Author: Getrealwithanne

Stop and listen!

The theme of this month is nutrition & fitness and I am sure you have been bombarded with many challenges, programs and promotions to get you started into a fitness regime and eating healthy! This is great and I am also one of them 😉 However, today I want to challenge you in something a little different.

I want you to think about a self-care challenge! Yes, think about yourself for a change! Not in a selfish way, but in a –take better care of myself, so I can take better care of you- way!

A few days ago, I was craving a snack. I was craving something not healthy! I am trying to eat gluten free this month which makes unhealthy snacking quite hard! It was bugging me so much. As I was trying to find the least damaging snack, I stopped and tried something else. I tried asking myself what I was really craving. Was I really craving something to eat? Or was it an emotional craving? I tried to look inwards to find out what it was. What would make me happy right now?

I allowed myself to give an honest answer. I allowed all my saboteurs to be quiet for a while and really hear what was going on inside. For some reason, what came up was that I wanted a warm soothing bath! My saboteurs were saying, no you don’t have time for that and it is a waste of water! But I didn’t listen to them. I then asked myself, if taking a bath would keep me from snacking and the answer was YES!

OK, let’s go.

It was so relaxing and so wonderful. After the bath, the same feeling came back. I instinctively went to the kitchen, but then stopped and tried this exercise again. This time I wanted to go for a walk. So, I did! I felt really good. I know, that I felt much better than if I had snacked or forced myself to do all the things I should have or could have done!

Sometimes it is OK to stop and listen. I think my body needed to relax and to have some fresh air. My whole body got a fresh perspective and some time to regenerate!

Your turn

Now I challenge you to do the same! Look inwards and see what comes up! Ask yourself what does your body really want? Are you really lacking a nutrient? Are you really hungry or is it an emotional need? If yes, what emotional need is it? Some nurturing? To express something? Anger? What is going on? Be honest and let your true self talk. Let the saboteurs and the guilt be quiet for a while. And see what comes up. You may be surprised.

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux January theme – New year, new resolutions – Nutrition and Fitness challenge

 

About hygge, Christmas Traditions and being together!

It is finally December!!! This means Christmas, family, friends, good times, presents and just being together. I am Danish and Christmas is always a very big deal in Denmark; it is probably our biggest and most important holiday. Personally, I think it is because it gets incredibly dark in the winter months and the Danes need something to light their spirits. Already in November it gets completely dark at 16h30 and it only gets worse after that. By Christmas Eve it gets dark at 15h!!

So, you see, they do need some (Christmas) lights to be able to see in the streets! My mother lives in the countryside and just the other day a friend visited her in the afternoon and when he left he asked to borrow her flash light to be able to find his house.

The real Christmas countdown starts on December first. When I was a child my mother prepared small presents for us, one for each day counting down to Christmas Eve. I intend to do the same for my boys this year. On the 13th we celebrate Santa Lucia, where kids dress up in white and walk around with candles and sing. This is a very fond memory I have from my childhood. I went to the European School and all the other sections still remember the Danish girls walking around singing to this day!

Somewhere in the middle of December we get a real Christmas tree and decorate it in a special way. Yes, there is a Danish way to decorate the Christmas tree. The colours must be red and white and some also add Danish flags. We hide candy in the cones for the children, which they are allowed to eat during Christmas Eve day.

The 24th is the sacred family day. The whole family gathers and there is cooking in the kitchen all day long.  After dinner, when the presents which have magically appeared, we sing and dance hand in hand around the Christmas tree! During the final song, we run around the house in one big line. It is so much fun and I have very warm memories of my grandfather running around sillily making us wait even longer for our presents! Finally, we are done singing and the children get to pass out all the presents.

The night ends when all presents are opened and all bottles are empty. We all pass out extremely satiated from both food and presents! But Christmas isn’t over yet.

The infamous “Julefrokost” is a very big deal in Denmark, which translated as a Christmas Lunch. It is not really a lunch, but rather an entire day and night of eating and drinking. The menu is quite interchangeable and so are the drinks. During this event only beer and snaps are served. The snaps you may know from Germany is nothing compared to this one. You may know it as Akvavit and it can taste quite vile, but by the third one they go down quite easily! For me personally the snaps needs to be ice cold and downed while eating herring. Herring is a very important part of the Christmas Lunch menu and goes down beautifully with Akvavit. Every company, University and other institution will host a “julefrokost” for the entire staff. This is the night where it is accepted and even expected to let loose and live a little. This is where office affairs start and embarrassing stories are remembered throughout the year! This party is usually held in November or even January depending on the type of business or when exams are held, etc. and is usually held with family and friends on the 25th or 26th of December.

Christmas in my family would last until the 6th January, day of the 3 kings. This is where my mother would take down the tree and all the decorations. We lived in Luxembourg, so we didn’t have too much of a reason to keep the lights out longer than that, but I do believe that now as she lives in Denmark she keeps them out a lot longer.

The Danes have so many traditions around this holiday and each family also add on their own routines and customs, but the most important aspect of the entire season is to be together! This is so essential. In Denmark it is cold, dark and wet during these months and people need to come up with something to compensate. In a sense “hygge”, which is the Danish word for cosiness, is turned up a notch. And I believe the Danes are doing a great job! After all, it is not for nothing that they have been crowned the happiest nation so many times 😉

This year, I wish for you all to embrace your own traditions and spend lovely times with family, friends and loved ones. Embrace some HYGGE and just BE TOGETHER!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

HealthyLux December theme – Let’s hug

 

7 Top Tips for a Good Sleep and More Energy

Do you sometimes have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Are you waking up in the middle of the night or before your alarm goes off? It’s important for you to understand what’s causing your sleep struggles, and use tips like the ones below to prepare for a restful night.

Getting enough sleep has a positive domino effect on our health; our bodies are in restore and rejuvenation mode while we’re sleeping; this can help us heal from illnesses and reduce aches and pains in our joints or muscles, for example. Deep sleep also helps reduce stress and anxiety, so we have more energy the next day.

And speaking of the next day, have you ever noticed that you’re hungrier when you’re tired? Research shows our appetite can increase up to 25% when we’re feeling exhausted, and many of us often turn to caffeine or sugar (or both) to give us a boost of energy. And that begins a roller-coaster of bursts of energy followed by energy crashes. That’s right – not getting enough sleep can actually cause us to gain weight or make it harder for us to lose weight.

Tonight, why not start some of these healthy sleep rituals?

  • Give yourself a bedtime. What’s your bedtime? Just like kids, we benefit when we have a consistent sleep time, because our bodies anticipate and respond to routine.
  • Close the kitchen. Make your last meal two to three hours before bedtime, so your body has a chance to digest the food. Digestion is a lot of physical activity – not what you want to be doing while you sleep!
  • Shut down electronics 30 minutes before bedtime. Turn off the TV, the laptop, the tablet, the Xbox, your smartphone… did I miss anything? According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), all of these devices can hinder your ability to sleep. One reason, explains the NSF, is that these devices emit blue light, “which our brains interpret as daylight. Blue light actually suppresses melatonin, a hormone that supports circadian rhythm and that should begin to increase when you are preparing for sleep.” So when you’re on your tablet or phone at night, your brain thinks it’s daytime. That can make it harder to fall asleep.
  • Set your smartphone to the “do not disturb” setting. In addition to the blue light, sending nighttime emails, scrolling through Facebook or posting on Instagram right before bedtime might be stressing you out or making your mind race. You’re not alone – NSF research shows that 71 percent of people sleep either holding their smartphone (!), having it in bed with them, or having it on their nightstand. Instead, place your smartphone where it is not within arm’s reach, and set it to “do not disturb” for the seven to eight hours of sleep you should be getting. Note: if you don’t want to miss a call from certain people – say you have elderly parents or kids at college – you can set your smartphone to allow calls and texts from select contacts. Everything else can wait until morning!
  • Create a relaxing ritual. Very few people fall asleep the minute their head hits the pillow. Instead, you may want to create some rituals that tell your body you’re shutting down for the night. Try a warm bath with lavender or Serenity essential oil. You can also listen to some relaxing music or do some deep breathing, restorative yoga, and/or meditation. My favourite meditation is Louise Hays evening meditation. You can also try the app called Headspace or Calm. Try the 10-minute meditations to help you relax before bedtime.
  • Dark = Deep. How many little electronic lights are glowing in your bedroom once the lamps and overhead lights are off? The darker you can make your room, the more restorative your sleep can be, because the darkness releases the sleep hormone, melatonin. Cover up those little lights with black electric tape or turn them face down or toward the wall. You might also try light-blocking curtains if light streams in from outside.
  • Help your hormones with a sleep mask. If your room is still bright, try wearing a sleep mask. It creates the total darkness our bodies need to release melatonin and get a healthier night’s sleep. I always recommend the softest sleep mask you can find, with natural fibers. It may not be attractive, but if it helps you sleep, you will feel and look your best with more energy. And that’s a beautiful thing!

I’d love to hear how your sleep improves with these tips, and which ones are most helpful to you. Feel free to share the comments below – just not right before bedtime! Sending you sweet dreams!

 

Anne Louise Littlejohn, HealthyLux passionate contributor

Owner at Get Real with Anne Louise – Health Coaching in Luxembourg

HealthyLux October theme – Get some sleep