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Keeping a diary is nothing new. From Samuel Pepys to Alan Bennett, there are plenty of famous examples. However, it’s something that many of us seem to abandon as we leave our teenage years behind. One study found that just 9% of 45-54-year-olds regularly keep a diary, compared to 37% of 18-24-year-olds.

But it turns out that this is a habit that can have real mental health benefits. Now more commonly known as ‘journalling’ in well-being circles, keeping a diary has been shown by various studies to reduce stress and anxiety, and even boost the immune system.

If we write down our thoughts and feelings, we can understand them more clearly. That should help us to gain control over our emotions – and improve our wellbeing.

According to social psychologist James Pennebaker, “Writing helps us focus and organise the experience”. This means that if we experience something negative or stressful, writing down how we feel about the situation can help us better connect with our thoughts to determine whether they’re true or false.

How to keep a journal for wellbeing

It’s important to note that everyone thinks and organises their thoughts differently, so there is no one size fits all. For some, writing in a stream of consciousness may feel therapeutic. For others, it would be beneficial to create bullet-pointed lists – some may even prefer to doodle! Take time to find the technique that works for you.

Journalling prompts

If you are someone who is tempted to give journaling a go but doesn’t know where to start, here are some simple but effective prompts to try:

• Write down three things you are grateful for – practising gratitude in itself can have mental health benefits
• Write down your personal or career goals
• Describe yourself
• What can you do today to make you feel great?
• Diarise your day
• Challenge yourself to write whatever comes to your mind

What methods of journalling are there?

There are many different ways you can record your thoughts and feelings. In fact, not all of them involve writing, if that’s not something that resonates with you. Different methods of journalling include:

• Writing in a paper diary or notebook
• Using a notes app on your phone
• Audio journalling – recording your thoughts aloud
• Taking a photo every day
• Drawing pictures

Whatever method you choose, it can be beneficial and encouraging to make time to look back on your past journaling and see how far you’ve come.

Let’s face it: we can’t completely eliminate stress from our lives. However, we can learn tools and techniques to reduce stress, and we can use these to remain calm and
collected during stressful situations.

The first part of the process involves understanding the physical and emotional effects of stress. Once we understand what’s happening – and why – we can start taking steps to address this.

What is stress?

Stress is a feeling of being put under excessive pressure, whether that’s getting stuck in traffic on the way to work, dealing with difficult colleagues, or having a long-standing family disagreement. During these frustrating or uncomfortable situations, we may feel threatened and upset, which will cause a stress response. This can change the way we behave and heighten our emotions.

It is inevitable that we will experience stress in some form or another in an average week. However, regularly experiencing serious stress can take a long-lasting toll on our well-being.

Symptoms of stress

Low energy
Headaches
Aches, pains and tense muscles
Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
Insomnia
Frequent colds and infections

What causes stress?

Sometimes our bodies misinterpret a difficult situation as a threat – for example, being called to an unexpected meeting. When that happens, our hypothalamus (a section of your brain) sets off an alarm system. These triggered nerve and hormonal signals prompt the adrenal glands to release stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. It’s known as the fight or flight response.

Adrenaline

This hormone will increase your heart rate, elevate your blood pressure and boost your energy supplies. Some people enjoy the excitement from a rush of adrenaline, particularly when participating in extreme sports, but it can also make you feel panicky and stressed in an everyday setting.

Cortisol

The primary stress hormone, cortisol will increase glucose in the bloodstream, enhance the brain’s use of glucose and increase the availability of substances that can repair tissue. It will also limit bodily functions not essential during a fight or flight situation.

Once the body is aware that the perceived threat has passed, hormone levels return to normal. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to their natural state, and your systems can resume regular activities.

When a person is regularly feeling stressed, the fight or flight mode becomes the natural state. That can be exhausting and detrimental to health.

How to reduce stress: The when/what/why technique

There are three steps you can take if you are feeling stressed: ask yourself when, what and why.
When: If you’re experiencing physical signs of stress, such as a headache or tense muscles, try to connect them to a moment in your day that may have caused the symptoms. Put simply, when did you start feeling stressed?
What: Identify the causes. Try to find relief from your stress by putting the reasons into three categories:
1) Those with a practical solution
2) Those that will improve or elevate with time
3) Those you have no control over
Once you have categorised your stress, you can either let it go or work towards a
solution.
Why: Now it’s time to review why the stressful situation happened. Are you taking on too much work? Can you delegate? You may need to prioritise the items on your to-do list to release the pressure built by trying to tackle too many things at once.

How to use mindfulness to reduce stress

Mindfulness is the art of paying attention. It’s about focusing the mind on something specific and allowing external thoughts to pass. By doing that, you can start to reduce feelings of stress.

The idea is to encourage our minds to be in the moment. You can sense the tug of the past and the future, but you have chosen to focus on the opportunity and potential of the present.

Easy ways to encourage mindfulness

1. Meditate
2. Practise breathwork
3. Focus on one thing at a time
4. Take regular breaks and periods of rest
5. Eat healthy, nutritious food slowly
6. Exercise
7. Spend time in nature, relaxing outdoors
8. Practise gratitude

Everybody knows that saunas are quiet, contemplative spaces where you can relax and unwind. But did you know that regular sauna sessions can boost your physical fitness as well as your health and happiness?

Let’s take a closer look at the fitness benefits of regular sauna use, from improving your endurance to shortening your recovery times.

1.It helps you warm up (literally)

A pre-workout sauna session will warm and loosen your muscles, prepping them for a gentle stretch to minimise the possibility of strains and sprains during exercise.

That’s because the heat of the sauna activates thermoregulatory pathways via the hypothalamus and central nervous system (CNS), leading to activation of the autonomic nervous system. In plain English, that means the heat switches on the system that controls many of your bodily functions.

Just remember to keep your time in the sauna brief, and to hydrate before and after.

2.It may lead to greater endurance

Research suggests that post-workout sauna sessions can improve your physical endurance. In 2007, a study tracked male runners taking 30-minute post-workout baths at 88°C for three weeks. When results showed that every athlete had increased his running endurance, researchers suggested that the heat had helped improve cardiovascular capacity, which in turn led to better oxygen levels and enhanced endurance.

3.It’s a moderate cardio workout

You can expect your heart rate to rise to 120-140 beats per minute during a sauna session. When you leave, it will likely drop below your usual resting level. This change in cardiac output will help your heart grow stronger.

To take advantage, divide your sauna session into three or four short sets, alternating between 10 minutes in the heat and 2-3 minutes cooling down. The fluctuating temperature will elevate your heart rate by up to 60%, which is the same as moderate cardio exercise.

4.It helps preserve muscle mass

You work hard for those gains, so don’t let them disappear! A 2021 study into how saunas might extend “healthspan” (the number of years you live with vitality) found that regular sauna use not only protects against cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease but may also help to counteract sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle and skeletal mass.

5.It reduces muscle soreness

A sauna session is not only mentally relaxing — it also helps the muscles to relax after an intense workout. According to the Harvard Medical School, blood flow nearly doubles during a sauna session. As the blood flow increases, the muscles relax, which in turn improves muscle recovery and reduces muscle soreness, enhancing the overall recovery process.

The key here is to pair your post-workout sauna session with recovery exercises rather than simply staying put in the heat. A gentle recover-and-stretch workout before or after the sauna will leave you feeling limber, supple and ready for the next challenge.

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Before your workout, after your workout or just a little “me” time — our spa facilities are yours to enjoy.

Imagine being outside on a warm, sunny day breathing in the fresh air and listening to a soft breeze rustle through the trees. Sounds relaxing, right? Spending time outside is one of those simple pleasures that many of us have access to — and it has been proven to work wonders for your physical and mental wellbeing.

If you’re looking for ways to relax and unwind, the many benefits of fresh air and natural sunshine may be exactly what you need. Here’s why prioritising outdoor time should be part of your regular routine.

You’ll get your daily dose of vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential for our body to absorb calcium and maintain strong bones, teeth, and muscles. It also helps prevent osteoporosis and reduce inflammation as we age. Although we can get vitamin D from certain foods we eat, 90% of it is from casual exposure to sunlight especially in the UK’s warmer months from early April to late September.

To get your daily dose of vitamin D, try to spend at least 10-15 minutes per day in the sun, preferably in the morning when the UV rays aren’t as strong. Sunshine can be a real mood booster, and you’ll also notice you have more energy to get you through the day.

Your mental health will thank you

Spending time outside with nature has been found to help people manage and reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. According to the Mental Health Foundation, appreciating and connecting with our natural surroundings can support our sense of well-being.

Spending just 20-30 minutes outside every day can significantly reduce your stress levels. That could mean taking your morning workout outside or winding down after a hectic day with an evening walk to get the benefits of outdoor exercise at the same time.

It can help you get more ZzZs

We know getting quality sleep is essential to our overall health, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Getting exposure to natural light can help regulate your circadian rhythms and enable a more natural sleep pattern. A circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock which controls a wide range of processes including physical, mental and behavioural patterns.

In addition to natural light exposure, getting outside will help calm nerves and anxiety that may be keeping you up at night. Fresh air also contains more oxygen which helps lower blood pressure and heart rate. If you regularly tire yourself out with outdoor workouts, you’ll start noticing that you’re snoozing the second your head hits the pillow.

You’ll become more mindful

Practising mindfulness and being in the moment can be difficult when you’re surrounded by technology and the distractions of home. The time you spend outside can be a chance to unplug and focus on yourself. Research also shows that natural scents like flowers and freshly cut grass can make you feel calmer and more relaxed. One study conducted by Kyoto University in Japan found that the smell of pine and a walk through the forest, known as “forest bathing”, can help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.

It promotes work-life balance

If you have a busy job, you know that if you want a break, you must set aside dedicated time for it. For most people, going for a walk or doing an outdoor workout means stepping away from their desks for a little while. Working outdoor time into your schedule naturally means you’ll be taking a break from work.

It will become a priority

The more time you spend outdoors, the more you’ll come to crave it. Friluftsliv, a popular Nordic philosophy that translates to “outdoor life”, is all about committing to prioritizing time spent outdoors regardless of the season or the weather. That means embracing even the wettest UK days and not letting anything stop you from getting out for some fresh air.

With a little forethought and motivation, adding more fresh air and sunshine to your day-to-day life doesn’t have to mean changing your entire lifestyle.

Meditation comes in many shapes and sizes. Meditation isn’t ‘one size fits all’ – what works for one person may not resonate with somebody else. A common misconception of meditation is the idea that to meditate you must sit and wait for the mind to go blank, after which we get frustrated when all we can hear is the inner dialogue of the mind, decide we can’t practice meditation and give up. The results: feeling more stressed and anxious than when we started.

We want to help to correct this misconception. Meditation can be practiced moving, at any point, in any place, for varying lengths of time. It can be to music, it can be guided, and it can use breath-work.

What is Gratitude Meditation?

Gratitude Meditation is a style of meditation which encourages us to mindfully focus on the things and people we are deeply grateful for. This type of meditation practice allows us to self-reflect, and is strongly and consistently associated with a greater sense of happiness and well-being.

In many ways, instant gratification as become the norm and to seek fulfilment, we indulge in the things that often make us feel good right away, as opposed to investing time in things that will make us feel content more fully and permanently. Through meditation, our mind recognises that it does not need instant gratification in the external world to feel validated, joyful and at peace.

How does it work?

In the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day lives, focusing on expressing gratitude for everything in our lives; our bodies, our senses, our loved ones, can help us to stay positive and satisfied. One way we can enhance our experiences, is to live and think through the lens of gratitude, which alters our perspective and can result in a more positive, joyful life.

Practicing gratitude can be simply taking that time in our day to reflect on all that you are grateful for. Make a conscious effort to appreciate what makes us feel good. Buddhist monks use gratitude meditation morning and night, to reflect on their day, noting everything that helped them survive: the good and the bad.

Benefits of Gratitude Meditation

Counting our blessings and feeling gratitude can help us to increase our optimism, relieve depression, lower stress and improve immune function, reduce blood pressure and strengthen our relationships.

How you can practice Gratitude Meditation

Here are some simple ways in which you can practise Gratitude Meditation in your day-to-day life:

• Slowing down to enjoy and appreciate the food you eat.
• Taking a moment to take a deep breath and ground yourself.
• Valuing the people in your life and the joy they bring.
• Appreciating all that your body does for you on a daily basis.
• If you hear, smell or see something you find irritating – instead be grateful for your senses.
• Before going to bed, write down or think of any three things you are grateful for.
• When you wake up, before getting out of bed, make a conscious decision to be more content.
• Keep a journal to remind yourself of all there is to be grateful for.

Together, let’s make a conscious effort to truly appreciate all that makes us feel good, and be thankful.