How to floss

1. Take approximately 30-45cm of floss and wind it around your middle fingers on each hand. Hold the floss so that the string is tight and use your thumbs and index fingers to control it.

2. Gently slide the dental floss between the teeth.

3. Use a gentle up and down motion to rub the floss along the side of each tooth. The floss will be able to go slightly under the gums to remove the plaque from this area also.

4. Remove the used floss and then move on to the next space using a new section of floss or rinsing the string on a flossette under running water.

We need to learn new techniques, such as how to make eye contact on a video call.

“The brain wants to look at the face [on the screen]” says Ridell, “but you have to learn to look in the camera when it is your turn to speak.”

Yet at the same time, the usual rules of respect for others’ time still applies. When someone is talking, show you are listening. Lean in rather than slouch back, smile when someone makes a joke, nod encouragingly when someone tries to explain something.

Communication via writing

Do you end a text to colleagues with a full stop? It might be seen as aggressive.

And how about exclamation marks? Do they show enthusiasm? Or desperation?

The tiny nuances of how we communicate via text, chat and email can take on great significance.

According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the tone of our emails is misinterpreted 50 per cent of the time.

You cannot control how others interpret your punctuation and emojis, but you can apply the basic rules of respect – even when you are busy. Think about the impact of how long you take to respond to someone. Too long and it can feel like you do not value them. Too fast and it can seem you are not putting thought into it.

Gratitude and appreciation are still vital. Take the time to thank people, sincerely and in your own words, for their contribution. You cannot pop into their office at the end of the day to thank them, but you can send an email or message at the end of the day to acknowledge their work, before logging off for the evening.

Some avid readers dismiss audiobooks, saying they are just not as good as the real deal (and they mean the proper, paper kind).

But to our brains, there is little difference, says Discover magazine.

“In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from the Gallant Lab at UC Berkeley scanned the brains of nine participants while they read and listened… Looking at the brain scans, the researchers saw that the stories stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas, regardless of their medium.”

Psychology Today also points out the many ways listening to novels and non-fiction can help us to become not only better read, but also improve our mental health too. If you are prone to anxiety or depression it can be hard to focus enough to read. But listening to someone else read aloud can help replace your daily worries and negative thoughts with something else. As an extra boost to your mental health, you can take your audiobook with you on a walk.

Another bonus of audiobooks? They help relax your overworked eyes and take you off screens. Too long spent looking at screens can lead to eyestrain and long-term vision problems like myopia. Ditch the screen at the end of the day and curl up with an audiobook instead.

1. Protein.

Have you noticed that pea protein now sits alongside other protein powders? Peas are a legume like chickpeas and kidney beans, and so are a rich plant-based source of protein, containing about 5.4g per 80g serving. This is one reason why they are so filling.

2. Low GI.

If you need to monitor your blood sugar levels, peas’ low glycaemic index and high fibre content will help. They contain a form of starch that slows digestion, releasing glucose slowly into the bloodstream.

3. Rich in nutrients.

Like many frozen fruit and vegetables, peas are picked when at the peak of their ripeness and snap frozen within hours. Some studies find that frozen produce may have more antioxidants and vitamins than their fresh counterparts. The nutrients in peas include vitamins A, C, K, thiamine, folate, polyphenol antioxidants, and the minerals iron, manganese and phosphorus.

4. Convenient and low cost.

With rising food prices, buying frozen is one way of keeping costs down. And storing them in your freezer drawer means you will not be throwing out vegetables that are not used by the end of the week.

When you have a tough day ahead, or you are feeling tired from lack of sleep, it is natural to feel a bit down about the day ahead.

Morning depression is different. It tends to occur even when there is no obvious reason for feeling down, and no reason for the ups and downs of mood throughout the day.

“People who are depressed may feel there is no clear reason for the mood changes they experience at certain times of the day. Unlike people who do not have depression, they may feel that they are unable to control the changes,” explains Nancy Schimelpfening from the depression support group, Depression Sanctuary.

What are the symptoms?

Schimelpfening says people who have depression with diurnal mood variation have a low mood and feel that their depression symptoms are at their worst in the morning, but they seem to get better throughout the day.

They are likely to feel the classic depression symptoms of profound sadness and low mood, as well as feeling:

• irritable or easily frustrated
• extremely tired and lethargic upon waking,
• difficulty completing daily tasks
• little or no enthusiasm or interest in the day ahead (even if pleasurable activities are planned)
• it is hard to wake up or getting out of bed.

What causes morning depression?

Morning depression has similar triggers to clinical depression, which is caused by a complex mix of physiological, mental and emotional stressors.

Psychologist Dr Sarah Gundle says this type of depression can also be linked with your sleep and circadian rhythms.

“Your body’s natural clock, called the circadian rhythm, regulates everything from heart rate to body temperature. It also affects energy, thinking, alertness, and mood.”

Dr Gundle also points out that stress can play a direct role in depression. “Too much cortisol can be linked to anxiety and depression,” she explains.

“Normally, cortisol levels spike in the mornings, leaving some people feeling more down. However, when your sleep schedule is off, these hormones will either be irregularly produced or create an imbalance causing morning depression.”

What to do about it

If you have noticed these symptoms, the first step is to rule out other issues which could be causing your symptoms, such as sleep deficiency, iron deficiency or stress and exhaustion.

Make an appointment with your doctor to talk about your symptoms.

After ruling out other issues, they may suggest a range of treatments such as seeing a psychologist or therapist, medication, meditation, exercise, or changing your eating and drinking habits.

Light therapy, also called phototherapy, might also help.

At first thought, it seems obvious that a fitness tracker would help boost your health. It helps you get fitter, right?

Perhaps, but the devices may also reduce your overall wellness by triggering more obsession and less connection with your body.

The research on whether fitness trackers actually make you move more is inconclusive. In the end, it seems to depend on the person. Some people thrive on setting measurable goals and achieving them. Others have a spike of motivation at the beginning, and then get bored. But others can fall into an unhealthy focus on numbers which turns their life into a calculation.

Mark McKeon is an author, presenter and former AFL coach. Speaking in the Australian Financial Review, he says knowing you have only walked 1000 steps by lunchtime might motivate some people, “but it can also make you stressed and set off a series of physiological changes that are more detrimental than an inactive morning.”

When you first set up your tracker, it may ask for your basic details, often telling you how many calories you need to stay the same weight, or lose weight.

For people who are prone to anxiety or disordered thinking about weight and exercise, this can be more detrimental than beneficial. Having a device beep at you because you have only done 9,400 steps that day can turn a good day into a guilt-ridden day.

Alissa Rumsey, author of Unapologetic Eating, says fitness trackers can lead to negative obsession for some people.

“They become fixated on the numbers and kind of preoccupied with tracking and hitting certain numbers and in doing so lose track of what really matters.

They stop paying attention to know their body feels and if they need rest, if they need movement.”

Rumsey suggests mitigating this by regularly checking in with how you feel, and let that guide you.

TIP
Check in with your body BEFORE you check your fitness tracker. Practise listening to your body to see how it feels before and after exercise and move in a way that feels good for you.

What causes OOS?

We used to associate OOS only with repetitive actions, particularly typing. Repetitive activities are one common cause of OOS but you can also develop it from working in a fixed or awkward posture for a long time. The following occupations may pose a risk.

• Office work – such as typing and clerical duties
• Process work – such as assembly line and packing
• Manual work – such as bricklaying and carpentry

You are also at risk if you play certain sports like golf or tennis (tennis elbow is an overuse injury) or use certain machinery such as hand-held power tools.

Reduce your risk

The way your workplace is designed can increase or decrease your risk of OOS. You are more at risk if the furniture or equipment is awkward to us – too high or too far away from your body for instance – or the workspace design means you have to bend, stretch or twist a lot.

Try the following to make things more comfortable:

• Use ergonomically designed furniture and equipment where possible
• Rearrange your workspace to keep everything within easy reach
• Keep benches at waist height so your shoulders can relax and your arms can bend gently at your elbow
• At the computer, adjust the height of your chair so your elbows are level with the keyboard
• Vary tasks so you are not performing the same action all day
• Take frequent breaks

Speak to your manager if you are experiencing any symptoms of OOS. There may be ways to improve work practices and your workspace. If symptoms do not improve or they get worse, see your doctor.

To answer that question, we first need to figure out what the problem is. What is blue light, and what kind of issues does it really cause?

Blue light is not new. The sun emits blue light, as do LED light bulbs. But in recent years, we have been exposed to more blue light than ever before.

Does blue light cause eyestrain?

The simple answer is: it might, but we are not sure. We do not have enough research about the long-term impacts of blue light exposure over a lifetime, because LED devices are too new.

There is no doubt that staring at screens for too long can cause eye strain. But this might be due to the glare and contrast, and the way your eyes are constantly moving when looking at a screen.

What about sleep?

As the sun sets, the sky usually refracts more red and orange light. We have evolved to recognise this as time to wind down and get ready for sleep.

So when we flood our eyesight with blue light, especially just before bedtime, there is a risk it could confuse our natural sleep system.

So, do blue light glasses work?

Blue light blocking glasses have coatings that filter out the blue light.

There are numbers of different types of lenses available, from lenses that claim to block up to 50% of blue light, up to those that claim to block 100% of blue light.

But blocking all blue light during the day could have other negative effects.

During the day, blue light can be a good thing. It is shown to help you feel more alert (which could explain the sleep issues) and also boosts your mood.

In summary

Staring at a screen for too long can cause eye strain. The blue light itself is unlikely to cause eyestrain, but may disrupt your sleep to some extent.

To reduce the effects of blue light, you can wear blue light blocking glasses, but you are better off giving yourself more breaks from screens.

4. It is good for keeping colds away.

Exercise of any type at any time of year is good for your immunity, and in the winter months this is important for fighting off the common cold, COVID-19, and any other opportunistic infections.

Another reason to get out your walking boots and explore your city in winter is the wind. Wind disperses pollution and rain washes the air of dirt and germs, says Annabel Streets, author of 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time. She points to a 2021 study that found the best days to avoid catching COVID-19 were windy days, when germs and bacteria were instantly blown away.

5. Your heart will thank you.

Your heart benefits from a cold weather workout thanks to something called vasoconstriction, says Dr Gallo. “This results in the heart having to work harder to pump blood to the muscles, especially if you are doing aerobic activity like cycling or running.” Anything that strengthens your heart is a smart move, with cardiovascular disease being one of the top causes of death and disability. But always make sure to chat to your GP before starting an exercise program, particularly if you have cardiovascular disease.