New research last year revealed 15 per cent of us believe we are sleeping worse than we were 15 years ago.
The 6 Week Programme by Louise Parker (Mitchell Beazley, £20).ĭr Neil Stanley is an independent sleep expert and author of How To Sleep Well. You’re only looking for 20 minutes here and there for strength-training and fat-burning routines, but it must be regular.Ĭontinually tweaking that commitment keeps exercise front of mind, even at times when everything else seems slightly chaotic. Do it now, then mid-February, and again at Easter. Scrutinise your schedule every six to eight weeks to see where you can squeeze more time out and exercise in. Perhaps the 30 minutes spent unwinding after work could be re-allocated to exercise? Ask yourself what you could possibly re-jig to provide a 15 to 20-minute exercise window.Īn extra 15 minutes in the morning could be enough time for you to walk, rather than drive, to your destination. Sit down with your diary and run through the timings of a typical day. The key is to do little and often - to downsize your workout time into smaller, more manageable chunks. Living a healthy life doesn’t mean exercising obsessively or for hours. Louise Parker (pictured) recommends scrutinizing your schedule every six to eight weeks to see if it's possible to squeeze in more exercise Unlike meditation or mindfulness, juggling is active and involves focusing the mind on a task, which many people prefer.
It has all the positive psychological benefits of meditation but, I think, is more sociable and accessible. It’s the perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life, with real benefits for our mental health. Balls, beanbags, fruit - it doesn’t matter. I don’t mean learn to juggle your time or your home and work life, I mean actually learn to juggle. ĭr Max Pemberton is a medical doctor, an award-winning journalist and the author of three acclaimed books. The best thing about this realistic, grown-up approach? All those little steps add up and, when you sit back and look, you’ll find you’ve taken one big stride towards a better, healthier, happier you. Small is attainable and, crucially, sustainable. Instead, the best way to change your life is one small step at a time. Most women know grand New Year’s resolutions such as these are little more than pipe dreams. Forget dropping a dress size in a week or running a marathon.