How to give a compliment

The best compliments are specific rather than general, says Smiling Mind. Rather than saying ‘good job!’ or ‘nice one!’, think through what you would like to say.

• Make it personal to your workmate by highlighting what skills or qualities they showed, and when and how they displayed them.
• Be authentic. Use words and body language that is typical for your relationship with that person.
• Keep the compliment to the point. Brief, specific compliments will appear more genuine that lots of general praise.

Go ahead and give a compliment today. It is the gift that will cost you nothing.

What is more, even small amounts are harmful.

“Half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are caused by “light” and “moderate” alcohol consumption – less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week,” says WHO.

While 1.5 litres of wine may seem a lot, over a week it is less than one and a half glasses per day, or around one “home pour” in a regular wine glass per day.

Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe, says, “It does not matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage. The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is.”

If you are looking for a non-alcoholic drink, there is no shortage of alternatives to lemonade and cola. ‘Functional’ beverages promise mental and physical benefits beyond quenching your thirst and the niche newcomers to the market are nootropics.

Nootropics are a broad category of so-called “smart drugs’ with cognitive benefits. Some are only available on prescription but others you can buy as supplements, and it is these that are also added to drinks.

Some common ingredients you will find in nootropic drinks include the herbs ashwagandha, ginkgo biloba, guarana and chamomile, anthocyanins (flavonoids), enzogenol (pine bark extract), and L-theanine (an amino acid found in black and green tea).

How healthy are they?

The claims are not all hype. Evidence does suggest that the ingredients in nootropic drinks can improve cognitive performance, memory and learning, or aid relaxation, although studies tend to be small with larger studies needed to confirm the findings.

However, benefits are still unclear. Connecting an ingredient to its supposed health benefits can be problematic, says Debbie Fetter, an assistant professor of teaching nutrition at University of California, Davis. Plant-based compounds exist alongside other compounds, and their interactions can boost, neutralise or diminish each other’s effectiveness. She says untangling any single ingredient’s role, and then recreating that effect in a beverage, is difficult.

Too much caffeine can cause headaches, increase anxiety, make you restless and impair your sleep.

Sugar content varies between the drinks too. Some are sugar free, others are low in sugar, while some provide nearly 30 per cent of an adult’s maximum daily sugar intake. It is worth checking the labels if you are looking for a low sugar option.

It is unlikely you will come to any harm with natural nootropics, although medication interactions and health complications are possible, and the long-term effects of regularly drinking them have not been well studied. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it is best to avoid them.

Are coffee and tea nootropic drinks?

Yes. Most of us have nootropic drinks every day in the form of tea and coffee. Over 30 per cent of world drinks coffee regularly, while even more drink tea regularly.

Caffeine, found in coffee and tea, is classified as a nootropic because it can increase alertness, energy and concentration. Green and black tea also contain L-theanine, an amino acid that may affect the levels of certain chemicals in the brain, including serotonin and dopamine. These influence mood, sleep and emotion, as well as cortisol, which helps the body deal with stress.

Benefits of floating

Floating in water, in a pool, a lake or calm ocean, can bring numerous physical and mental health benefits.

• Less “doing” more “being”

To float, you need to move as little as possible – just a tip of the hips, or slow swing of your wrists. This slow movement can help you get out of your head and into your body, and into the present moment.

• It is meditative

Floating, once you trust the process, can be an immensely meditative act, where you can focus on your breathing, or the feel of the water, or the clouds above, without need to achieve.

• It is immersive

“Aquatic immersion” is the fancy term for being in water. Floating brings many of the benefits of playing or swimming in water, without the need for rigorous exercise.

Aquatic immersion is shown to increase blood flow to the brain and arteries.

• It is (a bit like) cold water therapy

You do not have to subject yourself to an ice bath to gain benefits of cold water immersion. Just being in a cold swimming pool or natural lake or ocean can help.

Officially, cold water therapy or cold hydrotherapy is the practice of using water that is around 15 degree Celsius for health benefits.

Research is limited, as most studies used only small groups of people, but overall evidence is positive especially in terms of benefits to your immune system and mental health.

So next time you are in water, take a break from swimming, roll onto your back, and float it all away.

How to float

• Lie on your back on top of the water
• Pull your shoulders back – this helps lift your chest, abdomen and legs
• Breathe normally – holding your breath affects your buoyancy
• Keep your body flat and straight, but you can spread your legs and arms like a starfish
• Push your chin and pelvis (hips) up. If you lift your chin up, your legs will follow and come up to the surface
• RELAX! You cannot flat with tense muscles