5 science-backed tips to boost your endorphins

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Lift your mood with these proven positive pointers

5 science-backed tips to boost your endorphins

A group of hormones that have a number of physiological functions, endorphins are responsible for triggering positive feelings in the body, as well as being the body’s natural painkillers.

There are many ways that we can trigger the release of endorphins, and we’ve rounded up five science-backed tips:

Laughter

When we laugh, we take in a load of oxygen-rich air, which stimulates our hearts, lungs, and muscles, and, in turn, triggers the release of endorphins into the body. So, this is your sign to put on a comedy, or spend some time with that person who tickles your funny bone. But remember, our brain can’t tell the difference between fake and real laughter, which is why ‘laughter yoga’ is a popular option. Head to laughteryoga.org for free sessions.

Spicy food

Rationally, we shouldn’t really enjoy eating spicy food, should we? The burning sensation isn’t objectively pleasant, but scientists think they understand why we persevere, and it’s all to do with endorphins. Scientists believe that, when we eat spicy food, our body is fooled into thinking that we are hurting ourselves. Cue the endorphins.

Sex

During sex, the pituitury glad is activated, leading to the release of endorphins, as well as fellow hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, which come together to reduce pain, and boost intimacy and bonding. What’s more, several areas of the brain that are responsible for pain are also active during orgasm. Why? We’re not quite sure, but the endorphin effect can help to explain why some sexual activities that might not be so appealing usually – such as hair-pulling and bites – have a whole different effect during sex.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the traditional Chinese practice where the therapist inserts fine needles into the skin at certain points on the body (called ‘acupoints’). Acupuncture is often said to help with pain relief and relaxation, and can you guess which brain chemical is involved with that feeling? You got it, endorphins. Most studies into the long-lasting effect of acupuncture have been relatively small, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence only recommends it for specific complaints – but it is sometimes available on the NHS.

Dancing

Most forms of exercise are a reliable way to boost your endorphin levels, but there’s something special about dancing. In a study, researchers from the University of York and Sheffield had participants choose to either sit and listen to music, exercise on a stationary bike, or dance for five minutes. What they found was that dance releases more endorphins than typical aerobic movement – plus, it also comes with a whole host of other emotional releases that other forms of exercise don’t. Is it time to turn up the tunes?


Turning 30? Here’s what you need to know…

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Reaching milestones in our life can prompt us to think about where we are, where we thought we might be and what the future holds. As Life Coach Emma Wilson explains, turning thirty can be a moment for reflection and ensuring we’re living our lives as WE truly want to

Turning 30? Here’s what you need to know…

Firstly, I want you to know that age is a number and there’s no magic (or tragic) event that will automatically occur the moment the clock takes you from 29 to 30, 39 to 40 and so on. Marketing agencies and the media have been creating a sense of urgency and worry around ageing for years in order to sell products, aspirational living, fertility consultations and to play upon our insecurities, for their own profit.

That being said, ‘milestone’ birthdays can still prompt a period of reflection for many of us, so how can you harness the energy around this occasion for your own development and an increasingly positive sense of self?

Starting with being honest about how you’re feeling is a good place to begin, Emma Wilson, a Life Coach who specialises in conversations around turning 30, explains. “There can be something confronting about a round-figure birthday, be it 30, 40, 50, 60 or beyond. It’s become this big thing, created by society, that can make us go into panic mode.”

Comparison is the main thing people struggle with

“Specifically for women who are turning thirty, there appears to be something very loaded and charged about it,” she continues. “From my clients, I know that the biggest thing is a feeling of being left behind or that everyone else is in a different place to you and then you start to compare. Comparison is the main thing people struggle with.”

We internalise this 'instruction guide' on how our lives should look

To put these expectations and comparisons into context, Emma refers to them as the ‘turning 30 manuals’. “It’s as if we have an instruction manual on what our life should look like, how we should be and what we should feel by our thirties. This comes from many different areas - popular culture, familial expectations, cultural beliefs, songs - everything you can imagine. Then we internalise this 'instruction guide' on how our lives should look.

“The most common instructions  are that we should have a partner, be in a relationship - if not married - have children, be in the process of buying a property and in a stable career with prospects. They are the main things that people really worry about.”

Stamping out the stigma: throwaway sayings and why they’re so damaging to mental health

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Understanding the impact of our words, and how they can perpetuate stigma

Stamping out the stigma: throwaway sayings
and why they’re so damaging to mental health

Language holds an invisible power over our lives. More than a collection of words and phrases, it is a vehicle for ideas and experiences, and plays a significant role in shaping how we make sense of the world. While we may not always be aware of it, the words we wield can also be weapons. They can inflict harm and cause pain, sometimes without our realising.

Casual ableism is a routine occurrence in our language. It shows up in everyday expressions, throwaway remarks, and off-the-cuff sayings which perpetuate harmful assumptions and misconceptions about disabilities and mental illnesses. With each time we describe a dull event as ‘so depressing,’ a recollection of frustration as ‘giving me PTSD’, or an occasional habit as ‘a bit OCD,’ casual ableism is increasingly normalised within our cultural vernacular.

In her book, On The Offensive, linguist Dr Karen Stollznow highlights how mental health conditions are often exaggerated through colloquial phrases used to discuss undesirable traits or character flaws: an egotistical politician is described as a ‘narcissist’; a friend who worries that other people don’t like them is ‘paranoid’; and a colleague who has difficulty focusing on one task has ‘ADHD’. This metaphorising of mental illness both trivialises complex conditions, and fuels their association with negative qualities.

“My biggest pet peeve is when people say, ‘I’m literally obsessed with__,’” explains Kayla Kaplan, who was diagnosed with OCD, ADHD, a non-verbal learning disorder in her mid-teens, and, more recently, with PTSD. “It paints obsession as a synonym to really liking something and, in my experience, literal obsessions feel horrible. Being unable to get your brain to stop obsessing over something is one of the most helpless feelings, and it shows me that people who misuse the word have no concept of what it actually means.”

Bev Herscovitch, a healthcare and disability advocate, suggests that these throwaway sayings can lead people with mental illnesses to feel unsafe and isolated, potentially preventing them from opening up to others, or seeking support when they need it. Speaking of her own experience as someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder and anxiety, she says “It makes me feel overwhelmed because I realise there’s so much more work to be done in just erasing stigma and raising awareness.”

More troubling than individuals using mental health terminology in this casual way, however, is organisations and businesses treating them as trends. “I’ve often come across merchandise that says: ‘OCD (Obsessive Christmas Disorder or Obsessive Cat Disorder),’” Kayla comments. “To misappropriate a diagnosis for profit is a whole other level of hurt, and it normalises doing so at a massive scale.”

Of course, not everyone who utters these sayings intends to cause harm. More often than not, people simply reproduce ubiquitous turns of phrase without much knowledge about their origins or implications. Our use of language is habitual, rooted in ritual and convention. When we reach into our mental lexicon, searching for the right phrase to describe a t

Project Soothe: the global photography project helping to induce a calm mind

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Scientists have found that merely viewing images of beautiful landscapes or cuddly animals can induce a sense of tranquillity in these troubled times. Welcome to Project Soothe… and here’s how you can take part

Project Soothe: the global photography project helping to induce a calm mind

Perhaps it’s daybreak, as the sun rises over a rolling, verdant landscape. It could be the afternoon, as a cat cuddles a soft, white toy and sleeps peacefully in bed. Or maybe it’s evening, and the sun sets over a mountain, green trees framing a pinky-purple ocean.

These tranquil scenes are among the most soothing photographs taken by ordinary people, designed to relax and calm. Today, scientists at Project Soothe, a research website of super-soothing images like these, say that “landscapes, water features, trees and flowers, animals, and skies” all induce a sense of ease and calm.

Project Soothe is a global citizen-science project based at the University of Reading. “Our goal is to collect soothing images by you and me, to help people self-soothe,” says Professor Stella Chan, who founded the project in 2015.

Professor Chan was working with patients with brain injuries when she discovered that imagery can calm and quieten patients. She says she found that not everyone could “imagine” their own picture in their mind’s eye. So, she decided to gather photographic images for the patients to view and self-calm.

It works, too. I spent an hour looking at photos of my two cats and a roaring fireplace: things I love dearly and like to spend time with after a day at work. I felt happy and warm inside after viewing them. The pastel pink colour of one cat’s ears stood out as particularly cute to me, and it immediately made me feel very happy and calm.

Project Soothe: the global photography project helping to induce a calm mind

A recent study shows I’m not alone, and we all have a shared understanding of what soothe means to us – feeling calm, relaxed, and at ease. One man taking part in the study said: “Feeling soothed is in the moment, present-focused, relaxed.” A woman added: “It’s a state of aloneness or detachment from my surroundings where I feel calm, warm, safe, and secure.”

Some people find mindfulness meditation is a source of soothing for them, too. One woman said: “I listened to a short mindfulness audio tape, which helped me to focus on my breath. It helped me to focus through visualisation, and I got a sense of strength and calm after listening to the audio tape.”

Another participant said: “I was in bed, relaxed and with music on and I was soothed when knowing that all my work and tasks were done. I was both happy and optimistic.”

Human stories like these, along with others, show us that we agree on what’s soothing: solitude, affiliation, mindfulness, connection with nature, and physical sensations.

Now these findings from researchers are helping mental health practitioners and clinicians support individuals to develop self-soothing strategies. And the sense of soothing extends to young people, too.

Project Soothe is working with young people with Read more

Teacher burnout: What can we do about it?

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In the past five years, over 7 million teacher days have been lost due to mental health issues, particularly heightened during the pandemic. Unsuitable workloads, pressure, increased class sizes, and low pay could all be to blame

Teacher burnout: What can we do about it?

In the last year, studies by the Observer have revealed that teacher sick days are up by 7% across council-controlled schools in England and Wales, with this number up nearly a fifth compared to the same period three years ago. Areas particularly affected include Kent and Hampshire, with Kent seeing 91,679 teaching days lost in the 21-22 school year.

Existing pressures, such as increased class sizes, coupled with a below-inflation pay rise proposal, have taken a toll on teachers’ mental health and wellbeing. The impact of the Covid pandemic has also heightened the issue, with Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson commenting: “The Covid inquiry must also look into the impact the government’s mishandling of the pandemic had on the mental health of teachers and other frontline workers.”

During the pandemic, many teachers have had to take on extra work, leading to burnout. If this pressure continues, the existing teacher shortage could be set to worsen. As it is, 40% of teachers leave their jobs within the first 10 years of qualifying, according to Julie McCulloch, Policy Director at the Association of School and College Leaders.

Despite the upcoming Covid inquiry, which is set to launch an ‘Education Staff Wellbeing Charter’ off the back of it, there is a risk that the crisis could get worse before it gets better.

So, what can we do about it? Here, Dr Julie Smith discusses how to manage burnout.

How to deal with burnout

We can all experience burnout if we overdo it, whether in our personal lives or at work.

Before practising techniques to combat burnout, it’s important to recognise the signs and symptoms in the first place:

  • exhaustion
  • distancing yourself from others
  • negative attitude toward work
  • lack of motivation
  • physical symptoms, such as aches and pains

Stress and burnout are related, though not the same. Burnout is chronic stress. If you’re stressed at work, you might feel like your workload is too demanding and you have a lot of pressure, but this feeling typically stops once the workload calms down. Being burnt out often means you feel as if you are completely drained of your energy and have nothing more to give. The goal is to recognise your stress before it escalates into burnout.

Once you’ve identified you’re stressed or burnt out, try to understand the root cause of it and discuss how you’re feeling with your manager, HR, or your colleagues. If it becomes too much, you may consider finding a different job.

It’s also a good idea to set boundaries at work, and stick to them. For example, ensure you log off at a certain time and try to avoid doing work tasks at home. It can be easy to quickly start

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