1. Sleeping in
Sleeping in has historically been associated with laziness. Remember your mum poking her head into your room and muttering “Are you still asleep?” As a result, our adult selves tend to feel guilty about enjoying a lie in too. But sleeping in is nothing to feel guilty about, and here’s why.
- Not getting enough sleep can cause you to put on weight
- People who sleep more tend to eat less
- Good sleep can make you smarter and more productive
- It can make you better at things like exercise and fitness activities
- Good sleep can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke
- Sleep is important for your metabolism
- Good quality sleep is key for fighting depression and anxiety
- Sleep improves your immune function and reduces inflammation
2. Getting some sun
We’re all hyper-aware of the dangers related to too much sun exposure, including melanoma and skin cancer. However, some sunlight is important for our human bodies to function. Getting a little sunlight is good for you for a range of reasons. It takes around 10 minutes a day of unprotected solar exposure on a small area of skin to produce around 5,000 IU of vitamin D, which is enough for most people.
- Light sun exposure is the only way for your body to synthesise vitamin D
- Some sun exposure could help you live longer
- Some UV exposure may help to lower your blood pressure
- Moderate sun exposure may also help you learn and improve your memory
- A little UV exposure has also been found to improve mood
3. Spending time socialising
As busy women with lives, we tend to feel bad no matter what we spend time doing. When we’re at work, we feel bad that we’re not at home, when we’re at home, we feel bad that we’re not working, when we’re socialising we feel like we should be focusing on other things. But socialising is one of our zero guilt activities. And here’s why.
- Social contact helps to reduce physical pain
- Socialising can significantly reduce stress levels
- Socialising can help our immunity and make us more resilient
- It helps to keep you mentally sharp as you get older
- Socialising makes you more likely to make healthy choices and stick with them
- People who socialise more are less likely to be depressed
- Those who spend more time socialising have higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness
4. Having a laugh
We’ve all heard the saying “Laughter is the best medicine.” Now, that may not be strictly true, but there definitely are health benefits associated with laughing on the reg. A good old fashioned giggle can have a host of associated positives, including…
- Laughing more can help to lower your blood pressure
- Laughter reduces stress
- Laughter reduces anxiety and depression
- Laughing more often boosts your immunity
- Laughter improves your mood and acts as a natural anti-depressant
- It’s a little like exercise, in that it improves respiration and oxygen consumption
- Laughter is good for your heart and cardiovascular system
- Laughter can help relieve stress
- Laughter acts like a natural pain killer
5. Drinking coffee
Ahh coffee. She’s the magical potion made from beans that brings us back to life every morning. Where would our motivation levels be without her? First we have the coffee, then we do the things. And for those regular coffee drinkers among you, it can be natural to feel guilty for drinking it. After all, it’s so darn enjoyable. But there’s a bunch of research which suggests that it’s actually a lot better for us than we may think.
- Coffee boosts energy levels and helps us feel less tired
- Coffee can help you burn more calories by speeding up your metabolism
- Coffee can also increase the amount of fat you burn
- Coffee can drastically improve your physical and mental performance
- Coffee contains a bunch of vitamins like manganese, potassium and magnesium
- Coffee may help reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes
- Studies have found coffee can help protect against Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia
- It’s also protective against liver disease, depression and it may reduce your risk of cancer too
6. Eating chocolate
Well naturally, chocolate contains sugar and calories. But there are a host of other associated benefits that make it less of a thing to feel guilty about and more of a thing to enjoy in moderation, 100% sans shame. And here’s why.
- Chocolate (particularly dark chocolate) contains a whole bunch of vitamins and minerals
- Chocolate is a powerful antioxidant which disarms disease-causing free radicals
- Chocolate consumption is associated with improved blood flow and reduced blood pressure
- Eating dark chocolate improves your good HDL cholesterol levels and reduces bad LDL cholesterol
- It may reduce your heart disease risk by up to a whopping 50%
- Chocolate is also great for your skin hydration levels, and may help protect skin from UV rays
- Eating chocolate can also increase the blood flow to your brain
- And make you smarter!
7. Taking some time off of social media
We’re all wired in, jacked in, turned on and available 24/7. In fact, the average person spends more than one hour and forty minutes on their device per day. And there can be negative health effects as a result. We tend to feel guilty for not being available all the time, but the truth is, we shouldn’t. Because being accessible all the time can be detrimental to our health. So, our last thing to not feel guilty about is taking a break from your devices and social media. These are some of the good things that are likely to happen as a result.
- A break from social media can improve your sleep duration and quality
- Taking some time off of social media can improve your mental health
- Disconnecting from your devices and social channels can improve your overall mood
- Less time on social will reduce your risk of depression due to social comparison
- According to researchers, social media is as addictive as cocaine, so the less time you spend on it, the less likely you are to stay addicted long-term
- Taking a break from social media can also help to improve your self-esteem
- Giving your devices the flick for a little bit can also help you reconnect with the real world, spend some face-to-face time with loved ones and live more in-the-moment, all of which has huge benefits for your physical and mental health
- On top of that, you’ll be surprised how much free time you have when you’re not staring at your phone all the time – and how enjoyable other things, like conversations, movies, dinner dates and more, can be when you’re not distracted by updating your digital squad on how it’s going.
So, there you have it MasterFasters, seven indulgences you can enjoy with ZERO GUILT.
Which ones are you going to try this week? Let us know in the comments!