Newbie

People have varied reasons for giving to charities. Sometimes it is because the charity supports something they believe in, or it has helped them or a family member in the past. Giving to a charity not only benefits the organisation, but it also provides a sense of wellbeing and empowerment to the donor because they know they are doing something positive by helping others. In fact, research has found that donating to a charity increases activity in the part of the brain that registers pleasure.

Every year, we’re exposed to seasonal changes that entail changes to schedules and exposure to sunlight. During the summer months there are more hours of light, but they are considerably reduced in winter. Although you may think you’re used to the fluctuations in daylight hours, the body needs to adapt in order to continue to function correctly.

If during the coming weeks, you see more beards than usual around you, then it’s surely due to the “Movember” celebrations in November, a global initiative launched by the Movember Foundation to raise awareness on the importance of male health.

Movember is a portmanteau of the words moustache and November, and it calls all men to grow their beards for this month as a sign of support for initiatives to raise awareness and prevent prostate cancer and other diseases that affect men.

The amount and quality of sleep are key in feeling rested. We are accustomed to having mobile devices with us virtually all day long. When it’s time to sleep, they should be well away from us, because they stop us from resting and make it more difficult to fall asleep.

Why do mobile devices influence our sleep?

Sleeping is like resetting your body, fine-tuning it so it can function properly the next day. But, in order for that resetting to be effective, we must sleep a sufficient number of hours and our sleep must be reparative. In other words, both the quantity and the quality of sleep are important.

What happens while we are sleeping?

When we are sleeping, our organism experiences many more things than we might think.

Have you ever said yes when you really wanted to say no? Do you feel unable to complain about an unfair situation? Have you ever been asked to do a favour which was very inconvenient for you, but you did it nonetheless? Has someone pushed in front of you at the supermarket or in the bus queue and you didn’t dare say anything?

Often, we passively accept those situations or we respond aggressively, when in reality we should say what we think clearly and calmly. That is because we have been educated to avoid conflicts, arguments, refusals and situations which make us feel guilty.

A healthy diet and regular physical exercise are the basis for good lifestyle habits.

In order for something to become a habit, it must be the result of actions which are regularly repeated. That is how to turn it into a habit, an activity we do effortlessly and which we incorporate into our daily lives.

When something you rely on breaks, such as your central heating or car, having money put aside to pay for it to be repaired or replaced, makes life a little less stressful. Similarly, if you fall ill, or you lose your job, having enough money put aside to pay your essential bills will give you breathing space to recover or find a new job. That is why building an “emergency fund”, savings which are there to help you deal with the unexpected things life sometimes throws at you, is something everyone should do.

In an age where offers of credit seem to be everywhere, and the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is increasing the reliance on credit cards and overdrafts for many people, it might come as a surprise that around half of the adults in the UK have never checked their credit score.

It may be because they are not planning on applying for a mortgage, getting a credit card or purchasing anything on finance, any time soon. Or it may be because they do not know how, or why, it is important to keep track of their credit score.

A few weeks into the month, do you find yourself wondering where your wages have gone? If the answer is yes, you probably need a budget.

Creating a budget might seem a bit scary if you’ve never done one before, but it’s not.  A budget essentially helps you see how much money you have coming in each month and where that money goes. Creating and sticking to a budget means you are much more likely to:

Be in control of your money