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Discovering Emotional Security With UMBRA

Written by Jenna Jones on . Posted in Latest, Lifestyle, Partner Blogs, Wellbeing.

Your Guide to a Resilient Secure Lifestyle

Here at UMBRA, we are thrilled to share our knowledge on something very close to our hearts: Emotional Security. At UMBRA, we’re all about equipping you with the tools for a Secure Lifestyle, and this emerging pillar is vital in today’s ever-changing world.

Why Emotional Security?

Emotional Security is the 4th pillar of UMBRA’s 4 Pillar approach to security (physical, digital and reputational being the others). It is all about feeling safe, confident, and free from anxiety. In our fast-paced world, where challenges abound, maintaining this balance is crucial. Having navigated my own path through optimising my physical, mental, and cognitive health, I’ve seen first-hand how these areas intertwine. At UMBRA, we believe a holistic approach to security includes emotional wellbeing at the core. 

The Importance of Resilience

According to the World Health Organization, one in four people faces mental health challenges at any time. This highlights the importance of resilience, especially in the face of the risks we all face in the modern world. We’ve noticed that individuals with lower emotional resilience often experience more security issues, especially among younger clients. That’s why we prioritise building this resilience, making it the frontline of holistic security.

Our Toolkit for Emotional Resilience

At UMBRA, we’re committed to helping you foster emotional resilience. Here’s a glimpse of our toolkit, featuring some of the best emotional support and wellness practices from around the globe. We are a proudly best of British business, but the team can tailor this to wherever you are in the world and wherever you regularly travel to and from:

Therapies & Wellness

  1. HBOT (Oxygen Chambers): Available at the Hum2n and Grey Wolfe clinics in London, these sessions support healing and wellness.
  2. Infrared Saunas: Check out London Cryo for a rejuvenating experience that promotes relaxation and detoxification.
  3. Cryotherapy: Embrace cold therapy with ice baths or cold showers. LUMI’s at-home pod makes this accessible every day
  4. Breathwork: Explore the Wim Hof method for breath control and cold exposure, boosting both mind and body.
  5. IV Vitamin Infusions: we love a health boost with infusions packed with nutrients like NAD and B12 to enhance your vitality.
  6. Morning Routine: Enjoy sunlight and movement each morning to reset your circadian rhythms and energize your day. How you start the day defines how you sleep.

Nutrition

  1. Holistic Health Consultations: we love Gut Philosophy who offer comprehensive consultations, including blood panels to tailor your nutrition plan.
  2. Supplements: From Moju Ginger shots to Bulletproof coffee, maintain high ketone levels for optimal brain function. I add MCT oil to mine every morning for a brain boost.
  3. Functional Foods: Incorporate adaptogenic coffees like London Nootropics and vibrant greens from Vitalgreens into your diet.
  4. Collagen and Hydration: Enhance your health with Marine or Bovine Collagen, along with Ancient & Brave’s True Hydration.

Reading & Learning

  1. Books: Dive into titles like “Super Human” by Dave Asprey or “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker for insights into biohacking and wellness.
  2. Podcasts: Explore data-driven podcasts like Huberman Lab for a deeper understanding of health and performance.

Wearables & Tools

  1. Health Monitors: Track your well-being with OURA Rings or Whoop bands.
  2. Blue Light Blocking Glasses: Protect your eyes with options like Red Light Rising.
  3. Glucose Monitoring: From Zoe to Supersapiens – try looking at any foods that spike your sugar with real-time insights into how your diet affects your mood and energy.
  4. Home Saunas: Experience the benefits of an infrared sauna at home with brands like MiHi.

Brain & Mental Performance

  1. Therapy Options: We recommend starting with CBT or exploring innovative approaches like Brain Spotting.
  2. Cognitive Enhancement: London Holistics and SOFOS offer cutting-edge holistic guidance & cognitive performance optimization.

Fitness & Community Engagement

  1. Fitness Focused: Whether in London or beyond, we connect you with top trainers and gyms. Movement is key at every stage of life.
  2. Community Involvement: Giving back through volunteering or joining community interest and growth mindset groups like Toastmasters can enhance your well-being and slow cognitive aging.

Building Trust & Understanding

Our approach is rooted in trust. We work closely with clients to explain how emotional security impacts all areas of life—physical, digital, and reputational. By building emotional resilience, we help you navigate risks more effectively.

Join Us on This Journey

At UMBRA, we’re not just about security but about thriving. Our Emotional Security pillar is here to support your journey. Whether through personalised therapy programs or community connections, we’re dedicated to your resilience and overall well-being.

If you’re ready to explore Emotional Security and enhance your lifestyle, reach out to us. Our Head of Emotional Security is eager to connect and guide you.

From all of us at UMBRA, we wish you strength and resilience on your path to emotional security. Let’s thrive together!

Mental Health Awareness Week

Written by Jenna Jones on . Posted in Latest, Lifestyle, Partner Blogs, Wellbeing.

Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual UK wide campaign to tackle stigma and help people understand and prioritise mental health. Running from 13th-19th May, this year’s theme is ‘Movement: moving more for our mental health’.

The dedicated week allows us to raise awareness about the importance of exercise and movement and its association to our mental health. Moving more can increase your energy, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost your self-esteem.

Regular physical activity is known to improve mental health, quality of life, and wellbeing. It also helps prevent and treat heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast and colon cancer, and more. Despite these benefits being well established, over a third of UK adults do not meet the recommended amount of activity.

If you’d like to improve your mental health by moving more, here are some tips to help you get started. For further information, click here.

Here at BBB, we also have some amazing Health & Wellbeing Partners whose expertise can help with movement and exercise, with each specialising in their niche…

Hooke Fitness- move your body & optimise your health/longevity 

Mirella Fitness – PT- move your body and nutritional plans

Hagan & Papin – PT

Faye Reason- Energy Worker & Healer – move your energy 

Register for BBB Membership here to connect to any of these incredible Partners.

Sweet Dreams: The Power of a Good Night’s Sleep

Written by Amira Hashish on . Posted in Latest, Lifestyle, Wellbeing.

By Amira Hashish

As we kick off the year our minds are abuzz with what lies ahead and the goals we hope to achieve. Coupled with the cold days and dark nights of winter and the tyranny of getting back on that treadmill, it’s little wonder that insomnia has a tendency to rear its ugly head during these months. The weight of the pandemic adds an extra layer of discomfort.

The power of sleep is not to be underestimated. It is a vital ingredient of our physical and mental health. Leading medical spa Lanserhof, which has retreats in Austria and Germany, takes sleep very seriously, explaining it is essential for tissue repair, cell regeneration, the immune system and memory functioning. “When people are sleep deprived or develop a persistent sleep disorder, the consequences include loss of energy, drowsiness, impaired concentration or memory and disturbed mood. Inadequate sleep has been associated with increased risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and the risk of developing anxiety or depression,” say the experts. 

Getting a good night’s rest is easier said than done but there are ways you can improve your cycle. Here are some essential steps.

Let There Be Light 

The more sunlight the merrier. When our bodies release the happiness hormone serotonin there is a direct correlation with the elimination of stress. Several studies associate low levels of vitamin D in your blood leading to a higher risk of sleep disturbances and reduced sleep duration.

Natural and artificial light absorption helps your body to stay more alert during the day whilst increasing the quality of your sleep in the evenings. Small changes can help; try to go for a walk outside during your lunch break or use a lamp with a daylight bulb at your desk. Use natural sunlight to wake up where possible or a device that simulates this. 

Dr Victoria Revell, a senior lecturer in translational sleep and circadian physiology, outlines the significance of our circadian rhythms: “The duration, timing and quality of our sleep are determined by two different processes – our sleep homeostat and our circadian clock.  The sleep homeostat acts like a timer with sleepiness accumulating during the day the longer we are awake.  The circadian clock drives 24-hour rhythms in nearly all aspects of our physiology and behaviour, including our sleep-wake patterns, and determines the timing of our sleep. Light is the most powerful stimulus for synchronising our circadian clock to the 24-hour day.”

Adapt Your Diet

A varied diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy is ideal. Avoid caffeine, fizzy drinks and alcohol from late afternoon. You may also consider introducing a supplement which includes melatonin (a man-made version of the hormone that controls your sleep patterns) such as Lanserhof’s Beauty Sleep. 

Consider CBD

Wellness brand RAIN harnesses the power of the botanical world to help people find calm and balance. CBD is a key ingredient. According to RAIN: “The boom in popularity for CBD stems from both scientific research and substantial anecdotal and experiential reporting to suggest that it has beneficial effects in helping to alleviate anxiety and stress, reducing inflammation, as well as improving mood and sleep.” 

Establish a Routine

Eye health specialist and ophthalmologist Alastair Lockwood at Feel Good Contacts encourages consistency with your patterns: “No matter what time you go to bed, wake up at the same time every day as much as possible. Having a consistent bedtime will help you to sleep better because your body will start to get tired on cue. After a while of doing this you might find that you naturally wake up just before your alarm. Even if you don’t always manage to stick to your routine, the more you can do it, the better.”

Get Moving

As well as helping to reduce anxiety, which can impact the ability to nod off, exercise can cause changes in your core body temperature. According to the Sleep Foundation: “During exercise your body increases its temperature, and afterwards your body’s temperature drops. That drop in temperature mimics a similar temperature change that happens before you fall asleep, when your body cools down in the evening in preparation for rest. The similarity between these changes may signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep.”

Stop Scrolling

It is all too tempting to check those emails or see who’s doing what on Instagram just as we should be winding down but the issue isn’t just that you are keeping your mind active. Our screens emit a type of blue light which keeps us awake and boosts reaction times by suppressing the release of melatonin. Your body’s natural circadian rhythm is disrupted and you are tricked into thinking it is still daytime. So it’s a big no go for electronic devices, including the television, at least half an hour before bedtime.

Set the Bedroom Tone

A clutter-free space with a soothing smell and cool temperature (apparently 18C is spot on) can work wonders. Add an excellent mattress and pillow to the mix.  Bed manufacturer Hypnos emphasises that choosing the right fillings in your bed and bedding can help regulate your body’s temperature to keep your cooler at night. Natural, sustainable fibres promote healthy air flow and wick away moisture, helping achieve that good night’s rest.

HOME ACCESSORIES & APPS FOR A DREAMY NIGHT’S SLEEP

Lumie Bodyclock Luxe
Bramley Sleep Spray
Morphée Sleep Aid
RAIN CLOUD CBD Pen
1001 Remedies Sleep Balm
The Dual Pillow
BetterYou Sleep Bundle

Lumie Bodyclock Luxe: £199,  lumie.com

Bramley Sleep Spray: £16, bramleyproducts.co.uk (Become a member of BBB to receive 20% off)

The Morphée sleep aid: £79, evesleep.co.uk

RAIN CLOUD CBD pen: £40, raincbd.co.uk

1001 Remedies Sleep Balm: £29, 1001remedies.com (20% off for BBB Members)

The Dual Pillow: £52, melacomfort.co.uk

BetterYou Sleep Bundle: £24.95, betteryou.com (15% off for BBB Members)

Headspace sleepcast: start with a free trial, headspace.com

Calm Sleep Stories: download the app with a 30 day free trial from the BBB Boutique, calm.com/sleep 

*Click here to become a BBB Member and take advantage of these amazing discounts!

The Best Staycations to Get Your Wellbeing Fix in 2022

Written by Anya Cooklin-Lofting on . Posted in Latest, Travel, Wellbeing.

By Anya Cooklin-Lofting

As the ashes of New Year’s fireworks settle and the Christmas ornaments are wrapped in their ancient papers and stored, from the glittery haze of Betwixtmas emerges a singular sensation, a paradoxical cocktail of both gloominess and determination. Yes, it’s still cold, and no, crisps and wine probably aren’t an acceptable mid-afternoon snack, and yet, the sense of a new beginning is enough to lift us from our spiced, mulled slumber with startling enthusiasm. It’s time, once again, to focus on what our bodies and minds truly need over and above the obligatory festive indulgences.

It is well known that gyms experience peak sign-up rates in January and that these first few weeks of the year see us reaching for rice cakes instead of the leftover Christmas cake, but our New Year’s resolutions can often leave us feeling less resolved and more reluctant. Wellbeing isn’t just for January, so why not follow my lead and plot some wellness highlights into 2022 with staycations to help you reset, refresh and recharge? Whether you’re after a fitness kick, a soothing spa weekend or the peace and quiet that distance and space can bring, read on…

Lake District – Walking & Fitness

The Lake District is one of the walking capitals of the world, perfect for getting away from the bustle of the city and reconnecting with the natural world. With a bottle of water and an apple in tow, I have found myself feeling refreshed, active and satisfied, hillside, lakeside and fireside on trips to the storied land of poets, writers and artists. Its bucolic cosiness is unrivalled in the UK, and the rush of following a map and reaching a peak, pit or pitstop on a track unfailingly brings a sense of achievement to my annual leave.

The Lake District’s towns and villages are tucked into crevices between the still bodies of water that lap at their shores and are dotted with tearooms and pubs that crop up exactly when you will them to after a bracing walk through rolling countryside. The choice of walks is almost overwhelming in these parts, but the walk from the Honister Pass to Haystacks, one of A. Wainright’s favourite fells, is one I’ll certainly be revisiting.

Bath – Wellness & Water

Bath is a hugely popular spa town with hot springs that were known to inhabitants as early as 60 AD when the Romans built temples and baths along the River Avon. Since this time, the town has become something of a site of pilgrimage for those seeking the curative properties of water and was cemented as a wellness destination by the Georgians. For a restorative break steeped in heritage and rich in culture, Bath offers a peek behind the veil of history as well as a modern homage to the Romans’ innovation.

The Roman Baths themselves are no longer fit for their original purpose, but visitors are welcome to explore the pools, the hallowed springs from which over a million litres of naturally heated water gushes every day and the remains of saunas and changing rooms. With a sense of the history of the therapeutic, healing waters, visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage site can make the one minute commute to Thermae Bath Spa on Hot Bath Street to take the waters themselves. The modern complex has views across the hodge-podge of the city’s golden, Bath Stone skyline, the perfect reminder that these waters are as rich in history as they are in health-giving minerals.

Isle of Skye – Distance & Solitude

For an enchanting, memorable and restful break, why not look to find peace and quiet on The Isle of Skye, a remote island connected to Scotland’s northwest coast by the Skye Bridge? The rugged landscape is encrusted with Medieval ruins and laden with stories of fairies, giants and Selkies, ‘seal folk’ that shed their skins and turn into humans. The island’s scenic hiking opportunities abound with routes via the Fairy Pools of glass-like water and the Old Man of Storr, an imposing rock formation that serves as a landmark for miles and resembles the face of an old man.

Soothing for the eyes and the mind alike, lucky visitors to the Isle of Skye over the winter months can see the Aurora Borealis Northern Lights. The lights generally appear white to the eye at this latitude but are no less magnificent than imagination might prophesy. The dancing sheets of spectral light are most visible in wide, open areas making evening hikes all the more magical.