after
yourself to eat better. For instance, bedside. If you can, insist on having
you might place a freshly filled fruit a single-bed hospital room with a
TAKE a look at your desk at work and at home, work, in restaurants, in the
consider ways you can make it a more grocery store, and at your child's
pleasant set-up that can nudge you school.
towards being healthier. Ideas include
Plating a vibrant plant on your desk,
Extra Resources
AVAILABLE AT
www.thewholehealthlifecom/resources
performing and looking your best. natural rhythms. Once you know
where you perch on the owl-lark
Depending on your age and scale you can manage your social and
gender, most adults need biological clock. See the following
somewhere between seven to nine Getting Started section for the link
hours of sleep every night. You’ll to a questionnaire that can help you
require more than usual if you need determine whether you’re an owl, a
to catch up on lost sleep or are going Iark, or somewhere in between.
through a physically or mentally
demanding time. See the following
Getting Started section for a simple
way to work out how much sleep
you need.
Sleep @
Getting Started
TRACK your sleep by keeping a diary WORK out if you're a night owl
for a week and take note of when or morning lark. Sleep researcher
you go to bed, how soon you fall Till Ronneberg has made the
asleep, how many hours you sleep, questionnaire that he uses in his
and anything that may be disturbing studies available for the public online.
your sleep. A template to get you Search for the Chronotype Study from
started is available for download from the Worldwide Experimental Platform
my website. See the following Extra — www.thewep.org./chronotype—study
Resources page for details.
SET the screen on your blue-light
WORK out how much sleep you emitting electronic devices to turn
need. This month, schedule a week orange after sunset. Newer devices
that you can dedicate to sleeping. have this in the settings or you can
Go to sleep when you’re tired and download software such as Flux.
get up in the morning when you
feel refreshed, without an alarm. PLACE lamps around your home with
Limit your caffeine and alcohol orange or red globes that you can use
consumption as well as your exposure after sundown instead of blue—light
to blue light after sunset. During emitting lights.
the day, get out into the sunlight
and exercise. After a week or so you
should have paid off any accumulated
sleep debt and you’ll start finding
your natural rhythm. Please note
that if you do all this and you’re still
experiencing trouble sleeping, it
might be time to talk to a doctor or
experts at a sleep clinic.
Sleep @
Extra Resources
AVAILABLE AT
www.thewholehealthlife.com/resources
1 3
When it comes to optimal Being fully informed and
healthcare, people need to understanding what treatments
be seen as more than just physical you are given and why you're given
bodies, the sum of their test them is a critical component in any
results, or items on a spreadsheet. therapy.
Good medicine should focus on
While it's tempting to get
all aspects of lifestyle as well as
the patient-provider relationship, excited by the new research
and should integrate with other on the power of the patient-provider
placebo response, it’s important
treatment options that sit outside the
conventional system -— provided they to remember that the findings do
are safe. not mean that any interaction with
any healthcare provider can trigger
Key Takeaways
At a time when loneliness Whether it’s through massage,
has been found to be on par hugging, holding hands, an
with other major risk factors that encouraging pat on the back, a
routinely make the list of public health welcoming embrace, a sensual
concerns such as lack of exercise, caress, or a tender kiss, interpersonal
obesity, addiction, and mental illness, touch is fundamental to human
we’re living in a world where we’re communication, bonding, and health.
becoming increasingly more socially
isolated. Ruminating over hurtful
memories and nursing grudges
lntimate relationships are a have the potential to harm your
key in predicting a flourishing health. On the flip side, there is an
life. In the words of the Grant established link between forgiveness
Study researcher George Vaillant and psychological, emotional, and
“Happiness is love. Full stop.” physical wellbeing. Forgiveness is not
The link between social closeness about forgetting, but rather about
and good health is also now well- moving on.
established. People who are more
socially connected are healthier
and live longer.
5 The extent to which “social
contagion" can influence your
health and wellbeing is starting to be
better understood. From our daily
mood to our waistline, the subtle
and not so subtle influence of those
around you can push and pull you in
one way or another without you even
realising it.
Getting Started
SCHEDULE time to nurture your TRY Loving Kindness Meditation
relationships. I suggest having at least (LKM). This is a technique used to
two regular catch-ups with a friend or increase feelings of warmth and
relative that happen automatically at caring for yourself and others. lt
a reoccurring, unchanging time. For boosts positivity and life satisfaction
example, l meet my best friend for and reduces symptoms of depression
lunch once a month and my mother’s and illness.100 You can download
group for drinks on the second instructions from my website. See the
Thursday of every month. following Extra Resources section
for details.
CONNECT with a group. Think of one
thing you love doing and find others IF you’re feeling lonely, isolated or
who regularly meet to enjoy it too. It depressed, l urge you to get some
could be anything from joining a book heip so you can learn to reconnect
club or a singing group, to playing a with others. it’s interesting that a
weekly game of cards or a sport. review of interventions to reduce
loneliness showed that changing
MAKE a list of safe and appropriate harmful thinking patterns was
ways to boost your physical contact
the most effective way to reduce
with others. You might hold hands with loneliness.1m You might like to check
your loved ones while you’re walking, out the organisation Beyond Blue if
or give your family members a hug you don’t know where to start.
when you see them off for the day. At www.beyondblue.org.au
work, you can high-five your colleagues
when something good happens. In LEARN to forgive. Through the
fact, handshakes and fist-bumps can Stanford Forgiveness Project you can
all be part of a healthy workplace. You learn how to release unwanted hurts
can also book yourself in for a massage and grudges.
with a registered therapist. http://learningtoforgive.com
u
Getting Started
FLICK through the chapter headings USE the proven if-then planning
of this book and choose one aspect and mental contrasting techniques
of your life in which you'd like to to help you stick to your health
start making healthy changes. For behaviour goals. You can download
example, you might choose to focus instructions from my website. See the
on your sleep and decide that you’d following Extra Resources section
like to start habitually going to bed for details.
earlier. Remember, the way to form
a new habit is to repeat your chosen USE smart phone apps to help you
behaviour in the same context until it get started making healthy behaviour
becomes automatic and effortless. l changes. Peter Gollwitzer has
suggest dedicating at least a month worked with his New York University
to each of the aspects covered in this psychology colleague Professor
book that resonate with you in order Gabrielle Oettingen to develop
to make the healthy changes slow a free app that combines if-then
and sustainable. planning with mental contrasting.
The app is called WOOP, short for
PLACE a visual cue in a prominent Wish—Outcome—Obstacle—Plan,
part of your home to remind you and it's free. I keep a list of other
of your "Why" for wanting to recommended apps on my website
make healthy changes in your life. that I update regularly.
Remember, finding your "Why" or
purpose doesn’t necessarily need
to involve monumental sacrifice or
accomplishing great feats. Finding
your "Why" can be as simple as
asking: "What do I want to do with
my time that is important to me?"
Lasting L'hange w
Extra Resources
AVAILABLE AT
www.thewholehealthlife.com/resources
www.thewholehealthlife.com/review
www.thewholehealthlife.com