What's wellbeing!

This year, there have been multiple articles that have affected how I live. Our complete guide to running reminded me that you can teach an old dog new tricks. By applying our experts’ tips and focusing on rhythmic breathing, shortening my stride, tilting forward and increasing my cadence (AKA being less of a lead-foot) I found I could go faster, for longer. It was a revelation to me that such small changes could make such a big difference.

My compulsive seeking of pleasure and consumption became bleedingly obvious to me. As I was transcribing the interview, I checked my phone half a dozen times and the fridge multiple times for the chocolate I’d already established wasn’t there.

The only way to combat our pleasure-seeking, comfort-seeking compulsion is to do hard things, Lembke said. That includes resisting the impulse of the instant hit; learning to sit with uncomfortable feelings; taking breaks from all the stimulation; and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. It’s advice that gives me pause for thought and motivation to resist the impulses when they arise.

Then there was The Resilience Project’s Hugh van Cuylenburg, who emphasised the need to go easy on ourselves, especially after a year when all our lives have felt messy. Life may always feel messy, he said, and it’s what we do with it when we’re in that mess that counts. Kindness, compassion, lower expectations and a sense of humour all help. They were words I, and I’m sure you, too, needed to hear.

And finally, we ran several articles touching on time-restricted eating (TRE). I was reminded that breakfast is not the most important meal of the day; that snacking too often or eating the whole time we’re awake can inhibit our bodies ability to repair cells; and that by synchronising eating with the metabolic processes of our circadian rhythm (via TRE), we ride the wave of our metabolism and hormones. This has positive knock-on effects to our health. When we eat is important – perhaps as important as what we eat. It’s information I’ve applied to my own eating habits and find good armour against the 8pm snack-attack.

Half the fun is experimenting and seeing what makes us feel healthier and more well in ourselves, physically and mentally.

I was keen to know what the rest of the Lifestyle team has taken from 2021 and will carry with them in the year ahead. This is what they had to say.

It seems fitting that one of the most memorable lessons I learnt from a health article we published in Lifestyle in 2021, was from one published on the very first day of the year, January 1: “What happens to your body and mind when you reduce your drinking”. The sober movement has been having a real moment, and for many people, it’s very appealing. It carries many, many health benefits and I encourage anyone to try quitting alcohol if they wish to.

But realistically, it’s not for everybody – myself included, so I’d throw my hands up and open a bottle of wine. That’s why it was invaluable for me to learn from health experts that simply reducing your consumption also brings a long list of desirable effects, including to your liver, your cardiovascular system and cancer risk. I gently took on the advice and became more mindful with my drinking. I found the most noticeable benefits were better sleep and a happier, clearer head. Plus, I wasn’t getting the booze munchies, which meant better nutrition. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve carried some of the insights from this article all year – particularly during Melbourne’s lockdowns, when I was determined to drink less than I had previously – and I suspect I’ll remember them through 2022 too.