Did you know that when you develop your intuition your body energy is affected? Enabling you to focus on your energy. Become more aware of your emotions as you become present.Be the facilitator of transformation!

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice.

And most important, dare to follow your heart and intuition.

Steve Jobs

Previously, I took up a consultant position in a large organisation to assist in a cultural change program. To point out, I was excited to be part of this forward-thinking organisation. To be part of a massive progressive change.

I wasn’t long into my role when I could see the disconnect within the organisation. The vision and values were what drew me to accept the role. However, on closer inspection, there was such a strong underlying fear of how this change would impact the people.

For this reason, the resistance to change was evident from all levels within the organisation. This was due to the vision and values not being practiced.

Change was required to remain progressive and innovative. However, many long-term employees were fearful of change. Refusing to change. Thus, preventing the cultural change to occur.

To sum up, cultural change cannot occur without all levels within the organisation being engaged. Making a collective shift and becoming more accountable. In a word, aligning to the organisational vision, values, and purpose is critical for change to occur.

Fear limits intuition!

We know that fear limits intuition. Lack of intuition disrupts innovation. We know that organisations of the future need to be innovative and demonstrate conscious leadership if they want to survive. That is, leading with their values and purpose. This means they need to use their intuition more and be the facilitator of transformation!

No longer can organisations say one thing and do the opposite and expect to stay current and successful. Research shows that baby boomers are exiting the workforce and making way for the millennial generation (generation Y).

The Millennial Generation

The millennials generation are the population who were born from the 1980s to the early 2000s. They now comprise of 75% of the global workforce.

Some characteristics of this generation are: –

• Intuitive knowledge of technology
• Open and adaptive to change
• Free thinking and creative
• Values social interaction in the workplace
• Crave flexibility

With this in mind, millennials will be the generation to push forward this change. Shifting from the rigid command and control type of leadership into a more relaxed, flexible and collaborative style.

Transform Workplaces!

To help move forward into the future requires leaders to transform the workplace and employees using energetic means. The simplest and most effective way is to encourage and support intuitive development.

Mindfulness!

Five years ago, mindfulness and meditation were used heavily in medicine, science, and the workplace. Put simply, mindfulness is a practice of paying attention to the current moment and acknowledge any thoughts and let them go, and just focus on breathing.

Not only does mindfulness relax you and enable you to listen to your inner thoughts, your intuition. It also reduces stress, lowers health costs, improves health, increases employee productivity, improves innovative thinking and communication.

Intuitive practices!

In conclusion, for organisations to flex into a more adaptable world, they should encourage intuitive practices to create leaders of the future who facilitate transformation!

We understand that fear impacts intuition and disrupts innovation and creativity. However, focusing on intuition, innovation and creativity will dissipate the fear and allow a new transformational type of leadership to reign.

Three simple steps to help:-

1. Practice mindfulness or meditation to quieten your mind
2. Start to feel your emotions from your heart
3. Be curious and challenge current ways of doing and thinking

The more we discuss and acknowledge the power of developing and using our intuition, the more effective organisations will be and the happier the workforce will be.

If you would like to learn more about developing your intuition and be the facilitator of transformation, contact me here to book a chat about how my programs may help you?

The post Be the facilitator of transformation! appeared first on Joan McEwan.

Everyone is talking about what the “new normal” will look like post COVID-19.  So much disruption has occured! For this reason, we move forward into a prime opportunity to re-design our new normal. In effect, this will require a shift in mindset. Change your perception and be agile as you realise the intuitive leader has the edge!

Definition!

You will be surprised, to learn that the google dictionary describes intuition as the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. Clarified by Deepak Chopra, intuition is a form of intelligence that is beyond the rational mind.

Different Way of Thinking!

Climb aboard, and be part of the new wave of intuitive thinking. In addition, this way of thinking is now being used by many successful leaders. Leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook was an industrial engineer before becoming gaining his position with Apple.

Cook talks about how intuition led him to work at Apple despite a lot of evidence and close friends suggesting that he should not take the position. Going on to say that he believes intuition matures over time.

Cook describes himself as an analytic engineer. At the same time he admits to making most of his important decisions based on intuition. Cook believes that sometimes despite all odds you just need to listen to “that voice in your head” and “go for it”!

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.

We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” 

Albert Einstein

Research!

Neuroscientists are now finding through research and techniques how to better assist leaders access their intuition. At the same time, allowing for faster and better decisions being made. Scientists have found that humans have 3 brains.

3 different forms of intelligence found in our brain, heart and gut. Given these points the 3 sources of intelligence work together in intuitive decision making.

3 tips on how to develop intuitive leader capabilities:-

1. Listen to your brain, heart and gut intelligence, your inner voice. Trust what you hear and feel. Practice, practice, practice. This becomes an art! Building confidence, efficiencies and calm.
2. Dont attach yourself to negative emotions. Do not buy into negative conversation. Avoid hanging out with negative personalities.They just drain your energy. Avoiding this keeps your energy elevated and purposeful.
3. Enjoy solitude where you can. This provides the space and quiet to listen to your inner voice. Strengthen this with a daily mindfulness practice. This is a sound self care practice that reaps multiple benefits.

At The End of The Day!

In reality, everything is up for grabs at the moment. For this reason dig deep and explore your hidden voice, your inner sources of intelligence. Find new and effective ways to inspire and lead your teams by trusting your intuition.

The intuitive leader has the edge! Making faster decisions based on their gut instincts is beneficial both to the individual, team and the business.

Love to hear your thoughts?

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Do you measure and monitor your personal and professional growth? In reality, are you just so busy you feel that you don’t even have time to monitor your growth? Similarly, are you just too exhausted to care? Time to stand out in a crowd – own your story!

Loosing momentum!

You lose your momentum when you get discouraged and you then start to struggle with your professional life. This can be the time when you feel you have to force yourself to do daily tasks and everything just seems to be hard work. Your energy drops and It is usually at this point that fatigue, lethargy, and niggling health issues set in, and your performance declines.

The law of attraction?

For instance, their are many different tools and techniques can be used to keep you on track and moving forward. Of course, one such tool is visualisation. Rhonda Byrnes, author of The Secret talks about the ”law of attraction”. When you focus on what you want, you create this. As a result, what you think about creates your feelings. In effect, what you think and feel today is creating your future. Therefore, when you create a vision board, you focus on what you want, and it transpires into your reality.

To keep your momentum up it’s helpful to have a vision. A focus on what you want and an understanding of how that makes you feel

Vision boards!

2021 is a magical year that is focusing on new beginnings, flexibility, adaptability, transformation, and balance.

Each year I re-create my vision board. It’s a good reminder to measure how far I have come and a simple tool of measurement. You see I place my goals on my vision board and taking the thought out of my head and putting it down on paper creates the energy to bring it to life. As my goal comes to life, I then assign emotions to that goal so that It now becomes tangible and I buy into the experience even more.

This year was a bit different. I wanted to go deeper into my vision board and be able to manifest my goals in a fun way. I wanted to introduce the use of colour, meditation, mirror work, dance, and numerology to build on the energy to manifest my goals.

This process led me to be in a workshop with 15 like-minded women. All these women were looking to increase their energy and awareness to make their vision board come to life in a fun and productive way. We learned the value of understanding the vibration of different colours to enhance the emotions we were drawing on. Having an awareness of colour and numerology helps to bring greater alignment to goals.

When you prepare your vision board, it is important to develop the energy around you to set yourself up to create a vision board that comes to life. This requires you to trust in the process and yourself. The process we discovered in this workshop was very detailed and personalised.

Why do a vision board?

You may find a vision board helpful if you: –
– Want to increase your productivity?
– Want to enhance your career?
– Want to improve your personal life?
– Want to have time to enjoy family and friends?
– Want to get that spark back into your life?
– Want to take the next step in your career but not sure how to make it happen?

If you feel you are ready to stand out in a crowd – own your story! Now is the time to start developing your vision board. Identify and focus on your 9 key areas, abundance, health, spirituality, legacy, purpose, career, relationships, hobbies, and travel. This will help gain clarity and focus on the major areas of your life.

Some tips to create your vision board. Applying the following steps will help take you to your next level. The more energy that you put into your vision the better outcomes you will achieve: –

1. Firstly, write down the 5 goals you want to achieve for the year
2. Secondly, write yourself a letter of forgiveness
3. Thirdly, write yourself a letter of gratitude
4. Fourthly, now stand up and dance all the emotions that have come up from the above process and dance to a high energy song, and finish up by grounding yourself with a strong yoga warrior pose

By using the “law of attraction” principle in your vision board, assists you to be clear about “your story” and what is important in your life.

Time for you to stand out in a crowd – own your story! Look forward to hearing your story.

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As can be seen, we have received a huge push forward into this new decade thanks to the disruption of COVID. In short, now is the time to settle and explore where we are going and re-focus on what is important to us. In fact, an opportunity has risen to take a breath and return to basics. For this reason, we have time to identify what is important and how we want our life to be, to return to basics, and manifest a new life!

A View from Louise Hay!

Inspirational author, the late Louise Hay stated,
“We have to come back to basics: learning how to take care of ourselves. Not only learning to love our bodies – and that’s a good beginning – but to take care of our bodies and ourselves by learning how to eat and how to think. I think living is really about thoughts and food, and we’ve got to get back to basics”.

As Hays illustrates, to manifest our new life, one that will give us purpose, joy, and contentment we need to return to basics. That is to say, we need a clean slate, letting go of old beliefs and attitudes that have not been serving us well. In addition, we have an opportunity to re-set our mind, with a different way of thinking. 

A Purposeful Life!

In reality, this is a time to slow down and become more purposeful, and content. Time to let go of ego, judgment, and stop comparing yourself with others. With this in mind, focus on your needs and wants as the individual that you are, exploring your uniqueness.

Reconnect Body and Mind!

Our body can be broken down into 3 planes – mental, physical, and emotional. When these 3 planes are working effectively together a balance between the body and mind occurs.

Fast, chaotic 20th-century living has created a disconnect of these 3 planes for many people. If we truly want to manifest our new future we must heal, realign, and rebalance our mental, physical and emotional planes to bring balance. It is time to get reconnected with ourselves!

Our Mind!

For example, let’s consider our mental plane. Mindfully look at our thoughts, the way we think. When we do this purposefully, we can create a structure of thoughts as our framework. Creating thoughts of what our new future looks like. This will assist us to move forward.

These thoughts expand as we visualise them and bring them to life. Visualisation is an extremely powerful tool and enables us to manifest our thoughts into our physical reality.

Research!

The power of the mind has long been researched, and Indian yogi and author Sadhguru talks about how to manifest what you want in life. He talks about 4 fundamental areas to develop: –

1. Create a peaceful life
2. Create a life full of joy
3. Create a loving life
4. Create a life of purpose

This is the basic philosophy of life. Getting clear in these areas creates clarity and courage to step up and start manifesting what you want in life. Creating what makes you happy.

Your Story!

For one thing, you are the author of your story and with hard work, clarity, and perseverance you can create the change you want. With this in mind, here are some tips to help you on your journey: –

1. With each thought, ask yourself, does it make you feel peaceful, joyful, loving, and purposeful. If the answer is yes, then keep building on these thoughts.
2. Focus on your nutritional intake and start making a note of the foods that make you feel light and energised and avoid the foods that make you feel heavy and sluggish
3. Do more activities that make you happy, such as listening to music, walking along the beach, or hanging with friends

You are the driver of your story, it is your choice to make a difference or not!

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Together, as we embark on a new year, let’s consider the value of setting goals to empower you!. In addition, let’s prepare for new beginnings by having a plan and setting goals to empower you!

Notably, last month I attended a female entrepreneur networking event. Specifically, it was a crowded event full of empowered and positive females. In effect, they all showed up to make a difference in their business, careers and life. As we chatted through the evening on a variety of topics it became clear that we all agreed on three key ingredients that we belive we will all benefit from having more of in 2021.

The Key to transformation

I am sure it will not come as a surprise to many of you reading this newsletter what they are, but I thought it would be helpful to talk about them as a reminder. So here are the top three ingredients that will help us heal and transform over the next 12 months.

1. Courage 
2. Confidence
3. Self worth

A Step Change!

Equally important, 2021 is all about stepping into our power as we heal and transform to re-focus. Changing the ways we have previously thought and worked. Coupled with looking at life, career and business through a different lens. A lens that has a 360 degree perspective. Equally, viewing the mental, physical and emotional aspects of our being to create health and balance in life.

Using the 3 key ingredients will facilitate us to write our script, that will serve us and also others around us. Making a collective impact. Utilising our time more effectively and reducing any chaos. 

“Set your goals high enough to inspire you and low enough to encourage you” Unknown

Make it Real!

It is a bit like looking into your crystal ball and seeing your key ingredients. Then you can bring them to life. Making them real.

Rowdy Mclean, author of Play the bigger game reminds us that if you do not take action, you do not get results. All things considered, you need to break down your goals (ingredients) and identify 3 critical actions that you need to take to bring your ingredient to life. Remember actions speak louder that words!

So what actions do you need to implement to get traction on your ingredients to heal and transform you so that you can play your bigger game?
1. Courage: what is it that you need to do take you from where you are at now to where you dream of being?
2. Confidence: what actions could you take to build your confidence. It may be something as simple as looking at yourself in the mirror every day and affirming that you are deserving of increased confidence as you …..
3. Self-worth: the actions you need to improve your self-worth may be that you stop listening to your negative narrative, or every time to receive a negative comment, you quickly find a positive and replace the negative.

A big thank you to everyone in my network who continues to support me by reading my newsletters / blogs.

Wishing you all a fantastic, healthy and transformative 2021 where you reap the benefits of your 3 magical ingredients of courage, confidence and self-worth.

P.S. Would you like to work with me this year? Now is the time to chat about your coaching goals for 2021. Contact me here to make a time for a complimentary call with me

The post Setting goals to empower you! appeared first on Joan McEwan.

This memory came up recently and I wanted to touch on the importance of reflection. Not to dwell on the past but as a reminder to congratulate yourself for a job well done. To acknowledge the benefits of self-development to get the best out of yourself and your life. Reflect | Inspire | Transform!

Inspiration!

This photo recognises a major milestone in my journey. Since my kids were young, we have been a really “close team”. We were a team of three for a long time, with lots of highs and lows along the way. We have always reflected on our journey, been inspired by each other at different times and that has brought about regular transformations as we have manoeuvred through life.

Transformation!

My kids are now grown up with families of their own. They both have amazing careers and are leaving a positive footprint on all they do. The key win for me is that my kids continue to support each other through thick and thin, being there for each other without judgment, always having each other’s back. Always rising to the challenge and “giving it a go”, cheering each other on. 

So with this special reminder captured in this photo, we got to celebrate and reflect together. For me, that is the essence of family, tribe, growth mindset and success. I am so grateful that they still make the effort to stay connected on all levels including having fun on our jet skis. 

The Tools!

Often we don’t realise the tools that we share with our family, friends, and colleagues play an important part in their transformation. Helping guide them on their journey, giving them permission to interpret these tools into a form that resonates with them to help them grow and transform in their unique way.

There is no right or wrong way to travel this road of life but by keeping an open mind and giving the people we love permission to translate our tools into a language that works for them is how our future will be transformed. Reflect | Inspire | Transform

3 tips that may be helpful?

1. Continue to reflect on your journey and make adjustments along the way so that you continue to grow and pivot as the world keeps transforming
2. Trust that you are doing the best that you can and supporting others with all your heart without judgment. We are all on this journey to learn and grow, all are equal
3. Consider every opportunity that comes along, it has come along for a reason to teach an important lesson. That is when we grow the most when we are pushed out of our comfort zone. It is time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable

Would love to hear who inspires you to keep challenging yourself?

The post Reflect | Inspire | Transform appeared first on Joan McEwan.

By and large, are you living a life lacking in courage? As a result, do you Lack courage to stand out and be different? In fact, lacking the courage to do what your heart is telling you to do to have more fun, excitement, and abundance in your life? In any event, now is the time to be courageous and follow your heart!

Inner messages

So many messages are being brought to us during this. extraordinary time of disruption. In fact, messages to encourage us to show up and be courageous. That is to say, time to trust our inner thoughts, our gut feelings, our intuition. As we follow our dreams and trust ourselves, knowing that we are all exactly where we are meant to be.

In other words, it feels a bit like being catapulted forward and heading into the future without control. Moving so fast that at times it feels exhilarating and other times feeling like you can’t breathe. After all, it is times like these that trust comes into play. For this reason, you can trust that higher forces are at play, and working with your best interests in mind.

Why is it difficult!

Why is it so difficult for many of us to be courageous and listen to our “inner voice”? Disruption and chaos create fear that can hold us back from projecting ourselves forward. However, this chaos also opens the gates to step forward and change into a new expression, one that will allow us to follow our heart, heal the body and mind, find our purpose, make a difference and leave behind our legacy. Creating a balance.

” Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

We are the change that we seek”.

Barack Obama

The Answers

All the answers lie within each of us. Time to listen to what our inner world is telling us, guiding us. Peeling back the layers of pre-conditioned thinking and providing space for new ways of thinking to appear. Have you wondered why we are hearing more about “complementary healing” modalities now? Modalities such as meditation, yoga, and sound healing.

Practicing these modalities allows the body and mind to rest, relax, heal, and rejuvenate. Activating powers held within the individual to heal and strengthen. Providing space to access new thoughts to re-focus, re-energise, and re-invent with inner guidance.

Deepak Chopra

Spiritual guru and medical physician Deepak Chopra talks about having everything you truly want in life effortlessly. Stating that the key is to ask the universe “what do I truly want” and allowing the answer to come effortlessly. When the body response is an effort it indicates that there is discomfort within the body. Listen to the body as it will guide you to your answers. Chopra states, “the less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers”

If you are ready to show up, be courageous, and follow your heart! Here are 5 tips to help you on your journey: –

1. Have good quality sleep
2. Set aside time to meditate
3. Practice daily exercise and yoga
4. Develop a positive mindset, be honest and kind to yourself with no judgment
5. Enjoy eating clean, healthy, organic food

Look forward to hearing what steps you are taking to get you started on this courageous journey?

The post Be courageous and follow your heart! appeared first on Joan McEwan.

Recently an old friend, let’s call her Maggie. was telling me about her week. To begin with, Maggie is a well sought-after businesswoman, an expert in her field with a crazy work schedule. It just so happened that in amongst her busy weekly schedule she received a phone call from a family member in another state. Unfortunately the news was not good! Her sister had attempted to commit suicide. Negative thoughts erode your health!

Paragraphs!

Firstly, this was not the first time that Maggie had received news like this about her sister. In addition, a pattern had emerged over the years of the sister being the victim and Maggie being the rescuer. Unfortunately, no matter what people tell you on the best way to handle situations like this, it still leaves you feeling responsible in some way. At some level guilt, fear, and anger appear. As a result, the personal cost is high not only for Maggie but for other family members.

Negative thoughts!

You see, negative thoughts impact the energetics of the body. Lowering the vibration of the body. This results in the dimming of the vibrancy of the body. At a cellular level, the body becomes depleted. Unable to absorb nutrients effectively. Leading to malfunctioning of cells including the physical and electrical absorption.

Staying in a low energetic state compromises rejuvenation of body cells. Gradually the body silently breaks down. Negative thoughts further compounding this state. Negative thoughts erode your health!

The signs!

Fatigue, lethargy, and hopelessness slowly creep into the body. Some of the negative thoughts of fear, anger, and guilt exacerbate these physical symptoms. Maggie was certainly experiencing these symptoms.

Transformational Leadership!

Maggie did what all good leaders do! She identified what was within her control sphere. Then set about identifying what she could do to change her patterns and ways of dealing with this pattern of events. She started to control what she could control. Remembering she was the master of her journey.

By taking control of her own life Maggie could better help her sister. Delving deep into her feelings and thoughts Maggie realised that she could support her sister by providing a safe place to talk without judgment. The art of listening is incredibly powerful when you stay present. The more she explored and listened to her inner thoughts the more energised she became. The fatigue dissipated and her feelings of hopelessness lightened. 

Did you know: –

– 8 Australians die every day by suicide
– Over 65,000 Australians attempt suicide every year
– 1:4 Australians are lonely and don’t have anyone to speak to

As leaders supporting the psychological health of your team is paramount to be successful. It’s about bringing in the human connection – opening up to the heart feeling side. Balancing this with the mind doing to create a balance. A balance between the logic and the emotions. 

Without this change of attitude, it’s like cancer devouring the healthy body cells. Cell by cell they are broken down. Negative thoughts erode your health and contribute to this destruction.

Wise words!

Some wise words from a nurse who was explaining to Belinda, who was a survivor. Suggesting a different way of looking at psychological recovery. 
The nurse stated ‘If you had a broken leg and you were in the hospital, would you feel that guilt about it?’ Belinda said No’. The nurse went on to say ‘If it stops you beating up on yourself, I can bandage your head because you have a broken head’.

Attempted suicide has become more common than we realise. Leaders play an important part in supporting the psychological health of their people in the workplace.

Self Care!

Finally, it is important to remember that it all starts with you. Looking after yourself. Not to mention, engaging in self-care practices, building a strong foundation. Allows you to support others and show them effective ways to build psychological safety. Negative thoughts should have no place in a healthy workplace. Removing them in the workplace creates a ripple effect across communities.

Above all, raising the body vibration increases health and happiness as negative thoughts are released. In addition, resulting in a reduction of chronic disease and poor work practices. Transformational leaders have built resilience through robust self-care practices and focus on health and wellbeing as a key pillar of success.

“Just the simple process of letting go of negative thoughts will allow your natural state of health to emerge within you”

Rhonda Byrne

Would love to hear your thoughts?

The post Negative thoughts erode your health! appeared first on Joan McEwan.

Have you ever had the feeling that your mind is about to explode? You have so much information in your head. Fantastic ideas that you are passionate about. Unfortunately, when fear steps in, it stalls you, preventing you from moving forward. You have reached the pivoting point, time to push through. When the body and mind collide!

Try and lean into the resistance you feel. Relax, ride the wave, grow, or accept the resistance and get stuck! An energetic moment has occurred that can metaphorically crack your beliefs open to growing. To be the seeker or to hide that is the choice.

Self- Belief!

Oprah Winfrey, one of the most successful females of our time, with a net worth of over $2.9 billion US dollars. Growing up in poverty. Born to a single mother living on welfare. She was physically, mentally, and sexually abused during her childhood. Running away from home at thirteen-years-old, and pregnant at fourteen-years-old. Later she lost the baby shortly after its birth.

At the age of 19 years, Winfrey found herself in radio as a reporter. From there she found herself hosting chat shows and by 1985 she had her own Oprah Winfrey show. Going from strength to strength she launched her cable television network for women and O magazine in 2000.

Known as an activist for children’s rights and philanthropist. In 2018 she became the first African American woman awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B DeMille award for lifetime achievement.

Doing the Inner Work!

Also, she realised early that she had to do the inner work to achieve her vision. Above all, the journey has been one of continuous development. Equally important, being honest and transparent allowed her to let go of “her baggage” that was holding her back.

Another key point, in 1995, she lost a massive amount of weight which boosted her confidence. Later going on to be classed as an influential spiritual leader. Above all, Winfrey has always listened to her inner voice, finding the answers she was seeking. With a clear vision and a strong belief, enabled her to achieve her dreams and vision.

So, what’s the point?

Important to realise that self-development is a most powerful tool. Looking within, feeling your fears and doubts. As a result, understanding what is possible then launching into them as your doubts and fears fade and your self-belief increases.

Metaphorically when the body and mind collide! A period emerges that calls for an internal re-focus and re-set. A time when you get to choose, to break down the barriers. Discarding the fears, you carry and picking up opportunities, change, and growth. An exciting new world!

Where to start: –

1. See the vision you want and bring it to life
2. Make small incremental changes every day
3. Eat well and drink clean water, exercise often and have fun

Acknowledge that the collision has occurred. Start making changes, remember slow and steady wins the race. Having fun is the transporter of change, so jump on board and enjoy the ride.

Would love to hear your thoughts?

Want to work with Joan to improve your mental and physical health and wellbeing? Contact her at [email protected] to find out more?

The post When the body and mind collide! appeared first on Joan McEwan.

Everybody wants to be the person that can always be relied on. That solid person that seems to be able to ride every storm without flinching. But like all things that person needs to be cared for and nurtured. Otherwise we crumble. Create time for self care, to rest and sleep otherwise sleep deprivation impacts our mental health!

Cause?

Sleep depravation occurs when we have an inadequate quality or quantity of sleep either due to choice, circumstances or a medical condition.

“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together”

Thomas Dekker

The Signs!

Many years ago a university friend of mine was studying to be a Doctor, his name was Mike. It was no secret that he was a high achiever with dreams of being a world famous surgeon.

Graduating from university he was so excited to start his career as a resident Doctor in a busy city hospital. Before long the glamour of what he thought the job would be had disappeared. Working long hours became the norm. Every 3 weeks him and his fellow residents would be required to work 3 days and nights straight to be the on -call Doctor.

They worked from Friday through to Sunday doing ward rounds during the day, attending to trauma and being on call during the rest of the time to support the patients and other medical team in the hospital.

The Struggle!

During this time it was common for Mike to struggle with his workload. Making mistakes were not uncommon, being grumpy and irritable as well as overthinking due to a slowing down of his thought processes due to fatigue. He was always yawning and would zone out when people were talking to him. He would always apologise but he was unable to stop himself.

Most of the time he was exhausted and dragged himself around. Living on coffee and chocolate to keep him “functioning”. His weight increased as his diet consisted of non healthy choices due to ease and instant energy gain. It wasn’t long before his sleep patterns became erratic and found sleeping difficult, his norm had become maybe a 2 -3 hour sleep in a 24 hour period. Catnapping when he could.

Research!

Research shows that sleep disorders costs the Australian economy over $66 billion per year in health care, loss of wellbeing and indirect costs. 40% of the adult Australian population suffer from sleep disorders. They also contribute to depression, stroke, workplace injuries and motor vehicle accidents. 

– 53% of Australian adults have a medical condition that impacts their sleep habits and quality
– 52% of Australians claim they are less motivated, irritable and cant concentrate after a poor nights sleep
– 18% of Australians use prescription medication to aid sleep

Circadian Rhythms!

Circadian Rhythms – This is our internal body clock that regulates us to feel sleepy at night and awake during the day. Being exposed to sunlight helps adjust our clock with night and day. Finally, when the body is ready to sleep a hormone melatonin is raised and the core body temperature lowers. As the rhythms align in the body and with the environment provides the best opportunity for quality sleep. It has been found that when our body clocks are out of alignment, this negatively affects health and wellbeing.

Did you Know?
– 8 hours of sleep per night is the average an adult should aim for
– Our brains are active when we sleep
– Sleep cycles last around 90 minutes and change throughout our sleep

Pulling it Together!

So we know that the research links lack of sleep to increased health effects such as anxiety, depression, weigh gain and poor cognitive function to mention a few. We also know that our body and mind and intricately connected so when our body is impacted our mind is also impacted. Ultimately sleep deprivation impacts our mental health!

Mike’s story highlights how we can push our body and mind to extraordinary levels when we become deprived of sleep. The body also works hard to normalise our current situation. However the research confirms that long term exposure to sleep deprivation has an adverse effect on our mental and physical health.

Simple Steps!

Find out for yourself. Take some steps to prevent sleep deprivation and improve mental health. Correct and re-balance your body and mind by beginning with some simple steps added to a daily routine:-

1. Reduce your intake of stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol
2. Relax before you go to bed, listen to calming music, reading a favourite novel or meditate. Avoid using all electronic devices.
3. Make sure your sleeping area is a comfortable temperature, with a quality mattress, a comfy pillow and darken your room to aid sleep.

The responsibility of our health is in our control, our responsibility and affected by the choices we make. All the tools we need are within us no, its about acknowledging them and taking action now! 

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