Book Review: Eat, Move, Sleep

I grabbed this book, Eat, Move Sleep from the library the other day and was impressed. I figured it must be something about living a more balanced and heathy life, but I certainly wasn't expecting such a well-researched book which was also incredibly easily accessible, with short, well written chapters and action points anyone could take away.

Rath is the author of Strengths finder, a book I read a few years ago about working to your strengths. (I love that psych-business-leadership stuff). It was good, but this was better.

I've been aware for years of the need to eat well and move more in my life in order to be healthier, have more energy and improve my mood but somehow I'd left the 'sleep' aspect out of it. I realise now that I've been chronically depriving myself of an hour of needed sleep every night for several years. After reading Rath's book I've taken myself to bed earlier and been happier for it.

The second thing I've been inspired to do is to get myself a 'treadmill' desk. If you can stand or, even better, walk while you work, you eliminate the evils of sitting and get extra movement in your day. Treadmill desks retail for over $3000 so naturally I didn't head straight into the treadmill desk shop. Instead I used the power of social media to see who could help me out. An old and lovely friend had a treadmill rotting in her shed which she gave me and I used my Miss-Fixit skills to hook up a desk contraption to it. And it works. I've spent four hours on it so far (darn, my feet hurt though) and have written four articles. 

The subtitle of the book is 'How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes'. There are a lot of small choices Rath shows you that you could make which will change your life in big ways, including something as simple as reorganising your pantry so that the healthy snacks are the ones you see first. Everyone will take something different away from the book, but the changes those things will make will be worthwhile. For me, I'm looking forward to not only doing work but also getting some exercise at the same time.