We live in a world in which we can order anything virtually around the clock. We are overwhelmed by the possibilities and yet never really get full. No wonder that one form of hunger is currently booming: fasting. Because if you consciously avoid certain stimulants or actions, you quickly notice that we can be much happier with much less.
In ancient times, fasting, asceticism and abstinence were considered The royal road to wisdom, enlightenment and happiness. And even in our latitudes, a fixed period of the year was dedicated to fasting for centuries. But generally today we hardly notice anything of the millennia-old tradition. Only regional terms such as Carnival remind us of this. Most revelers are more about dressing up, drinking and a colorful, multi-day party – and less about that Ushering in the upcoming Lent.
But since Corona the days seem to be more and more the same. A lot of things that brought us diversion, pleasure and a change from routine before the pandemic are no longer possible. The whole of life is practically in abstinence mode. No nightcakes in the street café, no grilled chicken in the beer garden and no wild parties anyway. The excess has disappeared. But instead of being annoyed that we are currently fasting forcibly for fun, we can simply change our perspective: We can consciously do without something we have loved. How about if, instead of these little bites of joie de vivre, we forego what poisons our mind and our society? We have a couple Tips on how you can fast differently.
Grumbling, moaning & swearing fast
“Our thoughts shape our world.” There is actually something to this supposed calendar saying. Because whether we focus on the negative or the positive has a direct impact on our mood – and our body. Because anyone who declares grumbling to be his sport is buzzing more stress hormones through the blood. And that’s unhealthy in the long run: in the long run, the risk of heart attacks, diabetes and obesity increases. That is why the Flemish Ministry of Health launched a 30-day challenge in 2018: 30 days without complaining.
On the Facebook page, Minister of Health Jo Vandereurzen gives interviews on what complaining is, why it harms us and how we can stop it. Especially when our Partners nagging at us, it pulls our mood down a lot. Why not leave the other alone and complain less? And as Winston Churchill said: Nobody has upset their stomachs with a bad word that has been swallowed unsaid.
Prejudice fasting
Dogs that bark do not bite. All Italians love pasta and their mom. And mothers are worse workers than men with children. Do you know such thoughts? Prejudices are generalizations our brains use to make our world easier. When everything is nicely packed in drawers, we can think faster and don’t have to worry too much about details. But now and then we should also change our perspective.
Having prejudices not only restricts our own view of the world – it is above all bad for the people around us. Discrimination affects people’s chances, their wellbeing and their ability to act. Persistent discrimination can lead people to internalize the prejudice or the stigma directed against them. This in turn manifests itself in shame, low self-esteem, fear and stress, and poor health. People who have this so-called “internalized discrimination“Experience, suffer not only mentally but also physically from the prejudices of their fellow human beings. A study showed that people with darker skin color, who were more likely to feel marginalized and devalued, had higher blood sugar levels, a larger waistline, and higher blood pressure than people who did not experience anything like this.
The Prejudice fasting however, it is not only good for others. Those who have prejudices also harm themselves. “Prejudices have a strong and harmful effect,” says psychology professor Khanh Dinh. She did with her team exploredwhat prejudice does to those who cherish and cherish it: “The higher the level of prejudice, the more likely it is that one has a poorer level of mental, social, and physical well-being. The two strongest in their effect are racist prejudice and sexism. “
OUR TIP: Fasting prejudice! You can do this, for example, with the elastic band method: Put a rubber band or a hair tie around your wrist. Whenever you catch yourself thinking about a prejudice, the rubber changes your wrist. This will make you realize more quickly how often prejudices run through your head each day. And the first prejudice we can fast is that fasting is esoteric nonsense.
Stress fasting
We are stressed. Some more, some less. Especially during the pandemic, the unrest spreads in the study and living room. One Study by the Techniker-Krankenkasse According to half of all Germans feel often or sometimes stressed since the beginning of the pandemic. And a whopping 80 percent said they mostly got through that lack of contact with friends and relatives experience stress. Wouldn’t it be nice to fast at least in other areas during these times? Because not only our psyche, but also our cells feel stressed out. Free radicals can cause oxidative stress in our cells. That makes them age faster and, with a little bad luck, makes us sick in the long run. This is why stress fasting is always a good idea.
OUR TIP: The easiest and fastest way to get the stress out of the system is as simple as it is effective: To breathe! During phases when the hut is on fire at work, you can set an alarm clock that reminds you to take a few deep breaths in and out. Research shows that already a few forceful breaths will lower your pulse and blood pressure and so bring more calm into the body and mind.
What also helps: call a friend. Because when we hear their voice, the concentration of stress hormones in the blood decreases during that The level of happiness hormones increases.
In addition to these quick solutions for acute stress, you can also proceed more sustainably with stress fasting and yours Find stressors. What are you stressing? How much and how often? If you recognize what triggers your stress, you can work on it in a targeted manner – and possibly banish these stressors from your life.
Digital fasting & Social media fasting
The biggest trend in the fasting industry is detoxification. Since our bodies are not blast furnaces, people with healthy livers and kidneys do not have to get rid of substances that would otherwise be deposited somewhere – because waste products are often also considered a myth.
The digital detox, right? Digital detox, on the other hand, is a fasting trend that is really good for us. One of the biggest advantages is that when we put the screens aside, we become more concerned with our fellow human beings. In addition, the constant bombardment of information and impressions takes a lot of our brains. Researchers: inside believe that this form of fasting is ours Increases the ability to concentrate and lets us sleep better. One of the reasons for this is that the screens emit bluish light. This signals to our brain that it is day – and that shifts our natural day-night rhythm. If we tinker too much with our internal clock, this leads to stress and a poorer subjective well-being in the long run.
Read also: Media literacy: How you have your cell phone under control and not your cell phone you
But digital detox can also be beneficial for other reasons. Because precisely what we consume can really damage our mood: For some years now, experts have been talking about the so-called “Facebook depression“. But the phenomenon that we overlook ourselves in the retouched and staged pictures of some users also exists beyond Facebook: We see the pictures of others, compare ourselves – and often feel worse afterwards than before.
OUR TIP: So with digital fasting, it can help you Unfollow accounts that make you feel bad or to install an app right away that blocks your social media channels for a certain period of time. So you don’t need any additional self-control and you can enjoy the analog time.
TV fasting
Parents used to say that watching TV too much makes you square eyes. But while with this unfounded thesis they simply wanted to keep us from spending our days in front of the blistering box, scientists today have a different theory: watching too much TV makes our brains shrink. For example, young adults who watched TV for four or more hours a day for 20 years had a significantly lower volume of gray matter in their brain in their 30s than their peers who were better able to switch off. In Intelligence and brain teasers tests the TV junkies performed significantly worse on average than their peers who sat in front of the telly less.
If that’s not reason enough for less linear television, Youtube or Netflix, you should think about your eyes. Researchers suspect that the long fixation on a screen damages the view. Some already speak of a “Short-sightedness pandemic“. Because if we just look straight for hours instead of focusing on three-dimensional vision between different distances, our eyes become just as lazy as we do – and can become short-sighted.
OUR TIP: So it is high time to listen to Peter Lustig and just switch off.
Learn more about the #weltverbesserer
More #weltverbessern:
- We can learn these eight things from other countries
- Eight quotes to make life easier for you
- “I don’t need that” – Interview about the path to more consumerism
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