Monday Motivation - March 18th
Good morning everyone,
It’s Michael Lezuo here from the Tooting clinic, guest editing my first Monday Motivation! I’m originally from Italy and wanted to be a vet, but I discovered chiropractic after my mother visited a chiropractor and I saw what a change it made in her. While I primarily adjust humans, in my spare time you can also find me adjusting dogs, cats, horses and other animals (I’m an accredited animal chiropractor, too) and playing the clarinet and violin.
Did you know last Friday was World Sleep Day? Given it’s now Monday morning – and I’m sure most of us are wishing we’d had a bit more sleep – it seemed an appropriate topic to start with. But why is sleep so important? And do we all get enough sleep for our body? How many hours does our body need and why?
There is a lot of research being done on the topic of sleep, as that is the period when your body has a chance to recover. We do heal throughout the day, but during the night is when our brain is given a chance to recuperate.
There is a fluid surrounding our brain and spinal cord. This fluid keeps everything cushioned and brings nutrients and oxygen, but also helps with the removal of waste products. The disposal of toxins is the interesting part – this ONLY happens when you sleep and not throughout the day. So if you don't get a good night's sleep, you start the morning less than perfect as your brain hasn’t had the chance to eliminate toxins. If you have 10 minutes spare on your morning commute, watch this TED talk by Jeff Iliff as it explains this process a lot better!
Staying on the topic of sleep, I recently finished reading a good book by sleep scientist Dr. Michael Breus. He believes most advice we receive often centres around what or how to do things, but never when. Everything in our life is based on our biology, including the body’s inner clock. In The Power Of When, he presents a ground-breaking new programme to get back into sync with your personal rhythm. First take the quiz to discover your chronotype and then get going to see how your productivity and health flourish!
On a final note, I recently had a conversation about happiness with a friend. I have a keen interest in laughing and even wrote my dissertation on it! They asked me, “Why are you always so up-beat and cheerful and never seem to have a bad day?”Happiness is a decision that everyone can make. Yes, we all have busy lives and lots of things can go wrong in a day, but also many things can go right. The crux lies in that too many of us focus on the negative and don't notice the positive. Someone holding a door open, hearing your favourite song in the radio, and experiencing the sunset after a busy day at work are all little moments of happiness worth paying attention to.
My favourite mantra is, "If something good happens, that is great. If something bad happens, although not being great at the time, it will finish up being a great story to tell someone." (And I have a lot of great stories!)
What makes you happy? Watch this short video and find out! Psychologists have proven that one major factor for happiness is gratitude. When was the last time you were grateful for something? When did you genuinely thank someone for something they did in your life?
One of my idols is this lovely lady. She’s got it all figured out and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. Let’s all be like her and become a happier nation.
Thanks so much for reading and have an awesome, amazing and wonderful day!
Many hugs,
Michael