An ordinary blog by an ordinary bloke

Backstory: I joined the Human Genetics team of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma (in South Germany) ~6 months ago and as part of our ‘team responsibilities’, it was our turn to give a short presentation (technically called a ‘Safety Minute’) on a health & safety issue of our choice (e.g. how to ride a bike safely, safety in the lab). I rolled the lowest value within our team and therefore had to choose the topic and give the presentation. I didn’t feel like I could lecture the attendees/my colleagues on German laws or working in a lab filled with chemicals – as I recently moved to Germany and spend my entire working day in front of my home PC. So I thought it would hopefully be interesting for them to hear what are the small things (therefore must-do things like cleaning teeth properly incl. flossing, getting vaccinated, doing sports or having a first-aid kit nearby* is not mentioned here) I do at home (office) for my physical and mental wellbeing and then they could take what they wanted from the presentation but also comment on what they found interesting or even wrong – so I could learn from them too. Needless to say, many enjoyed the topic and shared their views with me during the call or via email afterwards. I therefore wanted to share the presentation in my blog too for the same reasons.

Main presentation/messages:

So in preparation for this topic, I had a look around my home and made a list of the small things that I do for my physical and mental well-being (NB: of course anything I do for my physical wellbeing affects my mental well-being too) – in no particular order:

Physical well-being

• I (try to) start the day with some face exercises
• I try to keep my home clean and wash the dishes before going to bed (get a dishwasher if you can!)
• I have a few wrist & elbow rests on my table to prevent tennis/computer elbow
• I make time during my lunch break to have a proper ‘Turkish breakfast’ (see slide): e.g. Fresh bread/baguette, Omelette (e.g. Menemen made with top/”0″ class eggs, ‘sivri’ pepper, and good quality chopped tomatoes), green and black olives (in high-quality olive oil), variety of fruit, yoghurt (with mint), and good-quality spices e.g. pepper, chilli flakes…
• I eat a teaspoonful of Manuka Honey every day (UMF 15+), take ‘A-Z’ vitamin & mineral supplement once a week, and try to have fruit on my table to nudge me to eat more (I should do this with water too!)
• Once a month (or every two months), I rinse my sinuses with saline solution (made using high-quality salt and filtered lukewarm water) using a Neti syringe. I used to suffer from sinusitis (and consequent migraines) almost every 2-3 days before I started doing this
• I gargle with antibacterial mouthwash or salty water once a day – doing this continually has cured my chronic tonsilitis, cough (from nasal drip) and bad breath
• I don’t eat anything after 9pm (only water or high-quality jasmine/linden tea allowed). I find that brushing my teeth somehow signals to my brain that I will not be eating – and the urge to eat (mostly) stops
• I set a reminder on my phone at ~9:30pm everyday to do some exercise such as (15x) crunches, push-ups, pull-ups, and leg-ups – if I haven’t already done some cycling or football/basketball training that day (making sure to apply Sudocrem or Chamois cream to jock area to prevent skin damage/jock itch due to friction)
• I try to get a ‘good’ sleep by sleeping no later than 12pm. I also raise my thorax & head (cured my reflux/stomach – used to feel like garbage in the morning) and put ‘night-mode’ (i.e. switch to warmer colours) on my mobile phone before sleep

Mental well-being

• I am shameless at getting help from friends who are more knowledgeable than me on respective matters and this saves me so much time and hassle
• I made sure my internet was fast enough to not cause me trouble during meetings and webinars. It can be draining to let it linger and it is certainly worth the additional 10-20 euros/pounds a month if mostly working from home
• I try to keep my home tidy and spacious by selling/giving away unnecessary stuff (e.g. if I don’t use something for ~6 months, then I can do away with it)
• I open the windows and meditate/sit/lie on the floor several times during work hours. Also having a head massager is a (cheap) luxury which is well worth it!
• I have photos of people (e.g. my family) and quotes (see slide for example) that make me happy and/or motivate me on my office desk/table**. Having a digital photo frame (set to ‘random’ mode) also helps massively to make use of photos on my PC.
• Leaving the home is important e.g. I go nature parks and/or to the cinema (and/or a restaurant) at least once a week with my family and/or work colleagues
• I play Wordle (both Turkish and English versions), a strategy/puzzle/mystery game (e.g. Professor Layton, Minesweeper or Brain Training on my Nintendo DS), and/or Sudoku every morning to start the day with a challenge that gets me going and the brain working
• I look at the stars and planets during the night using an app called ‘Sky Map’. I also check out Google Earth, and Explore.org every now and then to observe elephants, eagles (nests), safari animals etc. live
• I don’t read the news in the morning – especially during stressful world events (e.g. Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine)

I hope the list was useful. It is also available to download here as a Powerpoint slide:

PS: I would also recommend having two monitors if possible as it helps me a lot when switching between tabs/academic papers

Footnotes:

*I also keep an easy-to-eyeball first-aid guideline on my desktop – you can either buy a poster or a digital copy (like the one below) and keep it on your desktop

**I also keep a magazine or book that entertains me nearby; or have a favourite video/podcast list on my YouTube/Spotify accounts to fall back on when I want to discharge

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