Glynis Barber is an oracle when it comes to health and wellbeing.
As the creator of her website, Ageless by Glynis Barber, the 68-year-old imparts pearls of wisdom on everything from her beauty routine to the supplements she takes and the exercise she favours.
In her exclusive column for HELLO!, Glynis shares the seven daily habits she follows to keep her feeling and looking her best…
For a calm day: breathwork and meditation
I always start my day with deep breathing. Even though we breathe all the time, many of us do what is called 'shallow breathing'. Deep breathing helps to fully oxygenate our bodies and has the added benefit of reducing stress by helping to take our nervous system out of fight or flight mode.
A few years ago, I suffered from bouts of anxiety and discovered a wonderful breathing exercise specifically designed to reduce it. It's since become part of my daily routine. I do one to five rounds depending on how stressed I feel.
It's a great way to start the day as well as just before you go to sleep at night. I did a video of the exercise on the Ageless by Glynis Barber YouTube channel.
Next, I'll do a meditation. I usually only do 10 minutes and often use an app such as Headspace, which makes it so easy. Meditation has many benefits, not least for our brains.
Breathing and meditating first thing sets me up for the day and gives me a calm perspective on all the things I have to tackle that day. I do all of this from my bed. And then it’s time to get up.
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To hydrate my body: Lemon water
The first thing I do is to squeeze the juice from half a lemon into a big glass of water. I then add a half teaspoon of sea salt. I always drink this with a straw, as lemon juice can be harsh on the enamel of your teeth.
Even though lemon juice is acidic, it has an alkalising effect on the body after it's been metabolised. Sea salt works as an electrolyte and is hydrating. We need this hydration boost in the morning as we sweat and lose fluid during the night.
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To burn fat: exercise first thing
I find that if I don’t exercise first thing, I’m unlikely to do any that day, so I go for it the moment I’ve had my lemon juice.
My exercise could be a gym session, a walk with my dog, yoga or a YouTube workout.
I often exercise on an empty stomach as it's a great way to burn fat. I've always thought of exercise as being the closest thing there is to an anti-ageing pill. It helps to keep us flexible and lest we forget, our heart is a muscle that needs to be kept strong.
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Muscle mass is important to maintain to protect us as we age and to keep our metabolism ticking over. And the mental benefits of exercise are well documented.
To find my purpose: work
Now it’s time to get down to work, whatever it may be. Being an actress, voice over artist, writer and founder of Ageless by Glynis Barber, my work varies a great deal. I could be filming, doing a voice over or sitting down at my computer, where I always seem to have a lot to do.
I'm fortunate that I chose a profession that I love, which is acting. However, because work comes and goes in my profession, I ended up, over the years, with a lot of unproductive downtime. I always found this incredibly difficult to navigate mentally and so created my health and beauty website and followed that with a YouTube channel. I wanted to always have purpose and a creative outlet in my life.
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It was the best decision I ever made. I've indulged my long-held passion for healthy living and wellbeing and have been able to share my findings with others. I have felt huge gratification when people reach out to say they've benefitted in some way or have found inspiration to improve their lifestyle.
It's my belief that life needs purpose. If it can be found in your work, that's wonderful. If not, then look to find it elsewhere.
To mentally recharge: Breaks
During the day, I like to have some short breaks where I do something that I really enjoy or where my brain switches off.
I love to spend time with my little maltipoo, Gigi. She loves to play and I love to play with her. We'll always have at least one full on playing session a day. She's forever digging through her toy box looking for just the right toy to bring me. She growls, I grab, I throw and she fetches X 100.
Pets are good for our health. Stroking Gigi and playing with her lowers my stress hormone cortisol.
Sometimes I'll meet a friend for coffee and I'm also partial to Sudoku. I find that just a 15 to 30-minute break doing something enjoyable is a great recharger. I then go back to my desk with renewed vigour and focus and carry on with my work.
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To wind down: A strict switch-off time
I try and make 6pm my switch-off time. If I'm filming, it's impossible to control but I believe that when you're self-employed and working from home, it's important to be disciplined about this.
It's easy to stay working on your computer well into the night and I used to do this on occasion. This can lead to burnout and stress, so I make a point of shutting everything down as close to 6pm as possible. I then have the evening ahead of me to chill and enjoy.
I'll head to the kitchen to prepare dinner which feels therapeutic after a day on my computer. If I'm staying in, I do love watching TV as I find it very relaxing. Usually with a glass of wine in hand, but I keep it to just the one.
To sleep well: a consistent routine
I've never been a great sleeper but have found that how well I sleep depends on my bedtime regime. Having a good and consistent regime is a game changer.
Sleep is vitally important for every aspect of wellbeing. When we are sleep deprived, our bodies tend to crave sugary foods and we are less likely to eat healthily. It increases our stress hormone cortisol, which can also cause weight gain. And, of course, it's difficult to focus and get our work done when we're tired.
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I used to go to bed very late, even after a night in. I'd watch TV until 11 pm or later, then start pottering around and then get into bed at about 1am and read for an hour. I look back and can't believe that I expected to sleep well.
I now know that the earlier I switch off the light, the better I sleep.
10.30 to 11pm is my goal but at the very least, it must be before midnight. I get into bed half an hour before the light goes off to read, which I find helps to slow me down and prepare me for sleep.
I keep my phone away from my bed and never use it as an alarm clock. Blue light from phones and computers plays havoc with our circadian rhythms and impacts our ability to sleep well.
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Just before I turn the light off, I'll do a round of deep breathing. If I'm feeling a bit stressed, I'll do a few rounds of it. This breathing exercise is like a magic potion as it helps put me straight to sleep.
This is the daily regime I aim for every day although, of course, it does vary quite a bit. On the days that I don’t exercise or meditate, I never feel quite as good. And a bad night's sleep always has a huge impact on my day. I've found that it's well worth the effort to stick to the things that I know will keep me relaxed and productive and ensure I sleep well.
Visit Glynis' Ageless website for more advice and inspiration.