Peak Health Wellness Insights Issue 15
Mental Resilience
Mindfulness meditation is an effective tool for emotion regulation
A recent study shows that 15 minutes of brief mindfulness meditation training can improve emotional processing. Specifically, those that meditate demonstrate improvements in emotional intensity, emotional memory, and emotional attention bias.
Sleep
Blue light not only bad for sleep, but also puts one at potential risk of a decreased lifespan and brain neurodegeneration
This new study, performed on model organism Drosophila melanogaster, reveals that exposure to blue light vs white light (with blue filtered out) for the duration of a normal day accelerates brain neurodegeneration, induced expression of stress-responsive genes, and decreased lifespan.
Nutrition
The genetic influence of diet and exercise - a look at telomere length
This meta analysis investigates the factors that influence the length of our telomeres (the protective end of our chromosomes), shown to correlate with ageing. Results suggest that both regular physical activity and eating a Mediterranean diet, are associated with a longer telomere. This is likely due to the fact that these practices reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. On the other hand, consuming processed meats and sugary beverages correlates with telomere shortening.
Fitness
Walking during the day can improve the quality of your sleep
This study shows that increasing time spent walking is positively correlated with sleep quality. This suggests that we don’t have to engage in high intensity exercise to still improve our sleep at night.
Productivity Tip
Research has shown that the average office worker spends approximately 31 hours per month in meetings that are unproductive. Try to limit meetings if the task can be accomplished via an email, call or web-based meeting.
Habit Hack of the week
Try integrating walking into your daily habit routine. Pick a cafe or supermarket that is further from your office for lunch, park your car at the furthest spot, or walk while taking phone call meetings instead of sitting at your desk.