1. SLEEP:

Medical professionals recommend between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.

TIPS FOR BOOSTING SLEEP.

• Keep your bedtimes and waketimes consistent. Try going to bed and getting up at relatively the same time each day. Too much variation in your bedtime schedule can confuse your body, causing it to be more difficult to fall asleep or wake up.
• Get 20 more minutes. If you are not getting enough sleep, see if you can fit in just 20 more minutes. This can be going to bed 20 minutes earlier, getting up 20 minutes later, or taking a nap in the middle of the day.
• Create relaxing routines for priming sleep. Allow yourself to indulge in routines that are relaxing and set the stage for sleep. These actions tell your body that it is time to rest. Know your resume and develop specific examples to support its content.

Get outside every day in natural daylight – this helps your body to regulate melatonin which is one of the hormones which regulates sleep cycles.

Get regular exercise every day – this can help you sleep better. Try not to do intensive exercise too close to bed time as this can keep you awake.

Bed is for sleeping – avoid watching TV in bed or doing work in bed.

Make your bedroom comfortable it’s important that your pillow, mattress and bedding are comfortable. You spend a lot of your life sleeping and sleeping well is essential.

Avoid large heavy meals/ alcohol at night and try to leave an hour or so between your meal and sleeping.

2. NUTRITION

Things to do every day:

: Include plenty of different coloured fruit and vegetables
• Choose high fibre, wholegrain breads and cereals
• Include reduced fat dairy
• Replace saturated fats with poly and mono unsaturated fats including olive and canola oils, nuts, seeds, avocado and fish – particularly oily fish such as salmon and tuna
• Include a good source of protein like lean meat, seafood and poultry or legumes, beans, eggs and tofu
• Prepare foods or choose pre-prepared foods with minimal added fat, sugar and salt
• Drink plenty of fluid, preferably water
• Limit alcohol consumption
• Limit treat foods and keep portion sizes small

ARE YOU GETTING ALL THE NUTRITION YOUR BODY NEEDS?

Do you have at least three servings of vegetables every day? A serving is roughly a handful:
o No
o Yes

2. Do you have at least two servings of fruit each day? A serving is: 1 apple, 2 small apricots, 1 cup fresh fruit salad or ½ cup stewed fruit in juice.
o No
o Yes

3. Do you include at least 6 servings of breads and cereals each day? A serving is: 1 slice of bread/small roll, ½ cup muesli/cooked porridge, 1 cup cooked pasta/rice/cassava or 1 cup of a light/flaky cereal. Wholegrains are the best choice and include: plain oats, brown rice, corn, barley, whole wheat pasta, grainy bread varieties, wholegrain breakfast cereals.
o No
o Yes

4. Do you have at least 2 servings of reduced fat dairy or milk products each day? A serving is: 1 pottle yoghurt (150g), 1 cup of milk (250mls), 2 slices of reduced fat cheese (40g).
o No
o Yes

5. Do you include at least one serving of meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, tofu or legumes once a day? A serving is: 100-120g cooked meat/ chicken/fish, 1 egg, ¾ cup cooked beans.
o No
o Yes

6. Do you include seafood in your diet at least twice a week? This includes fresh, frozen or canned varieties.
o No
o Yes

7. Do you have nuts, seeds, unsaturated oils (e.g. olive or canola) or avocado every day?
o No
o Yes

8. Do you drink at least eight glasses of fluid a day? This includes water, tea, coffee, fruit juice and milk.
o No
o Yes

If you answered NO to any of these questions, you are likely to be missing out on valuable nutrition and/or hydration.

THE IDEAL PLATE:

For most adults, a good guide for your main meal is to base your portions on this ‘ideal plate.’ This means ½ vegetables, ¼ lean protein and ¼ carbohydrates

Lean protein
– This includes: lean meat, skinless poultry, fish, tofu, beans and eggs

Carbohydrates
– This includes: pasta, rice, noodles, bread and starchy vegetables such as kumara and potato. Where possible, try to choose low GI and wholegrain varieties

Vegetables or salad
– This includes all non-starchy vegetables such as salad vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, capsicum, spinach, silverbeet, watercress, eggplant, celery and leek.