And trust us, it will shock you. 

Surpriseee, it’s us (again). We’re back and ready to teach you the thing that literally NO one talks about, and tbh we’ve been surprised at the number of people who didn’t know this!  

I’m sure you can relate that in the health and wellness industry, so many people are just treading water, trying to stay afloat in all of the trends that supposedly will help you:

1. Achieve your best-self
2. “Glow up”
3. Balance your hormones
4. Detox your body

Let’s be real, we’ve all wished our skin was a little bit glowier, we had a bit more pep in our step and we didn’t feel like we had to peel ourselves out of our beds each day, (just keeping it real.) But by the time we’ve fallen into a research hole of trying to find how to get to your perfect self, we feel drained and accept that we are the way we are. 

We’re here to tell you that you don’t have to go to the gym 6 days a week, and burn out every muscle in your body! In fact, our co-founder Russell emphasises this hugely - we promise you won’t find him in the local PureGym. However, what you would find is Russell doing a few exercises in his hotel room in between gigs on his comedy tour, taking the stairs instead of the lift and opting to get some extra steps in rather than opening up the Uber app. 

Sorry we’ve kept you waiting, but here’s the juicy bit. This may surprise you, but your social connection with others is the one thing you need to put your focus towards. This can be something as little as smiling at the barista who gives you your morning coffee, saying hello to a by-passer in the street or carving out an evening of the week to catch up with those people in your life that make you feel good. The study found that individuals with stronger social connections have a 50% increased likelihood of survival compared to those with weaker social ties. 

*books in wine night*

All jokes aside, why does this happen? 

Social connections and surrounding yourself with feel-good vibes, helps reduce the production of cortisol - that hormone no one likes but we do unfortunately need a certain amount of. When people are socially isolated or lonely, they tend to experience chronic stress, leading to consistently elevated cortisol levels. On the other end of the scale, positive social interactions promote the release of oxytocin, which reduces the body's stress response, lowering cortisol levels and promoting feelings of safety and relaxation. This hormone also has anti-inflammatory effects, helping protect the cardiovascular system, (we love you oxytocin).

This is one of the reasons the JOLT team took to the streets of ‘Manneh’ to chat to people across the city. From meeting one of the most inspirational taxi drivers EVER to chatting to an entire family on what is most important in life, we really got into the minds of so many different people. After our interviews around the city centre, we felt SO uplifted and inspired, and who knows, that may have just added a week to our life. If you want to watch some snippets of our interviews, you can find us on Insta, @joltmyworld

P.S.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, we also got drenched in rain, kicked out of Spinningfields, our producer fell over and Russell got more dirty looks than we could count. 

Anyway, until next time, the JOLT Team.