It can be tempting to let your self-care routine slide on vacation. But keeping up with healthy habits while away from home can have big benefits. 

Slow Travel: tune in to the local rhythm

The idea behind the “slow movement” is simple: take more time to simply be in the present moment, and reduce distractions that take you out of it. In a world where we’re constantly encouraged to go, go, go, slowing down can seem like a welcome respite from what sometimes feel like an endless barrage of consumerism and performative social media posting.

The concept of “slow travel” is another ideology that’s gaining traction among travelers who want to visit fewer tourist traps, do less city-hopping, and have more engagement with the local community. Slowing down allows you to observe and interact with your environment in a way that is impossible if you’re too focused on checking attractions off your list. 

A welcome respite from the hustle and bustle

Taking things a little slower doesn’t mean you’re being lazy or inactive. It’s more about traveling with intention — spending time researching your destination and learning about the local customs, food, and language — rather than cramming as much “content” as possible into your trip.

Think a long, leisurely stroll through a city’s historic center, rather than a frenzied taxi ride from one photo op to the next. This kind of gentle activity is called Active Rest, and it can be a great way to connect more fully to your surroundings.

When you focus your time and attention on a place in a purposeful way, you are rewarded with a richer, more authentic experience. Relaxing your schedule and allowing your intuition to guide you through your day allows you to disconnect from the demands of a packed schedule and follow your body’s natural rhythms, which is a big part of physical and mental wellbeing.

Bamboo Compression Socks

Feel active in absolute comfort

SHOP NOW

Shake up your routine, keep the healthy rituals

While you don’t have to abide by your usual day-to-day schedule while on vacation, it’s a good idea to stick to some of the well-being rituals you use at home to keep yourself on an even keel. Sometimes trips can feel more tiring than refreshing because we skimp on sleep, eat too much, or overindulge in alcohol — all common vacation behaviors that can leave us feeling drained.

Staying balanced while away from home could mean:

• Eating enough nutrient-rich food that makes you feel good
• Staying hydrated
• Taking a moment to check in with yourself each morning to decide what you need, both mentally and physically

Of course, ice cream is also encouraged — you’re on vacation, after all! 

In the end, it’s all about balance. Whether you’re spending a month or just a weekend away, take the opportunity to not only disconnect from the daily grind, but let yourself truly enjoy and appreciate the unique magic of your destination.

Whether you miss your bed or you’re having trouble snoozing in a new place, you’re not alone. Here’s how you can cope with this phenomenon known as travel insomnia.

The can’t-sleep blues

We’ve all been there. You head out on holiday and hit the hay, only to end up tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning. Changes in routine, an unfamiliar bed, and anxiety all contribute to travel insomnia, and it can be a real impediment to enjoying your vacation. Many people struggle with this sleep issue, which may have an evolutionary basis meant to protect us from unexpected danger when in a new place, according to some studies.

Hacking the “first night effect” 

In order to avoid the dreaded “first night effect” — the experience of being unable to fall or stay asleep the first night staying in a new place — sleep experts advice travelers that when traveling for an important event, they should plan to arrive at their hotel or vacation rental earlier than the night before.

Anticipating that you might get less-than-stellar sleep on that first night and planning accordingly ensures you can give your mind and body the chance to adjust to the new environment and reduce the odds you’ll be tired in the morning. 

Eye Mask

100% blackout experience

SHOP NOW

Packing your own pillow

One tip that frequent travelers swear by? Bringing along something that reminds you of the comforts of home — your own pillow, with the perfect amount of softness and support — is a great way to help boost your chances of getting a good night’s sleep while on the road.

Start planning ahead of time

Many travelers may also experience anxiety that keeps them from sleeping soundly before they even leave for their trip. Fixating on all the things that could possibly go wrong — a forgotten passport, lost luggage, a missed alarm — causes you to spiral into worry, spiking cortisol levels and dashing hopes for some pre-travel shut-eye. 

Experts say that to combat travel anxieties, you should pack and plan as early as possible. Still anxious? Try naming your fears aloud and working through the likelihood that each is going to happen. This can help alleviate fear of the unknown that can keep you awake before a trip. 

Let your rhythm be your guide

You’re probably familiar with the idea that everyone has their own individual sleep patterns, guided by genetics, lifestyle, and personal preference. Whether you’re an early riser or a night owl is determined partially by your chronotype — a designation that influences how you go through your day, and offers guidelines on when you are most productive and most likely to need rest and relaxation.

Knowing your chronotype is useful when making travel plans so you can best accommodate your need for shut-eye, and aim to be active when it’s easiest for your body and mind. 

Get good Rest on the road

When you know you’ll be spending time away from the comforts of your own bed, it can be useful to pack along a few items to make your stay more enjoyable — and restful. Try taking along some of the following on your next adventure to ensure a restful night’s sleep.

• Earplugs
• Eye mask
• Noise-canceling headphones
• Melatonin tablets
• Neck pillow
• Lavender pillow spray

No matter how you prepare for your journey, you’ll have a more enjoyable experience if you’re well-rested, alert, and ready to go. By thinking ahead and planning for possible sleep disturbances, you can minimize potential hazards and be your best self — and get your best sleep — while on holiday. 

 

At lafuenteprosthetics, we're all about empowering Rest—anywhere, anytime.
Subscribe to join the Rest Revolution and receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

 

Photo by Alexander Possingham on Unsplash

Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels

Traveling is an opportunity to break from routine, unwind, and make memories that will last a lifetime. But, let's be honest, how many of us actually come back feeling well-rested? Between ticking off all the top attractions on Tripadvisor and hunting down the best local eats, we often forget to take a breather.

So, if you're tired of coming back from your travels feeling like you need a vacation from your vacation, don’t stress! We’re here to help you understand how to get active rest while traveling so that your trip is enjoyable and rejuvenating too. 

Active rest vs. passive rest

Though it may sound counterintuitive, there are ways to rest, recharge, and be active at the same time.

When you do an activity that engages the body and/or mind and is outside of daily obligations like work and family duties, you are performing active rest. These activities may involve exploring your curiosity, indulging your interests, broadening your mind, and fueling inspiration.

The opposite of active rest is passive rest. Napping, meditating, and taking a warm bath are a few examples. Unlike active rest, passive rest involves minimal physical effort or activity.

Hi Stephanie, can you introduce yourself and your work?

Hi! I’m Stephanie, the founder of The New Happy. We exist to help teach a new philosophy of happiness, one that’s grounded in using your gifts to serve the world. We share our philosophy in a number of ways: through artwork on Instagram and other social media channels, a weekly newsletter, a weekly podcast, corporate speaking and workshops, and an upcoming book! 

Wellbeing has been a significant part of both your personal and professional journey for years, hasn’t it? Can you shed a little light on what that trajectory looked like? How did those two worlds converge?

I personally had an unhelpful conceptualization of happiness, and as a result, I found myself in my early 20s, having achieved all of my external goals, yet experiencing a profound sense of unhappiness, as well as a host of physical and mental challenges. I wondered how I could have gotten so confused and lost, which led me to graduate school to study positive psychology. There, I developed the main philosophy underpinning The New Happy, looking at happiness from a scientific perspective. After graduate school, I went to work for Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, where I led the development of wellbeing programs. I eventually decided I wanted to devote myself to sharing our philosophy more broadly and left to focus on The New Happy full-time! 

In our first discussion, you shared a little about how—while there’s a lot out there to help people—you didn’t quite find something that really resonated with you on your own healing journey. Before understanding how you took it upon yourself to resolve that, can you share a little about what you thought was missing? Or, think is missing?

So much of the way we talk about wellbeing is absent of context. We think about it as something that resides within an individual alone. But what I learned, both personally and through the research, is that that of course isn’t true. We are profoundly affected by our contexts, relationships, and experiences, and they deserve the same quality of attention and care that our relationship with ourselves does. That’s something I’m trying to offer with my work – a recognition that we are connected, embedded in an ecosystem, and in relationship with it all.

The strong—and ever-growing—community on The New Happy is proof that you weren’t alone in that feeling. But the very early stages of The New Happy were actually a way for you to work through your own personal journey, no? What was it about visualizing complex concepts that felt powerful for you?

I truly still feel surprised (and so grateful!) that these abstract images connect with other people. I have always loved art and design, but only as a consumer – I never thought it was something that *I* could do. I have always had certain feelings about shapes, colors, and layouts, and about what they represent and mean. I thought that, given I was trying to communicate a new philosophy, I wanted to represent it in a new way. I started playing around with these designs to figure out what might work. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what worked for me, but also was understandable by others. I think of the work as being a visual way of surfacing experiences that we all share – our common humanity. 

As a group of designers first, turned self-care advocates second, we’re so curious about your process. You translate really complex concepts into powerful, bite-size graphics. What does that look like for you? Do you collect references to difficult situations and then work in bursts? Or do you reflect on your own internal work and then tackle ideas one by one? We’d love to hear how you organize your art.

I usually start the creation process with our community. Every week, I ask what is going on and what they need help with. From there, I’ll scan the responses and try to figure out if there are common themes that we can address or challenges that seem to be cropping up more than usual. I’ll identify a few of them where I think our philosophy can help, and then if I need, will dig into the scientific research to see what the studies say about addressing it. From there, I’ll go to a sketchpad and start mapping out visual ideas. It’s a bit like doing a puzzle in my head, trying to triangulate what the research says, how to distill it to something actionable, and how to represent it visually. Most pieces go through multiple iterations (some posts have taken me more than three months to figure out!), but there are a few that have just magically appeared in my head fully formed – those are a delight!

Your work has impacted so many lives—it’s incredible! That being said, it’s common that an empathetic mission and the pressures of social media can lead to a significant amount of pressure. As we know, these can compromise your own mental health and happiness. How do you manage that reality? What boundaries do you have in place to protect yourself?

That is so kind. Thank you. I truly get so much energy and joy from what I do. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to do this work that I love, and it gives me so much back.

After spending so many years immersed in the research, I know both intellectually and from my own experience, that wellbeing is the platform on which everything else is built. I think we all have our own recipe for what we need to set ourselves up, and it changes as we do as well.

As for me, I have a few things that really support me. Sleep is essential for me (and for those around me; anyone in my life will tell you I am not my best without it!) I also have a pretty high need for quiet and alone time. It’s how I recharge, but also how I do my work – the best thing for my wellbeing is to go for a long walk with my dog, with no music or podcast, just thinking through ideas and work. 

***

An expert in wellbeing, Stephanie founded The New Happy based on her Master’s thesis in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. The New Happy reaches over 3 million people a month, teaching them a new philosophy of happiness. 

Her book, THE NEW HAPPY, is forthcoming from Penguin Random House. Her expertise has been featured in Architectural Digest, Brit+Co, Bustle, Design Milk, FastCompany, Forbes, Greatist, The Huffington Post, Paper, Shondaland, Tatler, Well+Good, and Verywell.

You can reach her on her website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and via email.

Don’t let your self-care routines go stale—stay inspired!

Hi Steven! Can you introduce yourself and your work?

Self-care plays a big part in that work and how you show up online, no? How would you describe its role in your life?

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed you referencing the hashtag #SoftLife frequently. Can you shed light on what it means?

How long has it been around and why do you think it’s taking off at this specific moment in time?

I’m not certain how long it’s been around but I started seeing several Black creators using the term in early 2021 and it resonated with me. I think it’s taking off because of the current state we’re in culturally. There is a major shift happening as we discover the negative effects hustle culture has had on all of us but especially the BIPOC community. 

You’ve mentioned to me that #SoftLife has helped put words to a feeling you’ve long-had. Can you share a little more about what that is?

Do you think #SoftLife is relevant to everyone? Can you expand on why, yes or no?

Without overthinking it too much, I’d say no. There will always be someone who hears “soft life” and conflates it with laziness and apathy no matter how you explain it to them. Like I mentioned, “soft life” is an expression of a mindset shift. When I say I’m living a “soft life”, it doesn’t mean I shirk my responsibilities; rather, I know that by resting and recharging my body, I’m able to operate from a place of fullness. So yeah, I don’t think “soft life” is relevant to everyone but I do believe everyone has the capacity to shift their mindset.

What do you hope to see more of in the self-care space in the near future?

I’d like to see more diversity in the way we talk about self-care. Since each of us has different visions of what well-being looks like, self-care can’t be a one size fits all process. Our self-care practices will change as our lives shift and as we discover more things about ourselves. Sometimes, self-care will even look different day-to-day.
 

What has been one of the most impactful self-care tips / routines / changes you’ve made? 

What would the ideal #SoftLife Day look like for you?

***

Steven Sharpe Jr is a Brooklyn-based fashion & lifestyle content creator, mental health advocate, and founder of Nobius Creative Studios. Steven views his online platform as both a creative space to speak candidly about mental health and also an exemplification of joy and luxury through it all. Learn more about his work.

Don’t let your self-care routines go stale—stay inspired!

Hear from the world’s coolest creators, makers, and entrepreneurs. Peek into their routines via their read, watch, listen list and get inspired by longer-form pieces that explore a self-care topic they’ve been pondering. Sign up to get the next edition straight to your inbox and join the Rest Revolution.

Along with the good weather and vacations, summer also tends to bring us something less enjoyable: summer insomnia. Have you noticed how during June, July and August you find it harder to fall asleep and don't wake up rested enough? Well, you're not alone.

In fact, according to several studies, in places where there are more daylight hours, up to 45% of people admit to sleeping less than 6 hours a night. The average American loses up to 20 minutes of sleep a day in the summer. It doesn't sound like much, but the cumulative effect over the entire summer translates into several hours lost over the season.

Why can't I sleep in the summer?

Well, the answer is easy: light.

But not just in the way you imagine. Light is a key factor in regulating our biological clock –also known as circadian rhythm. The way light helps us regulate our sleep-wake patterns is through melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that our body secretes when the light begins to fade and helps us enter a sleepy state. Its peak is reached when it is completely dark. When the light starts to shine again, melatonin production is blocked and we wake up.

When summer arrives, this cycle is completely disrupted. In northern hemisphere countries, especially those further north, daylight hours are extended by several hours. Night comes later and the day starts earlier. This causes melatonin production to start later –even as late as 10 or 11 pm– and to take longer to peak. When we finally sleep soundly, the sun comes out again and melatonin is blocked, causing us not to get enough rest. This is what we call summer insomnia.

How to deal with summer insomnia

If it's the light that's causing summer insomnia, the best way to combat it is darkness. Introducing Eye Mask, the first true 3D ergonomic eye mask that provides 100% blackout.

Designed according to the three-dimensional shape of the face, Eye Mask fits perfectly on any head, making it impossible for light to penetrate through any slit. Absolute black.

That's why Eye Mask is the best sleeping companion in summer –or when you're sleeping in bright places, like on an airplane. By putting on Eye Mask when you go to bed, your body will start secreting melatonin, signaling your brain that it's time to sleep. No matter if the sun comes out in the morning, the 100% blackout won't let the hormone production stop you. It will only be the alarm clock that tells you it's time to wake up.

Other tips to deal with summer insomnia

If you suffer from summer insomnia, there are another tiny changes in your habits that can help you sleep better –and not only during summer time!

• Keep a schedule: Consistency is key to keeping your sleep pattern balanced. Try to go to bed at the same time every day –even on weekends– and your body will learn to switch on and off naturally.
• Keep it cool: if you have air conditioning or a fan, turn it on for a while before you go to sleep so that your bedroom is approximately 21ºC/67ºF. It is also a good idea to use light fabric sheets and pajamas.
• Avoid naps: It's normal to be tempted to take a nap, especially when the summer heat is strong. But if you have trouble sleeping at night, a nap will only further disrupt your internal clock.
• Exercise (at the right time): Moderate exercise during the day is one of the best things you can do for your sleep at night.

Summer is one of the best seasons of the year. Don't let summer insomnia keep you from enjoying it.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

I usually start my day with a list—many, in fact. Each is categorized by clients, projects, due dates. (I’m a creative professional, you see.) My eyes flicker across a near-infinite scroll of deliverables. Mostly, I take on the work willingly and pride myself on cultivating a professional life rooted in intention, creativity, and slowness. But sometimes, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

Maybe if I close my eyes and take a deep breath, a feeling of calm will wash over the mounting anxiety. Having routines I can rely on often help. Should I light a candle? Throw on a heated neck wrap for extra comfort? I’ve found I can set the conditions for achievement by creating an aesthetic environment that stimulates my senses (but doesn’t distract me too much from the task at hand). 

Or, as my partner lovingly suggests: “You could also just take a little break.”

I like to think about creativity through the lens of time: it’s a convergence of past, present, and potential. That thrum of possibility inspires me to keep going, despite the drain of recent global events. That said, being a creative person requires energy, and replenishing that spark is not always as straightforward as I would hope.

Certain seasons prescribe rest as an antidote to the demands of modern life. Summer is a checkpoint and lends itself well to this idea: vacations, social gatherings, good weather. It’s a break in the year and a break in convention: the sun is out, log off, mix it up. Lately, though, I find myself peeling back the layers of how to “properly” rest during this period. 

Seasonal expectations aside, I’ve always liked the multiplicity of “rest,” often using it in various contexts like:

“Rest assured, things will get better.”

“The rest of my summer plans are TBD.”

“I hope you have a restful weekend.”

Perhaps what I’ve needed more than anything else is to detach rest from its counterparts—to let it stand on its own, dissect it, and reflect on what it means in the context of my own life. This is what I’ve come up with so far:

• Recalibration is a form of rest. Creative work can flourish in subtle ways—it comes down to how we’re paying attention just as much as what we’re paying attention to. Often what feels the most urgent on my to-do list is the thing I cannot bring myself to start. The paralysis can be daunting, but instead of forcing pen to paper, I give myself space to recalibrate and allow what feels the most natural to inform how I work and what I choose to tackle next.
  
  
• Expect nothing and everything. As I step into my identity as a writer, I find that I’m somewhere between managing expectations and making the most of any opportunity to get words on the page. Unlike my other work as a content creator and consultant, writing isn’t something you can check off so quickly—and that’s a good thing! Inspiration strikes when it strikes. Until it does, I look at any “loss” of productivity as an opportunity to rest my mind and daydream.
  
  
• Solitude is allowed. Seaside locales and road trips abroad have been in heavy rotation on my social feeds. Initially, I had planned to join in the travel fun, but after taking some time to listen to my mind and body, I recently decided to turn my big summer vacation into a solo staycation. (And yes, some of that time off led me to “work” on things I enjoy.) Still, it’s natural to find solace in creative projects, even when there’s an expectation to disengage entirely. In TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s post “The 7 types of rest that every person needs” captures this idea well. “Allowing yourself to take in the beauty of the outdoors—even if it’s at a local park or in your backyard—provides you with creative rest,” she says. “But creative rest isn’t simply about appreciating nature; it also includes enjoying the arts. Turn your workspace into a place of inspiration by displaying images of places you love and works of art that speak to you.” I did just that: I sat quietly in my home office—stared blankly into (my book-filled) space, listened to the hum of city life outside the window—alone.
  
  
• Take it moment by moment. Over the years, I’ve grown more comfortable with the idea of agency as a form of rest and nourishment. We give (read: sacrifice) so many things in service of our work and passions. Call it mindfulness or being in the present, the least we can do for ourselves is take the time to embrace all of life’s moments—good or bad, fast or slow.

Rachel Schwartzmann is a writer and consultant based in New York City. She is also the creator of Slow Stories, a podcast and platform that explores slowing down in our digital age. She is working on her first book, SLOW STORIES, which will be published by Chronicle Books. Learn more about her work.

Don’t let your self-care routines go stale—stay inspired!
Hear from the world’s coolest creators, makers, and entrepreneurs. Peek into their routines via their read, watch, listen list and get inspired by longer-form pieces that explore a self-care topic they’ve been pondering. Sign up to get the next edition straight to your inbox and join the Rest Revolution.

Urban spaces are increasingly understanding the importance of the mind-body connection. Taking cues from meditation and eco-therapy, innovative brands are demystifying personal development and encouraging positive moods and attitudes. This ultimately increases human productivity and combats strain and fatigue.

De-stressing design

A new breed of spaces are being strategically located in high-stress places, moments and contexts where people can practise turning negative stress into positive stress to become better people – and view a store as a service, offering intentional mindful balance. More than 10% of the worldwide population now suffer from mental health disorders, according to Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and mental wellness is a global industry now worth €113.5bn according to the Global Wellness Institute.

Jakarta’s Templ is one premium concept store for Generation Z that leans into this trend. Its calm, reflective environment is inspired by the tranquility of ancient temples, with a secluded, deep-red prayer room for quiet moments – doubling as a space for seasonal displays and private events. Meanwhile, Prada’s Rong Zhai villa in Shanghai recently became a destination for deceleration and outdoor hobbies, offering visitors workshops exploring gardening, horticulture and camping.

Emotional fitness

Mental health treatments are also borrowing from the world of exercise. Coa is an emotional fitness studio that follows a similar structure to traditional gyms. Offering live online classes and one-to-one therapy, Coa combines personal training with private therapy sessions. Similarly, MindLabs has been referred to as ‘Peloton for mental health’. According to co-founder Adnan Ebrahim, the start-up’s goal is to ‘make taking care of your mental health as normal as going to the gym’.

Eco therapy

Another signature of meditative moments will be attractive, nurtured outdoor experiences. From green walls and landscaping, to seating, awnings and coverings; these natural oases in cities calm the mind and body. Indeed, eco-therapy is redefining healthy living, as increased exposure to green spaces is associated with reduced blood pressure, better pulmonary and immune function, reduced risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and asthma, according to the University of East Anglia. In England, €2.7bn per year could be saved in health costs if everyone had adequate access to green spaces, says Public Health England; and for every dollar spent on nature restoration, at least €8.5 of economic benefits can be expected, says Nature4Climate.

The Green Line garden bridge in Paris is a prototype of edible, resilient, and de-polluting architecture. Its architecture generates its own energy from renewable sources and recycles its own waste and wastewater. In total, 12,000 m² of new green spaces and phyto-remediation lagoons will take root in the neighborhood to make it breathe better and promote the development of a biodiversity corridor. Meanwhile, there is a new law that Parisians can now use free public spaces to create gardens. People are now removing parts of the concrete to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables. So now you have plants going up buildings, and when you step into these areas it is immediately cooler.

Outside in

Beauty and hygiene brands are also harnessing and repackaging the many benefits of nature. In particular, they are tapping into new formats and channels to deliver the sensory qualities of the outdoors – from scent to sound. Statistics suggest we now spend about 90% of our time indoors, almost 70% of which is at home according to Delos. Considering we spend so much time inside, there is an opportunity to find novel ways to reconnect with nature. 

Described as an ‘anti-stress supplement that delivers the healing effects of nature on the body’, The Nue Co’s Forest Lungs fragrance is inspired by the concept of medicalising nature. It fuses olfactory chemistry and patented technology to replicate the molecular compounds produced in forests called phytoncides. Clean botanics brand Amass takes a similar approach with a non-alcoholic spirit inspired by coniferous forests designed to connect Self-Care and social rituals.

Meditative Design is one of the 5 Self-Care Trends for 2022 identified by lafuenteprosthetics and Tom Savigar, founder of Avansere, to offer what we all need most at this unique time: new rituals and habits to take wellbeing and happiness into our own hands.

Check the other 4 trends:

Mindlessness Rising: the renaissance in reflective and mindless pursuits to elevate creativity, ingenuity and lifelong learning.
Movertainment: exercise as a form of entertainment and escapism.
Curator Culture: coping with too much data and people’s attention spans getting shorter.
Restful Realities: new solutions for one of the most neglected aspects of wellbeing – sleep.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Photo by Eunice Lui on Pexels
Photo by Mark Olsen on Unsplash

Sleep quality, patterns, and duration may vary among countries, but one thing’s clear: people still aren’t getting enough sleep. Losing just one or two hours of sleep per night can have the same impact on motor and cognitive functions as going without sleep for a full day or two. 

Sleep crisis

According to the 2020 Philips Global Sleep Survey, nearly two thirds of adults worldwide feel that they don’t sleep well when they go to bed, with worry and stress reported as the most limiting factor to a good night’s sleep (33%). This might come as no surprise when you consider the primary factors contributing to the growth in sleep aids: the rising age of the population; growing rate of obesity globally; changing lifestyles; and increased number of people experiencing mental health issues.

Soft solutions

A growing awareness in the treatment of sleep is one reason why the global market for sleep aids and technologies is rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1%. Interestingly, ‘hard’ solutions for sleep (pills, powders, drinks, concentrates, emulsions etc) are being outperformed by ‘soft’ solutions. 

These refer to anything that is not ingested by the end-user, such as apps, wearable technology, smart beds, pillows and mattresses, and other external monitors and devices. Furthermore, overall, growth looks promising in the sleep industry with connected sleep technology that integrates artificial intelligence, speech recognition and advanced analytics.

Sleep apps

While sleep is often the first to be neglected with people’s hectic schedules, there are more soft solutions becoming available. One area that is experiencing growth is sleep-tracking apps that promise to help people establish a more ingrained rhythm for their body clock and help their brain better prepare for sleep. 

SleepScore for example allows people to set sleep goals and gives actionable advice for reaching them. It also provides detailed sleep-stage data and tracks and records sleep accurately for the long term and helps people create a path toward improvement. Sleep Cycle on the other hand uses clean graphs to let people easily see general sleep patterns trends, as well as smart-alarm sounds and lulling sounds so that getting up and going to bed both feel a lot more pleasant.

However, while apps can help limiting screen time at least 30-60 minutes before sleep is something consumers are aware of, but rarely do. New research in the journal Sleep showed that the majority of Italians (92%) reported an increase in electronic device usage at bedtime during the 2020 lockdowns, and these respondents all had an increase in insomnia issues, shorter sleep times, later bedtimes, and later wake times. 

Advanced bedrooms

Setting the bed for success is critical on top of keeping one’s bedroom cool and dark. Miami-based next-generation sleep tech company Eight Sleep is expanding into Europe in a bid to “fuel human potential through optimal sleep”. The Pod Pro Cover, which can be fitted over any double and king mattress up to 40cm in height, enables its user to create a personalized microclimate in bed. Health-grade sensors and AI learning allow the innovative smart cover to adapt to sleep patterns and the ambient climate to give its user a better night’s rest. Eight Sleep also recently launched SleepOS, the world’s first operating system for sleep optimization that will give users invaluable insights on key health metrics. 

Meanwhile, independent fragrance label Scent by SIX is launching a scent collection to promote enhanced sleep quality. Following its recent shift towards mental health as a core brand focus, the Sleep Returns collection was developed in partnership with aroma technology company Takasago.

Recuperative hotels

Meanwhile, hospitality companies are also capitalizing on the rise in sleep ‘debt’, as more people accumulate less and less sleep over time and require recuperative experiences to reset sleep balance.

The new Equinox hotel in NYC is a temple for total recuperation experiences in the bedroom. Designed with performance and regeneration in mind, the space is an oasis: dark, quiet, and cool. AM and PM Rituals leave guests primed to perform in ways they never thought possible. With a high-grade STC (Sound Transmission Classification), each room is a quiet, calming chamber for truly restorative rest.

Restful Realities is one of the 5 Self-Care Trends for 2022 identified by lafuenteprosthetics and Tom Savigar, founder of Avansere, to offer what we all need most at this unique time: new rituals and habits to take wellbeing and happiness into our own hands.

Check the other 4 trends:

Mindlessness Rising: the renaissance in reflective and mindless pursuits to elevate creativity, ingenuity and lifelong learning.
Movertainment: exercise as a form of entertainment and escapism.
Curator Culture: coping with too much data and people’s attention spans getting shorter.
Meditative Design: demystifying personal development and encouraging positive moods.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Miriam Alonso on Pexels
Photo by JP Valery on Unsplash

As temperatures drop and days turn icy outside, we all start to feel the chill. We have specialized clothing and gear to help protect us from the cold, and we pull on coats, hats, scarves, and winter boots. But the winter chill can really start to sting — especially in your fingers and toes. When coming back from a brisk walk outside, you might feel an unpleasant tingling or numbness in your feet, or even a dull ache. This is your body’s way of telling you that your toes are too cold! Aside from being uncomfortable, letting your feet get too cold can be dangerous — frostbite can occur in a shorter time than you might think. One way to help keep this condition at bay is to protect your feet with socks for cold feet with poor circulation, which can help keep your toes toasty and prevent injury and damage. 

How to improve poor blood circulation

So how do you improve poor blood circulation in your feet when the weather outside is frightful? It’s not as simple as just adding a pair — or three — of thick woolen socks to your outfit. This adds bulk to your feet, which may make it difficult or even impossible to put on your winter boots. Tight boots that rub against your feet are not only uncomfortable, they may also cause foot ailments like bunions, corns, or hammertoe. Make sure to purchase boots that fit your feet well and give your toes plenty of room to move comfortably, without your foot slipping around. 

Cold toes, numbness and other foot problems due to cold are because of a lack of circulation to the feet. When the body is cold, it tries to conserve heat in the core, or abdomen, by reducing blood flow to appendages like the hands and feet. This is why you feel the tingling and pain in your feet when outside in the cold for too long. So what can you do? 

Try adding a pair of compression socks — like these from lafuenteprosthetics — to your cold-weather routine. Compression socks can help increase blood flow to your feet, making it  less likely that you’ll feel the burn of tingly toes and frozen feet. These compression socks are made of moisture-wicking bamboo, which keep your feet dry and comfortable. Try putting on the compression socks under a pair of wool socks for a snug — but not too tight! — fit under your winter boots or snow boots. This will help to keep your tootsies warm and ease the discomfort that comes from frozen feet.

Foot-Friendly winter skin routine

Make sure to also care for your feet during the winter months by keeping them clean and dry, and moisturizing each night with a thick cream. This helps prevent cracks and dry skin that can be exacerbated by cold weather.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Cottonbro on Pexels
Photo by Revac on Pexels

Whether it’s indigestion, menstrual cramps, muscle strain, or some mystery ailment you just can’t quite pinpoint, abdominal pain affects all of us at one time or another. Of course, if you experience constant, sharp, or extreme abdominal discomfort, you should seek help from a medical professional. But for the more run-of-the mill aches and pains, applying warm pressure to the trouble spot is often quite effective. How does a heating pad for stomach pain help relieve discomfort? For pain related to muscle tension, a warm compress helps to relax the muscle, which eases pain and provides soothing relief.

Benefits of a heating pad on stomach

For many women, the arrival of their monthly menstrual cycle can bring on symptoms like headaches, fatigue, irritability, and one of the worst offenders, abdominal cramping. One way to help alleviate this pain without resorting to medicine is a simple heat compress, like lafuenteprosthetics’s Heatbag. Easy to use and instantly soothing, heated compresses are an ideal solution for quick relief from menstrual cramps. 

Heating pads may also provide relief for strained muscles due to exercise or minor injuries, like those that could occur during a vigorous yoga class or after engaging in a sport you haven’t done in a while.

This is because heat helps dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow to the area. It also encourages nerves to block pain signals to the brain. Additionally, warm pressure helps move excess lactic acid away from muscles. Heat provides all of these benefits to help keep soreness and discomfort at bay.

Other conditions that may cause stomach discomfort

There are many illnesses and afflictions that can contribute to stomach pain. It’s important to listen to your body and pay attention to any changes you may notice over time. Some conditions, like appendicitis, need to be treated immediately and may require surgery. That’s why ongoing pain should never be ignored. While applying warm heat to ease your abdominal discomfort may provide short-term relief for muscle pain and cramps, more serious, continuous pain should be checked by a medical professional. 

Conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), food poisoning, and other digestive issues that are a result of consuming foods that don’t agree with you may not resolve with warm pressure. Rather, you should work with your doctor — and your body! — to address any food sensitivities that may be present to resolve these issues.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Cottonbro on Pexels

There are many things that cause sleep disruptions. Everything from loud, noisy neighbors, street noise, stress, pain, and even a room that’s too warm can lead us to that place we all dread so much — staring at the ceiling (or our smartphones) for hours, feeling our eyelids grow heavy, but never really reaching the point of drowsiness when we can fall asleep. Everyone experiences sleeplessness and insomnia sometimes, but there is another culprit for lack of sleep that many people may overlook — shift work. Anyone who’s working a job that includes a schedule that changes often or whose schedule differs from the “normal” daytime workday is susceptible to shift work sleep disorder. 

But what is shift work? Shift work is when your job schedule is different from the typical 9-to-5 workday. Individuals who work shift jobs have schedules that may vary to the point where some days you are working during the day, and other shifts occur at night. These types of jobs tend to be medical, restaurant and other service positions, security, and a variety of other professions. 

Tips for working night shift

Many shift workers choose to try to go to sleep as soon as they arrive home from their job, sometimes early in the morning or at midday. Some people choose to stay up for a few hours after completing their shift and structure their day similarly to a “regular” workday, spending a few hours after work doing other activities before going to bed. Whatever you choose to do, remember that consistency is key. This means that you should stick to roughly the same hours on your days off that you do on your workdays, within reason. 

For instance, if your overnight shift at the hospital is 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., you might arrive home around 6:45 a.m., eat a meal, do some chores or household tasks, and then go to bed around 9:00 a.m., which would give you about 8 hours of sleep before having to wake up and get ready for your next shift. Sticking to a similar schedule day in and day out can help reduce sleeplessness caused by working irregular hours. 

Block out the light with an eye mask

A big culprit in shift-work sleep disorder is light. When you sleep during the day, it’s obviously bright outside, and even thick curtains aren’t always enough to block out the daylight. That’s why it’s also important to invest in a good eye mask, like this one from lafuenteprosthetics, that is designed to effectively block out all light and give you a sense of total darkness. It’s essential to also make sure your choice of eye mask is comfortable and fits snugly on your head, while also letting your eyelids move without pressure. This ensures a comfortable sleep period free from breakthrough light and disturbances. 

Earplugs, a quiet room that’s not too hot, and comfortable bedding are also key items to think about when trying to avoid shift-work sleep disorder. You could also consider taking melatonin, which has been shown to help improve sleep-wake patterns in travelers who cross time zones as well as people who work alternating work schedules. 

One last tip to ensure good sleep: make sure to set your phone on silent and let your friends and family know your schedule to ensure an unbroken rest period. Sweet dreams!

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photos by Cottonbro on Pexels

The idea of coaching is probably pretty familiar to most people. A coach is someone who helps motivate and encourage another person, whether that’s in sports, personal and life development, or any type of skill. Other terms that mean close to the same thing are mentor, tutor, or trainer. Many times, athletics come to mind when you think about having a coach — but sports are not the only type of activity in which coaching or mentoring can be incredibly useful. Whether it’s developing your muscles, skills, or speed, or keeping on track with a hoby, program, or habit, having an accountability partner can be an extremely useful asset as you work toward your ultimate goal. 

Accountability partner definition

An accountability partner is the person you go to when you’re in need of support, encouragement, advice, and coaching, whether your goal includes losing weight or improving your running times. Sometimes people will choose to set goals together, as a partnership or a team, to help hold each other accountable for keeping to a schedule, maintaining records of progress, and giving mutual support in pursuit of the shared objective. 

A lot of times, people will enter into these kinds of partnerships in order to keep each other accountable when they are working on a goal like sticking to a diet, a health program, a meditation or yoga practice, or a training regime. Accountability partnerships can be useful for all sorts of different habits and pursuits, not just athletics or exercise or diets. 

If you are trying to start a practice of working on a book or writing every day, you could set up an arrangement with a friend to check in with each other at the end of each week and vow to write for twenty minutes a day, or for a certain number of words per day. The fact that you will be checking in with another person and not just relying on your own willpower to work toward your goal can boost confidence and encourage you to stick to your goal. 

Positive feedback and constructive criticism

Having an accountability partner is also a useful tool for receiving feedback on your progress. Whether you’re working on a creative project like writing or painting, or a more physical goal like getting fit or working out a certain number of days per week, having someone to bounce ideas off of and to provide you with constructive feedback can be a game changer. Give each other tips and be honest about what you think to help maximize the effectiveness of the accountability partnership.

Keeping track of your own progress individually can also be a big part of staying accountable. Try keeping a journal and writing down your thoughts at the end of each workout session, writing sprint, or meditation period. You can share your recorded thoughts with your accountability partner, or you can keep them private. 

Even if you don’t choose to share your journal, or even if you never look at it again, it’s helpful to express yourself by putting pen to paper. This tool has been recommended by coaches for years, and it's a proven way to help process emotions, build on your accomplishments, and grow emotionally. Try the Self-Care Journal from lafuenteprosthetics, which helps you keep track of the ways in which you take care of yourself and dedicate time each day to focus on your personal goals for self care and self improvements. 

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Elina Fairytale on Pexels
Photo by Gary Barnes on Pexels
Photo by Cottonbro on Pexels

As we approach the two-year anniversary of the initial coronavirus lockdowns, most people who have the ability to work remotely are still working from home. Even though many parts of “normal life” have returned, Covid-19 has kept millions of workers in their home offices, disrupting typical workday routines and making video calls the norm. For some, this break from office life has been extremely difficult. Finding the motivation to stay on task and focus during working hours without the structure of being in the office can be a challenge. Because lines have become blurred between work hours and leisure time, many people are working longer hours, resulting in aches and pains that can be tricky to treat. 

Examples of work-related pain include neck pain, hip and back pain, repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome in the hands, or stress on the knees or shoulders from repeated motion. Work-related pain has many diverse sources, and you should always discuss your personal situation and symptoms with your doctor before attempting to alleviate or treat chronic pain on your own. 

Ways of managing pain at work

There are many ways to treat work-related pain. Of course, the first step should be to make sure you eliminate all factors that could be causing you continued physical stress. Make sure to lift with your knees rather than your back, and try to avoid carrying heavy objects above your head. Align your workspace so that your hands and wrists are able to move comfortably on the keyboard. This might include using modified computer accessories and other aids to position your chair and workspace in such a way that you don’t put stress on your hands, back, and shoulders. Practicing good posture and using a cushion and office chair that encourage you to sit correctly are also great ideas.

To ease the discomfort of aches and pains that come with working long hours, there are also palliative options that can go a long way toward making your workday more comfortable and helping you become more productive during the day. For tense shoulders and stressed muscles, try a warm compress, like the Heated Neck Wrap from lafuenteprosthetics. This is a simple, portable way to help reduce work-related stress and tension. Or try Heatbag, which can be warmed or cooled to help soothe tired feet, menstrual cramps, or other aches and pains that crop up after a long day at the computer.

Ease eye strain and headaches with warm or cool compresses

Blue-light blocking glasses can help with insomnia or eye strain that can come from looking at computer, phone or tablet screens for too long. But how do you treat headaches and eye pain that also accompany typical office work? Relaxing for a few minutes with your eyes closed and applying warm or cool pressure to the eyes and forehead can be a great way to refresh your eyes and help ease tension headaches. Try an eye mask that can be warmed up or cooled down according to your preferences. Sit back and close your eyes for a few minutes of relaxation and let the gentle pressure of the mask soothe away stress and tension. 

For tired feet and legs, compression socks can work wonders. Compression socks work by improving circulation in the feet and legs, keeping your tootsies warm and comfortable for long periods of sitting or inactivity. Compression socks also encourage healthy circulation, which is great for easing cramps and helping to reduce the risk of varicose veins.

To prevent injury and stay comfortable at work —as well as manage work-related pain— it’s key to pay attention to your body’s cues. Stand up for frequent walks, stay hydrated, and take breaks throughout the day to keep your body moving. Arrange your workspace ergonomically to help prevent repetitive stress issues, and don’t forget to take a few minutes each day to rest your eyes and recharge your mind. 

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

It’s well-known that humans are social creatures. As advanced mammals, we live in groups, form close family bonds, and thrive when we are able to interact and connect with other human beings. When deprived of opportunities to frequently engage with others in positive ways, humans suffer declines in mental and emotional health — and may even see negative physical effects. As positive social interactions decline, people could see a rise in blood pressure and cortisol levels. So what exactly is the connection between social relationships and mental health? Let’s take a look at the ways healthy social and emotional relationships can benefit our overall health and wellness. 

Social connections and wellbeing

When people are denied social interaction, their physical and mental health suffers. That’s why establishing healthy, ongoing social relationships — with friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues at work — is a key part of emotional Self-Care. Though personalities and preferences vary greatly, in general, people are genetically wired to want to be around others. We need to bounce ideas off of each other, share experiences, and feel love and affection. Forming and maintaining healthy personal relationships can help stave off anxiety and depression, studies have shown. 

We also need to feel a physical proximity to other people, as well as experience touch, like hugging, in order to maintain a good emotional balance. Even when we can’t consistently be with other people physically — which has been the case for most people during the Covid-19 pandemic — it is still important to use the technology available to us to seek out and maintain relationships as much as possible. In the age of social distancing, it’s possible to find ways to connect with others safely. Try joining an outdoor exercise group, or organize activities with friends that take place out in the open air where everyone can maintain their own space. 

Emotional Self-Care in practice 

As part of your Self-Care routine, it’s important to take care of your physical self. This includes things like hot baths, walks through the park, and nourishing your body with good food. But emotional Self-Care should also be a big part of your overall practice. To satisfy your emotional needs and nourish your spirit, you might engage in the following practices to help improve the interpersonal relationships in your life as well as expand your circle of friends and acquaintances.

• Take time to figure out a few interests you’d like to pursue, and seek out others who share the same passion. Finding friends to whom you can relate and bond with over a common interest is a great way to maintain a healthy emotional balance. Friends are an important part of our social development, and a necessity for good emotional and mental wellbeing throughout life.
• Learn how to listen. One key way to have a friend is to be one — and developing good listening skills is a good way to earn people’s trust and deepen connections. When you hone this skill, you heighten your ability to understand and relate to others, which is an important factor when developing lasting relationships. 
• Know your limits. One oft-overlooked aspect of building and sustaining healthy relationships is understanding your own boundaries. Many people begin to feel “burned out” after social interactions, and it’s important to recognize the signs of this in order to care for your emotional wellbeing. This could look like heading home early from a gathering, taking a time-out in another room to collect your thoughts and meditate for a moment, or turning off your phone for a few hours to allow yourself time to relax and recharge before further interactions. 

Everyone’s methods or practicing Self-Care look different — after all, we are all unique! No matter what you do to take care of yourself emotionally, make sure you take time to look for signs that you might be feeling lonely, isolated, or depressed, and think about reaching out to a friend for an emotional boost. If you’re really feeling down and feel like you might need professional help, don’t hesitate to call your doctor or a local clinic hotline to be connected to a mental health professional. No matter where you are in life, many people struggle with feelings of loneliness, and there are resources available to address these issues.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Priscilla du Preez on Unsplash
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels
Photo by Roberto Nickson on Pexels

The beginning of a new year is a natural time to take stock of our lives and focus on how we feel and what we might like to change about ourselves and our habits. All around the world, there’s a collective atmosphere of the changing of the calendar ushering in a fresh new era, and there’s an expectation that this means you should put extra effort into ditching bad habits and becoming a whole new you. 

For a lot of people, that might mean quitting smoking, exercising more, or focusing on a personal goal. But what about mental health? The New Year can be a great time to assess how you feel and make positive changes geared toward improving the way you feel emotionally and curbing unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors.

Make a commitment to positive changes

Many New Year’s resolutions are geared toward getting your physical self into shape — diet programs and exercise routines come to mind. But although it’s obviously important to take care of your body, it’s equally crucial to pay attention to your mind and your emotional balance. After all, sound mental health is a big part of overall wellbeing, and it can be difficult to achieve goals aimed at improving your body without the right mindset in place.  

So what does that mean for your New Year’s resolutions? The beginning of a new year could mean you start practicing yoga, finally call to make that therapy appointment, or let go of unhealthy relationships.

These are all wonderful ways to approach mental health Self-Care, but you don’t have to make huge changes to see a positive impact on your own mental wellbeing. Just adding a few simple steps to your daily routine this January can bring you increased emotional balance. For example, you could try:

• Journaling: Write down your thoughts at the end of the day. Reflect on how you felt during difficult interactions and think about how you might do things differently. It might be helpful to try a guided journal experience that helps you focus on your feelings and trigger deep reflection, like this one from lafuenteprosthetics. 
• Set boundaries: When you’re overwhelmed, either at work or with personal obligations, it can be hard to stay calm and maintain your inner equilibrium. Practice setting boundaries by not taking on too much responsibility and asking for help when you need it.
• Meditation: Just five minutes a day of quiet reflection has been shown to be enough to positively impact your emotional wellbeing. Try finding a quiet spot in the morning, evening, or whenever you find yourself with a few extra minutes to sit quietly and turn inward. You might gently repeat a mantra of your choice, or you could just focus on the idea of quieting your body and mind. Try meditating for one week and think back on how you feel — you might be surprised at how much those few minutes can improve your mood and sense of peace. 

When to give yourself a break

There’s also an argument for abandoning New Year’s resolutions altogether. Some people have opined that making resolutions just sets people up for failure if they don’t work out — and this could be especially difficult given the collective experience we’ve all gone through over the last two years. Isolation, loss of loved ones, illness, and general unease are all rampant, and it might be true for some people that focusing on mental health means letting go of the rulebook and being kinder and more forgiving to themselves. 

Whatever you choose to do — make a list of resolutions, or throw it out the window — make sure you keep in mind a few key questions to ask: Are you being kind to yourself? Kindness is a big part of emotional and mental Self-Care, and just keeping this principle in mind may be enough to help guide you into a more balanced and positive New Year. 

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Cristian Escobar on Unsplash
Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash
Photo by Cliff Booth on Pexels

New innovations are helping millions of people find effective ways of switching off or risk burning out as work creep grows. The pandemic has forced people to use their homes as a central space for work and play and socializing, which has never happened before at such a pace. As a result, we are having to find the best ways to not only manage time and space at home, but also manage the energy levels of ourselves, and others we work with.

New domestic realities

The more people work, the less time they have to spend on Self-Care. During the pandemic many people envisaged a life of lie-ins and long lunches when covid-19 lockdowns forced their offices to close and working from home became routine. However, daily commutes have been replaced by endless emails and video-meetings. A new report by Atlassian, a developer of workplace software, found that people around the world are working for longer, on average, than they did before the pandemic – especially into the evening. 

With high levels of stress continuing to be a major health concern, consumers are looking to floral remedies to bolster their physical and mental health. Graphic design studio Osk Studios and Space10 are exploring how to help people better understand their feelings. Their conceptual project, Mood Blossom, proposes a new method of communicating emotions using visualizations of flowers. It presents an AI-generated flower that changes shape and color in response to user feedback around their current state of mind. Once the assessment is complete, users are encouraged to keep the flower image in their home. By doing so, the project seeks to shift mental wellbeing away from clinical aesthetics.

Releasing the pressure

Meanwhile, there is a growing backlash against persistent betterment as consumers realize that a goal of having it all is leading to a deteriorating sense of wellbeing. The BBC has reported a rise in self-trackers who use various strategies – such as recording their activities every 15 minutes – to analyze their life experiences in the ultimate act of betterment. And according to Ace & Tate, 92% of us feel pressure from society to always be progressing. 

Consumers will increasingly develop an attitude to work that prioritizes personal fulfillment above striving for success. More and more millennials are now taking a step back from current workplace stressors and digress to the level of an intern, according to Deloitte. As an alternative, many millennials who began in traditional career-track jobs have started to regard internships as an opportunity to relaunch careers, or switch professional paths before it becomes too late. “Without perspective, people can continue on a hamster wheel of life wondering why burnout, boredom and complacency result,” says Sue Hawkes, author of Chasing Perfection. 

The art of mindlessness

In addition, raised in the attention economy, more of us will remind ourselves how to embrace the state of being bored. The increasing popularity of niksen – a Dutch relaxation technique that encourages stillness and sanctioned daydreaming – represents a re-appraisal of how we view idleness. One benefit of niksen is that it can help people come up with new ideas, according to Ruut Veenhoven, a sociologist and professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands who studies happiness and the director of the World Database of Happiness. “Even when we ‘niks,’” or do nothing, “our brain is still processing information and can use the available processing power to solve pending problems,” he says, which in turn can boost one’s creativity. This could manifest in having a breakthrough solution to a problem on a walk or a great business idea reveal itself while daydreaming.

Positive boredom

Brands will increasingly innovate with the renaissance of the ‘hobby’, as consumers learn to recognise the value in repetitive and mindless activities. Temporary Academy for Un/Re/Learning is a programme based in The Philippines that enables students to learn deeper human skills such as drawing and making music from a number of ‘dropouts, minorities and outcasts’. 

Nature can also incur positive boredom. Shackleton Whisky for example lures consumers into Britain’s connectivity-free rural areas with a series of interactive maps. Meanwhile, the Feminist Bird Club, which brings LGBT+ consumers, women and people of colour together for bird-watching activities, has reached more than 2,500 members worldwide. ‘[Birding] just reset my goals in life,’ says Ryan Mandelbaum, who has re-organised his life to center on birdwatching. ‘Rather than pursue success, now I just pursue doing the thing I like.’

Mindlessness Rising is one of the 5 Self-Care Trends for 2022 identified by lafuenteprosthetics and Tom Savigar, founder of Avansere, to offer what we all need most at this unique time: new rituals and habits to take wellbeing and happiness into our own hands.

Check the other 4 trends:

Movertainment: exercise as a form of entertainment and escapism.
Curator Culture: coping with too much data and people’s attention spans getting shorter.
Meditative Design: demystifying personal development and encouraging positive moods.
Restful Realities: new solutions for one of the most neglected aspects of wellbeing – sleep.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Geraldine Lewa on Unsplash
Photo by Priscilla du Preez on Unsplash

Over the past two years, and for the foreseeable future virtual fitness is enjoying significant growth, inspiring gyms and instructors worldwide to offer live and on-demand workouts during lockdowns. While many of us adapted our health and fitness rituals to being confined in our homes, we also realized the potential of new forms of movement and entertainment combined. 

Health escapism 

Indeed, more of us are now turning to exercise as a form of entertainment and escapism. According to Ipsos, ‘luxury’ is now seen as a dream space and an escape from anxiety and consumers increasingly expect creativity, dreams and wonderment when they engage in fitness experiences.

In response, the fitness industry is becoming more content-driven as people expect new forms of entertainment to inspire their workouts. ‘We once played video games in malls, but then people discovered they could play at home and experience the same connection,” said Brad Olson, chief membership officer at Peloton in Fast Company. ‘The same is happening for fitness.’

Phygital fitness

The future of fitness will be a blend of digital and physical, which is encouraging when you look at Equinox Media, a subsidiary of Equinox Group, which is aiming to expand the luxury gym operator’s digital platform. The upscale fitness chain made its name on eucalyptus towels, lavish facilities and expensive equipment. But its future is starting to rely on phone screens as people's habits have changed. Expensive memberships to its roughly 100 gyms across the United States served as Equinox's primary revenue driver for its three-decade existence. Digital, meanwhile, wasn't top of mind. That changed last year when the company started selling stationary bikes that streamed SoulCycle classes and launched an app, called Equinox+, that is loaded with spin classes, meditation, strength training, boxing and Tom Brady-backed recovery workouts.

This is an idea that is also underpinned by digital fitness platform Obé, which developed its Workout Parties after noticing members were using video chatting to exercise together. Features like this recreate the social element of group workouts in virtual classes. Founders Ashley Mills and Mark Mullett created Obé with the hopes of blending entertainment and fitness, which has fostered a roster of spirited instructors and fun, themed classes. Turning a solo workout into a party with friends or family is one way to make exercise seem more like a highlight in your day than a chore. 

Engaging exercise

Consumers are quickly realizing that the more entertaining a fitness experience is, the more they feel the physical and emotional reward of a workout. And this is crucial to building more sustainable fitness habits. These experiences focus not only on rational benefits, but also on positive emotional and sensational benefits that are intrinsically linked to motivation and adherence.

Social media has been instrumental in this shift. Across TikTok, posts tagged with #dancetutorial have been viewed over 7bn times to date. Ryan Heffington, the award-winning Los Angeles-based choreographer, has turned to Instagram Live to host Sweatfest – an enjoyable hour-long dance workout that he streams each week. For fitness influencers, ‘FitTok’ enables instructors to transform seemingly endless and often lowbrow amusements into something that makes the idea of living an active life seem fun and more accessible.

Movertainment is one of the 5 Self-Care Trends for 2022 identified by lafuenteprosthetics and Tom Savigar, founder of Avansere, to offer what we all need most at this unique time: new rituals and habits to take wellbeing and happiness into our own hands.

Check the other 4 trends:

Mindlessness Rising: the renaissance in reflective and mindless pursuits to elevate creativity, ingenuity and lifelong learning.
Curator Culture: coping with too much data and people’s attention spans getting shorter.
Meditative Design: demystifying personal development and encouraging positive moods.
Restful Realities: new solutions for one of the most neglected aspects of wellbeing – sleep.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Annie Sprat on Unsplash
Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash

Society at large perceives that a big part of someone's success is determined by how quickly they are able to digest lots of information, including, but not limited to new names, social media content, life and work processes, software, passwords and responsibilities etc. ​​When our brains are overloaded with too much data from the outside world, we can struggle to absorb, process, and make sense of it — hampering our ability to make smart decisions and perform at our best. 

From overload to underload

It is no surprise then that as people’s attention spans drop from an average of 12 seconds to 8 seconds since 2000, according to Microsoft, a new era in mental health is emerging — the curator economy. Over the coming years, as the level of data and information continues to rise in magnitude and intensity, consumers will increasingly turn to products and services that enable them to select, find and cut down to show what really matters most to them most.

“Over the past fifty years...curation has (had) a performative or service role; how it is directed out, towards an audience. Now we reach the limits of this interpretation, the frontier of curation: ourselves”, writes author Michael Bhasker in Curation: The power of selection in a world of excess. This marks not only a further shift in what it means to curate, but also a change in how we relate to our lives.

Choice optimisation

Saturated with information overload and an excessive range of parameters for decision making, people will increasingly struggle to grasp what they want and why they want it. Our choices define us, and our wellbeing is dependent on the ability to exercise choices, but too much choice backfires. “The feeling of choice, rather than its reality, is what we want”, says Bhasker.

New innovations are being built to help people sift through the information age, organizing ideas instead of producing them. After a year of helping small businesses navigate sales and operations during the global pandemic, with April 2021 revenue up 700 percent over the year prior, Curate has raised a €1.25 million seed to continue developing its modern sales and operations platform for florists, caterers and other creative businesses. “Sitting at the kitchen table, we realized that all of these spreadsheets and lists should be talking to each other,” says Curate founder Ryan O’Neil. “We started building a tool for ours and other florist businesses, but then started having catering companies ask us for software.”

Pro-curation

Meanwhile, the professional environment is increasingly being curated so that workers can identify a more enjoyable way of working. Indeed, once people find order in their work life, they feel empowered to find confidence, energy and motivation to create the career they want and move on from negative working practices. In the book Joy at Work, KonMari method pioneer Marie Kondo and organizational psychologist Scott Sonenshein help people to refocus their mind on what's important at work.

Curated retail

Curation is also making its way into hyperlocal retail concepts as the desire to shop in local neighborhoods is becoming more pronounced around the world. During this inter-Covid period, Accenture reports that 79% of global consumers plan to continue shopping in neighborhood stores. In China, Alibaba’s Freshippo grocery stores differ depending on local consumer income or dietary demands. Its Farmers’ Markets cater for more price-sensitive consumers living on the outskirts of top-tier cities, while in lower-tier cities Freshippo’s Mini store format is a tenth of the size of its regular outlets, and can be quickly set up to provide fast access to quality produce.

Curator Culture is one of the 5 Self-Care Trends for 2022 identified by lafuenteprosthetics and Tom Savigar, founder of Avansere, to offer what we all need most at this unique time: new rituals and habits to take wellbeing and happiness into our own hands.

Check the other 4 trends:

Mindlessness Rising: the renaissance in reflective and mindless pursuits to elevate creativity, ingenuity and lifelong learning.
Movertainment: exercise as a form of entertainment and escapism.
Meditative Design: demystifying personal development and encouraging positive moods.
Restful Realities: new solutions for one of the most neglected aspects of wellbeing – sleep.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Linkedin Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Most people have heard of the “intelligence quotient,” or IQ. This is a standardized way to measure a person’s intelligence, consisting of various questions aimed at assessing how the person deals with logic. The results are graded by a number on a scale to give a numerical representation of a person’s intelligence. This covers so-called “smarts” — but what about emotional intelligence? The importance of emotional intelligence has been well-established over the last few decades. It is just as important as IQ when it comes to evaluating a person’s overall ability to move successfully through the world, participate in the tasks and social interactions that make up our daily activities, and live a generally content life. 

Emotional intelligence and personal wellbeing

The most obvious question is: Just what is emotional intelligence? If IQ is a measure of “smarts” or intellect, how do we gauge emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is basically a person’s capability to perceive, understand, process, and control emotions. Some people are very emotionally aware, and are able to quickly and effectively gauge the emotions of others. These people might be referred to as empaths, as they are highly aware of how others are feeling, and they’re usually able to temper their own actions in response.  

Most people would fall into a more middle category of emotional perception, meaning that they are able to recognize and respond to others’ emotional cues with a good degree of accuracy. Some people are less-attuned to the emotional needs of others, and they could be described as more narcissistic — focused on their own needs and ignorant of the needs of others. 

Emotional intelligence is partially innate, but it can also be learned and developed over time. Having a healthy emotional intelligence is a big part of having healthy relationships, in which each party takes care to understand and react appropriately to the feelings of the other person. This goes a long way toward achieving personal wellness, or an overall sense of contentment and satisfaction with one’s relationships and place in the world. 

Self-Care: the key to emotional wellness?

Achieving personal wellness and creating fulfilling, healthy relationships could be categorized under the banner of Self-Care. After all, the relationship we have with ourselves is the first, longest, and arguably most significant relationship we’ll have in our entire life. Taking time to quietly reflect on your interpersonal interactions and evaluate your actions — and reactions — to others is a good way to help process your emotions and develop a stronger emotional intelligence. 

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Womanizer Toys on Unsplash
Photo by Chewy on Unsplash

Most people have probably heard of personal hygiene — especially if we’ve shared an elevator with someone who’s not very good at it! Personal hygiene is something we tend to take for granted as a part of our daily routines: brushing teeth, showering, and maybe adding a spritz of cologne behind our ears. You may have also heard of “sleep hygiene,” which is all about taking steps to develop a before-bed routine that encourages better sleep, like avoiding screens before bed, steering clear of caffeinated beverages, and getting enough exercise. But not as many people are familiar with the concept of mental hygiene. Mental hygiene is — you guessed it — the practice of being proactive about maintaining good mental health. How? Read on for three easy ways to improve your mental hygiene. 

Self-Care is part of a good mental hygiene routine

Good mental hygiene is all about caring for yourself and doing the things you need to do in order to stay calm, focused, and content — in other words, your best self. This kind of routine will look different for everyone. 

You might be the kind of person who needs a lot of physical activity and time outdoors in order to feel your best. That means that your mental hygiene routine should include regular exercise, walks, and sunshine to keep your vitamin D and endorphin levels high. Maybe your Self-Care for mental health looks more like getting enough sleep, visiting with friends, and regular meditation practice.

Whatever you need to do to keep a healthy balance, the important thing is to stay consistent. Healthy habits are built over time, and your mental health won’t change overnight.

How can you give your mental health a boost?

If you’re looking to start a Self-Care routine to positively impact your mental hygiene, try these easy tips to get you going. You can build on these suggestions and add your own personal methods for staying on an even keel and making sure you’re getting the things you need to maintain good mental hygiene.

• Connect with friends. Positive relationships are a big part of good mental hygiene. Think about the friendships you have in your life and whether they are truly serving you. Make sure you have individuals, whether it's family or friends, who you can count on to talk to and connect with on a regular basis. 

• Shut down your screen. Too much online time can lead to a decline in overall health, as well as mental hygiene. Try to turn off your phone, computer, and television at least one hour before bedtime to give your mind a chance to rest and calm down after the hectic rush of the day. 

• Write it down. Getting your emotions — good or bad — out on the page is a time-tested method for improving mental health and establishing a good mental hygiene routine. Try journaling first thing in the morning or before you go to bed at night. You don’t have to write a lot — even one page or a few lines is a good way to help center yourself and is a great part of a mental hygiene routine. 

No matter what you choose to do for your mental hygiene routine, think about the things that make you feel good and incorporate them when you can. If you’re consistent and mindful about your practice, you’ll start to see improvements in your mood, sleep, and overall contentment.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Once a year, everybody complains about the “lost” hour that happens when we reset our clocks for Daylight Savings Time. About six months later, the same people celebrate the “gained” hour when the clocks go back. Of course, nobody is really gaining or losing an hour — time stays the same, no matter what time our alarm clocks go off in the morning. But what does change is the feeling we may have when we have to wake up a bit earlier (or later) in the day. This phenomenon is due to our circadian rhythms, which are altered when we have to get out of bed at a different time. What are circadian rhythms, and how can we influence them to obtain better sleep and better overall health?

How to reset circadian rhythms

Circadian rhythms are the natural sleep and wake patterns everyone experiences over a 24-hour period. These patterns vary from person to person and may also change throughout our lives. Babies sleep much more than older children, and teenagers have a natural tendency to stay up later at night and wake up later in the morning — which can be a problem for teens who need to be at school bright and early. 

People’s circadian rhythms can also be influenced by things like changes in their work schedules, traveling to a different time zone, or overstimulation from bright lights — including electronic devices like mobile phones, tablets, televisions and computer screens. The blue light emitted by these devices stimulates the brain to become more alert and aroused, which may alter natural sleep-wake patterns if you spend too much time looking at them in the evening, after the sun has gone down.  

One way to help reset your sleep-wake patterns and nudge your circadian rhythm closer toward a healthy balance is to avoid viewing electronic screens late in the day, especially when you’re getting ready for bed. Try to turn off your devices at least an hour before bedtime, and make sure you allow enough time when going to bed to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. 

Tools to help achieve a balanced circadian rhythm

Because excess light can disrupt your circadian rhythm, it’s important to practice good sleep hygiene. This could mean engaging in a calming routine before bed, including Self-Care like meditation, a warm bath, or reading a good book. It could also include eliminating light that could interfere with your wind-down routine. Try using blackout curtains during the summer months when the sun goes down later and you need to go to bed, or use a sleep mask that blocks out the light and lets you rest comfortably.

During the dark winter months, some people might find it useful to use an indoor lamp that provides the light to our brains that we lose when the sun goes down earlier. Many people experience seasonal depression, or SAD, which can be improved with light therapy lamps. To help obtain a healthy circadian rhythm, aim to relax in front of the lamp for an hour or so during the morning or afternoon, while at your desk or doing a sedentary task like reading or sewing. 

Good sleep is a key component to good overall health, and maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm is an essential part of this objective.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash
Photo by Beazy on Unsplash

Self-Care is a long-term goal that is made up of countless micro-moments. It consists of creating healthy habits to take one’s wellbeing and happiness into one’s own hands becomes second nature. But to do that, we need first to be self-aware of all those things in our life that are affecting our overall wellbeing –then it will be easier to set goals and define what actions (routines and habits) we’ll take to achieve them.

Difference between goal, routine, and habit

A goal is something that you hope to achieve.

Routines are the way in which you regularly do things –they are uncomfortable and you must make an effort to do them.

Habits are things that have become part of your daily life with no effort.

So it means some routines will never be a habit. However, the potential of gaining new healthy habits by starting new routines is enormous.

The Circle of Self-Care

The Circle of Self-Care is a tool that allows you to overview the different pillars of your life to find a balanced wellbeing. It is helpful to quickly review and reflect on several aspects and keep a good track of your emotional, physical and mental Self-Care at that particular moment.

It doesn't matter if some areas have a rating of 10 while others have a low rating because to achieve a positive life, you have to keep all the different aspects nurtured.

There are 5 steps to take the most of the Circle of Self-Care:

1. Rate and review the different areas 
2. Analyze why you rate them like that and set goals to improve them 
3. Create short-, mid-, and long-term goals 
4. Create the routine that can become a habit 
5. Get your reward

From the Circle of Self-Care to new habits

You might ask yourself what you would like to improve in any of the Circle of Self-Care areas and why you would like to get it. And, finally, how you will accomplish that.

Here are some tips and suggestions about the how.

1 - Keep it simple

It's easy to start strong, but the purpose is to begin the routine with low intensity to find the motivation and eventually build the habit. Keep in mind that motivation comes and goes, so as Leo Babauta says, "make it so easy you can't say no." For example, if you want to run for an hour a day, start with 10 minutes and work your way up. What's more, you can split it and run 5 minutes at different times if it helps.

2 - Be consistent

Try to be as consistent as possible. Actions that you only repeat once in a while will never be a healthy habit or even a routine. Identify different patterns or repeated triggers throughout your days, such as activities, places, times, or any other existing habit, and think about how you can use that context to create a new one. It will be easier to keep them daily and stick to them. And try not to skip them for more than two days in a row. For example, do a minute of stretching while you wait for the kettle to boil.

3 - Add a little on top

If the first two steps are followed, it is time to improve gradually. Don't forget that each person needs their own time to maintain the habit. Although publications suggest you will get a habit after 21 or 40 days, creating a consistent routine does not work the same for everyone. For example, you have been meditating for 10 minutes for the past month. Maybe it's time to increase that to 15 minutes to get a little more.

4 - Review your progress

Don't be afraid to look back and check how the journey is going. You may realize it's not what you expected, or you may see what other things you could be doing instead: you may be willing to add a little more, or you may need to cut back to keep going. If there is a routine demanding too much of you –it may be mental, emotional, or physical– you will probably stop it.

5 - Celebrate the reward and move on

The reward should be the final step in creating a new healthy habit and could be the initial step for the next one. Take advantage of the benefit you have made and be consistent with it; don't let the habit become routine. Also, use the accomplishment to motivate you to keep thinking about what new healthy habits you can achieve.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Cottonbro on Pexels
Photo by Sage Friedman on Unsplash
Photo by Michael Burrows on Pexels

When we build new routines and habits to improve our wellbeing, it is always important to create goals that help us move forward and progress along the way. But sometimes, the goal alone is not enough, and we need something to motivate us: a reward. Here's how to define those rewards to get the most out of them.

How to create rewards

1 - Create the right rewards

Before starting, it is crucial to create a sound reward system. Although you should see your overall wellbeing as the greater goal, small milestones can be celebrated along the way. They will not only serve as an extra push but will also help you define your following habits.

Your reward can’t counteract or harm your progress towards your goals. If you intend to walk more, the reward should not be spending one day in bed. On the contrary, if you meet your walking goal, you could get a feet massage when getting at home.

The reward should be aligned with the nature of your goal and would be more potent if it is relevant and related to what you’ve just accomplished.

2 - Establish different levels

The system can be based on milestones or progress but also motivation or difficulty.

• Timing. You can define the goal, if short-, mid-, or long-term, and based on that, represent different milestones. You can get your reward when an important milestone is achieved and makes it easier to follow through.
• Difficulty. Depending on this, your motivation levels can be affected. If it is too hard, you can give yourself a smaller reward to keep you on and finally a great final reward.

For example, the first day can be tiny, the first week something small, the 6th month can be a medium reward, and finally, the big one after a year!

3 - It doesn't need to be physical

Not at all. When planning, you can think about which intrinsic rewards you would like to have: enjoy some intangible moments as an activity to discover, explore, learn… So you can think of a good moment to read, listen to music, a walk or a free evening as the perfect reward. Think about the pleasure of the most simple things.

4 - Not working? Review it

You know what would be the best for you. You might think the rewards you choose were the good ones to keep you motivated. But once you have started the process, you visualize yourself with the reward, and it does not make sense anymore.

You should think and reevaluate your reward system because you still consider the goal is worth it. It can be the reward itself, maybe the periodicity, etc. Experiment with different rewards. What were you missing?

5 - When to stop rewarding

Also, it is important to know when to stop rewarding, as there are goals that come to a natural end. Once the routine becomes a habit, it should not require almost motivation, and you can define your reward to another new goal.

6 - Writing it down

Writing down your rewards will increase your chances of commitment with them as you do with your goals. It also helps your mind organize and visualize your thoughts: you will think about them before writing them down, so they will be clear and accessible wherever you need to come back to them. Besides, it will become an easy habit you can benefit from to create new other habits around.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Nati Melnychuk on Unsplash
Photo by Tatiana on Pexels
Photo by Marta Wave on Pexels

Starting a new journal is never easy, and even less so when it's your first time doing it. To spark your mood and make you forget the fear of the blank page, we asked three Self-Care Journal users to show us some examples and give us their tips. Here are 3 Self-Care Journal ideas.

Anna

Anna is 34. She is from Michigan but she’s been living in New York for 5 years now. 2020 was the hardest one –too much time at home due to the lockdown. Now she feels she is starting almost from scratch in the city.

Paris, Texas is her favorite movie. She prefers her mom's potato salad rather than ramen, even though she has traveled to Japan five or six times already.

Her tips for filling out the Self-Care Journal are:

• Use different colors, once to write, another to highlight.
• For the daily check, I found it was much better to write concepts rather than long texts, which I keep for the open space.
• I journal just before brushing my teeth and going to bed, it helps me to keep my mind free of worries while sleeping.

Jin

Jin is 42. He works at a tech startup in Oxford and became a father for the first time two years ago. Since then he has been struggling to find the right balance between his personal and professional life.

He loves to play tennis (even if he has less time to practice now), and his childhood dream is to learn to play the piano.

His tips for filling out the Self-Care Journal are:

• Use capital letters. Writing each letter separately helps me focus on what I want to say and reinforces the concept in my mind.
• Drawing little emojis next to my intentions so I can take a quick glance.
• Every time I write in the journal, I light a candle and play quiet music to create a unique atmosphere that helps me reflect.

Olivia

Olivia is 37. She was born in Italy but raised in a suburb near San Francisco. She runs her own business, an online specialty coffee store that consumes most of her time. Last month she bought a house, so she feels it’s a great opportunity for a fresh start.

She loves to cook for his family –Italian pasta, of course– and enjoys listening to old classic 60's records. He would love to visit South America someday.

Her tips for filling out the Self-Care Journal are:

• I like to write what I feel exactly how it sounds in my head, it makes the process more natural –even if it does not make sense sometimes.
• I have a pen that I use exclusively for journaling. It helps me build a sense of continuity.
• Every morning when I wake up I read the intentions I wrote down the night before to keep them clear in my head.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Since we devoted ourselves to enabling contemporary Self-Care, we've been working on products that help build tiny, healthy habits to improve wellbeing. But after talking to our community, we also realized that wellbeing needs were very diverse and that some people were looking for something to help them identify those needs and build their own habits.

We then began to investigate how we could use our experience as designers to create a helpful product: Self-Care Journal.

Background: the benefits of journaling

We found that journaling was an activity with the potential to accomplish what we were looking for. Studies show how reflecting on your day-to-day life and putting it down on paper helps you become more self-aware and discover those that work fine and those that need improvement in your life. Also, it is helpful to have more control over your daily routines. In addition, journaling has other benefits, such as relieving stress or improving sleep.

The challenge

Journaling may seem like a task that doesn't require much: a sheet of paper and a pen may be enough. But we wanted to go further and create a journal that would easily capture the different aspects of life that matter and help keep track of them all. It had to be accessible to people who had never practiced before as well as satisfy heavy users. At the same time, it had to be a high-quality object that offered an enjoyable writing experience to make journaling a pleasant habit.

The solution

A balanced content

To create a smart journaling experience, we found a balance between guided questions that made it easy to keep track of daily habits and open spaces for reflection, optimizing the layout to prioritize content.

We also created the Circle of Self-Care, a visual way to overview different aspects of life and their evolution month by month.

Practical for everyday use

Intended to be used every day for three months (it has no dates, so you can start it whenever you want), we chose the best white soft paper for a fine writing experience.

We also designed it so that it can be opened 180 degrees, thanks to its Premium Smyth-sewn binding. This way, the entire surface area can be used comfortably.

We chose the A5 size because, after several tests, we found it to be the most suitable for the size of the hand. Not only is it easy to hold, but you can also take it anywhere if you need to.

Beautiful for your eyes

Both the exterior and interior design had to be appealing but minimalistic enough so that the most important thing was the content to be written on it. After considering different options, we finally decided to go for a gray hardcover and a white interior, with the typography in lafuenteprosthetics blue.

For the cover, we created a simple shape but full of meaning: an imperfect circle that simulates a lens, a place to look and reflect on yourself, suspended on a line representing the journey of your life.

The output

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care matters.

Pregnancy is a challenging time, both physically and mentally. Along with the excitement and anxieties that come with becoming an expectant parent, pregnant women can experience a great deal of discomfort that can interfere in their daily lives. Symptoms like acid reflux, sciatica, nerve pain, water retention, nausea and exhaustion are some of the more common ailments most people think of when pregnancy is mentioned. But another symptom that might be lesser-known is swollen feet, legs, and ankles. Because blood flow and fluids are both dramatically increased during pregnancy, a woman’s lower extremities might swell and become uncomfortable — or even painful. One solution? Compression socks for pregnancy. Compression socks can help ease the discomfort and provide relief from swelling.

Compression socks for pregnant women

As a pregnancy progresses, pain, discomfort, and pressure from added blood and fluid (as well as extra weight) can make lower-extremity edema worse. Compression socks, like these from lafuenteprosthetics, help constrict blood vessels in the legs and feet, preventing painful swelling. Compression socks should be put on in the morning, right before getting out of bed. This helps ensure legs and feet are minimally swollen, allowing the socks to be most effective at preventing swelling. 

Compression socks can help with spider veins

Compression socks may also be effective as a tool to help prevent varicose veins during pregnancy. Varicose veins, or spider veins, are swollen, painful veins — most often found in the legs and feet — that become overfull with blood. Because a pregnant woman’s blood pressure and blood volume is altered during pregnancy, these veins may become overworked and appear as dark red, purple, or blue lines on the skin. They may be temporary and resolve on their own, or they may become permanent. 

Compression socks can help ease the discomfort of spider veins and may help prevent them if used consistently. If you know you’re going to be on your feet a lot, or will be driving long distances or taking a long flight, compression socks may be a good option. 

Varicose veins can increase a person’s risk for deep vein thrombosis, or a blood clot, which can be fatal if left untreated. Compression socks are a simple, effective tool that can be used to help ease pain and discomfort in pregnancy, helping to reduce swelling and aid in the prevention of spider veins. 

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Amina Filkins on Pexels

Chronic pain affects millions of people around the globe. It’s one of the health issues to which doctors and researchers can’t ever seem to find a solution, and because it can be vague and difficult to pin down, people continue to suffer from chronic pain without a lot of answers or relief. But what is chronic pain? Chronic pain is identified as pain that persists for longer than six months, and can be a lingering result from an injury, surgery, or other kind of trauma. Frequent headaches are one of the most commonly cited types of chronic pain. Nerve damage can also cause chronic pain, but sometimes chronic pain seems to have no cause or source. 

Chronic pain treatment

Treating chronic pain can be difficult because it can be hard to identify its source or cause. Many physicians prescribe painkillers or other medications to address chronic pain, but this has many downsides. Patients can become addicted to narcotics, and pain medication can stop working over time, requiring chronic-pain sufferers to take higher and higher doses to achieve pain relief. Some doctors fail to address chronic pain at all, dismissing patients and telling them it is “all in their head.” People who suffer from chronic pain often struggle to find a doctor or treatment provider who will take their concerns seriously. 

Though it can be impossible to fully resolve chronic pain in some patients, there are a variety of therapies and treatments that can provide some degree of relief. If you suffer from chronic pain, try some of the following tips to address your issues.

1. Just breathe. Meditation has been shown to help relax tense muscles and ease stress, which is a major contributor to chronic pain. Try a guided meditation through an app, or join a group meditation online or in person.
    
2. Work it out. Exercise releases endorphins that boost mood, and may help reduce chronic pain. Increased blood flow and benefits to overall health are also some ways in which exercise can help address chronic pain.
   
   
3. Cut it out. Smoking, excessive drinking, and other substance-use issues not only have adverse effects on overall health, they may also play a role in chronic pain. Eliminating these can affect chronic pain levels.
    
4. Get some Zzzzs. Sleep deprivation can exacerbate issues with chronic pain. Practice good sleep hygiene, including sleeping in a dark room or using a sleep mask, to help get the right amount of sleep each night.
    
5. Stretch and bend. Gentle yoga and stretching can help work tense muscles and add to overall flexibility, as well as provide an important mental boost. Join an online hatha yoga class or practice a few minutes of mindful movement each day to help you wind down and move your body. 

Chronic pain doesn’t have to dictate how you speed your days. The above techniques, combined with treatment from a trusted physician, can help ease chronic pain and bring relief to sufferers. 

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care Matters.

Want to feel good?
At lafuenteprosthetics we're all about Self-Care and wellbeing. Join our community and you'll receive special offers and inspiration fresh to your inbox.

Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash
Photo by Dane Wetton on Unsplash
Photo by Elena Kloppenburg on Unsplash

We believe that the path to wellbeing is built on small micro-moments, rituals, and habits of Self-Care. But as in all journeys, there is always a first step: discovering yourself.

Only by knowing yourself, your routines, your goals, and your motivations can you begin to create the habits necessary to improve and end up becoming the best version of yourself. And what better way to do that than by writing your life on a piece of paper?

Journaling helps you be self-aware, observing how your life is and how you feel about it: writing down your thoughts enables you to understand them more clearly. Think of it as a way to gain control of your emotions and improve your mental health. It also helps you understand recent experiences, which will prepare you to face future similar scenarios. “It is about using personal experiences as a way of documenting an experience and learning more about yourself in the process," says psychotherapist Kathleen Adams. With all that knowledge about yourself, it’s easier to define the most suitable habits you can start to improve your wellbeing.

Convinced of the benefits of journaling, we thought about how to create a product for our community that would serve as a guide to self-discovery and, at the same time, be an enjoyable experience —the result: Self-Care Journal.

Self-Care Journal

Self-Care Journal is a project we have been working for a long time. It is a product that condenses our learnings and practices about habits: how to build, keep, and review them. We had some clear ideas from the beginning: it should be easy to use, engaging, beautifully designed, with a clear structure, and, above all, helpful.

“The most important exercise we have done is to decide what should go in, what should go out,” says our CEO Pablo Carrascal.

We have designed a product we feel everyone can “own.” It contains a balanced combination between guided questions and open spaces, so everyone can feel confident even if they have never journaled before. It allows you to easily track different aspects of your life –such as your nutrition, sleep and exercise habits–, reflect on your feelings, and evaluate your progress along the way visually and straightforwardly.

We also offer some examples to avoid the fear of the blank page here.

Our design process

We wanted to design a product accessible for people who already practice journaling and those reluctant to. Our day-to-day is quite different from one person to another, but we wanted to focus on what we believe are the essential Self-Care pillars, which we should share to achieve overall wellbeing.

“Something minimal, visually clear and easy to fill to have an own track, but inviting to express yourself freely and intimately,” explains Bàrbara Nicolau, graphic designer. This is not a check-box journal; this is a “How am I journal.”

It needed to be also a high-quality product, as it is aimed to be used every day for three months. Besides, it required to favor handwriting, so the materials were vital in the process.

You can read more about the design process here.

A physical and digital experience

Since journaling is a routine to nurture every day, in addition to the Self-Care Journal, we have created several online resources where we share ideas and tips to make the experience more accessible (especially for those who have never journaled before).

Building healthy habits, setting goals, and creating rewards are just some of the content that will periodically appear in the inbox as a complement to the Self-Care Journal.

How to use it

We encourage our community to set up a time for this self-reflection. If they schedule journaling into their day, they will be less likely to make excuses and have a profound moment for themselves. It should be a pleasant moment that eventually will become a routine. It is important to find a reminder that can help them take action in the beginning. We know it will be important to create an atmosphere to get comfortable to write about how you are.

lafuenteprosthetics.

Self-Care matters.