Gossiping
“I hearClairehada fewglasseslast
night,”or“So,Emmagotthepromotion
then...”Manyofussharegossipywords
withourbestfriendsorcolleagues- accordingtotheexperts,60%ofadult
conversationsareaboutsomeonewho
isn’tthere.Butdon’tfeeltoobadabout
it. If youfeellikea weighthasbeenlifted
offyourshouldersaftera goodsession,
there’sa reason.“Thisis because
frustrationthatcausedyoutogossip
in thefirstplacehasbeenreleased,”
explainsmentalhealthexpertChloeWard.
Gossipingwithsomeoneandventingour
annoyances– evenforjustfiveminutesa
day– canhelpreducestresslevels. w&h
DayDreaming
Problemgotyoustumped?Youmay
needtodoa littledaydreaming.
Accordingtoexperts,it allowsideas
andissuesto“marinate”inour
minds.“Yourunconsciousbrain
canguideyoutolookatthings
thatyouhaven’thadthetimeand
emotionalspacetoconsider.Plus,
it canalsoincreaseourmotivation
tothinkaboutpossibilitiesand
a biggergoalandvision,”says
businesscoachRuthKudzi.
Andtheperfecttimeto
daydream?Intheshower,
apparently.Thisis becausefeeling
relaxedcanincreasetheflow
ofthehormonedopamine,a key
ingredienttocreativity.Themore
dopaminereleased,thehigher
ourchanceofmakinginsightful
connectionsandproblemsolving.Bitingyournails
It mightbea habitthatmakes
mostofusshudder,butperhaps
thosegermsaren’tasbadaswe
thought.Someexpertsbelieve
thatsmall-scaleexposureto
germscanhelpusbuildupour
immunity,makingyoulesslikely
tofallill inthelongrun.Just
remembertodoit privately.Swearing
Oftenshouta four-letterexpletive
whenyoustubyourtoe?Swearing
maybeoneofthemostoffensivebad
habits,butit couldhelpuscopewith
painbetter,accordingtoresearchersat
KeeleUniversity.Theirstudyinvolved
participantsholdingtheirhandsin ice
water– firstshoutingexpletivesandthen
not.Whentheyusedstronglanguage,
theywereabletokeeptheirhandsin
forlonger.However,thestudyshowed
thatswearingin a timeofpainwasmore
effectiveforpeoplewhodidn’tusually
curse.Soif you’relookingtoraiseyour
paintolerance,limitthisbadhabitto
strictlynecessarycircumstances.
Skippingtheshower
We’renottalkingaboutseveraldays
straight– thatwouldbebadforour
health,nottomentionoursocial
lives.However,skippingthe
showeroncein a while(think
a lazySunday)coulddo
wondersforourskin.
Washingdailycan
actuallystripskin
ofessentialoilsthat
helpit staysupple.
Being messy
It’struewhattheysay– chaosreally
doesgeneratecreativity.Research
publishedinthejournalPsychological
Sciencerananexperimentwhere 48
individualswereassignedeithertoa
messyortidyroomandwereaskedto
thinkupasmanyusesforping-pong
ballsaspossible.Althoughtheycame
upwiththesamenumberofideas,
thoseinthemessyroomwere28%
morecreativewiththeirconcepts.Chewing gum
Doing it before performing a
cognitive task increases blood
oxygen levels in the prefrontal
cortex and hippocampus – key
brain structures involved in
learning and memory. Chewing
gum boosts thinking and alertness,
plus it can also keep our saliva
flowing. According to Dr Raha
Sepehrara, principal dentist at
Dental Suite (dental-suite.co.uk),
this can stop cavities forming in our
teeth, reduce our risk of thrush
infection and prevent bad breath.
Just try to choose sugar-free gum.feel good you
woman&home IT’S All ABOUT yOU! 133