The Stool Bus is now operating in your area!
They offer the following services for both residential and commercial customers:
1. Sewage and waste removal.
2. Clearing of blockages.
3. High-pressure cleaning.
4. Camera inspection.
5. Construction and repairs of septic tanks and soakaways.
6. Stormwater, sewage lines and water solutions (drainage).
Chat to Jabs Malinga on +27 (0)83 578 9887
More about The Stool Bus.
We have all been assessing the impact that the pandemic has had on our personal finances. Be it short term liquidity or more long term retirement planning, at a time like this, it can feel like your finances have been completely turned upside down.
While the picture may seem grim, now is the time to maintain focus, develop a strategy and find opportunities within the challenges we face. We can help you make the right financial decisions and adopt strategies in your investment planning so that you are in a better place in the future. We are faced with many challenges but together we can overcome them.
"We Look After You"
Contact Cooke Fuller Group.
There has never been a better time to plant some winter veggies, fruit trees and edible plants! Now open at Fairways on Main, The Plan & Plant Nursery - call 079 216 9322 with your questions.
I admit it. I am guilty. I am one of those individuals who secretly hoped that once the current lockdown was partly lifted we would all go back to some level of normalcy, only better.
I was hoping and expecting, perhaps like many of us, that as soon as the 1st of May dawned we would all jump back into daily routines that were mostly similar to the ones we enjoyed prior to the lockdown.
And now I know with certainty that this will not be the case and that our lives are not going to look the same as before.
It is also clear that the coronavirus is not going anywhere anytime soon. And the realisation that is beginning to sink in for many of us is that increasing numbers of people within our local communities are going to be infected with the virus and/or are going to starve. And, as a result, there will be people we know who are going to become really sick and some of these people may die “before their time”.
One important outcome of this is that most of us are going to experience multiple losses, not only of people we know and care about but also losses relating to one’s finances, one’s dreams for the future, one’s way of life, etc.
We will each continue to wear a face mask, engage in regular hand sanitizing, maintain social distancing in public spaces, but beyond this we have no control over the spread of the virus outside of our homes and within the homes of our friends and family.
The lack of a sense of control over one’s life and one’s health and wellbeing coupled with the enormous feelings of uncertainty relating to almost every aspect of life and living is potentially very anxiety-provoking. And, if we don’t manage our anxiety levels well and we don’t process our losses effectively then the ongoing result of all of this is chronic emotional stress (and, for some of us, some level of long-term psychological trauma).
So, an important question to ask oneself is: How can I effectively reduce emotional stress on a daily basis so that it does not become chronic in nature?
The first consideration relates to how willing you are to keep learning and to make changes in how you think, feel and act. This is fundamental to your success in learning how to reduce your risk for chronic emotional stress.
The second consideration relates to the fact that to learn and become competent in any new set of skills and abilities, such as are involved in the effective reduction of emotional stress, requires regular daily practice.
If you have the willingness and motivation to learn and practice a new set of skills and abilities, then I believe it is worth considering a mindfulness-based approach to stress reduction. This is because mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is not only the most well-researched approach to effectively reducing chronic stress but it is also the most effective approach (according to the ongoing research conducted over a period of more than 40 years thus far).
So, let me tell you a little bit about my personal experience before and after I received mindfulness training as part of my initial education as a psychologist many years ago.
Before my training, when a stressful situation arose, such as during a difficult interpersonal interaction, involving conflict for example, I would quickly and quite automatically do everything I could to avoid the emotion of anxiety...the unpleasant feelings, thoughts and physical body sensations that would be triggered within me by the situation.
My training in mindfulness led me to start practising mindfulness on a daily basis, and this resulted in me being able to see clearly, for the first time, how certain difficult emotions, such as anxiety and uncertainty, motivated me to act or react in certain habitual and self-defeating ways.
In other words, practising mindfulness made it possible for me to identify my emotional habit of avoidance and release it, and start building a more accepting attitude towards my experience of anxiety and other difficult emotions.
This mindful state of mind has proven to be critical to my wellbeing and, especially, to my relationship with my two children. Before their births, I had imagined that I would be a cool, calm and collected father no matter what my very busy life would throw at me. So it was quite a surprise to find that I would, in fact, frequently get caught up in powerful feelings of impatience and frustration during stressful times.
Once again, however, mindfulness helped me to more clearly see this self-defeating emotional habit of mine. And, once again, I was able to release it and start building my ability to recognise the first signs of impatience and frustration as they started to arise within me.
Catching these unpleasant emotions at an early stage in the process gave me the time that I needed to make a conscious choice with regard to how I would respond to a difficult situation involving my children. Simply breathing deeply and slowly in these difficult situations was generally all that I needed to do to bring me back to a place of relative calm. And I was then able to express what I was feeling in a way that was far more caring and constructive.
Importantly, regular mindfulness practise has resulted in a significant change in my relationship to my inner experiences, from fighting against (i.e. avoiding) and/or getting stuck in difficult emotions to one of observing and accepting the feelings, thoughts and body sensations which I now simply hold in our awareness.
The more you practice mindfulness the less power your anxiety and other difficult emotions will have over you. And, one way to learn the basics of mindfulness is to enrol on a course...
So it is with great excitement that I am able to inform you that, after many, many months of making videos, gathering articles, writing course notes, etc, my new online mindfulness course is about to be launched (on Sunday the 17th May 2020). I will keep you updated.
Keep an eye open for my next newsletter delivered to your inbox in a few day’s time.
With warm regards,
Alistair Mork-Chadwick (Psychologist)
Now you can ALSO experience the amazing challenge that we always host at our CrossFit box, but you can do it in the comfort of your own home! For the first time ever we will have an online Challenge but with the same care and benefits that you would normally receive in our Box.
Using Zoom and WhatsApp we will motivate and guide you.
Be part of a big group of people who share experiences, training programmes, meal plans and healthy food ideas and of course, your coach who will motivate you and assist you with your training plans, FACE TO FACE. Ready?
News supplied by Crossfit Howick.
I have shared before about collaboration with other Non-Profit Organisations and today I want to highlight Ethembeni HIV & AIDS Ministry. We have been blessed to work alongside this team for the past few weeks, as they have managed a number of distributions for us in Mpophomeni, Mthandobisi and a handful in Shiyaz.
It is hard to explain everything which Gail and her incredible team do but they are both inspirational and passionate. A book club in our Midlands community took on the provision of food parcels for the Mpophomeni Maternity Group run by Thuniywe at Ethembeni. This same book club were incredibly generous and pledged another round of food parcels for these same ladies. Today, this thank you note arrived and I wanted to share it largely to highlight the importance of the work being done by this incredible organisation.
"Thank you for making a difference and helping us to provide food to our maternal health groups in Mpophomeni. This lockdown has been particularly difficult for them, can you imagine being pregnant and hungry?
I was at our Family Centre today as the ladies arrived to fetch their food parcels that you provided and it was so nice to witness their happy and grateful faces. Today one of the ladies in the group arrived and had unfortunately miscarried in the last few days. As I watched Thunyiwe say a few comforting words to her and make arrangements to go to her home to counsel her, I thought about how blessed we were to have someone like Thunyiwe and her team that do such a wonderful job providing the support groups that our government clinics can’t do."
Please follow Ethembeni HIV & AIDS Ministry on Facebook and share the love for the critical work they are doing.
Want to know if you’re moving into a neighbourhood on the up-and-up?
Ooba recommends:
-Checking out nearby developments
-Noticing if there are skips in the road (sure signs of renovations)
-Finding out how close to a coffee shop or Woolworths you are.
House hunting tips
To help you crack your house-buying case, use ooba’s 10-point cheat sheet, purpose-designed to unleash the property sleuth within.
1. Work the estate agent
Instead of treating estate agents as foes, make them your friends. Get them on your side. If you’re buying a cup of coffee on the way to a viewing, why not get one for the agent, as well? Don’t just schmooze the agents, impress them by submitting your requirements and bond arrangements in writing. To estate agents marketing a decent property, prospective buyers are a dime a dozen. You need to stand head and shoulders above the other buyers.
Estate agent David Pollock, author of 101 Things Your Estate Agent Should Tell You, agrees. “Keep their business card and write down some personal facts about them, such as whether they’re married, or have children. If they like you they are more likely to find out what you want.”
Once you have wormed your way into your agent’s confidence through copious cappuccinos and enquiries about their children, put this intimacy to practical use. Squeeze them for information. Why are the sellers moving (death, debt or divorce)? How long has their property been on the market? How many offers have been made? What’s the lowest price they would accept? You’ll be surprised how readily an agent will respond, provided you’ve put in enough spadework.
2. Plan coordinated raids
Viewing properties in a piecemeal fashion just doesn’t work. If you take too long over your viewings, there’s a risk that when you decide you want the first house you saw, it’s already been sold. Instead, put aside a whole day, and do a number of viewings. Also, go on a weekday. Estate agents will give you more time than on the weekend, when the world and his wife wants to view.
3. Get visual evidence
Take your own pictures. These are much more useful than glossy agents’ shots. Film your visits on your phone, too. That way, you have something to refer to when the properties start to blur in your brain.
4. Think outside the box
We must be the only nation in the world that still refers to the size of house by the number of bedrooms it has. Everywhere else, it is expressed in square metres. That’s how we ought to think. Envisage the potential of a property, not being limited by the present configuration of the walls. Equally, don’t immediately dismiss an off-putting interior. Sometimes a feature wall or an unusual colour scheme just needs a little time to show its brilliance. If the house has already been well designed, buying it off the peg can save you from an expensive, disruptive renovation project later.
5. Gather clues
Once you’re inside the front door, it is your big opportunity. Don’t just waft around admiring the soft furnishings. Make a detailed forensic examination. Use all of your senses. First your nose: can you smell damp, or mustiness? Then take a closer look around: are there any patches of coloured wallpaper or paintwork. Look for telltale signs of why the sellers are moving, such as a baby scan on the fridge, or piles of letters from the estate agent or bank. These may contain pointers as to how long the place has been on the market, and what price the agents actually think the place will fetch. Then put your hands to work. Turn the shower on and check the pressure. Don’t be shy.
6. Radio back to base
Switch on your cellphone and check there’s a signal in the house. You don’t want to live in a communications black spot.
7. Night-time stakeouts
If you like a house, don’t just visit it during the day. Come back at night, when noisy neighbours might be around, or that quiet restaurant nearby gets rowdy. Find out when bin-collection day is too. And check if the locals leave out neatly tied-up recycling sacks, or strew black bags all over the place for the resident cats to feast from.
8. Build a case
If you want evidence of an area’s upwardly-mobile-ness, find out if any new housing developments are planned. The big firms don’t send in the diggers unless they’re certain they are going to strike gold (well, at least find ready buyers). Also look out for skips in the road – they’re a sure sign that the renovation teams are in, and the area is on the up. Coffee shops such as Vida are another reliable indicator of gentrification. And you could always put a tail on what Woolworths is up to. They specialise in sniffing out places that are on the rise.
9. Trust your hunches
In order to get a result, you’ve got to go with your gut feeling. You can be equipped with all the facts, floor plans and flow charts, but the clinching factor in any property purchase is human instinct.
10. Put word out on the streets
Sign up for online alerts letting you know about properties that are for sale in the streets and postcodes where you would like to buy. Websites such as Lightstoneproperty.co.za also list the prices fetched by homes in your target suburbs over a number of years.
At the same time, visit the offices of estate agents in the areas you have chosen. After all, in the end house hunting is about dealing with people, not just bricks and mortar.
News supplied by Dormehl Phalane Property Group Midlands.
Any runners or cyclists out there interested in taking on a garden challenge to help Howick Hospice raise funds?
We are in need of Four, non contact forehead thermometers. These will be used to screen our patients and their families when our nurses do their patient visits. This will ensure the safety of our Clinical Team, help reduce the spread in the local community and allow the Team to assess if there is a need for Covid 19 testing.
At R1800 a thermometer we need all the help we can get.
Get your entry forms https://forms.gle/GGFLmq6ZbavNJR7q9
Together we can make a difference.
News supplied by Howick Hospice.
With the implementation of the national lockdown to flatten the curve of the COVID19 pandemic, many families have been left destitute without the means to earn an income and provide for their families.
Focusing on Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas, Porky’s People, has created a campaign on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, to support as many families as possible with food and other essential items during the lockdown.
Honoring social distancing guidelines, funds raised by their campaign will be converted into digital food vouchers that can be redeemed at any local Shoprite supermarket.
The campaign went live on the 19th of April 2010 and has thus far raised a total of R3 848.00 with contributions from 16 donors.
“With our campaign, we will do our best to help as many people as possible on a first-come, first-serve basis. We hope the public will join us in raising funds as we strive to overcome this global pandemic.” – Porky’s co-founder, Theresa Pienaar
The platform also welcomes donations in the form of food parcels, if any individuals or small businesses would like to join their efforts to feed vulnerable families during this time.
With kind donations from Joey’s Breakdown Services, Car Towing PMB and ABC Towing, Porky’s has thus far managed to feed 20 families. Any businesses wanting to get involved, can reach out to Porky’s here: https://form.jotform.com/201083991673561
News supplied.
We hope that you have come out of the initial lockdown period healthy and in a good state of mind. Under the current challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the limitations of a continued state of lockdown, we have decided to keep our recycling villages closed until further notice. This is to ensure the safety and maximum protection of our staff and the general public, while we investigate and put in place measures to adhere to the back-to-workplace regulations as communicated by the government on the 3rd of May 2020.
The recycling villages which will be CLOSED until further notice are as follows:
• Quarry Recycling Village, Hilton
• Midlands Mall Recycling Village, Pietermaritzburg
• Hayfields Recycling Village, Pietermaritzburg
• Pick n Pay Recycling Village, Howick
• St Johns Recycling Village, Howick
• Watercrest Recycling Village, Hillcrest
Although we encourage you to continue best environmental practice, including recycling from home during this period – we urge you to please not dump your recyclables at the villages over this time as there will be no one available to sort, collect and keep the villages clean and tidy.
We thank you in advance for your understanding, apologise for the inconvenience caused and wish you and your families good health.
Should you experience any Covid-19 symptoms which include a dry cough, runny nose, fever and shortness of breath, please use the following numbers provided by the National Department of Health – Covid-19 Support Services:
• Emergency Hotline – 0800 029 999
• WhatsApp Support line – 0600 123 456
WILD Regards,
The WILDLANDS Recycling Team
News supplied.
The UCSI continues to add value and support to SAPS and the crime-fighting initiatives in our communities.
UCSI Update 15 April – 5 May 2020
18 April 2020 (Karkloof): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was sought by the Underberg SAPS. Affiliated security companies, SAPS radio control and local SAPS were informed. Vehicle could not be located. Case still pending.
19 April 2020 (Hilton): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was sought by the Kloof SAPS. Affiliated security companies, SAPS radio control and local SAPS were informed. Vehicle could not be located. Case still pending.
20 April 2020 (Merrivale): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was sought by the Durban North SAPS. Affiliated security companies, SAPS radio control and local SAPS were informed. The vehicle was located. UCSI handed the matter over to SAPS.
22 April 2020 (Merrivale): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was possibly linked to an armed robbery in the area. Affiliated security companies and local SAPS were informed. The vehicle was located and monitored. SAPS were advised. The UCSI was instructed to monitor the vehicle further.
25 April 2020 (Merrivale): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was reported stolen with a Pietermaritzburg CAS number. Affiliated security companies and local SAPS were informed. The vehicle could not be located. The UCSI suspects the vehicle went onto the R617 where there are no cameras in place as yet. Case still pending.
29 April 2020 (Merrivale): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was reported stolen with a Mountain Rise CAS number. Affiliated security companies, SAPS radio control and local SAPS were informed. The vehicle was located. SAPS and radio control confirmed that the vehicle had been recovered. The vehicle owner was advised to update details with SAPS. The vehicle was removed from the SNIPR database. Case closed.
1 May 2020 (Merrivale): The UCSI received a notification about a vehicle that was wanted by SAPS. Affiliated security companies, SAPS radio control and local SAPS were informed. The vehicle could not be located. The UCSI suspects the vehicle went onto the R 617 where there are no cameras in place as yet. Case still pending.
Wrap up
The role the UCSI is playing in our community is invaluable. The support offered to SAPS and Law Enforcement is critical in monitoring who is moving in and out of our areas. The UCSI also plays a fundamental role in helping “clean-up” databases. No matter how small the contribution – it all matters and makes a difference.
How can you get involved?
Please join the UCSI as a contributing member. The UCSI will not be sustainable without monthly community support from business entities, shopping centres, hospitals, schools, estates, security companies and private individuals.
Contact the UCSI by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our website at www.ucsi.org.za for more information on how to join and make a contribution. Private individuals from R 50 pm and business entities from R 300 pm.
Stay safe – we got this!
Yours sincerely
The UCSI Board of Directors
Themba Ndulini (Chairperson), Thandeni Zondi (Vice-chairperson), Debbie Preston (Secretary), Krish Ramkuber, Kevin Wright, Terence James, Whyona Sithapersad and PJ Myeni.
Supplied by UCSI.
'Please can we assist the car guards of Fairways on Main with groceries, it is at least 6 weeks they have gone without income. Centre Management is supporting what they can, but it is hardly enough.
Please drop off at Center Managers office, we have 10 guards and 3 of these have families. I have applied for grocery hampers twice but to no avail. Thank you and bless you.' Julie Coles - Center Manager at Fairways on Main, Howick KZN.
News supplied.
Here it is! Available from Friday the 1st May when we are moved to level 4 lockdown. We are starting with a smaller menu to ensure quality as we launch again.
In June, we hope to release new additions. Please note that extreme hygiene measures are in place. There are only five of us overseeing this delivery business and we are making sure all food is cooked and packaged with the utmost precautions in place.
On delivery we will be wearing face masks as well as visors. We ask that on receiving your delivery you wear a mask too and that no physical contact is made with us.
We are now offering deliveries to PMB, but need to charge for the distance. If you would prefer to meet in Hilton and obviate the cost of delivery this can be arranged. Howick, Hilton and Merrivale are still free delivery as these are on our routes.
To order you can click on this link to do it all online: www.thesnootyfox.co.za.
This site will go live again on Friday.
News supplied by Fern Hill Hotel.
357 children fed and around 6400 overall.
We are now going to be feeding 350 children each day, 2100 a week as well as sending out 120 family food parcels this week.
Thank you so much for the phenomenal support which has allowed us to increase the number of food parcels we send out. Thanks to you we haven’t had to look a child in the eyes and say sorry we can’t help you, a gift we could never possible say thank you enough for. Please don’t forget about us and keep sharing and donating if you can.
Please click on the following link for all our payment and donation options: https://www.angelscare.co.za/donate
Please keep safe and well and thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.
News supplied by Angel's Care Centre.
The past weeks of lockdown have caused me to experience a lot of emotional stress. The lack of contact with my sons, and too much contact with fear-consumed members of my extended family, have both contributed to this. And that’s without giving attention to the emotional stress that relates to the many (uncertain) impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Apart from battling to sleep well when I experience emotional stress, (which causes me to feel tired, irritable and even more stressed the next day… which leads to more problems sleeping) I am very aware that if I allow my emotional stress to continue unchecked then it will trigger chronic inflammation within my brain and body.
At a biological level, research clearly shows that your body and brain will respond to mental and emotional stress as they would to a harmful pathogen, or to a direct physical threat, such as a mugger confronting you, with a “fight or flight” (stress) response.
Brief exposure to a difficult situation, as sometimes happens during the course of one’s day, results in a short-lived, i.e. acute, stress response. These moments of emotional stress may result in a temporary inflammatory process being triggered, but they are unlikely to have a long-lasting negative effect on your health or immune system.
It is when you experience ongoing or prolonged periods of emotional stress, such as most of us have experienced over the past month, that chronic inflammation is triggered and the functioning of one’s immune system becomes compromised.
So, two important questions to ask yourself now are: To what extent am I prone to experiencing chronic emotional stress? And, to what extent have I been experiencing chronic emotional stress during the lockdown?
Over time, chronic emotional stress creates chronic, systemic, low-grade inflammation that not only compromises the functioning of our immune system but makes us more vulnerable to almost every chronic health problem known to science, including depression, Alzheimers disease, various cancers, diabetes, and a multitude of auto-immune conditions.
What is absolutely critical to understand and acknowledge is that it is most often your thoughts about a difficult situation that will cause you to experience chronic emotional stress.
Consider where your thoughts have taken you when you have worked for an unreasonable boss, have had financial difficulties, or have suffered a chronic health problem. Consider where your thoughts have taken you over the past month. In each of these ongoing difficult situations, it is quite possible that you have found yourself regularly thinking about the situation and, as a direct consequence, experiencing some level of ongoing anxiety, worry, frustration and/or other unpleasant emotion.
This is chronic emotional stress, and it results in the ongoing release of the stress hormone cortisol and other chemicals that trigger and maintain chronic inflammatory processes within your brain and body and have negative effects on both mental and physical health.
So, how can you reduce chronic emotional stress effectively? Well, ongoing difficult situations will trigger your habitual ways of dealing with the unpleasant emotions, including thoughts and feelings, that arise within you. These are the habits of thinking and feeling that each of us has developed over the course of our lives.
These habits may be thought of as your “autopilot” reactions, and may involve a habitual avoiding or blocking of the difficult inner experiences (of thinking and feeling).
An equally common autopilot reaction involves getting caught up in the difficult thoughts and feelings (and unpleasant physical sensations). The habit of ruminating is an example of this.
What most people do not know, is that whether you avoid thinking about an ongoing difficult situation and/or ruminate upon it, the chronic stress response is still very much in operation!
So, you may be asking: what is the alternative? Well, it may sound counter-intuitive, but the acceptance of the unpleasant feelings and thoughts that arise within us all is an alternative response that has, in fact, been proven to be far more effective in limiting emotional stress.
I /
Emotional Avoidance
Acceptance of Difficult Emotions
Getting caught up in emotions
The most well-researched and most effective approach to accepting difficult emotions is what has been termed a mindful approach to emotional stress reduction. As such, I would like to encourage you to experiment with this mindful approach to by taking one or more of the mental steps listed below to calm yourself when faced with a difficult situation:
1. Remind yourself that emotional stress involves three separate but closely linked inner experiences; difficult feelings (e.g. of anxiety or frustration), unpleasant thoughts, and uncomfortable body sensations (e.g. butterflies in one’s tummy).
2. Recognise that your unpleasant inner experiences are normal and natural human reactions to difficult situations.
3. Note your autopilot reaction to these inner experiences, perhaps to try to avoid them and/or to get caught up in them, which often involves rumination.
4. Accept your difficult thoughts, feelings and body sensations as temporary experiences. (This step generally requires that you release your previous autopilot reaction/s.)
5. Hold your difficult thoughts, feelings and body sensations in your awareness while breathing deeply and slowly. (This quickly deactivates and calms the “stress centre’ in your brain called the Amygdala.)
I would love to hear of your experience as you experiment with taking some of the steps described above, even if it is just to breathe deeply and slowly during a difficult situation. Send me an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let me know.
News supplied by Alistair Mork-Chadwick (Psychologist).
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown has had an unprecedented impact on how businesses operate. Negatives aside, this pandemic is an opportunity to push workspaces into the future with new health technologies.
According to Raghmah Solomon, at Vortex Design Solutions, an Interior Design company specialising in compliance of building fire, HVAC and electrical systems to obtain Occupation Certification from City Council. “In our experience we know creating a working environment in which employees are safe and free to flourish, is extremely beneficial for both a company’s culture and bottom-line.”
Here are the top 8 things you can do to safeguard your building and/or workspace:
• Educate your staff. Go the extra mile to make sure your staff members understand how the new health and safety regulations work and why they are in place. No measures you adopt are going to be effective if your staff members are not educated in-situ on how to use them or on the facts about how COVID-19 is transmitted.
• Re-evaluate your access control systems. Some buildings use finger biometrics for security reasons. These are easily replaced with card-controlled access systems which eliminate the risk posed by employees touching the same touchpad continuously.
• Automate your doors. Many doors have no closing mechanism which means staff must touch the handles. Automating doors with a door closer and a no-touch sensor button is an easy and unobtrusive step towards safety.
• Clear the clutter. Apart from having proven psychological benefits, a clean workspace will eliminate possible places for the virus to linger.
• Redesign the workspaces. Areas of top priority are worktops that are not hygiene friendly in reception areas and canteen areas, as well as sale points at retail spaces which should have sneeze guards.
• Have mobile hand sanitiser units at as many common touchpoints as possible for people to disinfect should they touch a shared space.
• Restructure open-plan layouts. The safest way to be in a shared space is to adhere to the 2m distancing as per the office quarantine solutions guidelines. Invest in mindful, sustainable technology for teams to restructure their collaborative meetings and team huddles, as well as information signage to keep all members of your company in contact and up to date.
We already know that a virus will survive on many surfaces that make up our office spaces and this means the potential risks for virus transmission in the workplace are everywhere.
Health and safety regulations will adapt to protect our labour force and it is the responsibility of every business owner to adapt with them.
It is the hope of the team behind Vortex Design Solutions, that their expertise on creating beautiful, optimal working environments, can help move South African businesses into a safer, cleaner and more productive future.
For more info visit www.vortexdesignsolutions.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
News supplied.
I woke up in the middle of the night last night and then tossed and turned for what seemed like a very looong time until I eventually fell asleep again… and then I woke up very early, long before I wanted to!
And now, a few hours later, my brain feels a lot less sharp than usual. I have inadvertently bumped into one or two pieces of furniture, and my typos (as I attempt to write this) come thick and fast.
As a psychologist with a huge interest in brain health, I know that my clumsiness this morning is very likely to be a direct result of the disrupted, and thus poor quality, sleep I had last night.
And scientific studies show, unfortunately, that just one evening of poor quality sleep is enough to have a negative impact on many other less visible aspects of my functioning, including my immune system (as well as my microbiome and brain cells).
It seems that the main reason poor sleep has a negative impact on your immune system is because it disrupts your circadian rhythm which, in turn, triggers inflammation.
Circadian rhythms drive hormone, and other physiological, changes that cause us to move back and forth along a continuum of sleep and wakefulness throughout the 24-hour day. When your circadian rhythm is regularly disrupted by poor quality sleep, you become more prone to unhealthy chronic inflammation, and your immune system becomes compromised.
Going to bed at the same time and waking at the same time every day reinforces the healthy circadian rhythms that govern both our sleep and our immune function.
I describe a few habits below to improve your sleep hygiene and promote a better night's sleep in order to ensure a strong immune system. Bear in mind, that because your brain is somewhat unique in structure and function you should experiment a bit with all of these suggestions:
1. Create the conditions for quality sleep. These “conditions” are critical and start around mid-morning for many of us because what we do at this time of day can affect our sleep 10 hours later. Try to limit the following ‘inputs’ and see how this affects your quality of sleep:
- Caffeine is a crucial offender and blocks the brain’s sleep signal. It is found in: coffee, most ceylon teas, dark chocolate and some pharmaceutical drugs, e.g. weight loss pills and painkillers. Perhaps surprisingly, 50% of caffeine is still in your system 5 to 7 hours after you have drunk it, overriding your internal sleep cycles, so try to stop the caffeine intake about ten hours before bed.
- Electronic devices with LED screens also negatively affect the brain’s sleep signal. As the day wears on the sun’s light turns from predominantly blue light to predominantly yellow wavelength light. This causes your brain to start producing melatonin, the “sleep hormone” that makes you feel drowsy. LED screens, however, emit blue light, which stops the brain from producing and releasing melatonin.
So, turn off all electronic devices about 3 hours before bed-time. If this is just not possible, then ensure that you turn on the “dimmer switch” or choose the yellow light option on your smart phone and tablet. Also, bright light and/or cool white LED light, particularly in your bedroom, needs to be turned down or off.
- Food after 6:30pm can make it hard to fall asleep. Sugar-rich foods and heavy meals are especially problematic. The later you eat, the harder it becomes to achieve a full night of restful sleep. Also alcohol may help you to relax, but it will often impact your quality of sleep.
2. Develop a consistent evening routine. This is another crucial aspect of your “sleep hygiene” because it helps to ensure a long, deep night’s rest.
- Go to bed at about the same time every night. Set a bedtime alarm if you need to. Most adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Listen to your circadian rhythm, which essentially means determining whether you are a morning or an evening person. Then time your eight hours sleep to suit your body’s rhythm.
- Write a “to do” list for the next day, especially if the stress of your current situation is keeping you from falling asleep quickly. By doing this, you are essentially “downloading” your internal “worry programme”, before you shut your eyes.
- Sleep in the dark. Heavy curtains, Blackout blinds and not even one dim bedside lamp. Even a low lamp will delay the production and release of sleep-inducing melatonin.
- Cool your room. Your body temperature needs to drop two to three degrees to fall asleep. An ideal room temperature is between 15C and 19C (i.e. 65F).
- Cool your body by having a hot shower or bath. It’s not the water’s heat that makes you sleepy, but your body temperature dropping after you get out of the tub.
- Get into bed with enough time to fully relax. Take five or more deep breaths and consciously relax the muscles throughout your whole body lying on your mattress.
- Listen to a guided meditation once in bed and while your eyes are closed to help release stress, and/or take natural supplements to reduce anxiety and promote sleep.
Bear in mind that emotional stress, such as that accompanying the current uncertainties, is a common obstacle to sleep. And, in turn, not getting enough sleep makes us more vulnerable to the physical and emotional effects of stress. It can become a very difficult, and debilitating, cycle.
Now, more than ever, getting quality sleep is important for reducing your stress and supporting your immune system.
News supplied by Alistair-Mork Chadwick.
Heather Somerville was a co-founder of Funda Nenja back in July 2009 and since that time she became a very valued member of the team that is responsible for the success of the initiative. Heather is one of those quiet, reliable and hardworking people who is always there when needed, and who just gets on with the job without expecting any fanfare.
Over the years she has assisted with admin, canine first aid, instructing classes, coaching the demo team, helping with transport, sourcing equipment and much much more. She has very rarely missed a Friday afternoon training session in the 10 years of our existence and has been one of our most dependable and dedicated volunteers.
Recently Heather reluctantly decided that it was time for her to retire from helping out at our weekly dog school, but she still takes a keen interest in the organisation.We miss Heather enormously, but wish her a well deserved retirement. Thank you Heather for your HUGE contribution to Funda Nenja over the years - it is very much appreciated by us all.
News supplied by Funda Nenja.