We started a Wellness Mentor Program at Bilot together with LovelyLife. This project is supported by The Finnish Work Environment Fund. With this project we are gathering our own “Bilot’s core team”, who will be our wellness mentors network. In this blog series our Wellness Mentors shares their thoughts and experiences during this journey.
I love summer! The summer months do their miracles whether I spend them at work or out of the office. The sun relaxes my mind and even my body feels rested and refreshed differently. What on earth happens during those summer months, what makes this possible?
During the summer I spend a lot of time outdoors: I ride my bike, swim, walk in the forest, picking berries, work in the garden – I live a more active life than during the darker fall months. I use fresh seasonal vegetables and lovely summer flavors in my diet: strawberries and other berries, peas, and vegetables. The seasonal produce contains wonderfully light ingredients. It is also important to stay hydrated in the summer and you naturally drink a glass of water here and there.
The quality and quantity of sleep also improve during your vacation, for example, but also during the summer months in general. Life is calmer and it is easy to recover and relax. All the activities and events of summer bring more content and action to my life. I meet people who are important to me, I visit relatives and enjoy summer events. Life is full.
So how could I bring these elements of a good life with me to the fall and the darker winter months? This solar energy that we have had plenty of during these summer months has to be packed and taken out with me every time a grey moment might surprise us in the winter.
The four magic words of feeling well and having a good life are: activity, nutrition, recovering, and enjoying your kind of life.
In the summer, these elements happen without even noticing it as I described above. However, in the winter, it doesn’t happen automatically, so you have to really make an effort. You shouldn’t make big changes all at once but rather decide the small changes you want to make – one thing at a time.
I want to preserve summer’s seasonal vegetables, berries, and mushrooms. A handful of berries every day brings enough vitamins and minerals to the middle of winter – a piece of summer for every day. That’s my thing! Drinking enough water daily is also an area of focus in the winter. I have a new water bottle with lively colors to monitor my daily water intake. I drink at least one bottle of water every day. What an easy goal!
I face some challenges with sleeping during the hectic months of my everyday life. Could I change my daily rhythm so that it would be as close as possible to my natural inner clock? For some reason, I tend to fall asleep too late considering the time I must wake up, so would it be possible to change my entire daily schedule? Maybe I could start working at 9 o’clock, for example, as I am not a morning person.
A bright light lamp might also help boost energy into the mornings and days, as we don’t have a lot of solar light in the fall. You should use modern technology and lighting options for darker mornings.
Daily activities outdoors also must be scheduled even when it is dark outside. Fresh air and walking help with sleeping as well. Going outside daily is a small thing with a big impact. As much as I enjoy the quiet moments in the morning, I can’t shorten the sleeping time from both ends. Something that I must consider is reaching the goal of 7,5 -8 hours of sleep each night.
Sleep and its quality and quantity are very important for overall well-being. During sleep, we recover and regenerate our bodies. Good and sufficient sleep affects our overall health, productivity and wellbeing in general. We can think sleep is a kind of nature superpower which strengthens our memory, does us more creative and furthers our happiness. When you feel tired it is difficult to think innovative ways or have creativeness in your thinking. In my present work, I do need creativeness and fresh ideas so good quality and sufficient sleep are very important to me.
Everyday life, family’s activities and obligations take up a lot of time. I understand that I just have to make time for my own hobbies and the elements that my well-being consists of.
Those are the things that bring energy, strength, and content into the winter months. Taking time for myself is the most important thing for me in this fall. When I am feeling well, everybody else around me is feeling better.
This blog is part of a series in which Bilot’s Wellness Mentors talk about their experiences with the program. See all the blog posts here »
