Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category

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How to get out of bed ninja style

July 8th, 2011 by Jane

It’s 6:30am. Your alarm goes off. You know it’s time to get up but your brain and body tell you ‘NOOooo’.

The rational part of your mind says “I should really get up now” whilst the other says “But I’m so warm and cosy! Just 5 more minutes in bed can’t hurt”. So the battle between these thoughts begins. Before you know it 5 minutes in bed turns into 30 minutes.

Most of us are familiar with this scenario. But what if getting out of bed early on a cold morning wasn’t such a struggle?

Below are some ideas on how you can develop the art of getting out of bed ninja style so you get the most out of your day and feel more in control.

1. Aim for a smooth transition out of bed

It’s the first minute or so when we get out of bed that we fear the most and is arguably the most painful.

The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Minutes of painful cold air can be reduced to mere seconds with the right equipment and tools nearby. I personally recommend the following –

Slippers/socks next to the bed: A wise woman once gave a friend a pair of socks as a present. As he unwrapped the gift she said –

“If your feet feel good, the rest of your body feels good”.

She went on to argue the benefits of good cotton socks. I was sold.

Avoid cold feet at all costs. Invest in a pair of good quality warm socks and/or slippers. It will be money well spent.

A robe: A warm, soft robe will also help to soften the blow of the cold air as you prepare yourself for the day.

A wheat pack: For a bit of luxury and to help you warm up in the morning try a wheat pack. These are easy and cheap to make (check out How to make a microwave heat bag). They also work a treat if placed on your lap when working at your desk or eating breakfast.

My dad (a very resourceful man) recently made a wheat pack out of a pair of old non stretch denim jeans and 1.5kg of wheat. I call dad’s creation “The Eternal Wheat Pack”. You heat it in the microwave for 4 minutes and no joke, it provides hours of warmth!

If you go for early morning walks and can’t stand cold fingers, try making some mini wheat packs - microwavable mitten warmers. Must ask dad to make me some of these!

2. Have something in your environment that pulls you out of bed

Would the smell of fresh coffee get you out of bed? Or perhaps an irritating alarm clock that you can’t quite reach? Set up things in your environment that will propel (or force) you out of bed.

3. Practice saying positive affirmations

When we first wake up most of us automatically think “I don’t want to get out of bed!” but you can train yourself to override these thoughts with positive affirmations.

Positive affirmations are statements that become filters for us and if repeated enough times can guide our behaviour.

At Runaddicts.net blogger Johnny Palmer suggests that early morning runners say to themselves affirmations such as “I love knowing that while I am up and about exercising early in the morning, I am beating 99% of the world to the best possible start to the day” and “Being an early riser and sweating my butt off before I even start my day is how I roll”.

You may want to just say “I enjoy getting up early and making the most of my day”. It works best when we phrase our affirmations in the first person, present tense and as if already done. It also helps to repeat them first thing in the morning when we are a bit sleepy and before we go to bed so they become part of our unconscious mind.

4. Get excited about something

When I’m really excited about my work I leap out of bed. I can even find myself waking up at 3am thinking, “Is it still that early? Hurry up and get to a suitable hour so I can get into the day!” The fact it’s cold and dark outside doesn’t even enter my mind.

But when I hate the work I’m doing, it’s a different story. Instead of being like a ninja getting out of bed, I’m more like a sumo wrestler. Slow and heavy.

Before you go to sleep, try to think of something that you’re looking forward to doing the next day. You may want to write this down.

If nothing comes to mind, it may be time to shake things up a bit, step out of your comfort zone and introduce something new into your life. Whenever I start to lose my excitement and enthusiasm for life, I sign myself up to a course (dance, cooking, meditation, etc) or set myself some kind of challenge (to cook a new healthy meal each night, write my next book by the end of the month, etc). New experiences can provide you with insights and introduce you to mind expanding ideas and people.

5. Jump out of bed

We can spend a lot of time in bed thinking “Do I get up now…or give myself another 5 minutes….I really should get up…” and on and on this goes. Stop doing this (it’s pointless).

Software developer David Cheong suggests –

“One trick I’ve found to be very effective in being an early riser and to stop myself from rationalising is to simply jump out of bed instantly. Once I am outside the comforts of the warm and cosy bed, I’m more likely to actually wake up and stay up.”

In Summary

The more you practice getting up ninja style the easier it will get. Why? Because it has positively reinforcing effects. When you get up earlier than you usually would, you’re more likely to take action on the areas that are important to you. Subsequently, it doesn’t take long before you start to see results and feel great about yourself and your life.

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Brain Training in the Age of Digital Distractions

July 4th, 2011 by Jane

Scientific research indicates that the highest number of heart attacks occur on a Monday morning.

This should come as no surprise to those of us who suffer from Mondayitis – the general feeling of distress experienced upon returning to the workplace on a Monday.

Having worked for myself and been a student for most of my life, I never experienced Mondayitis or the stress of working fulltime until I started my PhD.

From observing other academics and PhD students (particularly students in the final stages of their projects), it became clear that stress was the norm. It seemed as if there was something seriously wrong if you weren’t stressed out. In my initial relaxed state I couldn’t help but think that perhaps I was off track, a sloppy researcher and not working hard enough.

So what happened? In less than a month of starting my PhD I became stressed, overwhelmed and incredibly busy.

But this weekend I had a reality check.

I was lucky enough to attend a workshop called “The Mind that Changes Everything” run by cancer survivor and educator Dr Ian Gawler.

Dr Gawler pointed out how many of us in Western culture feel busier, more stressed and overloaded than ever before and the subsequent negative impacts of carrying around this chronic stress (e.g. depleted immune function, cold and flu symptoms).

His message was simple yet powerful – we can train our minds (like any muscle) to live happier and healthier lives.

According to Dr Gawler our state of mind is of critical importance to our health and wellbeing. After all, it is our mind that decides what we eat, who we choose to spend our time with and whether we exercise or not.

He stated-

“In a relaxed state of mind you have an enhanced ability to take charge of your life…in training our mind you can get to a point that your state of mind isn’t determined by your external circumstances”

So how do we do this?

Mindfulness training seems to be the key.

Mindfulness is most commonly defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present moment, both internally and externally, without judgement. It can be practiced in one of two ways – 1) as a way of being (by doing nothing, having a calm still mind and being able to let go) and 2) with the help of a technique.

Since we live in the age of digital distractions it can be very difficult (if not impossible) for many of us to just “do nothing” and still our monkey minds. The fact of the matter is that most of us need the help of a technique to quieten our minds.

The “Accountants meditation” is an ideal exercise to help the apprentice meditator improve their concentration and relax. As Dr Gawler explained, it involves the following simple steps –

1. Take a breath in and then breathe out. As you breathe out, say the number 1 in your head.

2. Take another breath in and this time as you breathe out say the number 2 in your head.

3. Continue to do this until you reach the number 10. Once you get to 10, return to the number 1. Repeat this process for 10 to 20 minutes (one to two times a day).

4. If your mind is distracted at any point during the exercise (e.g. you find yourself thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner) then return to the number 1 and start the process again.

I once had a boyfriend who was a little up tight so I suggested he give meditation a shot. We meditated a few times together before he said “This doesn’t work. It’s stupid”.

Interestingly, Dr Gawler stressed that just like any activity it takes time and practice to get good at meditation. He made the point that you wouldn’t expect someone who had never played golf before to become really good at the sport in just a few days, so why expect the same of meditation?

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The Art of Breaking Bad Habits

May 4th, 2011 by Jane

You know you should stop chewing your nails, that you don’t get much done when you log onto Facebook and that eating fish and chips from the greasy deli is a really bad idea….but you still do these things anyway.

People usually persist with bad habits because they get some personal satisfaction or reward from engaging in the behaviour.

Let’s face it, bad habits are hard to break. Forming new, healthier habits can be even harder.

According to Dr Nora Volkow the human brain is hard wired to give greater value to an immediate reward as opposed to something that is delayed.

You have a choice: Eat the chocolate now or have a carrot instead?

For most of us, simply knowing that eating the carrot is going to eventually result in weight loss and feeling healthier usually won’t be enough to sway us. What we want is the immediate reward of sugary, delicious chocolate.

And the reason for this can be found in the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is linked to pleasurable experiences and our perception of positive experiences. So every time you eat a piece of chocolate or a delicious slice of pizza this pleasure sensing chemical is released in the brain.

This dopamine hit acts like a reward to us and reinforces the activity and neural connection in the brain. It is for this reason that we often engage in behaviours in an automatic way without much conscious thought or effort.

The good news is that every day people are successful in changing their behaviour, whether it be foregoing a packet of cigarettes, running on the treadmill or cutting back on junk food. Change is possible.

But how can you effectively break a bad habit? Here are some suggestions from the experts.

Make the behaviour impossible

Researcher Wander Jager believes that the best way to change a habit is to make it impossible. She states “..closing the shopping centre of a town for car traffic can break the habit of shopping by car, and changing the menu of a canteen may break the unhealthy lunching habit”.

I saw this technique used on a group of people suffering from type 1 and 2 diabetes in the documentary, “Simply Raw”. Six individuals were selected to undergo an experiment to see if they could be off their medication and insulin by cutting out fast food and adopting a completely raw food diet over the period of 30 days. To achieve this, they were sent to a retreat in the middle of the Arizona desert (far away from shops and fast food outlets) and served only raw vegan foods.

The thing about this strategy is it doesn’t always work and can sometimes backfire. In the documentary it was interesting to observe one participant became strongly resistant and rebelled against the approach by hitchhiking across the Mexican border to get alcohol and buy Mexican food.

Change and control your environment

The next best and probably the most practical thing you can do to break a bad habit is to change your environment so that the bad habit is less likely to be automatically performed.

The question to ask is – What is it in my environment that is triggering the behaviour (i.e. bad habit)?

For example, if you’re trying to lose weight it doesn’t make sense to have chocolates in your home or office at work.

You see, humans have a certain amount of will power that they have to expend throughout the day. In our low moments, particularly when we are tired and/or stressed or it is later in the day, our ability to regulate our behaviour and emotions significantly decreases.

And it’s in those moments when our will power reserves are running low or on empty that we are most likely to give into the temptation and reach for a chocolate. Therefore, you want to eliminate anything in your environment that will set you back.

Have your environment work for you by creating healthy habit back up plans. For instance, if you’re trying to eat healthier foods, have some chopped up vegetables and freshly washed fruit on standby for those low moments when a junk food craving hits.

Establish a regular routine

This involves getting clear on what it is that you want to do and then doing it over and over and over at a set time or place. Easier said than done, right?

Well, yes and no.

Peter Gollwitzer is an expert on how to make actions automatic and a regular part of one’s routine. His research shows that to make a particular behaviour automatic you must start by selecting the desired behaviour that you want to adopt (e.g. eating more vegetables and doing more physical exercise) and then link this behaviour to a specific situation such as a particular time, place or feeling.

He states –

“The mental act of linking a specific situation to an intended behaviour in the form of an if-then plan leads to automatic action initiation…[the action] does not require conscious intent once the critical situation is encountered”.

So let’s say your desired behaviour is to eat more vegetables. This behaviour could be linked to one of several things – particular meal times (e.g. dinner and morning tea), when at a restaurant browsing over the menu or if a hunger pang hits.

An example of an if-then plan could be as follows – “If it is morning tea, then I will eat a carrot”.

I know, it sounds incredibly simple and straightforward, but the act of committing to this takes the need for any conscious thought and effort out of the equation. The behaviour does indeed become automatic.

Final Thoughts

Bad habits can be hard to break, but there are clear and effective strategies to help you adopt healthier behaviours. By making the habit impossible to engage in, changing your environment and establishing a regular routine through ‘if-then’ plans, it is possible to rewire your brain for the better.

Have you succesfully broken a bad habit? If so, what was it and how did you do it?

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How to stay focused and on task (without deleting Facebook)

July 16th, 2010 by Jane

The Facebook group “Addicted to Facebook” is just shy of 2000 members (1999 members at the time of writing this post). One Facebook addict, Jackie, shares “Wow I can honestly say I’m addicted to facebook. so bad that I need professional help”. Whilst another member states “I think its funny that I get accused of being addicted to Facebook by people who must be on here as much as me to being accusing me of being addicted to Facebook”.

To join such a group indicates that these people have hit rock bottom. They are desperate. But just like any recovering addict, at least these people have taken the first step by acknowledging that they have a problem.

I have a sneaking suspicion that they are not alone and there are many other Facebook users who would easily qualify for such a group but wouldn’t be willing to expose this by pressing the ‘Like’ button.

Afterall, who wants to be viewed as a Facebook Junky who prefers to spend more time in virtual worlds than out in the real one?

After being disturbed by the voyeurism Facebook imposes and his strange obsession for following the profiles of people he didn’t know very well, a fellow blogger recently took the plunge and deleted his Facebook account. He shared -

“While there’s the appearance of connectedness and networking in the Facebook environment, I perceived a huge gap between the real world me and the real world friend with whom I was suppose to be interacting….It [Facebook] is a communication strategy that is neither satisfying nor effective and which is, to my mind, not particularly healthy”.

Whilst I admire this man’s decision to delete his Facebook account in pursuit of more meaningful connections, I still can’t bring myself to delete my profile. I like Facebook too much.

So if you’re like me and you don’t want to give Facebook the boot just yet but you find yourself getting easily distracted by it and you’re keen to reduce your time on there, then keep reading.

Below I discuss a number of strategies that can help you eliminate distracting sites such as Facebook when you need to and develop single minded focus so you can be truly productive and effective when you work.

I have broken down the strategies into four main sections: 1) Training your mind to focus, 2) Preparing your mind and environment for work, 3) Kicking your Facebook habit and 4) Ways to sustain your ability to focus throughout the day.

1) Training your mind to Focus

Meditation appears to be a great way of training your brain to focus on one task at a time. Neuroscientist Dr Lazer and her team MRI scanned the brains of a group of non-religious Westerners who meditated regularly and a group of people who had no previous experience with meditation. What they discovered is that there was increased development in the regions of the meditators’ brains associated with sensory processing and attention than in the non-meditators brains.

Whilst meditation isn’t rocket science, it does take a little practice and patience. If you’re new to meditation or just getting back into it after a long break, find a quiet place to sit and focus on your breath for just 3 – 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can start by focusing on an instrument in a piece of music (Note: Avoid heavy metal or techno music). When you feel ready, increase the amount of time you meditate for.

Another way of training your mind to focus is to use a Distraction card. All you need to do is take a palm card and every time your mind starts to wonder or you succumb to checking your email or Facebook, tick the card and then return to your task. This is a simply way to help you gain greater awareness of just how distracted you are and can also provide useful baseline data.

It may also help to write down any distracting thoughts and revisit them at a later time in the day. Some people even keep Worry notebooks. Basically, whenever they start to worry about something that is unrelated to the task at hand, they jot down the thought and tell themselves they’ll deal with that at 5:30pm or whatever time works for them.

Let me just emphasise that all of the strategies listed above take practice. You can’t expect to have the focus of a longtime Buddhist practitioner of meditation after one meditation session! But after a few days of practice, you will start to see a difference in the way you work.


2) Preparing your mind and environment for work

If my desk is covered in dirty dishes, books and papers and the television is turned on, it’s highly likely I’m going to be distracted and feel agitated whilst I work. This feeling of discomfort is likely to eventuate in me logging into Facebook, Youtube, etc.

On the other hand, the simple act of cleaning my desk and emptying my intray sends a strong signal to my brain: it’s time to get some serious work done.

Stella Cottrell in her book “The Study Skills Handbook” asks us to consider the following –

What kind of study environment suits you best for different stages of the study process? Make a conscious note of what it is that enables you to begin to study: is there quiet or music or background noise? Do you need to be at home or in a library or with friends? Do you need a clear table? What else is needed?

At the beginning of your study session, set clear time limits for how long you are going to work on a particular task for. It also helps to be clear on what you want to work on and accomplish during that time.

3) Kicking your Facebook habit

You may be mentally prepared and your optimal work conditions may be in place (e.g. clean desk, study plan, right equipment) but none of this will make much of a difference if logging into Facebook every 30 minutes has become an ingrained habit.

Similar to a smoker who goes cold turkey, you need to rid Facebook from your system when it comes time to work.

You have a few options in regards to how you go about doing this. I recommend that you either go to a location that doesn”t have Internet access (e.g. a local library or cafe) or download a program that will lock you out of Facebook for several hours during the day (e.g. Freedom, Ez Internet Timer and Times Up Kidz). The programmers of Times Up Kidz offer a 30 day free trial which may be all you need to break your habit of checking Facebook regularly throughout the day.

4) Sustainable focus

If you’ve been working on something for an extended period of time (1 hour plus), your ability to focus and concentrate can significantly diminish. To sustain your focus, make sure you give yourself regular breaks.

Avoid the energy drinks (you know they’ll just make you feel terrible) and drink plenty of water to help you to stay fresh, focused and alert.

If you’ve got any strategies for enhancing focus and concentration, I’d love to hear about them!

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5 simple steps to help you sleep like a baby

June 29th, 2010 by Jane

A student recently told me that she had trouble getting to sleep at night. “My mind is so active. I want to sleep but I can’t” she said with a pained expression. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

Besides doing the obvious such as avoiding caffeine right before bedtime, there are a number of things you can do to help you catch a healthy dose of zzz’s.

1. Journal out your thoughts

If you find yourself worrying about certain things late at night, consider writing down in a journal whatever comes to mind (“I need to go to the gym tomorrow”, “I can’t forget to call Matt in the morning”, “My human biology assignment is due in 2 days, eeek!”, etc).

Some people refer to this as ‘stream of consciousness writing’ or ‘morning pages’.

With this journaling technique, the key thing is to make sure the words flow continuously onto the page. If you can’t think of what to write then simply put down “I don’t know what else to write” or even “Blah blah blah blah”. Do this until your mind is emptied of all its worries and/or your eyes start to feel incredibly heavy.

2. Exercise (but do it well before bedtime)

Engaging in regular exercise can help to decrease your stress levels and relax your body, thereby making it easier for you to fall asleep.

But it’s important to exercise at least 3 hours before you hit the sack (unless you want to be doing an all nighter!)

The reason for this is that exercise stimulates your body and makes you more alert.

On the other hand, if relaxing activities such as yoga, tai chi or simple stretches takes your fancy, these shouldn’t be a problem to do before going to bed.

3. Switch off the lights and cover any light from appliances

If you’re not a deep sleeper, then lights from a television, digital alarm clock or computer screen may mess with your body clock.

When it’s time to sleep, make sure that your bedroom is dark.

I usually clip my curtains together to block out the light from the moon (as lovely as it is!) and cover my alarm clock with a jumper.

Alternatively, you could invest in an eye mask to block out any light.

4. Put away your mobile

Mobile phone radiation interrupts vital sleeping patterns, according to Professor Arnetz (Director of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the School of Medicine, Wayne State University). Research found that participants exposed to mobile phone radiation experienced headaches, change of moods, confusion and trouble sleeping.

Professor Arnetz states -

“If you have trouble sleeping, you should think about not talking on a mobile phone right before you go to bed. The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system”.

5. Practice one hour of sleep transition time

You need to prepare your mind and body to go from being fully awake to being able to sleep for 8 – 8.5 hours (the recommended amount of sleep for adolescents).

So one hour before you plan to go to bed, engage in activities that will slow down your brain and relax your body. Consider reading a book, writing in a journal, taking a bath and/or having a warm drink of milk.

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What to eat before an exam

June 5th, 2010 by Jane

No doubt about it, you have to eat something before an exam. Research tells us that young people who don’t eat breakfast demonstrate a 20% – 40% reduction in thinking skills (e.g. concentration, alertness and memory).

But don’t go thinking that eating something is going to be better than nothing.

Sure, a bacon and egg muffin with a hashbrown and expresso coffee may feel like a great idea the morning of an exam (especially if you’ve had a sleep deprived night of cramming facts) but please resist the urge to eat this greasy sludge and consume ridiculous quantities of caffeine!

Here’s the thing, if you eat a lot of food (particularly heavy, greasy food) before an exam you run the risk of decreasing your ability to think clearly and effectively (caffeine will just make you jumpy and increase your stress levels).

Your digestive system will be competing with your brain for oxygen rich blood (and your brain needs this in an exam!).

Whatever you decide to eat before an exam, make sure you eat it 2 hours before the exam to allow for digestion and peak mental performance.

What are the sorts of breakfasts that will fuel your brain for an exam?

1. Porridge with raisins and fruit

2. A bowl of muesli with cut up fruit (I recommend blueberries and/or banana)

3. Wholemeal toast with avocado and tomato

4. Wholemeal english muffin with an egg

5. Wholemeal toast with baked beans

What should you avoid eating for breakfast before an exam? (Note: These are examples of breakfasts students I work with typically have)

1. Coco-pops (or any sugary cereal for that matter)

2. Energy drinks

3. Fatty bacon and sausages

4. Hot chips

5. White bread with jam

If you have any other healthy breakfast ideas, let me know!

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Gold Star Exercise Strategy

May 24th, 2010 by Jane

Do you remember the reward charts that you used to have in primary school – if you did something good, you’d get a gold star or smiley face stamp next to your name?

When I was 8 years old my primary school participated in a state wide book reading challenge. For every book you read, you’d receive a gold star next to your name and if you got 10 gold stars, it meant you could get 1 free pizza from Pizza Hut.

I’m not sure what I wanted more, the gold stars next to my name or the pizza but by the end of this challenge one thing is certain, I became a book worm and my reading improved tremendously.

Earlier this year I started to wonder, could gold stars help me in other areas of my life such as health/fitness? Sure, I realise 18 years have passed since I used the gold star technique but surely it was worth a shot?

So on the 1st of January 2010, I set myself the following goal – to exercise 5 times a week for 1 hour each session.

Every day that I did this, I would place a star sticker on my yearly calendar (see below).

Now you may think that surely a gold star wouldn’t be motivating and certainly at first, it wasn’t super exciting. But as more and more stars appeared on my calendar I started to feel more motivated. The stars represented all my hard work.

After a few weeks I could see in one glance that I had been putting in consistent effort and I started to feel really good about the fact I was sticking to my goal. I also started to feel quite fit and healthy (the ultimate goal).

Since implementing this gold star strategy, exercsie has become a part of my daily routine. If I don’t do my one hour of exercise, I feel terrible.

Alas, cold weather is upon us here in Australia and I’ve got cold feet. I can see from my chart that over the past few weeks my gold stars have dropped from an average of 5 or 6 down to 4.

When I look at my chart and see that I’ve come to the end of the week and there are only 3 or 4 stars, I can’t help but think “Far out, you’re letting yourself go. Your losing the benefits of all those months of training”. One glance at my chart is all it takes for me to kick off my uggboots, put on my sneakers and head to the gym.

Last week despite the cold weather and heavy rain, I managed to do 5 exercise sessions. On some of those days I had to force myself to go to the gym, but after every session I felt great. As I put each star sticker onto my calendar it felt amazingly satisfying!

Do you have any strategies that you use to help you exercise? If so, I’d love to hear about them.

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Experience a Brain Boost: Omega 3

February 26th, 2010 by Jane

Some of us love it. Some of us hate it – Fish. But no matter what you think of the stuff, one thing is certain – it is great from our brains.

Yes, fish contains that magical ingredient – Omega 3. We’ve all heard of this fatty acid Omega 3 before, it’s now even being added to foods such breads, mayonnaise, pizza, eggs and infant milk. But why? What’s all the fuss about?

Research indicates that Omega 3 is associated with a huge range of benefits such as:

  • prevents crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer
  • reduces ADHD type symptoms
  • lowers risk of chronic disease
  • reduces the risk of strokes
  • sharpens memory
  • improves ability to learn and concentrate
  • enhances mood and emotional well-being


    • Omega 3 and Learning Enhancement

    Researchers conducted an interesting study on a group of more than 100 below average students. For 6 months half of these students had to take omega 3 capsules with their meals whilst the other half received a placebo.

    Interestingly, what the researchers found is that 40% of the students who took the omega 3 capsules showed significant improvements in school performance in relation to reading, spelling and behaviour than the students who received the placebo.

    In fact one mother even reported dramatic changes in her son who went from having little interest in reading to developing a passion for spending time in the library after school and soaring through books. In addition, he also developed an interest in classical music. Other parents reported similar changes in their children.

    Omega 3 and Mood Enhancement

    Omega 3 is also now being used to lift peoples moods and enhance their emotional well-being.

    Andrew Stoll, M.D. (Harvard) ran an experiment with 30 participants who had bipolar disorder (this disorder involves periods of feeling depressed and manically high). Half the participants were fed 9.6 grams of fish oil capsules a day and the other half were administered olive oil as a placebo.

    What the researchers found was that the participants who took the fish oil capsules experienced lower depression levels than those who took the placebo. On the downside, some of them also reported experiencing nausea and a fishy aftertaste.

    Omega 3 – what will you find it in?

    Will you get your daily Omega 3 dietary intake by ordering fish and chips from your local shop? No, most likely you won’t.

    Omega 3 is commonly found in cold water oily fish such as sardines, mackarel, anchovies, herring, salmon and to a lesser extent tuna.

    Some individuals have expressed concerns about heavy metals and toxins being present in these fish as they may accumulate in the food chain. However in the 2006 Journal of American Medical Association it was stated that the benefits of eating these fish far outweigh the potential risks. In addition, Choice magazine investigated the benefits and risks associated with eating fish and concluded –

    “There are plenty of fish species, both fresh and processed, that are good for you and are harvested sustainably.”

    How much should you have?

    You can meet your dietary targets of Omega 3 by eating 2 oily fish meals per week.

    If that doesn’t sound appealing then you’ll have to take a fish oil supplement – either some syrup or capsules.

    Should you go the syrup or the capsules?

    Speaking from my own personal experience, the fish oil syrups can smell and taste a little funny/disgusting.

    Smell and taste aside, it has been suggested that fish oil syrups may be more effective as they are absorbed by the body more quickly than capsules.


    Forget the oily fish and syrup, give me the capsules!

    There are a lot of different fish oil supplements out there, so knowing which one to purchase can be difficult.

    Conveniently Choice magazine conducted a study comparing 20 different supplements and found that 4 of the 20 supplements actually contained less than the suggested dietary targets for Omega 3 in the maximum daily dose. Click here to see the results (you’ll notice that the price can vary dramatically – from 10c to $1 a day, so choose your capsules carefully!).

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