Peak Health Wellness Insights Issue 30
The New Normal
A series to discuss new lifestyle changes brought about by a global pandemic
I am overwhelmed by how quickly a community can be derailed. We are stubborn creatures of habit, routine, and predictability. This is not to say we do not adapt and change as a society, we do. However, when these changes threaten our habits, routines and life's predictability, instability ensues quite quickly. Coronavirus is just one example of this.
What might the impact of this ultimately be? What is going to change and will it cause forever change? This situation currently calls to question how we eat, sleep, socialise, work, interact with others, exercise, and more....
Focus: Death of the traditional office?
Now that we are getting a taste of flexible work arrangements, will we be reluctant to return to our traditional office life? Being able to work at different times of the day may allow people to work in tune with their peak productivity hours. Is the 9-5 convention optimal if some of us might be more efficient before 9 or after 5? Studies also show that flexible work arrangements allows for greater participation in the workforce, especially for women. Shouldn’t we be enforcing this? In the past weeks we have been forced to question - why spend so much time commuting? Do meetings really need to happen face-to-face? It will be hard to reconcile the benefits of this flexibility once offices re-open. Are we moving towards the death of the traditional office building?
Mental Resilience
People who balance living in the moment with planning for the future are most resilient to daily stress without succumbing to negative moods (read more here)
This research demonstrates that those who practice proactive coping (planning to reduce the likelihood of future stress) and mindfulness (being centred and living in the moment) in tandem, are more resilient to daily stressors and negative mood. This suggests that being able to enact future-oriented thinking and present-orientated thinking simultaneously can help equip us to deal with daily stressors most effectively.
Sleep
There is a delicate balance between daytime naps and inflammation in the body
This study demonstrates that while replacement naps to make up for lost sleep at night are beneficial to overall health and inflammation in the body, excessive napping has the opposite effect and is associated with increased inflammation in the brain. The findings suggest that excessive sleep elevates levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that has been linked to sleep time and also to many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, depression and heart disease. In summary, it is important to get a healthy amount of sleep (between 7-9 hours per night) and on a consistent basis to avoid systemic inflammation association with ageing and chronic disease.
Nutrition
Too much sugar leads to early death but not due to obesity, instead from build up of natural waste product, uric acid
We know that excessive sugar consumption has a negative impact on overall health, increasing our risk of developing obesity and diabetes, and shortens our life expectancy. However, new research shows that the reason a diet high in sugar shortens lifespan is related to the build-up of uric acid, a natural waste product. It is not as a result of diabetic-like metabolic issues like we had once thought. This is because uric acid impedes kidney function and puts one at risk of developing kidney stones, which has a domino effect on overall health.
Fitness
Poor fitness may impede long-term success in a weight-loss program
This study finds that the success of weight-loss programs is impacted by overall physical fitness levels. Those who are in poor shape are less successful at long-term weight loss as they struggle to perform moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for as long and as consistently as those with moderate fitness level. This demonstrates the importance of physical fitness for maintaining weight loss and suggests that those who have poor fitness levels and desire to lose weight should focus on exercise training just as much as the food they are eating.
Productivity Tip
Mark the end of your work day with a to do list of the things you want to achieve the following day.
Not only will this help you to set a clear boundary between work and leisure time, it will also help you to start your next day productively.
Habit Hack of the week
Try spending the last 2 hours of the day device-free
As Mia has highlighted, our phone addiction is becoming a health issue in itself. By carving out time away from your phone at the end of the day, you will likely sleep better and if you are living with others and/or your family, this will also help to foster more meaningful connections with them.