Welcome to our Day 10 (the final day of our "10 days of self-care") & thank you for putting you first & joining us.
Our focus today is to enjoy the fresh air outdoors, after looking into why spending time outdoors can improve your health.
5 WAYS SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS IS GOOD FOR YOU
Being outside can be one of the fastest ways to boost your day & happiness. Often, going for a walk can help you feel better, even if that's only slightly. So why is that?
- It improves mood - Simply being in nature is known to boost happiness. Anxiety, depression and sadness are often decreased by spending time outside.
- Lowers blood pressure & stress
- Can help us to heal quicker - Spending time outdoors during recovery can benefit us as humans. Research has shown that spending time outdoors during recovery can enable people to need less pain killers and experience fewer complications
- Improves concentration & focus - Being in nature disconnects us from screen time which many of us experience daily. This therefore reduces mental drain and allows our brains to take a break.
- It helps you to be more active
5 THINGS TO DO OUTSIDE
- Try gardening - Gardening is a mindful activity, meaning it requires you to focus and be in the moment. Watching plants and seeds grow that you have planting can be very rewarding. You may even want to see if you can help with gardening in your community and socialise whilst being active. Gentle gardening can be a good way to recover from surgery with family, helping children to plant seeds or watching them water the flowers.
- Go walking - whether it's a gentle stroll you feel like or more of a hike, walking is a fantastic way to explore the outdoors. Even taking a break in your work day to take a walk outside can boost your productivity and mood.
- Journal in nature - Get wrapped up on a fine, cold day and venture out to your local park or find some green space to take a flask and journal somewhere different. If you don't feel up to this, but you drive, how about driving to somewhere pretty and sitting in the comfort of your own car with the window down?
- Go to the beach - anytime of year, going to the beach can leave you feeling both exercised and refreshed.
- Stargaze - This can be a real awe-inspiring experience and definitely different to being outside in the day time. Stargazing spots can be found listed online and there are also actual star-gazing events that you can book and attend.
GETTING THE RIGHT SUPPORT
Having the right stoma supportwear whilst outside is just as important as supportwear inside. Wearing the right support garments is vital to help avoid hernias or further hernias and supporting a hernia/s if you already have one or more.
Clinical trials done by Comfizz collaborating with a specialist stoma nurse at Queen's Hospital London ran over a period of 12 months confirmed that by wearing Comfizz support wear, incidences of hernias decreased significantly. You can read Lorraine's article here about this and this trial was also peer reviewed and published in the British Journal of Nursing (BJN) in 2014.
For gentle exercise outdoors, if you have no hernia, try our Level 1 support range. This is our light support range. Garments for men & women which are good under outdoor clothing include our Bamboo Boxers and High-Waisted Bamboo Leggings.
For more support when exercising, when more active or if you have a small hernia/s, definitely try our Level 2 range, which provides medium support. Our Level 2 coloured boxers (pictured above) are a good garment to try for wearing under your outdoor clothes and are for both men and women.
Our firm level of support is Level 3 and provides support for strenuous exercise and for those with a larger hernia/s. In our level 3 range, we have garments such as belts to try.
Did you know that you can also layer our garments to get your required support level? For example, combine 2 x Level 1 garments on top of one another to equate to a Level 2 support, or even try a Level 2 garment with a Level 1 on top to achieve a support level closer to our Level 3 support.
Read more about our stoma supportwear here.
Be proud of that fact that you have managed to put some time aside for you! And remember... Self care isn't selfish, it is necessary!
Disclaimer: As always, this post is from our Social Media & Marketing Specialist, Amy's, experience of living with a permanent ileostomy, Crohn's Disease and from what she has researched. Nothing in our blog posts should be taken as medical advice. It's always best to consult a medical professional if you have queries or concerns.
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10 DAYS OF SELF CARE: CATCH UP
- Join Us For 10 Days of Self-Care
- Day 1: Breathe
- Day 2: Read
- Day 3: Listen
- Day 4: Meditate
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: Journal
- Day 7: Nourish
- Day 8: Move
- Day 9: Disconnect
WHAT BLOG POSTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?
We are always looking for new topics to write about! If you have any ostomy life questions you'd like answering or any subjects you'd like us to address, please comment below or email us at info@comfizz.com.
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