However beautiful the Autumn weather is, the change of seasons has brought with it a selection of stomach bugs, coughs, colds & generally feeling rundown. This week alone has seen Harry, Charley & Lee all being ill and off school/work/childcare with 3 separate ailments. This has meant pretty much no sleep for me and a house full of patients to take care off. I don’t normally suffer from any type of headaches or migraines but the combination of a full workload during the day & playing Florence Nightingale at night has brought on what the pharmacist has called ‘stress-related migraines’. I have been given some medication to help ease the pain and prescribed a large dose of ‘ME TIME’. Just like you, I don’t have much spare time between school runs, childcare, housework and trying to make a living but after the week from hell, this is definitely some medical advice I am going to follow.
So, how do you cram some quality ‘ME TIME’ into your hectic life?
As relaxing as yoga but will give you full body workout and the bottom of JLo. I found a teacher called Louise from Studio 44 who offers a monthly subscription to her online classes and the best bit is they are only 10 minutes long. You don’t need any fancy equipment and if you are feeling über lazy you can work out in your PJ’s. Having tried 5 of the classes so far I really enjoyed Louise’s teaching method and although I did feel a few sore muscles after my first class, the moves are easy to follow and It is a truly relaxing experience. The subscription is £10.00 per month but Louise has an offer on her site for a free 7-day trial. If you would like to know more details about Louise, Studio 44 or the free trial the just click HERE.
This is a classic way to relax. Run a hot bath, slap on a face mask and light some candles. Most of my pamper nights start at about 10 p.m when both kids have finally stopped getting out of bed and gone to sleep. My bubble bath of choice is from the Almond Milk & Honey range at Body Shop, my facemask Mineral & Ginger ( also by Body Shop ) and my favourite candle of all time is the Mandarin,Lime & Basil by Amphora Aromatics . I love really strong smells so this combo makes me feel like I am in a posh day spa. A glass of bubbly is optional.
There have been several occasions over the last few weeks where I could feel myself getting stressed out and rather than lose my shit and start crying into a cream cake I have bungled Charley in her pushchair and gone for a walk. I may not have been on my own but I know one sure-fire way to get Charley to stop moaning and fall asleep is to take her out in her pushchair. Once she is asleep I find myself a quiet bench and watch the world go by.
I know easier said than done. Sleep & a cup of tea cure-all problems.If you cant get your 8 hours at night then given any chance to catch 40 winks in a beanbag at work ( I have actually done this ) or your own bed at home grab the chance and do it. It’s no wonder sleep deprivation is used as a torture during wars. Just missing 2 hours sleep a night can impact your concentration the next day by up to 63%.
I hope this has given you a few ideas to help have some ‘Me Time’ and regain some sanity in your life. If you have a certain way of relaxing ( nothing dirty ) then comment below.