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

Tomatoes are full of health benefits. Eaten raw in salads, they provide a rich source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium, zinc and potassium all of which are essential nutrients and minerals.

Vitamin C is a health all-rounder. It supports your immune system, helps increase iron absorption and promotes healthy skin. Potassium helps with blood pressure control and heart disease prevention, while folate is important for normal cell growth and function. Magnesium is thought to help in post-muscle recovery.

Cooked tomatoes (think roasted or in soup and pasta sauces) come into their own as a major source of the antioxidant lycopene. The heat of cooking makes lycopene easier for your body to absorb. Lycopene is linked to brain health, possibly reducing the risk of dementia, heart health as well as lowering cancer risk, for example in prostate cancer studies.

Finally, tomatoes are a great source of both water and fibre, making them an excellent gut health option.

Tomatoes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours and flavours so get curious and start exploring today!

Self-compassion has three parts:

1. Mindfulness. Notice your experience or your thoughts without judgement: ‘I’m having a hard time with this’.

2. Self-kindness. Treat yourself as you would a friend.

3. Common humanity rather than isolation. Embrace imperfection as part of the human experience and understand that your suffering is shared by others.

Self-compassion is not self-pity, or selfish. It would not make you stop ‘trying’. It does, however, allow you to respond kindly to yourself in moments of difficulty. Self-compassion increases your ability to meet challenges and has been shown to increase physical and mental wellbeing, create a sense of safety in the workplace, and increase your sense of purpose and meaning.

Think of switching from an inner critic to a coach and see how it helps you rise to the challenge rather than becoming paralysed by self-doubt.

Self-compassion is simple to learn. One of the best things about it is that you can access it in the moment; you do not have to set aside time each day to ‘work at it’. There are several steps to increase your access to self-compassion.

1. Physical touch.

This might be as simple as placing your hand on your opposite forearm in a signal of care. Feel the warmth of your hand. You could bring your right hand to your heart. Gentle touch coupled with a mindful statement ‘wow, this is tough’ can have a powerful calming effect.

2. Get to know your emotions.

Often, we are not that great at knowing how we feel. Start to explore the language of feelings. Instead of stopping at ‘I’m angry’, see if you can sense what might be underlying that. Maybe you are frustrated or embarrassed or even sad. Growing your self-awareness is an important skill.

3. Practise mindfulness.

Check in on your inner experience. Note your thoughts without judging them or yourself.

Dr Mark Leary, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University concludes, “Just about every measure of psychological well-being we have seems to be associated with self-compassion.” You cannot argue with science!

Dr Tra Brach, psychologist and mediation teacher, shares an easy to remember tool for mindfulness and compassion: RAIN

Recognise what is happening

Allow the experience to be there, just as it is

Investigate with interest and care

Nurture with self-compassion

This can help you move from feeling stuck to a state of feeling safe and secure.

When a nonrecyclable is mixed in with recyclable items, it affects the recycler’s ability to recycle any of the batch, leading to more materials going to landfill. If in doubt, leave it out of your recycling bin.

These items do not belong in the recycling bin, says Planet Ark, but are frequently found there. This does not mean some of them cannot be recycled elsewhere, just not in the kerbside bin:

• soft plastics (like bread bags and bubble wrap)
• food waste
• food containers with food in them
• crockery
• nappies
• clothes/fabric
• polystyrene
• CDs/DVDs/videos
• window/drink glass
• batteries
• mobile phones
• paper towels

And do not put your recyclables into a plastic bag. They cannot be sorted and are manually removed, with the whole bag sent to landfill. Put your recyclables into your bin loose.

Items that cannot go in your recycling bin may still be recyclable. Items such as mobile phones, printer cartridges, televisions, computers, whitegoods, paint and more may be able to be dropped off at a recycling depot.

Check your local area or google recycling in your local area.

As your confidence and momentum grows, generally you want to build up to about half an hour a day of exercise, five days a week. It does not have to be all in one session, you can split it into three 10-minute stints. Perhaps you will do longer on the weekends when your work demands are not so high. The key is small, sustainable steps.

So embrace being ‘good enough’ and get out there!

Like its fresh counterpart, frozen spinach is a nutrition powerhouse, providing essential vitamins and minerals, fibre and phytochemicals such as eye-protecting lutein and zeaxanthin. But because it has less water content (frozen spinach is cooked first), cup for cup it has more than four times the amount of nutrients than fresh, including iron, vitamin C and calcium.

And the older fresh spinach gets (after transportation and sitting in your fridge for a week) the lower its folate content, so that frozen spinach becomes the better source. Folate is a B vitamin that is important for producing and maintaining new cells in the body, and a deficiency in pregnant women can lead to birth defects such as spina bifida.

Before using, defrost frozen spinach and squeeze out excess water. Then add it to any recipe that calls for leafy greens such as fritter batters, smoothies, soups, stews, rice dishes and as a layer in your favourite lasagne or pie.

Note: If you are on blood-thinning medication such as warfarin, be aware that spinach is a source of vitamin K. Check with your GP before making any significant changes to your diet.

It is important to note that health and safety has updated its definition in many places to include psychological health and safety and psychosocial hazards, that is, your mental and emotional health.

This means that while your employer is responsible for not putting you at risk of psychosocial hazards, you are also responsible for managing your own risk, and letting people know when your health and safety is at risk.

A psychosocial hazard is anything that could cause psychological harm. Common psychosocial hazards at work include:

• job demands
• low job control
• poor support
• lack of role clarity
• poor organisation change management
• inadequate reward and recognition
• traumatic events or material
• remote or isolated work
• poor physical environment
• violence and aggression
• bullying
• harassment, including sexual and gender-based harassment, and
• conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions.

Remember, you are not acting alone. Your employer is responsible for providing and maintaining a working environment that is safe and without risk to health, but you still have a legal responsibility to take care of yourself and not do anything that would affect the health and safety of others at work.

This means that you do have the right to refuse to do unsafe work. If asked to do something that you think may be unsafe, either physically or mentally, stop and talk to your supervisor or HR.

Reckless endangerment

Everyone also has a responsibility around reckless endangerment. In general, a person who, without lawful excuse recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person who is at a workplace in danger of serious injury is guilty of reckless endangerment. In some areas, reckless endangerment is an indicatable offence, which can incur a fine or even imprisonment.

Reckless endangerment applies to everyone – an employer, a worker, a designer, manufacturer, supplier or installer, even a member of the public.

Fortunately, there are proven strategies that build your motivation overall, and techniques that help you find that silver of motivation when it all feels too hard.

We have gathered four strategies from leading motivation experts: Dr Julie Smith, Dr Aleyet Fishbach, Daniel Pink and Scott Geller.

1. “Just do it”

Do not wait for motivation to strike. Act first, then motivation will follow. This is the advice of clinical psychologist, social media star and author of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, Dr Julie Smith.

She says when we take action on something that is important to us, it generates energy and motivation.

Dr Smith suggests you start by taking small steps towards your bigger goal, and celebrate your small achievements to encourage yourself to keep going.

2. Reward yourself

When you are low on motivation, you are often low on intrinsic motivation – that is the type that comes from within you, and is built or broken by your goals, values and sense of self. In these cases, you can ramp up the extrinsic motivation – things outside yourself, like praise or tangible rewards.

Dr Aleyet Fishbach, Professor of Behavioural Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and the author of GET IT DONE: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation, has won international awards for her research on human motivation. She suggests that when you are facing a lack of motivation, focus on anything enjoyable. This can include remembering one element of your work that you do find enjoyable, or taking time to visualise the enjoyable outcome you will get, or making the process more enjoyable, such as listening to music while you do it.

Then, reward yourself for getting the job done well. Dr Fishbach advises against rewarding yourself for getting it done quickly, as this may lead to mistakes and reduced motivation down the line.

3. Clarify your purpose

Daniel Pink is the author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

He says the “carrot and stick” approach to motivation, as in external reward and punishment, is ineffective. It only works for small, basic tasks and does not inspire creativity, engagement, and high performance in complex, cognitive work.

Pink says we need to focus on intrinsic factors such as autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

• Autonomy: we are in control of what we do and how we do it
• Mastery: we are improving our skills and selves
• Purpose: we are working towards something that is worthwhile

Purpose is one of the most powerful factors of motivation, says Pink.

He defines purpose as the desire to contribute to something greater than yourself.

That is why organisations who can communicate a shared mission and vision with their employees are more successful than others.

Step 1: Begin on your hands and knees. Open your knees hip-distance or wider.

Step 2: Bring your buttocks towards your heels and reach your arms forward, bringing your head to the floor.

Step 3: Your hands can either rest down by your feet or stack them like a pillow under your forehead.

Step 4: Rest here for up to 5 minutes.

Variations: Place a bolster lengthways in between your thighs and drape your torso and head into the bolster. Turn your head to one side to relax your neck.