How Load Shedding Can Have A Positive Impact On Your Health

In today’s electricity-reliant world we are constantly plugged in. Whether for work or pleasure, our lives, and our health practices, are dictated by electrically supplied convenience.

While this has many benefits with regard to our fast-paced modern lifestyle, we often forget how the simplest of non-electrical practices can give our health status a much-needed boost. We look at some examples of this below:
1) Constant engagement with technology can negatively impact our sleep cycle:

Do you get into bed at night and wind down by responding to last minute messages or emails? We are all guilty of doing this at some point. However, despite what we may believe, this practice has proven to be counter active to inducing a healthy, restful state of sleep. The physical act of responding to technology tenses your body, putting you into fight or flight mode and causing the release of cortisol (a stress hormone produced by the adrenal gland) into your bloodstream. This keeps your brain active for longer making effective sleep more difficult to achieve.
The bright light of your cellphone or computer screen is also an active sleep deterrent. As this light passes through your retina and into the hypothalamus (one of the key sleep centers of the brain) it delays the release of, the important sleep hormone, melatonin.

According to WebMD, Mark Rosekind, PhD and former director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Program at the NASA Ames Research Center, says that:

“One of the most simple but important reasons technology affects our sleep is cognitive stimulation.”

A good night’s sleep is crucial to our well being. So, the next time the power goes out, practice winding down naturally; the quality of sleep that follows will soon have you permanently removing electronic devices from your bedtime routine.

2) The Benefits of Eating Raw Food:
Heating food can cause the destruction of natural nutrients and enzymes. In the instance of certain foods, heating is still preferable as it also kills bacteria, however, there are a large variety of foods that are healthier for us to eat raw.

We tend, more often than not, to default to eating the majority of our food cooked, thus receiving lowered amounts of essential nutrients such as vitamin B and C – which are both commonly targeted by heat. We also miss out on the benefits of natural enzymes that aid digestion and are crucial in the healthy maintenance of our metabolic rate.

A lot of the food, which can more readily be eaten raw, is high in minerals, vitamins, fibre and phytochemicals. This food aids your immune system and assists in preventing a wide range of common health problems – from allergies to diabetes.

As with all issues concerning health, balance is the key. Eating both cooked and raw food is essential to our wellbeing. So the next time that you’re due for a power outage around dinnertime, instead of heading straight for the nearest fast food restaurant, why not take the opportunity to include raw food, more readily, into your diet. You can find a number of creative raw food recipes here: (http://rawfoodrecipes.com/recipes/)

3) How Technology Can Deter Us From Exercise:

After a long day at work, many of us would rath park off in front of the TV, log onto the internet, or catch up on social networking than make the effort to get in that much needed thirty minutes of exercise, three times a week.

However, you can now use scheduled load shedding to your advantage by planning your exercise times in line with the next power outage. This will make it that much easier to stick to your goals, as your usual distractions are eliminated during this period.