Many of us overeat because we are stressed, and stress also leads to the release of hormones like cortisol that will help make you fatter. Stress also means you sleep badly, which then feeds into more weight gain. So it is important to find ways to de-stress, which should include exercise but also trying out effective stress reduction approaches, such as mindfulness. And don’t forget ways of eating mindfully too! Enjoy!

Any good ideas for help with sleeping without gluging the night nurse?

I started using Mindfulness as a way of dealing with stress. What I have been following is a 10 minute a day programme, where I listen to someone talking through the process on the PC or mobile. One thing I have got out of this is a way of dealing with waking in the middle of the night; I can usually get to sleep ok, but when stressed, wake up after about 3 hours sleep.
I have used one of the Mindfulness ‘tricks’ – lie on your back, eyes closed, breath deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth. Concentrate on the breathing. Scan through the body slowly from head to feed noticing how you feel. I am normally asleep again part way though that process. When not, I am more relaxed and less anxious about the fact I am awake and will drop of soon after. I have been using Headspace App, but there are others out there if you use the search engine.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/31/12-rules-good-nights-sleep

Link to 12 sleep tips.
The Headspace app is great.

There is an argument that dips in blood sugar levels during the night wakes you up, so eating your evening meal later may help.

Writing down concerns and things to do before you go to bed is a great help. So is keeping a note pad next to your bed so if you wake up with ideas going round and round in your brain you can jot them down.

I’ve adapted to my sleep patterns. I wake up at 4am, so that’s when my day starts. It’s a running joke at work.

Xx

Come on BSDers, there’s a lot of unexplored territory here in the Mindfulness section. There are many apps out there to help. My favorite is the Smiling Mind app (if you’re in Australia). Using that app and my 30 minute daily walk are contributing to my wellbeing.Can people post what works for them when it comes to Mindfulness?

http://franticworld.com/free-meditations-from-mindfulness/
The above website accompanies a book written by Oxford University on Mindfulness. The book is ‘Finding peace in a frantic world’. I did 3 or 4 sessions between November and end February 2 hours each on Mindfulness and this book was the basis for the teaching. I enjoyed the courses.
I bought the book to start with on Kindle only to discover that you cannot access the CD resources that they have available in the book, if you want to follow this approach – buy the book in paper format!
The website has some of the info and quite a few meditations that you can use independent of the book, but are also linked to exercises in the book.

Hi Orchid, Thank you for the links.Something else to explore.

orchid,
This is a very useful link – I wasn’t familiar with the website so will enjoy it.
I follow Penman on Twitter and look out for them if they broadcast. I see I also have audio of their 8 week programme which I’ve dipped into as a refresher. Over the years many ‘experts’, including OU, reference Kabat Zinn who I’ve read. A few go back to The Relaxation Response – Dr Herbert Benson from Harvard in the later 70’s, which was where I started.

I saw this download link from someone who was also having trouble with the Kindle edition and accessing the audio files:

http://rodalebooks.s3.amazonaws.com/mindfulness/index.html

Thank-you Jackie WilsonSaid, I will have a look at that, although I did go out and buy the book from Waterstones – I was not about to give Amazon more money!
I started a new group of exercises about 3 weeks ago – focussing on ‘waves’ of movement through the body which I struggled with and had to go back through a couple. I also extended the sessions to 15 minutes. I got through the first 10 days ok, but was struggling keeping concentration on the next few so I repeated them. I have lapsed in the last week and need to restart so will have a browse through the other suggestions to kick start things.
Will post progress since there are now a couple of us doing this.

Hi everyone,

Thought for the day…….for those who are following the BSD….doing all ‘the right things’…..possibly a bit disappointed with their progress……TRY MINDFULNESS MEDITATION……it will de-stress you….and then your cortisol levels will reduce…..and then your efforts will be rewarded.

What varieties of mindfulness meditation is everyone practicing? What works for you?

As previously posted I use ‘Smiling Minds’ App (Australia) daily. Nice and simple to use and I am living proof that it helps me be mindful of what I eat and drink as well as it modifies my response to stressful situations.

What works for you?

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to highlight this topic. The holidays are coming up and many people find it stressful.
How are you going to decrease your stress levels at this time of year? What systems and practices have you put in place in order for the holiday season to flow smoothly? How can you incorporate the BSD way of life during the ‘silly season’?
…..food for thought….(dreadful pun).