In an appearance on Davina McCall's Begin Again podcast, holistic health expert Dr Rangan Chatterjee shared how taking just 15 minutes of 'me time' a day can be the ‘best thing you can do for your health and wellbeing.’
We all get busy, especially in the run up to Christmas and New Year, and it's easy to push aside and neglect our self-care, relaxation and important de-stressing down time. It leaves you feeling almost guilty, doesn't it, to take some me time when you've got last minute gifts to buy, finishing touches to put on your Christmas table setting and those extra chores or errands are piling up on your to-do list - but Dr Rangan Chatterjee, a physician and leading holistic health expert, has reminded us just how important scheduling in this personal down time really is.
In an appearance on Davina McCall's Begin Again podcast, he shared, "We've all got different pressures, we've all got things that we can do and we can't do. But I really believe that if you can have 15 minutes of me time a day - and many people can do that. If we actually look at our lives and look at how much time we spend on Instagram and how much time we spend doing other stuff, most of us - not all of us - have got 15 minutes to actually do something for ourselves each day."
"Arguably, that's one of the best things you can do for your health and wellbeing," he added.
But why is it so vital and how can such a short amount of me time really help? As the expert shared in the podcast episode, it helps you to switch off and forget your worries for a while, allowing you to come back to whatever you feel you 'have' to do feeling refreshed and ready to take on the task with a more relaxed mindset. This even allows you to get more done and to a higher quality too, because you're not rushing or stressing as much now you've reset your brain and body.
Not only that, and more importantly, it also helps you to realise your own value. Giving yourself time for yourself and only yourself, shows you that you, your health and your wellbeing are more important than the work, chores or errands you need to run.
So what can you do in those 15 minutes of me time? Dr Rangan suggests, "Five minutes of meditation, five minutes of yoga, five minutes of star jumps, five minutes of journaling. I don't care what it is. Remember, no one thing works for everyone."
Whatever you decide to do in your 15 minutes of me time, it's best to do it alone, Dr Rangan says. This allows you to really prioritise yourself, your wants and your needs and do whatever it is you're doing - and that could be just sitting on the sofa and having a cup of tea as you listen to your favourite music - at your own pace. You're not responsible for anyone and anything else in that time - just yourself.
So what could you do in your 15 minutes each day that makes you happy?
