1. So creative!

You go to sleep worrying over a problem, and when you wake up, the answer seems obvious.

According to Professor Penny Lewis from Cardiff University, the two main phases of sleep – REM and non-REM – work together to help us find out-of-the-box solutions to problems.

During non-REM sleep, millions of neurons fire simultaneously and strongly while your brain replays memories. As your brain reruns the memories, it makes links and connections to make sense of patterns.

During REM sleep, it all gets more chaotic, says Lewis. Different parts of your brain become activated, seemingly at random. Lewis suggests this allows your brain to search for similarities between seemingly unrelated concepts, so you can see a problem in a different way.

2. Better reaction times

Like a superhero in a movie, you will find your reflexes and reactions are sharper. Even if your job does not involve split-second decisions, your reaction times can still be a matter of life and death. Every time you get behind the wheel of a car, your reflexes matter.

According to the Sleep Foundation, if you skip a night’s sleep, your impairment is equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.1% - that is double the legal limit.

3. Laser sharp memory

When you get enough sleep, you will find you retain information more easily. You read it once, and you remember it. You no longer have that mental blank trying to remember that password – or forgetting why you walked into the kitchen.

Harvard Health says both animal and human studies suggest that the quantity and quality of sleep have a profound impact on learning and memory. Sleep helps you focus and learn, and it helps you consolidate memories.

4. Brighter mood

Sleep affects your mood, and your mood can affect how well you sleep.

Disturbed sleep is one of the first symptoms of depression. Conversely, chronically poor sleep can lead to depression. A study published in Sleep Journal in 2007 found that out of 10,000 adults, people with insomnia were five times more likely to develop depression.

Another study by the University of Pennsylvania found that subjects who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. When the subjects resumed normal sleep, they reported a dramatic improvement in mood.

* 17 March is World Sleep Day.

Improve your sleep, improve your mood

If you struggle with sleep and stress, the last thing you want to hear is that insomnia can exacerbate depression and anxiety. But it can help to know what you are dealing with, and to know there are many proven tactics and strategies you can use to improve your sleep.

If you are worried about your sleep, Harvard Medical School advises you first look at your sleep habits. Their recommendations include:

• maintaining a regular sleep-wake schedule
• avoiding caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and other chemicals that interfere with sleep
• making your bedroom a comfortable sleep environment
• establishing a calming pre-sleep routine
• going to sleep when you are truly tired
• not watching the clock at night
• not napping too close to your regular bedtime
• eating and drinking enough – but not too much or too soon before bedtime
• exercising regularly – but not too soon before bedtime

We often do not realise our stress and our skin breakouts are related, but think about the last time your skin flared up. Were you under stress?

Perhaps it was a new job that caused a red rash around your chin.

Or a relationship breakdown that made you break out in hives.

You might even remember when you were a teenager, stressed about an upcoming performance or party, then horrified to discover your acne had flared up.

It seems like an unfair double whammy, for our skin to betray us when we are down. Why does it happen?

The inflammation pathway

Stress can cause a chemical reaction that affects your skin.

Dr Neera Nathan, writing for Harvard Health, explains:

“The brain-skin axis is an interconnected, bidirectional pathway that can translate psychological stress from the brain to the skin and vice versa.”

Dr Nathan says stress triggers glands which release more cortisol and other hormones called catecholamines, which in turn cause inflammation. Stress can also cause inflammation through the gut-skin connection. Stress impacts the balance of bacteria in your gut, which can lead to inflammation.

The inflammation is intended to help you: it is to heal the wounds that your body is anticipating from the stressful situation. But in our modern world, the inflammation is more likely to cause redness and itching, and trigger conditions such as psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema.

It is psychodermatological

The study of the connection between skin and mind is called psychodermatology.

A 2020 study review of research studies by the University of Messina in Italy found that people affected by a skin disorder often have a related psychological problem.

They cite numerous studies which showed that people with depression and anxiety often have skin conditions, and vice versa. Interestingly, they also found a link in skin problems with people who reported high levels of anger and disgust.

How to reduce the impact of stress on your skin

The best way to manage stress induced skin flare ups is to manage stress. Dial-up all your stress management tactics such as:

• Practise mindfulness or meditation
• Reduce screens and social media in your leisure time and get more sleep
• Move your body as much as you can with activities you find enjoyable
• Eat more anti-inflammatory foods, including foods high in vitamin B, magnesium and fatty acids such as fish, whole grains and fruit and vegetables
• Stay hydrated
• Take time for yourself as much as possible. Do what makes you feel good, even if it is not “productive”
• And do not forget to keep up your skin care routine.

Important. Never self-diagnose. If you notice a rash or new skin problem – even if you have been stressed – see your doctor for a proper diagnosis. Different skin issues require different treatment.

Prepare in advance.

Don’t waste that precious shopping, prepping and cooking time on just one meal. Make sure you have plenty of leftovers that can be packed in portion-sized containers ready for lunches the following day. If you won’t be able to re-heat food, you can mix any vegetables, protein and/or grains from your dinner plate and toss with some greens and dressing to make a salad. Leftover brown rice? Mix with chicken, corn, baby spinach and black beans.

If you feel inspired, you can also cook up meals in advance in the weekend. Casseroles, chilli, pasta dishes, soups and stir-fries can be doubled, divided and stored, suggest the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter. In the warmer weather, substantial salads based on grains like barley, quinoa or freekeh can also be divided up for lunches.

Stock up on staples.

No leftovers? Keep some of your favourite lunch items ready to go. Some ideas you can pack in a bento-style box: fruit, hard-boiled eggs, falafel, small cans of tuna, pre-cut veggies like carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and cauliflower, rice/corn cakes, sliced or cubed cheese, and small servings or trail mix, seeds or nuts.

You can portion out bean dips, nut butters and plain yoghurt, or purchase them pre-packaged. Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter recommends you aim for a lunch that is half vegetables and fruit, one quarter wholegrain, and one quarter protein.

Chill!

To keep your food safe from harmful bacteria, make sure you pack an ice block in your insulated lunch bag – more than one if your lunch won’t be refrigerated when you get to work.

More than half the world’s people are polyglots – they speak more than one language. Are you one of them, or do they put you to shame?

You are never too old to learn a foreign language. Yes, it might be easier when you are at school, but people who begin language study in their older years can become as fluent as younger learners – and reap the following mental benefits:

• You get smarter. How can you not, when you are challenging your brain to recognise, negotiate meaning and communicate in a different language? This skill boosts your ability in other problem-solving tasks too.
• You delay dementia. Several studies have found that adults who speak two or more languages delay the first signs of dementia by up to five years.
• Your memory improves. Exercising your brain with a new language improves overall memory – studies show bilinguals are better at retaining names, directions and lists.
• You boost observation skills. Multilingual people are better at observing their surroundings, more adept at focusing on relevant information and dismissing the irrelevant.

Learning one language makes it easier to acquire others. And you do not have to go back to school. Download one of the many language apps such as Mondly, Duolingo or Babbel and get started in minutes.

What you can do

Some recommendations:

• Prioritise sleep. You have to sleep when others are awake, so encourage others when you live to respect this.
• Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
• Control noise. You may need to remove the phone from the bedroom and have heavy carpet or curtains to absorb any noise. A fan or ‘white noise’ machine can also help muffle noise.
• Keep your bedroom cool and dark.
• Avoid caffeine, sleeping pills, alcohol or cigarettes before going to bed.
• If you can, sleep just before going to work. If this is not possible, taking a nap before going to work may help.
• If you are allowed to take a break during your shift, use it for a short nap. A nap should be no longer than 15 minutes, after which a five-minute walk can help you wake up properly.
• If you have any say when it comes to your shifts, rotate them forwards (morning to afternoon to evening to night) rather than backwards.

Harvard Health gives an important word of caution: “some medical professionals prescribe cortisol analogs to treat adrenal fatigue. Cortisol replacement can be dangerous even in small doses. Unintended consequences can include osteoporosis, diabetes, weight gain, and heart disease.”

Dr Ben Shlomo explains further: “the supplement can make you feel good at first because it’s a steroid. But over time, it can actually inhibit your adrenal glands.”

How to manage the symptoms

The treatments usually offered by alternative health practitioners for adrenal fatigue are sensible, and will probably help. This includes cutting down on coffee and alcohol, eating more fruit and vegetables, doing light exercise and prioritising sleep.

What about adrenal insufficiency?

As opposed to adrenal fatigue, adrenal insufficiency is a medically accepted diagnosis, and occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone cortisol.

Chronic adrenal insufficiency is measured by a blood test that measures cortisol levels.

Rather than purely a stress response, adrenal insufficiency is most often caused when your immune system attacks your healthy adrenal glands by mistake. Other causes include cancer, tuberculosis and inherited disorders of the endocrine glands.

Primary adrenal insufficiency, also called Addison’s disease, occurs when your adrenal glands are damaged. It’s quite rare but can occur at any age.

If you’re concerned, see your doctor for proper testing.

Lift your depression

Resistance training is proven to help relieve depression. In a 2018 meta-analysis of 33 clinical trials that included 1877 participants, resistance exercise training was associated with a significant reduction in depressive symptoms.

It was shown to work for all adults, male and female, regardless of fitness, weight or other health status.

It is thought that the weight lifting helps trigger a release of endorphins which in turn lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine.

Choose one place nearby that you have never been. It could be a new café, or a new park, or even a monument that has been there for a hundred years. And, like every good holiday, don’t forget to take photos and post on social media – you might inspire others to do the same.

Pineapple is not only a perfect snack or dessert, it also has surprising health benefits.

It contains an enzyme called bromelain, which has two seemingly different benefits, it’s good for your digestion, and good for tenderising meat: Bromelain breaks down proteins, so it helps your gut digest your dinner AND helps soften that piece of chicken on the BBQ.

Some studies even indicate that bromelain can reduce inflammation, swelling and bruising after injury or surgery. It’s even thought to help with pain relief.

Pineapple is also high in vitamin C. In fact, one cup of fresh pineapple chunks will give you more than 130 per cent of your daily vitamin C requirements. And it is full of other goodies such as thiamine, manganese, vitamin B6, folate and antioxidants.

How to avoid pineapple tongue burn

Ever eaten fresh pineapple and felt as though your taste buds have been wiped out? That’s the bromelain. It breaks down proteins, including the protective mucus that coats your tongue. To avoid this problem, while gaining the many benefits of pineapple, you could try one of these tricks:

• Soak the fresh pineapple in salt water first
• Eat the pineapple with diary such as yoghurt
• Cook the pineapple, as this destroys the bromelain (but also reduces the benefits)
• Cut out the tough core, where bromelain is the most concentrated.

Luckily, there are proven ways to speed up your learning, so you can achieve more in less time.

1. Keep a beginner’s mind

Even if you have been studying this field or skill for years, try to approach your next learning like a beginner. When you see yourself as an expert, you tend to be blind to unusual happenings, you assume things are a certain way. Beginners are more open to alternative ways of thinking and ask more questions.

2. Use a digital brain

A whole range of apps exist on your phone – use them. Not to procrastinate or distract yourself, but to help you remember things. A digital brain is like a second brain you can use to capture, organise, retrieve, and archive information, ideas and thoughts. If you use an online calendar, or master password app, you are tapping into your digital brain, but there is so much more you can do. You can use apps to remember to do lists, facts, formulae, links to read later, and you can even record someone delivering a presentation or speech (with permission of course). Try an app such as Evernote, Bear or OneNote.

3. Spaced Repetition

You know how your high school teacher told you to revise regularly and often for exams? They were right. The best way to remember information is to recall it soon afterwards. Spaced repetition looks like this:

• Within 24 hours of learning something, write down notes for yourself and then review them by reading those notes then looking away to recall the most important points.
• Within 48 hours (ie. the next day), try to recall the information with minimal reading of your notes.
• Within 72 hours, recall the information again, as you go about your day, eg while waiting in line or walking to the station.
• A few days later, read through the information all over again.

4. Break it down

Trying to learn something new all at once can set you up for failure. Say you want to learn how to surf. Expecting yourself to be able to stand up on a surfboard right away and catch a wave will only make you feel overwhelmed. Instead, break down each task into manageable bits. For example, start by learning how to jump up from lying to standing. Then learn how to swap your feet. Practice each skill with full attention before moving onto the next.