Peak Health Wellness Insights Issue 17

Mental Resilience

Expressing gratitude for others improves mental wellness for both the expresser and the receiver
“Lacking social support is as big a risk factor for early death as cigarette smoking and a greater risk than alcohol consumption, obesity, and air pollution.”

Sleep

Optimistic people are better sleepers
It is known that optimism is associated with improved health outcomes and boosted restorative health capabilities, but this latest study shows that it also improves sleep quality and duration. This could potentially be due to optimistic people's ability cope with stressful thoughts that might otherwise impede sleep.

Nutrition

Plant based diet shown to protect against gastrointestinal infections
A study in mice discovered that the high level of pectin in a plant-based diet is converted to galacturonic acid by the bacteria in the gut, which effectively inhibits gut infection by E.coli pathogens.

Fitness

Walking and cycling to work linked with fewer heart attacks
A study investigating 43 million adults in England provides evidence that an active commute adds benefits to overall health, specifically a 1.7% decrease in heart attack incidence the following year.

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Productivity Tip

Do you want to get more reading done this year and read more productively? Here's an app that teaches you the best speed reading techniques and helps you break bad reading habits.

HERE

Habit Hack of the week

Sticking to your New Year’s Resolution is really all about creating new healthy habits. Here are a collection of habit hacks for staying on track in 2020.

-Make one tiny habit change after the other, don’t try to change everything all at once

-Repetition doesn’t make habits stick, emotions do. Notice how you feel after you perform a healthy action, this will help solidify the behaviour

-Clearly define the new goal (exactly how many days, times, when, where, etc)

-Understand why you want to create the new habit

-Have someone to be accountable to