5 Tips for Winter Wellness

Our health is our wealth, and today, more than ever, people are more mindful and grateful for their health and well-being. No matter our age, whether we are in good health or living with a health condition, there are times that our well-being is at a high or a low.

Our habits and our environment greatly influence our health, and, as we ride through the year, our behaviour tends to vary with the seasons. We often notice a general dip in our health through the Winter months. Cold weather can increase the spread of viruses and there is also a tendency to eat comfort foods, avoid exercise and stay inside with heating appliances nearby. This can let our immune functioning down, at a time when we may need it the most.

The good news is that there are ways to balance and protect our health throughout the year. Incorporating earthing – also known as grounding – into our daily healthy habits; being mindful of artificial blue light and electromagnetic frequencies; and making some simple adjustments to those creature comforts can help to boost our immune system to maintain our best, happy and healthy self.

How does Earthing help our immune system?

As humans, we have evolved walking barefoot, in contact with Earth’s natural energies and frequencies, and our bodies have developed highly efficient systems to function and flourish.

Getting a good dose of these natural frequencies and electrons from the Earth keeps us grounded and functioning at our best. It’s no wonder then that being surrounded by unnatural electromagnetic frequencies can cause our systems a degree of disruption.

Earthing facilitates a significant transfer of free electrons from the Earth into the body. These electrons then act as antioxidants to help neutralise free radicals in our bodies to reduce inflammation and prevent disease. Connection with the Earth’s frequencies is vital to provide our body and its systems with the electric conditions it needs to run a complex immune system and functions at a cellular level. Whilst the immune system is not a single organ in our body – it is made up of lymphocytes travelling around in our blood – keeping the number of lymphocytes circulating around the body and, within a healthy range, is necessary for immune system functioning. Our lymphocyte cells are constantly attending to injuries or invaders which cause inflammation. Inflammation is normal at times, to overcome the threat, but ongoing inflammation, means that our immune system is struggling.

Earthing can positively affect physical and mental health, daily performance and promote an overall sense of ‘feeling good’. Some medics and practitioners have started to recognise that a body connected to the ground – a grounded body – is geared to be more stable and healthy and, along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, Earthing is recommended as a core well-being habit.

You can read more about the research and full benefits of Earthing here.

How do artificial blue light and EMFs affect our wellbeing?

Exposure to electromagnetic fields is undoubtedly a constant in our daily lives. EMFs are emitted from mobile phones, mobile phone towers, tablets, cordless phones, WiFi routers, Bluetooth devices, smart meters, microwave ovens and many other sources. It is the disturbance to our immune system by EMFs that is potentially an underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair reduction which can lead to ongoing inflammation and long-term impairment for our immune systems.

Another contributor that is at odds with our personal health is the over exposure of artificial blue light from screens and artificial lighting. With our quest for energy-efficient lighting and around the clock exposure, our modern day lives has seen an increase in exposure to harmful blue light which can throw out the body’s biological clock – the circadian rhythm – leading to sleep disturbances and ongoing health concerns. The American Medical Association (AMA) issued a warning report in 2013 entitled 'Light Pollution: Adverse Health Effects of Nighttime Lighting' stating that 'exposure to excessive light at night, including extended use of various electronic media, can disrupt sleep or exacerbate sleep disorders, especially in children and adolescents.' The AMA also stated that 'disruption of circadian rhythmicity and sleep from the indiscriminate use of electric light at night may well increase risk many of the diseases of modern life, including not only certain cancers but also obesity, diabetes, and psychiatric disorders.'

Reducing our exposure to blue light and EMF and incorporating earthing can allow our immune system to run at its optimum, allowing the body to be free of unnecessary inflammation. The constant battling of inflammation causes our immunity stress and can allow cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and other inflammatory-caused conditions to take hold. 

5 Tips to be your best, happy healthy self this Winter

1. Pump up your daily exercise with Earthing

The benefits of exercise are widely known. 30 mins of daily exercise is recommended, with your heart rate lifted for over 20 mins. Not only will it warm you up but you’ll undoubtedly feel invigorated as you go about your day. Combining your exercise with earthing, either during or immediately after your workout, will enable you to get the most out of your session. Some easy ways to incorporate grounding into your exercise include: swimming in the ocean; outdoor fitness sessions; walking or running, be it barefoot or wearing grounded footwear; tai chi or yoga, either outdoors or using a grounded exercise and yoga mat. Studies have also shown that grounding after a workout helps to speed up recovery, reduce muscle soreness and inflammation. 

2. Take in natural energies from sunlight and the Earth below us

We hear a lot about harmful blue light, but not all blue light is bad. We are exposed to natural blue light from the sun, but the difference between natural blue light and the artificial blue light emitted from devices and conventional lighting, is that natural light is always delivered as part of the full spectrum and is balanced out by a proportionately large amount of infrared, red, yellow, orange, and UV wavelengths.

Enjoyed safely and in moderation – sunrise and sunset being the recommended time – sunlight helps to regulate our circadian rhythm and help with our sleep patterns, as well as providing us with much-needed Vitamin D to support our immune system. Just as the Vitamin D in our body is produced by energy and frequencies generated from the sun above us, there are equally important energies from the Earth below us. Sometimes known as Vitamin G - for Grounding - these energies directly influence and enable our bodies systems and strengthen our immune system.

3. Promote good gut health

Your immune system is closely related to your gut and your gut is closely related to your brain and well, pretty much everything, so it is important to keep it in check. The gut is often referred to as our ‘second brain’. 'The system is way too complicated to have evolved only to make sure things move out of your colon' says Emeran Mayer, professor of physiology, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.). 

A healthy digestive system can have a strong influence on mood and immunity, after all 80% of your immune system is located in your digestive system. Keep up the healthy eating and Earthing to calm upsets and bloating. Picnic outside or, if indoors, you can place an Earthing Mat for regular connection where you eat your meals.

4. Get the best out of your sleep

Give your body the best conditions to rest and recover. Your body does wonders with a good 7-9 hours each night. Consider wearing blue-blocking glasses and use dim red lights in the evening to eliminate sleep-disturbing, harmful blue light right before sleep time. Red light is less likely to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin.

Removing blue light-emitting screens and EMF-emitting devices from your time and place of sleep is going to help your body to function properly. This allows you to get a quality sleep and, in turn, helps your body to recover, repair and rejuvenate. 

Sleeping grounded can enhance the depth and length of sleep, reduce pain, reduce stress and resynchronise our circadian rhythm. As we rest and restore, we give our immunity the conditions it needs. According to the Mayo Clinic, 'During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don’t get enough sleep.

5. Be mindful and avoid unnatural frequencies

There are some chilly winter nights when it’s easy to snuggle up by the heater, perhaps endlessly scrolling on screens, dreaming of our next sunny escape. However, depending on the home appliances or devices we have around us, we could be subjecting ourselves to more than some soothing heat. Most home appliances and devices emit EMFs so becoming savvy about the appliances and technology around us, and how we use them, is important to understanding how to reduce our EMF exposure. 

With radio frequencies (also known as electromagnetic radiation or EMR), distance is key. It's not ideal for instance to be sat on the sofa right next to an EMR-emitting WiFi modem for hours. Where possible, switch EMF-emitting devices off or onto airplane mode. Arrange hard-wired networks instead of Wifi and Bluetooth around your home and consider creating a 'no tech' zone in your home. Experience how these habits and practices can all lend themselves to a happy, holistic life with harmony and wellbeing, inside and out.

Visit our website for more information on earthing, blue light and EMF protection solutions.