Eloise Brooks, Author at

The Ritual of Bathing

Many different cultures and faiths practise ritual bathing, a religious or magic ceremony involving the use of water to immerse or anoint a subject's body. From Ancient Roman bathhouses, to modern Christian baptisms; from Japanese-style sentos, to Russian banya and to Nordic hot springs; the ritual of bathing is at once truly personal and evocatively human. But it's not all religious or spiritual experiences. A Japanese study in 2018 showed that regular submersion in water heated to 40 degree Celsius had significant benefits for reducing pain, stress, and fatigue, as well as improved skin condition and general feelings of health. Baths have also…

How Replacing Coffee With Green Tea Helps You Sleep

Drinking less coffee is a common goal, as we are so often warned of the dangers of caffeine. Caffeine can have serious benefits, even in the small amounts you get from green tea. A little caffeine a day may prove to be helpful to your health in the long run. And it can be next to impossible to cut out your morning cup of joe - so don’t! Cutting anything out of your life whole cloth, especially something as addictive as caffeine, can be very difficult. So instead of skipping caffeine all together, try drinking something with a lower caffeine…

Apps To Help You Get To Sleep

With the whole wide world of tech sleep solution ahead of you. In can be hard to sort the what from the chaff. Here is our round up of the five best apps to help you get to sleep. Calm Probably the biggest name in sleep apps, Calm has over 100 million downloads and over 1.5M+ 5-star reviews. Perfect for those who love ASMR. This app features a great deal of whispered stories to play as you drift off to sleep. A personal recommendation is Harry Styles’ narrated piece where the singer’s dulcet tones talk you through a series of…

Self-Help for the New Year

January is the time of year that people decide to make big life changes. It’s easy to get swept up in the fun of new years resolutions and moodboards and start thinking you can change everything about your life. But chances are, the things that you should change are internal. So instead of spending a bunch of money on products to change your life and get you into new hobbies, why not try reading some of these self-help books guaranteed to help you get a new outlook on life. Before & Laughter, Jimmy Carr As mentioned in a previous post,…

Tips for a Cosy Winter Night Routine

Creating a warm and cosy winter night time routine is a perfect way to end your days in the winter. As the sky gets dark at around 4pm at this time of year, it can be all too easy to roll into bed a little and lose out on important self-care time. But it is even more important than ever to take time for yourself in winter, so here are some of our favourite tips and tricks to add into your cosy winter night routine. Depending on how much time you have of an evening, some of this might best…

Winter Fatigue and How to Get Rid of It

Have you been struggling to get through these chilly winter days without feeling enervated? It is common to feel tired during the winter. There can be lots of reasons for this, from the physical to the psychological. If you're struggling to feel well rested at this time of year, these tips may help you get through the winter fatigue. Vitamin D Fights Winter Fatigue One of the main things that slows your brain down during the winter is the lack of Vitamin D. This is because it helps regulate our circadian rhythms, the natural rhythms that tell your body when…

Veganuary Root Veg Stew Recipe

A popular way to start off each new year is to give your body a rest from all the fatty foods and heavy drinks from Christmas by giving something up for the month of January. For some of us, we do Dry January, and go without alcohol for the full thirty days. This year, I am doing no carbs - no bread, pasta, or potatoes - for the whole month, and believe me, it's even harder than I had anticipated. But another very popular choice is Veganuary. This is where for the whole month you try to eat exclusively vegan…

5 Sleepy Yoga Moves to Add to Your Routine

There are a lot of reasons to want to start practising yoga. It has numerous health benefits, and can help with flexibility, mindfulness, and generally make you happier! If you've decided to get into yoga this New Year, here are some of our favourite moves to incorporate into your sleepy yoga routine when you're winding down for bed. Sleepy Yoga Moves Here are five of our favourite poses to try before bed. For the most benefits, grab a yoga mat like this one from Yoga Hero and hold each of these poses for a minute, or 10 to 15 breaths.…