Keeping you WELL During Lockdown
WELL WELL WELL what are we going to do to get us all through this difficult time?
In delivering the WELL Programme to the NICS it’s our job to provide practical health and wellbeing advice and support to all NICS staff particularly through this difficult time.
Whether you are working from home or still working from the office you are providing important services to the public and really making a difference.
The WELL team want to support you through the weeks and months ahead and we will be doing this through a series of online exercise classes and advice and guidance on a range of health and wellbeing advice.
As you might expect us to say that during this difficult time, it’s more important than ever that we look after our physical, mental health and wellbeing. It’s probably hard to think of that right now with so many other things going on in your world.
The WELL Team thought we would share an interesting article from the BBC website with you about the benefits of looking after yourself during this time (to access please click here).
Consistent with the theme of looking after yourself the WELL Team in conjunction with Activ Healthclub and NICSSA have developed our “Keep Activ at Home” initiative will be posting a series of exercise videos that you can do in the comfort of your home including Pilates, Infinity Circuits and Bodyburn classes which require little or no equipment. These classes will be delivered by our own qualified Activ Healthclub instructors and posted online for your use.
We believe that in addition to the many physical benefits exercise has many Psychological benefits including:
Reducing anxiety
Raising the endorphin levels. the body’s famous “feel good” chemical produced by the brain and spinal cord that produces feelings of happiness and euphoria.
Increasing your heart rate can actually reverse stress-induced brain damage by stimulating the production of neurohormones like norepinephrine, which not only improve cognition and mood but improve thinking clouded by stressful events. Exercise also forces the body’s central and sympathetic nervous systems to communicate with one another, improving the body’s overall ability to respond to stress.
Improving Self-esteem
From improving endurance to losing weight and increasing muscle tone, there’s no shortage of physical achievements that come about from regular exercise. All those achievements can all add up to a whopping boost of self-esteem—and the confidence that comes with it.
Improving Sleep
If you have trouble getting a good night’s sleep, exercise can help with that, too. Physical activity increases body temperature, which can have calming effects on the mind, leading to less sheep counting and more shuteye. Exercise also helps regulate your circadian rhythm, our bodies’ built-in alarm clock that controls when we feel tired and when we feel alert. (Although improved sleep is a psychological benefit of exercise, sleep experts recommend not exercising close to bedtime.)
Supporting your Brain Health
From building intelligence to strengthening memory, exercise boosts brainpower in a number of ways. Studies on mice and humans indicate that cardiovascular exercise creates new brain cells—a process called neurogenesis—and improve overall brain performance. It also prevents cognitive decline and memory loss by strengthening the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
We hope that you will join us in Keeping Activ at Home. Details of the live Class Timetable and how to Catch up on any classes you have missed are on our WELL Website. To keep up to date on how to Eat WELL and Think WELL please join our Facebook Group “The WELL Programme”. Here you can share your own suggestions on how to Live WELL and we would love to see your videos and pictures on how you are spending your time at home.