Getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult at the best of times. But it can be even harder when you’re anxious or have something on your mind – a global pandemic, for example.
If you are noticing a spike in your stress levels you are certainly not alone….In relation to COVID 19, a recent YouGov survey suggested that in Australia 1 in 4 relationships were understrain, 50% of people were feeling isolated and 57% of people were feeling stressed.
Participants revealed a number of reasons for their increased anxiety, including being unable to visit family & friends as well as fears of loss of homes, jobs and failure to pay debts….
Research also by Australian personal finance App Humanti revealed that 19% of their 900 respondents were drinking more.
While there are many things we can’t control there are some things which we can do to help overcome the natural tendency of anxiety and stress...which is by building our mental resilience through mindfulness.
Resilience is the skill or noticing our own thoughts, unhooking from the non-constructive ones, and rebalancing quickly.
Below are some helpful tips:
First, calm the mind.
When you focus on calming and clearing your mind, you can pay attention to what is really going on around you and what is coming up within you.
You can observe and manage your thoughts and catch them when they start to run away towards doomsday scenarios. You can hold your focus on what you choose (e.g. “Isn’t it a gift to be able to work from home!”) versus what pulls at you with each ping of a breaking news notification (e.g. “Oh no…the stock market has dropped again.”).
Look out the window.
Despair and fear can lead to overreactions. Often, it feels better to be doing something … anything … rather than sitting with uncomfortable emotions. In the past few weeks, I have felt disappointment and frustration with the impact on life and business by COVID 19. But I have been trying to meet this frustration with reflection versus immediate reaction.
I know my mind has needed space to unhook from the swirl of bad news and to settle into a more stable position for good planning. So I have been trying to work less and to spend more time looking out my window and reflecting. In doing so, I have been able to find clearer answers about how best to move forward.
A good night sleep.
A good night sleep could be more important than ever right now…Sleep is essential for maintaining health and mood.
Things you can do to help get a good night sleep include:
- keeping your lights dim in the evening, especially in the hour before sleep time
- minimising noise (you might try using earplugs or white noise if your bedroom gets a lot of noise from outside)
- Turning off screens or putting phones on airplane mode an hour before bed
- Winding down with a book or gentle music
- MAME Multi-purpose I Have Calm to use a pillow mist
Limit your consumption of news.
You may do this by refining your information to reputable sources, setting a time for when you check the news.
Limit the amount of updates you explore with the individuals in your life. Your limits may vary based on who you are, how you handle stress and the level of stress you are experiencing – creating these limitations is a helpful tactic to reduce the amount of stress you let into your life.
Practice self-care.
Self-care is the active process of acknowledging and tending to your needs. Self care includes practices that invest in your general wellness. This can include preventative measures such as eating nutritious foods, staying active and getting adequate rest.
Organise virtual catch ups and build your support network.
We as humans, have an innate desire for social international - for communities -for connection. We were not meant to live a solo existence without contact and joint experience. The power of uniting with like-minded individuals is immeasurable.
Technology such as the House Party App, Zoom, Messenger, Skype all allow you to be together even tho you’re apart.
Technology plays a cool part in helping people connect face to face all while keeping a distance
So why not this weekend organise a group of friends or family members to jump online to share the love, have a good laugh and a good ol fashion tongue wag
MAME – Feel Good Fragrances
Our Feel Good Fragrances offer amazing scents to enjoy but were also carefully designed to target those everyday feelings that so many us experience for both men and woman. Our Mood Essentials can help you feel better by:
I Have Calm was created to help manage anxiety, insomnia and stress and to bring forth calmness and balance, encouraging relaxation, and a clear, calm mind.
I Have Confidence is designed to help combat nervousness, self doubt and anxiety to allow calmness, inner strength and confidence.
I Have Joy is designed to help combat flatness, sadness, mental fatigue and nervous tension to help uplift, stimulate and revive allowing happiness and joy helping to put a bounce into a person’ step
I Have Focus – was created to help combat distraction, general dullness and confusion/exhaustion and to help clear and invigorate the mind. It aims to help relieve anxiety, stress and tension - and to encourage clarity, mental strength, calmness and focus, helping with goal achieving.
I Have Calm & Confidence body washes
During these times of social distancing, prioritizing self care is more important than ever, with more time spent at home and cleanliness at top of mind a ten minute shower has never felt so good!
Whether the time is most valuable as a moment away from the kids, a boost to start to your day with a pep in your step, or a soothing space to calm your body before bed…Our I Have Calm and I Have Confidence body washes are here to help.
Our I Have Calm and I Have Confidence body washes have been blended to cleanse and hydrate, leaving your skin to feel clean and moisturised.
I Have Calm Hand & Face cream A non-greasy moisturiser, I Have Calm Hand & Face cream contains natural essential oils, hydrating agents, nourishing and regenerating ingredients, as well as antioxidants to help anti ageing and restore elasticity and softness to help your skin look and feel younger...BUT won’t leave your keyboard feel like Slip 'N Slide!