Could the root of a good night’s sleep start with how you begin your day?

Sleep is more than just a time for your body and mind to rest. During the night, your body rebuilds muscles you’ve worn down during the day and, according to a study by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, during deep sleep the brain’s glymphatic system cleans itself of toxins that accumulate while you’re awake. Sleep also plays a part in keeping your memories intact and regulating your emotions, not to mention the immune system and metabolism.

Generally, good quality sleep happens when our behaviours align with our circadian rhythm – our 24-hour body clock that causes us to get sleepy at night and alert during the day. With that in mind, a great night’s sleep could begin with a simple set of morning rituals to create a better environment for sleep. So, where should we start?

1. Decide on a fixed wake-up time

It’s tricky for your body to get used to a healthy sleep routine if you constantly wake up at different times. So, decide on a wake-up time and stick with it, even at weekends when you could be tempted to sleep in.

A study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) shows that the minimum recommended sleep for healthy adults is seven hours a night. Decide on your ideal wake-up time, 7AM, for example, and figure out what time you should be aiming to be in bed. You can also try tracking your body’s natural rhythm, to see how much sleep you need to wake feeling rested.

2. Expose yourself to light

Circadian rhythms are affected primarily by light and darkness, and are controlled by a small area in the middle of the brain. Well-managed light exposure can boost performance, as well as improve memory, energy levels, and mood.

Undoubtedly, one of the best ways to wake up your brain and maximise your energy is to get 20 minutes of sunlight first thing in the morning every day, to help promote wakefulness and suppress melatonin or sleepiness. If there is no sun available to you, or no natural light, get 20 minutes of artificial light – there are apps you can download that mimic sunlight, and digital alarm clocks that are designed to replicate a sunrise.

3. Rehydrate yourself

Most of us lose a whole litre overnight, so this is the next essential ritual to adopt. Drink your water soon after getting up to counteract dehydration from sleep. Dehydration can affect how you perform mentally and physically throughout the day, but also how well you sleep. And, even in its mildest form, dehydration can cause your sleep to become disrupted. So, drink up!

4. Delay your first caffeinated drink

Many of us believe that our day just has to begin with tea or coffee. We rely on our morning caffeine to wake up our bodies and prepare our minds. But would you believe me if I told you that you’d get more of an energy boost if you delayed that first caffeine hit for at least 90 minutes after waking?

If you drink caffeine while your cortisol (your body’s primary stress hormone, a bit like nature’s built-in alarm system) levels are still elevated, you’re introducing caffeine into your body when you

Address the stress of the week with these entertaining endeavours to help you soothe anxiety over the weekend

Sometimes, making it to Friday can feel like a real challenge, with anxiety and stress occupying our minds – bringing down our mood, and draining our resilience. When we do eventually get to the weekend, it can be easy to use it as a time to catch up on all the things we were too overwhelmed to do during the week and then, before we know it, it’s Monday, and the cycle starts all over again before we’ve had time to catch our breath.

So, if you’ve had a full-on week, your stress levels are peaking, and you’re struggling with anxiety, we’ve got some suggestions for ways you can make each weekend one dedicated to rest and rejuvenation.

Escape to a different world

When daily life gets too much, escape the toil with the power of stories. If you’re a reader, this may be the time to curl up with the book that’s been sitting in your to-read pile for a while. Or if films are more your thing, settle down with a warm drink and spend the next couple of hours in a whole new world.

When deciding on how to pass your time, it might be worth considering exactly what you need from this activity. Are you looking for a good laugh? An inspirational message? A drop of nostalgia? Or total escapism into a fantasy world?

Whatever you go for, bring some mindfulness into it. If you notice that your attention is starting to wander, prompting that anxiety to creep back in, try to recognise those thoughts, let them go, and bring your focus back to the film or book you’re absorbing.

Go somewhere new

You won’t need your passport for this one, because even a trip half an hour down the road will do. Stuck in our routines, we can end up going between the same places again and again. Going off and discovering somewhere new breaks those daily patterns that can, sometimes, bring us so much anxiety.

What’s more, we also get that sense of adventure and discovery, something that we adults tend to do less of as we settle down. If you’re near the coast, finding a new seaside spot has the added benefit of ‘blue therapy’ – which refers to the soothing feeling we feel when next to large bodies of water. But those of us who are landlocked still have so much to gain from natural spaces such as forests and dales. Or, visit the next town over. Trawl for treasures in charity shops, find yourself a warm, cosy coffee shop, and there are always unexpected, quirky delights to be found in local museums.

Learn some new self-care skills

Self-care is something that is spoken about a lot in health and wellness communities. And you might have a good idea of the basics (making nourishing food, taking a relaxing bath, journaling), but now might be a good time to learn some new techniques like self-massage, ‘morning pages’, relaxing yoga routines, or even birdwatching.

Prioritise and delegate household chores

Sadly, as much as we might wish it, household chores don’t halt when we need a break. But if you do need to get things done this weekend, see whether you can shake things up.

Firstly, have a stern look at your to-do list. You might a

Looking for simple, quick, and effective tips for tackle the green-eyed monster? Here are seven ways you can conquer feelings of jealousy for good

Jealousy is rarely a good look on anyone. Whether you’re feeling jealous of a friend’s latest holiday, a family member’s good news, or even a colleague’s promotion, a little bit of jealousy can motivate us. But when we feel it too much or too often, it can risk hurting our relationships and damaging our wellbeing.

So, how can we overcome jealousy?

1. Try self-help

Learning how to recognise, acknowledge, and tackle unhelpful feelings can be daunting. But being able to identify jealousy is the first step towards confronting why you are feeling this way, and finding healthier ways to process these thoughts and feelings.

Often caused by fear, low self-esteem, or insecurity, it’s important to remember that feeling jealous doesn’t make you a bad person. Speaking to someone you trust can help you to work through these difficult feelings, as well as reframe things in a different light.

Acknowledging how you are feeling can help you to address the elephant in the room, leading to self-reflection and opening the way for personal growth.

2. Practise gratitude

Gratitude isn’t just about being polite. It’s about noticing the good things in life and showing genuine appreciation for them. When people regularly practise gratitude through reflection and expression, many find that they experience more positive emotions, see improvements in their sleep patterns, and even develop higher levels of self-esteem.

Practising gratitude can help to alleviate stress, reduce feelings of jealousy, and help us to appreciate the things that we have, instead of focusing on what others have.

3. Be aware in the moment (and take a break)

When you next feel jealousy rising, take a moment to stop and acknowledge how you are feeling. Instead of reacting, or allowing these feelings to fester, step away from the situation and allow yourself to take a break.

Try going on a short walk or taking 10 minutes to do something else you find calming, like listening to music or making a hot drink. Or try writing down how you are feeling, then leaving it to come back to later. Readdressing these thoughts and feelings when you are calmer can help you to view them more rationally, allowing you to work through them without the risk of saying or doing something you may later regret.

4. Consider talking therapy

Counselling can be a helpful method of working through jealousy. A qualified, experienced therapist can provide a safe space to explore feelings, challenge unhelpful thoughts, and discover new ways of moving forward.

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can help you to better understand your feelings, recognise and break negative thought patterns, and discover new, healthier ways of reacting. Another helpful option can be cognitive analytical therapy (CAT). This can help you both challenge and change negative thought patterns, as well as look at past experiences, helping you to understand why you think or behave this way.

5. Practise mindfulness

Mindfulness is all about being aware of our thoughts, feelings, environment,

Having a good idea of the things that are happening in the world is a savvy thing to do, so how can you manage that without becoming overwhelmed?

Between the cost of living crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, political divides in the UK, the US, and across Europe, and a wealth of other pressing issues, simply turning on the news can feel like a mammoth task at the moment.

At the same time, many of these issues simply cannot be ignored. If you don’t stay informed on rising inflation and issues in the economy, for example, you won’t know what costs are coming or what forms of support might be available.

As a journalist, I have to stay on top of the news cycle, but taking care of my mental health is also a top priority for me. As a result, I’ve developed some techniques for staying informed without being overwhelmed by negativity and alarming news.

1. Limit access

The first step is to limit your access to the news. Having push notifications for news apps might be convenient, but it means you could potentially be presented with stressful information at any given moment. Put yourself back in control of how you digest information by choosing when and how you stay up to date.

Identify which news sources aren’t working for you, and take steps to remove them. You can also try unfollowing news sites on social media, or even blocking certain keywords if you find yourself doomscrolling, or getting increasingly stressed while browsing Instagram or Twitter.

2. Find trusted sources

Now that you’ve cut out the media sources that don’t suit you, it’s time to identify which ones do work. It’s always a good idea to read from a number of different sources, rather than one publication, to get a full sense of the media landscape. To ensure that you’re reading a wide range of publications, the Ground News Chrome extension is an excellent bias checker, showing the political leaning of the site you’re reading, and recommending other coverage on similar topics for a more rounded perspective.

In addition, news aggregators like Upday, Google News, and Flipboard will all learn from what you tend to read and show you more of the same, as well as the top stories of the day. This is an excellent way to access a wide range of news efficiently.

3. Develop a mindful routine

As well as how you consume the news, when you browse can also play a large role in how it affects you. Looking at the news first thing in the morning, or the last thing at night, means your brain is likely tired and not ready to deal with stressful information.

The best time to get updated is when your brain works best, no matter when in the day that is for you. Take half an hour while having breakfast or on your commute, or perhaps dedicate some time while on your lunch break – whenever you’re relaxed and ready to learn.

About 30 minutes or so should be enough to take in the top stories and most important updates on an average day. From there, take on board what you’ve learned, and then separate it from the rest of your day. The reason many people feel overwhelmed by the news is that

Are you always putting others’ needs before your own, to the point where you have no time for yourself? You could be a ‘super-helper’, and it might be doing you more harm than good…

Some of us are better at helping others than we are at looking after ourselves. Maybe this sounds familiar to you personally, or perhaps it conjures up an image of someone you know. These are the ones who are susceptible to the ‘super-helper syndrome’ – where people feel compelled to help others, but don’t look after their own needs.

And super-helpers are all around us. Most obviously you will find them in the caring professions, giving strength to our schools, clinics, care homes, and hospitals. But they are also in offices, gyms, community groups, and charities. Helping whenever and wherever they can, either at work or in their own time. They are the problem-solvers, the mediators, and the fixers, who can’t resist any opportunity to help.

But, as kind as it is to want to support others, the old adage ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’ is well-known for a good reason. It’s important to spot the signs of being a super-helper early, so you can take action before you reach a state of collapse. Here, we’re sharing the four most common adverse consequences.

Exhaustion

Many helpers run on empty and take this for granted. Are you tired all the time? Do you have no time for yourself? Is your sleep disturbed? Do you suffer from muscle tension or headaches? Do you feel irritable, tetchy or just weighed down?

Resentment

Are you stretched out like an elastic band that’s eventually going to snap? It’s easy to say you don’t want anything in return for helping, but the reality is it’s hard to keep going indefinitely if you get little reward. At the very least, you deserve thanks and recognition. Do you find yourself ruminating on how much you do for others?

Exploitation

If you never express any needs, then it’s easy (and convenient, too) for other people to act as if you don’t have any, to take advantage of your help. If you give the impression you want nothing in return, you’ll often get nothing in return. That’s why it’s important to take a hard look at whether some of the people you are helping are exploiting you. Do they really need help at all? Do they need your help?

Self-criticism

It’s ironic that those who are so good at looking after others are often less kind to themselves. Helpers’ self-criticism typically operates on two levels. Do you criticise yourself for not helping enough (helper’s guilt)? Do you criticise yourself for experiencing the other three adverse impacts of the ‘super-helper syndrome’ – for feeling exhausted, resentful, or exploited?

If you are at the point where you are finding it difficult to look after your own needs, take a step back. Like everyone else, there are times when you need comfort, rest, reassurance, sustenance, or time to yourself. And if you don’t express your needs, how can anyone else know how to take