Fit for life in 2015 – Make the most of Spring – Part four: Do a digital detox.

Spring will shortly give way to summer and we are enjoying longer days and anticipate warmer weather. In this month’s series, Louise O’Driscoll, Xen-Do’s affiliated Holistic Health Coach, gives us some top tips and suggestions for making the most of the change in the seasons.

Spring clean your inbox. Most of us have hundreds of unwanted emails arriving every week. Go through and delete all the old ones that may be lurking and spend five minutes a day for a week unsubscribing from marketing emails you never read or asked for. It’s amazing how much lighter you can feel after this!

There are also services such as ‘Unroll me’ that will collate all marketing emails so that you can access them in one fell swoop, so you don’t see a steady stream coming in. Feel calmer and more organised by dedicating a specific time to reading these each week, rather than constantly interrupting more important tasks and messages.

Ban electronic devices from your bedroom and switch them off during the hour before you go to bed. The light from smart phones mimics daylight in the way it affects our circadian rhythm. That is to say, when we are exposed to it, our bodies instinctively feel they should be awake and alert, as if it is first thing in the morning. Needless to say, this can interfere with sleep.

Agree with your family a set time to put away all phones, tablets etc. Perhaps for an afternoon on a weekend, or for an hour at dinnertime. Put them in another room and focus on each other, appreciate face to face human connection and non-digital activities such as games or books.

Practising your kickboxing and martial arts combinations is Sensei Denise Bailey’s suggestion ‘whatever you do give it your full attention’ says Sensei Denise.

Try this for a whole weekend or more – a week’s holiday perhaps – and note the difference in how you and your children interact, eat and sleep, the difference is likely to be dramatic and entirely positive – once you get over the initial outrage from the kids!

Louise O’Driscoll is a health coach and Certified Eating Psychology Coach at Natural Balance Coaching. She offers a free initial consultation and discounted rates to Xen-Do Kickboxing and Martial Arts students so if you feel you could benefit from some personalised guidance on making positive healthy changes in your diet or lifestyle, drop her an email to arrange a chat!

This article is based on opinion:
– the author is not a qualified doctor or anyone who can dispense medical advice.
– any opinions stated are just that and people should consult a doctor before making any dietary changes or changes of any nature prompted by the articles published by or on behalf of Xen-Do.
– under 16’s please obtain parental permission before posting anything online.
– any opinions stated are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of Xen-Do.