Seven Secrets of Wellbeing: Professor Tara Swart
It’s not often that a neuroscientist puts the case for aromatherapy – in this case at a breakfast for Aromatherapy Associates where Dr. Tara Swart was explaining how simple daily rituals using specific essential oils can help us, say, feel brighter in the morning and more relaxed come the evening.
But Dr. Tara Swart is unusual. With impeccable qualifications in psychiatry and neuroscience, she now combines being an academic and top tier leadership coach with her passion for exploring any avenue to encourage people to adopt simple shifts that can make life better, happier and more fruitful. And all of it supported by neuroscience.
We first met Tara (incidentally one of the very nicest people) in 2017, when she was Neuroscientist in Residence at the Corinthia Hotel in London, pretty unusual to say the least. She now has a residency at Annabel’s private members club in Berkeley Square, is Chief Scientist for a company formulating innovative nutritional supplements (yourheights.com), as well as being Brand Ambassador for Aromatherapy Associates.
Tara’s mission came about as a result of her own life falling apart when she was in her mid thirties. Then an NHS psychiatrist, she became overwhelmed with the stress of long hours, a huge workload and the ‘sense of not being to make a real difference to my patients’. Her marriage fell apart, she hit her own rock bottom and, as she battled to find a new path, she turned to practises such as yoga and meditation, positive thinking and visualisation, reflexology and aromatherapy.
Everything Tara learnt about such potent natural ways to optimise your brain is distilled in her recent award-winning book The Source (find it here on Amazon) which we highly recommend.
Here Dr. Tara Swart shares her top wellbeing secrets:
1. Get seven to nine hours of good quality sleep. This is a nightly requirement for 98% of human brains and I’m obsessed with getting my quota. Having a really good mattress and bedding made from natural, breathable materials is essential. A silk duvet and silk pillow cases seem like the ultimate luxury but the pillow cases do wonders for your skin and hair, and the duvet is thermo-regulating so it allows your body to stay at the optimal temperature throughout the seasons. I also use a Dyson air purifier overnight to mitigate London pollution and to act as white noise against traffic sounds. I always go to bed in cashmere socks as you fall asleep quicker if your body isn’t distracted by having to warm up your extremities, but they don’t stay on for long! Using a spritz such as Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Sleep Mist tops it all off.
2. Take appropriate supplements
I vary these across the year and what the demands are on my brain and body. I’m Chief Science Officer for Heights, a “smart” formulation, which covers all the important nutrients for brain health in a single vegan double capsule. I also take a good quality probiotic to maintain the quality and diversity of my gut bacteria. This has knock on effects on immunity, skin condition and access to your “gut instinct”, which is a real thing and crucial to knowing what your body needs to maximise its wellness. Stress leaches magnesium; this vital mineral is best absorbed through the skin so I put magnesium salts in the bath or spray/lotion on my body.
3. Cuddling! To encourage my brain to produce oxytocin. This is the hormone released by love, trust and physical affection. The best way to spread it is by cuddling, but you also release it if you immerse yourself in warm water or have a massage. Loneliness has now been recognised as a health risk factor just like smoking or being sedentary. When I was single I took baths more than showers and treated myself to massages. Now I focus on cuddling my husband, paying attention, listening without interrupting, and giving good eye contact to my friends and family. During demanding times I add in some regular reflexology sessions.
4. Practise time restricted eating and intermittent fasting. Calorie restriction has proven longevity benefits when it’s based on a nutrient dense, balanced diet. There are also benefits to emotional regulation by learning how to fast. Eating between 8am and 8pm means you fast for 12 hours in the day. I regularly eat only between noon and 8pm. If I want to give myself a big boost I practice intermittent fasting for two to three months, where I only eat 500 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week. I find the easiest way to do this is to drink green juices on the fasting days and eat normally the rest of the week. But this last part is only appropriate if you already have a healthy, balanced nutrition-dense diet and your GP says it’s ok to push things further.
5. Drink plenty of water and herbal tea. Hydration is critical to supporting the physiological functions of the brain and body. Being as little as 1-3% dehydrated has a negative effect on your brain-body system. Drinking plenty of still water and herbal teas and also limiting caffeine intake makes a big difference to physical well-being and sleep quality. I have one Matcha green tea in the morning for the powerful antioxidant effects and don’t consume any caffeine (in regular tea, coffee or chocolate) after 10am as it lingers in your brain for around 12 hours.
6. Keep moving. Oxygen is a powerful resource for our brain and all the cells in our body. You can maximise your intake through being mobile rather than sedentary as well as engaging in formal exercise. Simply breathing deeply helps too. I’m lucky enough to live in the countryside from Thursday to Sunday so I spend as much time as possible around large trees and bodies of water as an antidote to city life. I’ve had to make a big effort to make this balance work with my career and social life but it’s definitely better for my wellbeing. When I lived in London full-time I didn’t have a garden but I made sure I went to Hampstead Heath or Holland Park a lot. I avoid exercising in polluted urban areas, as it actually decreases the release of certain endorphins and brain growth factors.
7. Have a complete digital detox. For the last ten years, I have taken a complete digital detox every year over Christmas and New Year. Most of the time I have to be switched on all the time, working across time zones and being active on social media. I have strong boundaries around what I expose my brain to in terms of bad news or negative imagery but this break from all technology takes me to a totally different level of relaxation and calm. It’s incredible how much time and space is created by simply not using your devices. I find that it releases physical tension in the body and unleashes creativity. Even an email-free weekend or short holiday has a significant effect.