At Stephens Scown, prioritising our health and mental well-being are non-negotiables and we hope that we can share the things we learn along the way with you.

Good health is a minefield these days. What to eat, what not to eat. It’s hard to know where to start on our journey to better health and a positive state of mind. Whilst optimal nutrition is a hugely contentious area to navigate, we thought we would begin our New Year health journey with things that almost everyone can agree are good for us! And what better place to start than cold water therapy. A new past time that everyone can get involved in from the likes of Wim Hof getting celebrities to immerse themselves in Arctic waters to Londoners jumping into the icy ponds of Hampstead.

All throughout the year, at every popular beach spot along our beautiful Cornish and Devonshire coast, you will find a group of locals braving the Baltic sea donning nothing more than a swimsuit and possibly a bright, woolly hat all seeking the same thing: the incredible health benefits of cold water therapy. Research suggests that this icy pursuit can not only help with the winter blues but can even go so far as to stave off terrible illnesses such as Dementia for those that continue to brave the cold into their older years. Winter dippers are convinced that this cold elixir brings good health all year, boosting their immune systems, keeping the nasty colds and flus at Bay. But what about those of us who have neither the time nor the inclination to submerge ourselves into freezing bodies of water? Well fear not! It has been shown that simply immersing your face alone into a bowl of ice water for several minutes each morning is enough to provide some of the benefits of cold water therapy which include calming the Vagus nerve and even improving skin tone and reducing wrinkles! What’s not to love! We here at Stephens Scown are certainly going to give it a try.

It is clear, our modern lives don’t leave much time for the things that are good for us, but incorporating what we can to improve our health and well-being must be worth a shot. So what about exercise? We all probably think that the only way to fitness is to slog it out in a gym for an hour or pounding the pavements relentlessly several times a week. But finding an hour in a day can be tricky, especially in the winter months when days are shorter and the temptation to curl up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea can be too much to resist. But what if we told you that it has now been shown that short bursts of exercise throughout your day can work just as well in significantly improving health outcomes and lifespan. Sounds too good to be true? These short bursts are known amongst fitness fanatics as “movement snacks”. Research has been shown that just 4.5 minutes per day of robust physical activity leads to as much as a 31% decrease in cancer incidence. We certainly will be trying to incorporate these “movement snacks” into our daily lives at the office. 20 jumping squats or burpees at your desk every hour seems a small price to pay for such dramatic health benefits. Add in a brisk 20-minute lunchtime walk and you’re on your way to reducing your risk of developing depression by 43%.

We love the idea of incorporating these simple yet effective strategies into our daily lives that take minimum effort with maximum results. At Stephens Scown prioritising our health and mental well-being are non-negotiables and we hope that we can share the things we learn along the way with you.