Cultivating Healthy Habits for Mind and Body: A Journey to Wholeness
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Cultivating Healthy Habits for Mind and Body: A Journey to Wholeness

We’ve all experienced the consequences of neglecting our well-being. The sluggishness after a night of restless sleep, the irritability fueled by a week of unhealthy meals, the mental fog that descends from skipping exercise—these are all reminders of the interconnectedness of mind and body. What we do to one has a profound impact on the other. The good news? By cultivating healthy habits, we can unlock a vibrant life filled with energy, focus, and overall well-being. This journey isn’t about radical transformations or restrictive diets. It’s about building a sustainable routine that nourishes your mind, body, and spirit. Here, we’ll delve deeper into some healthy habits to incorporate into your daily life: Fueling Your Body for Peak Performance: Embrace a Balanced Diet: Ditch the processed foods loaded with hidden sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial ingredients. Instead, focus on creating a colorful plate. Fill it with a variety of fruits and vegetables, aiming for at least 5 servings per day. Each color offers a unique blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants vital for optimal health. Don’t forget whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and whole-wheat bread, which provide sustained energy and dietary fiber. Lean protein sources like fish, chicken, legumes, and tofu are essential for building and repairing tissues. Finally, incorporate healthy fats like those found in avocados, nuts, and olive oil. These keep you feeling full and provide essential fatty acids for a healthy brain and nervous system.   Mindful Eating: We often eat on autopilot, distracted by screens or work. This can lead to overeating and a disconnect from our bodies’ natural hunger and fullness cues. Practice mindful eating. Sit down at a table, turn off distractions, and focus on your meal. Savor each bite, chew thoroughly, appreciate the taste and textures, and pay attention to how your body feels. This not only improves digestion but also helps you avoid overeating and make more conscious food choices.   Hydration is Key: Water is vital for countless bodily functions, from regulating body temperature to lubricating joints and transporting nutrients. Aim to drink plenty of water throughout the day, even if you don’t feel thirsty. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Carry a reusable water bottle and sip regularly, especially before, during, and after exercise. You can also add slices of lemon, cucumber, or berries to your water for a refreshing twist. Healthy Habits: Moving Your Body for Physical and Mental Well-Being: Find Activities You Enjoy: Exercise shouldn’t feel like a chore. Forget the gym if it doesn’t spark joy! Explore different activities until you find something you genuinely enjoy. Do you like dancing? Sign up for a Zumba class or take a Bollywood dance workshop. Are you a nature enthusiast? Go for a hike, explore local trails on your bike, or try a yoga session in the park. Enjoy team sports? Join a recreational league or gather your friends for a friendly game of volleyball. The key is to find an activity that fits your personality and keeps you motivated.   Start Small and Gradually Increase: Don’t overwhelm yourself with an intense workout routine if you’re new to exercise. Listen to your body. Begin with short, manageable sessions. A 20-minute brisk walk or a 15-minute bodyweight workout at home is a great starting point. As your fitness level improves, gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts. Consistency is key! Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week. You can break it down into smaller chunks throughout the day – a brisk walk in the morning, a lunchtime yoga session, and some evening stretches.   Embrace the Power of Nature: Take your workout outdoors whenever possible. Immersing yourself in nature has a calming effect on the mind and reduces stress levels. Studies have shown that spending time in nature can lower blood pressure, improve mood, and boost creativity. Go for a walk in the woods, practice yoga on your balcony, or simply sit under a tree and breathe in the fresh air. Sunshine exposure also provides your body with Vitamin D, essential for bone health, mood regulation, and immune function. Quieting the Mind and Nurturing the Soul: The Power of Sleep: Prioritise quality sleep! Most adults need around 7-8 hours of sleep per night. However, sleep needs can vary from person to person. Pay attention to your body’s cues and aim for the amount of sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed and energised throughout the day. Establish a regular sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day, even on weekends. Create a relaxing bedtime routine, such as taking a warm bath, reading a book, or practicing light stretches. Ensure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool. Avoid screen time for at least an hour before bed, as the blue light emitted from electronic devices can disrupt sleep patterns. Meditation for Mindfulness: Meditation is a practice that cultivates inner peace, focus, and emotional regulation. There are various forms of meditation, so find one that works for you. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing your attention on the present moment without judgement. Simply sit comfortably, close your eyes (if that feels comfortable), and focus on your breath. Notice your thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them. If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath. Even a few minutes of daily meditation can significantly reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and enhance self-awareness.   Gratitude is a Gift: Taking time each day to reflect on the things you’re grateful for can significantly boost your mood and overall well-being. Studies have shown that gratitude practices can cultivate a more positive outlook, improve sleep quality, and strengthen relationships. Keep a gratitude journal and write down a few things you’re grateful for each day. It could be anything—a supportive friend, a delicious meal, a beautiful sunset. You can also practice gratitude silently, taking a few minutes before

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The Secret of 20 minutes Power Nap
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The Secret of 20 minutes Power Nap

Sleep is an important aspect of human life and for the functioning of mind and wellbeing of the body. An average adult should get a minimum of seven hours of sleep daily. But given the busy lives that we experience, be it college going adults or office goers, it gets difficult to consume enough sleep because our lifestyles demand otherwise. Sleep is essential but it is also important to inculcate certain techniques which quickly remove stress and worries. Mudit Dandwate, Co-founder, Dozee shares the secrets of 20-minutes power nap. So how do we cope up with the lost sleep to nurture our health? Don’t worry, we have you covered with some easy to practice meditation techniques. One such is Yoga nidra, which is also known as yogic sleep and has been proved to be useful in more ways than one. It is the state of consciousness between waking up and falling asleep. It is the “going to sleep” stage and it is ordinarily coaxed by guided meditation. A 20 minutes session of yoga nidra is equivalent to 1 hour of sound sleep. How does it help? It helps the person practising it to be completely relaxed, become systematically and increasingly aware of their inner self and concentrate on the positive thoughts by following a certain set of verbal instructions. It helps you shift your brain into an alpha state (from gamma and beta waves seen during working hours), starts its process of “powering down,” or coming into a rest state with slower, restorative brain-wave activity. Yoga nidra counteracts stress, long standing anxiety and also depression. It refreshes the mind, making it more open to absorbing and learning new things. It also releases the tension in the body. Practising yoga nidra right before going to bed every night trains your mind and body for this relaxation process so you can reach a deeper state of sleep. It also helps combat insomnia. It induces complete mental, physical and emotional relaxation. Certain AI and other IoT devices make it easier to take up relevant information from the signals/vibrations that your body produces while you are asleep and give you a health report that can help you make amends. They also provide you with personalised set of guided meditation on their application to make your life easier. A regular practice of yoga nidra has all the potential to help you develop, change, or alter your routines and lifestyle for the better. So, we sure are onto plugging into an application to practice some yoga nidra and reap some benefits. The Secret of 20 minutes Power Nap

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Is there a “right” way to sleep?
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Is there a “right” way to sleep?

By now it’s common knowledge that sleep is essential for the body to recover from the daily stresses we put it through. Whether you’re a 9-5’er or a power lifter, those 6-8 hours of shuteye mean serious recharging for your batteries. A lack of sleep on the other hand has been shown to have some pretty serious side effects, including increased inflammation, pain, depression, and even heart disease. Although modern lifestyle fairy tales romanticize the ability to power through low amounts of sleep, science says that this will catch up to you, if not now, soon. A good rule to stick to is about seven hours of sleep for the average human, again, according to the science of sleep. Consider that academics suggest that the ‘best sleeping position’. Dr. Prathap r. Addageethala, Doctor of Chiropractic, Director, Atlas Chiropractic and Wellness, shares tips on the right way to sleep. In general, there are three major categories of positions that people sleep in – on their back (face up), on their side (either right or left), and on their stomach (face down). Of course, variety can be introduced in the sleep position by moving the arms and legs forward and backwards, but for the sake of keeping it simple, we’re focusing on these three main categories. Sleeping prone / on your stomach / face down By far the worst of the 3 options, this particular position can really put a kink in your neck upon waking. Since there is no ventilation with the face pressed into the pillow, we are forced to spend time with our heads turned in one direction or another. This can cause strain on the muscles, joints, and ligaments of the head and neck, and can further create issues of stress on the spine. People who suffer from neck pain and headaches may find that their symptoms are either caused or aggravated by sleeping in this position. People who suffer back pain, and are unable to sleep in other positions, may choose to prop up their abdomen with a pillow or bolster while in this position. Sleeping supine / on your back / face up When we stand, the effect of gravity pulls us in a downward manner, putting pressure on the bones of our spine and the spinal discs. This is part of the reason that sleeping is so restful – because that force of gravity or loading of the spine – goes away. When we lay on our back, we allow the pressure on the discs to ease up, which allows for better nutrient exchange within the disc. This reduced pressure also takes strain off of our joints, all the way up and down our back. The force of gravity is evenly distributed in this state, all the way throughout the spine, in a manner that is conducive to rest and recovery. Sleeping on your back has the lowest amount of pressure on your spine, out of all positions you may find yourself in on a day to day basis. This is my recommendation of the three options, for this reason alone. People who suffer back pain may be advised to use a pillow under the knees to alleviate pressure from the low back. Sleeping on your side This is the recommended position from many experts in the sleep and orthopedic communities. The major difference between laying on one side or the other is the weight of the internal organs. Specifically, sleeping on your left side means the weight of the liver presses against the stomach and lungs. Sleeping on your right side has been linked to an increased level of acidity and gastritis, although no formal study has proven this connection. If you look at the spine from behind, it should be straight. Several issues can be present which may prevent this, but our ‘default setting’ is for the spine to be straight. From the side however, the spine has 3 natural curves, in the neck (cervical), the mid back (thoracic), and the low back (lumbar). Sleeping on your side allows the natural curvatures of your spine (looking from the side) to relax and space out, while allowing the position of your spine (looking from behind) to be straight. In this position however, the firmness of your bed may play a role. A long-held belief is that the firmer your bed, the better it is for your back. While this might hold true for acute back pain, over a longer period of time it can actually create issues. The same is accurate for a bed that is too soft. In both of these situations, that spine loses its straightness, and over longer periods of time, can both create and exacerbate pain symptoms. People suffering from pain would be advised to use a pillow, blanket, or special orthopedic support between the knees to help keep good alignment of the spine and pelvis. (Images from 3 below) Atlas Chiropractic and Wellness by Dr. Prathap r. Addageethala is at Kannambilles #820, 10th A Main, 1st Floor, Near Metro Station, Indiranagar, Bengaluru. Sources: Gracovetsky S. The resting spine: A conceptual approach to the avoidance of spinal reinjury during rest. Physical Therapy 1987;67(4):549–553. Desouzart, Gustavo et al. Effects of Sleeping Position on Back Pain in Physically Active Seniors: A Controlled Pilot Study. Work. 2016;53(2):235–240. Haex B. Back and Bed: Ergonomic Aspects of Sleeping. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2005. Is there a “right” way to sleep?

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Wakefit.co Unveils #SleepIndiaSleep
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Wakefit.co Unveils #SleepIndiaSleep

Wakefit.co unveiled #SleepIndiaSleep, a one-of-its-kind campaign to hunt for India’s Sleep Champion. The leading online sleep solutions provider organised a panel with Luke Coutinho and Dr. Arun Sasidharan, NIMHANS, to drive conversations around sleep. Driven by the overwhelming response to its unique sleep internship programme, Wakefit.co, India’s largest sleep solutions provider, is kickstarting an innovative sleep movement, with its hunt for India’s Sleep Champion. #SleepIndiaSleep is an attempt to amplify and sustain the conversations around sleep in India, on the occasion of the World Sleep Month. Wakefit.co has been envisioning an India that takes care of its sleep health and the company aims to facilitate behavioural shift through innovative campaigns. To further enhance the quality of conversations, Wakefit.co organized a thought-provoking panel on SLEEP – the deepening crisis and triggers, the health and science behind it, and the trends and impact on lifestyle. Luke Coutinho, globally acclaimed, award-winning holistic lifestyle coach and author and Dr Arun Sasidharan, Scientist, Center for Consciousness Studies, NIMHANS spoke at the event about the complex science of sleep. Contrary to popular belief, the experts threw light on how each person has different sleep requirements and chatted about the influences of lifestyle, sleep environment etc. on sleep patterns of individuals. They also talked to the audience about the impact of food, exercise and emotional well-being on sleep and the complexities of REM and non-REM sleep. Speaking about the #SleepIndiaSleep campaign, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder and Director, Wakefit.co said, “We realised that India is indeed ready to take actionable steps towards better sleep health. All they need is a push to make it happen. While the Sleep Internship campaign touched some lives, we wanted to create a movement in India, where every Indian takes pride in maintaining great sleep health. The inter-city, inter-state and ultimately nation-wide competition is our quest to find India’s sleep champion!” Following the overwhelming response to its unique sleep internship programme – with over 1.7 lakh applications from across India and 30 countries – Wakefit.co is set to launch the new campaign that will touch the lives of people and provide them with an opportunity to track and evaluate their sleep patterns sitting anywhere in the country. Chaitanya also spoke on the need for sleep to be a pertinent topic of conversation in today’s times and said, “India is the second-most sleep-deprived country in the world. We need a movement that can bring sleep back into our mainstream discourse. I’m happy to have Luke and Dr Arun join us in our cause today and be a part of this remarkable journey with us. We hope to make this a mass movement where every individual in this country takes pride in sleeping deeply and peacefully.” Sharing his thoughts on the advanced sleep research that is taking place in the country and across the world, Dr Arun Sasidharan, scientist, Center for Consciousness Studies, NIMHANS, said, “Our research aims to get a better understanding of the dynamics of sleep and thereby, consciousness. There are a lot of exciting scientific studies on cognitive therapies for sleep and sleep patterns. The challenge is to communicate this knowledge to the wider audience so that it can be translated into lifestyle changes for better sleep health.” Wakefit.co Unveils #SleepIndiaSleep

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