‘So, will you take my Just One Thing challenge?’ asks Dr Michael Mosley, eyes glinting, in the first episode of a new TV series filmed by the Mail columnist.
Tragically, only two episodes were completed before his untimely and shocking death aged 67 while walking on a Greek island in the summer. But as he returns to our screens one final time, it is this infectious call-to-action that lives on.
Here, in the final part of our series celebrating the best of his advice, is Dr Mosley’s guide to making Just One Thing part of your daily routine, starting with the tweaks that will make lunchtime more life-enhancing.
LUNCHTIME LIFE SAVERS
Finish your meal with an apple
I love the flavour of an appleand I find it clears the palate. So I’m delighted that there is a lot of truth in the old saying that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’, Dr Michael Mosley wrote
WHEN I have lunch, whether it is some oily fish or a sandwich on the go, I like to finish with an apple.
I love the flavour and I find it clears the palate. So I’m delighted that there is a lot of truth in the old saying that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’.
Dr Catherine Bondonno, a nutritionist at the Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute at Australia’s Edith Cowan University, told me that, as well as containing lots of fibre, apples are rich in beneficial compounds called flavonoids.
‘Flavonoids are produced by plants to protect them from sunlight and disease and it is thought they have a similarly protective effect in humans when we eat them,’ Dr Bondonno explains.
‘Research has shown that flavonoids from fruit can increase the production of a molecule in our body called nitric oxide that regulates blood pressure and maintains blood vessel health.’
Most of an apple’s flavonoids lurk in or just under the skin – so you should eat your apples unpeeled.
Dr Bondonno says that, along with reducing inflammation and improving blood pressure, apples have been shown to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of diabetes.
As for which varieties are best, Dr Bondonno found those with the highest concentration of flavonoids are Pink Ladies.
Take a nap straight after lunch
Take a nap straight after lunch, Dr Michael Mosley wrote in his book Just One Thing
If you are a poor sleeper and often suffer from a mid-afternoon slump, instead of grabbing a tea or coffee, why not take advantage of this dip in energy to have a little shut-eye?
Recent research suggests that a nap can do wonderful things for your mind and for your body. Not only does it boost mood and wellbeing, but large studies have even shown a link between regular napping and good heart health.
One study found that an occasional daytime nap was associated with a 48 per cent lower risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure.
An afternoon snooze can improve your thinking skills, too.
Dr Sarah Mednick, a cognitive neuroscientist and sleep researcher at the University of California, is a big fan: ‘Our research shows that a good nap can produce the same benefits as a full night of sleep,’ she says.
‘A 20-minute nap is a useful way to push the reset button, increasing our alertness and attention as well as sharpening motor skills.’ The downside of a longer nap – anything lasting more than 30 minutes – is that you may find it harder to get to sleep in the evening.
And try to take it in the early afternoon, soon after lunch – no later than 3pm.
AFTERNOON PICK-ME-UPS
Get off your bottom
Image of people waking and running park: Spending more time standing is good for your blood sugars and for your bones
If you are a desk-based worker, by late afternoon you will have spent a lot of time sitting down, which is bad for your body.
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: standing up!
Not just every afternoon but for at least a few minutes each hour. Spending more time standing is good for your blood sugars and for your bones.
John Buckley, professor of applied exercise science at University Centre, Shrewsbury, told me that when we sit for long periods, our bodies go into ‘sleep’ mode, shutting down many important functions that keep us healthy.
‘As hunter-gatherers, we were designed to be moving most of the day,’ he says. ‘Sitting slows our metabolism and drops everything to a resting level.’ You might hope you can offset the evils of spending all day on your bottom with a sweaty trip to the gym after work. But emerging evidence suggests that, unless you’re doing 40 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise every day, you cannot undo the damage that sitting causes.
And even worse, if you sit for long periods each day, you could be decreasing the benefits of any exercise you do.
The answer lies in taking the opportunity to stand whenever you can throughout your day.
EVENING BOOSTERS
Learn something new
Take the time to learn something new is part of Dr Mosley’s guide to making Just One Thing part of your daily routine
Instead of parking yourself in front of the TV every evening, take time to learn something new. Acquiring skills later in life will not only give your brain a good workout, but may even mean you generate new brain cells.
The act of learning can reduce stress levels, too.
In one study, volunteers were asked either to learn something new or to do something relaxing.
Perhaps surprisingly, it was the group learning new skills who saw the biggest reductions in levels of stress.
That’s because when doing something that absorbs you, the outside world is put on hold.
Like practising mindfulness, it calms the critical voice in your head, which so often makes you focus on past failure and puts you down.
If the skill is challenging enough, your brain will be forced to forge new pathways and grow new connections, and this can boost your brain power.
Studies indicate that, after three months of working at a new skill, people show improvements specifically in the areas of the brain most affected by the ageing process.
One of the best things for your brain is to learn a new language because juggling between different sounds, words, concepts and grammatical and social rules enhances blood flow and connections across the entire brain.
It can physically change your brain, boosting the number of brain cells and the connections between them.
It can even improve your intelligence. But for maximum benefit, you have to throw yourself into the task and practise your new language for five hours a week!
Studies suggest that regular hot baths could help to reduce blood sugar levels and lower the risk of heart disease
Enjoy a hot bath before bed
A deliciously relaxing hot bath is one of those rare pleasures in life that not only feels great but is actually good for you!
Studies suggest that regular hot baths could help to reduce blood sugar levels and lower the risk of heart disease.
And anyone who struggles to drop off at night might like to know that a hot bath, taken 90 minutes before bedtime, could help them to get to sleep more quickly and improve sleep quality.
This is because of its effect on core body temperature. But you must get the timing right.
When you have the hot bath, your core body temperature rises. But it’s when you get out, and start to cool down, that you get the sleep-inducing benefits.
‘As your core temperature falls, it mimics the onset of sleep, triggering the release of the sleep hormone melatonin and sending a strong signal that it is time for bed,’ says Jason Ellis, professor of psychology at Northumbria University and director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research.
‘A soak in the bath is valuable “me” time, too, after a busy day,’ he adds.
Aim for a temperature of 40 to 42 degrees Celsius, about 90 minutes before bed, for maximum beneficial effect.
Keep a gratitude journal
There is solid science that getting into the habit of being regularly grateful can make you feel happier, lower your blood pressure, improve sleep, ease pain and even rewire your brain
Last thing at night, write down three things for which you feel grateful.
There is solid science that getting into the habit of being regularly grateful can make you feel happier, lower your blood pressure, improve sleep, ease pain and even rewire your brain.
‘Gratitude opens up your perspective, allowing you to appreciate the positive instead of focusing on your worries,’ recommends Fuschia Sirois, a psychology professor who specialises in investigating gratitude and its role in health.
‘It reduces stress by helping us to see things from outside the narrow view we adopt when our fight-and-flight mechanisms are activated.’
In her studies, patients with chronic health conditions who spent three weeks counting their blessings reported significantly less pain, as well as better sleep, than those in a control group.
l Adapted from Just One Thing by Dr Michael Mosley (Short Books, £9.99). To order a copy for £8.99 (offer valid to October 26, 2024; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Michael Mosley: Just One Thing will be shown at 8.30pm on BBC1 tomorrow.
