Many of us consume caffeine in the form of coffee, tea or chocolate. It is a stimulant, taking away that feeling of tiredness. It is also a diuretic making the kidneys pass more urine and so has the potential to cause dehydration if you don't drink enough fluids.
The key thing to realise is its effect halves every 3-7 hours (half life)
1. Having a cup of coffee or tea in the morning/ lunchtime and trying not to have any in the evening will help:
- wake you up in the morning
- make you more able to sleep at night because your brain will be withdrawing from caffeine
2. Exposing yourself to natural sunlight early in the morning/ daytime will switch off production of a hormone called melatonin in the brain, allowing you to wake up more easily.
3. Exposing yourself to darkness in the evening will allow your brain to start producing melatonin causing you to feel sleepy. The light from television, artificial lighting and mobile phones stops your brain from producing the melatonin it needs to sleep.
Tip: an hour or two before you would like to sleep, turn off all the lights and allow your phone or other sound source to play something you would like to listen to.
Examples include:
- radio
- music
- audiobook
- birdsong
- youtube (sound only)
Saturday, 18 May 2019
RAFT - Robin and Flower Therapy: for Anxiety and Depression - helping to keep you afloat
Here are two ideas to help you switch off those thoughts in your head.
1. Find something you can comfortably sit on outside, a folding chair or a cushion and blanket. If you have a magnifying glass or binoculars please take them with you.
2. Go find a flower and watch it closely, the longer the better. If you have one, you could use a magnifying glass. Try to notice everything you can about the flower:
colours
textures
shapes
insects
3. Try to find a robin. They like being close to people because they're used to picking up insects disturbed by animals walking through their forest. They tend to be the first and last birds to sing in the day, and the only birds to sing through the Winter. Once you find one singing, you'll be able to go back to the same place regularly. Make yourself comfortable - you'll need some warm clothes if it's early in the morning or late in the evening. Imagine your robin is singing just for you.
If you're unable to go to a patch of forest then click on this youtube link to hear the sound of a robin singing.
Watch the movements of the robin's throat, notice the pauses, marvel and forget about time.
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